Boating safety authorities agree: you should create a float plan, and you should leave copies with trusted friends or family members. "We're going cruising in the islands for a couple of weeks" does not constitute a float plan. The information must be comprehensive.
These days, float plan management goes well beyond a paper itinerary and the occasional telephone call. Social networking websites, such as Twitter and Facebook, properly used, can augment a traditional float plan. They can providing folks at home with real-time updates, and in an emergency, can give authorities access to concise, relevant information about your voyage prior to the emergency, while simultaneously reducing the record-keeping task burden placed on the folks following your voyage from home.
FLOAT YOUR PLAN
The term "float plan" can mean two slightly different things. An "operational float plan" is something you create for your own use, including waypoints, course headings, weather and tide forecasts, navigational notes, and other details.
