The cost and effort to maintain traditional paper (and scanned raster) charts is simply no longer justified, given the much better accuracy and management control offered by digital vector charts. NOAA presented its five-year plan to transition out of paper charts back in 2019. Well, the time is here, and there is no going back. Yet, while many of us wrote about this eventuality, it never seemed to materialize beyond annual press releases and industry speculation. I am referring to the demise of paper charts, an event long heralded as just over the horizon. And a change like this, while basic on some level, goes right to the core of what was once considered essential to the safe practices of successful cruising. Boaters from 50 years ago would be amazed at the technology we employ today. It is 2021, after all, and while we’re not buzzing around in flying cars as predicted by the Jetsons, we have moved way beyond tradition in many ways, on and off the water. In fact, I am surprised it took this long.
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