Free tool · passage plan · checked Oct 2026

Passage plan template: fill it in, print it, leave it ashore

Last verified: 10 October 2026

A passage plan is your trip thought through before you leave: weather, tides, the boat, the crew, the dangers and a plan B. The last part is the one that saves lives: someone ashore who knows your plan and knows what to do if you’re late. This free generator builds both, and prints it on one sheet.

SHORT ANSWER

Under SOLAS V, every UK pleasure boat skipper is expected to plan their passage, whatever the size of boat. The MCA’s list: weather, tides, the limits of your boat, your crew, navigational dangers, a contingency plan and information ashore: “make sure that someone ashore knows your plans and knows what to do should they become concerned for your wellbeing.” If you’re late, that person calls 999 and asks for the Coastguard.

Make your passage 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 the MCA asks you to think through

SOLAS Chapter V applies to pleasure boats as well as ships. Regulation V/34 is about “prior planning of your trip, more commonly known as a voyage or passage planning”. The MCA’s guidance for pleasure craft lists:

Weather: check the forecast before you go, and get regular updates if you’re out for any length of time.
Tides: check the tidal predictions for your trip and make sure they fit what you plan to do.
Limitations of the vessel: is the boat up to the trip, with enough safety equipment and stores?
Crew: their experience and physical ability. “Crews suffering from cold, tiredness and seasickness won’t be able to do their job properly.”
Navigational dangers: know the hazards on your route.
Contingency plan: where you can shelter if the weather turns or something goes wrong, and how you’d navigate without GPS (charts, almanac, pilot books).
Information ashore: someone who knows your plans and what to do if they’re worried.

Make sure that someone ashore knows your plans and knows what to do should they become concerned for your wellbeing.
MCA, MGN 599 (M) Amendment 1, section 7 · gov.uk

Why the plan goes to a person, not to the Coastguard

Unless you send a distress call, the Coastguard doesn’t know you’re late until someone tells them. The person holding your plan is the one who notices you’re late, tries your phone, and then raises the alarm with the facts a search needs: the boat, who’s aboard, your route and when you were due.

Tell someone at home where you are going and when you expect to get back. If you are late returning, they can raise the alarm by calling 999 and asking for the Coastguard.
HM Coastguard, via gov.uk (December 2025) · gov.uk

RYA SafeTrx, the app many skippers used to share their trips, closed on 31 December 2025. What to use now SafeTrx has closed.

If they’re worried: what your contact does

Try your mobile, then the other contact on the plan. A dead phone battery is the usual reason.
Still no word after the time on the plan? Call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
Say a boat is overdue and read out the plan: the boat’s name and description, how many aboard, where you left from, your route and destination, and when you were due.
Keep the phone free afterwards so the Coastguard can call back.

And your side of the deal: tell them when you’re in, and tell them if the plan changes on the way. A plan that’s out of date sends a search to the wrong place. How to call the Coastguard.

Or let VesselSOS do the chasing

VesselSOS does the “information ashore” part automatically. When you go to sea, set a return time. If you don’t answer the app’s “Are you OK?” after that time (plus the delay you choose: 15, 30 or 60 minutes), its server texts your chosen Emergency and Live contacts: your name, your boat, how late you are and a live map link. UK numbers receive these texts. If you answer later, they get an all-clear.

It never alerts the Coastguard itself: your contacts decide whether to call 999. It needs a Pro account (£2.99 a month or £17.99 a year, with a 14-day free trial) and mobile data at least once after you set off, and a text can arrive late if the networks are slow, so keep leaving a passage plan too.

One app wherever you sail. A paper plan or a national scheme is tied to one country. VesselSOS works the same at home and abroad: chartering 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. 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 in UK waters

Life in danger? Tap “Yes, a life is in danger” and the app dials 999. The screen shows your GPS position in words, the HM Coastguard area you’re in, and a word-for-word script; when the operator answers, say “Coastguard, I am at sea”.
Radio mode shows a VHF channel 16 MAYDAY text filled with your boat’s name, call sign in the NATO alphabet, MMSI and position, for you to read on your own radio. Sailing abroad, the app picks the responsible rescue centre by position in 118 countries (Europe, North and Central America, the Caribbean, Asia, the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and Africa).
A live link for the people 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 side. You send it by text yourself.
Not an emergency? Tap “No” and 999 stays free. The app doesn’t list a UK breakdown service, so save your own provider’s number in your phone before you go.

What it doesn’t do: it isn’t connected to 999, HM Coastguard or the RNLI, and it doesn’t file a passage plan with anyone. If you set a return time and don’t answer its “Are you OK?”, it texts your own Emergency and Live contacts with the live link; it never alerts the Coastguard, so your contacts decide whether to call 999. A phone doesn’t replace a VHF radio with DSC, a PLB or EPIRB, or a lifejacket.

iPhone only, in invite-only TestFlight beta. Not in the App Store yet, no Android.

Quick answers

Is a passage plan a legal requirement for a pleasure boat in the UK?

SOLAS Chapter V applies to pleasure craft, and Regulation V/34 covers passage planning. The MCA’s guidance (MGN 599) explains what that means for a small boat: weather, tides, the vessel’s limitations, crew, navigational dangers, a contingency plan and information ashore. How detailed it is depends on the trip: a short coastal hop needs less than a Channel crossing.

Do I file my passage plan with HM Coastguard?

Leave it with someone ashore who knows what to do if you’re late. HM Coastguard’s advice is to “tell someone at home where you are going and when you expect to get back”; if you’re late, they raise the alarm by calling 999 and asking for the Coastguard.

What number does my shore contact call if I’m overdue?

999, and ask for the Coastguard. Tell them a boat is overdue and give them the details from the plan.

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 the MCA, HM Coastguard or your harbour authority before you go.

This page summarises official guidance 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.