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1. 

   KayakVagabond
   Member

   I ran across this tool recently and figured some fellow 'Tribers might be interested. Deep Zoom is a cool tide and current planning tool at deepzoom.com. 

   On the Trips page you can import routes, set the date, time, and speed of your craft and then run an animation to see what you will encounter as far as currents and tides, along your route.  Unlike Homeport that only shows an icon of your boat moving on your route, this tool shows you what you will encounter along the way.  If you are planning close to the trip date, the tool will even show you the forecasted winds and weather.

   There are various map options than enable you to set the opacity (fade) to see a nautical chart superimposed over different charts, including a satellite view.

   I'm still using Homeport to create routes, but this tool makes seeing the effects of tides and currents much simpler and quicker than Homeport (where you have to calculate the time you will be a location and update the clock, for each location you are interested in).

   Caveat Emptor -- this tool is still improving and I have seen Internet chatter where people have claimed that some tide/current information was not correct.

   https://tinyurl.com/24mysn6d
   http://deepzoom.com

   Greg Stamer
   KayakVagabond

   Posted 3 months ago #
2. 

   WindwardMark
   Member

   Cool website! I was hoping to see predicted currents in the Everglades, but no luck

   Posted 2 months ago #
3. 

   KayakVagabond
   Member

   I agree that would be helpful. Unfortunately there are relatively few current stations in Florida, which is what the app (and Homeport) uses. 

   About the best I know to do for those areas, if you can't get local knowledge, is to assume that the current  (water flow) will change about an hour or so, lagging behind the actual high/low tide (water height).  Sometimes it's more time, sometimes less time, and sometimes the wind drives water into or out of a bay and affects or even "cancels" the tide cycle.

   If anyone knows of a coastal pilot that publishes those average "lag times" for  current flow, in  various locations, please let us know! Otherwise it's educated guesses based on wind and when the tide changes.

   Greg

   Posted 2 months ago #
4. 

   WindwardMark
   Member

   I think they are using modeled currents from NOAA's Tampa Bay Operational Forecast System model:

   https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/ofs/ofs_mapplots.html?ofsregion=tb&subdomain=0&model_type=currents_nowcast

   But, they also have currents in the Pine Island Sound region, and I'm not aware of a NOAA model for that region. 

   Posted 2 months ago #

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