Passage Plans

[Guest]

Re: Seems quite sensible

Dont think escape was saying that a passage plan and TR were the same thing as he says ''Turning to...''
But if you do give CG your trip details eta etc. then wont that go someway to proving you considered what your supposed to?and the call is logged as proof.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Where is that British Spirit

Where is that independent British spirit that made Britain the great mariner nation it is. Are you a bunch of lilly livered loosers, more worried about you earo mony thingies. Are you going to be dictated to in this foolishness by some chinless wonder of a civil service bureaucracy! Who ever dreamed up such rubbish! Rules are for the obediance of fools and the guidance of wise men. Sure I am going to do a passage plan, what responsible mariner would not, but the rest of the rigamarole........???!!!***** We all need to disobey this en mass then see what happens to the rule, or perhaps better still, send these in en mass, in great detail, yes obey the regulation to the rediculous degree that way we will not break any regulations and will not have our boats seized and be thrown into the brig. The extra paper work should clutter up the system to a standstill. I am glad I am a privateer and heaven help anyone who dares set foot on my boat. Now where is my cutlass? Aargh Jim lad, leave the parrot alone!

 

[iangrant]

Re: Summary and Clarity

My point was that the coastguard is going to be mighty busy with everyone and their dog lodging a passage plan - and we all thought there was a problem with radio checks! Heaven forbid - Solent this is Yacht Distance - er we are off to Gosport from Port Solent tec....

Anyway we all do a passage plan, albiet not a formal one, the minute we think about going anywhere we automatically do one - tides, weather, fuel, etc... Now maybe the time has come for a more formal written approach to cover our backs from the men in suits in case there is an incident or accident!!

 

[Guest]

RYA governs my boating ??? No way Hose

Are you saying that the RYA governs what I do on my boat ???? Sorry but I do not support the RYA or any other so-called body until I actually see practical, sensible, realistic issues tackled. Yep - I'm sure someone will have a go at me about that one !!

 

[Guest]

Make sure someone knows...

The old adage of letting someone know what your intentions are and that if you don't call / arrive etc. then somethings wrong is the order of the day for me ....

I let a good friend know what my destination is, when I expect to arrive and thats it ... no need to bore the ti-s of the CG, nor clog up the airwaves, nor be overzealous with the affair.

 

[bedouin]

Re: Make sure someone knows...

In a thread a few months ago I remember someone saying that CG like people to lodge TRs (even for the passage from Lymmington to Yarmouth). I'd love to have that confirmed.

When I do bother to do so (v rarely) I tend to CG the passage plan, and give the shore contact an ETA (or more precisely a 'Panic By' time), and then trust the shore contact to alert CG if I'm overdue

 

[HMCG]

Re: Make sure someone knows...

OK - All UK CG stations will accept TR's from yachts. However - If you do not call in to say that you have arrived we will not actively seek you out unless we have "good reason" to . Normally the first action we will take is when your shore contact calls us to say that you are overdue..this is the whole point of a shore contact. Many will say that the whole thing is pointless if we do nothing until someone raises the alarm however think of it this way. You give us your passage plan in the morning halfway through the day you decide that you would like to change your plans and head elsewhere you call us and update your TR. If you do not call your shore contact by the arranged time they call us. We have it logged that you will not arrive at your new destination until 2 hrs from now. Problem solved. shore contact is happy and you don't have a SAR helo landing on your foredeck.


Remember a VHF can save your life.

 

[Miker]

I\'m now even more confused.

HMCG will accept TRs, but are they really encouraging the likes of me, a fairweather day sailor, to log a TR with them?
I will have to rely on my wife or the wife of my crew, both of whom are not into boats. So I must take a mobile phone and ask the respective wives not to panic but to contact HMCG by telephone if they do not hear from me by a certain time. The only advantage of logging a TR seems to be if I change my plan and can't contact my wife, and normally I'm within mobile phone range of the shore. When she telephones HMCG (on what number?) they tell her I'm OK.
If I do all this, should I log identification details of my yacht beforehand, and how do I do that?
Might it be easier all round if I just log identification details of my yacht and ask my wife to give the passage plan if she ever feels the need to advise HMCG that I am overdue?

 

[hlb]

Re: I\'m now even more confused.

Yep. Seems much more straight forwards to give SWMBO passage plan and get her to ring up if you not home for tea. Only trouble is SWMBO usualy comes with me and we dont get back for weeks. So what then!!

No one can force me to come here-----------
----- I'm a Volunteer!!!

Haydn

 

[HMCG]

Re: I\'m now even more confused.

You can register your details with your local CG station by filling in a CG66 which can be found here -- http://www.mcga.gov.uk/publications/cg66/index.htm there are also some details of the scheme here.

At the end of the day, if you are not happy with the idea of a TR then don't do it. It is all up to you.


Remember a VHF can save your life.

 

[Miker]

Re: I\'m now even more confused.

Thanks for the info. If HMCG find it helpful for me to VHF in a TR, I will certainly do it. My point is whether it accomplishes anything. Would HMCG be more prepared when an anxious wife telephones?

 

[RYA_Cruising]

No one is going to board your boat to see your passage plan and you will not have to submit it to anyone. Read on to find out more....


What is SOLAS?
The Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention is the key piece of international legislation that looks after safety of life onboard any ship or craft that goes to sea. It was first formed and ratified in 1914 as a result of the Titanic disaster, where 1500 people lost their lives needlessly. Obviously times and technology have changed since 1914, so, the International Maritime Organisation (the UN body that looks after the Sea) reviews the chapters periodically to take into account new practices and technology. The recent review of Chapter V dealing with Safety of Navigation is one of these updates.

