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Bottom-up or top-down? After several practical courses with skippers trained elsewhere, I saw the same pilotage problems: plans too long to read or too thin to protect the boat. Here’s how to choose a format, avoid left/right flips, and build a cockpit-ready plan that works by day and at night.

Red to port, green to starboard—and what about cardinals, junctions and sector lights? This plain-English UK guide to IALA Region A turns theory into calm, tidy pilotage, with quick-reference downloads for lights and sound signals.

Build a digital passage plan an RYA instructor can read in 60 seconds. Show “decisions for reasons” with clear evidence. • What they check: clarity, safety margin, reasons, alternatives, backup. • The 4-page pack: route overview, tides and streams, pilotage, weather and limits. • Prove your sources: chart edition, model run time, reference and secondary ports. • Keep it simple to share: GPX, PDF, and one printed summary. • Finish with a checklist you can copy. Read the full guide and make a plan that stands up to inspection.