First time sailing, Learning to sail, Sailing courses in the UK and Mediterranean
Planning - The Secret Behind All Successful Trips
A cross channel passage often requires a couple of hours of planning, where as a trip across the Solent for lunch in Cowes, little more than a couple of minutes checking the weather and tides for an experienced local sailor. The amount of time spent in planning is therefore directly related to the trip but is always a worthwhile investment.
Although it doesn't sound particularly adventurous to plan a short trip it does make you (a) consider all of the possibilities and (b) gather the information you need and draw up a contigency plan should things change. This makes the actual trip a lot more relaxed as you are able to concentrate on sailing the boat and enjoying the day. Below is a list of factors that your instructor or skipper will take into account when planning a trip.
Objectives
Why are you going? What is the purpose of the trip? A yacht delivery made by a proffessional crew for instance will be planned very differently from a holiday pleasure cruise with small children onboard, even though they might be sailing to and from the same place.
Constraints
The constraints imposed usually dictate the best course of action in a plan. These can include the boat, the crew, the length of the passage, the time of year and daylight hours, tidal heights and streams and fuel consumption to name a few.
Hazards
The potential hazards that may need to be taken into account include the weather, the wind and sea state, the expected visibility, rocks, shoal areas, shallows and any special operations in progress such as dredging or cable laying. There are many more potential hazards which need to be considered and investigated whilst planning a trip.
Aids
Aids to navigation should always be noted and utilised. These can include idetifying marks on the land such as lighthouses, church spires and towers as well as geographical marks like a distinctive headland or rock formation. Navigational marks at sea are obviously of great importance and should always be noted and clearly identified by position, shape, colour and light sequence if lit. Other aids include the echo sounder in conjunction with charts and tidal information and of course the ubiquitous array of electronic aids such as GPS (global positioning system) receivers, chart plotters and AIS (Automatic Identification System) that abound onboard modern boats.
Routes
Bearing all of the above information in mind the instructor or skipper will plot the most suitable route(s), with places of refuge in the event of an unforseen change in circumstances which can alter the original objectives and priorities of the trip.
The SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) convention wisely lists the following requirements for a passage plan.
- An up to date weather forecast.
- Accurate tidal predictions for the passage.
- An understanding of the limitations of the boat and it's crew.
- An awareness of any navigational dangers.
- A contigency plan.
- Details of the plan registered with the coast guard.
"If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable. "
-Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD
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