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Rupert's Thoughts

Other apps

Favorite Sailing Apps 
 

Part 3 of a 3 part series

Posted December 2025



Having already covered 1: Weather Apps and 2: Navigation Apps – I’m going to run through the other Apps that I use to plan and execute my sailing deliveries.

As with the other Apps I’ve covered – there are plenty to choose from, and more often than not – they will all use the same source data.

These are the guide lines that I use to decide what Apps I rely on:
  • Must be straight forward to use and preferably a ‘single use’ App. I saw this year that refrigerators you buy today can talk to you, build a shopping list and provide recipes!! I just want the fridge to chill food and drink….that’s all! You get the drift
  • Credible data source
  • Free (outside of ‘Weather’ and ‘Navigation’ – I believe all the other data is available free of charge)
  • Global Reach….if possible


Tides:
As a Hydrographic Surveyor – this is pretty important to me! Tidal prediction is a purely mathematical process, and therefore perfectly suited to computers. If you pull up a graph of ‘real tidal height experienced’ it is not a sine wave – but distorted by many real-world factors.  Simple, cheap (free!) App-based predictions may only use 10 or 11 of the hundreds of mathematical constituents available – resulting in a simple sine wave prediction. NOAA generally uses 37 mathematical constituents.
  • Here’s the important bit: Its just a prediction and the tide you experience can vary from predicted greatly because of
 
  • atmospheric pressure
  • wind direction
  • local coastline shape
  • seafloor depth
  • and river runoff.

Unless you have access to the real height of tide as you approach a shallow area, be aware that the predicted depth can be in error by as much as three feet!

I have been using ‘Tides Near Me’ for years now as it conforms to the guide lines set out above. Simple. Free. Credible. Global (ish).
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Anchoring:
Most Chart Plotters have an anchoring function with an alarm. Set it up when you anchor! However, if you want to retire to your cabin and catch some sleep – it’s worth setting one up on your phone too so you can have it right by your ear!

I use ‘Anchor Pro’ – for all the same reasons as usual. It’s excellent – and VERY loud when it goes off!

Tip: When in bed at anchor….I also run ‘Navionics’ on my phone – with positions recording to show me where the boat has been while at anchor. By watching this too – you’ll quickly see 1) if the anchor is dragging even before the alarm sounds 2) if the wind/tidal stream has changed since you went to bed.

Hurricane Prediction:
Most weather Apps will show you any hurricanes or storms around….but for simplicity (and total credibility) I generally use ‘Hurricane Tracker’. Its put together by NOAA and gives you a quick way to access hurricane predictions, with fascinating articles written to explain their likely development.

AIS
Pretty much every Chart Plotter has AIS now which you should use for general awareness at sea and as a tool in your bag to contribute to your decision making process for collision prevention.

Occasionally though, I have need to pull up the whereabouts of a vessel (if its AIS equipped). The free version of ‘Marine Traffic’ only gives you slightly old data….and it therefore not at all useful in a live situation for collision prevention, but it is useful for hunting down a vessel with its search function. Clearly, the paid-up version of the App would be useful for real time use….but I haven’t ever gone down that route.

Garmin

“What weather Apps do you use to support your sailing?”


Part 2 of a 3 part series
Posted November 2025

I covered ‘Weather’ Apps in my last post. I was intending to do all the rest in this post, but when writing it quickly realized that the Navigation App is worth dwelling on, so this post is just for Navigation Apps and why I have chosen the one that I have.

If you Google ‘best sailboat navigation App’ you will find many articles covering all the other Apps.

I appreciate that this topic is one of the old chestnuts of sailor’s discussions and many will argue for other platforms. That’s fine – I keep watching the competition too and present my thoughts below!

Navigation Apps:
There are now plenty to choose from but from my 20yr professional background driving warships in the Royal Navy and as a Hydrographic Surveyor I look for:
  • Credible source data,
  • Appearance that matches the printed nautical chart,
  • Update availability,
  • Regional chart area procurement,
  • Global reach
  • Logical user interface with sufficient functionality ie; routes/route storage, chart notes, tides, currents, ephemeral data, send/receive routes from others etc
  • Active Captain – crowd-sourced data. Useful, but dangerous as its unverified by an accredited Hydrographic Office. A post like “this marina no longer sells diesel” is one thing, but “I saw 9’ of water here last week although only 4’ is charted” is obviously very risky!

So, putting all these considerations together, I use Navionics. As Garmin have recently bought it, the annul charges have spiraled and many sailors online are jumping ship to other platforms. I sympathize – but have not yet had time to sit down for an afternoon and really analyze and judge the rising competition against the considerations above. At present, I understand that Navionics is still the most popular nav’ App globally.

Aqua-Maps – is certainly a platform I will shortly study as it displays more hydrographic source data through a contoured presentation that users find more appealing in the ICW and shallow waterways of the East coast USA. This appears to be a unique feature of this App.

