Planning a 72-Hour US Coastal Cruise

Prerequisites

• Coastal passage planning: tidal streams, pilotage, ports of refuge. See Coastal Passage Planning.
• US sewage, oil and garbage rules. See US Boating Law & Pollution Rules.
• Reading NWS marine forecasts and warnings. See US Marine Weather & Hurricanes.
• Watch systems and fatigue on board. See Watch Systems.

Learning Objectives

ASA 106 asks you to prepare a provisioning plan, a float plan and a watch bill for a 72-hour cruise, and to prove the boat carries enough fuel and water. This lesson pulls those pieces together. By the end of it you will be able to:

• Write captain's standing orders and an emergency station bill.
• Draw up a watch bill for three days and two nights.
• Complete a float plan and leave it with the right person.
• Calculate motoring range and fresh water needs with real numbers.
• Plan around the 3-mile sewage line and No Discharge Zones.
• Set the boat up for night sailing and choose a weather window using NWS products.
• Provision for four people for three days.

Captain's Standing Orders

Standing orders are the skipper's written rules for every watch. They exist so that a tired watchkeeper at 0300 does not have to guess what the skipper wants. Keep them to one page, post them at the chart table, and have every crew member read and sign them before departure.

Typical standing orders for a coastal cruise:

• Call the skipper if: any vessel's bearing is steady and range closing; the wind rises above an agreed figure (say 20 knots) or shifts more than 30 degrees; visibility drops below 2 miles; anything breaks; you are unsure of the position; or you feel unwell. "If in doubt, call me" is the most important line.
• Lifejackets and tethers on deck at night, in rough weather, or when alone on deck. Clip on before leaving the companionway.
• Log entries every hour: time, position, course, speed, log reading, wind, barometer, sea state, engine hours.
• VHF on channel 16 at all times; use channel 13 to talk to ships.
• Handover at least ten minutes before the change, covering traffic, course, sail plan and weather.

The Station Bill: Who Does What in an Emergency

A station bill assigns each person a role for each emergency, so the first minute is action, not discussion. Post it next to the standing orders and walk through it at the safety briefing.

The Watch Bill

For a 72-hour cruise with a crew of four, a simple system is two watches of two, each with one experienced sailor. The skipper stays outside the rotation and is on call.

A sample bill for nights, with longer day watches when everyone is fresher:

Points to plan:

• Odd-length watches make the rotation shift each day, so no one gets the 0200 slot every night.
• The skipper should sleep in the first evening. A rested skipper at 0300 matters more than a skipper on deck at 2100.

The Float Plan

A float plan tells someone ashore where you are going and when to raise the alarm. The US Coast Guard publishes a free form, and the instruction on it is clear: leave it with a reliable person, and do not file it with the Coast Guard.

Include:

• The boat: name, documentation or registration number, length, colour, rig, distinguishing marks, MMSI.
• Communications: VHF, mobile numbers, satellite messenger, EPIRB or PLB registration.
• Safety gear: life raft, dinghy colour, flares.
• Everyone aboard, with an emergency contact for each.
• The route, planned stops and expected return time, and when your contact should call the Coast Guard.

Call your contact if plans change, and check in when you arrive so they can cancel any alert.

Fuel: How Far Can You Motor?

You will motor more than you expect on a three-day cruise: calms, headwinds, harbour approaches and battery charging. Work out your range from measured consumption, not the brochure.

1. Measure the burn. Fill the tank, log engine hours, and fill again after a known number of hours at your usual cruising rpm. The difference in gallons divided by the hours gives gallons per hour.
2. Find usable fuel. The pickup does not reach the bottom of the tank, and the gauge is rarely accurate. Count on about 90 per cent of the tank's capacity.
3. Calculate endurance and range. Usable gallons divided by gallons per hour gives hours. Hours times speed through the water gives range in still water.
4. Keep a reserve. The common guide, promoted by the Coast Guard Auxiliary, is the rule of thirds: one third to get there, one third to get back or to a refuge, and one third in reserve.

Worked numbers. A 38-foot sloop has a 40-gallon diesel tank. At 2,200 rpm it makes 6 knots and burns 0.7 gallons per hour.

• Usable fuel: 40 x 0.9 = 36 gallons.
• Endurance: 36 / 0.7 = about 51 hours.
• Still-water range: 51 x 6 = about 306 nautical miles.
• Planning range with a one-third reserve: two thirds of 306 = about 204 nautical miles.

A 180-mile, three-day route is within the planning range even if you motored all of it, but a foul current of 1 knot cuts speed over ground to 5 knots and the range to about 170 miles. Plan a fuel stop or carry jerry cans if the forecast promises calms.

Water: How Much Do You Need?

Federal emergency guidance (Ready.gov) recommends at least 1 gallon per person per day for drinking and basic hygiene, and notes that hot weather can double what people need. On a boat, cooking, washing up and the odd rinse push real use higher, so plan with your own boat's numbers.

Worked numbers. Four crew, three days:

• Minimum: 4 x 1 x 3 = 12 gallons.
• A more realistic cruising figure of 2 gallons per person per day: 4 x 2 x 3 = 24 gallons.
• Add a reserve for one extra day, in case weather keeps you out: another 8 gallons, so 32 gallons in all.
• The boat's tank holds 60 gallons. You are covered, but keep 3 gallons of drinking water in separate containers, because a split hose or contaminated tank can empty or spoil the main supply.

