Module 14 - Passage Planning
The Importance of Passage Planning
What you will learn
Explain why a passage plan is a proportionate, live safety process and use appraisal, planning, execution and monitoring to turn evidence into decisions.
Passage planning is not paperwork completed once before departure. It is a berth-to-berth decision cycle whose detail should fit the vessel, crew and trip.
SOLAS V Regulation 34 requires an intended voyage to be planned with appropriate charts and publications before proceeding to sea. RYA guidance explains that, in practice, even a short or familiar trip should receive a proportionate plan. A six-mile daytime trip may need a compact brief; a longer, exposed or tidal passage needs more detail. Short does not mean risk-free, and detailed does not automatically mean safe.
IMO voyage-planning guidance describes four connected components: appraisal, planning, execution and monitoring, often remembered as APEM. Appraisal gathers and tests the evidence. Planning turns it into a berth-to-berth route, limits and alternatives. Execution puts that plan into use. Monitoring compares what is happening with what was expected and triggers a change when the two diverge.
The cycle matters because a plan cannot guarantee that nothing has been overlooked. Forecasts change, equipment fails, people tire and timings slip. A useful plan names the assumptions, margins, decision points and safe alternatives so the skipper can recognise a change early enough to retain a genuine choice.
| Component | Question | Useful output |
|---|---|---|
| Appraise | What evidence and limitations govern this trip? | Current sources, hazards, vessel and crew limits |
| Plan | How will the whole trip be made and checked? | Route, timings, margins, decision points and alternatives |
| Execute | Do the assumptions still hold as the trip begins and changes? | Briefed, current plan and recorded amendments |
| Monitor | Is reality still inside the planned limits? | Position, timing and condition checks tied to action |
Scale the plan to the real trip
A skipper proposes a familiar six-mile daylight trip. The destination entrance is shallow near low water, the forecast may increase later and one crew member is new to the boat.
1. Appraise
Check current chart and local information, tide, forecast, vessel readiness, crew ability and a suitable refuge.
2. Plan
Set the route, entrance window, latest decision time, independent position checks, crew brief and alternative.
3. Execute
Confirm the departure assumptions still hold, brief the crew and follow the current version of the plan.
4. Monitor
Compare time, position, depth, weather and crew state with the plan, then act before the entrance or refuge margin closes.
Sense check: A compact plan can be proportionate; omitting the shallow entrance, changing forecast or inexperienced crew is not.
Common mistake or limitation
- Treating APEM as a mnemonic that guarantees completeness instead of a cycle that depends on current evidence and continuing judgement.
- Assuming a familiar or short route needs no plan, even when tide, weather, equipment or crew have changed.
- Treating the written route as a commitment to depart rather than a proposal that can be delayed, shortened or cancelled.
Recap
- Plan every trip in proportion to the vessel, crew, route and conditions.
- Appraisal, planning, execution and monitoring form one continuing cycle.
- A useful plan exposes assumptions and preserves safe choices; it does not guarantee the outcome.
Optional quick check
Section 1 of 6
Which statement best describes a useful plan for a short familiar trip?
Sources and factual review
Reviewed 19 August 2026 - Day Skipper Revision.
Continue studying Passage Planning
This public lesson is part of Revision Module 14. Full revision access adds the guided Learn, Practise and Test flow, flashcards and revision progress.