West Coast charts folio

[cpedw]

I see the Admiralty has produced a new small craft folio centred near Oban http://www.admiraltyleisure.co.uk/prods ... sc5611.asp It looks as if it would suit me very well and not too expensive (£37.50 I hear). Does anyone have experience of this type of product? Are they any use? I think each sheet is smaller than a standard Admiralty chart; is that a problem or could it be helpful? My chart table's only half a chart sized anyway.

It still doesn't solve the end of the world at Taynuilt problem though.

Derek.

[Silkie]

It does look good and I wish I'd known about it when I made out my Christmas list! I wonder why Tiree doesn't get covered on a large-scale sheet though?

[Nick]

This is a simply stunning price for what is on offer IMHO. We bought the Imray equivalent last year, which doesn't even cover the W. coast of Mull.

Surely anyone sailing up here will be able to find the money for this?

As regards Tiree . . . it appears to show you enough to get into Gott Bay, and there isn't really anywhere else to go. There is a large scale chart (or possibly insert) of Gunna Sound.

I hate the admiralty as they once threatened me with legal action because a table background on a page on this site featured a scanned, reduced version of an out of date chart I owned (see http://www.bluemoment.com/tides.html and read the small print). . .but I cannot fault this product.

(And trust me - the world does end at Taynuilt . . .)

[claymore]

It sounds like a disgraceful sneaky ploy to get more people sailing off the west coast and reduce the congestion on the Solent and up the blasted blackwater.
Sell a few cheap charts off, create an interest, crowd out the waters then WHAM - hike the price back up. Scurrillous Scurvey dogs. Mind you anyone who'd sue a webdesigner for copyright can't be all bad

[DaveS]

On the face of it this looks very good indeed. I must say I had paid little attention to these "Leisure Folios" since they seemed to be only making their way north very slowly. However, now that this has appeared it is clearly worth a proper look.

A2 is an inch or so less each way than a single-folded normal BA chart so if the latter fits the table the new ones will too. I tend to keep a number of charts on the table at the same time, and would expect to find shuffling single sheets easier than folded ones.

Comparing the index with that for the normal charts, a number of interesting points emerge. The chart boundaries are totally different from the normal charts - and, from an initial look, appear to be better placed. A closer look shows, however, that this has been achieved by deleting most of the large scale charts and presenting a few of the more important bits from these as chartlets. So the folio contains nothing like as much information as the conventional charts it (potentially) replaces. This may not be a problem in reality, however, since the full size large scale charts do tend to contain a lot of feature-free open water. To compare the "feel" in use a practical trial is required!

Presumably all the new charts in the folio are to WGS84.

Two possible drawbacks I can see are: 1) is the paper significantly flimsier than with conventional charts? (although repeatedly folding these eventually makes them tear), and 2) correcting them is likely to be a bit of a fiddle since, as I understand it, BA does not intend to list these charts on Ns to Ms so it will be necessary to download corrections for the list of conventional charts covered by the new folio area then work out which of these apply to which of the new charts. Is the list of relevant conventional BA charts provided as part of the folio? Perhaps someone from an area where this product is well established could comment?

Anyway, I fear that I really can't resist and will be buying a copy anyway. (Although I already have all the conventional charts for this area, I have to admit that some are decidedly elderly with several years' worth of corrections pre 2000 not done...)

[Silkie]

(Although I already have all the conventional charts for this area, I have to admit that some are decidedly elderly with several years' worth of corrections pre 2000 not done...)

So all that palaver with scissors and Pritt stick at the start of the 2005 cruise was just an elaborate con.

[DaveS]

Not at all, sir! Since the Ns to Ms from 2000 went online I've been fully corrected. It's just that before that there were a couple of lengthy gaps when I failed to subscribe to the paper versions. Thus my copy of 2387, purchased in 1984, has no corrections from then to 1998 but is fully corrected thereafter. This is not as bad as it sounds since several years can pass with no corrections issued, then there is an occasional fish farm repositioning (when anyone bothers to report it). Occasionally something more useful was missed, e.g. the light at Loch Spelve entrance was established sometime between 1984 and 1998...

[claymore]

I find this worrying with the advent of DGPS, WGS84,NMEA0138 and of course ceramic hobbed cookers.
I know from first hand experience that the rocks in Cuan are not where they say they are on the charts so I urge you to drop this somewhat cavalier attitude towards corections and get yourself into the habit of correcting them each Sunday evening.

[Nick]

If you'd just stick to the old fathom charts Claysie, you would see that the depths in Cuan are actually much less than those shown on these new-fangled charts and you wouldn't get yourself into all this bother.

[claymore]

Well nows a fine time to be telling me. Where were you at 13:45 on August 7th 2001?

[cpedw]

>Well nows a fine time to be telling me. Where were you at 13:45 on August 7th 2001?

Oh don't be such a tease! Tell all forthwith.

Derek.

[Silkie]

One of the finest sailing anecdotes ever. My lips are sealed though. I will just say that a rock and a hard place are involved and that it's best heard when raconteur and audience are about six drinks along the road to a skinful.

[cpedw]

But was this Claymore's mishap or Silkie's? I am still further intrigued. Mine was reported in full and gory detail in PBO (around December 2000 I think, under the headline "Scotch on the rocks").

Derek

[Silkie]

I've only owned Silkie for three seasons.

I haven't yet hit anything harder than sand (fingers crossed I never do) but must surely have put enough misadventure and embarassment in Silkie's blog to deserve a re-telling of "Scotch on the Rocks." Look on it as helping with my sailing education.

[Nick]

What about publishing 'Scotch on the Rocks' in BlueMoment's Articles section?

Or blog it?