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BVI chart/nav app

28K views 93 replies 19 participants last post by  S/V BOB 
#1 ·
I checked Charts&Tides and could not find a coverage area that applied to the BVIs. On my East Coast edition, all the Active Captain icons show up when I move the location there, but no navigation or chart data.

Is there an app that covers BVI?
 
#50 ·
I've unwittingly downloaded a ridiculous collection of iPad nav apps, based on all the references above. :)

From my living room, it looks like Garmin has the edge so far. I will report back, as I can.

Flights look on time so far this morning, we leave in an hour. Hoping to get out ahead of this storm. Cheers!!
 
#55 ·
Nav App wrap up..... (I will start another thread on the trip itself, we are currently in St Thomas waiting for our flight home today)

I downloaded Garmin Bluechart, iSailor, Imray and iNautical. Some are only charts with no nav abilities.

The clear winner was Garmin. Showed us in our correct slip prior departure and was very accurate along the way. However, it did show us over the shoal at the entrance to Nanny Cay, despite being well within the channel markers. If we corrected to avoid what it thought was the shoal, we would still have been fine.

I didn't really need or want sophisticated nav ability, but it is nice to quickly determine distance to destination and I found tapping a route on the screen to take a second or two. Once I had the distance, I would immediately delete the route to get the clutter off the screen. I used the Ipad in its waterproof case only once. As it turned out, for just getting distances, it was perfectly useful on my iPhone, which I just kept in my pocket. It was a bit nerve wracking that I might fumble it and watch it go overboard, but thankfully it didn't happen.

I also wanted an app with the Active Captain database, but found the reviews and postings for BVI to be fairly limited. When I get a chance, I'm going to add several of my own.
 
#58 ·
Nav App wrap up.....
It was a bit nerve wracking that I might fumble it and watch it go overboard, but thankfully it didn't happen.
Robes' Oregon 450 is waterproof, but I bet it will sink like a rock if it goes overboard (I've got one.) I was comfortable parking mine in a drink holder, but TakeFive suggested a handlebar clamp that Garmin offers if you are concerned about losing it. If your charter boat has one of these open transoms, you might consider a clamp or tether as cheap insurance.
 
#56 ·
Thanks for the update Minnewaska.
I just purchased the Garmin BluChart g2 HXUS030R SE Caribbean for my new Oregon 450 GPS. Also bringing my Imray A23, A233(A231 & A232 back to back) and my BVIPirate.com Anagada Approach Chart. I have the Garmin HomePort marine planning software too, so i should be more then ready for my early April trip.

Let us know on this thread where you start your new thread.....
 
#57 · (Edited)
Thanks for the update Minnewaska.
I just purchased the Garmin BluChart g2 HXUS030R SE Caribbean for my new Oregon 450 GPS....I have the Garmin HomePort marine planning software too, so i should be more then ready for my early April trip.
I currently have Garmin's obsolete MapSource software, and am considering getting HomePort. Can HomePort display the charts off your BlueChart SD card? (MapSource cannot.) That would be a huge plus for the HomePort software if it could.

If so (and Garmin's website claims it can do this), how it it done? Do you have to pull the microSD card out of the Oregon and put it into a reader on your computer? Or can you hook the Oregon to your computer by a USB cable instead?

IIRC, MapSource is supposed to be able to do this too, but apparently it only works for BlueChart cards in full chartplotters, not in handhelds like the Oregon. So I'm curious whether the HomePort software has this same flaw, or whether it actually works with handhelds.
 
#65 ·
The typical dinghy on charters is a hard bottom inflatable, which weighs about 150 lbs. Add a 2-stroke, 8 hp motor and gas and you are pushing 250 lbs. You'd need a winch to haul this aboard and then you'd risk cosmetic damage to the foredeck.

It isn't worth the hassle and, besides, you aren't sailing that far. Best advice is to relax and tow it.
 
#68 ·
Setting up the chart download was one of the things that was cumbersome. I got it done, but it wasn't a snap. I had to read some tips and instructions, as it didn't just work the first time. The second was getting the GPS dongle that I added to my tablet computer to interface. I may have given up on that. It been a while. I bought the iPad in the spring of 2011 and never looked back. I was actually a very reluctant iPad purchaser, but felt it was a better back up than a standalone GPS. I was immediately blown away by the functionality and ease of use.

iPad apps like Charts and Tides and the Garmin app just work out the box or actually prompt you for chart input. Didn't have to figure a single thing out. For $25-$50, I would rather have the hour or two of my life back.

