CYCA Seminar with Australian Hydrographic Office – the future of nautical charting
On the 3rd of September 2019, the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO) will be running a presentation on the future of nautical charting at Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) from 6.30pm onwards.
Mike Prince, National Charting Program Director at the AHO, will be discussing the future of nautical charting, with a particular focus on official Electronic Navigation Charts (ENC). As part of the evening, offers have been extended to ’33-South’ (suppliers of Expedition navigation software), and ‘Boat Books Australia’. Mike will also be discussing the offer of free ENC to competitors in the 2019 Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
The nature of nautical charting has changed dramatically in recent years, with all international commercial vessels now using ENC, as well as most domestic commercial vessels. These users expect (and get) increasing detail and features in the ENC they use. In contrast, paper charts remain largely as they were, but due to very low demand, are increasingly seen as an unnecessary burden by many national hydrographic offices. Some no longer produce them, some have started selective withdrawal without replacement, some will soon no longer print them, while many are seeking to find a new balance for their limited resources. While alternative arrangements are possible, there needs to be an active conversation between remaining paper chart users, including the offshore yacht racing community, those that make the charts, and those that supply them. At the same time, there needs to be a better understanding of the ENC, and the services and systems that are progressively making paper charts redundant. Despite this, official paper nautical charts remain the only charts that meet race requirements.
As part of the evening, Simon Weston of ‘33-South’ has been asked to demonstrate use of ENC within Expedition.
To book a place for this evening at CYCA, please go to
