Chart advice please..

[iangrant]

A real and sensible question.

What paper charts should I carry for the trip to Gib and onward to Las Palmas and St Lucia?

Bearing in mind I have a fixed computer on board with Navmaster ARCs charts, updated for UK, France, Portugal, Gib etc.... including harbours and anchorages and the N. Atlantic, Southern part.
This system is backed up onto a laptop which is connected to a second GPS.

Now I know here is a real chance that this will erupt into paper V electronics and I'm sure some responses will be the "you need paper charts and cut yer leg off and an eyepatch to be a real seadog" types, but If it has been done before I'd be pleased to hear..

Ian

 

[Talbot]

My recommends would be a chart or two to be able to plot the trip plus pilots with detailed harbour entrance data, and perhaps some better scale charts of planned landfalls ought to be sufficient. Electronic charts are not infallible - Dame Mellon recently passed some very small islands in the south Atlantic that were not on her C-Map.

 

[iangrant]

Talbot.
Thanks for that advice. I have the English channel to and CI and N France paper, and I'll buy the paper versions for Portugal, Gib and the Atlantic as you say. It will seem more natural to draw a line in pencil.

I have the pilot book for N France, Atlantic Spain & Portugal, Reeds and the N Atlantic routing Charts.

Shame about the computer charts and having to buy paper ones.. they are already there, I just can't get the Navmaster to print to the A0 plotter in a big enough scale, screen dumps seem to be the limit. (ARC electronic charts are the data files the HO print from).

Anyway it all seems like fun!!

Ian

 

[Stingo]

[ QUOTE ]
Dame Mellon recently passed some very small islands in the south Atlantic that were not on her C-Map

[/ QUOTE ]
Gonna bet you they were there and guess that she must have been zoomed out to such a scale that she couldn't see them.

 

[BlueSkyNick]

you need paper charts and cut yer leg off and an eyepatch to be a real seadog! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Twister_Ken]

My 2 cents worth.

One girt big paper chart for the entire passage (if available) and then pilot books for any planned bits of land you're going to, and any unplanned ports of refuge along the way.

 

[Sea Devil]

Frankly I would just get the 3 passage charts if you have the pilot books - Biscay - the Portuguese coast one that runs down to Gib and the atlantic chart that goes from Gib to canaries... The books will get you into the places and normally have details of the approaches -

I never put pencil to chart except during pilotage - just log lat and long every 4 hours - you can easily work up your DR post from that.

 

[iangrant]

Thanks all -

Just about to read the Bambola pages... should have looked at them in the first place !!


Ian

 

[jimi]

Jonah 1:4

 

[Gunfleet]

No you don't. Yes you do.

 

[snowleopard]

there's a lot of personal choice on the level of detail to carry. i have a friend who regularly uses 5 different charts during a channel crossing where i use one general chart and a pilot book.

here's my selection of (paper) charts, mostly imray.

falmouth to vigo
portuguese coast
madeira
canaries
gen atlantic chart (important for obtaining compass variation)
windward islands portfolio

plus pilot books:

atlantic spain & portugal
atlantic islands
windward islands (doyle)

 

[iangrant]

I only use one chart for the Channel crossing.

I've just checked and I have all the Electronic ARCs charts listed in the Atlantic Spain and Portugal RCC Pilot..

Listening to you all I'm taking your advice and will buy the big passage charts and use the PC and pilot books for Harbours and rocky bits.


Ian

 

[Sybarite]

I thought that

Jonah 1 : 5

was more your style.

John

 

[TigaWave]

All you have to do is take a printer (or do it at home), print off the relevant charts on sheets of A4 from your chart software.
They are also easy to use in the cockpit in a plastic sleeve, I print off several charts for each passage at different scales to cover whole route to harbour pilotage.

 

[LadyInBed]

I would take a couple of small scale passage charts and a copy of Blocmarine Pilot. It’s got all the chartlets you will need.

 

[Sea Devil]

Tigerwave is right - I cruised most of Indonisia with A4 selotaped together screendumped from C-map. Printed the passage bits just in case the laptop died!

 

[cookedd]

I agree with the guys saying print outs as back up. I have sailed up and down the East Coast of OZ and around Tassie. I use the Endevour Navigation software, compatible with ARC. BUT, I always print out A3 copies that I keep in plastic sleeves that are neatly in a Folio. Better safe than sorry!

Of interest to anyone cruising NZ or NZ south pacific islands (Cooks etc)
You can get ALL of the NZ electronic charts (about 57 of them) for just NZ$ 69.............that would be around 23 pounds!!!!! Click on: http://www.linz.govt.nz/rcs/linz/pub/web/root/core/Hydrography/DigitalCharting/rncs/rncs/index.jsp