Bahamas Charts

[Impetuous 3]

Just after the first of the year (2012), my wife and I will begin what we hope will be a 5-month cruise of the Bahamas. I have recent Bahamas charts on my Garmin chart plotter and a couple of versions of e-charts on my laptop. That said, I plan to carry paper charts for planning and backup. I've found chart kits from explorercharts.com and nvcharts.com that appear to cover the 3 island groups. I would welcome comments or suggestions regarding acquisition of appropriate paper charts or chart books.

Any help?

Thanks,
Impetuous III
Cabo Rico 38
Oriental, NC

[FSMike]

The Explorer charts are the bible for the Bahamas. I also recommend Steve Pavilidis's cruising guides. With any luck I'll see you down there.
Have fun!

[onestepcsy37]

i use the explorer charts almost exclusively - don't have a mapping gps or any kind of electronic charts. very dependable and great for route planning. also good for adding your own waypoints when necessary.

the only addition i would make would be, in the abacos, the steve dodge abaco guide. it's only about 25 dollars. it has some routes in it that are not shown in the explorer charts that i would not have otherwise known about.

[Sunspot Baby]

Ditto Explorer Charts.

We'll look for Impetuous III on the water in the Bahamas.

George

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Impetuous 3.

[svcattales]

Explorer charts have the best details on harbors and for making passages. We use them exclusively.

Explorer charts have some local info, but Steve Pavlidis guides offer lots of local history, where to eat, and some detailed sailing directions into tricky anchorages. Worth the extra investment. Likewise, Steve Dodges guide to the Abacos is worth the investment.

Hope to see you there this winter.

[57guy]

Nothing takes the place of Explorer Charts. Consider an iPad 3G with plan2Nav app. Its free and the Bahama C-Maps for it are only $10. I'm told the C-maps are digital copies of the Explorer Charts.
I don't use paper guides anymore. I use active Captain. Its updated regular. The data in the paper guides I have purchased are sometimes 1-2 years old when I buy it

[sck5]

garmin's electronic charts are based on the explorer charts

[57guy]

Originally Posted by sck5

garmin's electronic charts are based on the explorer charts

How much do Garmin's charts cost?

[cagney]

Anyone with experience of the nv charts -..::NV-Charts.com::.. ?

Thomas