Passage Planning

Rob Starkey The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club

Copyright © R Starkey 2013

Context

Hobart to North Queensland

Cruising, mostly down wind sailing

Long passage days, with minimum average SOG

Mostly motor sailing the rhumb line

• 20% sailing, 60% motor sailing, 20% motoring

2

Assumptions

Safety compliant vessel

Communication, VHF, Internet, and Telephone

Charts covering intended cruising area (including ports)

Electronic navigation aids

Ships Log

Pilots and other references covering area

Crew list with shore contacts

3

Passage Planning

Objective

• Minimal exceptions and surprises, arriving at your planned destination, within the planned time, safely and in good spirit

Basic Project Management

• Collect required information

• Plan your passage, document and communicate

• Sail the passage to the plan

• Monitor and review the passage

4

International Marine Organisation (IMO) Passage Planning Guidelines

• Safety of life at sea

• Safe and efficient navigation

• Protection of the environment

Objectives

• Appraisal, collecting information and resources

• Planning, the detailed passage from port to port

• Execution, sailing to the plan

• Monitoring, checking and review

Four components of Passage Planning

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Appraisal

• Vessel and crew preparedness for sea

• Documents (vessel and crew), Insurance, safety compliance, crew list and shore contacts

• Charts, pilots and navigation aids

• Notices to Mariners and current warnings

• Information about your passage, distance, tides, currents, weather forecasts

• List of lights

• Destination information, marina contact, marina maps, pilot anchoring recommendations

• Marine Rescue locations and contacts, operating hours, telephone and repeater channels used

• Alternate safe haven destinations

Gathering the required information about the passage;

6

Planning

• Plotting of the intended passage on appropriate scale paper charts, waypoints and true directions with minimum clearances identified, (depths, height and lateral)

• Detailed route/waypoints loaded into your electronic navigation aids

• Tides at departure and destination including change

• Tidal currents along the intended passage

• Distance, departure time, planned arrival with assumptions

• Weather forecasts

• Reporting locations and times

• Lights and other passage conspicuous objects

A written plan from port to port (marina or anchorage), covering the following;

7

Execution and Monitoring

Communication of the written plan, accessible by the crew at all times. A living document that can be modified where or when necessary. Pre departure equipment checks, lights communication

and navigation aids Waypoint and passage arrival times based on actual

departure time Current and updated weather forecasts Review and reporting of actual progress against plan Changes clearly marked on Plan Logging of progress, course, conditions and

communications in Ship’s Log (Paper Chart and Log Book)

8

Short Coastal Passage Plan Example

Don’t forget to write down contact details and other information you may require at short notice.

I use a notebook that also doubles as my Ship’s Log

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Long Coastal Passage Plan Example

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Contents

Safety & Regulatory

Inside this Planner

How to use this Planner

Weather

Seamanship

Marina Maps

Communications

Lights

Passage Management

Incident Management

Health care

16

Lizard Island

Bowen

Duke Islands

Bundaberg

12o

30

15o

17o

30

20o

22o

30

25o

27o

30

152o 30150o147o 30145o142o 30

Cooktown

Torres Strait

Cardwell

Bowen

St Lawrence

Burnett Heads

Double Island Pt

Point Danger

Cairns

1

2

3

4

5

Gold Coast Seaway

Trial Bay

Port Jackson

Two Fold Bay

Flinders Island

30o

32o

30

35o

37o

30

40o

42o

30

155o152o 30150o147o 30145o

Point Danger

Wooli

Smoky Cape

Seal Rocks

Broken Bay

Port Hacking

Ulladulla

Montague I.

Gabo IslandLakes Entrance

Tasman I.

Cape Barren

St Helens Pt

Wineglass Bay

Tasman I.

6

7

8

9

10

Hobart

Passages

Lights

VHF Repeaters

Marina Maps

How to use the Planner

17

18

19

20

21

Questions

22