OceanGrafix Introduces Plan to Help Educate Boaters

Members of OG Club Automatically Notified of New Chart Editions from NOAA

ST. PAUL, Minn. – May 14, 2008 – OceanGrafix, the first and only company to offer print-on-demand nautical charts, today announced that it will provide boaters with proactive notification of new NOAA chart editions. By enrolling in OG Club, recreational boaters can request to be notified of new NOAA chart editions that are of particular interest to them. The service is free.

“Of the recreational boaters we recently surveyed, less than half were aware of the official changes NOAA regularly makes to its charts,” explains Dave DeGree, OceanGrafix president. “What’s worse, fewer than 10 percent actually update their charts regularly, and these changes can seriously impact boater safety.”

Interestingly, the market research also showed that the number one reason for purchasing a new chart was to gain fully corrected and updated data. “In any week, OceanGrafix print-on-demand charts will already contain new edition changes plus all the latest Notice to Mariners corrections, while the traditional chart will not,” says Richard Sillcox, chief of NOAA’s Chart Update Service. Each year, NOAA adds over 9,600 critical corrections to its suite of 1,019 charts, with all corrections in the OceanGrafix print-on-demand charts.

NOAA notifies mariners of chart corrections via weekly Notices to Mariners. A new edition of a chart is released by NOAA when major modifications occur or a significant number of changes have affected the chart.

“We’re happy to see OceanGrafix taking measures to get more accurate information into boaters’ hands,” adds NOAA’s Sillcox. “Their print-on-demand chart is definitely our most accurate chart, and accurate charts are paramount.”

Boaters may register for OG Club by visiting www.oceangrafix.com.

About OceanGrafix St. Paul, Minnesota-based OceanGrafix (www.oceangrafix.com) is the first company to offer print-on-demand nautical charts (which are up-to-date at the time of printing) for recreational and commercial boaters. Working in partnership with NOAA, the company ensures the most accurate information available is reflected on its charts.

For media inquiries: Larry Kocon 651-726-5602 larry.kocon@oceangrafix.com.