Albania etc Charts

whiteoaks7

whiteoaks7

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South Wales, UK
www.seasolutions.co.uk
Next season's frolic will be a voyage to Albania and Montenegro. I see Imray don't yet do charts for that stretch of coast so can some wise navigator recommend paper charts for the area please. We already have 777 and electronics plotters but my navigating officer does like the paper stuff.
 
The IHO web-site suggests that Albania has a Hydrographic organization (see http://www.iho.int/srv1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=423&Itemid=382). This page (http://www.iho.int/srv1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=395&Itemid=428) gives links to national chart catalogues.

Using these links, it turns out that the UKHO publish charts of the Adriatic: see http://www.ukho.gov.uk/onlinecatalogue/browse_SNCs_results.asp?FilterMethod=5&ChosenRegion=27. These are probably "INT" charts, which means that they are charts produced by other IHO nations that have been republished by the UKHO with English notes and marginalia.

That would be the starting point; organizations like Imray re-publish data; they don't originate it.
 
Sailed through Albanian waters without paper charts whilst on passage offshore this summer. Interesting reading the note on my chart plotter when a few miles off the coast, said something like.... "Warning, minefield not believed to be a danger to surface navigation"!!! Did wind in the fishing lines!!

Have a good trip.
 
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We visited Albania (Sarande) this year on our way up to and back from Croatia and Montengro. We fell in love with the country and its people and will be visiting again next year to explore the coast up to Durres further. You need 777 Anchorage which has a large section about Albania. The "moritorium" on yachts and yacht ownership has been lifted by the government in May of this year so I believe we can expect it to become more boat friendly - but don't think it'll happen anytime soon.

Don't expect any facilities - then you won't be dissapointed. Living is cheap, checkin/out is between €50-€100 depending on boat size. Charts ? Plotters ? All inaccurate in this part of the Med anyway. So much to see before the country fully realises it's potential as a tourist destination.
 
We cruised up Albania this year using our plotter with raymarine gold charts, Imray paper charts and the triple 7 book with no issues or problems and perfectly accurate. Ignore the minefields marked, not an issue for cruising yachts and largely cleared. We have been to Sarande (town Quay outside port police), Hamare, town quay, Vlore (marina), Durres (main commercial harbour) & Shenjin (fishing port where they moved the police boats so we could go stern to outside the port police cabin).

We had an awesome time and the people were brilliant and falling over themselves to help.

My Fiance has contact details for the agents we used and other info. If you send me an email or PM me your address ill get her to send the info on.

Don't listen to the horror stories, it's easier to check in and out of than Greece or Croatia, just have photocopies of passports, crew list and boat papers. Aim for 2 copies of each per port you intend to call at.

Niall
 
whiteoaks7 said:
Next season's frolic will be a voyage to Albania and Montenegro. I see Imray don't yet do charts for that stretch of coast so can some wise navigator recommend paper charts for the area please. We already have 777 and electronics plotters but my navigating officer does like the paper stuff.
Click to expand...

Actually, they do! But not the blue/green/red ones normally associated with Imray, Laurie, Norrie & Wilson and Mr Heikell!
When doing a run down the Adriatic some years ago, I went to their delightful HQ in St Ives and bought a fully up to date folio of British Admiralty charts for the whole Adriatic. The detail of Albania was amazing. I still have them. THAT, is where I would go.
 
Steve C Cronin said:
Actually, they do! But not the blue/green/red ones normally associated with Imray, Laurie, Norrie & Wilson and Mr Heikell!
When doing a run down the Adriatic some years ago, I went to their delightful HQ in St Ives and bought a fully up to date folio of British Admiralty charts for the whole Adriatic. The detail of Albania was amazing. I still have them. THAT, is where I would go.
Click to expand...


Imray, Laurie, Norie and Wilson are, of course, Admiralty Chart Agents in addition to their own chart publishing business. I too have visited their offices in St Ives (Cambridgeshire, not Cornwall!), and am sorry to say that a few years ago, although they were prepared to sell me some charts (an Admiralty Leisure Folio!) over the counter, they also said that their main business model was mail-order, and that they would probably not deal with personal callers in the future except by previous appointment.

Of course, their service for Admiralty Charts is exactly the same as that provided by any other Chart Agent, of which there are many round the country. Imray's main customers for this service are commercial shipping.

It may interest people that a former colleague of mine was previously a cartographer working on Imray's own chart products. They are, of course, excellent charts focussed on the requirements of yachts rather than shipping. However people should be aware that the primary data is from National Hydrographic Offices; Imray don't originate any data. So, Imray charts can suffer from two problems: 1) The process of transcribing data from the HO source to the Imray product MAY introduce errors and 2) they will intrinsically be less current than the equivalent HO charts. The latter may not be an issue in places where surveying is not done routinely! Please note that I am using HO as an abbreviation for ANY national Hydrographic organization, not just the UKHO.

As I previously noted, the IHO is the place to look for information about the ultimate source of charts.
 
Just received some Info from Capt. Irene (SAIL ALBANIA),
she wrote that her agency has become official port agent of Orikum Marina and Vlore Port.
For yachts in transit the only port of entry is Orikum Marina.

For more info pls. look at:
http://www.sail-albania.com/157363986

SAIL ALBANIA
Capt. Irene L. COP
Mob. +355 69 732 41 38
Mail: sailalbania@gmail.com
web: www.sail-albania.com
Facebook: Sail Albania

Fair winds
Rossio
 
The last time I visited Imray in St Ives was 2 years ago and they could not have been more helpful, which has been my experience on every one of my several visits there. I suspect that you might not be welcomed so warmly if you just walked in off the street as they really are not a "shop" as such, but a phone call to check the items you want are in stock ( a sensible precaution anyway) and agree a time to pick them up has never been a problem. It isn't the sort of place where you browse the stock while you're there either.

It would be astonishing if Admiralty charts did not exist for Albania as it was a major point of interest during the Cold War, the Navy does not do "no charts available".
 
I
MASH said:
The last time I visited Imray in St Ives was 2 years ago and they could not have been more helpful, which has been my experience on every one of my several visits there. I suspect that you might not be welcomed so warmly if you just walked in off the street as they really are not a "shop" as such, but a phone call to check the items you want are in stock ( a sensible precaution anyway) and agree a time to pick them up has never been a problem. It isn't the sort of place where you browse the stock while you're there either.

It would be astonishing if Admiralty charts did not exist for Albania as it was a major point of interest during the Cold War, the Navy does not do "no charts available".
Click to expand...
I didn't mean to suggest they weren't helpful - as you say, they are. But they aren't a shop, and don't have stock for sale or browsing.

As I pointrd out in my first post, there are Admiralty charts for Albania
 
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