I occasionally set up a route on my charplotter, mostly if there is a danger side of the route and I want to be able to glance at my relative position. More often, I just drop a destination waypoint on the fly to calc my remaining distance for some mental arrival math.

In the aircraft, we always load a flight plan and follow it to the letter. No choice. It seems much less an issue when tacking and jibing take you off the route anyway. Since I don't often set them up at all, interfacing isn't a consideration for me.
 
#69 ·
I had only a few minutes last night to try things out again. I actually spent most of the time using Garmin's iPad app to try to remember why I did not really get to like it when we were in BVI. I already mentioned that the routes and tracks can't be shared with any other devices unless you buy one of the Garmin chartplotters and their Garmin Network device. But I was also very unhappy with the poor accuracy of using a finger to plot routes. Their waypoint circle icons were way too big and were the width of the whole Delaware River! If I zoom in enough to see whether the waypoint is in the channel or on shore :rolleyes: , then I can't see enough length of the river to do much of a route.

Obviously most of my plotting is going to be in more open waters, but I used this as an example of the problems with the program. I just prefer to use a mouse to plot routes because it is much more precise (down to the pixel) and using OpenCPN (or even HomePort) it is very easy to adjust the location of a waypoint if you're not happy with where you clicked.

If I had not purchased a Garmin Oregon 400c three years ago, I might be tempted to use the iPad instead (although the Oregon is fully waterproof, a big advantage in the cockpit). The Oregon is even worse than iPad for plotting routes because of its small screen and low resolution of tapping with your finger (same problem as iPad). But I don't even try to create routes on the Oregon - I just create routes on my computer and transfer them to the Oregon. Unfortunately that option is not possible with the iPad using the Garmin software. Maybe it is possible with other programs.

I can understand the attractiveness of using the iPad's touch features, and its intuitive ease of use. I just want the greater precision of using a mouse to create routes. Hopefully some better software will appear on Android tablets, since they give you the choice of tapping with your finger or plugging a mouse into the USB port. There you can have the best of both worlds. (Very dumb of Apple to leave a USB port off their iPads.)
 
#72 ·
TakeFive,

I had the same initial experience with the Garmin app waypoint icon. The ability to tap on Charts and Tides seemed much more granular. Then I realized that I should just get in the area of my desired waypoint and zoom in before setting the waypoint. Worked much better. However, I was only looking for distance to the entrance of a harbor than really trying to create a real route.
 
#73 ·
I can see how if you are just setting a single waypoint, zooming way in to get better precision is no problem. But for a route consisting of 20-40 waypoints (as you often have to do on a river), that is hopelessly cumbersome.

Just goes to show you that how you use these things can make all the difference in which one you prefer.
 
#75 ·
Hi Everyone-

So, I have my new Oregon loaded with the most up to date SE Caribbean BlueChart g2 HXUS030R (from Landfall). I will make my preliminary route on my home computer using HomePort and download that to the Oregon.

I have the new iPad, with GPS, and plan to download the BlueChart Mobile App and Active Captain.

I don't want to buy the Garmin Wi-Fi Adaptor kit (Don't think it would work with the Oregon anyhow). Therefore, it is my understanding that I will not be able to use my g2 HXUS030R micr SD chip in any way to get those maps into the iPad & that I will have to buy the Garmin North American BlueChart map (not U.S. Coastal because it doesn't include Caribbean) through the app "settings" once downloaded. Is this correct?

I don't know if the North American iPad BlueChart is as detailed in the Caribbean as the HXUS030R chip (I assume not) but when I talked with Garmin reps they told me the HXUS030R was the only detailed coverage (more detailed then preloaded or other BlueChart sd cards that included the Caribbean) to include the Virgins, Leewards etc. At the time when I talked to Garmin we never talked iPad.

My intention is to use the iPad in the cabin for the crew to follow and for that reason don't need more detail there. Yet, I guess I could (using the more inaccurate method of touch screen selection) roughly chart the same route on the iPad so people know where we are traveling. And, to be sure and turn off any roaming settings.

TIA
Robes
 
#76 ·
Hi Everyone-

So, I have my new Oregon loaded with the most up to date SE Caribbean BlueChart g2 HXUS030R (from Landfall). I will make my preliminary route on my home computer using HomePort and download that to the Oregon.

