beach vacation | At Home with Tech

July 27, 2025

How to Check the Ocean Temperature on your Phone Before You Hit the Beach

My wife and I decided to take a quick dip at our town beach last week after work. It’s not something we typically do, even though we live just a short drive from the Connecticut shore. We enjoyed our 90-minute vacation so much, we repeated this refreshing early-evening experience over the next two days (and hoped to do it more in the upcoming weeks).

As much as we enjoyed our pre-dinner excursion, we were surprised that the ocean temperature varied from day to day. The water felt warm on day one. The second afternoon’s ocean temperature was colder. And day three’s surf seemed downright icy.

I suspected the differing air temperature and humidity between the days affected our experience, but I didn’t think the ocean could get noticeably colder that quickly.

I decided to fact check my opinion and find a way to confirm the actual water temperature by my beach on those particular days.

NOAA Data Buoys
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration maintains numerous data buoys off the coastline. These NOAA buoys track the weather including ocean conditions.

So, I went to the NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center website and identified the closest ocean data buoy to our beach. I found a nearby buoy in Bridgeport, CT and took a look at its historical data.

And in fact, there was a variance of five degrees in the sea water temperature across those three days. (between 70-75.5° Fahrenheit).

Wind Direction Affects Ocean Temperature
This was a surprise, as I’ve always thought the water by our Connecticut beach remained a steady temperature that simply inched up over the summer. And as such, it was a non-factor on which days were the better beach days.

So, I did a little Googling on this topic and realized that the wind plays a huge role in determining how your beach’s water feels from day to day.

I discovered that wind blowing towards a beach will keep the ocean warmer. That’s because the surface water that’s been warmed by the sun gets pushed towards the beach. The opposite is true for offshore winds which will suck the top ocean layer away and make your beach’s waves colder.

Wow.

So, in fact, if you want to go for a swim at the beach and hope for warmer water, some days are actually better for that than others.

I immediately started to think about my iPhone and how nice it would be to easily check out the ocean temperature on my phone before I jump in next time.

Is there an app for that? Well, of course there is…

Mobile Apps that Display NOAA Data Buoy Info
There are a variety of mobile apps that collect and present the data from the NOAA’s data buoys. You just tap in your buoy’s number, and the water temperature pops up along with the weather conditions. (Some apps automatically use your location to find the nearest buoy.) Either way, it’s easy.

Here are the apps that I tested on my iPhone:

Buoycast: NOAA Marine Weather
Marine Weather Forecast Pro
NOAA Buoy Reports

I’m more partial to the design interface of Buoycast, but they all provide the same data.

All three apps are free, though they offer premium features (such as historical data) for a price. But if you just need to know the real-time water temperature, the free versions are all you need.

Don’t Forget to Check your Data Buoy Before Grabbing your Swimsuit and Towel
I used to think a warm, sunny day is all that determined a good beach day. But if you’re looking to swim, warmer water is always nice. And the right wind conditions can heat it up for you.

With an app on your phone that tracks the nearest NOAA data buoy, you can now quickly check the water temperature before deciding to head out to the beach.

Real-time data means no more chilly surprises!

July 10, 2022

How to Spot Natural Charm while Snapping Vacation Photos in Maine

This watchful guard appeared on the stairs while we were on line to buy dinner at Langsford Road Lobster and Fish House in Cape Porpoise. I was pleased to capture this little moment, and here are some others I spotted during our week in Maine.

Beyond the lobster rolls, rocky shoreline and beautiful sunrises, vacationing on the coast of Maine can be a wonderfully calming experience. It’s not so much about what you do, it’s more about how your day unfolds and experiencing what’s right in front of you. That’s the charm.

We recently spent a summer week in and around Kennebunkport and Cape Porpoise. (On one day, we traveled up to Portland.)

Of course, I practiced my photography on this environment and brought a camera everywhere I went. Some shots I intentionally looked for. Others presented themselves quite unexpectedly. It’s in these natural moments where the best opportunity to capture ‘the charm’ lies.

Last week, I shared my week-long exercise capturing sunrise timelapses. Now, here are my photos from our trip!

Maine’s Wonderful Character

An elevated house by the water

Repairing a boat outside Langsford Road Lobster and Fish House

Afternoon fishing from a dock

The Mudflats at Cape Porpoise

A grounded boat at low tide on the edge of the flats

Walking on the flats in the afternoon

Pile mooring at low tide

Goat Island Lighthouse

The distant lighthouse at dawn

Its high-tech Marine LED Beacon

The view from the lighthouse

The Beaches

People enjoying Maine beach time

Three silhouettes in the ocean water

A seagull flies by.

Floral colors

I spotted batches of daisies in so many fields.

An industrious caterpillar photo-bombed my flower shot.

This yellow flower seemed to greet the sunrise.

Portland Head Light at Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth

This is the iconic lighthouse shot.

