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Chart Downloads

CM93 chart vs a GE KAP over exactly the same area. Which do you want?
CM93 chart vs a GE mbTile of exactly the same area. Which do you want?

This is where folks can download our navigational charts.  These are the charts we use for our own navigation.

We've published our .KAP files for several years, but in 2019 we started using mbTiles.  While KAPs certainly revolutionized coastal navigation by showing us the real reefs, islands, and coastlines positioned exactly correctly, mbTiles have extended that.  The geo‑registration is just as good (close to perfect) but we can now use many more sources than just Google Earth, like Bing and ArcGIS.  We can even make mbTiles from nautical charts from CMap and Navionics.  MbTiles is a database format that allows many zoom‑levels in a single mbTiles file, which improves the performance of navigation programs like OpenCPN.

Cruisers:  We welcome other cruisers contributing their mbTiles to this collection.  We'd like to make this page a repository of high‑quality mbTiles from all over the world, for other cruisers to download.  If you have mbTiles you'd like to contribute, please contact us.

DISCLAIMER:  We've done the best we can with these files, and we've used them ourselves for several years, but we can't take responsibility for them in any way.  Prudent mariners will use all resources available to them, not just these electronic files.  If you find issues with any of these, please contact us so we can repair whatever needs work.

Rallies:  Cruisers doing the SE Asian rallies will want to download the following areas (at a minimum):

  • Sail Indonesia from Darwin: 
Timor‑Sumba‑Wetar, Alor‑Komodo, Komodo‑Bali, Java (optional), Flores‑Java Sea, Kalimantan (only for the Kumai River), Banka‑Riau.
  • Sail 2 Indonesia from Cairns: 
All the above plus:  SE Indo, Seram‑Ambon‑Banda, Sulawesi South.
  • Raja Ampat from Kalimantan: 
Kalimantan, Sulawesi NW, Sulawesi East, Halmahera, Raja Ampat.
  • Down Under from Raja Ampat: 
Cruisers continuing Down Under will also want Seram‑Ambon‑Banda, SE Indo, and possibly Triton Bay.
  • Sail Malaysia (west coast): 
Malaysian Peninsula (& Sing), and Thailand West Coast if you're going up that far.
  • Malaysian Passage to the East
All three of Malaysia, plus Indonesia Flores‑Java Sea if the rally goes to Anambas or Natuna.

To use these mbTiles in OpenCPN:

