Chapter 2 · Lesson 5Practical demonstration · about 5 minutes
Turn up ready, hand over properly
Prepare for watch, follow vessel-specific standing orders and transfer the live navigation picture clearly to the next watchkeeper.
Video coming soon
Turn up ready, hand over properly — demonstration
In the video
- Arriving fit and early enough
- Passing on the live picture, not just a checklist
- The incoming watchkeeper asks a useful question
From the captain
Before you start
A handover is not ‘all quiet, see you in four hours’. If something is being watched, limited, changed or requested, the next person needs to know before you disappear towards your bunk.
By the end of this lesson
Arrive fit for watch and transfer the current picture before being properly relieved.
See it
See it for yourself
Hand over the live picture
Choose what to pass to the next watchkeeper, then hand over. Leave out the wind instruction and see what follows.
The wind reaches the stated limit. The incoming watchkeeper received the captain's instruction, so they make the call. The handover is complete when the incoming watchkeeper has received and understood the live picture.
Illustration · the content changes between passage, anchor and port watches · your vessel's standing orders and relief procedure govern
What to look for
Take over the live picture
Ask what is changing, what is being watched and what must trigger a call. Reading a checklist does not replace understanding today's situation.
A handover needs acceptance
Follow the vessel's relief procedure. If the relief is unfit, unclear about a concern or the operation makes handover inappropriate, raise it with the OOW and follow their direction rather than walking away.
The lesson
The lesson
- 01
Arrive fit and early enough
Be rested, sober, appropriately dressed and on the bridge with enough time to understand the situation before your watch begins. Follow the vessel's policy on food, drinks, phones and bridge access. If you are not fit for watch, report it. Concealing the problem does not make you more professional.
- 02
Follow this vessel's instructions
Read the standing orders, watch checklists and bridge procedures you are authorised to use. Know the call criteria and your duties. Do not copy habits from the previous yacht. If the watch is quiet and your duties allow, ask useful questions—but do not wander up from unfinished deck work because the radar looks more exciting than polishing.
- 03
Transfer the live picture
A handover should cover what matters now: vessel status and position as relevant, weather and visibility, traffic being monitored, operational mode, standing instructions, outstanding checks and equipment issues. The content changes between passage, anchor and port watches. Point out contacts and make sure the incoming watchkeeper understands before you leave.
Where it goes wrong
The outgoing watchkeeper forgets to pass on the captain's instruction to call if the wind reaches a stated limit. The wind rises, but the incoming watchkeeper does not make the call because they never received the instruction. A thirty-second omission breaks the chain that the watch depends on.
Your call
What would you do?
Pick one, then read the feedback on all three.
The situation
Your relief arrives but cannot explain the contact you have just reported. They say they will work it out after you leave.
Take it aboard
Give a two-person handover
Do this during your induction or first weeks, with the person responsible for your work.
Desk exercise
Use sample facts: one contact, one limitation and one call criterion.
- 01State the live situation and assigned duties.
- 02Pass the contact and equipment limitation.
- 03State the call criterion.
- 04Ask the incoming person to repeat the important points.
What a useful result looks like
- Relevant changes and limits are received.
- Relief follows the vessel's procedure.
Stop: Rehearse off watch. Do not obstruct or replace a real handover.
Deckhand Foundation · Job card
Watch handover prompt
From the lesson: Turn up ready, hand over properly
- Fit and ready for watch.
- Current situation and duties understood.
- Contacts, changes and equipment limits passed.
- Standing orders and call criteria clear.
- Relief accepted under the vessel's procedure.
Live concern
Limit / call criterion
Question still to resolve
Your vessel's procedures and senior crew come first. Nothing on this card is stored.
Quick check
Four decisions, then move on
This check confirms the principle. Your vessel's own induction still comes first.