TECH The ultimate checklist for preparing for bad weather

The pre-departure checklists are part of the Yacht Safety Management System, the sail and motor boat safety protocol invented by Andrea Lodolo to increase the safety of all boaters. In previous installments, we have seen what YSMS consists of in the article Very Safe with the Yacht Safety Management System, and explored the pre-departure checklist to always leave safely, and the final checklist before arriving in port and the one while sailing. Oggi we continue with the advice of ocean navigator Andrea Lodolo, presenting his track to follow to build your own checklist when bad weather arrives.

CHECKLISTS AS BAD WEATHER ARRIVES

The Yacht Safety management System devotes an entire chapter to bad weather, emphasizing a safety approach based on awareness, preparation on concrete actions and prudence. Andrea Lodolo, an ocean navigator preparing for the Golden Globe Race 2026, presents his advice and considerations that led him to define the actions and checklist in incoming disruption.

PERCEPTION OF BAD WEATHER IS SUBJECTIVE BASED ON PREPARATION

Every boater should know what marine weather conditions mean that their boat and crew are not in the comfort zone. The Beaufort scale alone is meaningless; it must be combined with experience.

For example, someone who is trained to sail in the Mediterranean in the summer, if they went to Norway in the winter, would be in great subjective difficulty compared to conditions that a Nordic sailor would find favorable.

CHANGES IN CONDITIONS

One should then not focus on good or bad weather, but rather on the variation of weather conditions, because each condition corresponds to a different boat and crew set-up.

So it is the weather-dependent trim variation that we really need to prepare for.

WE ONLY GO OUT WITH FAVORABLE CONDITIONS

The first step in increasing safety in the event of adverse weather forecasts, proposed by the Yacht Safety Management System, is planning for sailing, looking for the right season with the best conditions relative to where we want to go.

In yachting, sailing is a pleasure, and should remain so, therefore, it is recommended not to depend on calendar dates without flexibility, and sail only at favorable times, always avoiding being in the storm.

PLANNING FOR SHORT CROSSINGS

For short crossings and coastal sailing, one looks in the weather forecast for a time window with favorable winds for one’s boat, considering that for a boat that sails well upwind, a wind might be more favorable than one that travels better downwind.

OCEANIC PLANNING

For those making long-range sailings, the book of reference is Ocean Passage for the World by Jimmy Cornell, in its updated 2023 edition, aided by cartography and weather forecasts that can be found throughout the nsvigation.

Most of the pilot charts, are based on historical statistical data, and considering the change in climatology in recent years it is necessary to use them with the benefit of inventory.

TWO DEGREES HIGHER THAN THE BEAUFORT SCALE

If a force three to force five reinforcement is expected, we must be ready for a force seven. If force eight is predicted, we need to be ready for a hurricane. The logic of the Yacht Safety Management System, is to always consider two more degrees on the Beaufort scale than what is expected. If we accept that, then we already have a very large discriminator between going to sea and staying in port, which makes us safe.

REDUCE SAILS AND HARBORS OF REFUGE

“Reduce first I will never get tired of saying, reduce sails first,” Andrea Lodolo emphasizes. Even 120 minutes before the event, even if we lose speed, if there is a forecast assumption that 30 knots or a swell may come, we need to reduce the sails quickly, by reefing the mainsail, rolling the jibs or rigging the storming. The boat must then be as watertight as possible, which does not mean watertight, but there must be no seepage, everything on board must be rigged, every locker tightly closed. I identify escape routes and nearby harbors or shelters, as well as danger spots that might be invisible in poor visibility.

CREW IN THE SALOON, NOT IN THE COCKPIT

Keeping the entire crew in the cockpit in bad weather is not helpful,but only risks making the crew cold and tired. Those who do not have a specific role or are inexperienced should stay below deck and remain stationary, dressed in oilskins and a vest, having taken their seasickness tablet, with snacks and water on hand. This avoids fall injuries from unnecessary movement on board, no opening of lockers and no going to the bathroom. Andrea Lodolo also wears a helmet.

WAVES AND AUTOPILOT

During depression, waves should always be in the stern or bow quarters, never to the transverse. Except for coastal sailing where you stay in the cockpit to observe distance from the coast or buoys and hazards, in offshore sailing, you set the autopilot to keep the right angle to the waves, also the helmsman monitors the situation from below deck.

The use of the floating anchor is controversial and very complicated; it is preferred to make the boat run fast.

WHEN DOES THE BAD WEATHER END?

When the bad weather has passed, we must consider that it can also return, even more violent than the first passage. Once one lump has passed there may be another, so we have to stay with boat and crew in adverse weather trim until high pressure arrives. Conditions need to be stable to return to normal.

THE CHECKLIST AS BAD WEATHER ARRIVES

Accompanying these tips, as always, we present the checklist to worsening weather conditions, suggested by Andre Lodolo, a track that can be customized like all Yacht Safety Management System checklists.

THE CONFUSION BETWEEN SAFETY AND EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT

There is confusion in boating between emergency equipment, which is used for abandoning ship, and safety equipment, which is regularly used in navigation. Here is Andrea Lodolo’s clarification:

EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT: LIFERAFT, COMM, AND GRAB

Three bags in case of emergency: the LIFERAFT, life raft, which must be ready to launch from the cockpit, the COMM bag with everything you need to signal and communicate (GPS, a satellite phone, the EPIRBs…) and the GRAB bag with everything you need to survive. , so from clothing, fresh water reserve (Golden Globe race provides 15 liters of water), food, medicines, passports, documents.

SAFETY EQUIPMENT: TO NAVIGATE

It is that equipment that I need for sailing, that is ready to use, I don’t have to go looking for it in lockers and cupboards, and all the crew must have it accessible, because in bad weather it is dangerous to set out to open lockers or look for material. So we are talking about first aid kits, oilskins, gloves to hats, knee pads, the helmet, the spare winch handle, snacks for eating.

Checklist to worsening weather conditions

4 hours before the arrival of the disturbance

• – Ensure that all lockers and materials below deck are stowed and secured
• – close the sea intakes (excluding motor)
• – start the engine and recharge the batteries
• – update the logbook
• – update ship point and course
• – Eating and hydration
• – Equip the entire crew with jackets and oilskins
• – reduce the sail plan
• – update the weather forecast
• – set the ship point
• – access the navigation lights
• – rest
• – observe periodically : Barometer Sky wind and sea (note The values)
• – take seasickness tablet
• – prepare thermos hot drinks
• – prepare snacks
• – Verify that the raft is easily accessible (best in the cockpit)
• – verify that Grab Bag and Coms Bag are accessible

During the disturbance

• – Ensure that the boat is positioned correctly with respect to the swell
• Verify proper operation of the pilot
• Check the charge level of the batteries
• Check the level of the bilges
• Periodically check deck and interior condition
• joking around with the crew
• update forecast and ship point every 2h
• note any damage and/or breakage
• Then wait for stable conditions before declaring the bad weather condition over.

WHO ANDREA LODOLO IS
Andrea Lodolo, pictured below aboard his boat BIBI, a solo sailor, from his three-year cadet-ship training at Warshaw Maritime Academy and work on British merchant navy ships, has devised the Yacht Safety Management System or YSMS, which implements a safety protocol for recreational sailing inspired by the “ISM Code” standard mandatory on all ships over 500GT internationally. He is one of the participants in the Golden Globe Race 2026.

In previous episodes.

1. Safe with the Yacht Safety Management System
2. Pre-departure checklist to always leave safely
3. Final checklist before arriving in port
4. Checklist in navigation.