NEW LINKS
New websites not included in the book are listed under the same categories as in the book. Boaters are invited to share their favorite links, using the Contact/Comment form or email. Watch this page!
Anchoring and Mooring
Chain and Rope
Charts
Compass
Corrosion
Crew and Health
Design and Construction
Education, Training and Licensing (also see Organizations)
Electrical
Electronics and Electronic Navigation
Emergencies
Engines and Propulsion
Geographical and Geophysical
Lines and Knots
Maintenance
Metals
Miscellaneous
Marine equipment manufacturers and suppliers
Nautical terms
Navigation and Piloting
Navigation Rules
Organizations
Publications, general and General Websites
Radio and Satellite Communication
Rigging, Spars and Fittings
Safety
Sailing and Cruising
Spoken Language
Systems and Components
Water and Waves
Weather and Wind
Anchoring and Mooring
Chain and Rope
Charts
- Navionics electronic charts for iPhone and iPad, Android Mobile and Android Tablet: www.navionics.com/NavionicsMobile.asp. Many areas worldwide are available.
- U.S. electronic charts and publications: www.managingthewaterway.com. A 2-DVD "collection of both NOAA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers charts — every single one available, raster and vector — and all of the nautical publications made available by various government and state agencies as PDFs."
Compass
Corrosion
Crew and Health
Design and Construction
Education, Training and Licensing (also see Organizations)
- Boating instruction: www.annapolisschoolofseamanship.com. The Annapolis School of Seamanship, Annapolis, MD, offers classroom instruction, hands-on workshops, on-the-water training, and courses specifically designed for professional mariners to earn their U.S. Coast Guard100-ton master's license, OUPV "6-Pack" license or endorsements.
- Online courses for cruisers: www.sevenseasu.com. Various courses are presented as live, interactive "webinars," with opportunities to take the course online at other times. "Seven Seas U is the educational branch of the Seven Seas Cruising Association." (SSCA members receive a discount on courses).
- Sailing instruction: www.offshoresailing.com. Founded in 1964, Steve and Doris Colgate's Offshore Sailing School offers sailing instruction in the New York City area, Chesapeake Bay, Florida, and the British Virgin Islands.
- Sailing and powerboating instruction: www.seasenseboating.com. Sea Sense Boating School offers a variety of educational experiences for women, men, families, and organizations throughout the U.S. and internationally.
Electrical
Electronics and Electronic Navigation
- Marine electronics information and buying guides: www.marineelectronicsjournal.com. Journal of the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA).
- Marine electronics articles, guides to choosing, and comparison buying guides: www.navigate-us.com. “Navigate-us is a free marine electronics comparison website and it will help you make the best choice for all your marine navigation electronics equipment needs. We are independent from any manufacturer and you can request quotes from a number of our highly qualified and professional marine electronics dealers." Read the “about” section to see how the site works.
- Radar: article about types of radar, with a comparison of traditional pulse radar with broadband radar. www.navigate-us.com/guidance/radar
Emergencies
Engines and Propulsion
- Biodiesel fuel: www.morganscloud.com/2012/03/30/diesel-fuel-contamination. Good summary of the issues and problems with biodiesel in your boat; includes posts from readers.
Geographical and Geophysical
- Ocean currents worldwide: The Scientific Visualization Studio at NASA's Goddard Flight Center created a beautiful animation, with music, called "Perpetual Ocean," which visualizes the ocean's surface currents over a 30-month period between June 2005 and December 2007. See http://tinyurl.com/cndbjtv
Lines and Knots
Maintenance
- On Board with Mark Clarke: http://onboard.typepad.com/on_board. "Do it yourself for the boating enthusiast." Blog, articles and advice for DIY boaters. Wide range of topics and links.
Metals
Miscellaneous
- Apps for boaters: http://www.usps.org/education/misc/apps.htm. A variety of useful and interesting apps for various platforms.
- Ocean Facts: general ocean information on a wide range of topics. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a fascinating website called Ocean Facts. The site is great for browsing. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oceanfacts.php.
Marine equipment manufacturers and suppliers
- Boat equipment and supplies: Fisheries Supply. http://www.fisheriessupply.com. Based in Seattle, WA, Fisheries Supply is “a customer-service oriented organization with over 77 years of experience distributing marine and industrial products to the boating industry.” Huge catalog of marine items for all boating needs, not just for fishing.
