Bluemapia

February 22nd, 2009

Sponsoring Nick to cross the Pacific

For the past several months, Nick from Bigoceans.com has been helping us out here at Bluemapia. His time with us is nearly up, and to help Nick with his upcoming solo crossing of the Pacific ocean, we’ve decided to put together an interesting campaign to help sponsor his trans-Pacific voyage.

However, in order to sponsor Nick and keep him sailing, we need your help too. If you’re not familiar with Bluemapia, or what we’re all about, we’re building a free, open and creative commons licensed online cruising guide. Imagine a Wikipedia for sailors, but with maps, photos, tracks, trip logs and a whole bunch of other stuff we’re developing as fast as we can.

And if you’re not sure what Nick is attempting to do, he’s sailing singlehanded from Europe to Australia. In 2008, he departed Europe, and sailed to New York via the Caribbean - Now, in 2009, the voyage will continue on, with a solo crossing of the Pacific, beginning in May:

Here’s our proposal: If we gain 300 new users, and 600 new placemarks in the next month, we’ll provide Nick with the much needed cash he needs for his Pacific crossing. It’s quite a straightforward target, and a goal we think is achievable. So if you want to help Nick out, while also assisting in building the worlds largest open and free online cruising guide, sign up, and start contributing (100% free). To read more how Bluemapia works, take a look at our How it Works page, learn about what constitutes a good submission, or feel free to contact us (info@bluemapia.com) for more information. Additionally, Nick is offering a few prizes to help boost interest in our proposal, so to find out what they are, or to read more about Nick, take a look at Bigoceans.com.

Massimo & Marcello
Founders, Bluemapia.com

February 11th, 2009

Getting your voyage online, Blogs & Bluemapia buttons

Everyone has a blog these days… The word is nearly as ubiquitous as ‘port side tack’, with cruising sailors often using them to keep their friends and family updated from abroad, as well as displaying their positions and disseminating useful information. We’ve all recently witnessed the extensive internet coverage from the Volvo Ocean Race, and the Vendee Globe, with sailors pushing out media from every corner of the globe. But how does the ‘normal’ sailor do it? What if you don’t want to buy domains, fiddle with hosting providers, or install software? There are many free providers, and once you’re online, you just need web access to update them - We’ve covered that subject before in our post on Internet access while cruising.

Each of these options also gives you the ability to embed Bluemapia maps - Be sure to check out our post on map embedding for more information.

Blogger.com - One of the first large and free blogging platforms to hit the web was Blogger. It’s simple, and best of all, free. Blogger allows you to choose a custom subdomain (for example, yourboatname.blogspot.com), or for an additional $10USD, you can purchase a custom domain name, such as yourboatname.com. Multi-lingual with many theme options, Blogger is tried and tested.

Wordpress.com - Built on top of the Wordpress blog engine, the Wordpress hosted blogging solution offering similar features to Blogger. With a free yourboatname.wordpress.com address, you can upload photos, switch themes, or pay an additional $15 for a custom name. Additional premium features allow you to add space, modify the stylesheet, etc.

Typepad.com - While not offering a free version, Typepad is an elegant blogging platform built upon the Movable Type engine from SixApart. An early company to begin building upon the blog phenomenon, Typepad is an excellent option if you’re willing to pay for the service. Typepad also offers revenue creation tools to sell ads, and possibly make some extra money for the cruising kitty!

If you’re not game enough to write your own blog, or are still in the process of reading others, here are a few to get you started:

Lee Winters - Read about Lee as he sails around in his 39ft boat ‘Jargo’, along with his dog Georgia, in support of Sailing for SOS, a non-profit group raising money for children’s villages.

Zac Sunderland - Follow Zac, the young 16 year old, sailing around the world solo. An extraordinary voyage, aboard ‘Intrepid’, a 36ft Islander sloop.

Follow the boat - The adventures of Liz and Jamie, currently cruising the Mediterranean, and updating their blog regularly with observations and sailing related topics.

