Out of Left Field - A Float Plan

That is :

 A definite yes .You study the charts , Post your position every day and then make sure you have alternates available if Mother Nature gives you any grief . It's not the best thing to lose your poles if you don't have too .

 Any foreign port will have a port Manager or Captain who will note your arrival and what condition you're in . Plus you paying a port tax or duty will also let folks know where your vessel wound up .

 Of course you contact anyone you should , to let them know you are safe as well . Do you know how to do the math and use a sextant ? If not , learn , just for the heck of it .It might save your life .     T.B.

So if I was a sailboat, would it be proper to list alternate destinations in case I became fully dependent on winds and currents? 

Aha !

That is so true . An 88 foot sailing yacht went missing my second day out . It was Found nine days later in Tahiti ! Not where it was said to have been headed .

 It had passed me port to stern and just kept going south I guess ! This is a point everyone should remember . Never in you life , go cruising in a powerboat , or , Sailboat , without letting someone know where you are going .

 I pretty much do this in modeling too , that way My work area is sanctified territory and is not touched by anyone but Me .

You can’t begin to imagine how many “ overdue boat” calls to the Coast Guard turn out to be safe and sound in a different port, sometimes moored to a waterfront bar!