Skipper Bobs?

[SVRocinante]

Good day all

Quick question for those of you that might know - I'm about to purchase Skipper Bob's "Anchorages Along the Intracoastal Waterway"

Am I, in essence, paying for the same info I would get via Active Captain or does it contain added value?

Thanks,

[Vasco]

Skipper Bobs is very handy. Besides anchorages it has bridges etc and tidal ranges and mileages. The mileage numbers come in handy when planning day's run and when trying to catch bridges. And the format beats Active captain. Easier to flip a page or two instead of trying to separate the wheat from the chaff in Active Captain. And it's never down nor do you need a good signal strength.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Vasco

Skipper Bobs is very handy. Besides anchorages it has bridges etc and tidal ranges and mileages. The mileage numbers come in handy when planning day's run and when trying to catch bridges. And the format beats Active captain. Easier to flip a page or two instead of trying to separate the wheat from the chaff in Active Captain. And it's never down nor do you need a good signal strength.

Agree. I found it very handy on the ICW. It is arranged by mile marker so very handy to keep by the helm and keep track of what's coming. One very handy feature are the bridge listings. The name of the bridge is listed, any opening restrictions and the VHF channel they monitor. If you call the bridge using the correct name I find they always answer. Unlike when I call something like "sailboat southbound on ICW marker at 145 calling bridge on Highway 123" which seems to get a response maybe half the time if I'm lucky.

I also like to check any updates online (Waterway Guide, Active Captain and Cruisersnet) for new hazards, shoaling, bridge closing or construction, etc and add that to the Skipper Bob in the appropriate location by mile marker.

[SVRocinante]

Thanks Vasco & skipmac - good to get validation... waiting to hear back from them as to when the next update is due out & will then purchase.

Thanks again for taking the time to provide your thoughts!

[SVRocinante]

One more question - does it cover the Outer Banks area (Albemarle Sound, Pamlico Sound) and the various inlets from the Atlantic or just "The ICW"?

Thanks again!

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by SVRocinante

Good day all

Quick question for those of you that might know - I'm about to purchase Skipper Bob's "Anchorages Along the Intracoastal Waterway"

Am I, in essence, paying for the same info I would get via Active Captain or does it contain added value?

Thanks,

I haven't read the Skipper Bob's "Anchorages Along the Intracoastal Waterway" , but I bet it isn't the same as Active Captain. Instead I bet it is way further out of date as to info.

I could be wrong as I've only had one Skipper Bob book and if I had believed it we probably wouldn't have gone to the Bahamas.

[rwidman]

Personally, I find the Skipper Bobs anchorage book harder to use than Active Captain. True, many of the reviews on Active Captain seem to be written by idiots, but finding the anchorages (or marinas, bridges, etc.) seems much simpler and you have a picture of what is around you. The original information published by Active Captain (not the reviews) for each place seems pretty accurate.

I have taken the Skipper Bob books and other anchorage books with me and never opened them on the entire trip.

[SecondBase]

I'm writing this as a guy who hasn't cracked open a paper chart in years. Interestingly, my copy of Skipper Bobs earned its spot in the wheel house.

Don't travel the AICW without it if it is your first journey or two. My trip got a lot easier once I took the suggestion from an old salt to get a copy.

Bridges - which bridge am I hailing? The name on the e-chart is not the name the bridge likes to be called by.

How far is the next bridge? SB is the fastest source of that info and already indexed to the open page.

Day planning - ok it's going to be a 70 mile day on the ICW today so rough stopping point is about here .. and there are (or more importantly ARE NOT) options around the planned end point.

SB is a dependable baseline - what they write is what you're going to get. I like starting with SB.

What do I get with ActiveCaptain? Hopefully we get (coming soon?) clearcut GDPR Compliance. With that basic human decency out of the way the value add of AC is:

- location-keyed hazard alerts

- many many many extra (extraneous?) details about the primary anchorage and 20 opinions on this is or is not good in a NNE breeze but not a NE blow.

- hidden little AICW anchorages that didn't make the primary SB list (those notes tend to be provided with care and very accurate)

- more fuel dock phone numbers

I recommend you keep both SB and AC available. They fill very different needs for me at least.

[dpddj]

My first time down the ditch I carried SB and Active Captain. AC worked well but I did consult SB time to time.
I had a DERP moment when I realized the miles ticked off on ICW are statute miles. Explained the difference between chart plotter at the end of a day.

[SVRocinante]

Thanks for all the additional input: sailorboy1, rwidman, SecondBase & dpddj - greatly appreciated!

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by SecondBase

I'm writing this as a guy who hasn't cracked open a paper chart in years. Interestingly, my copy of Skipper Bobs earned its spot in the wheel house.

Don't travel the AICW without it if it is your first journey or two. My trip got a lot easier once I took the suggestion from an old salt to get a copy.

Bridges - which bridge am I hailing? The name on the e-chart is not the name the bridge likes to be called by.

How far is the next bridge? SB is the fastest source of that info and already indexed to the open page.

Day planning - ok it's going to be a 70 mile day on the ICW today so rough stopping point is about here .. and there are (or more importantly ARE NOT) options around the planned end point.

SB is a dependable baseline - what they write is what you're going to get. I like starting with SB.

What do I get with ActiveCaptain? Hopefully we get (coming soon?) clearcut GDPR Compliance. With that basic human decency out of the way the value add of AC is:

- location-keyed hazard alerts

- many many many extra (extraneous?) details about the primary anchorage and 20 opinions on this is or is not good in a NNE breeze but not a NE blow.

- hidden little AICW anchorages that didn't make the primary SB list (those notes tend to be provided with care and very accurate)

- more fuel dock phone numbers

I recommend you keep both SB and AC available. They fill very different needs for me at least.

Excellent advice, and I agree wholeheartedly based on my experience as well. And our experience was using SB on the Gulf side ICW. Plus it's about $20 or less?

[Auspicious]

Hi Carlos,

The "best" cruising guide varies from person to person.

My favorite is On The Water Chart Guides but the Doyles have moved on in their lives and their guides are hard to come by.

I've also carried and used Skipper Bobs (before and after he passed), Waterway Guide, and Kettlewell.

What works best for me is Kettlewell (big picture, bridge info), ActiveCaptain (detail), and the latest (electronic) charts.

My suggestion to you is to flip through the options (West Marine, "Look Inside" at Amazon) and see what format makes the most sense for *you*.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by dpddj

My first time down the ditch I carried SB and Active Captain. AC worked well but I did consult SB time to time.
I had a DERP moment when I realized the miles ticked off on ICW are statute miles. Explained the difference between chart plotter at the end of a day.

You probably already know that you can change the chart plotter to statute miles.

I don't bother. With the reversing tidal currents along most of the AICW, it's tough to calculate how long it will take to get from one point to another anyway. It may be 40 miles over ground but 50 miles over through water. Or 30 miles. The next time you travel that same stretch it will be different.