Charts are free BTW so I don't know why people pay the likes are Garmoney for them.

I stopped using vector charts when I went to the netbook and Open CPN as my charting software.

I hate vector charts and with the Hawaii charts I got from Garmin a while back I did exactly this zooming thing while perusing the area from my easy chair one day.

I was shocked because clearly the topography indicated something should be there but only after zooming and zooming and zooming did the island appear.

That seems really stupid to me and it's something that doesn't happen with paper charts or raster charts since those are essentially paper charts.

Of course any skipper and navigator should know before they leave the dock what waters they expect to sail through and what hazards are there. That a Volvo crew hit a known island and tried the blame the chart plotter is laughable. Have these racing people really grown so arrogant and detached from reality that they don't even feel a need to do their homework before leaving the dock?

Whatever, they are lucky no one died. It's only a matter of time before an entire Volvo boat is lost with all hands the way these jokers seem to be disrespecting the sea.

Our CP does get turned on sometime and my wife will constantly ask me "what's that little such and so on the chart". My answer is invariably I hate that chart plotter and all I care about are shoals, rocks, and other ships. The damn CP takes so long to plot all that useless crap that by the time you get your own ship displayed you'll be on the rocks. Oh and she'll do this thing which vector charts seem to encourage where she'll zoom in and in and in to find some small detail. I've told her a number of times there is no detail and around here the data is probably from Vancouvers survey 200 years ago. With a raster chart you know you've zoomed too far because all you'll see is white not some misleading data.

Did I mention I hate vector charts, think they're stupid and much prefer raster charts? Oh and they're free from NOAA both raster and vector. Why do people pay for them and why do companies charge?

Oh and did I mention I have paper charts of every place I go and wouldn't dare have it any other way? Reliance on only electronic charts is a fools bargain.

....

Hmm don't get me started on the rant over low grade electronics, it would be unsightly all over again.