- New product, not yet evaluated by independent testing, but perhaps worth a look: "Yachtphone," a waterproof, floating cell phone. Advertising says "supplied with SIM card, Prepaid credits, no contract required." Do some research it and see if it's a good deal for you. www.YachtPhone.net.
Nautical terms
Navigation and Piloting
- Active Captain: https://activecaptain.com/index.php. Website with an "interactive cruising guide" showing marinas and anchorages, with comments submitted by sailors; email newsletter. Mobile apps available. Site requires free registration; site has potential to be very useful as people contribute to it.
- AIS information on your iPad, iPhone, or Android phone. www.marinetraffic.com/ais/services.aspx#. Real-time worldwide ship positions based on AIS, reported on an interactive Google map. You can also get the same information on a computer at www.marinetraffic.com.
- U.S. east and Gulf coast water depth surveys: The ARGUS project: http://argus.survice.com/index.asp. Underwater survey project that provides real-time and archived shallow water soundings on the U.S. east coast from Maine to the Gulf coast.
Navigation Rules
- Boater’s self-test at www.usboating.com/test.htm. Covers the International and Inland Navigation Rules, lights, navigation, seamanship and general knowledge, and safety (questions come from the U.S. Coast Guard’s merchant mariner licensing exams, but are relevant to all boaters.) An excellent way to see what you know and what you need to learn.
- Navigation Rules, International only: www.collisionregs.com/MSN1781.pdf. If you do not operate in U.S. waters here is a source for a 36-page PDF of the International Navigation Rules.
- Navigation Rules, International and Inland: www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=navRulesContent
Organizations
- BoatUS Women in Boating. www.boatus.com/women. Sail and powerboat information. Calendar of events for women boaters, boating news, links to women-oriented groups and programs, good section on fishing.
- The Chesapeake Area Professional Captains Association (CAPCA): www.capca.net. The website has information for non-members, including links and announcements of marine-oriented continuing education courses, some of which are open to non-members. The organization's activities take place in Annapolis, MD. Also see Tweets of general interest to boaters @CapcaTweet: http://twitter.com/#!/CapcaTweet.
- National Women's Sailing Association. www.womensailing.org. "Dedicated to enriching the lives of women through education and access to the sport." NWSA offers activities, educational opportunities, links to sailing instruction and other courses for women, and an online newsletter.
- Sisters Under Sail. http://www.sistersundersail.org. Sail training opportunities for women and girls on the 110ft tall ship, Unicorn. "The mission of Sisters Under Sail is to build confidence, enhance self-esteem, develop social conscience and teach women of all ages the value of sisters working together towards a common goal through sail training."
Publications, general and General Websites
- BitterEnd Bog, by Captain Richard J. Rodriguez. http://bitterendblog.com. Wide-ranging and interesting blog about all things maritime; frequent posts. Searchable by categories and by dates in the archive.
- "Don't shortcut the learning curve" by Tom Neale. http://tinyurl.com/cvnkstr. Award-winning article discusses how you develop seamanship skills. The title gives a clue. Recommended reading for all boaters. [This Soundings article won an award from Boating Writers International in 2012.]
- General boating website: http://www.coastalboating.net. "The boater's resource for places to go and things to know. The mission of this site is to provide the best all around experience in a local resource guide that covers destinations, services, events, local news, including race results, and seamanship skills." Information and links for all boating interests.
- General boating website: www.discoverboating.com. Information and links for all boaters. Especially good for getting started in boating.
- General boating website: www.motorboating.com. The website for the print magazine. Although it says “motorboating” in the title, this is a useful resource for all boaters, with articles about many topics including boat reviews, destinations, gear, maintenance, electronics, safety, and other topics.
- The Marine Installers Rant: http://themarineinstallersrant.blogspot.com. "A blog about the things boat builders do that cost you money, and other eclectic musings of interest to boaters." This is an interesting and truly eclectic blog by Bill Bishop-Parmain (systems engineer, marine electronics specialist) about a wide range of topics of interest to boaters. The blog is searchable and there are good links.
- Powerboating Canada magazine: www.powerboating.com. Promotional website for the magazine, with a sample digital copy and some sample articles. Magazine has boat reviews, technology, how-to, boating lifestyle, and other articles.
Radio and Satellite Communication
- VHF radio: www.boatus.com/foundation/dsc/player.html. Instructional video "Can You Hear Me?" Radio communication for the recreational boater.