SY Arion - Very informative site on sailing the Med - EU Regulations, anchoring, holidaying in Islamic countries, etc.

And so, while we’re on the topic of blogs, our designers have just made a set of gorgeous little Bluemapia buttons, so you can use them to link back to your trips and photos here on Bluemapia.com. Take them, link them, embed them, enjoy!

65×65px
24×24px
16×16px

To add the 24×24px button to your website, paste the following code into your site:

<a href="http://www.bluemapia.com"><img src="http://www.bluemapia.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/logo-bluemapia-24x24.GIF"></a>

January 16th, 2009

Sailing into another country

A lot of people ask what it’s like to sail into another country - For example, do you just sail in, do you have to call someone in advance, or, I’ve even been asked if I have to get the contents of my boat X-Rayed! Fortunately, in most cases it, isn’t really that complicated. It can get difficult if you have crew onboard from non-Western countries, or if your boat is registered in a peculiar country, however, generally most boats sailing through Europe will be EU registered, or American flagged, both of which are frequently dealt with. American flagged boats can stay within the EU for eighteen months (always check official sources for updated information), however American crew themselves, are usually restricted to three months in any EU country. Much is the same for the Caribbean, where the paperwork is long, but most countries are always expecting you.

The red tape, security requirements and complexity of entering a country by boat varies greatly. For example, American Marina’s are not generally equipped to deal with any formal entrance requirements, and have a tendency to look baffled at you. Entering the US via Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, after sailing from the Caribbean, I anchored and went ashore for a hamburger after 28 days at sea, and no one said a word! You do however have 24 hours to check into an authorised port, after calling a free phone number to find the nearest one…

Within the EU, entering ports such as Cascais, in Lisbon can be full of red-tape. That being said, if you have all the correct paperwork, you will get through it; eventually! The maritime police are perched right in the marina, and 24hr security insists on copious amounts of paperwork even if you’ve arrived in the middle of the night. Anchoring outside of the marina will probably have the police knock on your hull to check-in, regardless of what flag you’re flying.

Small anchorages and ports in Europe that are unprepared for frequent yacht visitors, such as Laxe in Galicia (Spain), do not concern themselves with EU registered boats. Non EU-boats should make themselves noticed at the local police station, however it’s these small but beautiful ports which make up for any other paperwork you might be forced into later on down the coast of Spain. From my experience, it’s the Portuguese take the cake for bureaucracy on the Atlantic side of Europe!

Some marina’s, in particular Spanish & Portuguese, will also require insurance documents. This can prove difficult for bare-bones cruisers who are doing it on a small budget. I’ve seen boats completely refused marina access based on a lack of insurance documentation… A minimum of 3rd party paperwork is usually the only requirement, and can usually be obtained relatively cheaply online.

The Caribbean is also well equipped for foreign boats, and while they will insist on a bunch of paperwork, they’ll also happily charge you! Many places within the Caribbean will charge for anchoring, as well as often charging to exit - This is on top of any marina fees. An exit stamp will be required to visit your next Caribbean port, so don’t be tempted to just leave without it! Barbados, are currently charging $50USD for the exit stamp, regardless of boat size…

While sailing into a country is a lot different than queuing at the airport, you will at least forgo the ‘privilege’ of having to take your shoes off for the X-Ray! You may get a boat search though, which may end up being even worse… A countries entrance requirements are part and parcel of cruising, and are often as unique as the country itself… So get used to it, and always carry a (black) pen!

What are your experiences with entering foreign countries? Good experiences, bad ones?

Cheers! Nick

January 8th, 2009

New Features for 2009

Happy New Year! While you’ve been eating and enjoying the festivities, Bluemapia has been hard at work! Today a new set of features have been released to site-wide to make things easier and more fun to use:

Prettier Pictures

When clicking on an image, a nicely framed fullscreen ‘lightbox’ will now appear, along with previous & next buttons should the image be part of a users trip:

To see this live, take a look at Europe to Australia, click on one of the photos, and then easily skip through the entire collection without refreshing the page.

