Passage Planning: A Real-World Example | ⛵ Sailing Britaly ⛵

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Passage planning is a very important part of seamanship, and technology can simplify the process. This is a real-world example showing how I plan a passage, from start to finish, for a solo sail from France to Belgium.
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[@SailingBritaly]

*Hey Britalians! We hope this finds you well and that it was is a nice break from everything...* 👇👇👇 Check out the links below 👇👇👇 *Want to buy a cheap (but brilliant!) tablet plotter like ours?* All the details are here ➜ bit.ly/TREASURE⛵ *Buying a boat?* We used to be boat dealers and can help you save a fortune! ➜ sailingbritaly.com/videocalls (Email assistance available too) *Need help fixing a boat?* Hire Chris! He has been maintaining aircraft and underwater robots professionally for over 20 years. A 5-minute videocall could save you a huge amount of wasted time and/or money... ➜ sailingbritaly.com/videocalls 👇👇👇 FREE STUFF! 👇👇👇 Get a FREE PDF ebook with details of over 3500 knots & Splices here ➜ bit.ly/knotsPDF Be first in line to receive a FREE Financial Freedom PDF which explains how we can afford to go cruising, and how YOU can too! (We are writing this right now) ➜ bit.ly/FinancialFreedomPDF Watch this solo sailing mini-series from the beginning here ➜ kzbin.info/aero/PL_iyMbUuKBT7BtcQSIyZwLpddrIapkaAo Watch our sailing adventures from the beginning here ➜ kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaKYnXaVj957frM Watch our technical videos here ➜ kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZClp2qVqaaCj5Y Ok then, that's it for this video. We read each and every comment so please keep them coming. We may not be able to reply to all of them, but we try our best to. Wherever you are in the world, stay safe, look after your family and we're thinking of you all. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊

[@evidafod]

Hi there Chris. What is the 4g gizmo. Can you tell us a bit more about it please ? Andrew

[@karljones9832]

Good job. Very imformative

[@simoncobley661]

I’d also like to know how you connect to the internet on the boat? Thanks so much for your videos. Also, have you tried the “PredictWind” app for weather forecasting? Thanks, simon

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Andrew, this is a "MIFI device" (mobile WIFI) You add the SIM card of your choice and then you can connect multiple WIFI-enabled devices to it and get fast internet on all of them - up to a limit of 10 or so devices usually. I used a data-only SIM card from Smarty which was £17.00 per month for 100 GB of 4G internet - Europe wide. (This was a one-month rolling contract, so I used it for two months then cancelled it as this was something I needed only during the 'final' stage of our refit and solo sail to Belgium. ) The MIFI device we have is unlocked so can be used with any SIM from any provider, so the next time we need it we will get the best SIM-only data deal we can find for the length of time we need it. I hope this helps! Cheers, Chris 👍

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Simon, please see my reply to Andrew regarding the internet. I have tried Predictwind and this is another good option for weather - thank you for mentioning this as it was one of the ones I didn't mention in the video. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@paulclarke8184]

Amazing video Chris - I could watch this content all day long!

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Paul! Thank you very much indeed- you helped us make it so we are very glad that you found it useful! 🌟 Very best regards, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊

[@vxnova1]

Good job Chris, thanks for sharing.

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you Richard, thank you for helping us make this video! 🌟 Very best regards, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊

[@cardismichael3154]

I always love to know how things are done, thanks for this.

[@SailingBritaly]

👍

[@nuggs838]

I think this video is so informative for any beginner chart mapping great vid chris

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you very much Dave and Louise, we hope you and your family are all well! Thank you very much for helping us make our videos! Very best regards, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊

[@stevenmichaelhoward]

Loved this insight Chris, the way you explain things is super simple, even to a total novice like myself. I have the utmost admiration for you sailing single handed in the way you do .......respect to you fella, keep up the awesome vids 👌👍

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you very much Steve, we really appreciate comments like this and we get a lot of motivation from them. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@heincallens6547]

Very good video. I navigate in exactly the same way, but I did learn someting new: putting the tablet in flight mode to save energy. Thank you !

[@williamblenkinsop2703]

Another good video Chris. I shall certainly be checking out the Nav suggestions, especially the helpful way to deal with tides/stream etc.

