Entry & progression
Certificate: RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Coastal — a practical certificate of competence for the skipper of a small cruising vessel on coastal passages, assessed afloat by examination (MIN 580). Entry / experience: minimum 30 days, 2 days as skipper, 800 miles and 12 night hours in tidal waters; VHF/SRC and first-aid certificates. Commercial use: with the RYA PPR, an ML5/ENG1 medical, first aid and radio certificate it is commercially endorsed for small craft close to a safe haven. Progresses to Yachtmaster Offshore, then MCA Master (Code Vessels) <200 GT.
Appraise, plan, prepare
Planning follows the same discipline used by any professional mariner, scaled to the boat. First appraise the whole passage: the charts, the almanac and pilot book, the tidal heights and streams, the weather window, and the capability of the boat and the crew you actually have. Then plan the track berth to berth, laying it clear of dangers with clearing bearings, noting the tidal gates you must catch, the bolt-holes you could run to, and the pilotage for leaving and entering. Finally prepare the boat and brief the crew so everyone knows the plan, their job, and the safety arrangements.
- Appraise: charts, almanac, pilot book, tides and weather for the area and time.
- Plan: a safe track with tidal heights/streams, hazards, clearing bearings, tidal gates and bolt-holes.
- Prepare: check the boat, fuel, water and safety gear; brief the crew and agree the watch system.
- Choose the tidal and weather window, and set the criteria that would make you delay, divert or turn back.
Tidal gates and bolt-holes
Two ideas separate a coastal plan from a day-sail. A tidal gate is a place you must reach at a particular state of tide — a race that only slackens for an hour, a bar that only floods enough near high water, a bridge with limited clearance — and the whole plan is often timed around it. A bolt-hole is a port of refuge identified in advance along the route, so that if the weather, the boat or the crew deteriorate you already know where you can safely run to rather than improvising.
TIP — Plan for the crew you actually have Match the passage to the boat and to the least experienced person aboard, not to an ideal day. The examiner is assessing judgement, and a plan that quietly assumes a perfect crew and perfect weather is a weak plan.
WARNING — A tidal gate missed can mean hours lost or danger met If you arrive at a race or a bar at the wrong state of tide you may face a dangerous sea or have to wait a whole tidal cycle. Build the timing of tidal gates into the plan first, then work the rest of the schedule around them.