I love Paper Nautical Charts

I love paper charts. There, I said it! There’s something wonderful about a one dimensional, paper chart fresh from National Oceanic & Aeronautical Administration (NOAA), or even better, one from our neighbors up north; the Canadian Hydrographical Service. Theirs are ‘works-of-art.’

I know, I know, everything is electronic today and I have used it and will continue to use it but there’s just something about laying out a course line on a paper chart, computing distances, plotting your dead reckoning position or GPS point every hour. I like being able to find alternative harbors with a quick glance and just stepping the distance off with a pair of Weems and Platt dividers. And don’t get me started on the joy of sliding a set of parallel rules along to the compass rose. It’s almost obscene.

And, being a dyed-in-the-wool nautical traditionalist, I take great satisfaction knowing that I’m using the same tools and techniques that seafaring navigators before me used to accomplished great things with. Navigators that took our flag around the world, which led invasion fleets to far-away foreign landings, and assisted in the exploration of our planet. My making it across to Leamington is on that same level. It give me a sense of accomplishment.

I’ve had a chance to visit a couple of ocean-going ship’s bridges and always gravitate to their navigation stations. Although loaded with the latest electronic navigation equipment each one of them has a paper chart for the current chunk of ocean we where sailing on and all the necessary plotting tools close at hand. Makes me feel like of the gang.

I wish life was like a nautical chart where you can see the starting and ending points of your journey and all the obstacles along the way. Shallow water (wrong business decisions,) sunken wrecks (wrong life’s partner,) shoals (betting on a sure-thing stock,) reefs (not exercising enough or wrong diet,) islands, etc…….all laid out for you. In ancient times they even told you where the sea monsters lived.

I’m sure Larry Lowe and his disciples are rolling their eyes in frustration at my ‘old school dinosaur-like’ love of a paper chart. But let me ask you…which is easier to use? A NOAA Chart or the Chartplotter with the 150 page operating manual, like the one that came with my very rudimentary Hummingbird 151 fish finder? Paper wins over pixels every time in my book!

But, here’s the real secret to why I love paper charts. They don’t require batteries!