Sailing on a Schedule

[scuba0_1]

I haven't seen this topic but I see allot of comments on, do or don't sail on a schedule. Do you, have you. I don't have the ability to not sail on a sch. all my trips have been about 10 days and lots of miles to sail and sail back. good weather and some bad. I Usually leave 1 day of a cushion but haven't needed it yet. Maybe location plays part of it I sail lower east coast and gulf now.

[Hudson Force]

Sailing........ on a schedule ........? I think there are trains that are scheduled. Sometimes ferrys operate on a schedule. I pay some bills on schedule, but I don't know anything about sailing and schedules.

[scuba0_1]

Exactly and I have always sailed on a schedule. and usually a very tight one. I met someone at St Pete Boat Show and we got to talking about sailing and schedules and he said that's why he hasn't bought one yet. I told him I thought that seemed crazy.

[Hudson Force]

Correction! I just realized that I sail on a schedule! My schedule requires that I am in lower latitudes in the winter and higher latitudes in the summer. This schedule means that I average thirteen miles a day for six months out of the year or less if I'm willing to keep moving all year.

[s/v Beth]

I think the more violent the ocean is the less likely sailing on a schedule is a good idea. I used to charter along Florida all the time. It was a joy and I always got back in time. Here off the coast of Washington you are asking for trouble to sail 30+ hours just to make a port. The more north you go, the less you should think about being on time. It is not worth you life (look at my old thread- sailing can kill....)

[Mike OReilly]

I try very hard to avoid anything resembling a schedule, but one of the realities of coastal cruising is that they are hard to completely avoid. Unless we are doing major Lake crossings, we are committed to being in a nice cosy anchorage each night. So on that level, we do follow a schedule. And then there are the nasty Lake Superior storms that blow up all-too fast sometimes. If we get a decent prediction for a coming nasty blow, we try very hard to be well hooked in a good all-round anchorage.

Outside of these realities, we avoid schedules like the plague. Mostly that involves having nowhere in particular to go, and giving ourselves lots of time to get there. I see friends racing to squeeze as much distance as they can out of the two or three weeks of holidays they have. Our approach is to go slow, and spend as much time as we can doing nothing in particular. This season was a case in point. We only had three weeks for our big trip, down from our normal five or six. So, instead of sailing across the Lake, we sailed to a beautiful anchorage just outside the busy lanes, dropped the hook, and stayed put for the whole time. Great books got read, a little needed varnishing got done, and the new inflatable kayaks got a good testing.

No schedule, no plans. Just day to day.

[bobconnie]

I not only don't believe in them, I can't even spell the word !! Never had anything but a destination, that way I always get there on time!!

[Ded reckoner]

It's always good to have a plan even if it's a rough sketch and not detailed. But as the timeframe is extended, you need to have increased flexibility with any schedule. For something like bareboat chartering, the timeframe is so relatively short, it is possible to plan a tighter schedule to see and do everything you planned.

[GeoPowers]

Itinerary: yes.

Plan A , B, and/or C: yes.

Schedule: no.

[Pelagic]

I think all sailors continually plan and schedule their voyages for optimum rewards be it seasonal considerations, maintenance or holiday/work plans, scheduling their passage plan for a daylight favorable tide approach if important.

Experience just teaches you that weather forecasts and crew/boat readiness trumps that optimum schedule.

[boatman61]

Owners set schedules... if I can keep them without damaging the boat beyond normal wear and tear I will... if it means risking the boat and crew its outa the window..
For my boats no schedule.. I sail for pleasure...

[svmariane]

Schedule? Heck YES!

1) Retire
2) Buy boat
3) Leave North America

Yup! I'm right on schedule.

Oh, alright... You mean sailing to a schedule. Yeah, we did that when harbour hopping from British Columbia to the Sea of Cortez. And all due to visa and weather constraints that either pushed us or boxed us in. We were SO not going to just bypass all those anchorages and village ports. For us, it was a once in a lifetime chance.

But once we left Mexico and headed out across the Pacific? No. Leave port when we're ready; make port when we get there.

Confession: we sometimes heave to just for dinner. Lessens the chance of breaking the wine glasses, you know? Schedule? Nah...

James

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I try very hard to avoid anything resembling a schedule, but one of the realities of coastal cruising is that they are hard to completely avoid. Unless we are doing major Lake crossings, we are committed to being in a nice cosy anchorage each night. So on that level, we do follow a schedule. And then there are the nasty Lake Superior storms that blow up all-too fast sometimes. If we get a decent prediction for a coming nasty blow, we try very hard to be well hooked in a good all-round anchorage.

Outside of these realities, we avoid schedules like the plague. Mostly that involves having nowhere in particular to go, and giving ourselves lots of time to get there. I see friends racing to squeeze as much distance as they can out of the two or three weeks of holidays they have. Our approach is to go slow, and spend as much time as we can doing nothing in particular. This season was a case in point. We only had three weeks for our big trip, down from our normal five or six. So, instead of sailing across the Lake, we sailed to a beautiful anchorage just outside the busy lanes, dropped the hook, and stayed put for the whole time. Great books got read, a little needed varnishing got done, and the new inflatable kayaks got a good testing.

No schedule, no plans. Just day to day.

this is spot on!!

We sail out of Muskegon on Lake Michigan. Our schedule to Milwaukee is look for a nor-easter for the crossing and stay there until the winds switch to the normal SW to come home. It can take form 2 days to a week to make it to the North Channel. You return from the North Channel when the wind is N to E. I assume that when we exit the St Lawrence that nothing will change. I have found that sailing on a tight train-type schedule is an invitation to disaster. Schedules and sial boats don't mix well. As noted above, the only real schedule is to be out of the tropics in summer and back in winter.

[Bash]

all sorts of folks sail on schedules, among them: people with jobs who have to schedule their vacations; people who charter boats; people with families who schedule sailing trips for when the kids are out of school; et cetera.

It's entirely possible to sail on a schedule without dying--just make certain that every entry on the schedule starts with "Weather permitting...."

The greater the chance of variables that will make sailing inadvisable, the greater the need for flexibility in the schedule. This isn't hard to do. Know what the traps are, starting with the need to sail into town the day of the flight out. The one rule everyone should follow is: never chase a jet with a sailboat.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I try very hard to avoid anything resembling a schedule, but one of the realities of coastal cruising is that they are hard to completely avoid. ...................

Mike OReilly is right when it comes to a plan for the day. We will schedule a time to depart an anchorage to make a scheduled bridge opening; to catch a current, slack or tide level; or to make a daylight landfall. What we don't schedule is a comittment that would prevent us from taking some extra days waiting for better weather or a schedule that would prevent us from changing our destination due to weather or whim.