Enhanced Popups

Clicking on a placemark now brings up an additional tab - When viewing, you can read the description of the placemark, or if the placemark is part of a trip, scroll through the users entire trip by using the previous & next buttons, much like the image trip navigation. When logged in, the description tab changes to the placemark editing area:

Less clutter

With hundreds of placemarks on the frontpage, we began to notice the site was beginning to slow down, and it was also becoming difficult to navigate the sheer number of placemarks - We’ve now simplified the placemark display by ‘clustering’ placemarks. This means that heavily marked areas will appear as only one or two placemarks, until you zoom in, revealing the additional marks in the process. So instead of seeing hundreds of placemarks in an area you’re not particularly interested in, you can now zoom into your area of interest, and only reveal additional placemarks within the zoom range.

Additionally the frontpage is now displaying total placemarks, total points of interest on the right-hand tab and member positions - Let’s see that number grow!

Embed User Position

In addition to being able to embed trips, we’ve now added the additional functionality to embed a map with your current position. This means you can embed a map in your blog that will always display your position, as long as you keep it maintained within Bluemapia:

As always, for feature suggestions or support, please visit our support center via here.

Cheers!

Bluemapia

December 26th, 2008

Internet access while cruising

The web has become so ubiquitous to daily life, that once you’re out on an extended cruise, you suddenly notice how dependent you’ve become on it. Waking up every day and nonchalantly checking the weather can turn into a nightmare without web access, relying on marinas posting forecasts on the foyer door, or time wasted searching for a reliable forecast on the radio. For coastal marina sailing, often you’ll come across WIFI access points, but without the proper equipment, unless you’re in the ideal berth or anchorage, chances are you’ll be walking around the boat, desperately trying to get a decent signal. For offshore sailors, the concept of web access is more of a dream than an affordable reality, however below we’ll go through a few options for both types of sailors.

Internet for marinas & anchorages

One of the most affordable options for improving the quality of your WIFI signal, is an amplified external USB Wireless LAN adapter. The WIFI adapter and antenna in your standard laptop is usually 100mW or less in signal power. Coupled with low power, the antenna for a laptop usually only extends for the length of your screen (often the antenna is built in up one side of your laptop screen).

The Alfa 500mW USB Wireless B/G Adapter with RP-SMA connector currently runs at about $50USD, and is available through a number of retailers on the web. Boasting 500mW of power, it is five times more powerful than your average laptop - A simple search will return several relevant results. The RP-SMA connector on the Alfa unit, also allows for an extendable antenna to be added, which is handy for running something up to your spreader, or for a more permanent installation, you could wire an an antenna onto a transom rail or radar pole. The Alfa unit is MacOSX and Windows compatible.

Another alternative to the Alfa unit, is the EnGenius (Senao) with 2x RP-SMA connectors. Sporting two antenna connectors, it could be possible to mount two antennas in multiple areas of the boat for better signal quality. Searching for the EnGenius will again bring up several online retailers. priced just below the Alfa unit, the EnGenius is a good alternative.

All WIFI units with external antenna capability should do benefit from longer antennas, but only to a point. Running shielded wire to the top of a large mast may in fact reduce the quality of your signal. Where possible, mount the actual USB unit as close to the mounting point of the antenna as possible. A 6metre USB extension cable running to one of the above units, with an additional five meters of shielded antenna wire should be a good trade-off between antenna length and USB extension - Experimentation using the units software to maximise signal strength is always the best approach. An excellent source of affordable range extenders and antennas is Data-Alliance.net.

Cell/Mobile phone access - As more and more providers move to 3G (third generation) networks, the price of internet access via affordable ‘USB keys’ or bluetooth pairing on modern phones is becoming a good option for areas lacking suitable WIFI networks. In areas such as Europe, it is possible to purchase an affordable pre-paid 3G SIM card, and access the internet from anywhere where there is cell access. France is one of the European countries offering affordable pre-paid options and network coverage. Within Australia, networks such as Three and Virgin Mobile offer USB 3G modems for around $90USD plus $29 for 2gb of data.