I have the new iPad, with GPS, and plan to download the BlueChart Mobile App and Active Captain.

I don't want to buy the Garmin Wi-Fi Adaptor kit (Don't think it would work with the Oregon anyhow). Therefore, it is my understanding that I will not be able to use my g2 HXUS030R micr SD chip in any way to get those maps into the iPad & that I will have to buy the Garmin North American BlueChart map (not U.S. Coastal because it doesn't include Caribbean) through the app "settings" once downloaded. Is this correct?...
That is correct, as I understand it, and based on my experience.

When you plug in your Oregon to your computer for the first time, the HomePort software will take a LONG time to read the charts. But in my experience, this delay will only be the first time. It seems to cache most of the charts onto your hard drive, in a very large folder called "Tiles." After that, you'll see the charts almost instantaneously as soon as you plug in the Oregon. But you will have to plug in the Oregon (or something else - see next paragraph) as validation. Note that I said "charts." If you have the SE Caribbean g2 chip in your Oregon, you should get a drop-down box in the upper left corner that allows you to select either the Oregon's embedded chart or the HXUS030R chart. If you draw a few shoreline-hugging routes in the BVI and switch between the two charts, you will see how inaccurate the embedded charts are for that area. What's even more shocking is the embedded charts are also very inaccurate for St. Thomas and St. John. I figured that since they are part of the US, that the NOAA surveys (upon which Garmin's charts are based, IMO) would be more recent and accurate. Not true. But the HXUS030R chip does appear to be much more accurate there.

Now for the "or something else" part: You can view the HXUS030R microSD chop by inserting the SD adapter into a card reader without the Oregon. If you would like to view the charts at home while the Oregon and HXUS030R are on your boat, you can actually copy the .img files onto another microSD card. If you copy both the embedded chart and the HXUS030R chart onto the microSD card and insert the card into your computer, you will once again get a dropdown menu in HomePort that will have both charts.

One interesting thing I noticed is that if you copy the Oregon's entire directory structure onto the microSD card, the program actually thinks that you have the Oregon plugged into the computer, even though you're just working with a microSD image of the Oregon. I suggest that you not do this, because the program will continuously nag you to update your "Oregon."

Note that Garmin uses a pretty sophisticated encryption scheme to make sure copied microSD cards do not work in the Oregon (or any other devices). Only the original chip will work in any Garmin devices. But HomePort does not appear to check the lock codes, so the copied microSD card (and embedded charts from the Oregon) will work with the software, even though it does not work in a device.

...I don't know if the North American iPad BlueChart is as detailed in the Caribbean as the HXUS030R chip (I assume not) but when I talked with Garmin reps they told me the HXUS030R was the only detailed coverage (more detailed then preloaded or other BlueChart sd cards that included the Caribbean) to include the Virgins, Leewards etc. At the time when I talked to Garmin we never talked iPad....
I think the iPad downloaded charts are pretty detailed. But I did not get a chance to really test it out thoroughly. And I've returned the borrowed HXUS030R chip, so I can't do a side-by-side comparison. Maybe you could, and report back here so we can all benefit.
...And, to be sure and turn off any roaming settings.
One way to make sure not to incur charges might be to remove the SIM card from the iPad. You might also consider buying a BVI-capable Lime card for while you are down there. Mr. Simcard sells them online. I have no experience with them to indicate whether their service is good.
 
#77 · (Edited)
Hello-

I think I'm confusing myself....

When I plot a route on HomePort do I want to set HomePorts preference 's for "HEADING" as Automatic Magnetic Variation rather then True?

With HomePort set to Auto. Mag. Var., and a route plotted then downloaded to my Oregon 450 (which its "HEADING"- North Reference, is set to Magnetic) won't the compass Heading & Bearing be correct as seen in the dashboard data fields of the 450?
I'm thinking the above is the correct set-up?

If I set the HomePort "Heading" to True North and the GPS Heading to True I would then have to know the bearing in Magnetic to use the GPS or boats compass to correctly head to the destination correct?

After my waypoints, routes are set-up in HomePort I don't see that a magnetic bearing is saved anywhere to access on the 450...:confused:

Actually, I thought Lat/Lon coordinates were independent of True/Mag variation. If so, then any setting in HomePort would suffice if using the Oregon set to Magnetic?

