Charts for navigating thru the Exumas?

[dmw0214]

Hello,

I am planning a trip thru the Bahamas, starting at Nassau, and sailing down the Exumas chain. But there does not appear to be good nautical charts for this area. NOAA does not cover the Bahamas, and the NGA charts seem to have a "hole" there.

Can anyone recommend a good solution? I see lots and lots of Cruising Guides at Amazon.com, but maps in cruising guides typically have the disclaimer: "Not to be used for navigation!"

I've also seen ads for the Explorer Chartbook for the Exumas, which from the description, sounds like it might be a viable option. Has anyone out there used this publication? How good is it, for navigational purposes?

[Dulcesuenos]

Everything has the disclaimer "not to be used for navigation lol. We use garmin, and g2vision cards, and cmap / plan2nav, and Explorer charts.

[Dave852]

Originally Posted by dmw0214

Hello,



I am planning a trip thru the Bahamas, starting at Nassau, and sailing down the Exumas chain. But there does not appear to be good nautical charts for this area. NOAA does not cover the Bahamas, and the NGA charts seem to have a "hole" there.



Can anyone recommend a good solution? I see lots and lots of Cruising Guides at Amazon.com, but maps in cruising guides typically have the disclaimer: "Not to be used for navigation!"



I've also seen ads for the Explorer Chartbook for the Exumas, which from the description, sounds like it might be a viable option. Has anyone out there used this publication? How good is it, for navigational purposes?

Buy the explorer chart and forget the rest.

[bvander]

For paper charts buy explorer chart kits. Get all three sets
For electronic charting use either garmin or cmap if you can, they both have bought liscences for explorer data.

Explorer charts are the gold standard for bahamas.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by dmw0214

I've also seen ads for the Explorer Chartbook for the Exumas, which from the description, sounds like it might be a viable option. Has anyone out there used this publication? How good is it, for navigational purposes?

Explorer Charts are the gold standard for the Bahamas in charts and navigation (I actually typed that before I read Bvander's post!). Our first trip, we went without them (they didn't exist yet). I wouldn't even dream of going without them, now.

One of the reasons we bought Garmin Chartplotters for our boat, was the fact that they used Explorer Chartbooks for their Bahamas data.

And, they are more than charts. They are cruising guides as well, chock full of useful information.

Well worth the costs.

[sailing_gal]

Ditto on the Explorer charts, and buy the Exumas Cruising Guide, and a really good pair of polarized sunglasses with brown rather than gray lenses- the better to watch the color of the water. And keep in mind, things are constantly shifting in the Exumas, so tread carefully- try not to sail with the sun's glare in your eyes, and never travel at night.

[akprb]

The Exumas are so over charted and over documented, next to impossible to screw it up at this point in history.

That being said, folks do.

My two cents-look up every now and then and get off the "magenta line" ;-)

[Group9]

http://explorercharts.com/index.php?...d=54&Itemid=56

Originally Posted by akprb

The Exumas are so over charted and over documented, next to impossible to screw it up at this point in history.

That being said, folks do.

My two cents-look up every now and then and get off the "magenta line" ;-)

Yep. Big changes. I first sailed to the Bahamas in 1987. I last sailed there May, 2016. Almost a completely different places. Some bad, some good.

Without GPS or the Explorer Charts, I think I remember us being lost most of the time on our first trip!

In 1987, almost everywhere we anchored outside of Nassau and Bimini, we were the only boat in sight (and we even watched a parade of cigarette boats full of Colombians leaving Morgan's Bluff one evening just at dark).

I'm surprised to say, I kind of think I like it better now. You can still find the solitude if you want it (i.e. Ragged Islands, Acklins) but you can find as much civilization as you want, too.

[wayne.b]

Originally Posted by dmw0214

Hello,

I am planning a trip thru the Bahamas, starting at Nassau, and sailing down the Exumas chain. But there does not appear to be good nautical charts for this area. NOAA does not cover the Bahamas, and the NGA charts seem to have a "hole" there.

Can anyone recommend a good solution? I see lots and lots of Cruising Guides at Amazon.com, but maps in cruising guides typically have the disclaimer: "Not to be used for navigation!"

I've also seen ads for the Explorer Chartbook for the Exumas, which from the description, sounds like it might be a viable option. Has anyone out there used this publication? How good is it, for navigational purposes?

===

The Explorer charts are as good as it gets. As others have pointed out, they are also available in electronic form from C-map (what I have), and supposedly Garmin.

Coming south from eastern Nassau you will see a cloud of coral heads known as Yellow Bank. Staying fairly close to the Explorer routes, I've never seen less than 10 to 12 feet of water, usually much more.

[akprb]

I too started going over mid 80's. We had essentially nothing electronic (RDF and VHF) and yes it took a long time to figure out if that was Bimini, Gun or Cat (it was Gun).

That old cruising guide with the hand drawn charts was our bible. Remember the instructions for entering G Town? Positively cryptic!

Today we just drive in like a boss :-)

Yes, much more crowded BUT cel service everywhere, so cool, and I'd say 90% stay on or close to the "magenta line" so yes, if willing to employ the eyeballs still plenty of places to tuck into off the beaten path.

To the original poster I hope this encourages you to not fret to much about the quality or quantity of your data and just get enough to get moving ;-)

[AZUS]

We just spent 2 months up and down the Exumas, with trips to Berry's, Nassau, Eleuthera, and Cat Island thrown in. We used Explorer charts - paper, on my laptop on TimeZero, and on my Furuno plotter as a Raster file. I agree with the other commentators - this is the gold standard. Now we're in Bermuda on our way to the Med. I wish that I had Explorer charts for everywhere else we were going!

[Sailingveterinarian]

Garmin and Explorer....don't leave home without them

[wcapital]

One more affirmation for Explorer.....but would add that the CG with the old hand-drawn charts also is occasionally useful; as are Google Maps (in satellite mode) and Earth. I kept Maps running most of the time when in shallower areas, and in most of the Bahamas Google's satellite image resolution is good enough you can zoom in to see individual coral heads, with the GPS showing you exactly where you are. Like having a lookout in a crows nest (who can even see at night)! Helpful too when looking for that sandy patch among the coral and hard bottom areas while anchoring, particularly when visibility isn't great.

Those do require cellular data, but, which isn't everywhere - but if you plan ahead you can download areas to be available off-line.

Good as they are, the Explorer charts aren't perfect - more sources of information are always better.

[Sailingveterinarian]

Actually, in reality, the most important thing is your five senses. Look up and around...not just at your charts and chartplotter. Be aware of everything important around you. No sightseeing going through cuts. Mental focus...one of the best parts of sailing. This from a 15 year high school baseball coach who taught the mental game to all his players. Control The controllable...

[hpeer]

We just did the Bahamas for the first time. We used Explorer charts. I bought a paper copy, useful for planning and dreaming. But also got the electronic raster charts for INavex and used my iPhone with iPad as backup. 2 devices, one charge.