Offshore Internet access

HF Radio - Unfortunately the uptake of global broadband has not necessarily led to any great advances in the affordability of satellite internet… The most popular method for obtaining forecasts, and very basic internet access (primarily email) while at sea, is via HF radio and packet modems. Using services such as Sailmail, and earth stations strategically placed around the globe, it is possible with the right equipment to collect your email or request a GRIB forecast. While the service is highly affordable, the cost of equipment and nature of analogue radio modems, translates into a service which might be more suited to the technically minded. If you are already running HF/SSB equipment, it is probably worth your time to try the service out, however if you’re building a new communications station for your boat, it might be more suitable to try out the expensive but globally accessible Iridium network.

Access via Iridium - When cruising in areas outside of the Atlantic, coasts of the US and Europe, the Iridium network is one of the very few services available which a cruiser has any chance of being able to afford. Kitted with an Iridium phone and data kit, it’s possible to access email, GRIB data and incredibly basic web browsing (maximum speeds are around 2.4k/second). A basic Iridium 9505A phone runs at about $1500USD, plus another $160USD for the data kit. Time and data is purchased as prepaid minutes, with costs starting at $150USD for 75mins of talk/data access.

Inmarsat Broadband - With global coverage and high speeds, Inmarsat is an expensive but fast internet option. Used during races such as the Vendee and Volvo Ocean Races to send back photos and video, Inrmarsat costs $1400 for a basic modem, and up to $6 per megabyte for data. Inaccessible to the budgets of most cruisers, it might be an option if you make a living online, at which point it becomes a business cost, and inevitable requirement for your cruising freedom!

Skymate - Via the Skymate network, which runs through Low Earth Orbit satellites over the CDMA protocol, you are able to affordably get email and NOAA weather forecasting. Skymate also provides a number of boat monitoring modules, which can monitor bilge pumps and other onboard devices. Unfortunately the Skymate service is mostly blacked out in the Southern Atlantic, and most of the Pacific oceans.

Feel free to leave a comment with any tips or ideas,

Bluemapia

December 17th, 2008

Bluemapia for your Charter Business

We’ve been contacting sailing charter companies recently, to show how Bluemapia.com might be useful for their business. We’ve included that contact here on the blog, for any other interested companies or individuals:

As an organisation which provides products & services to explore beautiful places, it is often difficult to portray the true nature of a place through a simple website or brochure. In a hyper-connected world, where Internet searches for ‘yacht charter company’ yield tens of thousands of results, it is also becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate and compare companies that provide charter services.

Bluemapia.com provides a new way, via online geo-referencing, video, image tagging and real-world online maps, to provide a fresh method of representing your fleet, and the locations in which you sail. Through Bluemapia.com, sailing companies are able to place images, video, comments, and boundaries for the regions which they cover, onto a custom map which can then be used on your existing website. This gives visitors to your website a more real representation, and ‘virtual’ experience of where your fleet sails, via digital ‘placemarks’. Bluemapia.com also provides another potential avenue for finding clientele, as your maps will be publicly visible through the Bluemapia.com interface - A user-modifiable encyclopedia and social network of sailing places and nautical information.
Bluemapia.com is free, and provides charter companies with:

• Custom embeddable maps, displaying the region in which your sailing fleet sails
• The ability to add images and video of the destinations through placemarks
• Your website address, company name and logo for each placemark added
• A ‘trip diary’ for your clients to populate as an online memory of their experiences
• Live position tracking and image tagging through supported Windows Mobile Smartphones

If you would like more information or assistance in developing your online profile with us, please contact info@bluemapia.com

November 26th, 2008

Sailing Gibraltar

Overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar, the colloquially named ‘Gib’ or ‘the Rock’, must be one of the few territories that can only be entered by walking or driving across the national runway to enter.

