Where candidates go wrong
Most candidates describe what the track looks like. The examiner wants to hear how the plan was built and how it will be policed. Candidates who have served as chief officer on a 50 m yacht often say "the captain does the plan" — that is the answer of an OOW. At management level you are expected to produce it, brief it and defend it.
The legal hook
SOLAS Chapter V regulation 34 requires the voyage to be planned before proceeding to sea, using the appropriate charts and publications. The management-level yacht oral syllabus (section 1.1) lists what the examiner expects you to have used: navigational charts including ECDIS and RCDS, sailing directions, the list of lights, tide tables, radio navigational warnings and ships' routeing information. Syllabus 1.2 adds the ICS Bridge Procedures Guide, which structures planning in four stages.
| Stage | What the chief mate actually does |
|---|---|
| Appraisal | Collects every fact: charts and their accuracy, NAVAREA and coastal warnings, routeing and reporting systems, tides and streams, weather, draught and air draught, tender and toy operations planned, port and anchorage restrictions |
| Planning | Lays off tracks with safe clearing distances, wheel-over points, parallel index lines, no-go areas, safety contour, abort points, contingency anchorages, reporting points, times to call the master |
| Execution | Briefs the bridge team, confirms ETA against tidal windows, checks equipment and manning for the passage |
| Monitoring | Sets the checks the OOW must make (fix interval, cross-checks, off-track limits) and states the triggers for calling the master |
Yacht realities the examiner will probe
- The itinerary is not the plan. Guests and owners change destinations late. The plan must be amended, re-appraised and re-approved; it is not a line redrawn at midnight.
- Anchorages are the real hazard. Most yacht passages are short; the risk sits in approaches to crowded bays, swimming zones and marine protected areas where anchoring is restricted. Know how you would check seabed and local rules.
- Tender and toy operations belong in the plan: where the tender will run, how it will be recovered in the forecast swell, and who is on the bridge while it is away.
- Draught and air draught — relevant for marinas, bridges and the tender garage door when the yacht is trimmed by the stern.
TIP — Carry the plan in your head Examiners often ask you to talk them through a passage you have actually done. Choose one you can describe from appraisal to arrival without notes, including where you would have aborted.
Briefing and sign-off
A plan nobody has read is a drawing. Describe how you brief the watchkeepers (usually before departure and again at key points), how you record acknowledgement, and how the master approves the plan. If the plan changes, the change is briefed again. Under an SMS this is typically a checklist item; know where it sits in your own yacht's system.
Command-level obligation
The chief mate prepares; the master approves and remains responsible. Your obligation is to give the master a plan that is complete, verified against current corrections, and honest about its weak points — and to refuse to let a commercial or guest pressure shortcut the appraisal. When asked "who is responsible for the plan?", answer: the master, who relies on the chief mate to prepare it properly.