Perhaps my dream of having one app that shows both Charts and Maps may soon become real! Garmin BlueChart Mobile (Ver 1.4) Skipper’s creator, Andrew Johnson says that Inland Rivers Charts including all NOAA vector charts will be added soon and he is working on ways to integrate Open Street Map technology. Raster charts (the best!) load fast and look great since they are mosaic-ed together and are only 1.8GB each for the smallest possible download size. Your subscription syncs your personal data and routes, waypoints, tracks, etc. It also does routes/waypoints and real-time navigation (which Garmin’s app doesn’t do). SEAIQ FREE OFFLINEAll is cached and displayed offline very seamlessly, except weather and Google Earth requires an online connection. NOAA Charts are auto-updated (or choose Google Earth or Topo maps, including historic topos. SEAIQ FREE PROFor the Pro version you pay an annual fee of $12/year and you don’t have to pay extra for the charts you’ve already paid the Government for in taxes. SEAIQ FREE TRIALThe newest offering in the Apps Store is Skipper and the free version isn’t just a trial it includes a handy NOAA online chart viewer for onshore planning and satellite imagery on shore. They all include ActiveCaptain data as an overlay for members. Sail with confidence with any of the five navigation apps below. And there’s the rub: How do we get the latest information, preferably from other cruisers? The answer: AC.įor the past few years ActiveCaptain (AC) has grown and expanded to include over 100,000 boaters who write reviews and updates on anchorages, ports, hazards, facilities and more, all around the world. As we all know, this kind of information is always in flux. With the recent news that NOAA will stop printing paper charts this April, iPads are fast replacing chart plotters on the bridge or in the cockpit.Īs a former cruiser, I often relied on print cruising guides to learn about a new port or cruising area. Some cost a few precious boat bucks just to download, and “free” doesn’t necessarily mean “less” when it comes to features. Now hazard changes are automatically presented to them so they can quickly go through the changes and determine whether additional surveys or chart changes are needed.”Ĭhoosing the right navigation app is no easy feat. NOAA approached us because they were already using the hazard data to locate problems but had to manually search on areas of interest to see what needed attention. SEAIQ FREE SOFTWAREThe first part of the software has been delivered to NOAA for their use. SEAIQ FREE UPDATEWe wrote some custom software to make it easier for the cartographers to use the hazard data you provide to help update charts and fix the magenta line. They have added ActiveCaptain to their “cartographic toolkit in the chart evaluation system.” Last year NOAA licensed the ActiveCaptain data for internal use. That was part 2 of the NOAA Coast Survey announcement. How will they go about fixing the magenta line? They claim that 99.9% requested that NOAA maintain the magenta line rather than remove it. The feedback from boaters was heard loud and clear by NOAA. ActiveCaptain hazard markers have helped with those, “what do I do here?” moments. This has caused many tense moments as the real channel has shifted away from the marked channel leaving boaters confused about the correct path. The line first appeared in 1912, saw a major update in 1935, with only rare updates since then. Jeffrey Siegel, owner of ActiveCaptain said in his recent newsletter, “In September 2013, US/NOAA began asking boaters for feedback on the “magenta line” – the magenta colored overlay on US charts showing the recommended route of travel for the various US intracoastal waterways: New Jersey, Atlantic, Dismal Swamp, Florida West Coast, Gulf West, Gulf East, Okeechobee Lake, and Okeechobee Rim. It will take at least three years to fix problems that were 70 years in the making.”īoaters may contribute to the updating effort by joining Active Captain at. Said Captain Shep Smith, chief of NOAA’s Coast Survey’s Marine Chart Division, “Today’s decision to reinstate the magenta line is not a quick fix. The magenta line appears in charts covering all Intracoastal waters, and is essentially two distinct routes along the eastern US and Gulf Coasts totaling about 3,000 miles in length.
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