Author: Capt Rusty

A few years back, Rusty Gardner bought a boat. Like most folks, he took it out on the weekends, but soon the lure of the water grabbed him, and the boat became an obsession. Every week he took off, and every week he came home wanting more. “I want to experience the real Florida,” he thought, “and I want to do it by boat!” But there are hundreds of waterways in Florida. How do you know where to find the boat ramps, the restaurants, a place to stay the night? Hunting down all of these locations can take hours – and that’s hours you’re not on your boat. Enter FloridaByWater.com. The idea seemed reasonably simple in Rusty's head. Just list all of the locations where you can take your boat in Florida. Ok, maybe not so simple. Two years and over 1500 locations later, phase one of the FloridaByWater.com is now ready to go! Along the way, Rusty found that Florida truly is a boater’s paradise. On his way to tracking down all those locations, he got help from friends, Chambers of Commerce, Tourism Bureaus and even strangers with common interests in local boating. Working together, they made the dream come true. Now Rusty’s dream of a comprehensive boater’s paradise is complete.
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Using a GPS/Chartplotter with Florida By Water

If you enjoy boating in unfamiliar waters as much as we do, you will quickly find that a GPS can be your best friend. Often times the recreational boater finds that reading compass headings and nautical charts are daunting tasks. With this in mind, we developed Florida By Water with one of the main goals as providing GPS coordinates for every location. This give you the ability to pinpoint the destination that you are trying to find. However, many of us quickly become confused with the new terminology such as waypoints, tracks, and routes. This article will provide you with a few of the basic skills need to navigate to your chosen location. Please note this is in no way a compressive document on the Nautical Navigation.

Basic Terms in Plain English
Waypoint: A waypoint is a specific location such as a restaurant, marina, or boat ramp. When you look at a location at Florida By Water you will find the GPS coordinates for that location. This will be a waypoint that can be added to your GPS. For example, if you were in Key Largo and wanted to snorkel at “Christ the Abyss” you would enter this waypoint into your GPS: 25.1242155, -80.2974027. Your numbers on your GPS may look different and we will explain those differences in a minute. Anyhow, to get to the location, simply enter the waypoint and follow the GPS map to that waypoint. One thing to keep in mind is that your GPS will take you there by a direct line, which in many cases, in not a very viable option.

Route: A route is a series of waypoints used to get you to a specific location. This allows you to go from one waypoint to the next until you reach your destination. This way, you can navigate around obstacles and shallow water. Creating a route on the GPS itself is possible but can become difficult if you have a smaller screen. At Florida By Water, we use route-planning software. This gives us the ability to take our time and create a route in the comfort of our homes on a computer rather than while out on the water and trying to navigate at the same time. Once the route is loaded into your GPS/Chartplotter you can simply select the route and follow it on your GPS screen. It works very similar to the GPS in your car. The difference is that your car GPS will create the best route for you, while the Chartplotter requires you to create the route. Most manufactures have routing software available for a small fee. Garmin has a program called Homeport. This will allow you to create waypoints and routes, and directly upload them to your GPS/Chartplotter unit. https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=64242

Track: Think of a track as a digital recorder on your GPS. When you turn tracking “on”, the GPS will track the movement of your boat, display it on the unit for you to see, and save it for you. This can be extremely handy if you would like to see where you have been, or to follow the track back to your starting location. The tracks are shown as little black dotted lines on a Garmin unit and the tracks can be downloaded or turned into a route for future reference.

My Numbers Don’t Match!
One of the first show stoppers for new GPS users is finding GPS numbers and realizing they do not look like the numbers on their unit. For example, these sets of numbers all reference the same location:
25.1242155 -80.2974027 (Degrees)
N25°7.45293 W080°17.844162 (Deg° Min)
N25°7'27.176″ W80°17'50.65″ (Deg° Min' Sec”)

Depending on how your GPS is set up, it will use one of these formats. The good news is that it can be changed to use the format of your choice. The key is being able to convert one type of numbers to the other. This website is a great resource for converting the different formats: http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/calculators
Florida By Waters uses “Degrees” as the preferred format. It is also note worthy that you can change the preference in Google Earth to match your preferred format also.

