On Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:39:45 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:47:05 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

Since there have been some "highly technical" computer related
discussions recently, here's something that might interest the
boaters.
http://www.macgregorsailors.com/foru...hp?f=9&t=12714

Most of this is gnus to me, and beyond me frankly, since I have no
gear to work with.
The possibilities sure look to be attractive navigational aids.
And fun too!


I've been testing SeaClear II on one of my Vista computers since my
legacy chart plotting software (Maptech Offshore Navigator) does not
play well with Vista. SeaClear is certainly worth the price (free)
but no match for the well established commercial software that is
available. It takes no special hardware to download and run it, and
the charts are free from NOAA, our tax payer $$$s at work.

The idea of being able to download and save Google Earth imagery and
then couple it with a GPS is certainly attractive but I haven't tried
it yet. There are many areas in south Florida where the charts leave
a lot to be desired and Google Earth would be very useful for those
situations.

A question. The NOAA charts are free because the government uses the
tax dollar to survey the area and print the chart, but what about
charts outside the U.S. ?

The US Navy is sporting around all over the globe are they using NOAA
charts? Paying the premium for the British Admiralty charts? Dead
Reckoning?

I'm sure that you can buy international charts from a shop in the U.S.
but where do they come from?
Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)