Great Loop: Cruise Planning Tools
Cruise Planning Tools
We are currently doing the Loop and in the Chesapeake Bay Area. With this page I will try to summarize the tools we use when planning our Great Loops travels. I will update this with new tools and sources of information as they become available.
Background
Route planning and navigation is not mysterious if you have a process and have carefully selected the tools and resources required to make good decisions and execute carefully. For my vessel, I have built my route planning and navigation process around the following tools.
- Navigation Hardware/Software
- Garmin 8612xsv Multi-Function Display (Chartplotter)
- Navionics application on both an Android and iPad tablet as well as my smartphone
- Aqua Map application on my iPad.
- Weather
- Sirius XM Weather subscription which requires a Garmin GXM54 satellite receiver connected to the MFD. This allows me to receive real time weather information when cell phone coverage is not available.
- Navionics and Aqua Map apps all have access to weather, tides and current information.
- The BoatUS app provides access to weather, tides, buoy, small craft advisories, and discount information as well as the ability to request a tow.
- Windy and PredictWind are good apps for wind information. A subscription can be used on a smartphone, tablet or a laptop PC.
- The NOAA website is full of good information. Two of their tools I like are shown below in Step 1.
- Other route selection tools useful when doing America's Great Loop.
- Join the Americas Great Loop Cruising Association to get access to their knowledge base.
- Attend the AGLCA Fall and Spring Rendezvous to get loaded with the information you need to successfully complete the Loop.
- Download a current verified track log for the Atlantic Intra-Coastal Waterway from Bob423
- Skipper Bob Publications
- Waterway Guide Publications, App, and website
- Captain Alain Lloyd Great Loop Navigation Notes
- There are many good books and blogs from cruisers that have completed the Loop and documented their trip.
- TripAdvisor for "things to do" and restaurants in towns along the way
- Nebo hardware and/or their app to keep track of other Loopers and to look ahead and see where people are staying.
Step 1: Check the Weather, Tides and Currents
- NOAA Operational Forecast Model, Location Index Page
- NOAA PORTS Real Time Weather, Tides, Currents Information: Station Index
- Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast Model
- Tide Information
- The Navionics App provides access to Tidal, Current, and Weather Information
- Aqua Map App also has tidal, current and weather information
- Here are some smartphone or tablet weather apps which we have found useful. You can also access a website version of these weather resources.
- BoatUS: If you are a BoatUS member, load their app on your gadget of choice.
- In an emergency, you can use their app to request a tow.
- For cruise planning, you can check:
- Weather, Tides, Buoys, Discounts and Small Craft Advisories.
Step 2: Plan Your Route
- Select your starting point, your end point, and any stops along the way.
- Stay out of the mud and off the rocks! Check your charts to select a route that avoids obstacles and insures sufficient depth.
- I use the Navionics App on an Android tablet to plan my routes.
- I then transfer the new route to my Garmin Chartplotter using ActiveCaptain
- Use the Tide and Current information you collected in step one to validate sufficient depths along route and best best time to depart or return.
- Online Chart Viewer
- NOAA Chart 1: Symbols and Abbreviations used on Charts
- ActiveCaptain: Built in chart with information on launch ramps, marinas and navigation notes.
- Maps & Waterway Guide: Both Coasts
- United States Coast Pilot
Step 3: Navigate
- If you don't have a dedicated chartplotter
- Use a tablet, with a GPS position source, plugged into a reliable power supply, as your chartplotter
- If you have a chartplotter - load or transfer the route into it.
- I transfer routes to my Garmin Chartplotter using ActiveCaptain
Step 4: Other Considerations
- Insure you have a working depth finder to monitor water depths. You can also cross check actual depths with those shown at your position on the chartplotter.
- Have a good set of binoculars at the helm to identify Navaids, landmarks, other boats, and navigation hazards from a distance.
- I consider radar essential if I find myself in the fog or a reduced visibility situation. Use it in clear weather so you are familiar with it.
- Have a hand bearing compass available if you need to check bearings from your vessel to a reference point. For example, the bearing to a lighthouse
- Have fun visiting new and exotic places!
Step 5: Make sure the Boat and Crew are Ready
- FUEL! Do you have enough fuel, plus a reserve?
- Create and use a "Pre-Flight Checklist"
- Give a safety briefing to new crew members
- Have a Great Day on the water!
Anxious to hear about your chosen route. So much to see. There's only about a million ways to transit "the Bay."
ReplyDeleteYour toolbox sounds very military-like. AND back in Mobile, you knew what an LCS was... and you said "pre flight checklist". Perhaps you're a former Naval Aviator?
We continue to enjoy the tales of the Amy Marie.
Hi Dave, Good detective work! I learned to fly in the Army and then when I got out I worked as an engineer for many years. So I like checklists and processes. I was training or orienting a person on how I do route planning recently, so while it was fresh in my mind I decided to write it down so I could have a process and tool list to share if I train someone else!
DeleteOh, one other thing. When I was a "boot", my Sargent use to drill the 6 "P's" into our heads. It is still relevant and applies to many things in life. Here are the 6 P's:
Delete- Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance