Cruising into uncharted waters, at least not having the charts on your boat, is a sailors challenge to his thinking and cruising pocketbook. I have been exploring multiple ways to both comply with Canadian regulations and give myself a sense of comfort about where I am and what lurks beneath the pristine waters.
Here is what I have learned.
First your need to identify the way you like to interface charts.
- Chart Plotter,
- Computer/laptop (PC/MAC),
- Paper,
- iPad/Tablet etc.
Then which program
- OpenCPN
- Coastal Explorer
- iNax
- AquaMap
- Navionics
- My own hands and eyeballs
- On the web etc.
Navionics: You can buy Canadian charts for your chart plotter that can use Navionics for about $149 a year. I do not use Navionics so have no experience in using it in Canadian waters. They claim they uses Canadian purchased data to produce their product. They refine it and enhance it then sell this service.
NauticalMind: I found this Canadian shop on line. They supply both digital and paper charts sourced from CHS. The paper charts (of which there are 90 covering North and South VanIsle ) selling for $20CDN a piece. The Digital data has been derived from the paper charts and comes in ENC or Raster format. They list the Raster Charts. They state that “Most of the CHS charts are available in ENC format” and are available by contacting them. The cost for a 2 year update chart service is $175CDN or $130USD. Their digital charts are in a format BSBv3 And are supported by Coastal Explorer, OpenCPN and other software or plotters that can import BSBv3 data.
RosePoint (Coastal Explorer) while charging $99 per year for charts and update service (for each side of Vancouver Island per year) brings with it the features of the CE software. This includes the ease of updating your charts on a frequent basis, the currents/tides/weather features of the software. Yet the annoyance of being PC (only) based software. They have a “iPad” version in beta. It will bring some convenience to users, yet it is far from ready as of this writIng.
I have been testing OpenCPN on my MAC and I am favorably impressed. I am using the NauticalMind purchased files. The software works very smoothly and is similar in GUI features to the more robust CE product. It works on both MacOS and PC. Some features like tides and currents are not yet operating, but for a program that was released in January for the MacOS it is exciting. It would serve to plot the trip around VanIsle Providing you get the Canadian Charts. Note that OpenCPN uses NOAA charts which are free to use, paid for by US tax payers.
AquaMap: You can get charts of the BC waters for about $25. They claim “These charts are derived from original material supplied by national hydrographic offices: with depths, spot soundings, navaids and all you need for a safe navigation.” I have no knowledge concerning the veracity of this claim.
iNavx: I have used this app on the iPad and it functions nicely. It uses the BSB raster charts, but I understand the use of Canadian charts must be purchased through an X-traverse Account. I have not explored this path. Here is a link to a decent review of iNavx.
iNavX Marine Navigation for iOS review - GPS Tracklog
While I like the paper chart experience I enjoy the convenience and speed of computer chart plotting. The routing data I have posted here were a mix Coastal Explore, OpenCPN, and MapCarta.com images. I have the route file in GPX format and have transferred the waypoint data between CE and OpenCPN. I will be pleased to share this file for cruiser use. I plan to share Daily pdf files of our cruising plan, which will have waypoint data, bearings, distances and a basic orientation chart Based on the draft of our route that I have shared.
If you want additional waypoints included, like “Walter Cove burgers” MUST STOP HERE, sites please include them here or in a PM to me so I can put them into the mix. I hope this helps.