October 29, 2008 01:35
I just spent three weeks in French Polynesia, as far down as Pitcairn and up through the Marquesas, and used a Navionics chart I "rented" from Chartworld (you apparently cannot buy the chart from them, just an annual license). It worked beautifully and though we were on a 300' ship so I was not relying on it for navigation, it clearly showed all the navigation marks, passes, etc. which I could see. I asked Chartworld to give me a discount for non-commercial use and they offered 50%, which is a big deal as this stuff is not cheap. If you are a non-EU citizen they will also set your account up as a non-VAT-paying account. Contact me offlist if you need help with the Chartworld site. It took a while for them to get the security key part straight.