Live data from Hacker News

Shipmap.org

shipmap.org

51–60 of 129 posts

Re: Shipmap.org

#52

This is pretty amazing to watch! I did just watch a dot go through the Great Lakes, to Chicago, then take to the air and make a bee line straight to the Gulf of Mexico. Probably some weird artifact but made me chuckle.

That is a real route though - The Great Loop, although I'm sure tankers aren't taking it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Loop

> Assuming a boat ("Looper") begins in Chicago, either take the Chicago River and Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, or the Cal-Sag Channel to the Des Plaines River. The waterway passes Joliet and soon becomes the Illinois River. The Illinois River travels west, through several locks, then southward, through Peoria. At Grafton, Illinois, the Illinois River joins the Mississippi River.

Of course you could start in the some Great Lake or the Erie Canal or anywhere else on the east coast.

Re: Shipmap.org

#53

I wonder what influences the decision for some ships to take that direct route between Hokkaido and Vancouver through the Aleutian islands while others veer South on no apparent lane. Maybe vessels lacking sophisticated enough navigation equipment to navigate through the islands?

Not a captain, but I'd guess it has to do with the seasonal wind direction and strength variations. The North Pacific gets pretty wild in winter. Here's a visualization: https://www.deepzoom.com/s/20260107-r4y6xdifH4

Re: Shipmap.org

#55
post #52

This is pretty amazing to watch! I did just watch a dot go through the Great Lakes, to Chicago, then take to the air and make a bee line straight to the Gulf of Mexico. Probably some weird artifact but made me chuckle.

That is a real route though - The Great Loop, although I'm sure tankers aren't taking it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Loop > Assuming a boat ("Looper") begins in Chicago, either take the Chicago River and Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, or the Cal-Sag Channel to the Des Plaines River. The waterway passes Joliet and soon becomes the Illinois River. The Illinois River travels west, through several locks, then…

[deleted]

Re: Shipmap.org

#59

Like interactive documentary, loved it!

Exactly! I really loved the presentation. An interactive map with voice over, and at key moments zooming in, zooming out, coloring etc. Beautiful design. At the same time, not restricting the user. I was immediately glued.

I'm thinking that this can be a good pattern for photography portfolio sites. Voice over from photographer talking about his inspiration, walking through key memories, while letting the user browser around.

Re: Shipmap.org

#60
Interesting that no ships were recorded going thru the Northwest Passage -- perhaps in 2012 it was still generally impassable? It's getting to a point where freighters / tankers pass thru unassisted by icebreakers during the warm months.

Re: the website itself -- the Mercator projection is an artifact of paper maps, and it greatly distorts features near the poles. Could we please use a true globe when rendering interactive maps?

Post reply on HN