A legit beef about mariner safety.

I've used Navionics for years. On my small skiff, I usually load the maps when I get on the water. Some may find this irresponsible; it isn't because I am not required to go anywhere for recreational boating or where I'm unfamiliar.

Wednesday, I was on the Laguna Madre in Texas and went to download my local maps. The area has lots of hazards to navigation and some areas of clearly marked channels, ICW, etc.

I had to pay the $49.99 fee and the entire matter turned into a total affair. I had to use my icloud account as Garmin gave me no other option to purchase without Apple's teeth locked onto me and, of course, no password combination would work and it doesn't seem to enjoy saving passwords with 3rd party software. Apple notified me they would perhaps maybe consider thoughtful review of my password request in 24 hours. I was screwed on my fishing plans.

Since, I was not at risk, I skitterred along some crappy fishing areas near the well marked ICW.

The next day, I stayed off the boat. On Friday morning, I once again tried the purchase. Apple locked me out for 48 hours which basically meant I could not fish any flats I was not familiar with. For me, it was a frustrating nuisance, but I got to thinking about their massive liability issue. If they password lock a mariner out of map updates; they may be putting someone at risk.

Today, on my return from Texas in the car, I got a notification from Apple I could now reset my password!

Since noone can complain about or to these monsters like Apple and Garmin and get anywhere; I figured I'd help out fellow mariners and share my very legit complaint.

No way should a password lock ever put any mariner in distress. And, if it does, an attorney can reflect on my dated remark here.

Computers are supposed to help us, not make our lives miserable.

 

It's an Apple issue. I won't use Apple for anything, at any price.

 

Moderator: please change thread title to A legit beef about mariner safety and passwords (or something better).

 

They have no business ruining my boating. But larger issues are at play if they harm someone for password lockouts,

 

Yeah. F*** those guys.

 

I wonder, is it still possible to buy paper charts for these areas @fallguy or is everything electronic now?

With my ship surveyor hat on, I have seen a gradual transition from just paper charts, to paper still being the primary charts with ECDIS secondary, to many ships now having two ECDIS systems, and no paper charts at all.
The ships' deck officers love the new electronic charts, as these make their lives much easier, especially so the officer whose duty it was to do chart corrections every week, which could take hours.
I am thinking that in the circumstances described by Fallguy above, it would be useful to have a paper chart back up?
Although I appreciate that it is difficult to keep a paper chart dry, and to plot a course on it if you are on a small skiff.

 

In Canada, where I operate commercially,
it is still required to keep updated paper charts on board for any area transited.
Which is prudent, as any electronic failure could lead to tragedy.

 

I had been using plastic laminated paper charts since the late 1970s with chinagraph pencils before the electronic ones became mainstream and affordable.