Glenans Irish Sailing Club

CRUISING LOGBOOK

Inside front cover

The Glenans Irish Sailing Club Cruising Logbook

GLENANS Irish Sailing Club

5 Lower Mount Street
Dublin 2
tel 01-661 1481
fax 01-676 4249

info@glenans-ireland.com
www.glenans-ireland.com

The Station House

Baltimore, Co. Cork
tel 028-20154

Boat Name

Home Port

Design Type

Call Sign

Owners Name

Registration Number

Address

Telephone Number
Shore Contact
Shore Contact

Length Over All

Length Water Line

Draught

Beam

Masthead Height

Displacement

Fuel Tank Capacity

Engine Type

Fuel Consumption

Collanmore Island
Clew Bay
Westport, Co. Mayo
tel 098-26046

Hours at

RPM

Engine Oil Type

Water Tank Capacity

Main Anchor
& chain / cable length

Kedge Anchor
& chain / cable length

Kgs

Metres

Kgs

Metres
IRC Rating

2003
Glenans Irish Sailing Club

CHS Rating
ECHO Rating

HP

Blank

How to Use the Cruising Log Book

A well-kept ships logbook should serve as an
accurate narrative, permitting anyone to
subsequently plot the cruise again from the
information supplied.
The entries in the ships log can be
followed in reverse over the course run,
rather in the way that Theseus found his way
out of the labyrinth. All the details used in
laying the course must be entered: compass
course (the one asked for and the one
actually followed), the log readings, strength
and direction of the wind, sea conditions.
All changes should also be noted: going
about, changes of sail, changes in the
weather, fixes taken (and how they were
made), along with any ships met. Nothing
must be judged insignificant
The ships log must be kept scrupulously
up to date, even when dead reckonings are
not expected to be made. If there is an
accident, then the ships log can be
invaluable as evidence of what actually
happened.
If the boat is equipped with GPS or other
electronic position finder, the log must still be
kept up to date and the position noted
regularly. This can then serve as the starting
point for a dead reckoning in case of
instrument malfunction or failure.
The Glenans Manual of Sailing

At the beginning of each cruise, enter the crew

list, departure port and date.
Each morning, enter the tides and draw the days
tidal curve. Take the first hourly barometer reading. Make your passage plans for the day and write
them down in a separate Navigators Notebook,
listing the charts required. If a night sail is involved, list the characteristics of any relevant lights
in the Notebook.
Every time something happens, or when something changes, or once an hour, enter details of a
Position Fix and a Sailing Observation (leaving or
entering a harbour, changing course, taking a reef,
spotted a Navy boat, something has broken, the
Skippers started drinking). Details of that whale
on the port side, flying fish, and interesting birdlife
can be entered under Nature Sightings.
Record the weather forecast regularly using the
Met Eireann Sea Area chart and the UK Met Map
provided in this Log Book. Photocopy those pages
as many times as needed and take them on your
cruise.
A well-kept personal log book is useful when
preparing for the ISA or RYA Coastal Skipper or
Yachtmaster practical examination at sea.
Use this log book to record your sea miles. When
sailing as crew, ask your skipper to sign and date
the entries after each cruise.

Safety Contacts
Irish Marine Emergency Service
VHF Channel 16
or telephone 999 or 112
and ask for Marine Emergency
Dublin Marine Rescue
01 662 0922
Coordination Centre
Valentia Radio, County Kerry 066 947 6109
Malin Head Radio, County Donegal 077 777 0103

