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8 Best Marine Navigation Apps For Boaters 2024 | iPhones & Androids

Your Ultimate Guide To The 8 Best Marine Navigation Apps For Boaters in 2024

Whether you’re an avid fisherman or weekend enthusiast, boaters of all types understand that an effective navigation app is an essential ingredient for safe and fulfilling days out on the water. Nautical charts can be confusing and difficult to read at glance, and there aren’t road signs on the water telling you where all the great afternoon destinations are. Having your friends and family out on the boat can be a great day on the water, and the last thing you want to do, is end up getting lost or running aground.

With that in mind, We’ve compiled a list of the best marine navigation apps to ensure you captain at your best every time you’re on the water. If you have a great suggestion to add to our list, please reach out to us or send an email to [email protected] so we can keep this helpful app selection as updated as possible.

• Table of Contents

Best Marine Navigation Apps

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Any time you are out on the water it’s a good idea to have a navigation app to help you avoid dangerous issues. These apps include everything from updated weather reports to nautical charts that directly relate to your excursion goals. These are the best map apps that give you all the features and reliability you need while on the water.

Wavve Boating :

This is undoubtedly the best marine navigation app available today. Wavve Boating helps boaters navigate and explore with ease, while connecting to their boating community. The app customizes nautical charts to the draft of the user’s vessel, and current water levels, to provide an intuitive and easy to read map. Boaters can see their friends on the water, share their favorite spots, and discover new restaurants, routes, and other great locations. Wavve Boating is fully compatible with both iOS and Android devices, and best of all, this is so easy to use. You don’t get the endless clutter with too many options on the screen, or confusing color schemes that can leave you overwhelmed when you just need clear guidance. We highly recommend giving Wavve a test run before trying any other mobile navigation app.

Price: a 14-day free trial with a fantastic annual plan that is $45.99 per year. Readers can get a free preview of the app …no sign up or account needed. Come see why it’s the preferred boating app.

This app is the grandfather to many of the apps on our list and is still used by sailors because of its extensive library of charts and ability to overlay multiple nautical maps simultaneously. Many people that enjoy fishing will find that feature particularly useful. The chart plotter screen can work with GRIB files or connect directly with NMEA instruments for quick displaying of critical boating and systems information. That makes iNavX more complex than other apps, but for seasoned mariners or those looking to integrate with on-board systems this may be the right choice

Price: $4.99 if you are an iOS user, a free basic version for Android, and a $19.99/year price for the enhanced version.

Navionics Boating App:

Navionics is a part of our best GPS app list because it has many of the same features you would expect from the competitors. The reason we like this particular company so much is because the app includes Navionics’ auto-routing capabilities, Active Captain Community data, Sonar Charts, and more. Navionics has a full set up features for your device ( https://www.navionics.com/usa/apps/navionics-boating ) to ensure you can utilize their custom overlays and map options.

Price: There is a free trial available, but then you will need to invest in a subscription. For example, the US & Canada maps are $24.99 per year.

Looking for the top boat navigation apps for iPhones? We’ve reviewed all the top options in the app store and did our iPhone research. Did you know that Apple users are well known for preferring high UI/UX features of their apps? It’s just one of the factors we consider in our list. That being said, if you’re an iPhone user and need a quality sampling of the best marine navigation apps, take a look at these choices:

As mentioned earlier, Wavve Boating is an excellent choice for iOS devices. It has one of the best map app designs with a highly user-friendly interface, accurate data points for navigation, and comprehensive features that are easy to find. Plus, you can mark your favorite destinations for revisiting based on goals like mooring, anchorage, fishing, and getting that fantastic tuna melt you tried at the local dock shack. Get a feel for the map with this in-app preview.

iNavX, available on iOS, is also a highly regarded marine navigation app It provides access to a vast library of charts, offers advanced waypoint management, and supports various external accessories, enhancing the overall boating experience.

Aqua Map is a user-friendly and reliable marine navigation app specifically designed for iPhones. It offers offline chart access, customizable features, and incorporates USACE data. Boaters traveling the ICW, or attempting the great loop , will want to consider checking this one out.

