I have a Raytheon chartplotter in the cockpit which uses Navionics charts. They've been fine in the US and Canada but unreliable here in the Bahamas. Yesterday I did a bit of exploring around Pigeon Cay and Lumber Cay near Staniel. The land forms (cays and rocks) were where the charts showed them but the depths were way off. Where Navionics showed 3' I found 12; where it showed 16' I found 6. I've noticed these sorts of errors elsewhere in the Bahamas as well. I'm sure they are accurate much more than 90% of the time but I can't trust them. Any time they differ from my Explorer paper charts I trust Explorer.

I know I have alternatives that display the Explorer charts electronically. I'm not looking for suggestions, just issuing a caution to anyone coming here with Navionics.

We're still hanging out in Black Point with old friends Paymon and Basil, Willie, Ida, Lorraine, Kevin et al. I haven't yet seen Diann to ask about her mother's sewing maching for Charley but will keep checking. Tomorrow morning as a cold front passes we'll head around the corner to Little Bay with good NW protection. I want to seem if anything is happening with the last attempt at creating a huge development complex there. The newest incarnation is being called Exuma Bay and is advertising lots for sale startting at $500K. So far it seems to be all imaginary. We'll find out more tomorrow.

We'll head further south after that but be back here a month from now for the 5F regatta.