Where to Purchase Paper Charts

[Tudorsailor]

You don't need the very latest plotter. A Raymarine C95w on eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254482895172?ul_noapp=true will do the job. It transmits the display to any tablet or phone running the Raymarine app.

If you do have radar, that would need to be digital.

The advantage of Imray charts are that the chartlets are identical to the chartlets in the Pilot books. In truth the charts are mostly left in the chart table

Navionics on the phone is ideal as a back up and to aid planning. One subscription covers all devices with the same email. So buy a 8" or 10" tablet and a RAM mount for the helm. Then you can alternate between the Navionics charts or the repeat of the plotter.

AIS is very useful. Get a transponder and not just a receiver so that the high speed ferries and the fishing boats can see you. Not every fishing boat transmits AIS but I suspect that most have a receiver.

Its a great cruising area. Don't miss going to the very north in order to visit Venice

Finally it is worth joining the Cruising Association. They have an app with info on most places called Captains Mate. Some marinas give a discount for CA members. The saving will cover the cost of membership. They have a good magazine too plus a club house in central London with "cabins". https://www.theca.org.uk/about

TudorSailor

[thataway41]

Long before the days of GPS and chart plotters, we sailed both the Agean and Adriatic. I was able to buy used British Admiralty charts for some of the Island and coasts. A part I relied only on a European Auto Club map. (Going in at daytime, watching the soundings, and being careful, watching the Radar). Also some of the guide books have good chartlets of the harbors and features. We had one in German for the Adriatic.--worked fine.
Today with good chart plotters and GPS and a general area map for planning, should work very well.

[captmob]

Baker Lyman in New Orleans

[Nightdiver]

Originally Posted by SaltyMetals

Nightdiver,
I suggest you bite the bullet and get an up to date plotter such as Raymarine Axiom (running LH 3) or equivalent and then a Navionics card. You will probably need a plugin converter from NMEA 183 to the latest 2000/Seatalk but that is not rocket science for the electronics guys. You might also need to change the radar if you have an old one.

Cheaper way of getting good Navionics charts would be to subscribe to the App on yr phone or iPad but this may leave you with a problem of visibility in bright sunlight or heavy rain.

Either way, if you are on the eastern side of the Adriatic such as Croatia you need good accurate up to date chart info. Most of the things you might hit have been around for a while (=rocks!) but some approaches might hv silted up, particulaly on the Italian side, or some others might now hv been dredged.
Best of luck
Andrew

Thanks Salty,
I think I'm good on paper charts now. Probably bought more than I needed but they look so good spread out on my dining room table.

The boat I bought has 15 year old electronics. I do need to replace them but I'm going to wait until I get the boat to Turkey where the refit work is cheaper. The old chartplotter on the boat still works and I have my handheld Garmin as a back up plus a new handheld VHS with DCS and GPS. So with the addition of paper charts as back up, I think I'm good. I do want to purchase Rod Heikels book for the area.

What I need to do now is kind of what you suggested, do my homework and decide what I need in new electronic. I.E. new Chartplotter, GPS, VHS, AIS, radar. I don't think anything on the boat is digital and after 15 years I suspect there have been a lot of improvements.

[Nightdiver]

Originally Posted by Oyster406

Nightdiver,

I chartered a boat out of Athens and did a couple of weeks around the Cyclades two years ago. I used Eagle Ray's Sea Guide, found it superb, complete set of official charts including large scale when needed, detailed pilotage and a good amount of local history/ tour guide info of all the islands.

They aren't "cheap" purely as charts, but including Pilotage etc etc I think great value (You won't need Hienkel's excellent book if you have these for example)

https://eagleray.gr/en/pilot-book/

Hope you enjoy the trip (We did!)

Thanks Oyster, there are so many good suggestions on here. But I'm going to stick with the Admiralty charts this time. I might try one of the others for next leg back from Turkey to Greece. This trip is going to be a relatively quick one. About 1,000nm with maybe one stop in Greece. Once I get the refit done I'll be up for more of a leisurely cruise like you did.

[Nightdiver]

Originally Posted by Visarend

Hope you don't mind me going a bit OT, but I would strongly advise you to have a redundant electronic system - that could be absolutely cheap. Just install on your smartphone and/or tablet Navionics charts: the Mediterranean package comes for around $20 a year, very useful here.

I'm a big believer in redundancy Visarend. With the existing chartplotter and my garmin that gives me a primary and a secondary with paper charts as the third backup.
The problem I worry about with the smartphone or tablet is having a connection. The boat has a sat dish on it and wireless. I'm trying to get it up and operating now. If I can do that, then I'll take your suggestion to heart and load the Navionics on my laptop.

[Nightdiver]

Originally Posted by Bunnellr

Three years in the Med. In order: good chartplotter, Rod the God Heikel, Navionics, AIS.

Thanks for the advice Bunnell. I agree with those priorities. I'm definitely getting a couple of Heikell guides, the Navionics if I can get the wireless up and running. I'll have to make do with the old chartplotter for this trip.

[Nightdiver]

Originally Posted by Tudorsailor

You don't need the very latest plotter. A Raymarine C95w on eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254482895172?ul_noapp=true will do the job. It transmits the display to any tablet or phone running the Raymarine app.

If you do have radar, that would need to be digital.

The advantage of Imray charts are that the chartlets are identical to the chartlets in the Pilot books. In truth the charts are mostly left in the chart table

Navionics on the phone is ideal as a back up and to aid planning. One subscription covers all devices with the same email. So buy a 8" or 10" tablet and a RAM mount for the helm. Then you can alternate between the Navionics charts or the repeat of the plotter.

