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    • Apr 5, 2018by:   Larry Dorminy 1 Comment

      Bahamas Chatter: “Explorer Chart Course Lines/Garmin Active Captain” plus 1 more

      Explorer Charts - the best charts for the Bahamas and Exumas

      Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.

      Bahamas Chatter: “Explorer Chart Course Lines/Garmin Active Captain” plus 1 more
      Explorer Chart Course Lines/Garmin Active Captain

      Posted: 04 Apr 2018 03:49 AM PDT

      Can you please confirm that the current Garmin cartography and the Garmin Active Captain cartography is displaying the Explorer Chartbook course lines? Can you also let us know which other cartography choices have these lines embedded?

      Stern anchors (another opinion)

      Posted: 03 Apr 2018 08:34 AM PDT

      Having cruised the Bahamas for the past ten years aboard a 42′ catamaran, I have only deployed a stern anchor once, in a narrow cut near Double Breasted Cay. We have a Rocna anchor for our primary (bow) anchor on 250′ of chain and a Fortress FX-85 anchor on 25′ of chain with a 150′ rope rode that I used as a stern anchor. My learning experience was to have enough rode (chain or line) to reach the opposite anchor when the current switches direction. When pulling off from the anchorage, you need to retrieve the down current anchor first so you have to let our enough rode to end up over the top of the downcurrent anchor. As it relates to scope, I would suggest using the maximum because of one anchor slides, you’re going to end up with a huge mess. My opinion is a single anchor is preferred over a double anchor and a strong mooring ball is preferred over a single anchor in some situations. I prefer to find an anchorage where a double anchor is not required. Good luck. Safe cruising! Blades R.

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      Comments from Cruisers (1)

      1. Ted Arisaka -  April 8, 2018 - 8:42 am

        I’ve have heard anecdotally that with the transition from Garmin Blue Charts to Garmin Active Captain that they would be moving away from Explorer datum. I have no confirmation of this and will follow this thread.

        Reply to Ted
    • Apr 3, 2018by:   Larry Dorminy 2 Comments

      Bahamas Chatter: Where to leave boat for 2 months?

      Explorer Charts - the best charts for the Bahamas and Exumas

      Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.

      Bahamas Chatter: Where to leave boat for 2 months?
      Where to leave boat for 2 months?

      Posted: 02 Apr 2018 03:28 AM PDT

      We are planning a trip to the Bahamas but may need to leave the boat for one or two months. We would prefer to simply leave the boat there instead of sailing back and then returning to the Bahamas. Does anyone have any suggestions in the Andros, Berry Islands, Nassau, and or Eleuthera area which would be safe?

      Also, if one does leave their boat in the Bahamas, what security measures should one take?
      Thanks
      s/v John Galt

      Comments from Cruisers (2)

      1. Norman Quinn -  April 8, 2018 - 6:56 am

        As for security, if you leave the boat in Highbourne or Green Turtle, no worries, just lock it up as usual and don’t leave anything valuable on deck. Stay far away from Nassau…nothing is safe in Nassau. Last time in Nassau (2014) I was assaulted mid-day on a busy sidewalk by three thugs and anchored boats were broken into and ransacked when owners went ashore…crime is out of control. Weapons, cash, jewelry and electronics are the most likely targets, especially in Nassau. Most cruiser’s avoid Nassau and Freeport, otherwise most of the other areas in the Bahamas are relatively safe. Other relatively safe places to leave your boat would be Bimini and Treasure Cay (Abacos). Call ahead and make arrangements if poss.

        Reply to Norman
      2. Norman Quinn -  April 8, 2018 - 6:31 am

        Cannot recommend any of the above except maybe in or around Spanish Wells in Eleuthera. Your best bet would be Highbourne Cay in the Exumas or Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos.

        Reply to Norman
    • Mar 31, 2018by:   Larry Dorminy 5 Comments 32.7857,-80.10759999

      Question Regarding Current at Limehouse Bridge, Stono River, AICW Statute Mile 480


       View In Chartview

      With a fixed vertical clearance of 65ft, the John F. Limehouse Bridge crosses the Waterway/Stono River at mile 480. If you have local knowledge of the current in that area, please let John and Cruisers’ Net hear from you.