Save water with foot pumps and seawater washing up, and turn off the pressure pump at night so a leak cannot drain the tank.

Sewage: The 3-Mile Line and No Discharge Zones

The rules are in US Boating Law & Pollution Rules; here is how they shape a plan.

• Inside 3 nautical miles of shore, untreated sewage may not go overboard. A typical cruising boat with a Type III holding tank must keep everything in the tank.
• In a No Discharge Zone, no sewage at all may be discharged, treated or not. The EPA keeps a list of NDZs by state; many sheltered bays and harbours are on it.
• While inside these areas, the overboard valve must be secured closed. Under 33 CFR 159.7 that means removing the handle, padlocking it, or using a non-releasable wire tie.

Planning check. Find the holding tank capacity and estimate how many days it lasts with four people. If your route hugs the coast inside 3 miles for three days, schedule a pump-out at a marina halfway. Mark NDZs on the plan so the watch knows when the valve must stay locked.

Night Routine and Jacklines

Prepare the boat in daylight, before the first night watch:

• Jacklines rigged from bow to stern on each side, running along the deck so you can clip on at the cockpit and walk forward without unclipping. Use strong points in the cockpit so the helm can clip on too.
• Tethers with each lifejacket, and a rule that crew clip on before leaving the companionway.
• Lifejacket lights and personal strobes or AIS beacons checked and switched to standby.
• Navigation lights tested. Check you are showing the right lights for sailing or motoring under the Rules.
• Reef early. Put in the night reef before dark if the forecast suggests the wind may rise. Reefing is harder and riskier in the dark.
• Red lights below and at the chart table to protect night vision. Torches within reach of the companionway.

Choosing a Weather Window

A 72-hour cruise needs a window long enough for the whole trip plus a margin, with ports of refuge if it closes early. Use NWS products in layers:

Look five days ahead for the pattern, then decide 24 hours before departure. Watch for a front arriving partway through, a wind against a strong current (such as the Gulf Stream), and any Small Craft Advisory for your zones. Write your go or no-go criteria down in advance.

Provisioning

For three days, keep it simple:

• Plan meals per day, for four people: breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks. Write the menu, then a shopping list from it.
• One-pot dinners cooked or part-cooked at home save gas and effort at sea. Night watches need easy, high-energy snacks.
• Cold storage: check the fridge or icebox works and plan to eat fresh meat first.
• Spare food for at least one extra day, in case weather keeps you out.

Worked Example: Annapolis to Deltaville and Back

You plan a 72-hour cruise on Chesapeake Bay with four crew on the 38-foot sloop above, about 180 miles round trip.

1. Standing orders, station bill and watch bill as above, posted and signed.
2. Float plan left with a friend, with a call-the-Coast-Guard time of 1800 on day four.
3. Fuel: 204-mile planning range covers the route. Top up in Deltaville anyway.
4. Water: 32 gallons needed, 60 in the tank, plus 3 gallons of bottled water.
5. Sewage: the whole route is inside the Bay, where untreated sewage may never go overboard. Y-valve wire-tied closed; pump-out booked in Deltaville.
6. Weather: Coastal Waters Forecast shows southerly 10-15 knots for two days, with a cold front on the third evening. You shorten the plan so you are back alongside before the front arrives.

Common Mistakes

• No station bill, so everyone does the same job in an emergency.
• Filing the float plan with the Coast Guard instead of a person, or never cancelling it.
• Calculating fuel from brochure figures and full tank capacity, with no reserve.
• Assuming the water tank is full because the gauge says so.
• Forgetting the holding tank fills up on a coastal cruise inside 3 miles.
• Rigging jacklines in the dark, after the wind has risen.

Summary

• Standing orders tell the watch when to call the skipper; the station bill assigns emergency roles; the watch bill shares the work.
• Leave a float plan with a reliable person, never with the Coast Guard, and update it.
• Fuel range = usable gallons / gallons per hour x speed; keep a one-third reserve.
• Water: at least 1 gallon per person per day, and plan for more.
• No untreated sewage inside 3 miles, none at all in an NDZ; secure the valve as 33 CFR 159.7 requires.
• Prepare for night in daylight: jacklines, tethers, lights, reefs.
• Layer NWS products to choose a window with margin.

Check Your Understanding

1. What is the purpose of captain's standing orders? To tell every watch, in writing, the rules to follow and exactly when to call the skipper.
2. Who should hold your float plan? A reliable person ashore who will call the Coast Guard if you are overdue. Do not file it with the Coast Guard.
3. A boat has a 30-gallon tank, burns 0.5 gallons per hour and motors at 5 knots. What is its still-water range using 90 per cent of the tank? 27 / 0.5 = 54 hours; 54 x 5 = 270 nautical miles.
4. How much water should three people carry for a 3-day trip at the minimum federal guideline? At least 9 gallons, at 1 gallon per person per day, plus a reserve.
5. You are 2 miles offshore with a Type III holding tank. Can you pump the tank overboard? No. Untreated sewage may not be discharged within 3 miles, and the overboard valve must be secured closed.

Sources

• https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-159
• https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/159.7
• https://www.epa.gov/vessels-marinas-and-ports/no-discharge-zones-ndzs-state
• https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/CG-5R/SARfactsInfo/USCGFloatPlan[1].pdf
• https://www.ready.gov/water
• https://www.weather.gov/marine/
• https://ocean.weather.gov/opc_overview.php
• https://ocean.weather.gov/product_description/abtoffshore.php
• https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/