Coastal passage planning checklist for Australian waters

Build the plan in layers

Define the departure, destination and purpose. Review official charts and notices, forecast and warnings, tide and current information, daylight, fuel or battery range, vessel limits and crew capacity.

Mark hazards, clearing bearings, minimum depths and decision points. Identify at least one viable alternative that remains useful if wind, visibility, equipment or crew condition changes.

Brief what matters

Explain the intended route, expected duration, weather, watch arrangements and when the crew should call the skipper. Show everyone the lifejackets, safety equipment, radio and emergency actions.

Tell a shore contact where you are going and when to raise concern. Use the reporting or log-on service appropriate to the area where available.

Monitor, compare, revise

Regularly compare actual position, speed, weather, sea state, fuel and crew condition with the assumptions in the plan. A small early divergence may be the best time to shorten or abandon the trip.

Record material decisions and updated arrival estimates. Navigation equipment supports lookout and judgement; it does not replace them.

Build a plan another crew member can explain

Organise the passage into legs with an identifiable start, finish and decision point. For each leg, note the information you need to check rather than merely drawing a line between waypoints. That includes the relevant chart, hazards, expected conditions, traffic and what would make you change the plan. A concise briefing sheet should point to the detailed navigation work, not replace it.

Separate facts, predictions and assumptions. A published restriction is different from a tide prediction; an expected average speed is an assumption that must be tested underway. Label the issue time of forecasts and notices you checked. This makes it easier to spot which part of the plan has expired when departure is delayed or the crew changes.

Worked example: why arrival time changes the decision

Illustrative arithmetic only: an 18-nautical-mile leg at an assumed average speed over ground of 6 knots takes three hours. At 4 knots it takes four and a half hours, before allowing for departure, arrival or delays. The extra time may put arrival into a different tide or forecast period. These figures are not a speed recommendation or an estimate for any named route.

Now ask what the later arrival changes. Is the destination still accessible for the actual vessel? Is there sufficient daylight for an unfamiliar approach? Is the crew still able to manage the arrival? Set a review point early enough that choosing a shorter leg remains practical. Do not wait until the original destination is the only option left on the mental itinerary.

Test the alternatives before departure

A second place name is not yet a usable alternative. Check whether its approach, depth, shelter, permissions and availability suit the circumstances that might force you to use it. An anchorage exposed to the same forecast change as the destination may provide no meaningful fallback. Likewise, a marina is not assured refuge simply because a berth appears on a map.

Brief the crew on the trigger for reconsidering the plan and who needs to be told when it changes. Keep navigation information available if a single device loses power or connectivity. Record the actual decision and revised arrival estimate in the log. At the debrief, compare the assumptions with the trip you had; that comparison improves the next plan more than a perfect-looking route file.

Questions skippers ask