Passage Plans

[claymore]

As an academic exercise - and who better to represent the forum - I attempted to put together a series of passage plans whilst on the Glorious Summer of 2002 cruise. Having researched articles in YM, YW and undertaken some websearches I felt pretty confident as to the kind of thing any boarding official might be pleased to read and who knows, even cite as exemplary with the associated financial remuneration.
Day 1 - a product of the focussed mind reads: Melfort to Tobermory. W.Forecast OK, leave by 10 and tide OK, go outside Insh from Pladda. Watch Calmacs (ferries with big swamping washes) in S of Mull.

Day 2 was a bit less specific I'm afraid - Destination Eigg. Tide fine if away by 9. W.F. (weather forecast) OK Give Ardnamurchan plenty if it looks bumpy.


I don't think this helped me really so I stopped doing them after that. My log is good - done hourly and GPS fixes as well as EP's noted. Weather detailed each morning from the CG broadcasts and Tides worked out for Ports and Secondaries.
Am I missing the point here - or is the passage plan really just a duplication of the log. I suppose if I'd sailed into the pier in Tobermory and sunk and on retrieving the passage plan, the authorities had noticed that I'd failed to note it as a danger then it would provide them with a clue of what had gone wrong.....?

regards
Claymore

 

[Jeremy_W]

Reading a column by the RYA in "another place", that's perfectly adequate passage planning within the meaning of the rules. You've identified hazards, destination, forecast weather and tides. If you do it in your log book that's fine.

 

[jimi]

If I do it in my head, is that not adequate?

Jim

 

[claymore]

Do you mean like sex? Seems to work fine for me these days!

regards
Claymore

 

[Cornishman]

Only if they open it up after the incident to find out what it was you planned to do.

 

[Bergman]

I tried to be extra good this year and ceremoniously pulled the inshore waters forecast off the web every night.

First day out after 3 days of fog described as "occasional mist" we were offered "SE 2-3 going SW 3 Later NW or Variable 3 or less" Weather - fair.

We actually had S 3-4 and a monsoon that casued the worst localised flooding for years (on land!)

2 days later we had forecast SW3-4 backing SE 2-3

We actually got nothing ZIP untill we tied up on a N facing pontoon with a long fetch, when we got a N5-6 overnight - lovely stuff.

How the ***** do you make a plan with forecasts like this?

Best I managed was turn left or right depending on wind and don't anchor anywhere exposed no matter what the forecast.

 

[Jeremy_W]

Perhaps..

You might want to add

Day 2 was a bit less specific I'm afraid - Destination Eigg. Tide fine if away by 9. W.F. (weather forecast) OK Give Ardnamurchan plenty [and issue/wear lifejackets/harnesses] if it looks bumpy. [Bolthole - Drumnabuigh (sp?)]

That shows you have a plan about issuing safety gear to your crew and where to go if the wind is too strong for your initial plan. My reading of the RYA advice is that this more than acceptable for a day passage in familiar waters.

 

[hlb]

But you miss the point. The reason for having to have a passage plan legaly is so theres some one to blame. Lets say you set on fire. Well you obviosly did not plan properly for that eventuality. So your guilty. Now if they had told you what to write down and what to look for. Then they would be guilty if they missed something.
Tutts has started writting passage plans. I told her not to bother. On the grounds it might incriminate her!!

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

Haydn

 

[BarryH]

How often do you stick to these passage plans. I know how to draw one up, part of the rya course, but if you sit there with all the charts almanacs and tidal atlases, work out the tides get the weather and mull over the thing for hours. Then the day comes, go down to the boat, fuel it up, find the lifejackets that the kids put away and now can't find. Put all the kit and caboodle on it, spark up the gps with preloaded waypoints, fill in the forms and put them in the box outside the coastgaurds office, cast off and go. Then just as the harbour entrance is passed and you set course, check all is ok, the wife pipes up " I don't feel like St peter port this weekend, lets just poottle over to Yarmouth!" My reply is unprintable!!!!

OK, to hell with it. Unbolt it and we'll use it as an anchor!

 

[claymore]

Re: Perhaps..