So Many Options
The people at Florida By Water are GPS junkies. I personally have 6 of these handy little devices. With the exception of the iPhone, they are all Garmin. Not that I’m claiming that Garmin is any better than the others; it’s just a matter of familiarity with the interface. There are a few things to keep in mind when purchasing a GPS.
1. Make sure you get the one that fits your needs. GPS’s range in all shapes and sizes. Personally, I like to have to have one that has a 15” screen but that would be a little impractical on a 23’ bowrider. Thus I settled for the 440’s (the S means that it has a sounder or depth finder) this one has a 4’ screen and fits nicely on the boat.
2. Make sure that charts are preloaded. You will find that the price can vary between units. Many times this is due to features like weather, sounder, or preloaded maps. Note that preloaded maps may be costal or inland lakes. Theses maps provide you nautical charts that should include water depths as well hazards and other pertinent information. If your unit does not have the charts preloaded you will need to purchase them separately. Garmin sells charts for their units for around $100.00 per region. That can get expensive in a hurry. Another consideration is that purchased charts may give more detail than preloaded charts and the amount of detail and size of the region will affect the price.
3. Handheld devices can be a great choice. If you have a smaller boat or do not get out that often you may opt for a hand held unit. These can be great fun and have other uses as well such as Geocaching (http://www.geocaching.com/). Once again, it’s best to get one with charts preloaded.
4. We know and understand that the iPhone has a built in GPS as well as the ability to purchase nautical charts. However, if your iPhone is like mine, you really wouldn’t want to base your life or your boat on it. However as a backup, I wouldn’t be without it.

In Summary
• By a GPS/Charplotter with preloaded charts
• Purchase a Charting program that is compatible with your unit
• Go to the “preferences” section to set the desired degrees format (in the GPS and the Charting Program on your PC)
• Crete a few waypoints and routes on the PC
• Upload them to your GPS
• Enjoy the ride

As said in the beginning, this article is a very simplified overview to get you started. We always suggest reading your manual thoroughly in the beginning and then again after you have used the unit for a few months.

*Note: just because you have a GPS/Chartplotter does not mean that common sense goes out the window. Always use your eyes and be aware of your surroundings.

Helpful links and more information:
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=148
http://www.mrsps.org/gps_course.htm
http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/geocoding.html
http://sailing.about.com/od/navigationseamanship/a/basicchartplotter.htm

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“World of Boating Celebrates National Boating Safety Week this Saturday!”

PRESS RELEASE
Orlando FL., May 15 2010, – The World of Boating, Florida By Water, The Coast Guard Auxiliary, and other marine agencies, will kick off “Safe Boating Week” (May 22-28) with a show dedicated to promoting water safety.

The show will have segments with discussions relating to topics such as Life Jackets, DSC Radios, MMSI numbers, BUI, Vessel Safety Checks, and Boating Safety Education.
Greg Holt, host of World of Boating Radio, states, “Boating safety is a subject that is often overlooked by the media. Many boaters would like to avoid this subject but the truth is, just following a few basic principles can save lives. If the World of Boating can help get the message out, then we all sleep better at night”.

Rusty Gardner, President of www.floridabywater.com, who is also a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, will also be in the studio to answer questions about boating safety topics. Rusty has produced numerous videos and articles relating to the subject which have appeared in publications ranging from the Coast Guard Search and Rescue Journal to the Discover Boating website. Earlier this year he received a safe boating award from the National Water Safety Congress.

The Orlando based show is nationally syndicated and a popular podcast for the boating population. The show can be heard live on Saturday May the 15th from 1:00pm to 3:00pm on over 40 US station or World Wide on the web at https://worldofboating.com/listen/.

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Do Boating and Intercourse go Together?

You would think the answer to this question would be obvious. However, here at “Florida By Water” we are not the kinds to answer a question without first doing our research. You’d think that this kind of research would be one of those jobs that most people would gladly volunteer for. But don’t make any assumptions; the quest for truth can be a long, hard road.

The quest for knowledge took me outside of our beloved state of Florida. I boarded a plane at Jacksonville International Airport and headed to the Philadelphia International Airport. From there we traveled hours and hours (okay – only 2 hours, but it felt like longer!) by car to Lancaster County PA. Along the way we saw signs for the thriving metropolises of Virginville and Blueball. No stops for us, though. Even though they sounded like interesting places, we were in search of Intercourse.