Don’t Worry; we know not everyone isn’t an Apple fan. We wanted to be sure to feature the best boat navigation apps for our Android readers as well. That way, you have all the options you want to find fuel, avoid sand bars, and reach those high target fishing spots you heard about at the local pub the night before. Check out this list of the best marine navigation apps for boating adventures with an Android phone/tablet:

Wavve Boating, available on Android devices, delivers the same exceptional features and reliability as its iOS counterpart. With its user-friendly interface and comprehensive functionality, we believe Wavve Boating to be a top choice for Android users, especially with the hazard highlights that show up that help you proactively avoid any dangers. If you’re an android user, get a free in-app preview of Wavve Boating here .

C-Map features vector maps, which make customizing and zooming in a seamless experience for anyone. This best boat navigation app can get a little cluttered if you don’t change the layers when you first start it up (according to this review: https://casualnavigation.com/c-map-app-reviewed-by-a-professional-navigator/ ). However, once you have that default setting adjusted, you’ll get all the features you’d expect like smooth navigation, boating hotspots, updated maps, and more.

Navionics Boating:

Navionics Boating offers a more traditional approach to nautical charts, mixed with real-time weather updates, and optimized for Android devices. It provides a user-friendly interface and reliable navigation tools, making it a popular choice among Android users.

Being a better boater doesn’t mean you have to pay big dollars for a marine navigation tool. If you’re new to boating, or on a budget, it’s not a bad idea to try out some free options to get a feel for the features that mean most to you. If you’re looking for free boating maps, then consider some of these exceptional options:

Argo is a free marine navigation app that provides access to local charts, route planning tools, and a captain’s log to track routes. Although it offers in-app purchases for additional features, the free version is still helpful for basic navigation needs.

• Wavve Boating

When it comes to nautical chart apps, you need those tech resources that can work online as much as when you cannot find a signal far from the coastline. That way, you aren’t trying to explore Aruba while looking at a map of the Great Lakes in the USA. The following options provide comprehensive nautical chart coverage and advanced navigation features:

Wavve Boating excels in nautical chart capabilities, offering detailed and up-to-date access for over 15,000+ nautical charts. It’s seamless integration with thousands of community-sourced points of interest makes it a simple and super powerful chart-based navigation app. One of the best ways to get a feel for how easy this app is to use is by giving it a try. Check out this free preview to get started (no account needed).

iNavX provides access to a vast library of charts worldwide. With its ability to overlay multiple charts, support for raster and vector charts, and advanced navigation features, iNavX offers a comprehensive solution for boaters relying on nautical charts. Just watch out for the additional fees if you are a globetrotting sailor.

Navionics :

We wanted to include Navionics on our list because of the history of the company. They have been supporting nautical chart information for over 30 years, so you know you’ll get a strong blended mix of public and private map sources or surveys. (Ref: https://www.navionics.com/usa/charts/features/nautical-chart ).

Q: What is the best marine navigation app overall?

In our experience, the best marine navigation app overall is Wavve Boating. It offers comprehensive features, accurate data, and an intuitive interface, making it a top choice for boaters. Ease of use is the big kicker for our team because that cuts way down on confusion when you need data as quickly as possible. We also love Wavve’s free in-app preview , which gives you full access to the app…no account needed.

Q: Are there any free marine navigation apps?

Yes, there are free marine navigation apps available. Just keep in mind these tend to have a free trial period and then offer upgrades that require a monthly subscription. Some notable options include Navionics Boating, C-Map, and Argo, which provide essential navigation tools and limited chart access without requiring a purchase. If you’d like free access to premium features, then download Wavve Boating’s free preview .

Q: Can I use marine navigation apps on tablets?

Absolutely! Many marine navigation apps are optimized for tablets. Almost all the apps on our list are available for tablets, which is great if you require a larger screen or have a strong mount next to the helm.

Q: Do marine navigation apps work offline?

Yes, several marine navigation apps, including Wavve Boating, iNavX, and Navionics, offer offline functionality – especially for nautical charts. While you may not get the most updated tidal data, you will get plenty of details to safely navigate your next outing.

Q: Which marine navigation app provides the most extensive chart coverage?

