VisitMyHarbour website

[Overner]

Happy New Year to all...

Over the years there have been some unkind comments in these forums about the ease of use of the VisitMyHarbour website.. here's a sample:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?495412-visitmyharbour-is-it-as-confusing-and-hard-to-use-as-it-seems

There has always been staunch support on these threads from actual users and members, who have been prepared to dig in to the content, which tries to provide a balanced view of what the visiting sailor is likely to find in a new location, or when on passage. Been going 10 years in 2019.

And herein lays the problem, The content is great, but the site is old. In fact it would be impossible to make it work properly on mobile devices... esp. phones. And really it's on a mobile phone you are likely to want info on a harbour before you enter, there in your hand on the spot. What's more if using vector charts on a plotter or app, it's often good to have a raster chart / satellite view of the place.

So we've been playing around in house for the last year, and have come up with this.. it's all new:

http://mobile.visitmyharbour.com

It's still totally online to comply with our UKHO web licensing. But with 3G and 4G mobile coverage, most harbour, and many coastal locations are accessible. Works great on HDMI big screens too... We've had good feedback from VMH users.

But I'd like you ask you forumites to have a look and give opinions, as you can be quite critical.. tweaks can be made at this stage.

This will run alongside the old desktop version. The aim is to keep the mobile site simple and un-cluttered, just providing the info needed, where's it's needed.. afloat on your mobile.

Can't guarantee to answer all posts, but will look in to see what the consensus is.

Steve at VMH

 

[Plum]

Happy New Year to all...

Over the years there have been some unkind comments in these forums about the ease of use of the VisitMyHarbour website.. here's a sample:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?495412-visitmyharbour-is-it-as-confusing-and-hard-to-use-as-it-seems

There has always been staunch support on these threads from actual users and members, who have been prepared to dig in to the content, which tries to provide a balanced view of what the visiting sailor is likely to find in a new location, or when on passage. Been going 10 years in 2019.

And herein lays the problem, The content is great, but the site is old. In fact it would be impossible to make it work properly on mobile devices... esp. phones. And really it's on a mobile phone you are likely to want info on a harbour before you enter, there in your hand on the spot. What's more if using vector charts on a plotter or app, it's often good to have a raster chart / satellite view of the place.

So we've been playing around in house for the last year, and have come up with this.. it's all new:

http://mobile.visitmyharbour.com

It's still totally online to comply with our UKHO web licensing. But with 3G and 4G mobile coverage, most harbour, and many coastal locations are accessible. Works great on HDMI big screens too... We've had good feedback from VMH users.

But I'd like you ask you forumites to have a look and give opinions, as you can be quite critical.. tweaks can be made at this stage.

This will run alongside the old desktop version. The aim is to keep the mobile site simple and un-cluttered, just providing the info needed, where's it's needed.. afloat on your mobile.

Can't guarantee to answer all posts, but will look in to see what the consensus is.

Steve at VMH

I have just had a quick play with your mobile demo site and am very impressed so far. Well done. Also, ready and waiting to buy the 2019 chart sets for my Marine Navigator android app which I have been using with your charts for 4 years.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[bikedaft]

Looks excellent - thanks

 

[mbroom]

I used your charts in the summer sailing from the Clyde to Azores and then Barcelona together with Marine Navigator. What a superb package... better than some of the big names. How about Eastern Mediterranean charts?��

 

[dgadee]

I used your charts in the summer sailing from the Clyde to Azores and then Barcelona together with Marine Navigator. What a superb package... better than some of the big names. How about Eastern Mediterranean charts?��

Agree. Great set of charts and great price in bundle to western med. Eastern set would be great.

 

[Humblebee]

New site looks excellent, thanks for posting.
Whether I can get it to work on my tablet is another matter! (A reflection on my IT skills, not your site).

 

[lisilou]

Looks great to me. Thanks.
L

 

[rowanloh]

The tidal stream atlases are hard work!

 

[JumbleDuck]

Over the years there have been some unkind comments in these forums about the ease of use of the VisitMyHarbour website.. here's a sample:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?495412-visitmyharbour-is-it-as-confusing-and-hard-to-use-as-it-seems

There has always been staunch support on these threads from actual users and members, who have been prepared to dig in to the content, which tries to provide a balanced view of what the visiting sailor is likely to find in a new location, or when on passage. Been going 10 years in 2019.

