Every generation of sailors rediscovers the logbook. It starts as an obligation, becomes a habit, and ends up the most-read book aboard.
The practical case
A logbook answers questions your memory will fail at: when the engine oil was last changed and at what hours, how long the beat to your favorite anchorage actually takes against a westerly, what that strange rattle was the last time it appeared, and which crew were aboard when. Insurers and, in some jurisdictions, authorities also treat a kept log as evidence of competent seamanship.
The honest case
Most of us keep logs because seasons blur. Forty sails into the year, the Tuesday evening with the perfect 12-knot reach is gone unless something wrote it down. A log turns a season into a story you can revisit.
What a modern log should capture
- The track itself, with distance, duration, and speeds, recorded automatically.
- Conditions: wind, weather, anything notable.
- People: skipper and crew, regulars and guests.
- The boat: engine hours, issues spotted, maintenance done.
- The good parts: photos, a note about the porpoises.
Paper does all of this badly and GPS not at all. A phone does all of it automatically, which is the whole premise of Sailing Log: tap record when you cast off, and the boring half of logkeeping does itself while you sail.