Wavve Boating, iNavX, and Navionics are known for their extensive chart coverage. These apps provide access to charts from various public, private, and community-driven sources and ensure comprehensive coverage for boaters in different regions.

Please note that the availability and features of specific boat GPS apps may vary over time. Therefore, we always recommend checking the latest information and reviews before choosing a marine navigation app for your particular needs.

Wrapping it Up

If you’ve browsed our extensive list of the best marine navigation apps and still feel a bit overwhelmed, we strongly suggest starting with Wavve Boating . It’s sure to provide you a better boating experience with the easiest marine navigation app. If you’re interested in a more hands on preview, check out this month’s Top Boating Destination – Shell Key Island for a free preview with no strings attached. Happy boating!

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Best boating apps: 9 essential downloads for iPhone and Android

• Rupert Holmes

In little more than a decade the ways in which we do many things afloat have been absolutely transformed by boating apps, both on smartphones and tablets.

It’s now physically possible and affordable to carry detailed charts of almost the whole globe in your pocket thanks to the dizzying array of boating apps out there. There’s no reason to set an alarm for 0555am solely to listen to the Shipping Forecast.

And you can get a warning if the anchor drags while you’re ashore in a restaurant. Here’s our roundup of some of the best boating apps and sailing apps.

Best boating apps available right now

C-Map Boating

I never go anywhere without this charting app. If you have internet access, either via data or WiFi, the free version gives access to the same (almost) worldwide charts as the premium edition. However, there are a few jurisdictions that can only be unlocked with a paid subscription.

Having a set of detailed up to date charts for the globe in my pocket has proved useful on numerous occasions, whether on the water or discussing options for sailing holidays with friends in the pub.

It also includes basic route creation and distance measuring, although the latter doesn’t include compass bearings, which seems an odd omission.

Features of the premium version of this boating app include downloadable charts that can be used when offline and improved weather data. There’s a generous limit to the number of charts that can be downloaded.

A 150-mile stretch of the Bay of Biscay between Lorient and La Rochelle, extending over 60 miles offshore, used just 30 of the allocation of 1,000 tiles.

Download now from the App Store

Download now from the Play Store

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

Navionics boating

This was among the first of the cartography companies to produce a boating app in the early days of the iPhone and has since continually expanded its offering. Yet the user interface has remained impressively streamlined.

Today Navionics charts offer wide coverage, including embedded tidal height and tidal stream data. Charts can even be displayed with contours that show actual depths allowing for the height of tide.

Chart areas are large, so a year’s subscription to this boating app covers a wide area, and features an enormous amount of data, including useful user generated content with detailed information on everything from anchorages to facilities on shore.

It’s an enormously powerful boating app, especially for those with a a fully waterproof and impact-proof phone case .

However, as with other boating apps, vector charts are used. That means you must zoom in tightly to ensure all dangers are shown, which can be difficult on a small screen.

Many boating apps will calculate routeing between ports, but most of these use simple algorithms that assume a fast motorboat. Those who sail are therefore at a disadvantage thanks to the vagaries of wind and tidal streams. The latter have much more bearing on progress on a boat that averages 5 knots than one that can cruise at 18 knots.

SailGrib provides a suite of products that offer top-notch routeing for keen sailors, including a range of forecast models. Indeed SailGribWR offers most of the features that are usually found only in powerful PC-based software with four-figure price tags.

It’s particularly impressive that this boating app is able to offer this functionality via an interface that’s enormously simplified compared to the PC-based options.

Granted, it still takes time and patience to get the best from this system, but it has long been my favourite boating app for serious routeing work.

It uses a variety of weather models, including the fine-grained Arome data and has optional plug-ins that enable tidal stream data to be included in the routeing calculations. The biggest drawback is that this boating app is only compatible with Android devices.

Savvy Navvy

This powerful combined routeing app takes the needs of sailboats into account and is being quickly developed into an extremely powerful system that includes chart plotter functionality. It starts with a different premise to other routeing software – that the process should be quick, easy for everyone to understand and intuitive.