With average temperatures of 16c in winter, 27c in summer, and ideal average wind speeds, Gibraltar is simply a perfect sailing location on paper, and in reality. Both Morocco and Spain are a such a short distance away, it’s a gentle sail to a new continent across the busy Straight, or the culture and beauty of Spain within walking distance (or if you dare, via the brisk Spanish winds off of Tarifa!).

With only 9miles separating Africa from the southern tip of the European continent, the Strait is a narrow passage which can be hazardous for a number of reasons. With a constant flowing current, aided by an evaporating Mediterranean basin, a kind of permanent tidal flow is created in an easterly direction with speeds up to 3kts. With up to 300 vessels transiting the Strait daily (not counting the ferries), there are also some obvious traffic hazards to sailors - An extremely careful lookout must be kept at all times around the Strait. In the nearby the Tarifa (part of Spain) area, a micro-climate is created, which can result in extremely high winds. Tarifa is one of the world’s best windsurfing regions, and therefore the winds are fast and consistent - I’ve heard locals exclaim that 300 days in every year show winds blowing in excess of 30kts.

Like all bodies of water, the Strait should be handled with care and good planning - For more detailed sailing information, a good writeup online can be found by Paul & Sheryl Shard on Sailnet. Another excellent resource is the Straits Sailing Handbook, which can be ordered online through Straits-Sail.com.

Marina’s

The yachting situation is complex in Gibraltar at present, with several former anchorages now not allowing vessels to drop anchor, and overcrowded marinas turning boats away (due to rebuilding & renovation). It is strongly advised to contact the Gibraltar Tourism Board for up to the minute information.

Marina Bay - “Marina Bay is a tranquil haven, strategically situated on the west side, offering shelter from the moisture laden Levanter wind, which is common to the area. Five miles across the Bay of Gibraltar, to the west, lies the Spanish port of Algeciras, and 16 miles across the Strait of Gibraltar, to the south, is North Africa, with the Mediterranean to the east.”

Sheppards Marina - “Sheppard’s has provided reliable support for yacht owners since 1961. However, the old marina premises have been sold to a developer and Sheppard’s expects to open a new repair and haul-out facility in the Western Beach area during 2008.”

Sailing Schools

Trafalgar Sailing - “Learn to sail in the Strait of Gibraltar where we enjoy excellent sailing conditions all year round. We have been sailing these waters for 23 years; so from experience we can make your RYA course a great success.”

Straits Sailing - “Straits Sailing is a fully RYA recognised sailing school, offering a range of practical, live aboard sailing and motor courses based upon the well respected RYA training scheme.”

Charter

All Abroad - “There are various yachts available and all prices include the following:-
Fuel, berthing, accommodation aboard with nice clean bedding, fully qualified Instructor/Skipper and waterproofs when required.”

Ocean Odyssey - “Right in the middle, where the Atlantic mixes with the Mediterranean and diverse cultures exist side by side sits the Rock of Gibraltar. Within three days sailing of this British port there are up to thirty harbours and countless anchorages to visit where you can mix with the jet set in the Costa Del Sol marinas, anchor off the beautiful beaches of the Algarve, or go back in time within the walled cities of Morocco.”

Flying

Monarch, EasyJet, British Airways

November 4th, 2008

New Feature: Embed for trips, placemarks and POI’s

We’re very excited to announce the addition of a major new feature, enabling users to embed trips, placemarks and points of interest (both your own, as well as other Bluemapia users) into 3rd party websites, blogs and personal homepages. As an example, here are the placemarks I’ve inserted for my voyage from Europe to New York:


Europe to Australia at Bluemapia

Click icons to view more - Map created by Bluemapia

Or, if you’d like to illustrate a useful point of interest (for example a marina, or an anchorage), you can easily embed in just the same fashion. POI maps will also show placemarks included in the POI area - Here are the details for Marina Cartagena, Spain:


Porto Azzurro at Bluemapia

Map created by Bluemapia


Specific placemarks can also be embedded - Here is the placemark for the Sotogrande breakwater:


Sotogrande Breakwater at Bluemapia

Map created by Bluemapia


You are able to click on all the placemarks, as if you were on the Bluemapia website, seamlessly popping up all photos & videos. Each trip can also have it’s own separate map, allowing you to easily categorise your media for specific voyages.

