The internet is massive and there are tons of marine, sailing, and cruising websites (Like this one!); some good, some not so good. When I find a site I like I make sure to bookmark it. The problem with bookmarks is they’re buried deep in my browser and I forget about them. It takes a lot of work to keep a good website chugging along. These authors deserve some applause for their efforts. To bring my bookmarks out into the open where I won’t forget about them I gave them their own page!, feel free to check them out.
If you have a really good site that I don’t have, leave me a comment below. I’d love to check it out!
Sail BlogsThis website is not really a blog in and of itself, It’s actually a hosting site for sailing bloggers. I had noticed on my twitter feed that a lot of people I follow there are also blogging here. So I thought it would good to include it here just in-case someone is looking for such a platform, not to mention there are a lot of sailors on there you might find interesting to follow.
Sailing simplicityTeresa and Ben are sailing all over the place! I like the combination of fun sailing adventure and the mundane how-to articles.
Sailing DoodlesAdapt and overcome is about the best short description I can give this sailing blog. A guy has a life altering medical event and comes out on the other side sailing the Caribbean with his two dogs. Lots of fun stuff to get you inspired.
Big Dumb BoatWell Dyad is not is not a sailboat or even a conventional boat for that matter, but she is interesting. The captain is also a player in the wildly popular OpenCPN chart plotting application. Actually the captain and owner was my boss a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. Even with that said their blog is a fun read, check them out.
Zero to CruisingMike and Rebecca are currently bobbing around Grenada soaking up the sun and working on their cat . Their content is always entertaining and accompanied with fun photos.
Where The Coconuts GrowsA Peter, Jody, & Betsy sailing around the Caribbean in 42 foot Whitby Ketch. Great cruising blog, lots of fun posts and informative DIYs. The writing and photography are all top notch a great blog to follow.
S/V Delos & CrewDelos is a gorgeous sloop with some incredibly fun people aboard sailing around the South Pacific having great fun. I love reading this blog when I get a chance. Check them out.
TwoFishCatTwo fun sailors, Jason & Gail, living the life sailing around the world in their catamaran ‘Two Fish’. They have absolutely goobs of information and fun stories to read about their adventures and all the people they meet. A really good website to read when you’re landlocked and looking to escape.
Sailing La VagabondeA young Aussie couple doing life right! Sailing around the world on a beautiful sailboat exploring new places, meeting interesting people, and over coming everything life aboard throws at them. A great sailing blog to follow!
Nomad TripI have to follow a fellow Texan, Nate is soloing/cruising/adventuring around the Caribbean in Lagoon 380. Some really great life stories about what you’d think were mundane but are actually very entertaining.
Chase the StoryTwo sailor’s Ryan & Tasha sailing around the world on a beautiful Catamaran ‘Cheeky Monkey”. Their stories are great and they do a ton of videos on YouTube about their adventures and the guests they have aboard. They are great fun to follow.
White Spot PiratesI’ve Nike on my Facebook feed for while now and I love getting some first hand sailing adventure posts on my otherwise baby infested Facebook wall. She also do a lot of video work which is really fun and inspiring! I’m seriously impressed with her determination, she has had to over come some enormous hurdles.
Green Coconut RunThe Green Coconut Run is a crazy concept, it’s defined as a COOP, with people coming and going from the boat as they travel around the world on a trimaran. It’s never dull, people out there living the dream and having fun.
Monday NeverA young couple we are living the dream sailing their own boat around the Caribbean and enjoying life to the fullest. A ton of fun watching their travels
Swell VoyageA young female sailing around the world or maybe not? A true Zen sailor she’s letting the wind guide her, not only in sailing but life as well. The website is beautifully done and her content really shows the adventure of sailing.
Rum Shop RyanNeed a new drink recipe for the boat? This is the place to go! He also has lots of travelly stuff about the Caribbean and all the fun ports to stop into. It’s an all round fun blog to read.
Passage WeatherYou can never have enough weather information! The user interface on this site is super intuitive and easy to read. Very well done.
Compass MarineAs much as I love the sailing my boat and drinking beer in the cockpit, I also enjoy tinkering/working on my boat. It’s kind of a love hate relationship; if everything is going well I’m having a blast, if things are not going well my sailor vocabulary gets really colorful. In the end though, when a widget is fixed or upgraded it feels really great to have accomplished the work myself. This website is a great resource on fixing those widgets, doing it right and reducing your sailor vocabulary.
We Float Through LifeA Community website for live aboards and those wanting to live on a boat. It’s a fairly small website but if the crowd-sourcing turns out there’s potential for a lot of information.
