Almanacs

[Gelfi]

From a previous post it would appear that people want not an almanac but a pilot book, tide tables and nautical information all rolled up into one book, CD or internet web site.

This is not what a nautical almanac is all about in my opinion. It should cover information that alters each year such as tides, radio stations and where you can find weather forecasts etc. If you want port plans and local sailing directions buy a pilot.

It would be interesting to see if other people agree with me. If they do why are people spending £30+ on some so called nautical almanacs when they can get this new information for next year for under £13 by buying PBO own nautical almanac.

I agree it would be nice if this information could be put on the web and in some way paid for by the people wishng to access it, but I'm sure Kim will tell us that the time involved and the problems with copyrights makes it very difficult but not impossible.

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[Paulka]

I switched years ago from ????? (just can't remember) to Le Livre de Bord, where I can find everything : almanac, as well as up to date lights caracteristics, phone nr. of the harbour masters, etc, etc.
At 30 euros (~£20) it's certainly a bargain.
And remember : each and every information is up to date!
I could not live without.

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[Evadne]

I have a pilot book but every year at least one of the ports in it suffers major changes. Just try getting into Ramsgate with my 1998 Shell pilot! I don't buy a new pilot book every few years, but the updated precis in an almanac is very useful. I buy a cheap almanac (PBO) most years and a Big Mac every 2 or 3 years, and keep it on board until I buy the next one.

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[richardandtracy]

When it comes to coastal pilots etc. I feel that Europeans are ill served by their governments for such information.

The US distributes all their coastal pilots for free over the web, and a large number of their charts are available too (see http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/ ). You only pay if you want a hard copy. The US is also slowly publishing their pilot charts (see http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/pubs/) and other documents. What a fantastic and generous resource these sites are. It rather shows how mean spirited European governments are that this information is not so freely available.

Regards

Richard.


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[Boathook]

Re: Almanacs re:Gelfi

I get Macmillans/Reeds each year. Looked at the PBO one and others but found the spacing for the tide times to small and open to fingure error !
I will look at other again this winter but better the devil you know ...

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[charles_reed]

I'd agree - as long it's dealing with French coasts.

Get beyond those and it gets very sketchy indeed, whereas Macmillans Reeds is consistent.

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