Here are a few of our favorite links to resources for info on weather, wind, surf, cruising, distance learning, and random fun. Check ’em out!
WEATHER & SURF
- Stormsurf—Surf forecasts and reports, wave models, and marine weather
- NOAA National Weather—NOAA National Weather Service (USA)
- MetVuw Weather—New Zealand (and South Pacific) weather and climate service
- MetService—another great weather source from New Zealand for the South Pacific region
- MetBob—the well-known weather guru Bob McDavitt’s “ideas for sailing around the South Pacific” among other handy gems
- NRL Monterey—US Naval Research Laboratory satellite meteorology
- Windyty Wind Forecast—worldwide wind forecasts on a mesmerizing site
CRUISING | SAILING
- Sailing Anarchy—an often-irreverent site that tells is like it is, no holds barred, presenting the sport of sailing “topics, ideas, and critiques that have never been written about before. Anywhere.”
- Pressure Drop—a site dedicated to anything sailing and sailors everywhere on the planet
- Noonsite: Global Cruising—Lots of info for global cruising sailors, most visited for its piracy updates!
BOAT RESOURCES
- Blair Boats—The master New Zealand boatbuilder, David Blair, who, with Joe, originally built Shanachie as a wee lad of 23 (and then, 17 years later, masterminded her amazing new scoop), has his own shop located in Kerikeri, New Zealand
- Ballenger Spar Systems—Owner Buzz Ballenger, the foremost mast fabricator on the West Coast who, working with Joe and racing guru Skip Allan on rigging specs, provided Shanachie’s new mast
- Svendsen’s Marine—Our favorite marine supply store
OTHER COOLIO STUFF
- PatentWear—Our own online t-shirt design business... why not “slip into a little bit of history” with authentic patents as wearable art?!
- Laurel Springs School —The accredited K-12 distance learning school that we used for our daughter’s 11th grade school year. There are many options out there, but this was the only one we found that offered advanced honors classes at her grade level (and which was recognized without fuss by the University of California admissions system as well).
- Geocaching—A fun activity for everyone, especially cruisers who routinely find themselves in exotic locations