During our walk in the park, I accidentally came upon this photo shoot for a clothing brand.

Sunrise on the Mudflats

The clouds glowed purple in the magic minutes before the sun took over.

This is ten minutes later.

I’m taking it all in. (Thanks to my friend Rick for capturing my moment.)

September 3, 2017

I Taught My Son to Fish

As a parent, there are moments you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Some are big. Others are small. But you know when they’re happening…

This is not a story I should really brag about. But I’m a city boy who grew up on the gritty streets of New York City in the 70’s.
(Okay… it was on the upper east side of Manhattan… it wasn’t that bad.)

My grandfather was a big fisherman. I remember a time when I was around seven or eight sitting in the back seat of my uncle’s station wagon as he drove me, my dad and grandfather to some secret fishing spot on Long Island. It was early in the morning. I don’t remember the fishing so much, but I remember the driving. And the cigar stump my uncle clenched in his mouth as he drove.

But I know we fished. Well, they fished. I can vaguely visualize having a pole in my hand, but I wasn’t the one who pulled in the big one that day. I would have remembered that.

As a younger adult, I went on a few afternoon fishing cruises in New England as an anonymous member of a touristy crowd. I recall not catching a lot of fish and getting a little sea sick.

Prepping Your Gear
I share all of this as background to suggest I was not especially well prepared to introduce my seven-year-old son to the sport of fishing on our recent beach vacation to Peconic on Long Island.

We’ve been going to Peconic for years, and the idea of fishing naturally evolved after several years of exploring the local marine life with little ‘kid-friendly’ nets near the inlet where we stayed.

It was simply time to try some fishing with a rod.

So, I went to DICK’S Sporting Goods to pick up a couple of inexpensive fishing rods with reels. I have to give a huge shout out to Dick’s, because an especially knowledgeable salesman helped me pick out what I needed and even showed me how to tie a hook and bobber to both fishing lines.
(Okay… he did it all for me.)

Beginner’s Luck?
I walked out of DICK’s Sporting Goods ready to fish.

But I wasn’t really prepared.

The good news is there was a local bait shop in Mattituck near where we were staying. That place was my home base/repair station to keep me going. Because fishing with kids isn’t easy.
(Yes, that’s plural… more on that soon.)

On our second beach day, I pulled out the two poles from the back of
my Toyota RAV4 and handed one to my boy. He was beaming with excitement.

We walked down to the shoreline, and I put a little frozen shiner from the bait shop on my son’s hook. It took a couple of tries for my son to get the casting thing going, but within a few minutes, he had his line successfully in the water, about thirty feet out.

And then the magic happened. He caught a fish! It was a little snapper. He pulled it in and couldn’t believe his accomplishment.

I got the snapper off of the hook without harpooning a finger and plopped the fish in our bucket of water. I wanted to call out to my wife to start to pack up.
Because I felt it couldn’t get any better than this.

I knew that sooner or later, my general lack of fishing skills would be tested.
And believe me, they were…

But the good news is over the next few days… I learned a lot about fishing.

A Few Fishing Tips for Parents
If you’re a fishing newbie like me, I’ve got a few pointers to share.
(The rest of you are welcome to stay if these obvious revelations somehow amuse you.)

First off, you’re not going to do much fishing of your own.
Between untangling my son’s line and putting more bait on his hook, I could barely get my own line in the water.
(Next year, he’ll bait his own hook!)
Bring an extra fishing rod and reel. Maybe two.
Your line is going to get completely tangled sooner than later, and even if you can cut and quickly tie everything back together, you’re still probably not going to have enough time to keep up with the kids.
So, I keep saying ‘kids’ in the plural. That’s because I felt like a pop-up kiddie camp out there.
Children ran up and wanted to watch. Then, they asked to try it out. This is another reason why I didn’t get a lot of fishing in. And why your line is going to get hopelessly tangled, and yes… another reason why you should bring a spare rod or two.

The upside is we pulled in over a dozen snappers. And my son’s delight continued to grow.
He’s hooked.

Living off of the Land
And what did we do with all of the snappers we caught?

We brought them home and cooked them up!
(Pan fried them with flour and olive oil.)

No, I wouldn’t say they were especially filling. The fish were all pretty small. But the meat was tasty. Think of them more like an hor d’oeuvre.

But the experience of catching and then eating your own food for dinner was transformative.
It felt so natural. So… independent. So… empowering.

Eventually, we even used little minnows we caught as bait.
Yes, we became entirely self-sufficient in our ‘food-acquisition process.’

Which is a terrible way to say we fished for our dinner.

At Home with Fishing?
I know fishing is a skill which is hardly rare, even in today’s technology-infused culture.
But for a city boy from the 70’s and a nerd who prides himself for being at home with tech… (usually)
…it’s a significant step.

And I think my grandfather would be proud.

More importantly, I taught my son to fish.

#ProudParent

Tag: beach vacation

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