Features

Making use of UKHO ARCS charts, LINZ NZMariner charts and/or AHS Seafarer RNC charts, PassagePlus helps you plan a passage, navigate and track ships. Its main features can be conveniently grouped into six categories:

Chart Selection and Opening

PassagePlus provides five ways of choosing the chart you wish to
open:

  1. ‣If you know the chart number you can simply key it in.

  2. ‣You can choose from the list of recently-opened charts.

  3. ‣You can click a thumbnail image of a chart in the Related Charts panel.

  4. ‣You can use the Chart Browser to browse your entire chart collection, quickly previewing charts at low resolution without having to open them at full resolution in the main window.

  5. ‣Any chart can also be opened from the Chart Manager window.

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Passage Planning

Passage planning is best done at home or on board your boat at mooring (not while already at sea!). Having opened a suitable chart, you can:

  1. ‣Create a planned
    route, simply by clicking points on the chart. You can create as many routes as you like.

  2. ‣Create waypoints, either by clicking on the chart or keying in positions provided in, for example, a pilot book.

  3. ‣Create regions, freeform polygons that mark areas of interest on the chart, such as fishing areas or danger zones.

  4. ‣Enter tidal stream information, if you wish to take advantage of PassagePlus's capability to calculate 'course-to-steer' information.

  5. ‣View chart notes and Temporary Notices to Mariners.

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Live Navigation

In Live Mode, PassagePlus helps tell you where you are now and where you have been (your track). You can compare this against your planned route. You can also create a log—with both automatic and manual entries—and perform various other navigational tasks such as checking a bearing & distance or computing a course to steer.

The estimate of your current position and your track can be generated either by having a GPS connected to your Mac or by traditional methods such as estimated position, bearing fix, and dead reckoning.

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Ship Detection and Tracking with AIS

If you connect an AIS receiver to your Mac, you can track other vessels in your vicinity, as well as aids-to-navigation, base stations and search-and-rescue aircraft

AIS as a safety feature: AIS contacts are shown graphically on the chart and in a constantly-updating table. Among many other things, the closest point of approach to your boat is calculated. In busy waters, AIS is a valuable safety tool.

The AIS Library for ship spotters: PassagePlus automatically creates a database of all the ships detected by your AIS, including a history of each occasion when you detect each ship. You can add photographs and view the history graphically on a chart as well as in detailed tables. The historical details will be of particular interest to 'ship spotters'. The library can, however, also be useful for sailors because of features such as the ability to look up a target on Google™ and store a picture of it.

Chart Management

PassagePlus provides features that help you manage your portfolio of charts and keep them up to date. These features, accessed via the 'Chart Manager' button on the main toolbar, allow you to:

  1. ‣Add new chart permits.

  2. ‣Install new charts.

  3. ‣Update charts.

  4. ‣Check the status of each chart (Do you have permission to open it? Is it up to date?)

  5. ‣Verify the data integrity of your charts.

  6. ‣Remove charts.

  7. ‣Update the chart catalogue.

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Interface Features

Recognising that many users will be using a MacBook or other small laptop, we have tried to make best use of the available
screen area so that you can see a reasonably large portion of the chart. Subsidiary windows can be closed when not needed. Most features are readily accessible from the main toolbar.

The main features include chart thumbnail, zoom, position display, chart info and datum switch.

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