Semi-Local Publications, which publishes the On the Water ChartGuides (and formerly Managing the Waterway) has discontinued commercial operations in favor of a non-profit model.
Going forward, and operating as a non-profit, Captains Mark and Diana Doyle will deliver “Almost Free” cruising and anchoring guides to boaters transiting the Intracoastal Waterway between Hampton Roads, Virginia and Biscayne Bay, Florida. The Doyles are also regular contributors to PassageMaker magazine.
“Pricing our Almost Free CruiseGuides and AnchorGuides will be pretty simple,” states Diana. “Labor, boat, survey costs, fuel and moorage, computer, and all operating expenses are now on us. But as you can imagine, we can’t seem to find a paper manufacturer, printer, or fulfillment house as passionate about supplying free ICW information to boaters as we are.”
“Each guide costs $6 to $7 to print (depending on page count, quantity, and whether color or black-and-white). Add a few dollars to cover web hosting, credit card fees, and other direct expenses and you come up with the $9.95 (versus $29.95) you’ll now pay for a printed copy.”
The Doyles will continue to first-hand survey and live on the ICW while expanding and revising the popular On the Water ChartGuide series, which has sold over 12,000 copies since their first “Managing the Waterway” edition in 2005.
In addition, On the Water ChartGuides Foundation will supplement the print guides, disseminating safety and educational information about the ICW through electronic media. This will include future e-book editions, presentations at boating events and by webinar, and free guide updates via RSS, Facebook, and Twitter.
The new website is www.OnTheWaterChartGuides.org.
“Diana and I are very excited about doing this,” says Mark. “And we hope the cruising community will be equally enthusiastic, now getting our guides for only ten bucks in print or a few bucks in digital. Our efforts have always been ad-free and more of a public service project than a commercial enterprise—we’re just making it official.”
