Retriever
Senior Member
Last year I discovered striking similarities between information on ActiveCaptain (the information posted by "Kayley" specifically) and information in Exploring Southeast Alaska. I sent Jeff Siegel (ActiveCaptain owner) a message on Trawler Forum and he defended the information.
I’m in Alaska again, using both Exploring Southeast Alaska and ActiveCaptain pretty much every day. And again I’m struck by the similarities.
I don’t have a dog in this fight, so to speak. Yes, I previously worked for the publisher of Exploring Southeast Alaska, but I don’t anymore. I have no financial interest in the company. And I actually like ActiveCaptain and I’m a huge believer in crowd-sourced data.
But plagiarism isn’t cool, and ActiveCaptain in Alaska is filled with plagiarism. The authors of Exploring Southeast Alaska spent a lot of time and money putting the book together. They own the material.
Here are three examples. Think I’m cherry picking the most egregious examples? Nope, these three destinations are listed sequentially in Exploring Southeast Alaska.
From ActiveCaptain:
“When entering Flynn Cove stay well north of Harry Island and the rocks and shoals on the west side before turning south. Pass a grassy islet and a 200 yard long reef awash on a 12-foot tide. Once past the reef, favor the notheast shore avoiding a ledge awash on a 15-foot tide. You can anchor toward the head of the bay being careful to monitor your depth sounder.”
From Exploring Southeast Alaska:
“When entering the cove, stay well north of Harry Island and the rocks and shoals on its west side before turning south. Pass a grassy islet and a 200-yard-long reef awash on a 12-foot tide. Once past the reef, favor the northeast shore avoiding a ledge awash on a 15-foot tide. You can anchor toward the head of the bay being careful to monitor your depth sounder.”
The example in Excursion Inlet is perhaps more blatant. Despite there being an ActiveCaptain marker at both Sawmill Bay and the public dock (they’re a couple miles apart), Kayley’s review describes both of them in the Sawmill Bay entry, exactly as the Douglass book does.
From ActiveCaptain:
“Excursion Inlet, is a scenic cruising destination. It was cut long ago by glaciers. Although too deep for convenient anchoring, Sawmill Bay will fulfill this requirement. The area around the dock and cannery were used as a prisoner-of-war camp for Germans in WWII. Thus there is a real feel to recent history here. Although many of our cruiser friends report that it is still possible to moor at the Cannery Town docks, we highly recommend you forego this and anchor in the western arm of the inlet which is named Sawmill Bay on the chart.”
From Exploring Southeast Alaska:
“Excursion Inlet, which was cut out of the towering peaks by glaciers long ago, is too deep for convenient anchoring. However, fair shelter at reasonable depths can be found in the eastern bight of Sawmill Bay. The area around the dock and cannery were used as a prisoner-of-war camp for Germans in World War II. Cruisers have reported that it is possible to moor at the Cannery Town docks. The western arm of the inlet is called Sawmill Bay.”
The “Dinghy Dock Access” feature of ActiveCaptain for Sawmill Bay makes me question whether the author has actually ever been here. It says:
There is a dock in the east arm. It may be possible to moor at the Cannery town docks but the docks themselves are in an advance state of disrepair. Do not depend or plan on them.”
The reality is, there is NO dock in the east arm, nor has there been a dock in the east arm in recent memory. The only public dock in Excursion Inlet is at “Cannery town,” and while it is not in great shape, it’s not really in an “advance state of disrepair” either. Both pleasure boats and commercial boats use it regularly and safely.
Here’s another example…
From ActiveCaptain:
“Pleasant Island Cove is a convenient anchorage with easy access by radar in poor visibility. The large flat, 9 feet to 12 feet, east of Icy Passage spit is well protected from most summer winds and is out of the westerly chop sometimes found off Gustavus. There is room here for quite a few boats. It is recommended to anchor immediately east of the lone tree on the spit. This location also helps avoid the numerous crab pot floats. Contrary to the Coast Pilot #8 information, the bottom is hard blue-gray clay packed with clam shells, not mud. This makes setting your anchor difficult. You must set it slowly or it will break out before burrying itself. The last of the flood tide flows west and there are currents to 2 knots on spring tides.”
From Exploring Southeast Alaska:
“Pleasant Island Cove is a convenient anchorage with easy access by radar. The large flat, 1-1/2 to 2 fathoms, east of Icy Passage spit is well protected from most summer winds and is out of the westerly chop sometimes found off Gustavus. There is room here for quite a few boats. We prefer to anchor immediately east of the lone tree on the spit, avoiding the numerous crab pot floats. We have found the bottom to be hard blue-grey clay packed with clam shells, not mud, as mentioned in the Coast Pilot. This makes setting your anchor difficult—you must set it slowly or it will break out before burying itself. The last of the flood tide flows west, and we have measured currents to 2 knots on spring tides.”
I sent these examples and several others to Jeff. He responded saying the similarities are "uncomfortable," and suggested they might both be copied from the Coast Pilot (they're not).