We traveled across the rolling hills and around some beautiful farms located along routes 340 and 772 until we reached our destination. Intercourse, PA. The town was quite beautiful; it’s a major tourist attraction. Amish horses and buggy rigs filled the streets with the clitter clatter of horseshoes on the asphalt. Smells of spring filled the air. The pace was relaxed and very laid back. It’s no wonder that Intercourse is a lifestyle we all strive for!

But back to the question of the day… Do Boating and Intercourse go together? First we drove all around the area. No lakes, no navigable rivers, no boat ramps; not even a West Marine store. We decided to check with a few of the locals in the shopping district. We presented the question in a way only a true boater could appreciate. Perhaps not surprisingly, the locals did not see the humor in our question. Therefore we concluded that NO, Boating and Intercourse do not go together. The major reason — no waterways. The second, less obvious answer? If you spend all day in Intercourse, who has the energy left for boating?!

In conclusion, it was a great place to visit, but if your heart is in boating chances are you should stay in Florida. There is more to life than just Intercourse.

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Finding the Perfect Hot Spot

Once you Discover Boating, you’ll soon find yourself looking for great new places to boat. You probably already know where the best boat ramps, docking spaces and restaurants are in your own area, but how do you find that information about a potential vacation destination? You’d think it would be easy. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Finding that perfect hot spot can be a hit or miss proposition.

With today’s technology, however, the hunt for that perfect destination is not only easier; it’s also much more enjoyable. Step one – grab a computer.

The Internet is a great resource; the trick, of course, is finding the needle in its information haystack. Start with a search engine such as Google or Bing. Using simple key words like “boating Destin” or “boating Key Largo” (Don’t forget the quotation marks!) will return pages of possibilities. It may take some time, however, to sort through all of the results. Narrowing your search can help. “Destin restaurant boat dock,” will get you better results, for instance, than just “Destin restaurant.”

Another option is to find local boating forums. You can find a forum for just about anything from boat repair to the local fishing hot spots. You can post specific question on forums, and hopefully someone from the area will provide an answer, or at least point you in the right direction. Forums vary in their degree of usefulness and activity. Check out the forum itself before you post; look at the number of members, as well has how active the discussions are. This will save you time and energy and ensure your question gets answered in a timely manner.

Another option: online boating communities. A community is similar to a forum, but its members can post other information such as personal photos, advertisements, personal updates and even blogs. Think of these communities as Facebook sites for boaters. They can be full of great information. The downside to communities is that they are just that, a “community” and can become cliquish over time.

There’s also a new option popping up around the country: all-in-one resource sites that feature both information and education. One such example is a new website called Florida by Water (http://www.floridabywater.com). This site is a comprehensive resource for the boating community that lists establishments such as marinas, boat ramps, hotels, restaurants and even the popular boating hot spots for a given city. The site also includes nautical charts, GPS coordinates and weather information for most of the cities in the state, as well as tourism information such as special events, and area highlights.

Regardless of how you start charting your next trip, there are always a few things you should keep in mind before you start your motor.

1. Study the nautical charts for the area before you go.
2. Keep an eye on your Chart Plotter or GPS while in a new area. If possible, pre-plan your routes.
3. Play close attention to water depths.
4. File a float plan. Always let someone know where you’re going and when you’re coming back. This is even more important when you’re in unfamiliar waters.
5. Follow the channel markers.
6. If you’re headed for a restaurant or hotel, be sure to call before you arrive to confirm docking conditions. Waterfront doesn’t always mean there’s a place to tie up.
7. Look up and carry a list of emergency phone numbers for that area.
8. Always check the weather and tide conditions.

With a little online time and practice, you’ll be able to locate the information you’re looking for in a matter of minutes, instead of hours or days. Not only will you save time, you’ll alleviate the stress of the unknown, and make sure every boating trip will be perfect for you and your family.

By Robin Herriff and Rusty Gardner

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Capt. Rusty Gets an Award

In Daytona Beach last week, I received an award from the National Water Safety Congress for the work I have done in the area of safe boating. However, this award really belongs to all of those who provide me with the resources and platforms, such as “WOB”, that give me incredible opportunities to talk about my passion.