AIS is very useful. Get a transponder and not just a receiver so that the high speed ferries and the fishing boats can see you. Not every fishing boat transmits AIS but I suspect that most have a receiver.

Its a great cruising area. Don't miss going to the very north in order to visit Venice

Finally it is worth joining the Cruising Association. They have an app with info on most places called Captains Mate. Some marinas give a discount for CA members. The saving will cover the cost of membership. They have a good magazine too plus a club house in central London with "cabins". https://www.theca.org.uk/about

TudorSailor

Great advice Tudor. I like the idea of the tablet on a Ram mount. The chartplotter in the cockpit is all the way forward. It's impossible to make out any detail from the helm. The tablet on a Ram mount will solve that problem.

[Tudorsailor]

Originally Posted by Nightdiver

I'm a big believer in redundancy Visarend. With the existing chartplotter and my garmin that gives me a primary and a secondary with paper charts as the third backup.
The problem I worry about with the smartphone or tablet is having a connection. The boat has a sat dish on it and wireless. I'm trying to get it up and operating now. If I can do that, then I'll take your suggestion to heart and load the Navionics on my laptop.

I think you need to understand that Navionics on tablet or phone does not need a data/internet connection once loaded. As long as your phone or tablet has GPS, which most do, then navionics works like a plotter. One subscription allows you to load on all devices.

Navionics on a laptop does need a data connection so is not useful.

TS

[aquadreams]

Originally Posted by Tudorsailor

I think you need to understand that Navionics on tablet or phone does not need a data/internet connection once loaded. As long as your phone or tablet has GPS, which most do, then navionics works like a plotter. One subscription allows you to load on all devices.
TS

If your phone or tablet doesn't have GPS, you can get an external GPS receiver like BadElf that will send the GPS signal via bluetooth to your phone or tablet. I use a BadElf to provide GPS to my non-GPS iPad and have Garmin BlueCharts app on the iPad. Works like a charm.



https://bad-elf.com/pages/be-gps-2200-detail

[Nightdiver]

Originally Posted by Tudorsailor

I think you need to understand that Navionics on tablet or phone does not need a data/internet connection once loaded. As long as your phone or tablet has GPS, which most do, then navionics works like a plotter. One subscription allows you to load on all devices.

Navionics on a laptop does need a data connection so is not useful.

TS

My smart phone does have GPS, that's how it finds where I am when I use maps. But maybe I misunderstand how the phone works. I thought the GPS only works if I have a connection to a cell tower. If I'm out of site of land, chances are I'm out of range of a cell tower. Are you saying that GPS on the phone works independently by satellite direct connection?

The existing Furno Chartplotter has GPS which I believe gets it's signal satellite direct.
My hand held Garmin is also satellite direct.
There is even a second GPS on the boat. It is an old Philips GPS Mk 6, but it still works.

[S/V Adeline]

Originally Posted by Nightdiver

My smart phone does have GPS, that's how it finds where I am when I use maps. But maybe I misunderstand how the phone works. I thought the GPS only works if I have a connection to a cell tower. If I'm out of site of land, chances are I'm out of range of a cell tower. Are you saying that GPS on the phone works independently by satellite direct connection?

The existing Furno Chartplotter has GPS which I believe gets it's signal satellite direct.
My hand held Garmin is also satellite direct.
There is even a second GPS on the boat. It is an old Philips GPS Mk 6, but it still works.

Quick and easy way to determine if your phone is GPS off cell tower vs GPS off satellite is to go into your settings and disable DATA. You can also physically remove the provider sim card if you don't trust the DATA method(some have security programs that enable GPS tracking of phone regardless of settings). If GPS is still functioning, it's reading off the satellites.

[slug]

Originally Posted by Nightdiver

Thanks for the advice Bunnell. I agree with those priorities. I'm definitely getting a couple of Heikell guides, the Navionics if I can get the wireless up and running. I'll have to make do with the old chartplotter for this trip.

Avoid Navionics ....low quality , many mistakes

For instance if you sail from Mallorca to Cabo Oropesa with Navionic you will come to grief on the Columbretes or tangle with uncharted gas platforms

[Tudorsailor]

Originally Posted by slug

Avoid Navionics ....low quality , many mistakes

For instance if you sail from Mallorca to Cabo Oropesa with Navionic you will come to grief on the Columbretes or tangle with uncharted gas platforms

I have to disagree with your low opinion of Navionics. Firstly the charts are up to date and in fact one can update almost daily. Secondly these are the same charts that are on my Raymarine plotter
Columbretes are clearly shown on the chart but admittedly not at the zoom that you have screenshotted. So for planning purposes, one always has to zoom along your route, as with any chart plotter

Tudorsailor

[Tudorsailor]

Originally Posted by Nightdiver

My smart phone does have GPS, that's how it finds where I am when I use maps. But maybe I misunderstand how the phone works. I thought the GPS only works if I have a connection to a cell tower. If I'm out of site of land, chances are I'm out of range of a cell tower. Are you saying that GPS on the phone works independently by satellite direct connection?

The existing Furno Chartplotter has GPS which I believe gets it's signal satellite direct.
My hand held Garmin is also satellite direct.
There is even a second GPS on the boat. It is an old Philips GPS Mk 6, but it still works.

What phone do you have?

For Android phones, the accuracy on land is improved when there is poor GPS signal with buildings in the way, by using WiFi signals. Once at sea you do not need the additional connections and GPS still works. If you turn off WiFi and data by going to airplane mode, your GPS still works. You can download https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...sim.gpsstatus2 if you want to see your GPS status

I use a Samsung table that does not have a SIM card and Navionics works fine with the maps loaded when I had WiFi that are then stored for offline use

TudorSailor