Active Captain acquired by Garmin
The popular USA-based cruising guide and database has been acquired by the Garmin Corporation, the company announced on 11 May.
Published 7 years ago, updated 5 years ago
Active Corporation, the creator of one of the largest guides and databases for 
cruisers in the USA, has been acquired by Garmin International. In statements released by both companies on 11 May 2017, both companies celebrated the acquisition as an exciting opportunity.
“Mariners rely on ActiveCaptain to make their voyages better informed and more enjoyable, and we are delighted to add this technology to the Garmin portfolio,” Cliff Pemble, Garmin president, and CEO said in a statement.
Active Captain is a crowd-sourced database for navigational hazards, anchorages, marinas, marina reviews, and local knowledge. The database is open for any user to submit reports, which are reviewed and published in near real-time. Membership is free of charge and currently has 250,000 contributors. It extensively covers the continental USA, but has begun to expand overseas and into the Caribbean, a factor that co-owner Jeffrey Siegel is looking forward to.
“Garmin is a technology leader among boaters of all types, and we are looking forward to working with them to make ActiveCaptain even more robust and global,” he said.
Financial details of the acquisition were not released, though Business Wire reports that Jeffrey and Karen Siegel, the sole employees at Active Corporation, will continue to be involved as employees of Garmin International.
Here is the statement from Garmin International.
The Active Captain database is accessible at: http://www.activecaptain.com.
Related to following destinations: USA
Related to the following Cruising Resources: Cruising Information
Jeffrey Siegel to Active Captain–ActiveCaptain.com
May 12-2017 12:20 EST ·
Thank you for the intense discussion, congratulations, and speculation throughout the boating community about Garmin’s acquisition of ActiveCaptain.
Please understand that this is a busy time and we can’t respond to every question through social media. What I can say is that nothing will change for the foreseeable future except that we are now part of the Garmin team. That means you can expect the same incredible services from ActiveCaptain as you’ve received in the past, but now with the support of one of the world’s leading marine electronics providers.
In addition, there will be no fees for ActiveCaptain.
We will continue to communicate with you through various channels. And yes, there will still be hats awarded for your contributions to the community.
Give this a chance to unfold. We’ll discuss more in the next couple of newsletters. Remember that no one has more passion for this product and community than us. This isn’t an end. It’s an incredible beginning of many more capabilities.