Multihulls and The Internet

Multihulls and The Internet

by The Cyber Sailor

It was the late 80’s and I was cruising my 30 foot sloop, "Cool Runnings", in the Bahamas. I would wake up every morning and tune in to a weak little AM radio station out of Nassau to get the weather forecast. It was usually no more informative than looking out across the banks and watching the dance of the waves, but at least it would warn of approaching tropical storms.

Then my friends, George and Sue, showed up on their 40 foot sloop, "Journey". They had a weather fax. Wow! That was some high tech hardware! At 7am and 3pm, everyday we would gather around and watch the little fax image of the Atlantic coast laboriously appear as we sat chatting. A good forty five minutes later, the cryptic picture of pressure contours would be fully disgorged, and we would then spend the next half-hour discussing what it actually foretold. After a few days, I went back to just looking out my companion way at the waves and doing voodoo incantations.

Those were the days before the Internet. Now, if I’m plugged into shore or using a cell phone modem, I can call up dozens of weather sites and get instant weather forecasts of anywhere in the world. From off shore weather buoys and other sources I can get real time data, six day extended forecasts, track storms, and even see the latest weather radar or satellite images. All this is available at www.multihullsmag.com, the Multihulls Magazine Online web site, and the most amazing part is that it’s free. But wait! There is more! From your cozy little cabin and armed only with your modem and laptop you have access to incredible resources.

If you’re into racing, you can learn about upcoming races from our new web site, find out the latest race results, or post your own race results (strongly encouraged). If you’re looking for a boat to crew on, or you need some crew for your next race, you can put your request in our boat/crew finder listings. There are even links to other racing sites, like the Americas Cup sites, so you can follow the action daily.

If you’re a boat builder, you can exchange knowledge with your fellow fiberglass junkies. You can find design resources and designers. You can even e-mail in your questions or concerns. With any luck, they will be answered in short order, possibly by someone half a world away.

If cruising is more your speed, we’ve got a cruising exchange listing, where you can connect with past or future cruising pals around the globe through the magic of e-mail. You can get information on the dozens of multihull charter companies we know around the world. The web site even has navigation information, including tide tables for any coast in the US. You may never buy a tide book again, but, you can buy tons of cruising books at the book and video store.

A few years ago it would have been hard to predict that all this free information would have been a mouse click away. Today, it still amazes us. Tomorrow, we will take it for granted. That is the nature of technology.

If we are going to stay on top of the rapidly changing Internet we will need your inputs and suggestions. So please drop in to www.multihullsmag.com and let us know your thoughts. Bon Appetite.

(Note: if the domain name fails to be located, the server address is www.hypermax.com/multihullsmag.)

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