Circumnavigator Preparation Rating Proposal

This series of tables is an attempt to describe the readiness of would-be circumnavigators and their boats to face the World Ocean. Using a traditional letter-grade scale, preparation levels are rated from the superhuman uber-mariner level "A" to a rather landlubberly "F".

The first group of ratings describes the would-be circumnavigator's overall sail training and experience.

Category	A	B	C	D	F
Sail training	RYA Yachtmaster or equivalent with offshore training in all conditions; could pass an offshore 100-ton master's exam	Advanced coastal class and supervised offshore passage training, could pass an OUPV (US Coast Guard "six pack") exam	Bareboat class and offshore training under competent supervision including offshore night sailing	Successful completion of some formal multi-day instruction such as a basic keelboat class	No formal instruction
Minimum experience total days offshore o/s solo o/s solo in same boat type	300+ 125+ 60+ 60+	180+ 75+ 35+ 35+	120+ 60+ 20+ 20+	60+ 20+ 10+	? ? ?
Minimum qualifying voyages	20 days out of sight of land with a minimum distance of 2,500 nm (Atlantic Ocean crossing, solo Transpac, etc.) plus additional voyages as in category c, item (2) at right	(1) 10 days out of sight of land distance at least 1,000 nm; and (2) the equivalent of the category c voyages or solo participation in 3 major multi-day ocean races out of sight of land (Sydney-Hobart, Fastnet, Newport-Bermuda, or equivalents)	3 or more multi-day voyages out of sight of land with a cumulative total of 15 days and 1,500 nm	Overnight solo out of sight of land	?

The Royal Yachting Association has authority over the well-regarded and extensive RYA Yachtmaster curriculum. EMT stands for emergency medical technician, OUPV for operator of uninspected passenger vessel, and CPR for cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

Now some more specific training levels are described:

Category	A	B	C	D	F
Safety training	Full survival training with immersion, self-rescue skills, endurance training in challenging conditions; fully prepared for extreme conditions, extensive remote emergency medical training at first responder or EMT level, have likely completed multi-day land or sea survival exercises or served in a search & rescue organization	In-the-water training with raft deployment and multi-day seminar, able to operate and maintain safety systems in all conditions, current first aid/ CPR training and special training for remote area first aid	Safety seminar or NASBLA-equivalent class, first aid training within past five years	Some safety training as part of a sailing class or otherwise or expired training	Maybe watched an episode of "General Hospital"? - none -
Seamanship	Deeply versed in sea lore & highly resourceful in all circumstances; fully qualified to teach to advanced students	Competent in difficult conditions and has well developed sea sense with well-honed responses and judgments	Competent in all commonly encountered situations and can entertain kids with knot tying & tricks	Can tie basic knots, reef sails, set jack lines, attach storm sails, prepare boat for a blow	Can tie one or two knots: "Meet Granny!"
Navigation	Extensive celestial nav skill with ability to safely navigate without some resources, near perfect knowledge of navigation aids, rules, lights, sounds, charts, and all local conditions	Solid celestial navigator with use of sun, moon, and star sights; thorough electronic nav skills; above average in all other areas with excellent dead reckoning	Basic celestial (noon sights) and electronic nav and solid coastal nav, very good chartwork & knowledge of rules and aids to navigation	Poor celestial knowledge, relies on electronics, basic coastal nav & dead reckoning, adequate chartwork & basic rules knowledge	Minimal nav skills, mediocre to poor chart work, poor rules knowledge, reckoning is d.o.a.

Category	A	B	C	D	F
Mechanical	Fixes anything & is an expert at diagnosing, repairing, rebuilding, and jury rigging everything; an excellent marriage prospect	Performs most maintenance & intermediate trouble shooting, can replace most systems	Does minor maintenance and simple trouble-shooting; can bleed fuel lines, replace impellers	Generally remembers to check fluids & strainer	Sometimes can start the engine
Technical ability	Can rebuild, replace, repair, or jury rig all boat systems, including rig, steering, head, galley, electrical, fiberglass; is near professional as a sailmaker, holds advanced radio license	Can repair or rebuild most systems; can rebuild head from a kit, troubleshoot electrical faults, repair steering gear, repair badly damaged sails, holds lower-level radio license and can do simple communications repairs	Can perform routine maintenance, do basic replacements or re-installations, can operate electronics properly & perform minor trouble-shooting, okay at jury-rigging	Can change light bulbs and fuses, do simple fiberglass patches	Shoelaces would be a challenge

In the table below is a description of the voyager's physical and mental fitness and ability to perform basic tasks. Abbreviations used include m for meters, min. for minutes, and wt. for weight.

