Navionics and missing areas of the Atlantic??

dlochner · Tuesday at 2:21 PM

To keep the charts updated, there is an annual fee, typically about half the cost of a new chart.

For a trans-Atlantic passage, weather routing is more important than anything Navionics can do. PredictWind does have weather routing and there are businesses that provide weather routing.

dlochner · Tuesday at 7:02 PM

GeneraiT001 said:
I guess what I am wondering is:

I already paid for the subscription to Navionics, which is a yearly subscription. IOT use Navionics for sailing I also need to download charts, some of the available charts are expensive....so IOT keep using those charts that I buy do I also have to pay a yearly subscription to use those charts or does the yearly subscription to Navionics keep those charts that I buy separately up-to-date?

You'll have to read the fine print on the Navionics license agreement to get those answers.

Charts are expensive to produce and they are expensive to purchase. Preparing a boat for a trans-Atlantic crossing will be expensive too.

dLj · Tuesday at 11:49 PM

Navionics is now owned by Garmin. When did you buy your subscription? What chart plotter do you have? It's a little hard to predict what Garmin is going to do with their yearly subscription charts. I have friends sailing in the Pacific Islands that were running Navionics and had chart plotters that would connect to the Internet when available. They were sailing into an island group and Garmin reached in and removed all their charts - without advance warning! They ended up sailing in blind - not fun. If you download your charts and don't have a chartplotter that connects to the Internet then they can't do this

As far as crossing between Newfoundland and the Azores - you don't need detailed charts - there is only ocean there with plenty of depth. There is a base world chart residing in your chart plotter with little detail that you don't see as a chart outline. The program simply uses it for lat/long calculations and plotting a course uses that data. Nothing to worry about.

dj

colemj · 2025-10-15T03:58:49-0700

Are you using Navionics charts on a plotter or with the Navionics app? If a plotter, those often come with a world map chart that has small scale depth contours (maybe some depth readings). Nothing too detailed, but you will see canyons, mounts, and the like. But there should be nothing of concern in these open areas.

If using the Navionics app, then any charts you download onto the device stay there when the subscription expires. However, any change to the device, or removal (possibly update) of the Navionics app, will wipe them out. The Navionics app does show depth contours and their numerical values for areas where there is no chart subscription. Also land masses without detail. This is enough to navigate safely through these non-subscription areas.

Mark

Alan Gomes · 2025-10-15T06:46:45-0700

dLj said:
Navionics is now owned by Garmin. When did you buy your subscription? What chart plotter do you have? It's a little hard to predict what Garmin is going to do with their yearly subscription charts. I have friends sailing in the Pacific Islands that were running Navionics and had chart plotters that would connect to the Internet when available. They were sailing into an island group and Garmin reached in and removed all their charts - without advance warning! They ended up sailing in blind - not fun. If you download your charts and don't have a chartplotter that connects to the Internet then they can't do this

As far as crossing between Newfoundland and the Azores - you don't need detailed charts - there is only ocean there with plenty of depth. There is a base world chart residing in your chart plotter with little detail that you don't see as a chart outline. The program simply uses it for lat/long calculations and plotting a course uses that data. Nothing to worry about.

dj

Here's a case involving the removal of charts for Southeast Asia:

jssailem · 2025-10-15T09:37:33-0700

Do you really need a chart of the open water mid-Atlantic?

You definitely will want a compass heading and a GPS position of the departure and intended location for landing in the Azores.

There are several sources that can provide this information at a minimal cost.

OpenCPN is one being used by sailors.
LuckGrib.com is a weather-based passage-making system that is designed for Apple products.
Even Windy.com can be a useful tool to cross open water.

More so than a "Chart" from Navionics, you can get a paper chart of the North Atlantic at a chandlery. This will give you the necessary information to safely navigate from Newfoundland to the Azores. Sure, it is old school, but it reduces the worry that you will have no power available to operate your electronic charts.

A higher priority than a chart is having a reliable source of weather data. You want to be able to avoid the big storms that wander across the North Atlantic at all times of the year.

dLj · 2025-10-15T09:56:53-0700

Questions: Do you know how to plot a great circle route? Do you know how to find magnetic deviations for different lat/long?

dj

dLj · 2025-10-15T10:09:37-0700

GeneraiT001 said:
Hi....Yes....was a military pilot for 35 yrs (S&R/Transport/Tactical). Reasonably familiar also with grid tracks for northern navigation . But the sailing stuff is new territory

Sounds great! If you have any questions, ask away...

dj

dLj · 2025-10-15T10:16:25-0700

GeneraiT001 said:
Thanks...the questions will be endless....and I live by the "there is no dumb question" motto

You haven't had very many yet... The only dumb question is the one you don't ask....

dj

Navionics and missing areas of the Atlantic??

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SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

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