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi William, we're very glad you found this useful. Thank you very much for helping us make it! 🌟 Very best regards, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊

[@sailingsvkedim3385]

Another great video Chris, always waiting for the next one. really like the way you explain in a way that doesn't use jargon like some other channels do. fair winds my friend, stay safe.

[@SailingBritaly]

Thanks mate, fair winds! 👍

[@DavidJohnson-og8yh]

A fantastic real-world explanation of the crossover between tech and practicalities. Thank you. I learned a lot.

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you David. Best regards, Chris 👍

[@TERRIBLYBRITISH]

Great work Chris. I always get ribbed for my passage plans but I am always happier in the knowledge that I've done everything I can.

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you James, being diligent isn't necessarily celebrated. If this video was called "I Ran Aground and our Boat Sank!" it would have tens of thousands of views already... I think we both know which group we'd rather be in and as long as we are comfortable with that then all is well in the world. Very best regards, Chris (Plus Rossella & Emma) 😊

[@sailingwithgrannyandgrandad]

Great video and always interesting to see how others do there passage planning. Hope you reunited with family and all keeping safe. Thanks for sharing 👍

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you! 👍

[@erickdrop]

Great video mate! Thanks for taking the time to make it.

[@SailingBritaly]

My pleasure Erick! 👍

[@nearlynativenursery8638]

Very nice planning tutorial. Well done Chris.

[@patrickschluter7280]

Such a useful video! Nice job and it was really helpful as I am planning to passage from Lelystad in Netherlands to Aarhus in Denmark! Thanks a lot for sharing! 🤙😀

[@simontaylor4873]

Outstanding, thank you for sharing this information, love to you all ❤️

[@SailingBritaly]

It's our pleasure Simon, same to you and yours! 😊

[@TwoGetLost]

Really informative,thanks for sharing! We needed a good refresher after the winter!

[@SailingBritaly]

Cheers guys, we'll all need a good refresher after this 'break'! Cheers, Chris 👍

[@darren5472]

Just found your channel. As a new sailor and boat owner myself this was very informative. Thanks. Fair winds. 😀

[@SailingBritaly]

Welcome aboard Darren, we have lots of videos so we hope you will find them helpful too. Cheers! Chris 👍

[@clarissacross655]

Chris! A good refresher for using Navionics. We sail in Washington State and we see large tidal changes , thus passage planning with currents through narrow passages. Thanks! Enjoyed it and will share it with Tacoma Women's Sailing Association our sailing group to enjoy during our lockdown.

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Clarissa, we love it when people share our videos - thank you! Fair winds to you and the rest of the crew at your association, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊

[@terence8127]

Very helpful. More of the passage planning would be great.

[@thecivvie]

Amazing video. Opened my eyes to a few issues I had not thought about. I have opencpn but have been considering using Navionics as the primary with opencpn as a backup.

[@SailingBritaly]

Glad it was helpful mate! 👍

[@rimasmeleshyus4787]

I m happy for you ,congratulations with Avionics ,very important to have its easy to navigate. Greetings from the garden island Kauai, Hawaii.

[@caulkheadbill]

Great Vid Chris, loads of helpful info

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you Bill 👍

[@lilliansmiljanich9132]

Watched this video with great interest. I am new to this and really liked the idea of planning ahead. As we are in Australia, and not likely to sail our boat to the English Channel, the points outlined in this video were really helpful. Thank you

[@SailingBritaly]

My pleasure Lillian, I'm glad you found this useful. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@bummibaer7038]

Thx. for sharing. Keep safe and fair winds.

[@SailingBritaly]

You too! 👍

[@denisconnaughton2923]

Excellent again Chris.

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you Denis 👍

[@Ricovandijk]

Thanks! Nice video! Looking forward to your view on TSS crossings, because that’s one thing I haven’t done yet. Cheers!

[@SailingBritaly]

Cheers Rico 👍

[@ivok496]

Hi Chris, great video thanks for sharing. I learned how to do it the old-fashioned way but - weather permitting - I want to try Navionics later in the summer. As mentioned by others, I would also love to see a channel crossing passage plan, as that is on my wish list later this summer as well. Again fingers crossed. Many thanks for the great content!

