NavStation Tides is a commercial Windows Mobile program that covers about 3,000 locations. Others websites include Tidelines Online (see link), which shows a simple 5-day tide plot. The website attempts to reconfigure the data for your smartphone, but actually makes it harder to view. We found it better on our AT&T Tilt smartphone to select the "Desktop View" and use the scroll bars to view the table. It is not unusual when displaying websites on a smartphone browser that you will need to experiment with the various viewing parameters. As you gain experience browsing on your phone, you will learn what works best for you and your device.

Easy Tide (see link) offers free 7-day predictions worldwide. If you register on the site you can store your favorite ports, enter notes and view additional notices. For a nominal fee you can access sunrise/sunset data, lunar phases and other enhanced predictions. Though Easy Tide makes no accommodations for your mobile phone, it displays a rather nice tidal plot. You just need patience while scrolling to the proper place on the page.

Some weather sites also include tide predictions. For example, the Weather Channel (see link) site offers tide predictions as part of its Marine Forecast. To access scroll down to "Outdoors" then "Boat and Beach."

The website SailFlow (see link) offers tidal information in a different style, showing the tide direction and speed with arrows on a map. The arrows point in the direction of the current with the arrow color indicating the strength. You can display an animation of the predictions for the coming 24 hours. We have found this visual presentation useful when navigating up rivers and through bays, such as the Delaware Bay. In addition, the site allows you to view tide predictions in the more traditional tide plot.

SailFlow is a website that offers tide and current information graphically, with arrows and colors indicating direction and severity. SUNRISE, SUNSET

Another bit of useful information that is included with each of the programs and sites mentioned, with the exception of Tidelines Online, is sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset times. The phase of the moon affects the height of the tide, so most tide predictors, such as Tide Tool, cTide and SailFlow, display this information along with the tidal data. The Weather Channel provides it under their "Marine Forecast" section.

Knowing when the sun will rise and set can be helpful for even a simple day trip to ensure a safe, comfortable passage home. We consider it when making our way along the east coast, often planning to leave port at daybreak and choosing our next port so we arrive before dusk. This is especially important if we are traveling to an unfamiliar port.

The moon rise and set, as well as the phase of the moon, become important when planning for an overnight passage. We may choose to wait for better weather if we will be traveling mainly without moonlight, or alter our course to avoid a popular fishing ground. And nothing can help give you a second wind during a night shift than watching for the upcoming moonrise, or better yet, the sunrise.

Tides, currents and sun and moon data are the perfect collection of information for your smartphone. The simple tide plots and tabular lists tend to display well on the smaller screen. Having free, native applications that run directly on your Windows Mobile and Palm OS devices is convenient and provides fast access. The many different websites provide additional options while also ensuring tide and current predictions for iPhones, Blackberry and Symbian smartphones.