Free tool · trip plan · checked Oct 2026

Boating trip plan: fill it in, print it, leave it with someone ashore

Last verified: 10 October 2026

Before you head out, someone ashore should know where you’re going, when you’ll be back, what your boat looks like and who’s on board, and exactly when to call for help. This free generator puts all of that on one sheet you can print, text or share as a link.

SHORT ANSWER

Tell someone ashore, or log on with Marine Rescue, before every trip: where you’re going, your estimated return time, your vessel details and how many people are on board. That’s the NSW Government’s list. If you’re not back and they can’t reach you, they call Triple Zero (000) and ask for Police. If you logged on with Marine Rescue, Marine Rescue follows you up as well.

Make your trip plan

Everything stays in your browser. The share link carries the plan inside the link itself, so send it only to the person ashore.

What to tell them

Before you leave, contact a friend or relative or use your marine radio to log on with a coastal radio base. Tell them: where you’re going; your estimated return time; your vessel details; how many people are on board. … Report in if you extend or change your trip.
NSW Government, Be prepared · nsw.gov.au

The generator adds what helps a search start in the right place: the skipper’s mobile, the boat’s colours and registration, your marine radio and beacon, your car and trailer at the ramp, and a second contact. Victoria has no state log-on service; Safe Transport Victoria’s handbook says to let someone know where you’re going, where you’re leaving from and when you plan to return, and to “agree on next steps or who to call if you haven’t returned as planned”. That agreement is the box at the top of the printed sheet.

Log on too, where you can

A trip plan with a friend and a Marine Rescue log-on do different jobs. In NSW, Marine Rescue follows up a log-on: “If you don’t Log Off as planned, our volunteers will start searching for you … We’ll try calling you first up.” Other states have their own volunteer rescue groups and log-on arrangements, and in some places there is none, so the person ashore is your only safety net. Write on the plan where you logged on, so your contact can tell the police. Marine rescue log-on across Australia.

If they’re worried: what your contact does

Try your mobile, then the other contact on the plan.
Still no word after the time on the plan? Call Triple Zero (000) and ask for Police. Marine Rescue NSW gives the same advice: “Call Triple Zero (000) in any life threatening situation and ask for Police.”
If you logged on with Marine Rescue or a volunteer rescue group, tell them too.
Say a boat is overdue and read out the plan. Then keep the phone free for a call back.

Triple Zero only works where there is mobile coverage, which is one reason the plan stays ashore with someone who has signal. For boats well offshore, AMSA’s JRCC Australia (1800 641 792) coordinates the search; the generator prints it as a second number. How to call for help at sea.

Where VesselSOS fits

VesselSOS is built to do the chasing for you: set a return time when you go to sea, and if you don’t answer its “Are you OK?”, its server texts your chosen contacts with a live map link. For Australian numbers those automatic texts are still being set up and don’t work yet, so for now the phone asks “Are you OK?” and nobody else is alerted. Leave this trip plan with someone, log on with Marine Rescue, and send your live link yourself.

What it adds today, as part of Pro (A$4.99 a month or A$29.99 a year, with a 14-day free trial): a live link your contact can open in any browser, showing your position, speed, course and phone battery. And the SOS screen is free: one tap calls Triple Zero (000) with your position in words and a word-for-word script.

One app wherever you sail. A paper plan or a state log-on is tied to one place. VesselSOS works the same at home and abroad: on a charter in Greece or Croatia, the SOS screen picks the responsible rescue centre from your GPS position and gives you the local number and a call script. The app knows 222 rescue centres in 118 countries: Europe, North and Central America, the Caribbean, Asia, the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and Africa. If your contacts have UK or European numbers, the overdue texts already reach them. Pro also lets friends follow your trip while you’re at sea, and lets you mark hazards for other boaters.

WHAT VESSELSOS DOES HERE

VesselSOS on Australian waters

Life in danger? Tap “Yes, life in danger” and the app dials Triple Zero (000). The screen shows your GPS position in words and a word-for-word script that starts “Police. Boat emergency, I’m on the water.”, then the waterway, the nearest town and the state.
The rescue-centre list also has JRCC Australia (1800 641 792), the national maritime rescue line for offshore, as a second Call button, and a VHF Channel 16 MAYDAY text filled with your boat’s details for you to read on your own radio.
A live link for family ashore (part of Pro, with a 14-day free trial): your position, speed, course and phone battery in any browser, no app needed on their end. You send it by text yourself.

What it doesn’t do: it doesn’t log you on with Marine Rescue or anyone else, and it isn’t connected to 000, Police, Marine Rescue or AMSA. The return-time check asks “Are you OK?” on your own phone, but automatic texts to your contacts are still being set up for Australian numbers and don’t work here yet, so nobody is alerted automatically if you’re late. Marine rescue log-on services do follow up when you don’t log off, so log on with them as well. A phone doesn’t replace a marine radio, an EPIRB or PLB, or the safety gear your state requires.

iPhone only, in invite-only TestFlight beta. Not in the App Store yet, no Android. Australian support (000 routing) is in beta version 1.5 and later.

Quick answers

What should a boating trip plan include?

At least where you’re going, your estimated return time, your vessel details and how many people are on board (NSW Government). Add the skipper’s mobile, the boat’s colours and registration, radio and beacon details, your car and trailer, and when your contact should call for help.

Who does my contact call if I’m overdue?

Triple Zero (000), and ask for Police. If you logged on with Marine Rescue or a volunteer rescue group, they should tell them too.

Do I still need to log on with Marine Rescue?

Where a log-on service exists, yes: it’s free, and in NSW Marine Rescue starts looking for you if you don’t log off. A trip plan with a friend is the backup, and the only option where there’s no log-on service.

Is the share link private?

The plan is written into the link itself (after the #), so it never reaches our server, and we don’t store it. But anyone who has the link can read the plan, so send it only to the person ashore.

How do I save it as a PDF?

Tap “Print / Save as PDF” and choose “Save as PDF” as the printer. On an iPhone, tap the Share button in the print screen and choose “Save to Files”.

Sources

CHECKED OCT 2026

Checked October 2026. Rules change — confirm with your state’s marine safety agency before you go.

This page summarises the rules for planning; it isn’t legal advice. Where this page and the official text differ, the official text wins. Spotted an error? Email support@vesselsos.com.