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Ivo, thank you! We'll see for the channel crossing passage plan video: this video hasn't performed well so far (it's number 9 out of 10 for views from our last published videos) and that makes it very difficult for me to justify putting my time in making another one. However, it's early days: sometimes a video gets shared somewhere and takes off, and sometime KZbin will start promoting a video for some unknown reason and it takes of months down the line... Time will tell! Cheers, Chris 👍

[@heathcotesj]

Brilliant video, would love to see the English Channel passage planning, whether you used an overall or hourly method for adjusting for those changing cross currents.

[@Spicks96]

Great vid Chris. Very informative. I have free Navionics and Windy on both of my Tablets. Once work picks back up then I shall buy it properly. Nice to hear you can get out and about a bit more now. I shall be working on my boat this weekend for the first time in 2 months :)

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Vince, I'm glad you found this useful. Congratulations of being able to get back to Jazzi Girl - I'm sure you've missed her and will be glad to get back to your jobs! Thank you for helping us make this video! 🌟 Very best regards, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊

[@paulgood1351]

Great video Chris, really enjoyed it.

[@SailingBritaly]

Thanks Paul 👍

[@bobaquaplane1679]

I think my Raymarine Axiom plotter uses Navionics, or it may be just Navionics charts. I have heard folk singing the virtues of Navionics on several forums but never seen it in action, worth another look methinks. Thanks for the heads up. My passage planning is very similar up and down the various sounds (Jura, Mull etc.) in my local patch, set off when the tide i fair, park when it goes foul, seemples.

[@BreezyRider66]

Setting a good example here nice work...

[@SailingBritaly]

Thanks!

[@svsabreon3334]

Very useful, as novice salts that have been using both Navionics & charts, your tips will make our passage planning better. Definitely interested in the cross channel passage plan. Thank you for sharing

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you Paul, we'll have to see about the other video... This one isn't getting as many views as our videos normally get, and it's hard for me to justify at least 40 hours of work to make the Channel Crossing video if it doesn't get seen. That said, sometimes a video video will pick up months down the line (after being shared somewhere, or if KZbin decides to promote it for some unknown reason) so if that happens then it is far more likely I'll make the channel crossing passage plan video. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@svsabreon3334]

@@SailingBritaly I shall hope then :) I (& I'm sure everyone else) appreciate the work you put in. Looking forward to the video about the trolling engine :p

[@jcfgh]

Really useful. Thank you Chris.

[@SailingBritaly]

My pleasure James. 👍

[@jeremyshutter8638]

Really great video, really helped using Navionics👍👍

[@jamesl5149]

Yes please to more like this. People don't talk about this stuff!

[@SailingBritaly]

👍

[@oysteinluring7157]

Really useful! Thanks!

[@johnhumphries6751]

Having spent the winter doing a day skipper theory and only ever done 5 days in any kind of boat (on a competent crew), this is just great for ideas on how all that 'indoor classroom RYA sailing around an imaginary world' can then be applied to real world situations with a technology supplement. Just the job for moving the mind on from classroom theory to real life wet places. Thanks 🙂

[@SailingBritaly]

My pleasure John, fair winds, Chris 👍

[@jeancote1498]

Very, very helpful. Thank you.

[@SailingBritaly]

My pleasure Jean. :-)

[@douglasprovost768]

Excellent, and very informative.

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you Douglas 👍

[@Random4x5]

Very usefull Chris, please do do more like this, especialy on the cannal crossing. Fair wind & follwing sea.

[@SailingBritaly]

Cheers mate, fair winds! 👍

[@petyrkowalski9887]

Nice video and wrll explained. Happy and safe sailing!

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you! 👍

[@maemae7426]

I do the same, plus i check on Google maps what the harbour looks like irl

[@davidpears6710]

Very helpful. Thanks

[@b.vonhoff2218]

That was good stuff, good explanation about how and when and ifs. Do not forget to mention that you prepare food in advance. Like soup or tea and some buns. It is always happy to have those things at hand. Look after your clothes and other wears. But if you can make a video about crossing the Chanel it would be nice. Enjoy your trips I will follow them.

