Can a modern sailor manage without electronics? Sure. But since he still has a phone in his pocket, nothing prevents him from making his life easier and taking advantage of the benefits of technology. Below we present some of the most interesting applications for sailors. Which ones are worth downloading? Which are the easiest to use and the most useful? We will try to find answers to these questions.
However, since smooth sailing involves many issues, we have divided our subjective list into several parts:
- weather,
- navigation and mooring,
- anchor.
The best weather apps
Some of the most popular and reliable weather forecasting apps include:
Elevators
- It's free.
- It takes into account various components - wind, storm winds, waves, precipitation, etc.
- You can select the weather forecast model (ICON, NEMS, ECMWF, GFS).
force
- It is free, precise and very easy to use.
- Provides current weather anywhere in the world, meteograms, warnings.
- Information about the wind and its gusts.
- Possibility to set notifications about upcoming rain.
- The disadvantage of this application are pop-up ads on the whole screen, which can be annoying.
Wind and Waves - Wisuki
- It comes in 2 versions: free (may block some functions) and paid.
- A proven application for monitoring weather, wind, waves, tides.
- It clearly shows the current and forecasted conditions.
- Includes a search engine for nearby points of interest based on weather conditions.
Meteo ICM
- It's free.
- It is very simple (even older phones can handle it).
- It provides a numerical forecast developed by ICM UW (Interdisciplinary Center for Mathematical and Computational Modeling of the University of Warsaw).
- It is not really "marine" - it only applies to Poland and the Polish coast.
Navigating - the best apps
Navionics
- It is payable.
- Proven, popular, liked by sailors.
- It contains extensive sea maps with information about reefs, depths, but also infrastructure such as lighthouses or ports.
- It can be enriched with a weather package extended with data on sea currents.
- It allows you to plan your route by setting markers on the map, which is very convenient.
- It monitors the speed and distance traveled and estimates the time of arrival at the destination.
MySea
- It's free and very precise.
- Perfect for the Mediterranean, especially Croatia and Greece, but also Turkey.
- Provides information on prices and local attractions, including reviews from other users (you can add your own reviews and places).
- It contains information about all ports, marinas, buoys, piers and anchorages, as well as other facilities: shops, petrol stations, slipways, cranes, hospitals, beaches, etc.
- It allows you to easily find a berth, as well as book and pay for it online with a credit card.
Tides Planner - Imray
- Free application, available for IOS (Apple)
- Tracks routes, distances, goals, speeds.
- No Internet access required.
- Includes precise tide charts.
Portuj.pl
- Free and very simple.
- Intuitive operation with the ability to add your own experiences.
- Information about ports, prices, facilities, approaches, etc.
- Easy contact with port bosuns.
- Possibility to plan the route of the cruise taking into account the costs.
- It works only in Poland (on the Baltic coast and inland).
Anchoring
There is only one king here - Anchor Watch:
- Monitors the current GPS position.
- It has sound and SMS alarm.
- You can specify a radius you don't want to leave (taking into account e.g. other units, rocks, etc.)