It's a pretty standard business mistake to think "people who use our product like it, so people who don't like it must be wrong". It's almost always more interesting to know what non-customers don't like than to know what customers do like. I was once seconded to run a struggling organisation which boasted loudly of approving comments by its 5% of returning customers. So I surveyed the 95% who didn't return and learned some stuff which my colleagues didn't want to know.

By the way, I do visit VMH from time to time, and have since it was launched - I contributed some stuff on the Clyde, too, though I have just played with the new version and I see that the Rothesay description is still many years out of date. Berthing alongside in the inner harbour has not been an option for a veeeeery long time.

Otherwise the new version seems reasonable. At least it gets rid of the thoroughly unhelpful alphabetic listing of harbours over wide areas, but in the west of Scotland there aren't many places listed and no tidal information at all, so of limited use. I suspect that for many people - see the other comments - VMH is mainly a source of cheap charts.

I'm happy to review and send corrections, if that would be useful.

 

[Sandy]

Over the years there have been some unkind comments in these forums about the ease of use of the VisitMyHarbour website..

Hello Steve

I have been one of the people who have posted "unkind" comments on here about the website. You have been kind enough to answer questions both on here and by email, but I am still scratching my head trying to understand what you are selling and why I should buy it. I don't just single out you, I spent a day with Google back in November and my feedback form was not very complimentary.

Professionally, I work day in day out with a huge number of websites and companies gathering all sorts of information for mission critical safety stuff. They are all extremely easy to navigate and understand what either the supplier is selling or how to get to the information I need.

May I suggest a well laid out introduction about that the product is, how and why we can/should use it would be really, really useful and what membership really means.

Here is a challenge. I have a Garmin Chartplotter with Homeport on my PC , where I do my initial passage planning (I prefer paper charts to do the detailed stuff), why should I buy the VisitMyHarbour charts for a forthcoming circumnavigation of the British Isles?

 

[Concerto]

Looking good, but on an old 5s i-phone the text is wider than the black background. This means the last few characters on each line are not readable. I checked on a number of different pages over the site and it was the same.

Another improvement would be to have the log in available from the side menu. It took ages to find it from the original page on the background. I am now signed in and saved the log in details. So in the future I should be able enter the site quickly.

Is there an app to add a quick link to launch the site?

 

[NormanB]

Happy New Year to all...

Over the years there have been some unkind comments in these forums about the ease of use of the VisitMyHarbour website.. here's a sample:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?495412-visitmyharbour-is-it-as-confusing-and-hard-to-use-as-it-seems

There has always been staunch support on these threads from actual users and members, who have been prepared to dig in to the content, which tries to provide a balanced view of what the visiting sailor is likely to find in a new location, or when on passage. Been going 10 years in 2019.

And herein lays the problem, The content is great, but the site is old. In fact it would be impossible to make it work properly on mobile devices... esp. phones. And really it's on a mobile phone you are likely to want info on a harbour before you enter, there in your hand on the spot. What's more if using vector charts on a plotter or app, it's often good to have a raster chart / satellite view of the place.

So we've been playing around in house for the last year, and have come up with this.. it's all new:

http://mobile.visitmyharbour.com

It's still totally online to comply with our UKHO web licensing. But with 3G and 4G mobile coverage, most harbour, and many coastal locations are accessible. Works great on HDMI big screens too... We've had good feedback from VMH users.

But I'd like you ask you forumites to have a look and give opinions, as you can be quite critical.. tweaks can be made at this stage.

This will run alongside the old desktop version. The aim is to keep the mobile site simple and un-cluttered, just providing the info needed, where's it's needed.. afloat on your mobile.

Can't guarantee to answer all posts, but will look in to see what the consensus is.

Steve at VMH

There is a lot of information on the desktop site.
There is much less information on the mobile site.
I was unable to determine which IPad app I can use with your charts
Are you able to help?

 

[Overner]

Looking good, but on an old 5s i-phone the text is wider than the black background. This means the last few characters on each line are not readable. I checked on a number of different pages over the site and it was the same.

Another improvement would be to have the log in available from the side menu. It took ages to find it from the original page on the background. I am now signed in and saved the log in details. So in the future I should be able enter the site quickly.

Is there an app to add a quick link to launch the site?

This is a known issue.. the solution is to tap the icon in the offending page that looks like a phone with 4 arrows.. top LH side of page content. It reloads the page without menu, and that seems to make it fit. Afterwards, using the refresh icon on RH side of content gets menu back.

Haven't worked out yet how to make quick link icons appear on your phone screen....

Steve

 

[Overner]

There is a lot of information on the desktop site.
There is much less information on the mobile site.
I was unable to determine which IPad app I can use with your charts
Are you able to help?

There is more on desktop site about products, plus some articles and business directory. Mobile site is specifically for harbour coverage, plus tide table, streams and chart viewing online. It's not a chartplotter., nor is it an app. The exact same harbour coverage is on both sites. The mobile site is meant a a compliment to use alongside your chosen nav app/plotter.

Re chartplotting. The only ipad compatible offline "For Nav" charts we make are for qtVlm. Which is quite a complex racing orientated app.

Steve

 

[Overner]

I used your charts in the summer sailing from the Clyde to Azores and then Barcelona together with Marine Navigator. What a superb package... better than some of the big names. How about Eastern Mediterranean charts?��

Unlikely, we don't have licenses in place. I have thought about seeing if Imray were interested in making their chart packages available for Marine Navigator themselves. We'd be happy to help them get it all set up, as they don't currently support Android at all. The more coverage the better.

Steve

 

[Overner]

New site looks excellent, thanks for posting.
Whether I can get it to work on my tablet is another matter! (A reflection on my IT skills, not your site).

It's a simple website, not an app or chartplotter. Just save the link and use on anything. Save to bookmarks. Works great on tablets.

Steve

 

[Overner]

The tidal stream atlases are hard work!

Agreed ! They are the official NP series. We may be able to arrange the hourly chartlets into a carousel type zoomable viewer... Instead of the whole lot up at once.

Steve

 

[Overner]

"Otherwise the new version seems reasonable. At least it gets rid of the thoroughly unhelpful alphabetic listing of harbours over wide areas, but in the west of Scotland there aren't many places listed and no tidal information at all, so of limited use. I suspect that for many people - see the other comments - VMH is mainly a source of cheap charts.

I'm happy to review and send corrections, if that would be useful. "


Got 61 harbours and anchorages covered in W Scotland and North of Ireland.. it's one of our biggest areas covered. Always more to do though. There are over 60 sets of tide tables, and 3 or 4 NP Tidal Stream atlases covering the same area on both sites. Please DO contribute info/corrections/reviews..always welcome. Sign in with free account to the Desktop site, and add your comments at bottom of harbour(s) concerned. When Don updates, he acts on the info and updates the Desktop side. This will filter to mobile site a bit later.

Re cheap charts.. yes many customers for these. Right back to 2012 with "Charts for SeaClear". Things move on, so we try and give customers a choice with Windows programs (5 programs supported, inc opencpn) in our Unified Charts. Customer decides what suits as they go along. More difficult with mobile stuff, as we don't make apps.. and app makers tend to restrict you to their own charts...

Hence the mobile website, use as an adjunct to whatever app you use currently.


Steve

 

[JumbleDuck]

There is more on desktop site about products, plus some articles and business directory. Mobile site is specifically for harbour coverage, plus tide table, streams and chart viewing online. It's not a chartplotter., nor is it an app.

Could you explain a little more about what you see as the point of VMH? I'm not sure whether you are a community, a pilot book, a collection of products, or an almanac. Does "member" mean more than "customer"?

 

[JumbleDuck]

Posts crossed ...

Got 61 harbours and anchorages covered in W Scotland and North of Ireland.. it's one of our biggest areas covered. Always more to do though.

With all due respect, I could probably name 61 harbours and anchorages within a day sail of Port Bannatyne. Perhaps this reflects a difference froim the south of England, where it seems stopping places are more concentrated.

There are over 60 sets of tide tables, and 3 or 4 NP Tidal Stream atlases covering the same area on both sites.

You are quite right. Sorry. In my own defence, the marker for Scottish tide tables defaults to off-screen when I look at the site on my desktop:

Please DO contribute info/corrections/reviews..always welcome. Sign in with free account to the Desktop site, and add your comments at bottom of harbour(s) concerned. When Don updates, he acts on the info and updates the Desktop side. This will filter to mobile site a bit later.

Will do.