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you Bob, yes preparing everything in advance makes all the difference! Cheers, Chris 👍

[@debdoyle119]

Excellent info

[@janhine7122]

Thanks so much - really helpful.

[@SailingBritaly]

Our pleasure! 🙏

[@PBphotos]

Great video Chris, thank you for sharing your tips. I see you use the Samsung tablet a lot in your videos and it works well with Navionics too, I shall look to purchase one. As I'm based on the River Medway, make your way across the channel, keep up the good work. Regards Paul.

[@SailingBritaly]

Cheers Paul, we really enjoyed our time on the River Medway and met lots of lovely people there. The tablet is excellent and can be picked up very cheaply now. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@Sailingbearmonafinelsa]

Game changer for me this video

[@benjimenlockwood]

Great captain. I would feel safe traveling with you mate. Nice video thank you.

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you very much! 🙏👍

[@breandandalton8564]

Thanks, Chris, I really appreciate these kinds of videos, where you focus on an aspect of the job of sailing. I'm looking forward to the next episode where we see how your passage actually went. Like you, I love the Navionics app too; but one thing I really need to use a chart and ruler/Portland for is to look for potential transits. I find it hard to line up a transit with a waypoint unless I'm using paper charts (it's just about possible with the line-drawing tool, but not easy). And then for a waypoint you've calculated on paper charts it difficult with Navionics to input it by its co-ordinates. Still, it is improving with every release! Thanks for the links to weather sites - windy.com, which I didn't know about, as well as the ones I did know about. All the best!

[@SailingBritaly]

My pleasure Breandán, yes some things are easier on paper, but overall I find that the method in the video is quicker for me (Admittedly I am very slow at paper chartwork) Cheers, Chris 👍

[@Relay300]

Thanks very much, useful vid.

[@dandickinson3629]

Great info! Well done sir.

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you Dan I'm glad this was helpful. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@larry-of9kh]

Another great video and finally went sailing today in long Beach California the government opened things finally and was 👍

[@SailingBritaly]

Cheers Larry 👍

[@nearlynativenursery8638]

great vid Chris. Jim Rodgers

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you Jim 🙏

[@garywilliams9810]

Very good got a lot from this thanks Chris

[@SailingBritaly]

👍

[@Dreancaidi]

Clever idea for a video, very useful.

[@SailingBritaly]

Happy to help! :-)

[@sailingsheriff3349]

As usual an excellent informative video. Something you may wish to look at is SeaNavy for us lazy sailors. Plots the course taking into account weather and tide. £60+ a year but has a free trial. Unfortunately I used my free trial when payed up so never got to test it out. Keep the blogs coming . Roy

[@SailingBritaly]

I'll check it our Roy, thank you. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@philipkenneth24]

A really useful feature of Windy is to compare weather models. Select a spot and open the forecast. Look along the bottom of the screen and click the compare option. You can then see the predictions from 4 different weather modelling systems,. (ECMWF, GFS, ICON, AROME & METEOBLUE) Scroll all the way to the right and there is a brief explanation of the modelling systems. Always good to see if there is variance in the models.

[@SailingBritaly]

Excellent tip, thank you. The same is true with Passageweather and the different models can be have quite different forecasts. Having all perspectives helps to come up with your own assessment. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@EricEversonArtAndDesign]

Very nice! Thanks!

[@SailingBritaly]

My pleasure Eric! 👍

[@davidclarke7728]

Very informative

[@SailingBritaly]

👍

[@costadias8562]

Excelent and very profesional!!

[@SailingBritaly]

🙏

[@davidmedley9652]

Great video!

[@SailingBritaly]

👍

[@henrirotthier5710]

Hope they reopen borders soon so you can get to your boat again. I was there last week to do some work. All is fine

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you Henri, it helps that we know she's in good hands! Cheers, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊

[@charlesapettit]

V. Usefull thanks!

[@SailingBritaly]

👍

[@simontaylor3492]

How did you calculate that dropping anchor on a minefield would "only" be twenty times worse ? Excellent video, great hearing you you plan and in plain English too.

