How to create a Rock-Solid Passage Plan

Create your own rock solid passage plans quickly and easily every time. Use my own very popular and comprehensive passage planning PDF templates. www.freesailingtutorials.com/... Just £9.95
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*Recommended Reading*:
RYA Weather Handbook (Northern Hemisphere):
amzn.to/3nRBCzr
A Seaman's Guide to the Rule of the Road:
amzn.to/35SbdLK
Reeds Skipper's Handbook:
amzn.to/38SM8lV
The Complete Yachtmaster:
amzn.to/3quy6ge
The Complete Day Skipper:
amzn.to/2NkqxdX
Knots & Splices:
amzn.to/3qBkyQf
ABOUT MARK
I'm a professional sailor & RYA Yachtmaster™ Instructor (Ocean) with over 35 years experience. I've logged over 250,000 nautical miles including competing in three round-the-world yacht races, twice as skipper. I circumnavigated in 2011 on an Ed Dubois designed Clipper 68 and subsequently skippered two Tony Castro designed Clipper 70's in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in 2013 and 2019, respectively.
I've raced in the Southern Ocean nine times, crossed the North & South Atlantic 8 times and the Pacific 3 times. I've also skippered the RORC Rolex Fastnet Race three times and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, Swan World Cup and many other regattas and offshore races including Cowes Week & Marmaris.
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I am an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor. Videos are for free guidance only. Always seek advice before taking action. Videos on my channel are not provided in context and do not form part of a navigational and sailing course and should not be taken as such. This content is offered free of charge and I accept no liability for any reliance placed upon the content of these videos or references, therein. There is no contract between me and the viewer.
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#Howtonavigate #Dayskipper #dayskippertheory #yachtmastertheory #yachtmaster
#freesailingtutorials

[@FreeSailingTutorials]

Create your very own rock solid passage plans quickly and easily every time. Use my own very popular and comprehensive passage planning PDF template. It's 'dynamic', meaning you can fill it out on your phone, tablet or PC, or simply print it off and fill it in with a pen. Available for purchase, www.freesailingtutorials.com/shop Use them as paper templates or as dynamic templates that you can fill in on your phone, tablet or PC.

[@warrenthorp]

Completely brilliant video. I’m going to watch it again. And again. Thank you.

[@FreeSailingTutorials]

Very kind. Thanks.

[@pirateradio8336]

very useful to me, thank you captain

[@mattjackson7199]

Another great video, thank you so much!

[@harbourdogNL]

VERY helpful, thank you. Have to plan a passage for tomorrow with only a couple hours notice, have not done it before! From 47º 30' 50" N, 53º 42' W to 47º 34' N, 52º 42' W, more or less.

[@FreeSailingTutorials]

Good luck. You might find my pro forma useful? www.freesailingtutorials.com/ I've sailed into St Johns before now. Fog can be an issue on approach over the banks.

[@benoitrunel5490]

clear simple to the point. Many thanks !

[@FreeSailingTutorials]

Very Kind. Thanks.

[@NearlyNativeNursery]

Very well done. thanks,

[@chrisdixon9697]

Excellent presentation, clear, concise and professional - Thank you

[@FreeSailingTutorials]

Thanks Chris. Much appreciated.

[@VesselBible]

Great videos, thanks. Doing my Yachtmasters on the 14th of February 👍

[@FreeSailingTutorials]

Good luck!

[@VesselBible]

@@FreeSailingTutorials Thank you 🙏👍

[@SCARTHYBOY692]

Hi epic video, just an question: for a powered vessel where does course to steer come into a passage plan? As all I seem to see is magnetic course lines and that’s it, I’ve done DS theory and understand it all.. but no passage plan videos show the actual courses to steer or estimated positions ect

[@FreeSailingTutorials]

You can calculate CTS between each waypoint in the usual way. I didn't include that calculation here as it would have made the video too long and taken the focus off the big picture, which is what I was trying to illustrate here. I would suggest that calculating detailed CTS for each leg of your passage, before you set off, is too much detail, especially on longer coastal passages. After all, wind, tide and see conditions might change from forecast and your estimates on boat speed, ETA at waypoint and leeway will all change.

[@SCARTHYBOY692]

@@FreeSailingTutorials thank you for the reply so would you say for an MCA Advanced COC theory part of the assessment detailed courses to steer is essential or just to have a big detailed planned passage and explain to the examiner that it would been done on the day of departure?