Belfast Coastguard 0044 28 9146 3933

UK Coastguard 0044 870 600 6505

Glenans Weatherdial 1550 123 710

Met Eireann Weatherdial 1550 123 855
Met Eireann Weatherfax 1550 131 838

Glenans Baltimore
Glenans Collanmore

028 20154

vhf MARY RUTH

098 26046

vhf MARY JANE

Glenans Dublin 01 661 1481

OTHER CONTACT NUMBERS

The Beaufort Scale

Force Description

Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort

At Sea

Knots

MPH

KPH

On Land

Calm

Sea like a mirror

Smoke rises vertically

Light Air

Ripples like scales form

1 to 3

1 to 5

1 to 3

Wind direction shown by

smoke drift, but not by wind
vanes

Light
Breeze

Small wavelets

4 to 6

4 to 7

6 to 11

Wind felt on face, leaves

rustle, ordinary vane moved
by wind

Gentle
Breeze

Large wavelets, crests begin

to break

7 to 10

8 to 12

12 to 19

Leaves and small twigs in

constant motion, light flags fly

Moderate
Breeze

Small wavelets becoming

longer, frequent white horses

11 to 16

13 to 18

20 to 28

Raises dust and loose paper,

small branches move

Fresh
Breeze

Moderate waves, many white

horses, chance of spray

17 to 21

19 to 24

28 to 38

Small trees in leaf sway,

crested wavelets on inland
waters

Strong
Breeze

Large waves, extensive white

foam crests, probably some
spray

22 to 27

25 to 31

39 to 49

Large branches in motion,

whistling telephone wires,
umbrellas difficult

Near Gale

Sea heaps up, streaks of

white foam

28 to 33

32 to 38

50 to 61

Whole trees in motion,

walking against the wind feels
inconvenient

Gale

Moderately high waves of

greater length

34 to 40

39 to 46

62 to 74

Breaks off twigs, generally

impedes walking progress

Strong Gale

High waves, dense streaks of

foam, wave crests topple,
spray may reduce visibility

41 to 47

47 to 54

75 to 88

Slight structural damage to

buildings

10

Storm

Very high waves, sea surface

appears white, visibility
affected

48 to 55

55 to 63

89 to 102

Trees uprooted, considerable

structural damage, rarely
occurs inland

11

Violent
Storm

Exceptionally high waves,

long white foam patches
cover sea, poor visibility

56 to 63

64 to 72

103 to 117

Widespread damage

12

Hurricane

Air filled with foam and spray,

sea completely white, bad
visibility

more
than 64

more
than 73

more
than 118

Widespread damage

The descriptive scale mariners and meteorologists use

to describe the speed of the wind was first standardised
by an Irishman in the British Royal Navy, Admiral Sir
Francis Beaufort.
Born in County Louth in 1774, Beaufort was of French
Huguenot origin and joined the Navy as a midshipman at
the age of 14. His father, a clergyman, purchased the
boys commission into the Navy, as was the custom at
the time.
Beaufort served a long and distinguished career at sea,
rising to the rank of Admiral, achieving the post of
Hydrographer to the Royal navy and was awarded a
knighthood.
He devised a 13 point scale of wind force which was
officially adopted by the Navy in 1805. He chose to
define his wind scale in common terms used everyday by
seamen. As his yardstick, he chose a fully rigged man
o war, the largest type of battleship then in service
afloat.
He described his scale using the effect winds would
have on such a ship and the sails it might carry. Thus, a
Gale Force 8 was a wind strength in which a well
conditioned man o war might carry triple reefs and
courses. Force 0 was a calm and Force 2 was a
slight breeze, terms readily understood by the sailors of
his day. Beaufort retired from the Navy to his familys
lands in Louth, where he died in 1857.
In the early 1900s, an all-iron Navy had little use for
terms describing the effect of wind on sailing ships. The
scale was revised and wind strengths described in terms
of their effect on the open sea surface. For the benefit of
landlubbers, a second set of descriptive terms was
devised, using loose bits of paper, flags, twigs and
umbrellas to describe the strength and the effect of wind
inland.