[@SailingBritaly]

I've piloted ROVs in minefields and have gone actively looking for [and found] mines with magnetometers, including dredging the sand around targets to expose them (whilst sitting on a vessel up on the surface above). I'm still here to tell the tale, so there is a risk, but the odds of dropping an anchor or chain right on top of an exposed UXO, and it being active, and it going off are slim. Having said that, if one did go off it would ruin your afternoon! Cheers, Chris 👍

[@petecarr9824]

Hi Chris, top video as always, a couple of questions if I may? 1. If you have a printer onboard could you not print your electronic route/waypoints including the breakdown of estimated times between stops, and maybe add a few notes to that, rather than handwriting the whole lot again? 2.Using an older almanac (tide tables) how would you transpose the correct (or nearest) corresponding date to use? I'm guessing it might be based on the nearest full or new moon? or do you only use the tidal flow charts?

[@johnlawrence7268]

Very useful vlog Chris. It's interesting to see your modern passage planning methology. It was a lengthier process, with charts, diamonds, tidal stream atlases and port pilots etc, in my early sailing career. I'm all for tech if it's available and you have "manual" back up in place. I spotted your vlogs about 2 weeks ago and have gone through them all whilst in Lockdown. I ejoyed them all, they are informative and I like your down to earth way of presenting them. Like you I'm ex-miltary and did courses at JSASTC which eventually led to me skippering expeds on the Nic 55' fleet. Did you ever sail out of the JSASTC (Previously JSSC)? Love the little girl by the way.

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi John, that's how I learned boat navigation too (I did a RYA Yachtmaster theory course online and by distance-learning over the course of a few years) but I am slower at that, so this method helped me have the time to get some sleep each night. Thank you very much for your kind words. I didn't discover sailing until after I'd left the R.A.F. although I did do a lot of other things (Rugby, mountaineering, trekking, biathlon, hang gliding etc.). I got into sailing by ordering two boats online from a factory in the USA, thereby becoming a boat importer/dealer overnight. I had never set foot on a sailing boat at that point - something I forgot to mention to my new US business partners, didn't yet speak any Italian [ditto] even though I became their dealer for the whole of Italy... The story of this deserves its own video one day. :-) Cheers, Chris 👍

[@johnlawrence7268]

@@SailingBritaly you are an organised and determined man, must be the service training

[@SailingABSea]

(Baz) That was very informative Chris, thank you.

[@SailingBritaly]

Cheers Baz, fair winds mate! 👍

[@ajmalmian3653]

great video thanks

[@SailingBritaly]

My pleasure! Chris 👍

[@AndyUK-Corrival]

Excellent guide to passage planning Chris. This is actually very close to what the Mini and Figaro sailors do with the electronic and written passage plans and listing important data and alternatives if things don’t go as planned. Can you share details of the internet thingy you use as couldn’t quite see it. I assume it is connected to the wifi in the marina or does it give you WiFi away from shore too? Btw the tip of switching to flight mode is a good one I hadn’t thought of. My iPad runs down pretty quick if using for Navionics and I have to keep it plugged in and even that isn’t enough sometimes. Cheers as always. Andy UK

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Andy, thanks mate! Here is some info regarding the internet connection I was using: I was using a "MIFI device" (mobile WIFI) You add the SIM card of your choice and then you can connect multiple WIFI-enabled devices to it and get fast internet on all of them - up to a limit of 10 or so devices usually. I used a data-only SIM card from Smarty which was £17.00 per month for 100 GB of 4G internet - 20 GB of which can be used Europe wide (This was a one-month rolling contract, so I used it for two months then cancelled it as this was something I needed only during the 'final' stage of our refit and solo sail to Belgium. ) The MIFI device we have is unlocked so can be used with any SIM from any provider, so the next time we need it we will get the best SIM-only data deal we can find for the length of time we need it. I hope this helps! Cheers, Chris 👍

[@mikefriend7570]

Do you rely on hotspot wifi connectivity or satellite? What was the make of the doofer you showed at the start for wifi connectivity? Great video BTW very helpful

[@skulijakobsson5116]

Enjoyment, thx

[@SailingBritaly]

👍

[@garywilliams9810]

Chris could you do a channel passage plan please. I’m planning on going across later this year (when we are able) would find it very useful

