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08-01-2013, 06:58
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: The Bahamas
Posts: 23
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Visual Passage Planner
Hello All...can anyone give me advice on the Visual Passage Planner software..is it any good, would it replace pilot charts, is it user friendly ? any advice would be appreciated..I am off to the Pacific soon and wonder if it would be helpful to have..Thanks Smooth Sailing
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20-04-2013, 13:47
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#2
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 143
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Re: Visual Passage Planner
Great program. I've used it since the first version and it does exactly what it is supposed to do. And good support the one time that I needed it.
Rick
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20-04-2013, 22:15
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#3
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,663
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Re: Visual Passage Planner
It's a good product, and it provides the same information as the pilot charts. It may even have better resolution (detail). It is useful for "big picture" route-planning, but it's not going to give you current, actual, conditions. Remember, it's showing you a long-term seasonal average. Conditions on any given day can be completely different that the average. For real-time route planning you need wfax, or GRIB, or some other source of current data and forecasts.
__________________
Paul Elliott, S/V VALIS - Pacific Seacraft 44 #16 - Friday Harbor, WA
www.sailvalis.com
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21-04-2013, 01:10
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2013
Boat: Cape George 34
Posts: 59
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I wish they would come out with a IOS version.
__________________
"Shipmates on a boundless sea, through life we're sailing by the lee"
- The Salty Bard Pirate Poetry Project
SaltyBard.com
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19-08-2013, 20:20
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#6
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 589
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ainsley
Hello All...can anyone give me advice on the Visual Passage Planner software..is it any good, would it replace pilot charts, is it user friendly ? any advice would be appreciated..I am off to the Pacific soon and wonder if it would be helpful to have..Thanks Smooth Sailing
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Download the demo version, it's very good.
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31-08-2013, 18:16
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#7
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Boston, MA
Boat: 1981 Bristol 32 Sloop
Posts: 17,523
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Re: Visual Passage Planner
Quote:
..good product, and it provides the same information as the pilot charts. It may even have better resolution (detail). It is useful for "big picture" route-planning, but it's not going to give you current, actual, conditions. Remember, it's showing you a long-term seasonal average. Conditions on any given day can be completely different that the average....
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Opencpn with Climatology & Weather Routing plugins is a similar "big picture" tool.
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31-08-2013, 20:56
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 589
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rgleason
Opencpn with Climatology & Weather Routing plugins is a similar "big picture" tool.
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Are both these plugins past the beta stage?
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01-09-2013, 03:31
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#9
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Boston, MA
Boat: 1981 Bristol 32 Sloop
Posts: 17,523
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Re: Visual Passage Planner
Climatology is released and Sean is now adding Currents from 1992-2012. Climatology is quite an extensive database with wonderful graphs, including wind, current, sea level temp, sea level pressure, sea depth, cloud cover, relative humidity, cyclones, and precipitation
Weather Routing is released for Gribs, but works with Climatology too. It is not released for Climatology however.
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01-09-2013, 06:24
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#10
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: between the devil and the deep blue sea
Boat: a sailing boat
Posts: 20,420
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Re: Visual Passage Planner
We used VPP, now with VPP2. Good stuff.
Remember actual wx in any given year may be way off the averages. In fact, there may be not a single year when the data is 'spot on'. If this puzzles you, read on 'averages', how they are made and how to use them.
b.
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01-09-2013, 06:53
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Helsingborg
Boat: Dufour 35
Posts: 3,891
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Re: Visual Passage Planner
Quote:
Originally Posted by bazzer
Are both these plugins past the beta stage?
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In my opinion, both are still beta quality. Both are very promising but needs more real life testing, particularly the wx routing plugin. I can't remember seeing any reports of actual passage testing.
Thomas
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02-09-2013, 21:17
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#12
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Boston, MA
Boat: 1981 Bristol 32 Sloop
Posts: 17,523
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Re: Visual Passage Planner
In Visual Passage Planner, I like: Simplicity and ease of creating a routing.
Instant Report with Route information and averages.
Additional data types of Dew Point, %Heavy Icing and % Light Icing.
I particularly like the Preference item for Method of Calculating Wind speed and direction during simulation of passage. 1. Use weighted average of all occurrences
2. Use highest percent occurrence.
I think it is perfectly reasonable to have two or three methods of calculation to apply to most appropriate one for the route, in the judgement of the user, because it addresses what we have noticed with Opencpn weather_routing plugin's use of Climatology plugin data. The routing finds the trade routes, but in areas where there is a high degree of variability it tends to result in routings that are too fast, because I believe it is using a method like #2 above. Having several other calculation methods, one similar to item #1 above, which I suggested earlier (the summary vector could be pre-calculated and added to the database) might be very useful.
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