Why is a sailing plan so important?
Transport Canada recommends boaters prepare a sailing plan – before leaving home port – and leave a copy with a responsible person on shore. These plans help guide search and rescue teams in the event of an overdue trip.
With Sailing PlanTM – the small vessel safety app, the process is entirely automated at the server – not at the app or device level.
That means…
No one forgets to check in with the captain. No one assumes the captain is safe. No one is left unsearched for.
Benefits of having a sailing plan
Saving Lives
Escalations are cloud-based, not app based. So the captain doesn’t need to actively ask for help or have a network connection. The system escalates automatically.
Saving Time
A sailing plan can be done in seconds. No more faxing or posting yellow sticky notes!
Sailing plans are saved and can be retrieved anytime while the subscription is active.
Sailing plans ensure efficiency in communicating with emergency authorities.
Saving Money
With an active annual subscription, boaters can log details and notes on every trip for quick reference and retrieval in a single location.
How it Works
The Sailing Plan App makes creating, storing and sharing a Sailing Plan easy and fast. Once you register and complete the setup of your account, executing a Sailing Plan takes only seconds. The simple ABC’s of the Sailing Plan App: Setup, Creating a Plan, and Escalation (if required).
A. Setup Your Account
Vessel – Enter as many vessels as you like and specify your default vessel. Enter details about your boat such as the vessel name, registration number, AIS number, a picture of your vessel, make, model & length, year, hull, cabin and deck colour. Enter additional optional data: Radio > type, channels and MMSI.
Emergency Contact – Being an Emergency Contact is an important role. When you notify and verify an Emergency Contact, you are asking that person to act on your behalf when you are uncontactable. In fact, the Emergency Contact will have to speak directly with Emergency Responders by dialing 911 and will be asked to verify information and give the instruction to initiate a search. You’ll need at least two Emergency Contacts to start a Sailing Plan. Enter their name, relationship and verification method (text or email or both). Once that individual has verified that they will be a contact, you will be able to share your Sailing Plans with them and if required, they will be able to send those details to Emergency Responders. Setup a list of Emergency Contacts.
Add People – Here you will enter the names of the people who are on board with you, adults and pets. You can save the details of passengers for frequent use later.
B. Create a Sailing Plan
Create a Sailing Plan, give it a Title, or use the details of a previous Sailing Plan.
Allow the App to access your location, then enter your Departure information. Enter the date, time and notes, press and hold your finger on your departure location.
Enter any Waypoints.
Enter your Arrival information. Enter the date, time and notes, press and hold your finger on your Arrival location.
Choose a vessel, two emergency contacts, and people on board.
Review your Sailing Plan and Press SUBMIT. When you are ready to go, allow notifications and press START PLAN
It is recommended that you Share your plans with Emergency Contacts by selecting Share.
C. Finishing or Escalation
30 minutes prior to your scheduled arrival time, the Captain will receive a notification that the plan is due to be closed at the time stated.
The Captain can then go back into the plan and edit or press FINISH PLAN
At this stage you will receive a PDF file with a summary of your Sailing Plan. You can share this, print it, or save it for future reference.
At the scheduled time of arrival, if the Captain does not finish the plan, Emergency contacts will receive a text and or email stating that the Captain has not marked themselves as safe or closed their plan.
At this time, the Emergency Contact is meant to seek out the Captain and try to locate them, reminding them to close their Sailing Plan.
60 Minutes after the stated arrival time, the Emergency Contact will receive a text instructing them to call 911. They will also receive a link to send to Emergency Responders with details of the Sailing Plan.