Quality of NOAA Raster Charts in Bahamas

[galynd]

I've been following and charting a fellow sailor from their departure from Kemah, Texas to their current location in the Bahamas. Throughout the gulf coast and into the Keys I was very pleased with the quality of the Raster Charts I downloaded for use with OpenCpn. However, as I chart them throughout the Bahamas I'm not getting very detailed charts. In their log they refer to Seaclear and how awesome the charts are. They travel often at night, throughout the Bahamas, relying on the charts. They even mention how well certain reefs and shoals are marked.

Please don't get me wrong as I am very appreciative and amazed at the work of the OpenCpn group. I also have assumed that Seaclear uses the same charts as OpenCpn.

Therefore, are there more detailed charts of the Bahamas that I'm overlooking?

Thanks,
Greg

[fgd3]

Originally Posted by galynd

Therefore, are there more detailed charts of the Bahamas that I'm overlooking?

Thanks,
Greg

Yes. NOAA is a US agency that provides charts for US coastal waters. Because the Bahamas are so close to Florida parts of the Bahamas are charted in some of NOAA's smaller scale charts. If you want more detailed carts of the Bahamas you need to turn to other sources. As far as I know there are no Bahamian charts that can be freely downloaded.

Fabbian

[galynd]

Fabbian,

I appreciate your input very much. If you or anyone can direct me towards such detailed charts that work with OpenCpn in the Bahamas it would be very appreciated.

Greg

[osirissail]

The charts for the Bahamas are made by "Explorer Charts" and are available in both paper format and electronic format that can be displayed and used on SeaClear (for sure) and most likely also on OpenCpn. You just need to find the older versions that are not locked. Likewise the Steve Pavlidis guidebook sketch charts have been digitized for nearly a decade and are usable on both systems.

[fgd3]

Originally Posted by galynd

Please don't get me wrong as I am very appreciative and amazed at the work of the OpenCpn group. I also have assumed that Seaclear uses the same charts as OpenCpn.

Greg

SeaClear only handles raster charts. OpenCPN handles all the raster charts SeaClear handles but also handles vector charts. In other words, OpenCPN reads everything SeaClear can read but SeaClear doesn't read everything OpenCPN can read. NOAA explains the Differences Between RNCs and ENCs here.

Fabbian

[prroots]

Originally Posted by osirissail

The charts for the Bahamas are made by "Explorer Charts" and are available in both paper format and electronic format that can be displayed and used on SeaClear (for sure) and most likely also on OpenCpn. You just need to find the older versions that are not locked. Likewise the Steve Pavlidis guidebook sketch charts have been digitized for nearly a decade and are usable on both systems.

Can anyone point me to a source for the Explorer charts of the Bahamas? I wish to access them from OpenCPN. Thanks
Pete

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by prroots

Can anyone point me to a source for the Explorer charts of the Bahamas? I wish to access them from OpenCPN. Thanks
Pete

The first digital versions of the Bahamas Explorer charts were done by Maptech/BSB about a decade ago. Those are available by chart swaps and trading.
- - I have not been able to find any reference to where they may be available today in digital format and what company is doing this. I get the feeling that Garmin bought the rights to the digital Explorer Charts but have no confirmation of that and cannot find anything on the web.
- - The paper versions, which come in 3 books, are up-to-date and are available from chart stores or directly from Explorer Charts:
Welcome to Explorer Chartbooks
- - You might communicate with them directly to find out who is licensed to produce digital versions of their charts.

[prroots]

Originally Posted by osirissail

The first digital versions of the Bahamas Explorer charts were done by Maptech/BSB about a decade ago. Those are available by chart swaps and trading.
- - I have not been able to find any reference to where they may be available today in digital format and what company is doing this. I get the feeling that Garmin bought the rights to the digital Explorer Charts but have no confirmation of that and cannot find anything on the web.
- - The paper versions, which come in 3 books, are up-to-date and are available from chart stores or directly from Explorer Charts:
Welcome to Explorer Chartbooks
- - You might communicate with them directly to find out who is licensed to produce digital versions of their charts.

Thanks a lot for the clarification. I'll try contacting them directly. In the meantime, anyone willing to sell a copy of the original Maptech/BSB Explorer charts referenced above?
Pete

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by prroots

Thanks a lot for the clarification. I'll try contacting them directly. In the meantime, anyone willing to sell a copy of the original Maptech/BSB Explorer charts referenced above?
Pete

Be warned "selling" a copy of copyrighted material is illegal unless you have a license/permission from the holder of the copyright. Depending upon where you are in the world copyrights are good for up to 95 years. If money is going to be exchanged then the owner of the copyright has a legal right to their share of that money.

[prroots]

Originally Posted by osirissail

Be warned "selling" a copy of copyrighted material is illegal unless you have a license/permission from the holder of the copyright. Depending upon where you are in the world copyrights are good for up to 95 years. If money is going to be exchanged then the owner of the copyright has a legal right to their share of that money.

We're happy to purchase from the rightful owner if we can find it for sale.
Prete