Some Usage Ideas

• Embed maps of dream voyages into your website
• Detail blog posts of your own trips with an interactive map for your readers
• Charter companies can now embed maps showing potential clients their cruising grounds, complete with photos and videos
• Sailing schools can outline their training areas to show future students where they’ll be sailing
• Describe & illustrate specific anchorages or marinas by embedding a placemark or POI (point of interest)

Supported Platforms

The Bluemapia embed functionality is not limited to any software or hardware restraints. If you run any of the popular blogging software, such as Wordpress, MovableType, or hosted solutions such as TypePad and Blogspot, you simple copy & paste the embed code into your new post. In some instances, you will be required to place code tags around your posts, depending on the platform. For HTML based websites, simply copy & paste the embed code into any section of your page.

How & Where

Embedding a trip: After you log into to Bluemapia, click ‘My Profile’, and then select a trip from your Trip list. Once you have selected a trip, a new option on the right appears, allowing you to select the size of the map in pixels. After selection, the box immediately below is populated with the required code - Simply select it, copy to your clipboard and paste the code into your website or blog! If you do not have any trips, you will need to first create one, and then add placemarks to the trip.

Embedding a placemark or POI: Much like embedding a trip, simply navigate to your placemark or point of interest, and from the drop-down list on the left hand side, select the size of the map you would like to embed, and then copy the newly generated from the box immediately below - Paste the code into your website, and voila!

If you have any difficulties or questions, feel free to make a comment, or reach us on Getsatisfaction.com/bluemapia.

Enjoy! Nick

October 30th, 2008

Technical Support, Getsatisfaction.com

With Bluemapia growing, we needed a way of providing a support network for any queries, bug reports, suggestions and technical support. It mustn’t be forgotten that there are two parts to Bluemapia: The web facing application (Bluemapia.com) and the Bluemapia mobile application, currently built for Windows Mobile devices.

With the complexities behind both a web and mobile application, we are now happy to announce full support via Getsatisfaction.com/bluemapia.

Feel free to visit our Getsatisfaction.com/bluemapia support site, and post any questions or technical queries, regarding either the Bluemapia website, or the corresponding Windows Mobile application. If you think there is any way we can make the user experience better for you - Let us know. A considerable amount of development is currently going on behind the scenes, so now is a great time to make any suggestions. Feedback is always welcome!

Nick

October 28th, 2008

Bluemapia, Twitter, Facebook

A lot has been going on at Bluemapia (now spanning two continents), and to keep everyone updated with our goings on, along with exciting things happening in the sailing world, we can now be found on both Twitter, and Facebook.

Twitter

Twitter is a simple way to get bite-sized bits of information out to interested friends. Limited to updates of 140 characters, Twitter lends itself ideally to sharing interesting links, spontaneous thoughts and quick insights. At Bluemapia we’ve been using Twitter to keep followers updated with everything from Mediterranean blogs, the Volvo Ocean Race to Richard Bransons recent attempt at breaking the transatlantic record in his 99ft Maxi Yacht. We’re also using Twitter to highlight beautiful anchorages and interesting places that are added to Bluemapia - With so much happening, it’s hard to keep up to date - So if you’re interested in keeping up to date with us via Twitter, you can follow through our official Twitter profile, or via our new Latest Updates page, which is a running list of both our blog and Twitter posts.

Facebook

Facebook originally started as a network only for Harvard students - Today it’s the worlds largest social networking tool, and of course, you can even find Bluemapia amongst its pages. Through the Bluemapia International Facebook group, we’re encouraging people to join, share links, use the forum for discussing your favourite sailing destinations, or just to join up and meet fellow boaters.

If you’d like to see us anywhere else, or have any suggestions for things you’d like us to blog, tweet or update on our Facebook page - Leave a comment!

Nick