I'm assuming that setting the Oregon to True, then the compass points to True North(internally corrects). Setting it to Magnetic then the Oregon points to magnetic North as a real compass?

Thanks-
 
#78 ·
I'm assuming that setting the Oregon to True, then the compass points to True North(internally corrects). Setting it to Magnetic then the Oregon points to magnetic North as a real compass?
I'va also got an Oregon 450. You select "true up" or "track up" for your Map under the "Map" category in the "Setup" menu. You select "True", "Magnetic", "Grid", or "Other" under the "Heading category in the "Setup " menu. In other words, the setup for your 450 compass is separate from the setup for your 450 map display (which does not have a "Magnetic up" option).

Quite a few years ago, I set up my installed chartplotter to "magnetic up" to keep it oriented in a manner consistent with my lliquid-filled pedestal compass. I thought it would be more intuitive that way. However, the chart display in magnetic mode tilted the legends in a staircase fashion, making the legends harder to read. After a while, i went back to the chartplotter being true north up and have kept it there ever since. I use this same system on my Oregon 450. The map is true north up and the compass is magnetic.

One reason I keep the chartplotter and the Oregon maps in true north up mode is that they are easier to relate to my paper charts. I keep the 450 compass in magnetic mode because it is easier to relate to my pedestal compass. One thought is that I don't want to confuse myself if I lose my electronics and fall back to old fashioned paper charts and old fashioned compass mode.
 
#83 ·
Hey People, I'm leaving this Sunday for Tortolla...!

My first real charter, not counting my Chesapeake Bay charter. I got the GPS "Oregon" all loaded with daily routes and multiple alternative routes and anchorages for each of the 10 days. Got my Imray & BVIPirate Anagada approach charts.

Some final questions:
1) When we leave Anegada we will immediately head to the North Drop to fish, troll, while heading to JVD-Green Cay. I'm accounting for the current on the passage to Anegada from the North Sound near the horse shoe reef. Question, is there any appreciable current when sailing the North Drop from the western tip of Anegada to JVD?

2) I know I'll be briefed on this but want to be prepared. I found that Yacht Club Costa Smeralda claims to have a "first" pump out station in the BVI. This place is new? How do you return the boat if there is no place to pump out? Do you really pump out into those local waters? No 6 mile rule here?:puke The boats have macerators etc?

3) My Conch boat claims to have an inverter, in it's description. Yet I see elsewhere in the Conch website that you can rent inverters, so who knows what I got till I get there. Anyway, if I do have an inverter (I'll ask Conch specifics) I never used one, do you only use it while the engine is running to charge the boat batteries? Have to turn it on or just plug personal electronics chargers into outlets in boat when engine is running?

TIA
Robes
 
#84 ·
....all loaded with daily routes and multiple alternative routes and anchorages for each of the 10 days.
I hope you have a great time and I'm sure you will. As some of us have already said, you may be over planning this trip. You just can't bake in a fixed plan. Weather, sea condition, boat condition, your condition, all factor into what you will do from day to day. Go with it. Enjoy. Don't set an expectation for yourself that you will do everything you plan. It's a different pace down there. Forcing your entire itinerary could ruin your vacation. You may not get it all in. You'll love it anyway!

....Question, is there any appreciable current when sailing the North Drop from the western tip of Anegada to JVD?
Other than a few short cuts between islands, I've never found ocean current to be all that significant in BVI. Even at a short peak down SFDC, I think its barely a knot.

.....How do you return the boat if there is no place to pump out? Do you really pump out into those local waters?
You are not supposed to dump in the harbors, but everyone dumps in all water outside the harbor. For all the rhetoric on how crowded it is there, its really very relative, there aren't many boats compared to popular US sailing grounds. Its just looks like there are in this remote place and there are many more than a decade ago.

Compared to the size of the ocean and its complete flushing by ocean current, there is no way that effluent dropped even 1/10th of a mile offshore, is polluting anything. There is more sealife putting waste into the water and carcasses dying and rotting, that you'll ever put in it.

I'm sure that will offend someone and I have no interest in the debate. The boats do have holding tanks that are usually gravity discharged, so you can sail as far off shore as you like. Return the boat with anything in the tank at all and you'll pay a fine for them to empty it, as they can't do so in the harbor.

