WaterplayUSA has launched, inexplicably in the middle of November, an online directory of water sports and water-related activities in the US. Of course if you’re in California or Florida maybe you can make use of this directory right now, but I’ll have to wait until next June. The directory’s available at http://waterplayusa.com/.

The site consists of a map (amazingly not a Google map!) and a left nav that allows you to select different types of water activities — sports, scuba charters, fishing charters, boat tours, rentals, and sailing schools. Pick an activity and the map will update states with an icon; clicking that icon will give you a count of how many places in that state have the activity you chose. You’ll have to zoom in closer to see more icons. KEEP zooming in and the icons will vanish, replaced by a list of businesses below the map. This is a bit confusing!

The business list contains data including name, address, and phone number. I didn’t see a space for Web site listings, strangely enough.

There’s a lot of data on the list but the way the map works it took me a little time to get used to it. Maybe I’ll be ready to make the most of it when it’s warm again… say in five or six months…