We don’t have a chart
plotter per se on Momo. Instead, back in 2006 we installed a low-power PC with
a decently sized monitor in the nav station space that once housed the electrical
panel. Basically, we use a fell-off-the-back-of-a-truck version of MaxSea,
which has served us well. Anyway, last year we came across some software that
enables you to make charts that are compatible with MaxSea or the open-source navigation
software OpenCPN (at this point, we should probably be using OpenCPN, but we
suffer from the old-dog-new-tricks syndrome).
Like OpenCPN, the
chart-making software is freely available and easy to use – its developer Paul
Higgins has indeed provided the cruising community with an invaluable service.
The Googe Earth charts
are especially useful in poorly charted reef-riddled areas like Fiji and Indonesia. You can find many Google Earth charts posted on the
internet. But since they can be screwed up in a number of different ways, we
prefer to make charts of potential anchorages ourselves as we go along.
I don’t really want to
discuss at length the virtues and limitations of these charts – they can be
made and used in a number of ways and a healthy dose of common sense comes in
handy. Instead, I just wanted to post a few images that more or less speak for
themselves.
The first set of images features
the anchorage at Musket Cove in Fiji. Evidently we came and went, came and went ...
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| Standard C-Map chart of Musket Cove, Fiji |
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| Google Earth chart of Musket Cove, Fiji |
The second set features
our anchorage on the island of Rinca in Komodo National Park in Indonesia, where we celebrated Festivus 2013.
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| Standard C-Map chart of Rinca Island, Indonesia |
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| Googe Earth chart of Rinca Island, Indonesia |
And the third image shows
our path into an anchorage on the north side of Komodo Island, Indonesia. One of the limitations of the Google Earth
charts is that they don’t indicate depths (of course, our “real” charts provide
soundings, but in a place like Indonesia you sometimes wonder whether they make
it all up). The water here is very deep right up to the shore line. In this
case, we were looking for a suitable spot to drop the hook, with me on the bow
and Michelle at the wheel. As we slowly inched along, the reef suddenly
appeared just a few meters below the surface while Michelle, at the back of the
boat, couldn't see the bottom at all. The track on Google Earth chart pinpoints
this spot with amazing precision (especially if you zoom in on the chart, which we can't do here).
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| Standard C-Map chart of anchorage on north side of Komodo Island, Indonesia |
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| Google Earth chart of anchorage on north side of Komodo Island, Indonesia |
