The 2004 RYA Yachting Monthly Cruising Log Competition and the children’s log competition LOG-IT! will be launched shortly, however you can register your interest in the competition, with the RYA Cruising Department now.

Keeping a log is important to safe sailing – if the fog sets in and your GPS fails at least if you know where you were 35 minutes ago, what direction you were travelling in and what speed you have been doing, you have a chance of estimating your current position and keeping yourself, your crew and your boat safe.

A log can however, be more than just a list of hourly positions, courses, etc. You can add in reminders of incidents you may have witnessed, safety information supplied by the coast guard, or on a more light-hearted note, dolphin or whale sightings, funny occurrences, and anything else you want to remember, to relay to friends and family at the end of your trip.

Having kept a log of your trip, you can then use it to create a narrative log to enter into the log competition. Log competition entries will be judged on presentation, planning, choices made and problems overcome, safety consideration, risks taken,  lessons learnt and general interest. Photographs and drawings are welcomed as part of the entry.

Encouraging your children to take part in their own competition – LOG-IT! – will give them a focus for the cruise and their entry will record the trip and hopefully help them to remember it in years to come. The added bonus is that it might also win them a prize. Unlike the adult competition, the LOG-IT! Competition is not restricted to a log of a sail cruise; it might be about a motor boating or dingy sailing trip.   The entry should tell the story of their boating experience and ideally they should demonstrate what they learnt about sailing, safety and / or seamanship along the way. There are 3 age groups in the competition 4-7 years, 8-11 years and 12-16 years.

Entry forms for both competitions will be available soon. If you would like to be added to the mailing list for an entry form, when it becomes available, please contact RYA Cruising on 0845 345 0370 or email cruising@rya.org.uk – don’t forget to let us know which competition it is you require the entry form for. Full rules for the competition will be sent together with the application form. The closing date is 1st November 2004.