[@user-to4zu2wk8v]

Hello. Great content! Unfortunately link not working (

[@FreeSailingTutorials]

Thanks for letting me know. The URL has changed. www.freesailingtutorials.com/registration

[@ratusbagus]

I wonder if you could say something or even do a video about, shall we say, relational dynamics in ships' companies? I expect you've had experience. Normally, obviously, this isn't as much a problem on skipper owned boats. My world is boat clubs, where nobody aboard owns it. I've been on many "difficult" passages, usually with problems between other people. I tend to button my lip, but some others seem unable or unwilling to. On a recent multihop cross channel outing, we had 6 aboard and 2 insisted on non-common victualling (not diet related). Separate food meant separate storage, double the mealtimes and double washing up and played havoc with watch scheduling. Too many skippers.....en-route disagreements occurring even when a rotor for legs had been agreed. Walking on diplomatic eggshells for the outing isn't fun for all of us not involved. On a previous outing a few years ago, this problem (between others) led to an actual injury.... to me as it happened. My thoughts are -skippers cannot be rotored unless everyone knows each other. -crews new to each other, should have an overall passage plan that has one skipper and rotor only the navigator, who for that leg can manage the cockpit, sailplan, watches and mealtimes. My own resolution is to not take longer passages with people I don't know. Maybe have a daysail crew shake down first.

[@FreeSailingTutorials]

Excellent question and comment! As a professional skipper, with professional crew, these problems become lesser as there is an employer/employee dynamic, but with friends or strangers it can be tough. We have all had deliveries from hell when on board with a tyrannical or incompetent skipper or difficult crew members. I've raced the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race three times, and skippered it twice, once as a stand-in skipper and once from the start. It's widely acknowledged by everyone that does the job that the hardest part of the 11 month race over 43,000 miles is crew management. Each yacht has a team of about 60 and a crew on board at any one time (which changes leg by leg) of between 12 - 22 people. In short, I'd say the following; 1. It's not a democracy. The buck stops with the captain. There is one captain, maybe aided by watch keepers. This must be decided for each voyage and adhered to. 2. Establish everyone's experiences and expectations beforehand. As you say, a weekend sail is a good idea to feel out people. 3. Agree boat rules with your crew. Have everyone sign them. 4. Have standing orders for safety stuff, reefing wind speeds, etc 5. Have a watch crossover every lunchtime to allow for each watch to meet, chew the cud and air any gripes 6. As skipper, lead from the front, appraise the situation and then make a decision. If one crew member is being lazy, rude, unhygienic or whatever, you need to grasp the nettle and take them aside and tell them how it is. If you avoid this, your crew will lose respect for you and animosity amongst the crew will grow. 7. Invite crew to raise issues either at lunch or privately 8. Make sure everyone knows to be non-confrontational when raising issues 9. Leave arguments on the last wave behind you. 10. Everyone eats together. No exceptions. Meal plans to be agreed beforehand 11. On the 11 month race, I always mix up the watches every stopover (about 4 weeks) so that abrasive characters get shared around and watches don't get too tribal. 12. If you ever find yourself on a boat without one asshole, always allow for the possibility that it might be you! If I am honest, as a younger man, I was very bad at difficult conversations. Obviously, over one's life one gets better at these things. But after a few weeks managing 22 crew in the tropics or Southern Ocean, you either generate the skin of a rhino or you'd go insane. Hopefully, you retain some empathy. I have had countless conversations with macho men and weeping women, all with a gripe they want me to fix in their favour. I now have the switch. If I have to be I can be stone cold tough if needed and still be up fro a laugh and a joke 40 minutes later at watch change. The best skippers I know have that ability in spades. You're right. There is a video in this! Thanks for the comment. By the way, as part of our pre race skipper training, we went on a two day course by the guys that wrote this book. It was very useful. amzn.to/3RKachu

[@ratusbagus]

@@FreeSailingTutorials So you've been there in spades then. It's more endemic than I thought. Some good strategies there. No. 12 was sobering. I do self inspect but perhaps not enough. I will make more of an effort. "Arbitration" is something I relate to 20th century industrial relations. I tend to avoid involvement afloat. I'll look forward to your new video covering the HR aspects of ship's company management.

[@FreeSailingTutorials]

@@ratusbagus I recommend skippers don't so much 'arbitrate' as listen to the issues and then dictate. A bit like King Solomon! There is a very fine line between the two in my book. One assumes an equitable outcome and the other an informed dictat, I'd say. And people wonder why some skipper's become tyrants... 🤣 Given your type of sailing, I think it's critical one skipper is decided at the offset. He can also ask for advice or be given points to consider, but he or she makes the decisions as skipper. Failing to do this is a recipe for disaster. I've been on boats with a crew of 5 very experienced Yachtmaster Instructors and if there isn't one guy allocated boss, it will still fall apart. People need to know what's expected of them or things get missed. I imagine with a crew of club sailors of mixed experience, this is difficult. That said, without being the 'big I am' about it, it's usually fairly clear, early on, who is the most experienced and as long as they are kind to the egos of others, this usually works OK. That was the other thing. When racing I always say to my crew, 'this is like a field sport. Blood is up, adrenaline is involved. Some shouting can be forgiven at times of stress, like the start for example, but never personal swearing/abuse' and after the race we all laugh about it in the bar. You can't laugh about it in a bar if someone calls you a rude name! So, soft egos all round.