      How fast do the tidal currents run on the Stono River at say the Limehouse Bridge?
      Thanks.
      John of Jacksonville

      Click Here To View the South Carolina Cruisers’ Net Bridge Directory Listing For Limehouse Bridge

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Limehouse Bridge

      Comments from Cruisers (5)

      1. Winston Fowler -  March 31, 2018 - 7:55 am

        Really depends on when you go through. In my experience, the tide ranges there from roughly 8 feet to 4 feet, depending on lunar phase / time of month.
        Times closer to the moment after the tide has reached full flood, or epp, will experience the least
        current. The mid tide changes will and thereafter will experience faster currents.
        Winston

        Reply to Winston
        • Ron Widman -  March 31, 2018 - 8:31 am

          Maximum currents in the Charleston, SC area will be about 2 knots. Elliot Cut is an exception where currents can reach 5 knots.

          Reply to Ron
      2. Craig Jones -  April 6, 2018 - 12:24 pm

        Tagging onto this subject… For those transiting the ICW/Stono River in this region, PLEASE slow down approaching the floating docks at Ross Marine, just north of the Limehouse bridge. Many people fly by there with no regard for the vessels docked there and or the workers aboard them. Thank you!

        Reply to Craig
    • Mar 31, 2018by:   Larry Dorminy No Comments

      NOAA: Nautical chart news – March 2018

      It is officially spring and Coast Survey is busy providing commercial mariners and recreational boaters with top notch navigation products and services. Here are just a few things we have been up to.

      The latest news
      It is officially spring and Coast Survey is busy providing commercial mariners and recreational boaters with top notch navigation products and services. Here are just a few things we have been up to.
      NOAA releases 2018 hydrographic survey season plans
       
      NOAA hydrographic survey ships and contractors are preparing for the 2018  hydrographic survey season. Operations are scheduled for maritime priority areas around the country. Take a look at Coast Survey’s living story map to find out if our ships will be in your region.
      Story map of planned NOAA hydrographic survey projects in 2018.

      Read more

       

      Have you visited our website lately?

      Visit nauticalcharts.noaa.gov and explore the new simplified and mobile-friendly design, making your favorite NOAA charting products easy to find and convenient to use on all platforms.
      Sample display of the GoMOFS’s nowcast output of the surface current field and water levels.
      Introducing new Gulf of Maine Operational Forecast System  
       
      NOAA unveiled the new Gulf of Maine Operational Forecast System (GoMOFS). This system provides users with real-time and forecast data of surface water levels, 3-D fields of water currents, water temperature, and salinity out to 72 hours. GoMOFS predictions support safe and efficient marine navigation, allowing mariners to plan their routes and avoid accidents. The system can also aid in emergency response, ecological applications, coastal management, and harmful algal bloom forecasts.
      NOAA RNC Tile Service displays first ENC-only product
       
      NOAA released its 1:12,000 electronic navigational chart (NOAA ENC®) of the Merrimack River, Massachusetts, in the RNC Tile Service. This is the first time a navigational chart-created solely as ENC product-is included in the tile service. The tile service renders a traditional depiction of the nautical chart for use with GPS-enabled electronic chart systems or other “chart plotter” display systems to provide real-time vessel positioning for recreational mariners. This chart is included in the single chart tile sets and the quilted tile sets both in the online and offline versions. This update to the RNC tile service also includes the ArcGIS Tile Metadata Service, adding support for source chart metadata from within ArcMap and other GIS applications.
       
      Read more
       
      The 1:12,000 Merrimack River ENC as viewed in the NOAA RNC Chart Tile Service. 
      The single chart tile set for this area is named 13274K0000_1.
      Large bulk carrier using the recently extended slip at Port Everglades before the ENC update (top). The ENC update extended the slip length as reflected in ENC  cells US5FL32 and US4FL31 (bottom).
      NOAA quickly updates nautical chart, allowing large ships to dock with confidence in Port Everglades

       

      NOAA quickly updated an electronic navigational chart (NOAA ENC®) to accurately reflect the 225-foot expansion of a slip in Port Everglades, Florida. Now at a total length of 1,125 feet, the elongated slip, as depicted in the ENC, allows larger ships to dock with confidence. Port Everglades is one of the top three cruise ports in the world, and is among the most active cargo ports in the United States. Coast Survey used a new data process that allowed the most critical and valuable information to be applied quickly and made available to the end user.  
       