Is this more widespread than just SE Alaska? Am I being overly sensitive to this?
I’m in Alaska again, using both Exploring Southeast Alaska and ActiveCaptain pretty much every day. And again I’m struck by the similarities.
I don’t have a dog in this fight, so to speak. Yes, I previously worked for the publisher of Exploring Southeast Alaska, but I don’t anymore. I have no financial interest in the company. And I actually like ActiveCaptain and I’m a huge believer in crowd-sourced data.
But plagiarism isn’t cool, and ActiveCaptain in Alaska is filled with plagiarism. The authors of Exploring Southeast Alaska spent a lot of time and money putting the book together. They own the material.
Here are three examples. Think I’m cherry picking the most egregious examples? Nope, these three destinations are listed sequentially in Exploring Southeast Alaska.
From ActiveCaptain:
“When entering Flynn Cove stay well north of Harry Island and the rocks and shoals on the west side before turning south. Pass a grassy islet and a 200 yard long reef awash on a 12-foot tide. Once past the reef, favor the notheast shore avoiding a ledge awash on a 15-foot tide. You can anchor toward the head of the bay being careful to monitor your depth sounder.”
From Exploring Southeast Alaska:
“When entering the cove, stay well north of Harry Island and the rocks and shoals on its west side before turning south. Pass a grassy islet and a 200-yard-long reef awash on a 12-foot tide. Once past the reef, favor the northeast shore avoiding a ledge awash on a 15-foot tide. You can anchor toward the head of the bay being careful to monitor your depth sounder.”
The example in Excursion Inlet is perhaps more blatant. Despite there being an ActiveCaptain marker at both Sawmill Bay and the public dock (they’re a couple miles apart), Kayley’s review describes both of them in the Sawmill Bay entry, exactly as the Douglass book does.
From ActiveCaptain:
“Excursion Inlet, is a scenic cruising destination. It was cut long ago by glaciers. Although too deep for convenient anchoring, Sawmill Bay will fulfill this requirement. The area around the dock and cannery were used as a prisoner-of-war camp for Germans in WWII. Thus there is a real feel to recent history here. Although many of our cruiser friends report that it is still possible to moor at the Cannery Town docks, we highly recommend you forego this and anchor in the western arm of the inlet which is named Sawmill Bay on the chart.”
From Exploring Southeast Alaska:
“Excursion Inlet, which was cut out of the towering peaks by glaciers long ago, is too deep for convenient anchoring. However, fair shelter at reasonable depths can be found in the eastern bight of Sawmill Bay. The area around the dock and cannery were used as a prisoner-of-war camp for Germans in World War II. Cruisers have reported that it is possible to moor at the Cannery Town docks. The western arm of the inlet is called Sawmill Bay.”
The “Dinghy Dock Access” feature of ActiveCaptain for Sawmill Bay makes me question whether the author has actually ever been here. It says:
There is a dock in the east arm. It may be possible to moor at the Cannery town docks but the docks themselves are in an advance state of disrepair. Do not depend or plan on them.”
The reality is, there is NO dock in the east arm, nor has there been a dock in the east arm in recent memory. The only public dock in Excursion Inlet is at “Cannery town,” and while it is not in great shape, it’s not really in an “advance state of disrepair” either. Both pleasure boats and commercial boats use it regularly and safely.
Here’s another example…
From ActiveCaptain:
“Pleasant Island Cove is a convenient anchorage with easy access by radar in poor visibility. The large flat, 9 feet to 12 feet, east of Icy Passage spit is well protected from most summer winds and is out of the westerly chop sometimes found off Gustavus. There is room here for quite a few boats. It is recommended to anchor immediately east of the lone tree on the spit. This location also helps avoid the numerous crab pot floats. Contrary to the Coast Pilot #8 information, the bottom is hard blue-gray clay packed with clam shells, not mud. This makes setting your anchor difficult. You must set it slowly or it will break out before burrying itself. The last of the flood tide flows west and there are currents to 2 knots on spring tides.”
From Exploring Southeast Alaska:
“Pleasant Island Cove is a convenient anchorage with easy access by radar. The large flat, 1-1/2 to 2 fathoms, east of Icy Passage spit is well protected from most summer winds and is out of the westerly chop sometimes found off Gustavus. There is room here for quite a few boats. We prefer to anchor immediately east of the lone tree on the spit, avoiding the numerous crab pot floats. We have found the bottom to be hard blue-grey clay packed with clam shells, not mud, as mentioned in the Coast Pilot. This makes setting your anchor difficult—you must set it slowly or it will break out before burying itself. The last of the flood tide flows west, and we have measured currents to 2 knots on spring tides.”
I sent these examples and several others to Jeff. He responded saying the similarities are "uncomfortable," and suggested they might both be copied from the Coast Pilot (they're not).
Is this more widespread than just SE Alaska? Am I being overly sensitive to this?
