Extended Coastal and Offshore Passage Planning

Multi-day passages and longer offshore legs require additional planning beyond a standard day sail. Distance planning means breaking the passage into legs with intermediate waypoints, calculating ETAs allowing for tidal streams and likely conditions, and identifying bolt holes along the entire route — not just the first few hours.

Provisioning must account for the full duration plus contingencies. Calculate fuel from expected engine use and consumption, then add a risk-based reserve for weather, adverse current, diversion, delays, generator use, and unusable fuel. A rule-of-thirds policy can be a conservative operating heuristic, but it is not a universal substitute for the calculation.

Agree a communications schedule before departure and leave the passage plan with a responsible shore contact. They need vessel and crew details, route, destination, ETA, check-in plan, and clear instructions to call 999 and ask for the Coastguard if you are overdue. The old CG66 and UK SafeTrx registration services are closed, so do not teach them as current filing routes.

Reporting in should happen at agreed intervals — typically daily or at key waypoints. If you will be out of mobile phone range, use VHF, SSB radio, or satellite communications. On longer passages, schedule radio checks and keep the shore contact updated with your position and ETA. Update the shore contact whenever your plans change significantly — if you divert, delay departure, or experience problems.