The Apps you have to have if you’re planning a boat holiday

Everything you need just a click away

BEFORE LEAVING


Click&Boat
Let’s start from scratch. For a boat holiday, first of all you need a boat! If you already own one, ignore it. If you are expert sailors without a craft or if you love boat trips but when you see a bow and a stern you can’t tell which is which, this app is just for you. Here you can book a sailboat or a motorboat, with or without the crew, directly and safely online in just a few clicks.
IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/click-boat-yacht-charters/id933102632?mt=8
ANDRIOD: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.clickandboat.androidphone&hl=en


Navily
Have you broadly defined the route to follow for your holidays but you’re not familiar with the harbours in the area? Here it comes Navily! Select your location and the app will show you the best anchorage and the nearest marinas with customer reviews and the list of services offered. You can book a berth for your boat directly on the app. Unfortunately, now you can find only anchorages and marinas in Italy, France and Spain.
IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/navily/id881103205?mt=8
ANDROID: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ckcnet.android.navily&hl=en​

Weather - Routing – Navigation
When you have established your destination, you need to trace the route to reach it. This app is having a tremendous success because it’s extremely detailed: it relies on many data such as tide level predictions, streams and currents, sea bottoms and everything that can make the sailing difficult. Price is huge, but if you have to make a long trip, everybody agree that it’s worth it. Anyway, you can install the free version, which has limitations but works pretty fine.
IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weather4d-routing-navigation/id1062372794?mt=8
ANDROID: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sailgrib_wr.paid​

USEFUL TOOLS DURING NAVIGATION


Commander Compass / GPS Status & Toolbox
The first one is compatible with IOS, the second one with Android, but they are equivalent. GPS need to be turned on (you have to keep that in mind because your battery is going to die quicker than usual). These apps will give you magnetic and geographic north, will trace your route changes and if you’re in trouble you will be able to share your position.
IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/commander-compass/id333235419?mt=8
ANDROID: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2&hl=en​

Boat Beacon - AIS Navigation
Boat Beacon is an app that keeps you update in real-time on maritime traffic. It’s the only app that continuously monitors CPA (Closest Point of Approach), notifying if potential collisions are detected even when the app is in the background. 
IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/boat-beacon/id494877039?mt=8
ANDROID: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.electricpocket.boatbeacon​

Anchor Watch / Watch Alarm
Anchor Watch is for IOS, while Watch Alarm is for Android. Using GPS, these apps will register your location when you are berthing and will warn you with an alarm when the position is too far from the range you have set.  Particularly appreciated by those who spend the night in mainsail, because it allows you to sleep rather than continuously monitor the anchor.
IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/anchor-watch/id389011510?mt=8
ANDROID: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.webmajstr.anchor
 
WEATHER / SEA / WIND FORECAST


Meteo 3/B
Thanks to this app you will be able to get the representation of the average day weather, synthetic forecasts for night, morning, afternoon and evening, forecasts with detailed timetable, monitoring of seas and winds, atmospheric agents analysis, and every other possible parameter. All with new graphic interface, clear symbolism, full in-climate weather details. With this app you can not only constantly check for any major changes in real time, but you can also choose to receive climate alerts and insights through push notifications.
IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/3b-meteo-previsioni-meteo/id346004125?mt=8
ANDROID: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Meteosolutions.Meteo3b&hl=en_US
 
Sailflow
Paramount for yachtsmen, this app delivers real-time wind reports from over 50,000 stations Worldwide. It’s possible to setup an alarm that warns you in case of unexpected wind shifts.
IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sailflow/id555309964?mt=8
ANDROID: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.windalert.android.sailflow
 
Sea Condition
It is usually used for high-resolution sea and oceanographic forecasts such as: sea surface temperature, surface currents, significant wave height, wave period and direction. In addition the weather forecasts include: air temperature, surface atmospheric pressure, precipitation, cloud cover, wind at 10 meters
IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/seaconditions/id737693930?mt=8
ANDROID: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.linksmt.tessa.scm&hl=en_US
 
We just have to wish you fair winds and following seas, and happy holidays.

Photocredit: Flickr