Home ::  Newsletter

Long-time cruisers Monty and Sara Lewis introduced the first Explorer Chartbook in 1995, covering the Exuma Cays. Having seen many boats encounter trouble on the shallow Bahamian reefs, the Lewises, who then cruised aboard the sloop Vivacious, realized that there was a need for accurate charts of the area. The first kit was a series of 24 loose charts and a small guidebook.

The Lewises have come a long way. They now cruise aboard Saranade, a shoal-draft trawler, which enables them to get up into the shallows for their survey work. Every detail on the charts--every sounding, waypoint, rock, reef--has been confirmed either by them or by one of their staff. They spend their winters doing the physical research for their charts, and then they go home to Ocean City, MD, to complete the drawing and writing.

Their charts have come a long way too. The 4^th Edition Far Bahamas, which came out last year, is now printed on waterproof paper, eliminating the need for a vinyl case. The 4^th Edition Near Bahamas, which has literally only been on Bluewater's shelf for a week, is waterproof, tear resistant, longer, updated, and improved. The Lewises, who stopped by Bluewater last month on their way to the islands, are surveying the Exumas for their next project.

"One of the first things that people notice about our charts is that the colors are instinctual," Monty says. "While the government charts show shallow water in blue, we show it in white or tan. Deep water is represented by blue on our charts." All you have to do is look at the charts and look at a Bahamian seascape to understand his point--the Explorer charts represent what the water actually looks like in the Bahamas.

One major difference in the new edition is that the charts were vector-drawn, for a higher level of accuracy. Each chart was then overlaid with an aerial photograph of the area, so that the Lewises could ensure that there were no features misrepresented on the charts. "You can really see this in the details ashore," Sara says. "In Freeport, for example, streets and businesses are represented as accurately as if the charts were road maps."

Among the other changes in the new edition are additional routes for shoal-draft vessels, more details for the Berrys, more data for crossing the Bahama Banks, more on-scene waypoints, a 3-page table of recommended marinas and services (including several brand new marinas), information on where to find wireless internet and marinas with internet access, a great article on weather by Chris Parker, tide and current tables, and more. The Lewises also reconsidered the scales on many of their charts, especially noticeable in their coverage of Andros. They have included more detail on the west side of Andros, and new routes through the Middle and South Bights.

I, for one, can attest to the accuracy of the charts. When I sailed to Bimini and South Cat last summer, we used the Explorer Chartbook of the Near Bahamas (3^rd Edition) and a chart plotter which was running outdated cartography that was not based on the Explorer Chartbooks. Several times, the plotter showed us being in water that was much shallower than it really was. Once, it actually showed that we were sailing on dry land!

When I'm in the Bahamas, I've always found that the most reliable navigational tool is a good pair of eyes. Once you've been there a few times and you've learned how to read the water, you can instinctively tell where the shoals are, what type of bottom you're looking at, and where the channels are. The second best navigational tool is your Explorer Chartbook. Being in the Bahamas without Explorer Chartbooks is like trying to sail without a mast.

And, if you need to get rid of those old editions, I have a beagle who thinks they taste great.