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

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 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

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 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

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International Marine Organisation
(IMO) Passage Planning Guidelines

Objectives
• Safety of life at sea
• Safe and efficient navigation
• Protection of the environment

Four components of Passage Planning

• Appraisal, collecting information and resources
• Planning, the detailed passage from port to port
• Execution, sailing to the plan
• Monitoring, checking and review

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 Appraisal
Gathering the required information about the passage;
• 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

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

• 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

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 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)
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Short Coastal Passage Plan Example
I use a notebook that also
doubles as my Ship’s Log

Don’t forget to write

down contact details and
other information you
may require at short
notice.

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Long Coastal Passage Plan Example

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Contents
Inside this Planner

How to use this Planner

Safety & Regulatory

Weather

Passage Management

Lights

Communications

Marina Maps

Seamanship

Incident Management

Health care

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 Torres Strait

How to use the Planner

12o
30

Lizard Island
15o

Cooktown
Passages
1
Cairns 17o
30

Cardwell

Bowen
2 Bowen 20o

3
St Lawrence
Lights
Duke Islands 22o
30

4
Burnett Heads 25o

Bundaberg
Double Island Pt

5 27o
30

Point Danger
142o 30 145o 147o 30 150o 152o 30

Gold Coast Seaway

Point Danger

6 Wooli 30o VHF Repeaters

Smoky Cape
Trial Bay

7 Seal Rocks 32o

30

Broken Bay
Port Hacking
Port Jackson
35o

Ulladulla
8
Montague I.

Two Fold Bay 37o

30
Gabo Island
Lakes Entrance
9
Tasman I.
40o
Marina Maps
Flinders Island
Cape Barren

St Helens Pt
10
Wineglass Bay
42o
30
Hobart
Tasman I. 17
145o 147o 30 150o 152o 30 155o
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Questions

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