Category	A	B	C	D	F
Fitness	Excellent balance, coordination, endurance. resilience, resistance to disease, keen. eyesight, good hearing, free of any significant medical issues; more or less does the usual super-hero stuff with tall buildings, mighty locomotives, and speeding bullets	Athletic with above average abilities, good balance, no major medical issues' can climb 60' mast in force 6 near-gale in open ocean	Good overall health with no critical physical deficiencies, good adjustment to conditions at sea	Average or adequate health and able to compensate for disabilities, eventually adjusts to conditions at sea	Significant health issues, disease, weakness, or inabilities, body not on good terms with Neptune
age 18–25 lift wt. 0:15m sit ups, 2 min. sit ups, 15 min. mile run min. float/tread, min. swim 25 yards	40 kg 70 250 6 30 20x	32 kg 50 125 8 15 8x	25 kg 35 80 11 5 4x	20 kg 20 45 15 2 2x	<20 kg
Mental	Extreme high levels of stability, motivation, adaptability, and mental resilience; clean psychological evaluation with no reservations	Solidly well-adjusted and mentally tough with no significant current issues or ongoing treatment needs; history of good solo at sea adjustment	No serious mental health issues, adequate to above average mental health overall	Some mental health issues or significant past issues	Significant current and ongoing mental health issues or instability

Now we turn from describing the sailor to examining the thin metal or fiberglass cocoon that will be the sailor's immediate world for the duration of the voyage:

Category	A	B	C	D	F
Boat hull, structure, appendages	Expedition/ purpose-built with hull reinforcement, extensive compartmentation, or very good compartmentation with positive buoyancy, provision for emergency egress and recovery	Category A ocean vessel designed for extensive blue water voyaging in challenging conditions, excellent compartmentation or other casualty survival features, very good stability	Typical ocean cruiser of proven design in good condition with good stability characteristics with an easily steered, efficient hull form for ocean conditions	Primarily near-coastal vessel of limited capabilities and/or with some deficiencies, may be undersized or underbuilt for extreme conditions	Better suited to staying in the harbor; "floating coffin" for an ocean voyager
Rig, sails, propulsion, fittings, security	Oversized/ heavily reinforced, outstanding interior security designed for security through 360-deg. roll without down-flooding or item movement; excess sails and extensive repair materials; secure and robust ports / hatches; very good ventilation; redundant spares, heavy repair tools; good work area; reliable engine in prime/better-than-new condition	Strongly built for heavy blue-water conditions far from land, engine fully inspected and serviced; extensive spares and tools, excellent interior security, handholds, anchor points, lifelines, etc.; excellent provision for climbing mast, very good access to all mechanical and engine systems, good systems designs	Rig properly designed and inspected before voyage by qualified rigger; engine in good order and recently serviced, good spares and adequate tools; good handholds, fiddles, anchor points, strong well-designed lifelines	Adequate rig with no obvious deficiencies, engine maintained in good operating condition	Questionable rig without recent inspection or with unresolved deficiencies, marginal or unknown engine condition
Safety equipment	Exceed all SOLAS requirements with additional safety equipment ready to hand for any emergency, GPS enabled EPIRBS, personal EPIRB, survival suit and equipment, full expedition medical kit, redundant communications and emergency communications gear	Meets all SOLAS requirements with additional equipment for far-seas solo voyaging, GPS enabled EPIRB, extensive medical kit; equipment and training for all forms of signaling	Meets generally accepted standards for ocean voyaging, EPIRB, adequate offshore medical kit	Meets minimum legal requirements	Deficient

Safety abbreviations include SOLAS for Safety of Life at Sea, GPS for global positioning satellite, and EPIRB for emergency position indicating radiobeacon.