Just found the forum, and from what I can see it’s great.
Let’s see if there are any more like me around here, or if I am the only land-based member. 
/Frans
Frans,
Welcome Aboard! I’m curious myself to find out how many non-mariners are following the site.
There are a few associations for ship spotters and ship lovers of different kinds, several sites on the net collecting pictures etc, but I have not been able to find any good international forums for these odd interests.
We might just have a place where both industry people as well as spotters can feel at home at!
/Frans
This thread in the new format made me feel so guilty, that I had to register. You flushed me out! Though I’m not a pro in this industry, I’ve played with sailboats my whole life, even some offshore passages…nothing quite so uncomfortable as 3 weeks hard on the wind from Hawaii to S.F on a 40 footer. I have a son at Cal Maritime (and jealous as hell of him), which is what got me interested in the maritime industry. I don’t remember exactly when I discovered gcaptain, but it was more than a year ago, maybe actually in gcaptain’s earliest days. So, there are a few of us mariner wannabes that get our daily fixes from gcaptain and its linked sites. This site’s informational content and quality are unsurpassed!
Thanks guys!
Frans - Any specifics on those associations? Perhaps we can reach out to spread the word a little more.
Nothing like flushing out lurkers!
Welcome Prairie Schooner - Hop on in, the more the merrier…Thanks for hopping in here to join us, and for being supportive of your son in his quest to go to sea.
Welcome aboard !!!
PS - It would be great to hear about some of your trips. If you’d like to, why don’t you give us a trip report on the Hawaii to San Fran trip first!
Once upon a time back in 1998, I was following a family coming across from Hawaii to the Bay Area via SSB with comm.'s problems…and they were having a rough go of it as well.
Tell us a story…
[quote=Mikey;7613]Thanks guys!
Frans - Any specifics on those associations? Perhaps we can reach out to spread the word a little more.[/quote]
A lot of the ship enthusiasts seem to be unorganised, living on homepages only, but one is the World Ship Society:
http://www.worldshipsociety.org/
Another on-line community is Shipspotting:
http://www.shipspotting.com
Dont forget about the lakers!
[quote=Frans;7673]A lot of the ship enthusiasts seem to be unorganised, living on homepages only, but one is the World Ship Society:
http://www.worldshipsociety.org/
Another on-line community is Shipspotting:
http://www.shipspotting.com[/quote]
Frans, have you found this site? http://www.shipsnostalgia.com