None of ours need cell or internet to navigate.
In our situation, it's easy enough to keep the laptop software and the apps on the 4 more portable devices updated, and all of them charged.
Can't say any of that would work for anyone else, just that we've found no reason to keep schlepping paper charts around...
-Chris
Wifey B: We occasionally print a paper chart, generally for our niece to mark up where she goes. However, we don't use paper.
We have redundant and tridundant (ok, not a word but I like it) charts like Ranger does.
I think the one part of trip planning most overlooked though is what do you want to do? What places do you want to visit?
We plan top down rather than bottom up. Let's say we want to plan from Morehead City to Key West and back. Without considering navigation the first thing we'd do is look at every waterfront town along the way and rate them in terms of our desire to visit. It's a lot of work, but fun work, learning what each offers. 5 is a must see. 4 is a definite want to see. 3 is would be nice but if it has to wait, we can live with that. 2 is perhaps another time. 1 is, nothing there really excites us.
Now next part, hubby trained me on as my instinct was just pick them all. Outside is 711 nm, direct shot. ICW is 913 nm shortest trip. So if going ICW lets be conservative and say you'll travel 1100 nm each way. I have allocated 2 months for the trip south. So, in 60 days, 1100 nm. I only want to travel every second or even third day so lets say 25 days of travel. Then if my division is correct, average 44 nm per day and make 25 stops. Now it's easy. I have 25 stops each way and I start selecting along the way. I'm looking for stops from 30 to 60 nm apart due to the comfortable day of travel.
Now, let's just look at NC. Let's say my 5's and 4's from Morehead south were Swansboro, Jacksonville (not really, but plan along), Wrightsville, Wilmington, Bald Head Island, Southport. I decide three stops for NC going each way. I don't just pick the best going down as I want to equally enjoy the return trip. But I'm not going to pick up all six. To do so means moving every day. I decide on the way down I'm going for Swansboro, Bald Head and Wilmington.
Now it comes together, Day 1, 22 miles to Swansboro. Will likely run a bit more. I'll be there by noon and enjoy just my first day on the water. It's at this point I select an anchorage or marina or both. Perhaps the day I arrive, I decide to explore by dinghy or even kayak. So much beauty around and parks. Then the next day I check out the town and do the can't miss of Swansboro Artisans and Antiques. Oh and I pick a local restaurant for lunch or dinner.
Day 3, Swansboro to Wilmington, about 50 nm. A full day but some beautiful cruising up the Cape Fear. Wilmington a city I'm dying to see with so much heritage and beauty. I spend days 4 and 5 sightseeing and eat out one of the days. Perhaps my sightseeing is 3 hours for Battleship NC, 2 hours for the Railroad museum, and 2 hours for the Cape Fear Museum on Day 4. Then on day 5 I do a casual early morning stroll along the Riverwalk, followed by enjoying the beauty or Airlie Gardens or the Arboretum. I do a leisurely stroll downtown, perhaps check out the Bellamy House and then I cap my day off with a wonderful carriage ride through the historic district.
Day 6 I make the short turn to Bald Head Island. 3 to 4 hours back down the Cape Fear. Then I spend the after noon and day 7 immersed in the beauty and nature of the island. I explore both with a sightseeing tour from the Conservancy and on my own. I visit the lighthouse. I might even rent a bike and go for a ride in this place without cars.
In just the lower half of the NC coast you've experienced such a wonderful contrast. You've taken it easy. You're still fresh and ready to move on to SC.
You build in flexibility based on weather and your degree of freshness vs fatigue as well as any boat issues. If it forces you to skip a stop along the way, you'll get it next time. If you're not ready to leave an area, then tack on a day but also realize it's not bad to leave while longing for more with more to look forward to next time.
You plan based on your own interests. You eat based on your own preferences. We love local arts and crafts and local museums and hubby will never miss a lighthouse. You may like a day of fishing here and there, maybe even with a local guide or sailing similarly or just kayaking or biking. Even the smallest stop is a tourist oriented town and will offer so much. One person may like military and another prefer gardens. Every week on your trip should be the vacation of a lifetime.
We lived in NC. We were 5 hours from Morehead City and 3.5 from Wilmington. As a kid he went to the outer banks but we never went to the NC coast although we went to Myrtle Beach, SC. It was after moving to Fort Lauderdale and cruising the coast that we really learned the wonder of the NC coast. We could cruise the coast another 20 times and not experience it all. It's an entirely different world than the part of NC we lived in, Charlotte area. But then Wilmington and Ocracoke are different worlds from each other.
I know people say it's not about the destination. We love the water and cruising. However, along the way, there are incredible destinations not to be overlooked and missed. You can have both. We cruise offshore mostly and we can enjoy a beautiful day cruising with no land in sight, just the sea and it's marvelous creatures and then enjoy late afternoon cruising up the Cape Fear with dinner reservations at Brasserie du Soleil. Wilmington is a bit shocking with their huge selection of restaurants of every cuisine plus some locals like the Cape Fear Seafood Company or Casey's Barbecue.
