Passage Day Prep
Traveling along America's Great Loop involves a lot of movement. Progress along the route must be made regularly to stick with the seasons (and warm weather). As you embark on your adventure, you'll figure out what each passage day looks like. We've compiled some of the things we've found most useful for a successful passage day for us as a family.
Ahead of Time
First on the list is route review. Proper planning means you've prepared a route on your charts ahead of time and have already reviewed it. Things to check for that you'll encounter as you travel your day's plan: any bridges and height restrictions, any shallow areas or obstructions, tides, and currents. We usually use the Navionics boating app to plan our route, and we can follow our planned path to check for bridges (we need to clear 55' with our mast). This app can also see the tide and current, local weather, and any callouts from other boaters regarding depths, obstructions, or tricky navigation.
When we approached Savannah, GA, we attempted to plan our route and timing to have the current in our favor. Some days, it's like solving complicated word problems in your old math class. We didn't get it quite right on our approach to Savannah, so our consequence was a much slower trip to town at 3 knots instead of 7 or 8 knots. The significance was minor, but it could have been more of an issue if there had been a miscalculation of depths at low tide.
It would help if you also considered the length, either by time or distance, that you plan to travel in the day's passage. Are you going a short distance or for a brief period? Imagine you are delayed or otherwise need to anchor before your planned destination. Do you have a few other anchorages in mind? Are there any landmarks along the way that you want to be sure to see?
The night before, also check the weather and marine reports. If you're in open waters, it's good to have an idea of the wind and waves to expect and if there will be rain or adverse conditions. Recheck it in the morning in case things have changed. Be prepared for unexpected weather changes and have an idea of places you can end your passage early or take a break if you need to wait for better conditions.
With the main routing checked and understood by everyone who might be at the helm for the day's passage, you're now ready for the routine boat checks. Be sure to check oil levels, fuel, and engine fluids... Know what should be inspected in your boat before you depart or during a regular maintenance window. It's handy to keep a maintenance log for this purpose.
Before You Raise Anchor
Remember your lifejackets. We keep ours in the same location in our cockpit at all times. This way, everyone knows where they are and can quickly grab them. Quickly review any safety procedures and tune your VHF to channel 16 so that you're prepared to receive information from nearby boaters as you cruise for the day.
Consider if you or anyone else in your crew deals with seasickness. In that case, you should take preventative measures before raising your anchor. It's helpful to know any wave conditions so that you have an idea of what to expect. If you need medication, take it so that it has time to be effective.
Next, do a quick scan of your vessel. Does anything need to be stowed? We've had it more than once where we've planned to go a short distance and should have put things away. Even in that short distance, we've encountered a rogue wave or a large wake from an inconsiderate boater, and our things have gone flying.
Now, onto the essentials for our family! If we're going on a more extended passage (especially overnight), it's essential to have easy-to-eat snacks that won't upset churning stomachs. I like to have cut-up veggies like carrots, cucumbers, and bell peppers. My kids enjoy crackers, applesauce, bananas, and yogurt. I'll ensure the snacks are easy to grab from the fridge or counter. If we're doing a more extended passage (like overnighters), I'll write a list of snacks on a whiteboard to make it easy for the crew to know what to look for when they need to eat something.
Lunches and dinners may also require a little prep, depending on what your day will look like. If you'll be on the move in open water, you may want a meal that takes little effort. Sometimes, I make curry chicken salad the day before, so all we have to do is put it on bread or with crackers. The kids might make themselves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, especially if we're motoring along a river on a day without wind. We only sometimes plan ahead for dinner if we have a shorter passage day. If we'll be cruising into the evening or overnight, we'll plan something simple and ensure the ingredients are handy. Sometimes, we'll get something started in our thermal cooker in the morning before we leave to have a hot meal ready in the evening as soon as we drop anchor.
If you have a remote job with meetings or time-sensitive projects, consider if you'll need to work around them. It's very inconvenient to arrive at a dock or lock in the middle of a meeting when you play a critical role in safely completing the task! Will your passage plans get in the way of what needs to be done? Keep this in mind as you prep for your day on the move.
As for homeschooling, we usually keep it very flexible on passage days. One of our kids deals with motion sickness, so we'll often plan a free day so neither kid is pressured to finish school lessons while underway. It's hard to focus when you aren't feeling 100%! This removes a lot of stress for our kids and allows them to have a free day to enjoy the sights as we travel, play video games, read a book, or do some relaxing art like coloring books or watercolor paints.
Time to Cruise!
There have been days that we've started our passage with little planning and preparation. While we have yet to encounter serious issues when we neglect to prepare, it often makes for a more complicated, hectic, and stressful passage. I encourage you to develop a routine that works for your and your family's needs as you prepare for your passages during your Great Loop Adventure and day cruises.
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