Whats this all about.

[chappy]

Just reading one of the posts on this sight about what is the shortest passage plan logged with the coastguard, whats this all about!! i have done the day skipper course theory & practical but have not been told about this.( or so i think).
Do you ring up your nearest coastguard station or do you do it on the radio, & what information do you pass on & what sort of distance is it neccasary to do it. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif & do you inform them when you arrive.
Regards
Dave.

 

[amatiel]

Dave. I covered this in Day Skipper and again in Yacht Master... but friends doing a similar course did not. VHF to Coastguard giving them basic information is sufficient. You can download a form from the coastguard website and fax it to them giving boat details (colour of hull, length , type etc) along with your callsign and they enter that on their system. Then when you call in via VHF just tell them Boat Name , Call Sign , Start Point and Destination and Persons on Board (POB) and expected ETA , they file the plan and notify the next coastguard station. Then when you arrive VHF again to tell them your safe.

The coastguard will tell you that they would prefer you to tell them about even the shortest trips.... best to be safe than sorry I guess. I do the 6 mile Yarmouth to Lowestoft trip every month or so, takes 1/2 hour... and I file a plan for that.

 

[Cantata]

Chappy, I sense you are asking if this is compulsory. No it ain't. What is compulsory these days is that you should have a passage plan but you don't have to tell anyone about it.
If doing a significant trip, by all means pass details to the CG. Certainly fill out the CG66 form and send it in, that way they always got your boat details. But when you pass details of your trip, the CG will not pass it on to the next CG along the coast the way you're going. In fact they are not tasked to do ANYTHING unless someone calls them later to say you are missing. But it's common courtesy to call them up and tell them you've arrived, they usually seem grateful for the call when I've done it.

 

[chappy]

Thanks Amatiel, i shall take this onboard.
Regards
Dave.

 

[l'escargot]

Entirely voluntary and totally unecessary 99% of the time. May be worthwhile in poor weather or extended passages, otherwise you are probably better off telling someone else to call the coastguard if you haven't contacted them by a certain time - I think that action is more likely on a specific report of a boat overdue.

 

[Abigail]

I agree that the better thing is to make sure if you think it appropriate that someone knows and that they know your ETA.

Appropriate conditions? EG, poor weathger, inexperienced crew/skipper, boat in need of TLC. We tend to to tell the CG if going into the Thames estuary for London - as very busy and sometimes difficult waters.

However - this is NOT a passage pla. As I understand the regs (and I am not an expert so please don't assume this is gospel) - I must create a passage plan. To take a trip up to London - I would have a detailed plan with waypoints and buoys, closely linked with tide and conditions, with various potential stopping points and alternatives in case of sudden wind shifts. I have all that - and in that case written down. I don't tell the CG all that - I just say I';m going from Harwich to Gravesend!

In terms of a written passage plan - if I'm going from Ipswich to Walton backwaters - I wouldn't bother but I would know the tide times and the latest times I can cross the flats into the backwaters - and I could tell the MCA if asked. But if it was the very first time I'd ever done that trip, I'd have it all written down with a beautiful piece of pilotage. And that would be the right thing to do.

And I always remember that it's supposed to be fun. If writing it all down makes me feel better and enjoy it more - well turn to the new page.

 

[BrendanS]

A passage plan to someone experienced in waters well known to them, can be as simple as looking at tides and weather forecast. Needs nothing more. A voyage to waters unknown, then the authorities in case of an 'incident' might be looking for some detailed research, and something in writing. There are no guidelines other than common sense