It seems that so many things have changed since we last cruised 14 years ago. Fuel used to be less than a buck a gallon, the average marina charged about $.75-$1.25/ft. per night, LORAN was a widely used navigation aid, and there were several basic cruising guides to choose from. Most of these guides were “updated” occasionally, but chances were that a lot of the info was out of date by the time we were reading it.
Well, fast forward to today. Fuel is closer to 3 bucks a gallon, it is rare to find a marina that charges less than $1.75/ft. per night (with many at $2.00-$3.00/ft.), GPS has replaced LORAN, and there are a number of ways to get more up-to-date cruising information. And this last change is quite significant.
Up-to-date cruising information is possible because we now have the Internet, wherever we go, as a tool to gather and share information. Indeed, it seems to me that the time has passed for using the old-timey, outdated cruising guides that write nice reviews about the marinas and facilities that just happen to have bought advertising in that guide. As cruisers we need unbiased, free, and up-to-the minute information about the places we want to visit. And of the various sources for information that cruisers need to know, Active Captain is a real standout.
Readers of this blog know that often I mention using Active Captain as a tool in our cruise planning. This easy-to-use, FREE web site offers a complete interactive guide for all of the areas that we cruise. With a simple click of my computer mouse I can get up-to-date information and reviews that have been posted by other cruisers, and sometimes the info has been posted as recently as that day! Marina and anchorage reviews, fuel prices, local knowledge, hazard information- it’s all there, constantly being updated everyday by thousands of cruisers around the world. And did I mention that it’s FREE!
For Cindy and me, Active Captain is our favorite cruising tool. We use it every day when we are on the water. We encourage all of our fellow cruisers to post information and reviews on Active Captain. The more of us that contribute to the database, the better it will be for all of us.
you linked! you rock, dad!!