Interactive Map of the Gulf Coast Oil Spill (Click to visit site)

In an effort to help those boaters effected by the oil spill in the Gulf, we have created an interactive map page that displays updated nautical charts and the oil trajectory as overlays.   You can toggle the “Gulf Oil Spill Trajectory” overlay by simply clicking on the button at the top of the map.  An opacity slider lets you change the visibility or remove the nautical charts.  That way you can customize the view to get an idea of the latest situation.

Check out the site http://geowake.com/explore/gulfoil.jsp

• Location services now work using your phone’s GPS or cellular tower location
• Local caching of the chart tiles increases performance dramatically when scrolling around the charts
• Numerous bug fixes

Location services was the most requested feature and we had to work through some Android bugs to get it working for you!  On the search screen just touch “CLICK TO USE CURRENT GPS LOCATION” and it will zoom to your location.  Remember to enable the GPS on your phone if you want the most accurate positioning.  For legal purposes we did not enable real time location tracking.  You can however update your location manually by using the search screen.

The other fix we added was chart caching.  This greatly enhances the performance when scrolling around the map.  Unfortunately, this feature won’t work offline because we are using Google Maps.

We appreciate all our users who have sent us comments both positive and negative.  I know you are all very passionate about boating and we want to provide you the best tools possible!

You can find it under the Travel section or by doing a quick search for ‘geowake’ in the Android market.  We appreciate all the users who have given us feedback and hope you will enjoy using the application.

Here’s what the application has to offer:

• +2,100 Individually selectable US Nautical Charts
• Updated Weather Information
• Easily search for locations of interest
• *Coming Soon – Location awareness for GPS enabled phones (Android 2.0 or higher)

This release is only the beginning of our foray into the mobile space.  We hope to add new features and overlays that will make it more appealing and useful to you on your boating journey.  So get it now while it’s cheap!

We recommend that you use the app with WiFi enabled or when you have a strong signal.  It’s fairly data intensive so it can really grind to a halt when you have a low signal.

Our goal with this application is not to replace your boat navigation system or to provide real-time navigation (so please don’t wreck your boat trying!).  We’re trying to provide a way for users to check out their favorite locations away from the boat or explore new destinations while planning a trip.  Hopefully, you will reach for Geowake when you need to check out a destination rather then hunt for that stack of paper charts!

As always your comments/feedback are appreciated.

BoatUS Member Service Locator

BoatUS has partnered with Geowake to add Nautical charts and overlays to their member service locator map.  This map is available for free to boaters as well as BoatUS’s over 600,000 members.

The BoatUS Member Services Locator allows you to locate the closest BoatUS towers, Cooperating Marinas, West Marine stores and Lifejacket Loaner Sites to your homeport. Search the map by zip code, or city and state. Take a brief tutorial, here.

When you are browsing around the Member Services Locator click nautical charts on the navigation bar, and a prompt will come up to select which chart you want to overlay. This makes trip planning especially easy since our Cooperating Marinas who offer you great discounts can be overlaid right on a nautical chart.

Visit http://www.boatus.com/msl and check it out!

TakeMeFishing.org Interactive Map

Geowake has teamed with RBFF to provide it’s over 2.4 million yearly visitors with nautical overlays for their TakeMeFishing.org website.

The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase participation in recreational angling and boating and thereby increase public awareness and appreciation of the need for protecting, conserving and restoring this nation’s aquatic natural resources.

RBFF’s Take Me Fishing campaign is about capturing the excitement and the memories associated with boating and fishing. Geowake’s API provides interactive nautical charts and nav-aids currently available on TakeMeFishing.org Fishing and Boating maps.

Give it a TRY!