      NOAA navigation response teams wrap up a busy winter on the water

       

      NOAA navigation response teams (NRT) conduct hydrographic surveys to update NOAA’s suite of nautical charts. The teams are strategically located around the country and remain on-call to respond to emergencies speeding the resumption of shipping after storms, and protecting life and property from underwater dangers to navigation. Learn about some of the response efforts our NRTs were involved with this past winter:
       
      The center span of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay, Florida, was successfully captured via lidar on board a navigation response team vessel.

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    • Mar 29, 2018by:   Larry Dorminy No Comments 36.72,-76.23929999

      Praise for Atlantic Yacht Basin, Great Bridge, VA, AICW Statute Mile 12


       View In Chartview

      Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 1776, Georgetown, South Carolina 29442

      Atlantic Yacht Basin, A CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, is located just south of the Great Bridge lock and bridge at Mile Marker 12. Jan and Lee’s kind words are reprinted with permission from AGLCA’s Forum.

      We started early out of Beaufort, NC. We’ve been in Atlantic Yacht Basin, Chesapeake VA waiting for the weather to calm down north of us. Can’t say enough about the team here at AYB. Every single member of their crew is polite and anxious to help out. We had Shangri-La hauled to paint her bottom and remove the trim tabs. All done in two days. Rates are fair, work is professional in every way. Topped off the fuel at $2.35/g (with volume nickel discount.) Their team helped Jan and I lower the mast so we could better understand what’s involved. Can’t say enough about them.
      Jan and Lee
      Aboard Shangri-La
      42 GB Classic

      Click Here To View the VA to NC Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Atlantic Yacht Basin

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Atlantic Yacht Basin

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    • Mar 28, 2018by:   Larry Dorminy 4 Comments

      Bahamas Chatter: Stern anchors

      Explorer Charts - the best charts for the Bahamas and Exumas

      Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.

      Bahamas Chatter: Stern anchors
      Stern anchors

      Posted: 26 Mar 2018 06:03 PM PDT

      I am sailing a 40ft cat daft 1.35.

      I would like to know how often stern anchors are deployed cruising in the Bahamas.

      If they are used at all what setup? How much chain, rode, scope, and what techniques are used for deployment?

      Comments from Cruisers (4)

      1. Norman Quinn -  March 30, 2018 - 5:34 pm

        Cruised the Bahamas for 10 years on a Morgan 43 sailboat…never used a stern anchor once. Never had the need for it. Single Delta 44 with all chain rode was all we ever used and NEVER dragged once. Only place we ever heard them using stern anchors was in Pipe Creek, Exumas. Couldn’t get in there with our 6′ draft somit didnt matter. We visited nearly every other island in the Bahamas from the top of the Abacos to the Raggeds in the Exuma Cays.

        Reply to Norman
      2. Duane Ising -  March 30, 2018 - 1:52 pm

        We have cruised the Bahamas a number of times over many thousands of miles and have never used or had reason to use a stern anchor. We have rarely used the so-called Bahamian Moor where two anchors are deployed off the bow at 180 degrees and the boat will lie first to one and then the other as the strong tidal currents reverse. This will offer you a tighter swing circle and with both anchors well set, will not rely on just one anchor continually resetting as the current reverse. Usually, in our experience, this is an unnecessary complication.

        Using an anchor deployed off the stern (in addition to the typical bow anchor) can keep you from swinging in tight quarters but can be risky. If the wind (or current) is strong from abeam, it will put tremendous strain on the ground tackle. If you wind up getting seas from astern, your transom, which on most boats is not designed to smoothly break waves, will take the brunt. Certain boats may also get water pumped backwards through the exhaust and risk flooding the engine.

        There could be times when in protected conditions a stern anchor might come in handy. We have just never found it needed.

        Reply to Duane
      3. Miles Cherkasky -  March 30, 2018 - 1:34 pm

        It’s rare and only in tight areas where you need to really limit your swing. Can’t think of a place where you’d need that. Never needed one during 11 seasons in the Bahamas.

