sailhost.org

I'm a sailor. Or at least a wannabe sailor.

Just a few years ago, I'd never thought about it, now I can't stop dreaming about sailing.

The name of my company, One Shore, besides being a play on "On Shore/Off Shore" is inspired by sailing; the idea that from the ocean, all land is merely a boundary to the single connected oceans.

Just yesterday, while corresponding with an acquaintance who had a website about his sailing dreams, I had what I thought was a brilliant idea -- why not build a website about sailing?

In my personal blog, I occasionally mention my sailing dream, but it's not very exciting reading. But there are several *real* sailors whose websites I enjoy reading, and I'm sure there are others I'd enjoy reading if I knew more about them.

My first thought was a portal linking to sailing blogs and websites. My second thought was an easy way for sailors to host their own blogs and websites. Many sailors write travel blogs and post galleries of their photos. Some of the more technically inclined ones integrate maps tracking their progress around the world.

In my own travels, I remember the frustration of posting pictures and linking to them on my blog from cybercafes around the world, particularly resizing photos and organizing them. Even checking my email could be challenging. And I like to think I'm fairly technical.

There are a lot of new technologies that make that
easier, but not all sailors are up with the latest technology. And tools like sailmail still use slow connections over HAM radio. Broadband hasn't quite yet permeated the high seas. I'd like to help with that, and help allviate the difficulty with dealing with that.

So I'm announcing a new website for sailors, so they can host they're own blogs and sites easier. It will start out as simply free hosting for sailors. I'll help register domains, set up hosting, and install blog & photo album software. I'll work on other cool features like chart track following, and maybe introduce a social network aspect, or classified ads.

I'll initially target cruisers, but will be happy to provide hosting for local clubs and teams. Maybe someone who knows more about racing can help get stuff up for that. A club without a local tech wizard could have racing forms & stats, memberships, bulletins, etc.

I'm also looking for developers who might be interested in working on the site:

sailhost.org