Queensland: What charts, guides, maps

[Boracay]

We're hopefully headed for Queensland sometime soon and I'm wondering what charts, maps and guides are needed.

I can get up the coast with NSW Maritime Authority maps and my plotter and CMap wide area charts but what is needed for Queensland?

I have Alan Lucas' guide, and he recommends at least the 300 series small scale charts. Nice, but I believe they are costing out at close to $60 each now so I don't want to buy more than necessary.

Maritime Safety Queensland has some reasonably priced charts, but I don't know how relevant they are for cruisers.

Any suggestions?

[barnakiel]

We used Lucas. I liked it. Regular charts. I think perhaps 6 sheets covered all the way to the cape. They were good too. Get the newest editions as the older ones are to detailed in soundings - hard to read.

b.

[rusky]

Ok, your plotter should suffice. I used the bellinham charts as b/u or reference etc. Lucas can be a little optimistic, lets leave it at that. The whitsunday guide [100magic miles] is tops. Cruising the curtis coast is great but the mudmaps are out of scale.

When you get to moreton bay, call me and I can pencil in on the 'lucas' or the other guides which places I could recomend etc.

Remember that the plotter and paper charts are wonderful [where ships go], otherwise a little eyeball nav is always recomended

[Jim Cate]

G'Day Boracay,

If you have a laptop on board (and your continued presence here on CF suggests that you do) I'd recommend downloading OpenCPN and finding a copy of CM93 somewhere. This, coupled with Lucas and the more detailed area guides like the Curtis Coast, etc, will do everything you need.

It is always wise to carry basic paper charts as well, and for the fiscally challenged (like most of us) xerox is your friend. If you haven't got a source of charts to copy, we'll be back in the Sydney/Broken Bay area within a few weeks and would be happy to loan you ours. They are definitely not the latest editions, but most of the geography is pretty stable, and we find the above combination workable.

Cheers,

Jim

[chala]

Originally Posted by Boracay

close to $60 each now
Any suggestions?

Hydro and Whitworths retail them at $35 see Australian Hydrographic Service - Pricing some retailer can sell some old stock, “Notices to Mariners” at the bottom left of the chart should let you know how old they are, also check “Notices to Mariners” at hydro, you may find valuable free informations.
Good sailing.

[dbostrom]

Reiterating Rusty's recommendation on "100 Magic Miles," if you're planning on spending some time in the Whitsunday group. In particular the guidance on anchorages is quite detailed w/regard to approaches, hazards, suitability for seasonal conditions and doubtless will contribute to better relaxation.

That's the theory, anyway. We're doing a bareboat charter there in a couple of months; I'm certainly feeling more confident about overnight choices for the time of year we'll be there thanks to perusing "100MM."

Used copies are available online.

Here in the US I was able to pick up a copy of AUS252 for US$40, another must-have. The boat we're chartering has an electronic chart plotter but we're planning this trip around tides versus destinations so the chart is another relaxation tool.

[ozskipper]

dbostrom is spot on with the 100 magic miles book. I used to love the Crawfords Mariners Atlas's for back up nav as well as trip planning. Very handy if the plotter goes down. This one gets you to bundy. Boat Books Australia

[Factor]

Charts
Crawfords Mariners Atlas as back up charts
if you are going inside Fraser island then the two Sandy Straights MSQ charts are very useful.

Cruising Guides
Lucas for the whole coast
Beacon to Beacon for anchorages and protected waters and similar will take you from Tweed to Gladstone
Curtis Coast is excellent from Bundy to Mackay
100 Magic Miles from Mackay to Bowen
Going Troppo from Bowen to Lizard Island

[Owe Hansson]

This is a great tool when sailing up the coast. It lists the relevant charts for different areas but also VHF repeaters, coast guard contacts etc
Passage Planner :Skipr.net

[Factor]

Originally Posted by Owe Hansson

This is a great tool when sailing up the coast. It lists the relevant charts for different areas but also VHF repeaters, coast guard contacts etc
Passage Planner :Skipr.net

QFT

Its an excellent reference for the east coast of Australia

[surfingminniwinni]

Lucas, 100 mm and passage planner all great. Probably just me but I find Beacon to Beacon bloody confusing!

[Jim Cate]

Well, IMO Beacon to Beacon is pretty useless for keel boats since it doesn't have soundings on its charts. Seems to be designed for tinnies and skateboards who don't worry about thickness of water. Too bad, because it shows lots of stuff in great detail!

Cheers,
Jim

[chala]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

it doesn't have soundings on its charts.

I suppose because soundings are copyright and so are the AHS charts after all xeros may not be such a good friend.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by rusky

Lucas can be a little optimistic, lets leave it at that.

Could you please elaborate on that statement for our education?

We have found Alan's advice to be quite conservative over the years, and optimistic seems a peculiar word to describe his guides.

Cheers,

Jim

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Could you please elaborate on that statement for our education?

+1

We too found Lucas accurate. Our only minor objection was that we found swell in some 'calm' anchorages but calm in many 'rolly' ones. I bet there is simply no rule and things change between years and seasons.

b.