Why does SOLAS apply to small craft now?
As a result of the review by the International Maritime Organisation, the new revised SOLAS chapter V now applies to “all ships on all voyages” except warships, other government owned or contracted ships and ships navigating solely on the Great Lakes of North America. This means that for the first time, SOLAS Chapter V applies to small boats of less than 150 gross tonnage (grt), which includes pleasure craft.

Was the RYA consulted in the review?
The RYA is recognised by all Government offices as being the negotiating body for the water activities it represents, and as a result was consulted by the MCA about the new regulations.

The original proposal from the MCA was that pleasure craft be included in many more of the regulations than at present. This could have included logged visual steering checks, compulsory carriage of a vast library of charts and nautical publications, compulsory log keeping, logged checks on auto-helm or self steering systems, compulsory carriage of navigation equipment and much more.

The RYA responded robustly to the proposed new regulations by putting forward a case for exemption for small craft for each of the proposed new regulations on the basis that they did not improve safety. As a result, the MCA was able to exempt pleasure craft from the majority of the regulations, but not all of them.

What would have happened if the RYA had not stepped in?
If the RYA had not been consulted and had not have been successful in ensuring the exemptions for pleasure craft from some the regulations in Chapter V of SOLAS then it would be a lot harder for you to go boating.

Imagine if you had to carry out logged visual steering checks, compulsory log keeping, logged checks on auto-helm or self steering systems and you had to find room, and money, on your boat for a vast library of compulsory charts and nautical publications and carriage of approved navigation equipment.



What does this mean for me in my pleasure boat?
The number of regulations that pleasure boats have to adhere to has increased, however as a result of RYA’s successful lobbying of the MCA, the number of regulations are a lot fewer than they could have been.

Pleasure boats have always been affected by some regulations, for example all vessels must follow the International Rules for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (COLREGS).

The new regulations affecting you are:

Regulation 19.2.1.7 – Radar Reflectors
All ships shall have, if less then 150grt and if practicable, a radar reflector.

RYA Note: The Department of Transport and the Local Regions has given a definition of “if practicable” as, “if it is possible to use a radar reflector on your boat then you must use one”.

Regulation 29 – Life saving signals
An illustrated table describing the life-saving signals shall be readily available.

RYA Note: The MCA will be producing a leaflet of these signals, expected at end of July, to satisfy this regulation. The RYA, boating press, publishers and UKHO will be distributing the leaflet as widely as possible when it is available.

Regulation 31 & 32 – Danger Messages
Skippers and Masters have a duty to communicate information on navigational dangers. These include dangerous derelicts or other dangerous obstructions, tropical storms and winds of force 10 or more for which no warning has already been received. The information can be sent via plain language or using the International Code of Signals. Governments are also required to promulgate any danger information received and messages must be free of charge to ships.

RYA Note: In practice this means that mariners have a duty to report as best they can any serious hazards that may be a danger to navigation – preferably to the local coastguard.

Regulation 33 – Distress Messages
Masters and Skippers have an obligation to respond to distress messages from any source. Ships can be requisitioned by the master of a ship in distress or the Search and Rescue authorities.

RYA Note: This regulation basically enforces the mariner’s duty to respond to any distress message, as taught in the RYA’s SRC (including the old VHF-Restricted) Course.

Regulation 34 – Safe Navigation and avoidance of dangerous situations (including passage planning)
“Going to sea” is defined as proceeding outside of categorized waters i.e. outside of estuarial waters, harbour or port authority areas.

MCA guidance notes say for “small craft and pleasure vessels, the degree of voyage planning will be dependent on the size of the vessel, its crew and the length of the voyage. The MCA expects all mariners to make a careful assessment of any proposed voyage taking into account all dangers to navigation, weather forecasts, tidal predictions and other relevant factors including the competence of the crew”

RYA Note: Full clarification of this regulation is expected in the guidance notes that the MCA will issue by the end of July. However, anyone who has completed an RYA practical training course will be competent in passage planning. The MCA has said that they only expect passage planning in proportion to the trip undertaken and do not require any kind of formal written passage plan to be submitted. This regulation is not to be confused with the MCA’s Voluntary Safety Identification Scheme (CG 66), which allows boat owners to register their vessel and, prior to a passage, give details of their boat, destination and ETA to the Coastguard in case of an emergency.

The RYA has been assured by the MCA that this regulation does not herald a regime of spot checks or pre-departure checks. It’s most obvious application would be in the event of a serious incident or accident involving a pleasure yacht, where the skipper can be proved not to have carried out any assessment or passage planning. The MCA has always had the power to charge leisure boat skippers with negligence for lack of passage planning and has done so in the past.

Regulation 35 – Distress Signals
Distress signals are only to be used for their proper use.

RYA Note: Fines already exist of the miss use of the distress flares.

Is that it?
There has been lots of discussion and heated debate about what the regulations are and the RYA’s part in them. The RYA believes in “education not legislation” and we certainly do not welcome bureaucracy and regulation. Although in this case we were not able to completely avoid the regulation, we were able to keep it to a minimum with robust and thorough case that more regulation does not improve safety. We will continue to work with the MCA to ensure that all the guidance on this issue is unambiguous and realistic so that everyone can meet these new requirements and still enjoy their sport.

If you would like more information about the new SOLAS Chapter V regulations then visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the RYA website at www.rya.org.uk or contact the Cruising Division on tel: 0845 345 0370 or email: cruising@rya.org.uk.


Sophie Strefford

Cruising Division
RYA

Tel: 0845 345 0370
email: cruising@rya.org.uk
Website: http://www.rya.org.uk/cruising.asp

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