        Reply to Miles
      4. Bob Mackey -  March 29, 2018 - 3:38 am

        sometimes…

        Reply to Bob
    • Mar 27, 2018by:   Larry Dorminy No Comments

      Georgia ICW Article from Sail Magazine.

      Here is an interesting and attractive article by Tom Hale in Sail Magazine on the Intracoastal through Georgia. While informative, such articles may not be as up to date as Cruisers’ Net. Before embarking, please always check our Homepage for AICW Problem Stretches, as well as Nav Alerts and Local Notices for each state. Our thanks to Kim Russo of AGLCA for sharing this link.

      Updates: The ICW North Bound from Sail Magazine via AGLCA’s Forum

      Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s “AICW Problem Stretches” Listing For Jekyll Creek

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To This AICW Problem Stretch

      Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s “AICW Problem Stretches” Listing For Little Mud River

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To This AICW Problem Stretch

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    • Mar 27, 2018by:   Larry Dorminy 2 Comments 31.7742,-81.11469999

      Ahoy Historians: Request for Knowledge of Ossabaw Island Settlers, St. Catherines Sound, near AICW Statute Mile 620


       View In Chartview

      Georgia’s Ossabaw Island forms the northern shore of the mouth of St. Catherines Sound. Mike Dalton is asking about the history of Ossabaw after reading Claiborne Young’s Ossabaw Island History from 2013. If you have information about the early settlers, we would all like to hear from you!

      I was raised mostly in Wabasso Fl in Indian River County and I understand Wabasso was named by freed slaves the moved to Florida from Ossabaw. What can you tell me about some of our early settlers that left Ossabaw and moved to Florida?
      Mike Dalton

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Ossabaw Island

      Comments from Cruisers (2)

      1. Jonathan Bryant -  May 6, 2018 - 8:43 pm

        The Ossabaw Island Foundation has a page suggesting some books.
        http://www.ossabawisland.net/ossabawbooks.aspx

        In my last book I dealt with the Morel family who at one time owned the island. Over the Last two decades Mrs. West has allowed the restoration of some slave cottages and several archaeological digs on the island.

        Jonathan Bryant

        Reply to Jonathan
    • Mar 27, 2018by:   Larry Dorminy No Comments

      Bahamas Chatter: Buccaneeer Club

      Explorer Charts - the best charts for the Bahamas and Exumas

      Explorer Chartbooks, A CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.

      Bahamas Chatter: Buccaneeer Club
      Buccaneeer Club

      Posted: 26 Mar 2018 04:51 AM PDT

      We stopped at governors harbour on our way back to spanish wells from cape eluthera. We and our buddy boat wanted to go out for dinner. A friend had recommended the buccaneer club. We made a reservation for 7pm. When we got there there was a table with a reserved sign on it. The attendant seated us, gave us menus, and took drink orders. The menu was varied from apps to sandwiches to full meals. we had full meals plus drinks and dessert. Price was probably $$$-$$$$ but well worth it. We all said that the ambiance, food quality, service, etc was the best we’ve experienced in the bahamas. when we left there was a line. Thank god for reservations.

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    • Mar 26, 2018by:   Larry Dorminy No Comments 34.2549,-77.9489999

      Cape Fear Marina/Bennett Brothers Yachts Recommended, Cape Fear River, Wilmington, NC


       View In Chartview

      Our thanks to George McNeir for recommending Cape Fear Marina/Bennett Brothers Yachts to a fellow Looper on AGLCA’s Forum. Bennett Brothers Yachts/Cape Fear Marina, A CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, is located on the eastern banks of the northeast Cape Fear River, just north of the Isabel Holmes – Highway 133 bascule bridge, and only a few steps from the downtown Wilmington waterfront.

      Try Cape Fear Marina 910-762-1256 (Chris) and also Bennett Bros Yachts 910- 772-9277 (Tricia). Both are for the same marina but may offer two different rental arrangements. Wilmington, NC on the Cape Fear River.
      George McNeir
      AGLCA Member

      Click Here To View the North Carolina Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Bennett Brothers Yachts/Cape Fear Marina

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Bennett Brothers Yachts/Cape Fear Marina

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