Rigging, Spars and Fittings
Safety
- Boater's self-test at www.usboating.com/test.htm. Covers the Navigation Rules, lights, navigation, seamanship and general knowledge, and safety (questions come from the U.S. Coast Guard’s merchant mariner licensing exams, but are relevant to all boaters.) An excellent way to see what you know and what you need to learn.
- General boating safety: www.boatingsafety.com. “Your safety resource site.” Sponsored by SeaTow, it has comprehensive safety-related links and articles, with sections for communication, navigation, organizations, manufacturers, safety resources. Includes the text of the Navigation Rules.
- Mario Vittone, retired USCG safety professional, writes regularly on a variety of marine safety topics. Ther is a wealth of good information on his website. http://mariovittone.com
- Seaworthy is the quarterly BoatU.S. Marine Insurance and Damage Avoidance Report. It is sent to all BoatU.S. Members. www.boatus.com. There is an excellent collection of prior years’ reports available in book form: see Adriance, Robert A. Seaworthy, on the New Publications tab under Safety
- UK - UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB): www.maib.gov.uk/home/index.cfm. The quarterly Safety Digest is “a compendium of anonymous accident summaries and safety lessons learned.” The Digest is divided into sections: merchant vessels, fishing vessels, and small craft. Excellent photos and details. Read it on line or by free subscription to your email address. Recommended for all boaters.
- U.S. In some cases, both the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) may investigate accidents and issue independent reports. The U.S. Coast Guard Journal of Safety and Security at Sea, Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council, is a quarterly magazine, with free print and web access. Read a sample at www.uscg.mil/proceedings, and see if you’d like to sign up for a subscription.
- The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Marine division accident reports are available at www.ntsb.gov/investigations/reports_marine.htm. Scroll down to Accident Investigations, click on Databases. On the Databases screen under Reports click on Marine. The NTSB investigates incidents in U.S. waters and accidents involving U.S. vessels in foreign waters; ships, government vessels and sometimes private vessels (yachts) are investigated. No matter the size of the vessels involved, boaters may learn some good lessons.
- US Sailing investigation reports for three 2011 sailboat racing accidents (Chesapeake Bay small sailboat, Chicago-Mackinac Wing Nuts capsize, Rambler 100 capsize in the Fastnet race) at http://about.ussailing.org/US_SAILING_Meetings/USS_Reports.htm. A summary of the reports and recommendations are available in Practical Sailor, April and May 2012 issues. Recommendations are instructive for all boaters. Blog posts will deal with each of these incidents separately.
Sailing and Cruising
- Circumnavigator Magazine, produced by Nordhavn Yachts. Download a free copy at http://www.nordhavn.com/circumnavigator/circumnavigator.php4. Information for long-distance voyagers, as well as features on Nordhavn yachts.
- Cruising under power: http://www.trawlersandtrawlering.com. The website has information for everyone who cruises, regardless of vessel type. It is a comprehensive “Internet resource for all who who voyage, cruise and live aboard under power – and all who want to.” Good advice and links (including a vetted list of the personal websites of boaters who are cruising under power). Don’t miss the “Horror Story” section.
- North American Sailor: http://nasailor.com. Not just for North American sailors, this website is “nautically obsessed” with articles, links and videos about cruising, racing, boats, gear, maintenance, and techniques. Sign up for the interesting and informative daily email newsletter.
- Skipper Bob's cruising guides: www.skipperbob.net/waterway-updates. Cruising guides for the east coast, Gulf coast, U.S. and Canadian inland waterways. Updated annually.
- Women and cruising: www.womenandcruising.com “Advice, resources and inspiration for women cruisers.” Comprehensive website with many interesting articles and columns on all topics.
- Yacht position reports and other services: www.pangolin.co.nz/index.php. YOTREPS position reports "Let shoreside relatives and friends feel a part of your next voyage by plotting your daily positions on the web. The service is free and there are other benefits."
Spoken Language
Systems and Components
Water and Waves
Weather and Wind
- GRIB files: www.globalmarinenet.net. Global Marine Networks free GRIB files and paid services.
- GRIB files: www.zygrib.org GRIB file reader and downloads (instructions in French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Czech and Russian)
- Ocean data: http://rucool.marine.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Coastal Observation Lab: real-time and archived ocean data.