Tips & Tricks for Using US Harbors
Q: The data doesn’t look right: I’m seeing weird things. What are some things I can try?
A: Since we are frequently updating our website you might sometimes see something a bit ‘wonky’. Usually it is very temporary, however most modern browsers ‘cache’ (e.g. save) what you were seeing last time the next time you come to the site. This means something might have changed but the browser hasn’t gone to get the new information. You can make it do that by ‘clearing your cache’. Here are the steps:
Clearing Cache on Different Browsers:
- CHROME — Go to the top menu on your screen, and hover over the word Chrome to show the submenu. On this menu click “Clear Browsing Data”. A screen will pop up and you’ll want to select to clear “Cached images and files”. Then click the “Clear Data” button. I always close the browser and reopen it to make sure things are gone. Then go back to where you were having the problem and see if it is now working.
- SAFARI – Go to the top menu on your screen and hover over the word Safari to show the submenu. Select “Preference” on this menu. On the screen that pops up select “Privacy”. On that screen is a button that says “Manage Data”. Please click this button, find US Harbors in the list that is then displayed, select it, and click “Remove”. I then close Safari for a minute, reopen it, and go to the location in Portland that was causing you the issue.
- iPHONE – Go to the iPhone “Settings” app. Scroll down that window until you see “Safari”. Click to open the Safari preferences. Scroll to the bottom of that window until you see a link that says “Clear History and Website Data”. Click this link. This should clear up the issues on Safari. Here’s a short video with the instructions on how to clear the cache on your iPhone.
Q: I’m using the “Find a Harbor” box but it isn’t showing me the full list of harbors?
A: That box is not intended to show a list of all the harbors, it is a way for you to begin typing the harbor you are searching for, and then it will show that match what you are typing. You can either type the full name of the harbor or select it when you see it in the list. (Ex: Type “Rock” and it will show you Rock Hall, Rock Harbor, etc.) Showing all the harbors in the box would slow down the site and be unfair to those people who’s favorite harbors begin with the letter Z: it would make it next to impossible for them to navigate to their harbor!
However if you want to see a full list of harbors in your state or region, just go to that state or region’s main page and you can see a map with a full droplist of all the harbors it includes above it (Example: Florida)
Q: Where are the tides for my harbor?
A: Once you are on a harbor you want, just click on the “Tides” button under the summary conditions for that harbor. At the top of the tides pages we now have an at-a-glance Tide graph, but we also have the tide charts you know and love further down the page. There is a link to them just below the tide graph to make it even speedier to get to. We are no longer showing the past days in the month you are currently in so you don’t have to scroll all the way down the page anymore when it’s the end of the month. On phones you will need to swipe to see the full chart. It’s easy once you try it! You can also still find the link to print your charts at the top of the chart.
By the way, if you register to become a user on the site you can save your favorite harbor as your default harbor. After that, every time you login you’ll automatically see that harbor. If you stay logged in, and move around to look at other harbors, you can always click “My Harbor” in the top header and go right back to it. ALSO: When you have this set up we will land you on the aspect of your harbor that is most important to you whether its tides, weather, events, maps & charts, or our harbor guide.
Q: How do I get US Harbors (and my harbor) on my phone?
A: It just takes a few simple steps to create an ‘app’-like experience of US Harbors on your phone:
- Click this link from your phone: usharbors.com
- If you want to always go to a specific location on US Harbors (such as the tide or weather pages for your harbor) you will need to go there before taking the next step.
- When you see the page you like, do the following:
- iPhone– Click the ‘share’ button in the middle of the bottom menu bar (the box with the arrow pointing up). Click the gray button “Add to Home Screen”. The US Harbors icon will now be on your phone, along with your other apps.
- Android— Tap on the Three Dots ‘Menu’ button in the top right and click ‘Add to Home Screen’. It’s as easy as that.
- About offline access:When you’re out to sea, with limited or no cellular reception, we recommend saving the tide chart pages to your device. You can also save articles and harbor guides for reading when your anchor is dropped. For safety reasons, keep your weather alerts as up to date as possible!
Q: I have blocked US Harbors from using my location, how do I unblock it?
A: The ability to allow or block location info is managed through your internet browser. The two most common are Safari and Chrome, so here are the methods for each:
- CHROME — Go to chrome://settings/content/location (Settings>Advanced>Privacy and Security and scroll down to Location) you can remove US Harbors from the list of blocked sites.
- SAFARI — When you are on usharbors.com, go to Safari>Preferences>Websites>Location and change the setting for US Harbors to Allow.
Different versions of these browser, and other browser like Internet Explorer and Opera, may have different paths to get to those specific setting.
Q: I’m STILL having problems!
A: Please contact us and we’ll do our best to fix things for you. We always appreciate your feedback!