Where to get nautical charts

October 5, 2006 7:30 AM

Where can I buy some nice nautical charts of the Canary Islands?

I'm just back from exploring the Canaries and was seduced by the sound and smell of the ocean. I couldn't bring the sea home with me (no liquids - remember) but I thought the next best thing would be a nice nautical themed chart of the Islas De Canarias. Something that looks quite old would be nice and would show all the ports and sea depths.

posted by DZ-015 to home & garden (5 comments total)

Do you want something functional or do you want something artistic/ersatz antique?

Real, in-use nautical charts are produced by the relevant government agency. In the U.S., that's NOAA; in the Canary Islands' case, it would be the Spanish or EU equivalent, unless they're done locally for some reason. Honestly, I don't know; these are just my best guesses.

If you're looking for something whimsically nautical, like those navigational charts that expressly state that they're not for navigation, your best bet is finding a good map store and nosing around.
posted by mcwetboy at 7:43 AM on October 5, 2006

I have purchased several charts from Bluewater Books and Charts. Call their 800 number and describe what you want. They probably don't have an antique looking chart, but they will definitely have a new one with ports and depths.
posted by Uncle Jimmy at 7:46 AM on October 5, 2006

Humboldt University has a decent collection of historical scanned images. They aren't an awesomely huge resolution but are adequate. Click the LiSe links. Then the David Rumsey collection has quite a few but you need a special plugin and probably won't be able to download and print them.
posted by JJ86 at 9:17 AM on October 5, 2006

Navigational maps can be found at boating shops in cities near large ports. If you can, you may want to look in their drawers for the older versions. Many times the soundings are overlayed on old pen- or even pencil-drawn land maps. These are being replaced with ones using generic computer shapes for the land.

The ones I like best have an old black and white drawing overlayed with grids and numbers printed in various colors.

Heh heh, I said look in their drawers.
posted by StickyCarpet at 11:41 AM on October 5, 2006

Not old - but Imray sells nautical charts of the Canaries (and everywhere else for that matter).
posted by TrashyRambo at 3:08 PM on October 5, 2006