3) .....if I do have an inverter (I'll ask Conch specifics) I never used one, do you only use it while the engine is running to charge the boat batteries? Have to turn it on or just plug personal electronics chargers into outlets in boat when engine is running?
If there is an invertor, it is likely to be one that runs a single 110v outlet and has its own on/off switch. When you flip the switch, it will convert 12v DC in your house bank to 110v AC at that outlet. For very minor draws, like charging a cell phone, you don't have to run the engine. But for anything of significance, like a toaster or hair dryer, you will be instructed to have the motor running so its alternator can replace charge to the house bank, as the invertor is draining it.

You will need to run your motor approx 3 hours per day anyway to keep the banks charged. Motor sailing counts, otherwise, 60 to 90 mins each morning and night are a ritual. You'll find it just as easy to use the invertor during those periods, if you have a use for it.

Have a great trip !!!!!!!
 
#85 ·
Inverters on Conch can be all over the place. there are the CIG-lighter-12v versions....all the way up to 3000+ inverters. some can charge a phone, some can dry your girls hair and toast bread mix margaritas in the blender!

remember that when not used, inverters have VERY high parasitic loads, turn off when not needed.

running the engine, making sure the ALT is excited, will not cause you distress with the INV on. Leaving the INV on, and the engine OFF can cause all sorts of interesting discoveries.

Like...if you set an offset on your depth gauge...and it is "protected" by a 10 year old cr2013 battery, and your battery drop below 12v...bye bye offset...hello keel"

yes...lessonlearned....phuque!
 
#86 ·
I have an Oregon 450 usage question.

Say I have a 5 point route for day 1. Lets say I want to jump into the route midway at point 3, skipping the 1st two waypoints of the route. Do I have to delete the 1st two waypoints, or when I get close to the 3rd point will the Oregon simply sense it's location and then resume to follow the remainder of the route?

I guess similarly, eg. a 7 point route. I start & complete the 1st two waypoints of the route but decide to skip a loop around an island (points 3 & 4), I want to go to point #5(and follow the route to completion) after reaching point #2. Can I start heading toward point #5 (would the Oregon see #5 when in close range to it & take you from there?) or do I have to delete points #3 & 4?

TIA
 
#87 · (Edited)
A couple of quick BVI factoids. I have been there numerous times, what an awesome place!

1. If you are going to do Anegada you should pick up Walker's Anegada chart. Very nice and extremely reliable.
http://shop.bvipirate.com/anegchart.html

2. Here is my trip report from 2010, that might help some:
BVIPirate - View topic - BVI trip report May 2010

So very incredibly envious, have a great time. It really is all line of sight nav. Don't fret, it is as easy as they come. Dang, I wish I was going. :(

Freezing my ass in the PNW is getting quite old.
 
#89 ·
To be very straight on this topic:

The BVI is maybe the easiest (by far) place to sail. Anywhere in the US is far more challenging. Maybe, just maybe, the Adriadic side of Greece "might" be easier, but it is close. Certainly a sailors paradise. Really don't fret, simply enjoy and explore. Line of sight is standard nav method here. Someone very high up had sailors in mind when the BVI was created. And the good natured BVI government had the initiative to improved upon that. Hard to go wrong here. Anegada is slightly challenging but any overnight sail, say in the Puget Sound, is far more difficult.

For God's sake, they even put 6 foot painters on all their mooring balls rather than the idiotic 2 inch diameter eye standard on all PNW balls. The Moore Secure company even tests/inspects each mooring ball every year in the BVI, yes, they do that. In the PNW I would never stay on a ball above 20kts.

Enjoy, and don't fret. Too often too many people over think their adventure in the BVI. It is brain dead simple. I wish someone told me that on my first trip there long ago.
 
#90 ·
Thank you all-

Great advise from everyone.

And KELLYSAILS, awesome trip report, so close to what I have planned.., great read!

Thanks everyone, I maybe over planned but for that reason I'll be able to kick back, knowing all bases covered. I really appreciated all the feedback-

BVI... minus 1 day!!
 
#91 ·
Have fun! Sooooooooo envious.

BTW - I always bring my own roll of duct tape, amazing what you can fix with duct tape. The idea here is to not involve the charter company on small fixes. It takes a lot of time for them to come out and meet you. I usually call them first to let them know what I am fixing. A cell phone will come with the boat.
 
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