  1. Create a directory structure something like \Charts\mbTiles\[country]\[area].  Add all the countries and areas that you're interested in.
    Mac users may have to get a bit creative here, as the MacOS wants to hide access to the underlying file structure, but you'll probably be downloading lots of files for several areas, and you want those to be organized so you can find them again relatively simply.
  2. Download the files for the areas you're interested in by clicking on the SIZE link.  The files are all zipped to reduce download times, and the filenames all include the country and the area within that country, as well as the type of chart and zoom levels.  Note that some zips are individual mbTiles, while a few contain the mbTiles for all chart types in a single file.
  3. Move the zip‑files from your Downloads folder to their correct folders and unzip them.  Usually, a given folder will include all map‑types (ArcGIS, Bing, Google, CMap, Navionics) for that area.
  4. In OpenCPN, go to Options (looks like a gear) and select Charts (the 2nd tab over).
  5. Click Add Directory (on the right) and navigate to the folder you want to look at.  Note that these are huge files, so you probably only want the area where your boat is.  Adding too many folders will bring OpenCPN to its knees because of the size of the data it's having to manage.  Adding a folder will add all sub‑folders as well, and this should be avoided.
  6. Click [Apply] in the lower right when you're finished.
  7. To allow single‑key access to your charts (some of this will only need to be done once):
    1. Click on the Chart Groups tab (3rd over within the Charts tab)
    2. Click [New Group] and call it ArcGIS.  Create more Groups called Bing, Google, CMap, and Navionics.  You can make them in any order you want, but you should always use the SAME order.  The first Group you create will be accessed by typing a "1", the 2nd Group by typing a "2", and so on.  I like my satellite imagery to be 1, 2, 3, and my nautical charts to be 4 and 5.
    3. In the upper box, expand the folder with your mbTiles by double‑clicking on it.  This should show the individual mbTiles in that folder. 
      Note that all of the mbTiles have names like: [Country][Area][4‑letter code].[Chart‑type].[zoom‑levels].mbtiles
    4. Select your ArcGIS Chart‑Group (lower window), then your ArcGIS Chart (upper window), then click [Add] on the right to add that chart to your ArcGIS chart‑group.  Add all of your ArcGIS charts to your ArcGIS Chart‑Group.  I also add my CM93 charts to each chart‑group, but it's not necessary.
    5. Repeat #4 for each of your other chart‑groups (Bing, Google, CMap, Navionics, etc)
    6. When you've finished, click [OK].  OpenCPN will read in the files (which might take some time the first time) and then close the Options window.
  8. When OpenCPN starts, you'll see 5 maroon "piano‑keys" down at the bottom of the display.  They represent the 5 mbTiles. Click on each one to turn it on (they'll wake up OFF).
  9. Now, when you type 1, you'll get your ArcGIS, 2 for Bing, 3 for Google, 4 for CMap, and 5 for Navionics.  You can switch between them very quickly, which makes it very easy to cycle through your charts to see which one is the best for your situation at that instant.  Type 0 (zero) to get back to displaying all of your charts, but note that this will only display the LEFT‑most mbTile that's turned on (mbTiles are turned on/off by clicking on their maroon piano‑key).

Our mbTiles include all zoom levels from Z10‑18.  Each higher zoom level has 4x the resolution, and Z18 is high enough to see individual coral‑heads.  We include the other zooms because it speeds up OpenCPN, & only adds a little bit to the file size.  It means that when you're panning around in OpenCPN, it only has to extract the correct zoom level from the mbTile & slam it out to the display engine.  If the required zoom level isn't there, then OpenCPN has to use a more detailed zoom‑level & then decide which pixels to display & which to throw out.  This turns out to be relatively slow for OpenCPN, making panning slow & jerky, especially on slower computers.  So we include all available zoom levels, preferring to trade file‑size for performance, since disk‑space is so cheap these days.  We also include the entire coastlines of the countries we cover, since we don't know where we will choose to go, & we certainly don't know where our users will want to go.

But this does mean that our mbTiles are quite large, despite our attempts to include only relevant data.  If you prefer smaller files, with fewer zoom‑levels &/or less complete coverage of coastlines, then there are other sources for free mbTiles.  As of this writing (January 2024) there are at least 3 other sources that you might want to check out, & all of them are very experienced cruisers (& good friends of ours).  They also include some areas that we don't cover yet.


We've put several hundred hours into this project.  If you'd like to help us provide more charts for the cruising community, even a small donation will help pay our extra costs to host and download these large files.  Just click the Donate button on the left.  PayPal makes it very easy.  Thank you!

If you can't make a donation, please download what charts you need anyway.  Our primary goal is to help make our cruising community safer, by using these charts.


Click on the size of the file (in MB) to download that file.


Country (east to west)
 
Area (alphabetic) ArcGIS    Bing Google  CMap  Navionics Date Made By
Canaries & Cape Verde All 3,170 3.490 3,370 1,009 576 Jan 24 Ocelot
Caribbean Eastern Caribbean 3,540 4,160 4,400 1,900 963 Dec 21 Ocelot
Galapagos All 1,720 3,540 1,470 747 403 Dec 21 Ocelot
French Polynesia Gambiers
Marquesas
Society Islands
Tuamotus
> > >
> > >
> > >
2,490
All >>
All >>
All >>
2,910
1,220
1,280
2,130
2,410
< < All
< < All
< < All
869
< < < <
< < < <
< < < <
336
Jan 24 Ocelot
Cook Islands All

