I use this tool pretty frequently to plan out training distances and the like. It allows you to measure out distances in bodies of water using Google Maps. I thought I would share.
Consider this my Christmas present to the Forum.
FYI the Google Maps Labs distance calculator is not available in the new version of Google Maps (which I think has been pushed to some, but not all users). For the time being there is an option to revert to "Classic Google Maps" if you need the distance measurement.
Personally I think Google Earth is the best overall option, and for browser-use only I use the "Plan Courses" app in Garmin Connect, which presumably is similar to MapMyRun.
FYI also, while this is not a problem for the US I guess, Google Maps hi-resolution, and as many other Europeans will know, is non-existent for huge swathes of coastal Ireland. (Ironic, at least to me, given how Google employees there are here and how much tax Google avoid paying). I haven't seen a Google resolution update of the south Irish coast in maybe 5 or 6 years and the west end of the Copper Coast and much of the local Waterford & Cork coast is still just a blur.
If you are looking for high resolution of the entire island of Ireland, then believe it or not, bing.com/maps/ is complete, though it has no standalone app, and no measurement tool. The OSI maps of Ireland are also good, but the interface is antiquated.
FYI also, while this is not a problem for the US I guess, Google Maps hi-resolution, and as many other Europeans will know, is non-existent for huge swathes of coastal Ireland. (Ironic, at least to me, given how Google employees there are here and how much tax Google avoid paying). I haven't seen a Google resolution update of the south Irish coast in maybe 5 or 6 years and the west end of the Copper Coast and much of the local Waterford & Cork coast is still just a blur.
If you are looking for high resolution of the entire island of Ireland, then believe it or not, bing.com/maps/ is complete, though it has no standalone app, and no measurement tool. The OSI maps of Ireland are also good, but the interface is antiquated.
There is actually a built in distance calculator app in Bing, it's just unnecessarily hard to find (you may have to wait a few seconds for the app to load after clicking the link).
It can also be accessed from the list of Bing Map Apps
Alternately in any map if you close the default left hand panel (normally directions or list of locations) you should get a panel that has an "EXPLORE MAP APPS see all" link at the bottom, this will take you to the list of map apps and from there you can select the Distance Calculator.
To use just drag the flag from the left panel to map, dragging additional flags adds extra waypoints.
This makes use of Google Maps. I've been relying it for at least three years - initially just to measure my running and walking routes, but regularly this year to double check swim distances when I don't trust my Garmin 910 (e.g. cold water swims where I don't stray too far from the starting point. More turns and fewer long straightish stretches means less accuracy from the GPS).
I haven't had enough of a chance to play with the other sites mentioned above to give a feature by feature comparison, but I think it matches up favorably in terms of ease-of-use. Then again, as I said, I've been using it frequently for some time, so I would expect to be comfortable with it.
OK, @wendyv34, I'm gonna regret this because it'll be obvious and I'll look like a dork. But how do you measure distance there? I found under Tools "Trip planner" and I set a start point and an end point. But what then? I can't seem to find a way to tell it that's my whole trip.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Google Search accepts arbitrary units too, so if you were, say, wondering how long it would take you to swim the distance of the English Channel at a 1:40 per 100m pace, you could search:
"1 minute 40 seconds per 100m in hours per 18.1 nautical miles"
Comments
-LBJ
“Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde
-Sumner
Personally I think Google Earth is the best overall option, and for browser-use only I use the "Plan Courses" app in Garmin Connect, which presumably is similar to MapMyRun.
If you are looking for high resolution of the entire island of Ireland, then believe it or not, bing.com/maps/ is complete, though it has no standalone app, and no measurement tool. The OSI maps of Ireland are also good, but the interface is antiquated.
loneswimmer.com
There is actually a built in distance calculator app in Bing, it's just unnecessarily hard to find (you may have to wait a few seconds for the app to load after clicking the link).
It can also be accessed from the list of Bing Map Apps
Alternately in any map if you close the default left hand panel (normally directions or list of locations) you should get a panel that has an "EXPLORE MAP APPS see all" link at the bottom, this will take you to the list of map apps and from there you can select the Distance Calculator.
To use just drag the flag from the left panel to map, dragging additional flags adds extra waypoints.
http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer
http://milermeter.com/
This makes use of Google Maps. I've been relying it for at least three years - initially just to measure my running and walking routes, but regularly this year to double check swim distances when I don't trust my Garmin 910 (e.g. cold water swims where I don't stray too far from the starting point. More turns and fewer long straightish stretches means less accuracy from the GPS).
I haven't had enough of a chance to play with the other sites mentioned above to give a feature by feature comparison, but I think it matches up favorably in terms of ease-of-use. Then again, as I said, I've been using it frequently for some time, so I would expect to be comfortable with it.
loneswimmer.com
http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer
http://map.openseamap.org
It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
According to Google Earth, you lose about 1/2 mile for 3.8. I.E. 3.8 miles = 3.3Nautical Miles.
https://www.google.com/search?q=10+nautical+miles+in+yards
convert 10 nautical miles to ...
loneswimmer.com
"1 minute 40 seconds per 100m in hours per 18.1 nautical miles"
Result: 9.31 hours
https://www.google.com/search?q=1+minute+40+seconds+per+100m+in+hours+per+18.1+nautical+miles
I asked Google how long it would take me to swim the English Channel and it said "At the rate you're going, the rest of your life!"