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Gary, the numbers on this video aren't good so far (It's number 9 out of 10 so far for views since it was published). It takes a lot of work to make videos (around 30 hours for this one and the Channel Crossing video would take a lot longer), and if they don't generate traffic I can't justify spending my time making them. Sometimes a video gets shared and the numbers pick up further down the line: if that happens for this one then it is much more likely I'll make the English Channel Passage plan video. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@nickmn6108]

you are a really good teacher and explain things really well. I would like to know more about the very very simple things with navionics such as the blue and red tidal arrows. I am assuming the red is indicating an ebb tide and blue a flood tide? How do you delete or correct a prepared passage plan on navionics? I can navigate with paper charts and use Reeds etc...but as an old age pensioner and newcomer with electronics it can ages to work out where and how to click to get something simple!!!! Help 😊

[@twaarrd]

Thanks Chris. Really insightful and interesting as always. Very useful to see other approaches to passage planning that we can incorporate elements we find useful in to our own approaches. I may have missed it but out of interest, how long did this plan take you?

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Thomas, my pleasure. I was spending at least a couple of hours per night passage planning throughout this trip, sometimes double that. It's a lot of work, but really helps you avoids ending up in a bad situation! Cheers, Chris 👍

[@DriftfishCo]

Thanks Chris, really interesting. Does the Navionics route take into account wind? Can Navionics create a passage plan and waypoints that can be printed to save writing everything?

[@svsabreon3334]

I don't believe Navionics does factor wind, though I could be wrong. I know you can print from the website (which is free) not sure about the app, I suspect you can.

[@F10Colin]

Sorry but no, Navionics doesn’t factor in wind

[@millzee60]

Chris, Navionics gives you waypoints with distance and bearing between them. What do you do about leeway and tidal effects?

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Colin, Navionics gives you True compass bearings then you have to do your own calculations for TVMDC to get your Magnetic compass bearings, then you can do calculations for leeway and tide to get your Course to Steer. It's a lot of work to do that, even with Navionics speeding up a lot of it. Cheers, Chris

[@onyva3256]

Nice video. You asked what other people use, so here goes: iPad in waterproof case. Needs to be a mobile version so it has GPS (WiFi only models don’t have built in GPS). Running Imray’s chart software. I like this because a) I like Imray paper charts and when you buy their paper chart packs they include a code to unlock the same area on their chart software b) they are raster charts which I hugely prefer to vector (I just think it’s safer having all the information visible rather than having to zoom in). And PredictWind (free version) for weather, backed up by MetOffice shipping forecasts and Imray’s tides software which interfaces with the chart package. Obviously all backed up with paper charts and boat’s own GPS.

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you for sharing, this is definitely helpful as we can all learn from each other. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@AdrianChapmanlaw]

Been playing with navionics. Planning routes etc but struggling to find the place where you set departure time and date. Any suggestions?

[@alexmorgan3435]

Do you keep an actual log whist on your passage? And how do you take into account tide and wind on your progress ie if it's a beam reach or close haul pretty much on the nose? You seem to have the makings of a very competent skipper. Do you always have your AIS on especially when you crossed the Channel? You should always try and cross the shipping lanes at as close to 90 degrees as possible. I see quite a few people asking for passage plans for when they cross, but surely the whole point is to do a plan for when YOU are crossing as cinditions at anither time might be totally different. We used to get people trying to follow us across the Channel from Portsmouth to the Channel Islands. This was many years ago long before GPS and plotters when everything was done old style navigation with paper charts, tide tables, old style weather forecasting, compasses and sextant Fairwinds Chris.

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Alex, thank you very much. I respect the sea and I think that this is the first step to staying out of trouble. (I've been in at sea plenty of storms offshore, and one one occasion I experienced 73 knots of wind and 10 metre waves in the North Sea, so I've seen what those conditions can do to both vessels and crew.) I do keep a [separate] log, although this was a lot more of a struggle whilst solo than it is when there is another person on board. Using the method in the video I was getting True headings - if I wanted to work out the best course to steer then I'd have had additional work to do and then add that into the mix. As it was on this passage the current was heading in the same direction I was, so I didn't have to do any tidal vector calculations. Thanks again and fair winds, Chris 👍

[@chrisgavin]

Really great video as I get more interested in all of this. One basic question... what are tidal "diamonds" , maybe this is a term I missed already, but hopefully someone here can help to inform me! With thanks again and bon voyage.

