Supplementary Software

Alarm Sounds

A selection of alarm sound files to use as AIS and Anchor alarm.
www.policeinterceptor.com/navysounds.htm

Celestial Navigation

Application: Astronavigation

Identification of celestial bodies.
Nautical Almanac, including sun and moon phenomena.
Sights: correction of the observed altitude and calculation of line of position (type of LoP: Marcq Saint Hilaire).
Celestial Fix. GPX file output that serves as an input to OpenCPN. Complete solution: fix, circles of position, confidence ellipse.

The Running Fix problem is easily solved using Astronavigation.exe
animated gif

Circles of position or Circles of equal altitude. General scale.

Fix and confidence ellipse. Coastal scale.

Pack overview
Software is available for free, for non-commercial use, at: http://sites.google.com/site/navigationalalgorithms/ (Only for Windows®)
Plotting circles of equal altitude: Method explained

Chart Conversion

BSB Lib

http://libbsb.sourceforge.net/

libbsb is a portable C library for reading and writing BSB format image files, typically used for nautical charts.

A number of utilities to convert and work with BSB charts are included in the libbsb package. Sample files and instructions on using these tools are available on the Examples page.

bsb2tif - convert BSB image to TIFF format
bsb2ppm - convert BSB image to PPM format
bsb2png - convert BSB image to PNG format
tif2bsb - convert TIFF image to BSB image
ppm2bsb - convert PPM image to BSB image
bsbfix - fix the index table in a BSB file

The mc2bsbh Utility

http://www.dacust.com/inlandwaters/mapcal/

This is a utility to take an image of a chart that has been calibrated with MapCal, and convert it into a BSB chart that can be displayed in many marine navigation programs.

KAP-File Utility

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f134/kap-file-utility-38725.html

GUI for the several command line tools such as mc2bsbh and the libbsb tools, (for Windows, sorry Linux and Mac guys).

For Google Earth
GE2KAP

http://www.gdayii.ca/index.php?p=1_2_Downloads

GE2KAP - Creates .KAP charts from Google Earth

GERoute - Follows a route to load the Google Earth cache.

C2GPXKML - Converts navigation routes and tracks to different formats.

GE2KAP_V2_BETA - New version that allows chart overlay and has viewer.

Port detail generated by GE2KAP

ChartAid

http://www.bellwoodgroup.com/marine/chartaid/index.htm

Many people have found Google Earth and Google Maps printable images helpful in supplementing their knowledge of a particular area or specific location. The ChartAid program offers you the ability to save Google Maps printable images as Raster Charts or Photo Charts, in BSB/KAP file format.

Overlay NOAA raster charts in Google Earth

http://matrixmariner.com/geRasterOverlay

Script to Convert MaxSea Routes to GPX

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f134/script-to-convert-maxsea-routes-to-gpx-41010.html

Chart Work

Using the GPX utility and the Chart Work program is it possible to do on an electronic nautical chart the work you do in a traditional way.

Chart Work - Traditional paper chart work on an ECS.

Coastal navigation

the three types of lines of position used are:

Bearing
Range
Horizontal angle

Fix by three simultaneous bearings.

Fix by three simultaneous bearings. Detail.

Celestial navigation

Offshore navigators use celestial navigation,sextant observations, as a backup for the GPS. Use a sextant for taking the altitude of a celestial body and OpenCPN to plot the celestial circle of position instead the LoP -Line of Position-. Repeat this and take at least three sights. You easily can check if any danger is near your fix, and the uncertainty in your position.

Parameters of a circle of position in astronavigation.

Method explained

Route using the three types of sailings

Rhumb Line. Direct with OpenCPN.
Great Circle. (With Chart Work)
Composite. (With Chart Work)

Composite Route.

Composite Route plot wiht OpenCPN.

Manual of Chart WorK
Example: pdf and GPX file

Free software to create the GPX file that serves as an input to OpenCPN is available at

http://sites.google.com/site/navigationalalgorithms/ (Only for Windows®)

GRIB Data and Software

Ugrib

http://www.grib.us
Freeware application Ugrib allows instant and fully customizable access to global weather data. Within one simple to use interface you can download and view weather data right on your desktop.
The data being served at http://www.grib.us/GribData.aspx is from the US GFS global weather model. Its has a native resolution of 0.5 degrees and includes surface winds and barometric pressure. The forecast you get from the webpage is a 7 day forecast with a 3 hour timestep.

zyGrib

http://www.zygrib.org
Graphical software for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows (GPL3, Qt) to download and display GRIB 1 files.

