Andy Du Port is a former Royal Navy navigating officer and RYA cruising instructor. He also edited Reeds Nautical Almanac for five years
Drawing up a passage plan is not only common sense, it is a legal requirement under SOLAS V regulation 34 which says that, whatever the size of your vessel, you must make a plan before going to sea. In this context, going to sea is defined in Merchant Shipping Notice (MSN) 1837 as proceeding outside categorised or sheltered waters. Areas where the significant wave height cannot be expected to exceed 2.0 metres at any time are considered to be sheltered; anywhere else is not and a passage plan is required.
Your first responsibility as a skipper is to ensure the safety of your crew and boat, and it would be reckless to set off anywhere without at least some basic planning. A short trip from Portsmouth Harbour to Bembridge Marina for lunch might only involve checking the weather forecast and making sure that you will have sufficient height of tide to navigate the tortuous channel into Bembridge. On the other hand, even a simple passage from Weymouth to Torbay would come under the SOLAS regulations and need a much more detailed plan.
Surprisingly, there is no requirement to make a written record of your plan, but you would be hard pressed to prove you had made one if you don’t. Pilotage plans for departure and arrival are a different subject, and are not covered here.
TODAY’S ELECTRONICS
Before the days of GPS, fixing your position at sea required different techniques for different areas. In coastal waters, visual bearings of charted features was the norm. In the relatively few yachts which were suitably fitted, radar ranges could also be used. Offshore, an accurate departure fix was the basis for navigating by dead reckoning until you sighted land again. On ocean passages, you depended on clear skies to find your position using a sextant.
It was all tremendously satisfying – when it worked – but we have moved on and now you know precisely where you are, at any time of the day or night, by merely looking at a screen. Many other aspects of navigation, both in the planning stages and during a passage, have gone the same way. As a result, much of the tedium has been removed, freeing up time and generally making life easier and less stressful. What’s not to like?
First, a note of caution. Although electronic equipment which is designed specifically for marine use is usually reliable and sturdy enough to put up with life in small craft, it does rely