Tides 4 FishingThis site is not really focused toward sailing or cruising, as the title says it’s a fishing website. The tidal data they provide is pretty good and they’re somewhat world wide. If I’m looking to anchor in an area that is subject to tides I want as much tidal information I can get my hands on. And this site is one of the sites I use.
Waterway GuideNeed the most up-to-date information on a destination marinas or anchor points? Waterway Guide is pretty much the best I’ve seen. I’d really love to see a ‘Yelp’ like crowd sourcing tool but until that becomes a reality this is your best bet.
Wema USA For some reason sensors, sending units, and gauges for boats are difficult and confusing to source. I used these guys for my sending units and couldn’t be happier. The website is easy to navigate and the products are quality. They’ve earned a spot here on my links page.
Null School Weather Super ComputerI ran across this interactive weather website via a science article and just fell in lust with it. There’s not a whole lot of descriptive data describing the website. The best I’ve been able to piece together is that it’s the public output of a university super computer running trillions of weather modeling computations. this includes standard things like wind speed and direction, but also wave characteristics, atmospheric particulate, air pressure, Just a ton of really helpful data about the planet’s weather. When calculating a weather window I like to have as much independent data as I can get this fits that model perfectly.
Cruising OutpostI use to be a Latts & Atts subscriber following Bob, Captain Woody, and Tania Aebi through their adventures. It was a magazine about fun and excitement in world of humorless techn-O-babble prim and proper sailing rags. They really brought heart and soul to sailing that was so much fun. Cruising Outpost is their second venture, I’ll always follow these guys.
Caribbean Safety & Security NetTo be forewarned is to be forearmed. This site collates all the marine crime happening in the Caribbean. The heat map is really cool. Reading about crime can be spooky at times but over all the Caribbean is just as safe as anywhere else in world. So take the information for what it is, be prepared, but don’t let it scare you.
OpenCPN.orgOpenCPN is an open source charting software that you can run on your laptop for planning and realtime plotting. It’s well written and works. I can’t give these guys enough kudos they’re doing a terrific job. Check them out!!!
Cruiser’s Maritime Mobile HF NetsI can never keep all the HF radio networks straight here’s a good start.
weather undergroundThey get most of their data from NOAA like everyone else but their maps and data representations are much easier to reference.
NOAAAll things weather, considering the amount of taxes I pay it’s good to know there is one government agency that’s putting it to good use.
Practical Sailor Oh more boating stuff!! these guys test and write about new accessories and boats for the marine world. Lots of good information.
National Hurricane Center.The annual hurricane season forecast is never really accurate, but the informatuion provided here is dead on when it comes to tracking the beasties.
Ventusky WeatherAn animated world weather map run by some meteorologists in the Czech republic. It has all the bells and whistles: temperature, windspeed, clouds, precipitation, air pressure, etc. All the things a cruiser could want.
NOAA ChartsEver wonder where NOAA keeps all their charts? They keep them right here, both raster and vector images. It takes a little getting use to the interface but once you get the hang of it, it’s a ton of good data.You can also import them directly into OpenCPN!
WindytvThis is a beautiful interactive site that maps the world’s wind and ocean currents. You can look at a complete hemisphere or drill down to a local cruising area. Another tool in your belt for managing weather windows and route planning.
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is a United States military agency that provides information for the marine environment. The main products they provide that I find extremely helpful are the Up-to-date pilot charts. These charts are very handy for route planning giving the captain seasonal dominate wind patterns. If your planning a route I highly recommend downloading the most recent pilot chart that covers your route, you can’t have too much information when comes to planning.
Marine TrafficFor this those of us with Automatic Identification System Devices (AISD) this is where you can find everyone. I’ve used this to locate other cruisers who were late to a rendezvous.
National data buoy centerNot many people know about this little gem. NOAA maintains a fleet of radio connected data buoys that report wind and sea conditions around the globe.
WildJunket MagazineI just recently found this website through my twitter feed. At first I thought it was just another on-line commercial travel magazine, but as I started reading the articles, it was obvious it was not. This is a great website for people who like to travel and travel off the beaten path. Which is right up my alley. If you’re looking for some travel inspiration that’s not your normal packaged cruise I’d give these guys a visit. One word “Adventure!!!”
Caribbean Compass This website is basically an electronic magazine published monthly about the Caribbean and what’s going in the archipelago. It is free to read on the internet and works both with mobile devices and standard browsers. It’s beautifully laid out and well written. I like it, it’s great for stories that are not your typical “Tourist Destination Stories” lots of fun things happenings on each island.
Uncommon CaribbeanFor all intents and purposes this is a travel site for the Caribbean but it focuses on the unique and diverse culture and people of the Caribbean. They always have good content that’s missing from the more commercial sites. They have a deep pride for their little corner of the world and it shows. I can spend hours on this site.