Met Eireann Sea Area Forecasts

Weather forecasts for Irish coastal waters are issued daily
by Met Eireann, the Irish Meteorological Service and
broadcast by national radio and coast radio stations.
RTE Radio 1
at these times:

FM 88.2 - 90.0 and 95.2 mHz

MW 567 and 729 kHz
06.02
12.53 18.34 (Sa, Su, hols)
19.02 (Mo - Fr) 23.55

(broadcast times may change check local listings)

Irish Coast Radio Stations

Malin Head Ch 23
Glen Head
Ch 24
Belmullet Ch 83
Clifden
Ch 26
Shannon Ch 28
Bantry
Ch 23
Cork Ch 26
Mine Head
Ch 83
Rosslare Ch 23
Wicklow Head
Ch 87
Dublin Ch 23
Valentia
Ch 24
At these times:
0103 0403 0703 1003 1303 1603 1903 2203

An announcement of each forecast is made on Ch 16 three

minutes before the broadcast. Gale warnings are broadcast
as soon as they are issued and hourly thereafter.
Valentia Radio Ch 24 will issue a forecast on request.
Weather Dial, the commercial division of Met Eireann,
provides a recorded Sea Area Forecast and Gale Warnings
by telephone on 1550 123 855. There is a charge for this
telephone service. Weather Dial also offers a variety of
services by fax. Place the fax machine in Manual Mode,
dial 1570 131 838 and listen to the instructions on how to
obtain available services. There is a charge for this telefax
service.
Shipping Forecasts issued by the UK Weather Centre are
broad cast by BBC Radio 4
FM 92.4 - 94.6 mHz
LW 198 kHz

at these times:

00.48

05.35 12.01 17.54

(broadcast times may change check local listings)

Websites
Met Eireann
Met Eireann
UK Met Office

www.met.ie/seaarea.asp
www.rte.ie/aertel/p162.htm
www.met-office.gov.uk

Each Sea Area Forecast issued by Met Eireann

contains the following standard elements:

Outlook includes a brief description for the 24 hour period following the period covered by the forecast.

Meteorological or General Situation: A description of

the meteorological situation over Ireland at the stated
time and of adjacent weather systems, e.g. depressions,
anticyclones or frontal troughs, which are expected to
influence the forecast areas during the following 24
hours. A general forecast follows giving wind, weather
and visibility for Irish coastal waters and the Irish Sea.

Gale Warnings are issued for Irish coastal waters, which

are regarded as extending 30 miles out from the coast line,
and the Irish Sea.

Terms used to describe Weather

Fine
Fair
Cloudy
Mist
Haze

dry, mainly sunny day, clear after dark

dry, good sunny or clear spells (no more
than 3 - 5 oktas of medium or low cloud
or 6 - 8 oktas of high cloud).
6 - 8 oktas of low or medium cloud
visibility restricted by water droplets
visibility restricted by dust or smoke

Terms used to describe Visibility

Good
Moderate
Poor
Fog

more than 5 nautical miles (9 km)

2 - 5 nautical miles (4 - 9 km)
1,100 yards to 2 nautical miles
less than 1,100 yards (1000 metres)

Coastal Reports taken from Malin Head, Dublin

Airport, Rosslare, Roches Point Automatic, Valentia
and Belmullet and new moored ocean buoys include
these details:
wind direction on the 16 point compass, speed in knots
weather
visibility in miles and yards
pressure in hectoPascals (millibars)
pressure tendency, which describes change in pressure
over the preceding 3 hours according to this scale:
0.0 - 0.4 hPa steady
0.5 - 1.9 hPa rising or falling slowly
2.0 - 3.4 hPa rising or falling
3.5 - 5.9 hPa rising or falling rapidly
6.0 hPa + rising or falling very rapidly

Gale
Strong Gale
Storm Force
Violent Storm
Hurricane Force

Beaufort Force 8 winds expected.

