The boat being ready, because lovingly maintained during the winter, it remains to imagine these first outings. A rigorous preparation is therefore the order of the day and we must proceed step by step.
Prepare the boat
It is of course necessary to check the boat's safety equipment (validity of the hand lights, PFD release, regulatory documents, etc.) but also to store all this equipment in an accessible and identified manner. If you are sailing with a crew, a distribution plan for this equipment may be useful.
Even for yourself it can be practical!
It is also a question of preparing the sails of course, but also the reefing lines. It is indeed easier in port than at sea.
We will also check the presence of the hawsers, sheets and all the usual maneuvers that are always useful. A quick look at the electronics is also in order.
Comfort is also very important. It is useful to check the saddlery, the water levels, the proper functioning of the sanitary facilities, the state of the gas bottle... A good soup, in spring, is always pleasant.
The program
It is prepared in its broad outlines, depending on the time you have ahead of you and the objective or the destination envisaged. You can identify and plan your stopovers, waiting anchorages and fallback areas.
When sailing for the first time, do not forget that you have to tie up little by little. Don't plan too many big sailings.
The program also includes a plan B or even C to adapt to the weather, the crew and the pleasure of the anchorage and the stopover.
Once all this is prepared, don't forget to inform a person who stays on land and to whom you can give news once in a while.
Choose your weather
The weather is the determining factor for your outings. By day, it's easier and more binary.
When cruising, beyond the day's weather forecast, you must pay attention to the forecasts. You can also anticipate by getting information on the prevailing conditions locally at the time of the planned navigation (strength, time and direction of thermal winds, etc...)
Apart from the risk of gale force winds, the interest of appreciating the weather is to be able to adapt your program. Plans B and C suddenly make sense. The main thing is to have fun, a program that is only partially realized and in complete safety will certainly provide more good memories. Nature decides.
Prepare your navigation
Navigation is prepared on a large-scale map in order to have a global vision of the day's route. This allows you to plot your route, to identify dangers or tricky passages, to plan for alternative anchorages and to facilitate the reading of the landscape with the landmarks, beacons and lighthouses that will be observable. It also allows you to better appreciate distances.
This work does not exclude the use of software or navigation applications but a smartphone or tablet screen does not allow everything.
The crew
Whether the crew is small or large, family or friends, everyone must have a role in the running of the boat as well as in the life on board.
Everyone should also have their own equipment because it will be more suitable and everyone will feel responsible for it. So each one has his life jacket, his knife, his headlamp, his sun protection etc.
And above all, as a skipper, make sure you are in a good mood. This parameter is not to be neglected when constituting the crew.
Once all this is done, all that's left to do is navigate!
