Sorting out the chart question for the Race to Alaska has been an ongoing process. The choices range from stacks of paper charts, to dedicated electronics, to computers or iPads with chart software.
A full collection of paper charts to cover 750 miles is both expensive and heavy. On the other hand, electronic charts can be hard to read, and suffer all the failure possibilities of anything electronic. I can imagine few things more unnerving than to be out on the water in an unfamiliar coastal area with a piece of dead electronics, and nothing more than the sketches in the cruising guide (covering only immediate harbors) for any information about water depths, and the existence of both channels and rocks.
Chartbooks of reprinted government-produced charts, that are so convenient on US coastlines, do not appear to be available for the Canadian shore, possibly due to copyright issues with the Canadian government; NOAA charts in the US may be freely copied by anybody, including for secondary sale. There is a set of independently produced chartbooks, Marine Atlas, for which I had high hopes originally. Alas, volume 1 is in truly microscopic print (reading glasses + magnifying glass), and volume 2, for the more northerly section of the trip, does not show water depths, or latitude and longitude scales at the edges of each page. That last is a total dealbreaker.
As a result of all the above considerations, Team AUKLET will be carrying quite a few paper charts, along with a handheld chartplotter, and a Surface Pro 4 computer with additional electronic charts. But the paper charts will be our primary navigation resource. The computer uses too much electricity for routine navigation, and the handheld chartplotter can be seriously less than clear. I considered adding a hardwired chartplotter to the boat, but the combination of installation time, expense, and puzzles about where to locate it all nixed that idea. Besides, I really like paper charts: they are reliable, they show the big picture, and they add nothing to the electricity budget.
The hardest part about using individual charts for a long trip, to me, has been trying to keep them organized so it’s possible to find the right one at the right time without a crazy search. Sailing the New England coast, most charts are available in big Maptech chartbooks, with page numbers and an index chart at the front that has outlines showing the coverage for each individual sheet. Eventually it occurred to me that it would be ideal to have exactly such an index for the charts carried on the boat for the r2ak. Over the last few weeks, thanks to my cartographer friend Dave McDermott, we have been developing exactly that. The charts will be folded in quarters, plain side out, with large numbers written in a consistent corner of the fold; those numbers will correspond to the circled numbers on the chart index.
One might think that the overall chart indexes/catalogs available from NOAA and from the Canadian Hydrographic Service might do this job, without nearly so much extra work. But there are so many charts outlined in those catalogs that it truly becomes spaghetti, making it far from straightforward to sort out which is which. It has felt important, especially given the possibilities for functioning while seriously tired, to make this as simple as possible. Thank you Dave!
The resulting index is the one in the picture at the top of this page. It may be freely copied, just not for money, and with attention to the disclaimer about the possibility for errors and that it is not intended for navigation. For a PDF version with better resolution, click here to download: r2ak chart index-2019
Thanks again to Dave McDermott for this marvelous chart index. To see more of Dave’s cartography, and his thoughts on mapping, check out his blog: https://ofmapsandmapping.wordpress.com/
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Next time:
For those in serious suspense, news is that boat transport now has a plan – more on that soon. Thank you Chris Shelton!
What an interesting Chart Index! I’m impressed by the work involved, and I like the resulting graphic. Congratulations on this step forward in preparing for the race.
Hi Sandy,
You’ve been on my mind, in this preparation process. Somehow similar to our wild treks in the Peep Hen. Alaska and BC are bigger, and further out, but we broke some new ground. Intrepid and enthusiastic crew making all the difference!
I am glad you have the paper charts. By having the information readily available, they can insure you stay in track. I have used the chart depths to double check location when lost in fog, when no plotter was available. Its comforting reinforcement if today’s electronic marvels fail. It is also good for adding a note or information that might assist selecting the best route. I’m sure you will be prepared!
Hi Chubba,
Yes indeed, on all of that. Now I’ve heard, from discussion on Facebook, that more racers than I would have thought are carrying full sets of paper charts. Hooray!
The credit goes to you for working out a design, through lots of false starts, that might actually work from the cabin of a small boat, tired, in the dark, in the cold. Safe travels.
Team effort :-)
Hoping to stay WARM… It’s not for nothing that the boat is loaded with those chemical hot packs, as well as ages worth of charcoal for the stove :-)
I’m a great fan of paper charts myself. One thing that works quite well is to have the cruising guides for anchorages, etc and the paper charts covering the rest. This depends, of course, on the quality of the cruising guides.
In NZ our charts are also in the public domain. One thing I have found very useful is to print the chart out half size, or even quarter size for cockpit use, on high-quality, shiny, water-repellent paper. While the written scale is nonsense, the distances taken off the latitudes at the edge of the chart are accurate, of course. Knowing how enormous NOAA charts can be (ours are A0), you might find this suggestion helpful. And, possibly, cheaper!
Hi Annie!
I completely agree about the cruising guides, which come in so handy for those little chartlets. Sure do wish I still had the vision for making the print any smaller, for the other charts – I used to be the person that friends handed their medication bottles to, for reading the small print. Without glasses! Now I’m reaching for my microscope :-)
Yesterday the order for the charts finally went in – not as expensive as I had thought, because of a good special. I do think that I will print some little bridge sections between charts that don’t quite overlap, saving on getting the official one there at least. That’s great that NZ charts are also public domain – considering that we have all paid for that in taxes, it only seems right!