Surf's Up, Dude! Discovering Ocean Sports in Google Earth Ocean Layer

Saltwater recreation aficionados rejoice: there's a new feature in the Google Earth Ocean layer that allows you to surf the waves and take a dive under the sea, all from the comfort of your home computer.

In collaboration with websites Wannadive.net, Wannasurf.com, and Wannakitesurf.com, Google Earth now features in-depth information on top locations for ocean sports around the globe.

Inside the Curl

I began my sea sports adventure by selecting Layers > Primary Database > Ocean > Ocean Sports. Double-clicking Ocean Sports flew me just off the southeastern coastline of the French Polynesian island of Tahiti.

I also noticed three sub-layers in the Ocean Sports layer: Surf Sports, Dive Sports, and Kite Surfing. These sub-layers can be enabled or disabled; for example, if users want to display only kite surfing ocean sports.

There I was, in the mist of the pounding surf. After clicking the square blue and white Teahupoo wave icon, the Wannasurf! popup displayed with some background information on Teahupoo. The reef-coral Teahupoo surfing spot was given a five-star rating with 620 votes. The level is pros or kamikaze-only with a left direction. Whoa, dude!

The popup also contained clickable options to go to the Wannasurf! website to view comments, pictures, and surfers who have braved Teahupoo's unholy waves. The Surf Sessions and Surf Trips options displayed detailed information about the Teahupoo surf spot including surf quality, wave quality, and access to the spot.

Taking a Dive Under the Sea

After exploring the bodacious kamikaze waves of Teahupoo, I wanted to check out some of the world's most amazing dive spots. I went back to the Layers panel in Google Earth and double-clicked the Dive Sports sub-layer.

Google Earth flew me back across the world to familiar territory: just off the southern tip of the Sunshine State, Florida, USA.

Just south of Big Pine Key lay a small red box with a diagonal line through it that read, "Looe Key Reef HMS Looe" when the mouse cursor was placed over it. Double-clicking the box dove me under the sea right next to the site of the HMS Looe, a 44-gun British frigate sunk in 1744.

Clicking the Looe Key Reef HMS Looe icon displayed the Wannadive.net popup. This dive had a five-star rating with a level of "All Divers." Dive depth was 30 meters (98.4 feet).

Clicking Looe Key Reef HMS Looe at the top of the popup displayed the Looe Key Reef & HMS Looe page on Wannadive's website. There I read information on the HMS Looe wreck, viewed pictures from the dive, and even tinkered with an interactive map of the dive site. Other information included dive site characteristics, access to the dive site, and user comments.

For a fun and wild adventure at sea, grab your surfboard and your diving gear and hit the waves from the comfort of your home using the new Google Earth Ocean Sports layer.