RC

I just thought you might like to know. I installed Google Earth on my system, which allows me to look up detailed and up-to-date satellite and aerial imagery of any spot on earth, and I've been able to get a close-up look at the facilities at Matheson Hammock Park. You might be interested to know there are 10 boat launching ramps there, and 150 parking spaces for trailers.

Google Earth also gives you a means of carefully scouting out potential destinations for useful boating information that may not be on the chart, such as anchorages, road access, amenities, etc. It also gives you lat/lon of any spot you put your cursor on, so you can program your GPS with destinations and waypoints. The Google position of the Coconut Grove boat ramp we used matched perfectly the GPS reading I took when we were there. I've already taken a close look at both No Name Harbor and Elliot Key and their approaches. Google Earth also has a tool that allows you to click on two points and it gives you a bearing and distance between the two.

The Google Earth software is easily downloaded for free off the net, you might want to check it out.

ER