NMEA Instruments

For NMEA instruments on your onboard PC/laptop, you may wish to try one of the following:

NavMonPC: Closed source, windows only, but reportedly excellent gauges for wind instruments, GPS, AIS display, anchor alarm, etc.
PolarCOM: Closed source, windows, linux, mac; visually appealing gauges for wind instruments, GPS, anchor alarm, etc.
CapCode: Free software, Java-based navigation programme with sailing/regatta focus, supports wind instruments, polars, VMG etc.
Matrix Mariner GPS: Free software, Window and Linux, visually appealing GPS display, some features for GPS handling including live gps output to Google Earth. (Windows version includes VSPE kernel mode virtual serial driver).
VSPE: Closed source freeware, windows only, Virtual Serial Port Emulator enables you to use data from one serialport (such as GPS or NMEA data) simultaneously with several programs. You can run PolarCom, NavMonPC, OpenCPN and other navigation programs at the same time without COMport conflict.
gpsview:Tool for analyse NMEA textual data, allows to load NMEA log files and view data in table, graph and track forms.

Tides

Official sources
1. France, SHOM - http://www.shom.fr/fr_page/fr_serv_prediction/ann_marees.htm
2. United Kingdom, easytide UKHO - http://easytide.ukho.gov.uk/EASYTIDE/EasyTide/SelectPort.aspx
3. United Kingdom, NOC - http://www.pol.ac.uk/ntslf/tidalp.html
4. The Netherlands, Min. V&W - http://live.getij.nl/index.cfm?page=getijvoorspellingen2 (including export functions)
5. The Netherlands, RWS - iCalendar Tide Wizard: http://live.getij.nl/outlookgadget/php/index.php?field_language=en
6. Germany, BSH - http://www.bsh.de/de/Meeresdaten/Vorhersagen/Gezeiten/index.jsp
7. United States, NOAA - http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/gmap3/
8. Canada, CHS (pdf files) - http://www.marees.gc.ca/english/Pr%E9dic_PDF_2011_Ang.shtml
9. Canada, CHS - http://www.marees.gc.ca/cgi-bin/tide-shc.cgi?queryType=showFrameset&zone=1&language=english&region=4&stnnum=3250
10. ... and links for Canada (broken!), Denmark, France, Israël, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain are shown here:
http://live.getij.nl/index.cfm?page=links&linkcat=4

Not for navigation!
XTide - Harmonic tide clock and tide predictor. Work with X-windows, plain text terminals, or the web.
http://www.flaterco.com/xtide/

WXTide32 - a free Windows tide and current prediction program.
http://www.wxtide32.com/

WXTides Stations - tcdata, (HARMONIC, HARMONIC.IDX), for OpenCPN
http://fserv.skill-club.com/get_1088_156a.html

cTide: tide prediction software for PocketPC's
http://airtaxi.net/ctide/

JTides - an advanced, accurate, easy-to-use tide and current prediction Java MDI (Multi-Document Interface) application.
http://www.arachnoid.com/JTides/

QuickTide - a free Windows tide program specifically made for The Netherlands, especially for the tidal area of the Waddenzee. For Linux: runs under Wine. In Dutch only.
http://www.quicktide.nl/

Magnetic compass

Usually a gyrocompass is not available at a yacht. Instead one or more magnetic compasses serve for steering. The reading of this kind of compass must be corrected for variation and deviation.
OpenCPN uses true course over ground. The course to steer is calculated taking into account the wind, the current and the compass correction: magnetic variation + magnetic deviation:

Magnetic Variation - or magnetic declination is the angle between magnetic north and true north.
Deviation curve of magnetic compass - Magnetic deviation is the error induced in a compass by local magnetic fields.

Deviation curve of magnetic compass

An analytic method for obtaining the deviation curve of a magnetic compass allowing obtaining the value of the deviation for any course.

Magnetic Variation

Magnetic variation, or magnetic declination, is shown on paper and raster charts, but can also be calculated using the World Magnetic Model. C source code for any platform is available at: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/WMM/soft.shtml

For Windows OS, compilations with a graphical user interface (GUI) are available at:

A World Magnetic Data PlugIn is available for OpenCPN since 2011.04.03 (version 0.1) at:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f134/world-magnetic-model-plugin-58167.html#post658775

In the example hereunder (from GUI no. 2 above) the nautical translation of "Declinacion magnética y Variación anual" is: "Magnetic variation and annual change".