The logbook is the document the examiner reads before deciding whether to take you to sea. It proves the prerequisites, and it tells the examiner a great deal about the sailor: how carefully they plan, how honestly they record, how much they have actually skippered. Keeping it well is not bureaucracy; it is the first exam.
What to record for each passage
| Field | What to write | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Date(s) | Start and finish dates for multi-day passages | Establishes days at sea and the 10-year window |
| Vessel | Name, type, length overall, rig | Sea time must be on vessels under 24 m (half of it) and under 500 GT |
| From and to | Port of departure and destination | Defines the passage for the 60-mile rule |
| Distance | Shortest navigable planned route, and actual distance run | Both the planned shortest navigable route and actual run must meet the distance threshold |
| Role | Skipper, watch leader, mate, crew | Skipper days and skipper passages are counted separately |
| Night hours | Hours on watch between sunset and sunrise | Prerequisite from Day Skipper up |
| Tidal | Yes or no | Half of sea time must be tidal (always yes in Australian coastal waters) |
| Conditions | Wind, sea, weather, anything notable | Examiners ask about the passages; you should remember them |
| Signature | The skipper’s signature and contact details when you were not skipper | Verification |
Running totals
Keep a summary sheet at the back with columns for days, miles, night hours, skipper days and qualifying passages, updated after each entry, with the thresholds for Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper, Yachtmaster Coastal and Yachtmaster Offshore printed at the top. You will know at a glance where you stand, and the examiner will love you for it.
Paper or digital
Either. The standard printed yachting logbook is familiar to every examiner and easy to sign at the dock. A spreadsheet or logbook app is fine provided it holds the same fields, can be printed for the exam, and has a credible way of verifying entries (a scanned signature page, the owner’s email confirmation). Many sailors keep both: the app for totals and the paper book for signatures.
Getting it signed
Ask at the end of the passage, before the owner disappears up the pontoon. Skippers are used to it and almost always willing. If you sailed on a training vessel the instructor signs; on a race boat the owner or sailing master; on a delivery the delivery skipper. For passages where you were skipper, sign it yourself and, if there was a co-owner or an experienced crew member, ask them to countersign as a witness.
What raises an eyebrow
- Round numbers. Every passage "100 miles" or "10 night hours" looks invented.
- Impossible speeds. 120 miles in 12 hours on a 32-foot cruiser.
- Skipper on a boat you plainly could not have been skippering, such as a charter yacht with a professional skipper or a race boat with a well-known owner.
- Days at sea that were hours. Twilight races logged as full days.
- Blocks of unsigned entries with no explanation.
- No conditions and no memory. If you cannot describe a passage the examiner picks at random, the entry is worthless.
A logbook that is thinner than you would like but honest is a logbook the examiner can work with. If it is short, sail more; do not write more.
An entry, written out
14 to 15 May 2026. Sea Change, 38 ft sloop. Sydney (Port Jackson) to Port Stephens. Planned shortest navigable route [enter measured miles]; sailed [enter logged miles]. Role: skipper. Night hours: 9 (on watch 2000 to 0100 and 0400 to 0800). Tidal. S to SW 15 to 20 kn behind the change, 2 m SE swell easing, overnight passage, anchored Shoal Bay 0830. Witness: J. Smith (co-owner).
That entry, and forty like it, is what a Yachtmaster Offshore logbook looks like.
Questions people ask
Do courses count in the logbook?
Yes. Competent Crew, Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper each add days, miles and night hours; the instructor signs the entries. Days as skipper on a course count only if the instructor recorded you as skipper for that day.
What if a skipper I sailed with has died or cannot be found?
Record the passage honestly with a note. Examiners understand that logbooks spanning ten years have gaps in verification; a plausible, detailed entry with a note is far better than a forged signature.