As mentioned in an earlier post, we have booked a sailing catamaran, in Sardinia.

For making the vacation as good as possible there are certain things which need to be prepaired.

Right now I am doing the RYA SRC education to obtain a Short Range Certificate…. That will allow me to use the VHF radio onboard. At least one person onboard needs to have this certificate.

We have a lot more to look into, for example organise sea charts, pilot books and an almanac over Sardinia. This will allow us to plan the routes day by day and to find nice spots where to stay over night. This week, we finally received all the necessary items!

I downloaded the Transas iSailor and all charts around Italy to my iPad too.

Transas iSailor is a marine GPS navigation system intended for use on iPads, iPhones, Android smartphones and tablets.

I have worked many years onboard different ships, as well as visiting them quite often for service and new installations of equipments through my company.

I have seen that Transas navigation software is the most common one.

So I thought that if it’s good enough for the merchant marine it will most certainly work for us as well.

Detailed info about anchoring points and marinas.

Anyhow, even if it’s a good gadget, the common paper charts are a must – in our opinion at least. In case the electronics stop working, it’s good important to know where you are – imagine, no one is around you can ask….

Regulation says that you shall fill in a logbook with all data such as course, speed, barometric pressure, weather, wind and then as well the actual position.

I know many do not bother about this.

They will regret it, that day their computers brakes down and they have no clue where they are.

Unfortunately, it will be a bit too late for them then.

In case you are in the middle of the Atlantic, it can be a scary thought….