Module 14 - Passage Planning
Appraise
What you will learn
Test current route, tide, weather, vessel, crew, legal and refuge evidence before accepting an extended coastal passage or drawing a detailed route.
Appraisal converts information into a go, delay, change or stop boundary. A route can be navigationally possible and still be unsuitable for the actual yacht and people aboard.
Start with appropriate-scale current charts and publications, notices and warnings, tidal data, marine forecasts and port information. Identify routeing systems, shoals, overfalls, restricted areas, environmental constraints, darkness, harbour access and where wind, tide and sea room combine. Check each source's coverage, issue or update status and validity for the planned time.
Appraise the yacht: draught, stability and loading, steering and propulsion, sails, navigation and communications equipment, safety equipment, known defects, usable fuel, water and stores. Plan how to retain a safe navigational picture if a GNSS receiver, display, sensor or power supply fails or disagrees with independent evidence.
Appraise the people, not just the headcount. Record experience, physical ability, seasickness risk, cold, fatigue, night competence and whether essential roles can still be covered if the skipper is unavailable. Check that a proposed refuge is reachable in the expected conditions and that its approach, tide, opening and availability do not fail for the same reason as the destination.
| Evidence | Appraisal question | Possible decision |
|---|---|---|
| Charts, publications and warnings | Are they current and suitable for the whole berth-to-berth route? | Obtain better evidence or change the route |
| Tide, weather and darkness | Where do constraints and workload combine? | Change departure, route, arrival or destination |
| Vessel and systems | Can the yacht complete the route and survive a credible failure? | Rectify, add redundancy or do not depart |
| Crew | Can critical roles be covered while preserving rest for arrival? | Change people, roles, timing or passage |
| Alternative | Does it remain reachable under the same deteriorating conditions? | Choose a different refuge or earlier decision point |
Turn evidence into a departure boundary
The route is clear on the chart, but the exposed leg is likely to arrive after dark, one experienced watch leader is unwell and the closest refuge has the same onshore-wind problem as the destination.
1. Check currency
Confirm current charting, notices, forecast issue and validity, tide source, harbour and legal information.
2. Map the hard legs
Relate tide, darkness, weather, traffic and sea room to the exact time and place of each exposure.
3. Test capability
Ask whether this crew can navigate and handle the hardest leg and still retain capacity for arrival.
4. Test the alternative
Reject a refuge that shares the same closing gate, exposure or crew-demand problem.
Sense check: Counting five people does not prove that two competent, rested watches and a demanding arrival can be covered.
Common mistake or limitation
- Collecting many sources without checking scale, date, validity, area or independence.
- Assessing whether the yacht can survive the hardest leg but not whether the crew can still navigate and handle the arrival.
- Calling the nearest harbour a bolt hole without checking its approach, weather, tide, opening, berth or latest safe decision point.
Recap
- Appraise current route, vessel, crew, legal and alternative evidence before accepting the passage.
- Translate evidence into explicit limits instead of merely collecting it.
- A technically possible route is not automatically suitable for the yacht and people aboard.
Optional quick check
Section 2 of 12
Which appraisal finding should change the passage before departure?
Sources and factual review
Reviewed 2 September 2026 - Compass Revision editorial review.
Continue studying Passage Planning
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