NOAA Online Marine Charts
Use Electronic Marine Charts to Plan Your Next Voyage
Paper charts are not your only navigation option. Try viewing an on-line version of the marine chart used in your area of operation to compliment your GPS chart plotter.
We have discussed GPS and Principles of Navigation at Boating and Sailing. Modern GPS chart plotters are based on just that, a marine chart published by NOAA. Any serious student of coastal navigation will become familiar with the marine charts published for their areas of operation. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operates survey vessels that regularly map the ocean bottom and produce detailed charts for use by mariners.
The first thing you should remember is that boaters use charts, not maps. Charts describe controlling depths, display location of navigation aids, list hazards, and point out key navigational features. The level of detail and information presented is incomparable to an automotive roadmap. Charts are meant to be drawn on and used to document your voyages. A well-used chart will be loaded with notes, past track lines, waypoints, and published updates provided for the chart. A marine chart is a living document, used much like a diary.
Paper charts are sold through a chain of dealers approved by NOAA. They are relatively expensive and hard to use within the confines of a small vessel. Your modern GPS chart plotter uses a digital version of a NOAA chart to provide you with navigational directions. Recently NOAA has come on-line with about a thousand charts covering Alaska, the Great Lakes, and Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Coasts. These on-line charts are a great reference for boaters. View the on-line version of the chart for your operating area, and then compare it to your GPS display. You will be surprised at the level of detail often missing on chart plotting devices. Being more familiar with the chart of your normal operating area will make using your GPS that much easier.
Visit the NOAA Office of Coast Survey to view marine charts on-line for areas of interest to you. Remember that there are some operators of regulated commercial vessels required by law to carry a current paper chart onboard. Great resources on charts are the Nautical Chart User's Manual and Chart No. 1 published by NOAA. Chart No. 1 is a reference that shows all the symbols, abbreviations, and terms used on NOAA marine charts.