Trash is for TossersOK I’ll admit it I’m on a trash reduction kick on the boat right now. Waste management is just one of the many jobs we have aboard our boats. For me the less trash I have the better. It takes up space, it can get stinky(I usually rinse my trash while on-board), It attracts bugs, its bad for the environment, etc. I ran across this website about zero trash living the other day. While I may not be able to achieve a zero trash life, I can always strive for it! Check it out for tips about reducing your trash production while cruising. 🙂
Noonsiteprovides cruising sailors with comprehensive information regarding essential marine facilities in any port visited by yachts.
Minimalist BakerJohn & Dana’s website is perfect for the sailing chef. Their whole website is nothing but simple recipes: less than 10 ingredients, no more than 30 minutes to prepare. Their mantra is almost the same as I have for cooking on my boat. Ask and the internet shall deliver. If you’re looking for cooking ideas on your boat check out Minimalist bakery.
Super Bright LEDsOk, I’m really pushing the limits here about a link being marine/sailing specific, but I had a reason for this website. It’s pretty much common knowledge that LEDs are the light source of the future for our boats. They’re almost impervious to the marine environment, they last for ever, they don’t get hot, and most importantly they use a fraction of the electricity of conventional bulbs. The problem I have is when I go to a marine website and look at their LEDs solutions, they are: limited in selection, crazy expensive, and years behind the LED industry. This website is nothing but LED tech and they have everything you need to make a conversion on your boat, even at a reasonable price. You’ll thank me later!!
Global Hazards AtlasThe Global Hazards Atlas is run by the Pacific Disaster Center. It’s an interactive map of the world displaying global issues like earthquakes, tsunamis, bio outbreaks, sea conditions. Economic conditions. Atmospheric conditions, just a whole bunch of really interesting things. If you’re heading to a destination you might want to check them out first to see if there’s anything going on there that our normal news media forgot to mention, again…
PanboThis is the sailor’s candy store! You want to know what’s new in the world of marine electronics and gadgets this is the go to place. Everyone should be on a first name basis with Panbo.
Beach Bar BumsI love this website! They basically curate beach bars around the world and they do it with lots of humor and fun. In my Caribbean vacationing I’ve always tried to hit a beach bar or two. I feel so at home: everyone is welcoming, the atmosphere is laid back, the stories are always entertaining, and the diversity is wide. I don’t think my link page would be complete without these guys!
Free Caribbean GuidesI just found this site a few days ago and have been checking it out. It’s a great resource for getting information about sailing destinations on the Caribbean. There are two major products they provide a catalog of PDFs about local resources for various islands, which is totally free. The second product is the ‘Caribbean Security Index’ this is a tool that aggregates sailor’s comments about each islands then combines that with some social economic data and distills everything down to a simple index value of how safe a port is.
Open LibraryNeed some new reading material on the cheap? This site uses DRM protected PDF that you can download and read for a period of time for FREEEEE!! Think of it as a public library on the internet. You can’t have too many resources when it comes to reading material.
Life EditedThis is not a marine, boating or live aboard website. Its about simplifying and down sizing one’s life, with tons of cool ideas and solutions. I like it because a lot what they’re talking about transfers directly to moving on to a boat with limited resources.
Boat GalleyAwesome site crazy loaded with tips, tricks, and recipes for your boat’s galley. There is no reason not to eat well while aboard.
Old MangoThis site is a travel guide to the Caribbean islands. They cover all the fun stuff: food, libations, beaches, festivities and events. I like them because they’re more about finding each island’s unique destinations and not just what’s popular.
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Todd,
I was turned on to this website by a guy I’ve been listening to on Youtube for almost a year now. It may take some time to learn how to use the site, but its a treasure trove of good global data. The source comes from a guy who is sailing America in a land yacht(mobile home) at the moment doing scientific show and tell with folks who will come out and meet him. He’s got a great thing going on how to turn his expertise and a website into a paying career. He has a ton of ultra useful links at the bottom of each video(all publicly available data) that include this one, which he uses allot, and a host of other ones including the NOAA site which was recently updated. His site is called Suspicious Observers (http://www.suspicious0bservers.org/) and he’s kind of a solar weather scientist. His Solar forecasts will blow your mind and keep you apprised of earthquakes and tsunamis. If you watch a few of his daily reports, you’ll quickly find the science fascinating and it could be helpful in your voyages. His Daily Youtube channel can be subscribed at: (https://www.youtube.com/user/Suspicious0bservers) and listening to his 5 minute report daily has become ritual.
I heard you are about to head out in the spring and wish you all the best. If you need a helping hand to swing out to the Flower Gardens some weekend before you go, let me know. Blessings,
Rick
Thanks Rick. I’ll check it out!!,