The passage plan is the document that stands between a sailing idea and a safe departure. It is not a bureaucratic requirement or a formality for professional certification purposes. It is the specific collection of information that the skipper and crew need to manage a passage safely from departure to arrival, and it is the process of assembling it that reveals the questions the passage requires answers to before the lines come off.
I produce a passage plan for every offshore departure from the Eighty2, regardless of the length of the passage or the familiarity of the route. The short passages between Mediterranean anchorages produce shorter plans than the Atlantic crossing. The elements are the same.
The Route and Waypoints
The route is the intended track from departure to arrival, expressed as a sequence of waypoints: specific latitude and longitude positions that define the track’s significant changes of direction, the avoidance of hazards, and the approach to the destination. The waypoints are entered into the chart plotter before departure and provide the autopilot with the track to follow and the navigator with the check points against which the actual progress of the passage is measured.
The waypoints are not entered and forgotten. They are chosen with specific intent: to keep the boat in the deepest and clearest water between departure and arrival, to pass at the correct distance from headlands and shoals identified in the chart or the pilot book, to take advantage of the current if the route can be shaped to do so without adding significant distance, and to position the boat for the approach to the destination in conditions that make the final navigation straightforward. A waypoint that puts the boat at the south end of a reef passage at three in the morning, when the approach requires visual navigation that darkness prevents, is a waypoint that should be adjusted until the timing is correct.
The Weather Window
The passage plan confirms the weather window before departure and updates it with the most recent model runs on the day of departure. The weather elements assessed are: the expected wind speed and direction for the duration of the passage, the sea state and its development across the passage, the presence of any significant frontal systems in the area to be crossed, and the conditions at the destination at the time of arrival.
The weather assessment includes an explicit confidence level: how likely is the forecast to be accurate, and what is the worst-case scenario if it is not. A departure in a confirmed and stable high-pressure system, with the same model output across multiple runs and a forecast wind below Force 5 for the full passage duration, is a high-confidence departure. A departure in a marginally adequate window between two systems, with model divergence across runs and a forecast that requires specific timing to avoid the trailing edge of one system and the leading edge of the next, is a lower-confidence departure that requires more careful monitoring of the actual conditions against the forecast once the passage is underway.
Fuel, Water, and Provisions
The fuel calculation for a passage is: estimated engine hours at the expected motor-sailing percentage, multiplied by fuel consumption rate at that power setting, plus a safety margin of at least twenty-five percent. The expected motor-sailing percentage is estimated from the forecast and the route: a downwind trade wind passage uses the engine minimally, a passage against a headwind or through a windless region requires significantly more engine time. The fuel in the tanks before departure must cover the passage plan requirement plus the safety margin.
The water calculation uses the watermaker’s output rate and the passage duration to confirm that the tanks at departure can cover any period of watermaker non-availability without rationing. The provision check confirms that the food aboard is adequate for the passage duration plus a buffer of at least two days, accounting for the possible extension of the passage by adverse conditions.
The Safety Elements
The passage plan identifies the diversion options: ports or anchorages along or near the route where the boat could divert if conditions deteriorate or an emergency occurs. For every point on the route, there should be a known safe haven within a manageable distance that could be reached in deteriorating conditions. The specific distance depends on the forecasted conditions: in settled weather, the diversion option can be further away than in marginal conditions where a deterioration might require a fast diversion decision.
The plan also records the contact information and communication schedule for the passage: the shore contact who knows the departure, the expected arrival, and the check-in schedule if one is used. On longer offshore passages, the EPIRB is armed and its registration is confirmed current. The life raft is inspected before departure to confirm the hydrostatic release is within service date and the painter is correctly attached. These are not checklists performed to satisfy a requirement. They are the specific confirmations that the safety equipment will function when it is needed, performed before the departure rather than after.
| Element | What it confirms |
|---|---|
| Route and waypoints | Safe track from departure to arrival, correct timing for critical navigational points |
| Weather window | Acceptable conditions for the full passage duration, confidence level assessed |
| Fuel | Estimated motor-sailing hours covered plus 25% safety margin |
| Water | Watermaker output covers passage duration plus buffer for non-availability |
| Provisions | Food for passage duration plus two-day buffer |
| Diversion options | Safe haven within manageable distance at every point on the route |
| Safety equipment | EPIRB armed and registered, life raft service current, emergency equipment confirmed |
