How to Plan a Sailing Voyage

In 30 years at sea I've seen two kinds of crews arrive in an unfamiliar port: those who planned well and those who got there by luck. The difference is almost never the boat or the experience. It's the planning.

A sailing voyage is not something you improvise — at least not if you want it to go well and everyone to come back safely. And planning doesn't mean eliminating the adventure of sailing. It means knowing the risks before you face them, not in the middle of them.

This guide walks through everything you need to consider before casting off: from how to study the route to what documents to carry on board. It applies equally to a weekend coastal passage and a multi-week ocean voyage.

1. Define what type of voyage you're making

Before pulling out charts or checking the forecast, you need to be clear about what kind of sailing you're planning. A two-day coastal passage is very different from a three-week ocean crossing. Each has different requirements for equipment, crew, documentation and weather planning.

2. Study the route in detail

Once you know what you're doing, the next step is knowing the terrain. At sea, the terrain changes constantly: tides, currents, local winds, seabed and navigation restrictions. You need to work from updated nautical charts — not tourist maps or general-purpose apps.

Nautical charts

In Chile, the official authority is the Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada (SHOA). Their charts are the valid reference for Chilean navigation and are available in paper or digital format. For international waters, British Admiralty charts (UKHO) and Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) compatible with most modern plotters are widely used.

When studying the chart, identify: shallow water zones and submerged rocks; currents and counter-currents in narrow passages; buoys, lighthouses and marks that will guide your navigation; and ports or anchorages for shelter at each stage.

Distances, times and fuel

Calculate the total distance in nautical miles and divide the voyage into manageable daily stages. For a cruising sailboat, a typical stage is 80 to 120 miles in normal conditions, assuming 6 to 8 knots average speed. Don't plan to the limit of your capacity: always leave room for bad weather, flat calms or mechanical problems.

If your boat has an auxiliary engine, estimate the fuel you'll need for windless stages and harbour manoeuvres. Always carry a 20% fuel reserve.

3. Analyse the weather and meteorological conditions

Weather is the element that changes a voyage more than anything else. In Chile, where the sea can go from flat calm to 35 knots within a few hours — especially in the southern channels — meteorological analysis is not optional. It is a central part of planning.

Reliable information sources

For navigation in Chilean waters, the Armada Meteorological Service issues wind and wave forecasts for specific zones. Globally, Windy, PredictWind, PasaGrib and the GFS/ECMWF models are widely used by ocean sailors. No app replaces the navigator's judgment, but all are useful tools if you know how to read them.

Weather windows

A weather window is a period of favourable conditions for departure. On offshore and ocean passages, identifying a good window is as important as any other part of the plan. It's always better to wait three days in port than to leave with a front approaching.

Study the climate pattern of the area and the time of year. In central Chile, south and southwesterly winds dominate in summer. In the channels, willywaws — violent, sudden katabatic gusts — can appear without any meteorological warning. This is not something you learn from an app: it's something you learn from sailing those waters, or from asking someone who has.

4. Check the condition of your vessel

Before any significant voyage, the boat needs a systematic inspection. Not a visual check from the deck: a real inspection with checklists, getting your hands into the places that matter.

Hull and underwater gear

Check the condition of the hull, keel, rudder and centreboard if applicable. If you haven't hauled the boat out of the water in the past year, you don't know what state the underwater section is in. Marine growth increases drag and fuel consumption — but more importantly, it can hide damage or advanced electrolysis.

Rig and sails

Check stays, shrouds and the running rigging of halyards and sheets. Look for signs of wear at cable terminals and friction points. A failed sail at sea is a manageable problem; a broken stay is another matter. Sails should be inspected on shore in good light, looking for tears, worn patches at reinforcements and failing stitching.

Engine and systems

The engine is your life insurance when the wind disappears or when you need to manoeuvre in a tight harbour. Change the oil, filters and raw-water impellers before the voyage. Check the alternator belt, battery condition and cooling system. Carry basic spares on board: fuel filters, a spare impeller, belts, fuses and anodes.

5. Safety equipment

This is the area most sailors treat superficially — until they actually need it. Safety equipment is not a formality for passing an inspection: it is what protects lives when something goes wrong.

Minimum equipment for an offshore passage

A certified lifejacket for each person, with whistle, light and integrated or compatible harness. For offshore and ocean sailing, automatic inflatable lifejackets are the standard. The safest lifejacket is the one the crew member will actually wear — so make sure everyone puts theirs on before they need it.

A liferaft appropriate for the number of people on board and the type of sailing. Liferafts have periodic service dates — check that yours is current. Many sailors have a liferaft on board but have never opened one, don't know how it works and don't know where the painter is.

An EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) registered and with a valid battery. The EPIRB transmits your position to rescue satellites when activated — either manually or automatically on contact with water. It is the difference between being rescued in hours and not being found at all.

Marine VHF, fixed and handheld, always on channel 16 (the international calling and distress channel). VHF has a range of 20 to 30 nautical miles in normal conditions — enough to contact coastguard or nearby vessels in an emergency.

6. Organise the crew

On a voyage lasting more than one day, the crew is as important as the boat. Fatigue is one of the main factors in errors at sea. A single sailor cannot handle a sailing boat in open ocean for days without making serious mistakes. Watches must be organised.

Watch system

The most common system divides the day into 3 or 4-hour watches, with two people per watch if numbers allow. Every crew member must know: when their watch is, what to do if the wind changes, how to use the VHF, where the emergency equipment is and how to alert the rest of the crew if something goes wrong.

Define before departure who is skipper — the person with final authority on safety decisions. Under pressure, the chain of command cannot be debated: someone must be able to say "we stop" and have everyone comply.

Experience level

Be honest about your crew's real experience. Someone having done inshore racing doesn't mean they're ready for a night watch offshore in 3-metre seas. Every person on board must genuinely be able to handle the boat — not just sit in the cockpit in light air.

7. Documentation and official departure

In Chile, every vessel must have its documentation in order and complete the official departure (zarpe) at the relevant Port Captain's office before putting to sea. This is not empty bureaucracy: in an emergency, the maritime authorities know exactly where you're going, when you expect to arrive and how many people are on board.

For international sailing, add passports, outward clearance from the country, customs clearance if carrying goods, and the vessel's international registration documents. Each country has its own requirements for maritime entry and exit.

8. Design a contingency plan

A contingency plan is not a sign of pessimism: it is a sign of nautical maturity. Things go wrong at sea. The engine fails, the anchor drags, water comes in, a crew member is injured, the wind arrives stronger than forecast. The navigator who has a plan for those scenarios makes better decisions under pressure.

For each leg of your voyage, identify: the nearest port or anchorage for shelter, the entry manoeuvre for that port (especially at night or in bad weather), and the point at which you should divert to that shelter rather than pressing on with the original plan.

Also define a man overboard protocol and practise it with the whole crew before departure. Not on paper: in the water, with the boat moving. Every minute of delay in a real recovery can be critical.

A summary to take on board

Good planning doesn't guarantee everything will go perfectly. The sea always has a surprise in store. But it does guarantee that when that surprise arrives, you'll be in a position to handle it.

Captain Rodrigo Troncoso Peirano

Chilean master mariner with over 30 years of experience. Started in Antarctic industrial fishing and spent more than 15 years as Captain on offshore vessels in Angola, Brazil, Ghana, Venezuela and the Caribbean. Today he sails wellboats in Patagonia and provides nautical advisory services to sailors across Chile.

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