A collection of chart-related resources

Free Downloadable Satellite Charts by Cruisers

A growing number of experienced cruisers are creating, maintaining and sharing large collections of satellite charts, to keep the cruising community safer, particularly in the Pacific and Indian Oceans where the accuracy of commercial charts need to be carefully considered.

• Bruce Balan’s Chart Locker covers much of the Pacific, including parts of Mexico, French Polynesia, Japan, Taiwan, & New Zealand (among others).
• John and Sue Hacking of SV Ocelot provide free high-resolution charts covering the entire coastlines of over 40 countries. Just released on their blog is a full set of Red Sea charts to download in mbTiles format from the Canaries off North Africa through the Eastern Caribbean, much of the South Pacific and all the way to East Africa and the Red Sea.
• Sherry McCampbell of SV Soggy Paws, has downloadable charts. Her mbTiles focus more on the Red Sea and she has (older) KAPs of other areas. Sherry also provides many compendiums of different areas, collections of information from many cruising sources all collated into a single downloadable PDF file.
• Peter of Grace now has published a set of mbTiles charts that cover several countries in the Mediterranean as well as the west coast of North America, all the way from Southern Alaska down to the California/Mexico border, all at zooms 10‑18, in ArcGIS, Bing, Google, & Navionics. He also publishes his polygons, for those who want to recreate his work.
• Terry Sargent of yacht Valhalla, covering SE Asia, parts of western South Pacific and the Indian Ocean
• Mike of yacht Zen Again.

Chart sharing is a valid and useful tool to use in conjunction with official charts. Let us know if you have a collection of charts you are sharing and we’ll add you to the list.

Articles

Using OpenCPN With Satellite Imagery – by Dave and Sherry McCampbell of SV Soggy Paws

How Chart Exchanges Benefit the Cruising Community – by John and Sue Hacking of SV Ocelot

Free Digital Nautical Charts: Are they any good? – by Yachting Monthly (Feb, 2022)

Paper Charts

Following the announcement by the UKHO to withdraw their paper charts by 2026, Imray have no plans to withdraw paper charts. Imray’s focus is the leisure and small craft sector, which has different conditions and requirements to the UKHO’s primary commercial shipping market. There is still strong demand from leisure customers for paper charts and Imray remains the only private chart publisher to be recognised by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for their chart range, which is supported by weekly Correction Notices.
In recent years Imray have invested heavily in the technology which enables them to produce both print and digital charts from Electronic Navigational Chart data (supplied by the Hydrographic Offices) and they have been expanding their range of paper chart packs in response to the UKHO’s earlier decision to withdraw those. Imray’s plan is to continue to develop their offering, both paper and digital.
Find out more at this article: Paper Chart Production at Imray
https://www.imray.com/

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