Active Captain is a wiki for the sailing community. This means that it is effectively a database of information developed in collaboration by everyone that sails. Active Captain users can add content and provide reviews. A rating system lets you know how reliable the information is.
While Active Captain needs little introduction over in North America, the rest of the world has still yet to fully adopt the tool. It is a free service that provides sailors with more information, helping to make a more informed decision on where to go. Most people wouldn’t try a new restaurant without checking their favorite review website, so why shouldn’t it be the same with harbors and sailing to new locations! To boot, the wiki has info on good anchoring spots, local knowledge and hazards to avoid.
While you may have reliable data concerning such objects in your charts, Active Captain relies on thousands of users to provide information, meaning that it may have additional qualitative information to NOAA or another chart provider. Active Captain will be overlaid onto your existing chart, no matter whether you are using a Vector or Raster format.
So how can you start using it today?
Step 1: Create an account at http://activecaptain.com
Step 2: Open your TIMEZERO software and go to the options tab (top left hand corner). Here you will find Active Captain as one of the options. Click on it and enter your login details.
Step 3: Go to the Update window and just like updating your weather zone, you must create a zone using the rectangle tool. But instead select the option to update Active Captain.
Step 4: Click on the Layers tab. On the bottom, right corner of TZ Navigator v3. Here click on Active Captain so the it becomes an active layer in your software.
Step 5: The different Active Captain points appear in different colors depending on the category. Here for instance, the green point highlighted is a harbor.
Step 6: Click on the show details link and you will open up a window with lots of details that you might have been previously wondering about.
Step 7: Check for reviews to see whether what has been entered is accurate.
Step 8: When you visit a port, harbor or other location and see that there is information missing. Add the information yourself! This Active Captain is a virtuous circle, so you can’t just take otherwise it will never work!
We hope you stay active!
Join Active Captain community by clicking here.