[@bummibaer7038]

chrisgavin tidal diamonds are marked on paper charts ;-)

[@chrisgavin]

@@bummibaer7038 great, thanks.

[@SailingBritaly]

Exactly, tidal diamonds are the symbols on paper charts, and for the want of a better term for the digital equivalent, this is what I was calling the Navionics tidal information symbols in the video. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@SailHosailing]

Thanks, it's always interesting to see how other people approach passage planning (and in fact, not enough sailing channels pay enough attention to this very important aspect of sailing). Quick question on your own recent journeys - is there any reason that you didn't go direct from Ramsgate to Oostende, rather than making short hops to France and then onwards? Sincerely curious, as this is a route we are considering

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi guys, thank you. There were lots of factors: 1) This was effectively the first proper shakedown cruise for this boat after she had been abandoned for years and after we had done a lot of DIY work on her, so I wanted to reduce the stress on the boat and myself as far as possible, doing short legs and getting settled in each anchorage or marina before dark (after the first leg where I anchored in an anchorage I'd never seen before in my life in the pitch black) . 2) October = Shorter daylight hours and really poor weather. Shorter legs meant progress, rather than waiting for days for a clear run across. 3) The traffic separation schemes are quite unique between Ramsgate and Oostend. There is that strange 'roundabout' thing nearby and it's not as easy to choose a heading to cross those TSSs which is at 90 degrees to them, as the angle of them changes as you cross towards the continent. On the Ramsgate - Oostend route I would have spent more time inside TSSs, and my feeling was that the ship traffic would have been less predictable there than it was going to be in the Dover Straight (even though the Dover straight is a busier 'choke point'). 4) Approaching Oostend there are lots of sandbanks to cross and these - as well as being potential navigational hazards in themselves - may well have thrown up rougher seas than there already were. There were lots of other considerations that I don't remember now but they were the main ones. Doing this route on a boat which is proven to you in the summer months is an entirely different proposition, and I may have done things differently in those circumstances. I hope this helps! Cheers, Chris 👍

[@SailHosailing]

@@SailingBritaly Thanks for the very useful and detailed information. We will certainly take it all into consideration for our own plans. Looking forward to your next episode. Stay safe.

[@evidafod]

Hi Chris. Would you mind telling more about the 4g gizmo you have please. Thanks Andrew

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Andrew, this is a "MIFI device" (mobile WIFI) You add the SIM card of your choice and then you can connect multiple WIFI-enabled devices to it and get fast internet on all of them - up to a limit of 10 or so devices usually. I used a data-only SIM card from Smarty which was £17.00 per month for 100 GB of 4G internet - Europe wide * (This was a one-month rolling contract, so I used it for two months then cancelled it as this was something I needed only during the 'final' stage of our refit and solo sail to Belgium. ) The MIFI device we have is unlocked so can be used with any SIM from any provider, so the next time we need it we will get the best SIM-only data deal we can find for the length of time we need it. I hope this helps! Cheers, Chris 👍 *EDIT* There is a limit of 20 GB per month out of the 100 GB total for use outside the UK. This was more than enough for us, but it may be an issue for others.

[@evidafod]

Sailing Britaly Thanks Chris. What brand is it and would you recommend? BTW. Finding your videos really useful. Thanks for all the effort. Andrew

[@evidafod]

Sailing Britaly Thanks Chris. What brand is it and would you recommend? BTW. Finding your videos really useful. Thanks for all the effort. Andrew

[@evidafod]

Sailing Britaly Thanks Chris. What brand is it and would you recommend? BTW. Finding your videos really useful. Thanks for all the effort. Andrew

[@henrirotthier5710]

With Smarty, you can use 20gb in the EU. Just saw it on their website

[@Sailingpilotchris]

If you told Navionics a departure time, would it give your course to steer, timings, depths etc?

