What is the Cooperative Charting Program?

The Cooperative Charting Program implements the agreement between the USPS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)  for updating nautical charts.  The Sarasota Power and Sail Squadron (SPSS) has  the responsibility for updating the segment of the chart #11425 assigned by district 22: from Cortez Bridge in the North to Blackburn Point Bridge in the south.

This program is a serious technical commitment to do accurate investigations for discovering anomalies or differences between what the chart shows and what is really in the water or on the land.  Those differences could be day beacons that are damaged, missing, or have changed positions, new landmarks, hazards to navigation that are new or have disappeared, depth changes and  new channels.

Under this voluntary program, members of the U.S. Power Squadrons look for changing conditions that need to be reflected on NOAA navigational charts. Members submit their reports online, and Coast Survey cartographers review and incorporate chart changes as necessary.

The main activities of the program are the following:

Nautical Chart Corrections: Observing and reporting differences between charted information and that which is currently observable.

Small Craft Facilities: Observing and reporting the characteristics of marinas, boat yards, and other marine facilities that service small nautical craft.

Coast Pilot Revisions: Examining those sections of the Coast Pilot covering your area and determining where changes should be made to reflect current reality.

Range Line Surveys: Similar to Depth Surveys except measurements are position readings taken along tracks identified by Range Markers.

Depth Surveys: Measuring depth, at various positions in the areas of interest.

Aids to Navigation (ATON) Inspections: This involves cruising around your favorite areas and observing the buoys and other markers. Items to check are: proper functioning of light and sound characteristics, legibility of identifying marks and that the ATONs are in proper position.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THESE ACTIVITIES PLEASE FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW.