Resources

Tides

There are few things more valuable to know about, especially if you are a sailor with a deep draft vessel, than the tides and currents. Fortunately, there are many useful resources and many chartplotters have tide prediction capability built right in. What a joy it is to know exactly where you are on the tide when preparing to drop anchor. It also helps to understand why the sea suddenly turned so choppy (wind opposite direction from tide) or why you're turning 2400 rpm but making no headway (heading against a strong current). In some places, tidal variation doesn't make that much difference (Chesapeake Bay) whereas in other places it makes a huge difference (Bay of Fundy). Either way, if you find yourself aground, it's helpful to know if the tide is rising or falling. Here are a few useful resources to help you decipher the information.

NOAA Tides Online
NASA WWW Tide and Current Predictor
USC Tide and Current Predictor
Saltwater Tides
UCSD All about Tides and online prediction
"This tide and tide prediction resource directory links to online tide predictors, tide observations/sea level measurements, tide prediction software you install to generate tide predictions on demand, and general information on tides and tide prediction. "