Hmm...
So I don't like the look of Ardnamurchan and decide to ease back to Sunart and as you say into Drumbuidh - do I now need to write a plan to avoid that nasty wee bugger that sits by the entrance to that - or one to take into account the Stirks?

By mentioning the fact that if its bumpy by a headland then surely it is implied that it would be a good idea to go further out to avoid overfalls or whatever, In so doing you have demonstrated a bit of seamanlike thinking and following on from that it may be safe to assume that you would don lifejackets if you felt conditions/experience/conditions merited such action? I cannot see how writing it down will be of any use whatsoever - is it really the case that people believe we should write prompts to ourselves - we would not read them, would we?

Seems a bit like sticking a reminder on the back of the lavatory door to wash your hands, that may be useful when trying to raise awareness of personal hygiene issues with our offspring but once the habit has been formed then it is second nature to wash your hands once you have visited the loo and the notice becomes an irrelevance.

I take care in the mountains and at sea - I have some years of experience and some qualifications - I really don't see how writing down reminders of what I ought to do as conditions develop is going to help anyone - it's not as if I'm likely to say to myself "Aah, we are getting bounced around here, better refer to my passage planner to see what I said I should do under these circumstances"



regards
Claymore

 

[jimi]

Is that a rerun or a prerun?

Jim

 

[claymore]

Aah Haydn
Again, you speak and the scales fall from before mine eyes. Thank you for the divine enlightenment which you again impart. I feel so stupid.........

regards
Claymore

 

[claymore]

Depends who is in my mind at the time

regards
Claymore

 

[jimi]

In my head

Thats what I meant earlier. These things should be second nature to a seaman & as hazards etc are dependent on conditions you've got to fly by the seat of your pants rather than write a couple of tomes as to what you should or not do depending on x,y & z.

Jim

 

[claymore]

Re: In my head

Exactly - and the best days of all are when you just go and see where the wind takes you.

regards
Claymore

 

[hlb]

Re: Perhaps..

But if you read the report. It says that you do not need to write anything down. Just have a plan, even in head. Far as I can see its just an extention of blame culture. Youve legaly got to have a plan, so if it goes wrong. You must be guilty.

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

Haydn

 

[Rob_Webb]

I'm sure that I read somewhere recently that the RYA say the passage plan doesn't need to be written down, just as long as you have given due consideration to hazards, weather, boat & crew capability etc. before you depart.

I plot my course on the chart prior to departing which shows my (planned) route including distance from any hazards. I also write the tidal times (in pencil) on the relavant tidal charts to show what wil happen at every hour throughout my passage. And each page of my log includes a section for weather forecasts received before/during the passage. These things combined with my hourly log is all I do - and that's all I intend to carry on doing.....

 

[Chris_Stannard]

It is clear to me that you are passage planning. If you know your area, then without to much on paper you know where the hazards are and where the refuges are if the weather turns foul. However, if I came up from the Solent, which I hope to do next year, I would be pouring over charts, pilots and tide tables to make sure that I got where I wanted to be without hazarding my boat and SWHBO. I tend to write all of that kind of thing in a hardbacked A4 notebook, so I have a quick reference, without having to turn up several different publications. I also find that it helps to fix in my mind what is going on. I expect you would find the same if you came down and cruised the Channel Islands and North coast of Brittany.

A tale from the summer. A group of boats, in a rally, competed like hell to get from the West Country to Guernsey. On arrival at the entrance to the Little Russell channel, which needs to be navigated with a fair amount of care since there are strong tides and lots of rocks, the lead boats got on the radio to ask what they should do next. One was so well prepared that he could not tell the difference between the light house at the entrance to the channel and the local power station. I guess he could have done with a little more planning.

Good sailing

Chris Stannard

 

[sailbadthesinner]

I think as long as you have briefed the crew that is ok
Give them a run down of where you are going so if you get knocked overboard they can still make it into port before last orders

...It was like that when i found it!

 

[sailbadthesinner]

Re: Perhaps..

What about
going on boat with boat full of novices must wear safety harness and brief crew on how to use radio?

...It was like that when i found it!