Also keeping us VERY busy: our support for hopeful and active cruisers as coaches and mentors. We love what we do! On an open house session over Zoom a few weeks ago, there were a lot of questions about staying safe during this time of US military action in the Caribbean. It prompted an active discussion about GPS jamming and how crews can mitigate their risk aboard.
GPS JAMMING
GPS on every boat has revolutionized navigation. A typical cruising boat probably has a dozen different GPS instances on board. Signal jamming happens in a few corners of the world: use sites like GPSwise to know if you may be in an affected area.
If you’re in an affected area, remember that sailors have navigated for millennia without GPS! Keep an active log of your latitude / longitude, course, and speed hourly or with course changes. Also have your destination latitude / longitude and pertinent piloting details recorded before departing. With these details and your progress log, you can dead-reckon your way to destination. If you’re not familiar with dead-reckoning, I reckon that it’s time to read up on it.
A SECOND FLOAT PLAN
Today, the Bluewater Cruising Association shared clear guidance for vessels in the Caribbean to improve their safety. It’s a set of well-laid-out steps that we’re happy to amplify!
Boaters should have a float plan already, filed with trustees who you personally know. This does not change. What’s new? File a SECOND float plan directly with a US military office for the purpose of declaring intentions in the zone of risk. Unlike your regular float plan, this one has nothing to do with monitoring your safe arrival; it is about informing a military hub of your movement in an area where attacks are taking place.
We have strong feelings on the importance of that float plan you should already have, which this is additive to! To learn more, you can replay our free seminar on float plans here, or read this article, or download our template to learn about the float plans you should already be filing with a trustee).
Unsurprising effort for this solid organization of salty souls at the BCA, who keep their eyes on the greater good of the cruising community and ocean voyagers in particular. Plus: it’s based on a practice we value, the float plan.The text accompanying their reel is verbatim below, with our annotation in italics.
BCA GUIDANCE
Captains of vessels in international waters (beyond 12 miles offshore) in the Eastern Pacific, south/east of Huatulco, Mexico, and north of Ecuador, as well as in the Caribbean south of the Caymans, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, USVI, BVI, and north of South America, are advised to:
1. Update Vessel Wiki: Create a free account at Marine Traffic and upload vessel details and photos (preferably with people for scale and from a higher angle). This platform is recognized by the US military for identification and contact information. (We’ve had a photo of Totem in our Marine Traffic page for at least a decade, which - wow, I need to update! That the platform has official recognition is news to me; that’s cool. It is certainly a solid way to confirm a boat’s visual from an MMSI lookup, and you can add details to your boat’s record.)
2. File a Float Plan: Submit this 72-48 hours before departure using the form at https://floatplancentral.cgaux.org/download/USCGFloatPlan.pdf. Email the completed plan to southcom.miami.scj79.mbx.humanitarian-notification@mail.mil with "Float Plan" and your vessel name in the subject line. If plans change while underway, file a new float plan. (Important: this is not a substitute for the float plan you should be filing with personal trustees! That should be done for every passage; this guidance is additional, and specific to military awareness in the vicinity of their attacks. We’re not big fans of the USCG float plans for your personal trustees… find for the military purpose, for familiarity. Rememver: this is IN ADDITION to your normal float plan process. It is NOT a substitute).
3. Notify Completion: Once your float plan is complete, email the same address with "Float Plan Complete" and your vessel name in the subject line.
When underway:
1. Maintain a 24/7 watch (hopefully you do this already!)
2. Monitor VHF 16 continuously (as you should… 24x7!)
3. Transmit on AIS 24/7 if available (we have never seen a warship use AIS to transpond, but you bet they are watching you)
4. Display your national ensign. (confession: while we always display a courtesy flag for the country where we are guests, we are lazy – or frugal – about flying an ensign. UV and wind can eat them up, and replacement can be challenging. But BCA guidance here is well taken!)
5. If a warship is sighted, hail them on VHF 16: “Warship in vicinity [lat, long], this is [vessel name, number of persons onboard] on innocent passage from [departure port] to [destination port].” Don’t expect a response; they may be silent. (Military vessels kind of notorious for non-response to a recreational boat they don’t care about, although if they DO care about a boats position – and they are watching! – will absolutely communicate on VHF 16. We had a nice chat with a Japanese destroyer under starlight somewhere off the coast of Honshu).
6. Respond immediately and follow instructions if hailed (That destroyer provided us with specific course/distance direction! Nicely…in perfect English)
7. Keep at least 100 yards from any US Navy or Coast Guard ship and slow to minimum speed within 500 yards. Always adjust course to exceed the Closest Point of Approach (CPA) minimums. (Not sure if that’s official guidance? I’d expect to give even MORE margin near any military vessel. The destroyer asked us to stay 1500 meters – about a mile – from their position).
8. If you have signal flags, hoist “Uniform - Victor - One” to signify you are conducting innocent passage in territorial waters. (LOLing but – seriously, why not? If you ever wanted an excuse for a set of signal flags, as I’ve wished for, now you have it. You’re welcome!)
9. Emergency Contacts: - Caribbean: JRSC San Juan, Puerto Rico. Phone: (833) 453-1267, +1 (787) 729 6770. Email: ssjcc@uscg.mil - Pacific: JRCC Alameda, California. Phone: (800) 246-7236, +1 (510) 437-3700. Email: RCCAlameda1@uscg.mil
A NOTE BY BACKSTAY
At Backstay, we strongly recommend keeping an hourly log of your latitude, longitude, course, and speed, especially when sailing in areas where GPS reliability may be compromised. Maintaining this record is a simple but critical safety practice that ensures you have the information you need to navigate confidently if your electronics fail or something goes wrong. Our Offshore Logbook is designed specifically for 24 hour passagemaking and helps you capture every essential detail when it matters most.
