FREEBIES/LINKS

Here are a few areas you might want to explore:

• Hull identification numbers - there is sometimes much to be learned by reading these often-overlooked pieces of information.
• Mortgage payment calculator - Canadian and US methods. A calculation available in many places, but included here for the sake of convenience.
• Atmospheric conditions mostly for the Chesapeake Bay area- all of these are links to other weather-related sites. It may take some time to get used to the symbols used and terminology at the sites, but it is not insurmountable. There is help on the Web for these matters which can be accessed from the sites below. Watch out for the time references; some are GMT (time at Greenwich England) and some are local times. GMT is 5 hours ahead of Eastern USA time when daylight savings time is not in effect, and 4 hours ahead of local time during daylight savings time (almost the whole boating season in the Chesapeake Bay). Please report broken links to us via e-mail.
  • existing conditions - at middle atlantic regional weather stations - wind, temperature, rainfall, barometric pressure and more usually available
  • marine forecast - for any middle-atlantic-region USA location, including Chesapeake Bay area, select the area of interest once at the site
  • general forecast - for weather stations in middle Atlantic region, click on site of most interest; historical data for up to 1 year also obtainable from this site
  • Maryland State weather information - satellite, radar, forecasts & more
  • weather warnings - USA-wide, Maryland warnings listed here also
  • a nifty wind prediction site for the Chesapeake Bay, updated a couple of times a day (10/15/05)
• Water conditions for the Chesapeake Bay area. Again, these are links to weather-related sites. Please report broken links to us via e-mail.
  • tides - at "Baltimore (Chesapeake Bay)" including predictions for other locations and time graphs
  • here is a motion-picture representation of tidal levels in the Chesapeake Bay as a function of time (10/15/05)
  • temperature (plus other conditions) - at Thomas Point light, Annapolis and  at 6 buoys in Chesapeake Bay. One of the sites ("North Bay") is at the mouth of the Sassafras River 9 miles west of our location. Sites include some recent historical data as well. Wind, water temp, currents...
  • 10 more data buoys in the Chesapeake (10/15/05)
  • currents - a table of selections of current predictions organized by time and location (10/15/05)
  • wave height forecasts for the Maryland sections of the Chesapeake Bay (10/15/05)

• Charts and Chart updates are periodically issued by the federal government in the US. They come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The charts are available in at least two forms. If you are visiting areas that are not familiar to you, and you do not get automatic chart updates from your electronic chart supplier, you may want to check out these sites. One of the chart formats offered for free is electronic, these are downloadable at this page. Another chart format is called raster. It is also available for download at a Coast Guard site.  The raster charts are more like the traditional style of chart. . Current as of 1/28/2007

• Local Notices to Mariners used to be available on paper but no more. Now you must go to the web to find them. These Coast-Guard-issued updates to charts are free. Go to this site to find your region and get to the Notices. Current as of 1/28/2007.

• US Coast Guard Light List can be found at this site as of 11/18/2006. It is not as easy to get the list as it should be, but it is possible..

• A file to be downloaded that gives distances between US ports can be found at this site as of 11/18/2006.

• Distance between world ports, by water, and time to travel between the two ports can be found at Distances.com. Well, I should warn you that if your education is lacking like mine, you will not recognize the vast majority of the port names. This site is not good for cruising folks going from one gunk hole to another in a week end. The site is geared to world shipping, not local boating. Current as of 11/18/2006.

• Monohull powerboat speed prediction. Our own formula, let us know what you think.

• Feeling too hot or too cold? Wind chill  and heat index calculations can confirm that you are feeling miserable for good reason! (You did want to confirm that you are feeling miserable, didn't you?)

Send mail to yachtbroker@earthlink.net  with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: January 28, 2007