What belongs in each sailing-log entry?
Record enough context to understand the experience later: date, vessel name and type, departure and arrival points, distance, day or night time, weather and sea conditions, tidal character and your role aboard.
Add the capacity in which the passage was sailed. Crew, watch leader, navigator and skipper are not interchangeable labels. If responsibility changed during the day, describe the part you performed rather than upgrading the whole passage to the most senior role.
A short decision note adds more value than another column of numbers. Record the manoeuvre practiced, navigation evidence used, change made to the plan or lesson to revisit.
How accurate do miles and hours need to be?
Use the vessel's log, charted route, navigation records and known times where available. If a value is estimated, mark it as an estimate. False precision makes a record look weaker, not stronger.
Keep units consistent and avoid counting the same passage twice in season summaries. Night hours should represent experience during the relevant period, not simply every hour between an evening departure and morning arrival if the individual was off watch.
For any formal prerequisite, use the definition and evidence expected by the current official scheme or examiner. Compass does not verify sea time, and a self-declared Passport total is not an official logbook or certificate.
Why should role and conditions be recorded separately?
Two passages of the same distance can develop very different experience. A sheltered daylight trip as crew is not the same as planning, briefing and skippering a tidal night arrival. Both are useful, but they answer different progression questions.
Separate facts from reflection. Facts describe the vessel, route, conditions, time and role. Reflection describes what went well, what needed prompting and what should be practiced again.
This prevents a high mileage total from hiding a narrow experience range. It also helps identify whether the next useful step is more repetition, different conditions, formal training or a stronger theory foundation.
When should the log be updated?
Write the factual entry as soon as practical after the passage, while times, roles and conditions are still clear. Add instructor or skipper confirmation when the relevant scheme or purpose requires it.
Review the summary periodically rather than inventing a total immediately before an application. Check for missing vessel details, unexplained jumps, duplicate legs and entries where the role is unclear.
Keep original records required by an official process. A digital summary is convenient for planning and backup, but it may not replace the form of evidence requested by a training organisation, examiner, authority or charter operator.
How should Compass Passport be used?
Compass Passport provides a private place to keep approximate experience days, miles, night hours, tidal experience, goals and self-declared qualification records together. It helps the journey planner make a more relevant suggestion and keeps saved training nearby.
It deliberately does not store certificate scans or claim to verify experience. Treat it as your personal progression view, retain the source log separately, and update it only with figures you can explain.
Primary sources
Compass Revision is an independent revision aid and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the RYA. Check current official publications, charts, forecasts and local directions before making a real passage or safety decision.