Links

Online Companies I Find Useful

Note:  I have affiliate relationships with many of these, which means that I earn a small commission on items purchased through these links — although there is no added cost to you.  However, I only post links here to companies I actually buy from (and bought from long before I was an affiliate). . . so yes, I think they offer good products at good prices! I truly appreciate anyone who buys through these links or the ones in articles, as it all helps support this site.

Amazon — I buy lots here, and there’s free shipping on most orders over $25.  When we were cruising and would make a trip back to the US, I’d buy everything I could from Amazon, have it sent to whatever relative’s house we’d be at, and not have to worry about going from store to store in a strange city. There are Amazon sites in several countries outside the US as well:

• Amazon – United States
• Amazon – Canada
• Amazon – United Kingdom
• Amazon – Australia:  Amazon doesn’t have a separate site for Australia, but you can use the Amazon US site, and the shipping rates and times to Australia aren’t bad for many items (see chart). I don’t have experience with shipping to Australia, but I’ve heard from several friends that it works pretty well.

There are also Amazon sites for Germany, France, Italy, Japan, China and Spain.

NOTE:  If you want to be an Amazon affiliate but can’t do so directly in your state, look at Skimlinks — it’s a great program and what I use on this site (signing up through this link does generate a referral fee for me).

Boat Name Gear — all sorts of stuff with, you guessed it, your boat’s name.  Connected to Daily Boater, which publishes an article of mine each Monday.

West Marine — They now offer price matching with other online stores, and also the discounts below (the links will take you to their home page, but be sure to write down the codes as they aren’t automatically entered for you).  I particularly like WM when I’m not 100% sure about what I want or sizing — they have much better return policies than many other companies and their sales reps generally can answer my questions . . . correctly!

• Take $5 OFF orders $50. Use coupon code: AFF5
• 10% off orders $100; use code AFFWEST

RoadID — ID for anyone who is active. Actually, it’s great ID for anyone period, as it includes access to a complete medical history.  Read my article on Road ID.

Practical Sailor — “consumer reports” for those who live on the water.  Gear testing and detailed reports and comparisons.  Subscribe and/or purchase downloadable reports on specific topics, including used boats, bottom paint, ground tackle and so much more!  Used their reviews extensively when we were cruising and needed something new.

Best Buy — yep, where I’ve bought most of my computer equipment over the years, as well as odd things like the patch cable needed to connect my laptop to the Pactor modem.

Campmor — I’ve bought camping equipment from them for 15+ years, and some of it made its way onto Que Tal, too.  They have good prices on things like dry bags and travel towels, as well as small, lightweight “kitchen” items.

eBay — I don’t buy a lot on eBay, primarily things that have been discontinued at other stores — seems the remainder may go to eBay.  Occasionally I find parts for repair, too.

REI — I buy some clothes and shoes here — prices are higher than some of the discount places, but sometimes they’re the only one who has what I want when I want it.  Good customer service, too.

Sierra Trading Post — I buy discount shorts & sandals here.

More Galley Recipes

GalleySwap.com — share recipes with other cruisers and see their favorites!

Places We’ve Been

These are web sites for various places we’ve cruised and enjoyed.  As with all cruising grounds, things may have changed since we were there!

Hidden Port Yacht Club — Puerto Escondido, Baja California Sur.  We spent quite a bit of time in Puerto Escondido and the surrounding area while in the Sea of Cortez.  It’s gorgeous and has fantastic snorkeling and diving in the summer.  Puerto Escondido is also a great hurricane hole, where we rode out Hurricane Marty.

Club Cruceros de La Paz — this is the cruiser’s club of La Paz, Baja California Sur.  Very helpful website with links to all sorts of good information and resources for cruising the Sea of Cortez, and the members of Club Cruceros are also extremely helpful.