Tips to plan a sailing trip

Whether you are going to have a weekend sailing trip or planning to spend weeks on your boat, a good sailing plan can keep you away of worries and make the trip as enjoyable as possible. It starts with placing an order for custom built sails well ahead since these sails take time to get delivered.

It is not that buying a custom sail is necessary but it has got its own advantages. You can customize the design, the color scheme or put an emblem of your choice to make it special for you and your co-travelers. You can buy stock sails as well. Only make sure that those are of good quality.

Below are certain tips on planning a sailing trip.

• Decide your itinerary even if you are going for a simple lake sailing and then buy a cruising guide for that area. You need to know how much fuel you will require considering the estimated average vessel speed, common for that zone at that time of the year.

• Read voraciously the sailing blogs and articles of experienced sailors. Increase your knowledge, learn about tricky situations that may appear and how to solve them.

• Make a proper float plan that has got all the details of your boat and a complete itinerary. Send the copies to people you can rely on, those who will not be on board with you.

• You should always keep an extra ignition key. Get it made before anything else.

• It is needless to mention that you need to triple check the mechanical and electronic system. You should have enough PFDs, more than in number than the total number of heads to be on board.

• Buy more than enough food stock, check the fresh water supply, keep enough medicines and first-aid items. 

• You need to watch the weather conditions. Take out a printed forecast for next ten days minimum and keep provisions to get internet-connected throughout the journey.

Do make an exhaustive check-list and before setting out, tick out all the points at least twice.