"BlueChart 6.0 marks a significant expansion by Garmin to offer one of the most detailed and extensive electronic chart libraries available anywhere," said Gary Kelley, Garmin’s director of marketing. "Mariners equipped with Garmin chartplotters now can have access to electronic cartography that isn’t currently available on other GPS units."
One of BlueChart 6.0’s most anticipated features is expanded coverage of the Bahamas — through Garmin’s relationship with Lewis Offshore Ltd. and their highly detailed and respected Explorer Chartbooks®. The charts — covering the Near Bahamas, Far Bahamas, and Exumas — were developed by the husband and wife team of Monty and Sara Lewis, who have been painstakingly charting the region since the mid-1990s.
"We’ve always been proud to be the paper ‘charts of choice’ for boaters traveling in the Bahamas," said Monty Lewis. "Now, boaters can get the same highly accurate, one-of-a-kind charts directly on their Garmin chartplotters."
Like all other releases, BlueChart 6.0 features details like depth contours, inter-tidal zones, spot soundings, wrecks, navaids, restricted areas, cable areas, anchorages and much more. In addition to the expanded Bahamas coverage, BlueChart 6.0 is also enhancing its coverage by including:
MapSource BlueChart 6.0 is available as a CD-ROM (Americas, Atlantic,
or Pacific versions) or on pre-programmed data cards. The data is
compatible with all Garmin chartplotters, including the new GPSMAP®
172/178, the GPSMAP 162/168, GPSMAP 182/188, GPSMAP 232/238, GPSMAP
2006/2010, GPSMAP 176C, and the handheld GPSMAP 60C/60CS. The GPSMAP 76
series, GPS V, iQue™ 3600, Rino® 120, Rino 130, eTrex Legend® and eTrex
Vista® also offer limited compatibility with BlueChart.
MapSource BlueChart 6.0 will be available in late January, with a
suggested retail price of $151.65. Pre-programmed regular-sized data
cards are available for a suggested retail price of $160.70.