One of the reason’s I started My Buzzards Bay was provided fellow boaters along the New England coast with the kind of information I was always struggling to find before I headed out.

About a month ago, Rhonda from Boston Yacht Sales turned me on to US Harbors, which is a very useful website that is a great place to start your research on a new boating destination.

Back in the my working days, I was with a very successful company called Aspect Development. Aspect’s “secret sauce” was it ability to organize fairly random data into a structure that enabled people to find information and compare it quickly. US Harbors does this for boaters.

Looking At Boothbay

We’re leaving for Maine on Vigilant this Friday so I thought I’d “test drive” US Harbors to so advanced study.

US Harbors State
The home page presents you with a pull down menu of states…
US Harbor Port
Once you pick the state, you then select the harbor from another pull down menu…
US Harbor Boothbay
Once you select the harbor, you’re presented with a full marine chart of that harbor…

By the way, you can also select TIDES or WEATHER to get a local update.

US Harbor Chart Boothbay
Full marine chart of Boothbay with buoys and depths…
US Harbors More Info
Once you get to your harbor of interest, you’re presented with some great insider info on the harbor as well as additional options for MARINE SERVICES, RESTAURANTS, etc.

It’s a Team Effort!

I contacted US Harbors a few months ago and they quickly made me a contributor. They’ve reposted a few of my stories which I appreciate.

One more thing I like about US Harbors is that they have some forum tendencies in that they encourage anyone to add photos or comments regarding each harbor. But unlike a typical boating forum, the valuable inside info isn’t lost as the thread ages; it goes into the harbor structure where everyone can find it when they’re doing their research.

Check out US Harbors before you head into the next unknown destination…

Dave