RipCat Blog

Useful tide, buoy, and marine weather notes for people who check the water for real reasons.

Marine forecast basics · Not for navigation

What a Small Craft Advisory actually means.

A plain-English guide to NWS Small Craft Advisories: what the headline is flagging, why timing and zone details matter, and how to read it with tides and buoys.

Tide basics · Not for navigation

How tide predictions work — and why they are not guarantees.

A plain-English guide to NOAA tide predictions, what they measure, why real water can drift from the table, and how to use the curve without over-trusting it.