Google map with pictures of Caribbean travels

[Zanshin]

I just realized that while I'd posted this before, it was in a sub-forum that hardly anyone reads, so I'm giving it another try in a heavily-trafficed area. The past couple of days have had miserable weather here so I spent my time at the screen, learning about php, JavaScript, Google map APIs and CSS.

The result of this effort is a Google maps interactive map with my geo-coded pictures from sailing Zanshin I around the Caribbean with most of the pictures being in the BVI. While there are over 800 photos in the map, I've used a Google widget to cluster pictures together so that the map doesn't get too cluttered and it works quite well.

I'd like to get some feedback on the page (not the picture content, it is too late to change that) as this weekend looks like it is going to be rained out again. At least when I'm playing around on the web site I won't be spending money on ebay or helping put my local bartender's kids through school...

If you feel like being transported to warm Caribbean waters, just click on the picture below:

[BI40]

Fantastic! A great way to share your adventures with other folks. Thanks!

By the way, is that a Selden mast on Zanshin? If so, is the aluminum anodizing holding up? We had re-masted a ketch several years ago and the new rig worked-out great, except for the anodize finish. Our problem may have been our location Washington Channel / DC / USA ..city fumes ...hot air, etc? Better in the islands?

[Zanshin]

I think that Zanshin's mast was a Sparcraft one and the anodizing held up quite well, even the dissimilar metal joints didn't have (too much) corrosion, they probably did a good job with tefgel at the factory. Zanshin was only 5 years old, though.

[estopa]

When you rollover the waypoints and the picture and story update on the left. It took me a while to realize it was updating. I wonder if a pop up would make better sense or a larger piece of real estate to get a better view of the pictures.

Overall pretty cool.

[Zanshin]

G'day Estopa,

thanks for the suggestions. The thumbnail picture isn't any bigger and loading the big picture on mouseover would eat up a lot of bandwidth or take time for slower connections. I have added some comments/instructions to the screen to make understanding the options easier the first time around. I'm still working on getting a pop-up working.

[tomperanteau]

Like the software. Are you using a PHP mapping package on your server?

[Zanshin]

tomperanteau - No, I'm not using anything complicated on the server at all, I'm letting the Google API do all the work. All I need to do is make one call to google to make the map (i.e. tell it what map type and what initial location and zoom level), then a loop to add a picture at a time to the list of "markers" and then call up the API in the clustering package from Google. It really is quite easy to implement once you've got that marker call figured out.
I'm working on doing something similar to map GPS tracks once I get back aboard and moving about.

[tombesore]

That's a pretty cool integration of your photos with Google maps. I wonder if the same data/links can be pulled up in Google Earth or if that's a completely separate system? I integrated some gps tracks into Google Maps last spring when I got home from my Atlantic Cup journey. See the images at the bottom of this post: Newest Prairie Pirates - Columbia Yacht Club Cruising Fleet. You've given me some inspiration to add photos next.

Interestingly, the drop down boxes along your top website menu bar do not work on my iPad. They work fine on the desktop computer, but it's odd that the Safari browser on the iPad does not seem to work with them. That's probably a limitation of the iPad and not a reflection on your website though. I love your website and the narrative of your gear and journeys. Thanks for the inspiration!

[Zanshin]

The drop-down boxes are done with JavaScript, which might be disabled on an iPad. I looked at the google statistics and almost all users had javascript-enabled browsers (and the average screen resolution was way higher than I have...) so I opted for a menu that looks acceptable versus something that works without JavaScript but otherwise looks pretty bad.
I like what you did with your google map and hope to get something similar for when I do that trip (I'll just be passing Bermuda on my right and making a beeline for the BVI).