This week I am giving you the foundation of a successful day trip plan. There are key pieces of information that you should include, and I’m going to provide you with my pro tips and tricks!

The first part of your trip plan is determining when you’re going to head out. Depending on your area this could depend on winds, tides, currents, or crew schedules. Regardless, your planning should start several days before your intended departure. The types of things you should be researching include:

The purpose of the trip plan is to have someone follow it. This could be a spouse, family member, friend or even just a vigilant neighbour! Either way, try to find someone who will keep track of where you should be and when, and they should notice when you do not check in.

I suggest creating your own trip plan document that contains your boat specific information and emergency contact information populated that you can just re-use each time you want to head out. Then you only need to fill in the crew section, destinations and check in times!

Happy Planning!

Penny