Force 9 winds or frequent gusts of at
least 52 knots expected.
Force 10 or frequent gusts of at least
61 knots expected.
Force 11 or frequent gusts of at least
69 knots expected
winds greater than 64 knots

Speed of movement of Pressure Systems is described as:

slowly
steadily
rather quickly
rapidly
very rapidly

up to 15 knots
15 to 25 knots
25 to 35 knots
35 to 45 knots
greater than 45 knots

Onset of gale force or stronger winds is described as:

imminent
soon
later

within 6 hours
between 6 and 12 hours
between 12 and 24 hours

Swell Wave Heights are issued in the warnings section of

the Sea Area Forecast, using the mariners convention
whereby heavy swell means swell waves of 4 metres or
higher.
Sea State
Calm
Wavelets
Slight
Moderate
Rough
Very Rough
High
Very High
Phenomenal

Wave Height in Metres

0 - 0.1
0.1 - 0.5
0.5 - 1.25
1.25 - 2.5
2.5 - 4
4-6
6-9
9 - 14
Over 15

SKIPPER

DATE 1 April 2003

Crew List

NOTES

Reference Port
Cobh

NAVIGATION
TIME

Compass
Heading

True
Heading

Speed

Rhythm in blue

BOAT NAME

Secondary Port
Baltimore

Tide Time

Tide Height

+/- Difference

Tide Time

+/- Difference

Tide Height

0007

0.4

-0050

23.10

+0.2

0.6

0555

4.0

-0025

05.30

-0.6

3.4

1222

0.5

-0040

11.40

+0.2

0.7

1810

3.9

-0025

17.45

-0.6

3.3

THE BOAT
Distance
Run

0830

Position Fix

THE WEATHER
Wind
Direction

Wind
Force

Full main and genoa

SE

Full main and genoa

SE

What Sails are Set

Depart mooring, Baltimore

Baro

Cloud
Type

Cloud
Cover

Practice man overboard

0930

Depart Balt Harbour for Schull

1000

250

242

5.2

Horseshoe Hbr abeam strbd

11oo

250

242

5.0

5.0

51-24.6N 9.30.8W

240

242

5.5

3.7

Fastnet Rock abeam strbd

P
M
A

Gybe to 030 for Long Island Pt.

030

022

5.5

51-28.2N 9-33.0W Calf Island abm

030

022

50

Long Island Pt to Port

002

354

5.0

0.5

Bull Rock to Port

002

354

1.0

Pick up yellow visitor mooring

Ashore for dinner and a pint

E
L

Full main and genoa

TODAY'S TIDE RANGE (metres)

TODAY'S BAROMETER READINGS (hectoPascals)

Enter the 1st barometer
reading on the centre line.
Enter subsequent hourly
readings at an appropriate
scale
(see
sample page).

1012

NOTE:
If the barometer drops
more than one hectoPascal per hour, it is a
2

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

SAILING OBSERVATIONS
Cheery wave from Lifeboat crew on training run

10

12

14

16

18

22

NATURE SIGHTINGS

MAINTENANCE NOTES

Heron fishing at Bull Point

Repair two hangovers

Fred the bucket and fender gets a workout!

20

P
M
A

E
L
Engine Hours
Engine On
Engine Off

Total Hours

24

SKIPPER

DATE

Crew List

NOTES

BOAT NAME
Reference Port

Tide Time

NAVIGATION
TIME

Compass
Heading

True
Heading

Speed

Tide Height

Secondary Port

+/- Difference

Tide Time

THE BOAT
Distance
Run

Position Fix

+/- Difference

Tide Height

THE WEATHER
What Sails are Set

Baro

Cloud
Type

Cloud
Cover

Wind
Direction

Wind
Force

TODAY'S TIDE RANGE (metres)

TODAY'S BAROMETER READINGS (hectoPascals)

Enter the 1st barometer
reading on the centre line.
Enter subsequent hourly
readings at an appropriate
scale (see sample page).

NOTE:
If the barometer drops
more than one hectoPascal per hour, it is a
strong indication of gales.
2

10

12

14

16

18

20

SAILING OBSERVATIONS

22

24

NATURE SIGHTINGS

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

MAINTENANCE NOTES

Engine Hours
Engine On
Engine Off
Total Hours

24