Our Blog
-
Tide Favorites: Monitor Multiple Tide Stations Simultaneously
Introduction You’re planning a weekend cruise from your home marina through a narrow channel, across an open bay, and into a protected anchorage. Each leg has different tidal considerations. The channel requires adequate depth. The bay entrance demands slack current timing. The anchorage needs sufficient water at low tide. Checking three separate tide stations for
-
Slack Water Timing: Finding the Perfect Transit Window
I’ve transited Deception Pass more than 200 times, and every single trip begins with the same calculation: when will slack water occur? Miss that 15-minute window by even 10 minutes, and you’re fighting 7-knot currents that can push a small vessel sideways into the bridge pilings. Get the timing right, and the passage is routine.
-
Tide Stations: Understanding NOAA’s Monitoring Network
The captain squinted at his tide table, puzzled. His GPS showed him anchored near Charleston, but the closest tide station listed was 12 miles away at Fort Sumter. Would those predictions work for his location? How far could he trust station data? And why were there so many stations in some areas but none in
-
Spring Tides vs Neap Tides: Complete Planning Guide
Introduction: Why This Matters I learned about spring and neap tides the hard way. Planning a departure from a shallow harbor on what I thought was “just another high tide,” I arrived at the dock to find we had three feet less water than expected. The tide was high, all right—but it was a neap
-
Tide Prediction Algorithms: How We Calculate Future Tides
The tide table on your phone isn’t a guess—it’s the result of 150 years of mathematical refinement. Every time you check whether you’ll have enough water to cross a bar or clear a bridge, you’re looking at predictions calculated by algorithms that combine celestial mechanics, local geography, and centuries of observation data. Understanding how tide
-
Swell Windows: Finding Calm Between Storm Systems
Introduction: Why Timing Matters More Than You Think I was planning a 220-mile coastal passage from San Francisco to Monterey Bay when I noticed something interesting in the seven-day wave forecast. A powerful storm was currently hammering the coast with 15-foot northwest swell at 17 seconds. Three days later, another significant system would arrive, bringing
-
Interpreting Multi-Modal Sea States: Reading Complex Wave Patterns
Introduction: Why This Matters I was planning a passage from San Francisco to Half Moon Bay when the forecast caught my attention. The report showed 3-foot wind waves combined with 6-foot northwest swell at 14 seconds. Total wave height: 7 feet. But those numbers alone didn’t tell the real story. What the forecast was describing
-
Swell Windows: Finding Calm Between Storm Systems for Safe Passage
Introduction: Why Timing Matters More Than You Think I was planning a 220-mile coastal passage from San Francisco to Monterey Bay when I noticed something interesting in the seven-day wave forecast. A powerful storm was currently hammering the coast with 15-foot northwest swell at 17 seconds. Three days later, another significant system would arrive, bringing
-
Interpreting Multi-Modal Sea States: Reading Complex Wave Patterns
Introduction: Why This Matters I was planning a passage from San Francisco to Half Moon Bay when the forecast caught my attention. The report showed 3-foot wind waves combined with 6-foot northwest swell at 14 seconds. Total wave height: 7 feet. But those numbers alone didn’t tell the real story. What the forecast was describing
-
Cross Seas: Identifying Dangerous Wave Patterns Before They Find You
The waves hit from two directions at once. Our bow rose over a six-footer from the northwest while simultaneously rolling to a four-footer from the southwest. For three seconds, the vessel hung suspended in confused water—neither rising nor falling, just twisting. Then both waves released us, dropping the hull into a trough that appeared from