GPX Routes and Survey of Inlets Deleted

Brown's Inlet is getting worse, so are Shallotte and Lockwoods Folly and New River

There are major changes happening in all the inlets with many of the directions given in the fall no longer working for the best path. I've deleted GPX Routes and ACOE Survey of Inlets until I get the chance to update them. The inlets most affected are Browns Inlet, Shallotte Inlet, and Lockwoods Folly. Do not pass through these inlets without first checking the latest survey which can be found in Links: Weather, Surveys, Buoys, Tides.

The spring season looks to be very interesting at the inlets but first I'm headed to Key West on January 4 at a slip I've reserved for two months starting February. I'll worry about the inlets when I start north again at the end of March.

The non-inlet GPX routes still appear to be okay such as Fernandina, Jekyll, Dawho River, St Andrews, and Hell Gate. I've taken all GPX routes off-line until I double check their accuracy.

Complicating the use of the GPX route downloads is Garmin's decision to pull their app off the market. It was replaced by Garmin Active Captain which they bought over the summer. Unfortunately, the charts are no longer inexpensive unless you have a Garmin chartplotter. If you bought a Garmin chart in the past, you can download it to the app. Otherwise, you have to buy a new Garmin chart at the same price as the one for the chartplotter, typically over $100.

I'll do more research on this over the winter but it looks like the days of cheap Garmin charts are over. I've been in communication with a company in Italy that's modifying an app to my recommendations. It's called AquaMap.  The charts are based on NOAA ENC charts and it accepts downloads of GPX Routes just like the Garmin app used to. I'll do a full update on AquaMap's capabilities when all the changes have been made to my satisfaction. By the way, do not erase your old Garmin app, it will still work. You just can't load it onto new devices since it's been deleted from the Apple store by Garmin.

I'll be updating the blog periodically as I learn more about the inlet shoaling and the AquaMap revisions.