My final (3rd) post on Apps will cover ‘All the rest’…anchoring, hurricane tracking, tides, AIS etc
Wx apps (1)

“What weather Apps do you use to support your sailing?”


Part 1 of a 3 part series
Posted October 2025

A lot of people as me “What weather Apps do you use to support your sailing?”
It’s a good question, and I definitely have favored Apps which I’ll quickly run through here.
It important to remember though that:
  • most Apps use the same source information. When people talk about an App “…not reliable in weather forecasting…” (for instance), it’s not the Apps fault….it’s the source data, and the same errors would have been seen across all Apps using that same source data.
  • Additionally, once you are used to a particular Apps software user interface, you would state (naturally!) that you prefer that App…as it’s the one you are able to use without fuss.
Weather Forecasting: Without a doubt I prefer Windy to other Apps. It has a choice of 6 data sources.  I use ECMWF (European) data on advice from two very experienced professional meteorologists. The free version is amazing and the ‘Pro’ level ($20/yr?) adds a little more that occasionally comes in handy. It has continued to develop over the years into a broad GIS platform that can take you down many fascinating data rabbit holes but….the most important thing it does for me is excellent route planning: On phone or laptop you can plan a route quickly, set how fast you will be going, and it shows you the weather along the route. I always use it for voyage planning and then constantly while at sea (assuming internet access at sea) to re-evaluate the route.

In addition to Windy…I also use the free ‘Marine  Forecast’ App which gives you the verbatim NOAA forecasts by area. Very easy to use.

I also use a local TV stations weather tool ‘5 First Alert’ for land-based weather and accurate wind direction changes (think: ‘when is the front coming through’)

Drop me a line if you have any questions about these…or any other Apps.
I’ll cover other Apps that I use in a follow-up post shortly!
  • Navigation
  • Tides & Currents
  • Anchoring
  • Hurricane tracking
  • Automated Route Planning (sailing advice to allow for winds & conditions)
  • AIS Marine Traffic
  • Marina Berth reservations
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Do you use the Cape Index?


Posted August 2025
We have so many tools to assist us nowadays as we sail offshore and make decisions every 15mins or so - on every voyage!

Despite spending my life at sea, I’m not much of a meteorologist and rely on those more skilled for the deep insights (thank you Glenn Chave & Chris Newman!) but… instinctively we sailors all know that it gets hot, humid and aggressively stormy off Florida/Bhs/tropics.

In the summer especially - we are always looking over our shoulder for the next squall.

Only recently was I guided to study and understand the ‘CAPE’ index to better plan storm and lightning risk mitigation. This index puts hard numbers onto those ‘instincts’ that we sailors have. I’m not going to explain it all here as others can do it much better than I can…. and I’d advise those who currently don’t use CAPE to study the NOAA NWS explanation of it. (link below).

‘Learning how to sail better’ is a never ending topic, and this is just another tool in the bag for those striving to understand weather better, minimize risk, and maximize everyone’s enjoyment!

https://www.weather.gov/ilx/swop-severetopics-cape
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TECHNICAL COURSES

Posted September 2025

I help a lot of people move their new (to them) boats from the brokers to their home. People
bring me on to get their boat home safely and to brush up their sailing skills…but also to
introduce and educate them on how to manage and maintain the many systems onboard
during the passage; mechanical, electrical, fiberglass, teak, rigging, fresh water, sewage, air-
conditioning etc.

I love doing this – as these new friends I make are highly motivated to learn all about their new boat and how to get the most out of it!

Once you own a boat, repairs and planned maintenance can be extremely expensive for those
unused to this environment if you have to bring in people to do it, and many people ask me what sort of formal course might they take prior to moving on to a boat, to really boost their technical knowledge and minimize expensive bills and ‘down-time’ using 3rd party support.

I have always therefore encouraged people to check local technical and community colleges in your area for marine engineering technology programs that will ideally incorporate American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) standards. To find a specific course visit the ABYC website.

To get into a more specialized hands-on sailboat marine engine course, ‘Mack Boring & Parts’ (Newport RI) have a huge range of excellent courses including a 2 Day Diesel Engine Training for Power and Sail Boat Owners. At about $995…this will quickly pay for itself.

The new owner of the boat I left just a couple of days back seriously impressed me with extraordinarily deep and broad technical knowledge which he had gained on a 6 month (!!!) Marine Systems course at the IYRS School of Technology & Trades – also in Newport RI. Again – the financial cost and time invested will quickly pay itself back through his abilities to diagnose
and repair pretty much any issues on board his 2012 Lagoon 40’ catamaran.

So….as you think about getting into boat ownership, it’s worth remembering that; Any courses
you take will reduce your down time and financial costs, and increase the reward of just being
able to fix your own stuff!