All 1,480

Jan 24 Ocelot
Samoa All 981 1,050 1,140 385 129 Jan 24 Ocelot
Tonga All 952 944 1,310 659 234 Jan 24 Ocelot
Fiji East
West
> > >
3,810
All >>
4,500
3,600
2,710
< < All
1,900
< < < <
705
Jan 24 Ocelot
Vanuatu All 3,390 3,660 3,900 769 284 Jan 24 Ocelot
New Caledonia All 5,690 6,340 4,890 2,740 1,360 Jan 24 Ocelot

Country (east to west)
 
Area (alphabetic) ArcGIS    Bing Google

 CMap 

Navionics Date Made By
Micronesia Carolines
Kirabati
Marshalls
Senyavin
1,810
> > >
3,970
> > >
821
All >>
3,730
All >>
1,170
3,090
2,570
1,040
1,690
< < All
1,560
< < All
224
< < < <
274
< < < <
Apr 20 Ocelot
Solomon Islands 1 North
2 East Atolls
3 Choiseul
4 New Georgia
5 Santa Isabel
6 Malaita
7 Guadalcanal
8 South

All 3,620
All    905
All 3,430
All 4,210
All 1,870
All 2,220
All 4,850
All 2,490

Apr 20 Ocelot
PNG Admiralty Islands
Louisiades
Louisiades Talgula
Manus
NE Mainland
New Britain North
New Britain SE
New Ireland
NW
SE
Triobrand
Trob Solomon Sea
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
2,470
2,290
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
1,910
All >>
All >>
All >>
All >>
2,590
2,130
All >>
All >>
All >>
All >>
All >>
1,780
2,830
3,200
2,980
1,980
991
892
2,660
4,730
1,210
5,000
4,070
213
<< All
<< All
<< All
<< All
632
524
<< All
<< All
<< All
<< All
<< All
639
< < < <
< < < <
< < < <
< < < <
162
260
< < < <
< < < <
< < < <
< < < <
< < < <
124
Apr 20
Apr 20
Jul 19
May 19
Apr 20
Apr 20
Apr 21
Apr 21
Apr 21
Apr 21
Apr 21
May 19
Ocelot

Country (east to west)
 
Area (alphabetic) ArcGIS    Bing Google  CMap  Navionics Date Made By
Palau All 1,740 (all) Apr 20 Ocelot
Indonesia Alor‑Komodo
Banka‑Riau
Cenderwasih Bay
Flores‑Java Sea
Halmahera
Java
Kalimantan
Komodo‑Bali
Papua South
Papua SW
Raja Ampat
SE Indo
Seram‑Ambon‑Banda
Sulawesi East
Sulawesi NW
Sulawesi South
Sumatra North
Sumatra South
Timor‑Sumba‑Wetar
Triton Bay
2,550
4,580
4,390
4,650
3,800
3,470
5,120
2,660
1,920
2,140
4,580
4,900
2,720
4,040
3,320
4,540
3,910
3,330
3,060
> > >
2,880
4,920
4,850
4,410
3,930
3,610
5,300
2,980
3,200
3,590
4,460
2,820
2,840
4,480
3,680
5,070
4,150
3,820
3,590
All >>
2,390
3,400
503
2,610
2,470
3,440
3,320
2,180
1,810
1,250
2,250
3,050
2,160
2,990
2,790
3,140
3,040
2,520
3,070
3,920
588
1,140
85
1,480
248
1,910
261
393
1,580
1,070
446
694
215
703
479
981
304
845
650
<< All
275
824
21
756
387
714
753
289
259
202
556
435
242
483
498
515
489
421
302
< < < <
Aug 21 Ocelot

Country (east to west)
 
