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Is anyone out there using Google Earth? I've been searching for public boat launches and I'm struggling to find a good resource. I've found some lists, like jerseymarinas.com/ramp.htm, but it would be a lot more helpful to see that kind of info on a map (and not just limited to NJ).
There are also a lot of other things that Google Earth can be used for. I'm just getting started with it but it seems like this could valuable to a community like this.
I use it for upcoming vacations/camping trips - to get a general feel for the lay of the land. I found a ramp on Cape San Blas - that otherwise I could find no information for on a google search.
NOAA has a pretty cool Google MAPS site - http://demo.geogarage.com/noaa/ . Other than that I use GE for high level planning of boat trips around the Chesapeake Bay (i.e. putting in lat/long as placemarks, creating paths/distances, etc). You can take the lat/longs listed on the NJ site and enter them as placemarks (kml), and save them for your planning purposes.
I use Google Earth quite a bit for hiking to get a good perspective on mountain terrain.
For the new Oceans feature, I don't believe there is a master boat ramp list anywhere, but I have seen some states and boating communities that maintain their own regional boat ramp lists in KML format for use in Google Maps/Earth.
I had bookmarked a couple of lists for Maine and Cape Cod, and I am sure there are numerous others:
I used google earth last time I went to Exuma Bahamas to find two very remote beaches on Little Exuma. Those remote beaches were the highlight of my trip and I will be back to both of the in the end of June.
I've used it myself for travel planning, to get a sense of where things are and hotel locations and such. What I'm really interested in is how people are using it for boating in particular.
Does this site have a facility for sharing .kml files? Local knowledge is so important in boating, I can think of no end to what boaters might want to share with each other that way: recommended boat launches, gas docks, waterside restaurants, hazards, fishing holes, etc. It seems like Google Earth is an ideal tool for this.