[@willihahn8067]

Chris, do you use a logbook as well to you Travel planning Book? Witch is a smart idea and i would like to Steel it🧐😜if you dont mind

[@SailingBritaly]

We do have a separate logbook, which is tide it than my passage plan scribbles. It’s a RYA logbook if I remember correctly, we’ve had it for years. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@skinty1231]

Great video Chris, Quick question. If you have to revert to paper and get to a point where you need to change course (eg sail 247 True), how do you ensure that COG is 247 True rather than just your heading (eg how do you take into account tidal stream and leeway). Thanks....

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Adrian, you still have to work out your Course to Steer. In the event that all of the electronics are down then you can use your tidal stream atlas to work out the tidal speed & direction at any given place and time, and you have to factor in leeway (which you can estimate based on the wind direction & strength and your point of sail), variation and deviation to get the Course to Steer. Cheers, Chris

[@skinty1231]

@@SailingBritaly thanks for that Chris. If the electronics are all up and running then and the next waypoint is not too far then presumably you can just steer to whatever heading gives you a COG that matches the bearing to the next waypoint ?

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Adrian, yes that’s right and there is a lot less brain power required with this option! Cheers, Chris 👍

[@xavpil2]

nice!!!! regarding the use of the paper log in case you loose electronics : how would you know how many nm you did to know when to change heading?

[@SailingBritaly]

If the log still works that can be used to estimate position, otherwise you can dead reckon using various methods. One way is to use a hand-bearing compass and plot back-bearings onto the chart from visible land or landmarks like lighthouses or hilltops in order to triangulate your position. Depth soundings (electronic or manual) can provide another line of where you are on the chart too... Best regards, Chris 👍

[@Captain-Paul]

Chris When Route Planning in Navionics do you use the Automatic Route as your starting point and then edit that or completely start from scratch with a manual route?

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Paul, it depends... The auto route for me is the equivalent of putting a set of dividers on a paper chart to get a rough distance at the start of the passage planning process. Many times this is fine (subject to a manual review of the route at a later stage in the passage planning process), but if you have a particular route you want to take (to make the most of the wind, for example) then this initial estimated distance and the eventual distance for the planned route may end up being very different. It's a similar thing with the automatic route. It could happen that my final route matches Navionics' automatic route almost perfectly, or they could be completely different. I know that sounds like a wishy-washy answer, but the truth is that every single passage, and passage plan, is different depending a multitude of factors. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@1962gms]

Hi Chris, great video as ever! I tend to let Navionics plot a route (I put my yachts draft, plus another 1m in the Boat Settings). Once the route is shown, you’re right in that it gives you an overall time to destination, but I then review the route on my iPad and amend by touching the autoroute and moving to a point I want to visit or avoid, it then recomputes the rest of the journey from my edit. Like you, I tend to look at up to date paper charts to ensure I haven’t missed anything! In the past 2 months I have made many ‘virtual’ journeys on my iPad, so far with no drama! ;) Fair winds. Gary

[@Ryanm229]

How do you plot on harbor charts. The smaller scales are easy the large scale I have problems with.

[@jaquigreenlees]

Chris, With an unreliable response from touch screen devices What apps would you recommend? ( android / ios based won't work. ) And yeah, I have to fight with even a bank machine since they went touch screen, I would never pick a touch screen device for navigation.

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Jaqui, there are very few 'rights' and 'wrongs' with any of this, just different solutions which work for different people. I have found the touch screen on this tablet to be very good. It even worked well through my patent pending cling film food wrap waterproofing system for this tablet... Cheers, Chris 😊

[@bilgerat4342]

As much as i agree with 90% of your plan, if you use all electrics in a fog, your visual navigation is next to useless, this is where a paper chart is recommended, also if you plot on a paper chart it acts as a legal document in an insurance claim.

[@SailingBritaly]

There were many things for me to be concerned about on this passage but fog wasn’t one of them. Of course the exact same trip a couple of days apart can require a very different passage plan and any time one spends planning (whether that be on paper charts, or with electronic charts, or using google earth, or talking to locals, or a combination of all of the above) is time well spent. I have never had to make a claim on insurance - and hopefully we can keep it that way - but you are correct that written passage planning notes and/or chart work, or the lack thereof, could affect an eventual insurance claim. Cheers, Chris

[@xxx_a_shxxx]

You shouldn’t b sailing at traveling during the corona virus quarantine.

[@SailingBritaly]

I’m not, this was filmed in October 2019. Chris