Area (alphabetic) ArcGIS    Bing Google

 CMap 

Navionics Date Made By
Philippines Mindanao East
Visayas South
Visayas North
Luzon
Palawan
SW (Abu Sayyaf)
Spratly Islands
6,780
6,750
8,670
17,090
4,530
5,450
> > >
6,140
6,120
8,230
16,050
4,920
4,820
All >>
2,780
2,690
5,240
8,570
2,340
2,780
3,140
1,090
1,380
2,470
4,060
1,440
1,230
<< All
416
559
998
1,790
745
540
< < < <
Jan 22
Mar 20
Jan 22
Apr 22
Jan 22
Jan 22
Oct 21
Ocelot
Malaysia
(& Singapore)
Peninsula (& Sing)
Malaysian Borneo E
Malaysian Borneo W
3,680
2,850
3,450
3,560
3,120
3,370
2,720
1,730
2,530
1,040
1,420
(incl^)
636
515
413
Oct 21 Ocelot
Thailand West coast 2,390 2,320 1,770 704 313 Apr 20 Ocelot
Sri Lanka All 2,220 4,300 2,050 1,330 382 Nov 21 Ocelot
Maldives North
South
1,770
3,090
2,500
2,750
1,490
2,370
674
1,280
115
254
Apr 21 Ocelot
BIOT Chagos

942 (all)

Apr 20 Ocelot
Seychelles All

2,750 (all)

Nov 21 Ocelot
Madagascar North West 4,200 5,760 2,610 1,790 694 Nov 21 Ocelot
Comoros All

2,780 (all)

Nov 21 Ocelot
Kenya All

3,830 (all)

Nov 21 Ocelot
Tanzania All 2,680 3,660 2,690 1,130 425 Nov 21 Ocelot
Mozambique North
Bazaruto
South
2,820
2,090
1,340
4,280
5,590
2,790
2,620
2,240
1,280
1,100
2,090
683
367
390
223
Nov 21 Ocelot

Some notes on these files:

  • There are some issues with CMap and Navionics mbTiles files:
    • CMap files at some resolutions display only a red circle with white bar, meaning the data wasn't available on the server so couldn't be downloaded.  Sometimes, zooming in further will result in the detailed data being displayed.
    • Navionics depths are mostly in meters, but sometimes switches to feet with NO NOTICE, especially in shallow waters.  The best solution to this we've found is to switch between CMAP (which is always in meters) and Navionics to see if the depths change.  If they differ by about 3:1, then the Navionics depths are probably in feet.
       
  • These files are all zipped to reduce download times.  Most operating systems come with the ability to unzip files, but you can also download the free utility 7‑Zip to do this, which is what I used to zip them in the first place.
     
  • These charts will work with all operating systems: Windows, Mac, Unix, Android, etc.  They generally will not work in chart‑plotters.
     
  • Sizes are only approximate.
     
  • Clicking on a download link will open a new confirmation window, which is necessary to download and decrypt the zip file.  Click the green [Download] button to start the download.
     
  • If the area you're interested in isn't available, you can make your own with our How‑To page on Making mbTiles.  I've tried to write it so even a novice can produce high‑quality, high‑resolution navigational charts themselves.
     
  • East Timor (Timor Leste) is included in Indonesia/Timor‑Sumba‑Wetar, and Singapore is included in Peninsular Malaysia.
     
  • In general, these charts include the entire coastlines as well as near‑shore waters of the areas indicated.  The main exceptions to this are:
    • PNG, where much of the mainland is dangerous from pirates (called "rascals")
    • East coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, which also suffers from pirates.
    • East coast of Thailand, which we haven't done yet.
    • Chagos, where only the visitable atolls (Peros Banos & Solomon) are charted.
       
  • The "Z10‑Z18" in the filename refers to the zoom‑levels that are included in the mbTile (from SAS Planet).  The "CS2C" in the filename is my code and can safely be ignored.
     
  • We would like to thank Paul Higgins for creating and improving his wonderful Sat2Chart program that makes all of this possible!

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