Savvy Navvy therefore doesn’t have the sophisticated features of SailGrib, but the idea is anyone with basic navigation knowledge can immediately get useful results. Although the streamlined easy-to-understand concept remains unchanged over time more functionality has been added to this boating app, including tidal heights, streams and weather.

All of this is presented in tabs on an easy-to-follow dashboard. The most recent update allows charts to be downloaded for offline use, allowing this boating app to be used as a chartplotter .

Imray Tides Planner

Tidal height calculations used to be convoluted and time consuming, but are one of the areas in which a decent boating app can make a huge difference. Imray’s Tides Planner is one of a number that provide both tidal stream and tidal height data in easily digested formats.

The latter is available in a graphical form, with the ability to scroll forwards in time to instantly show the height of tide at any time and location. This makes secondary port tidal height calculations extremely simple.

In an unfamiliar port, for example, you can quickly figure out how much the depth under the boat will drop by the next low water – and therefore whether or not you need to move to a different berth in order to stay afloat.

The free version of this boating app provides this data on a daily basis for a huge database of ports around the world. A small annual subscription unlocks this restriction, though a handful of countries, including the UK and France, require a further small one-off payment to provide predictions for any day of the year.

The best weather data you can find is essential before going afloat. Windy’s Pro version provides data from a raft of models, including ECMWF and, for those in the southern half of the UK and France, the fine-grained Arome data.

Data is presented in an easily digested format across a wide variety of parameters. The basics of mean wind speed, gusts, wind direction, precipitation, cloud cover and surface pressure are covered well, with hourly time steps.

This is my go to boating app for weather and use it almost every day for planning, even if I’m not actually on the water.

PredictWind

Another top-notch, though more expensive, weather app that includes routeing options, PredictWind runs its own models for popular sailing areas around the globe using algorithms that were first developed for the America’s Cup .

This is a hugely popular boating app among the racing community, but also deserves consideration by any cruisers who sail serious distances.

Anchor! drag alarm

The latest generation of anchors is better than earlier products. However, even a hook that’s well dug in can break out on a windshift, change of tide, or if fouled by another vessel’s ground tackle.

Anchor alarm apps therefore make a lot of sense. Although they are included on many chartplotters and MFDs it can also be very useful to have one on your phone.

The power consumption overnight is likely to be an order of magnitude lower and many anchor watch apps can send an alert to a different phone.

It’s ideal if there’s a problem when you’re ashore, or even just on a friend’s boat in the same anchorage. This boating app is one of the highest rated and is available for a modest one-off payment.

Marine Traffic

AIS data has transformed the picture we have of both leisure and commercial traffic at sea. A boating app is no substitute for having proper AIS equipment on board, but it’s great for tracking friends and family on the water, understanding shipping routes and more.

Marine Traffic was one of the forerunners in promulgating this data to the public in an easily digested format and is still among the best. This boating app now includes live winds and 48-hour forecasts, as well as an augmented reality layer that shows the ship’s data if the phone’s camera is pointed at the vessel.

Yachting Monthly

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Best weather apps for sailors

• Sam Fortescue
• January 19, 2023

Weather data is getting easier and cheaper to download. Sam Fortescue reviews the latest options and chooses the best weather apps for sailors

There are plenty of weather apps on the market but how do you choose the right one for you?

Rapidly evolving digital technology now allows the sailing community to benefit from a huge range of specialised, easy to use and inexpensive weather apps.

Advanced weather forecasting models are currently being produced by a multitude of meteorological offices around the world, whose supercomputers churn through data of unimaginable complexity, from the charge of particles in the air to convection currents.

Different models have different strong points, and many of the weather apps covered in this survey allow you to select between them, with the more technical ones comparing several forecasts with actual observations in your area and recommending the most accurate.

The best weather apps tend to charge a subscription fee, so it’s worth being clear on where and how you intend to use your boat.

There’s no sense going for PredictWind, for instance, with its offshore weather routing and narrowband satellite mode, if you just want to know what’s happening in your local estuary over the next few hours.

Some weather apps also offer better overseas coverage than others, with global predictions up to a year ahead.

But be aware that you may need to buy a separate subscription to unlock unlimited forward predictions beyond the UK.

Note also that not all the apps offer the same level of support for secondary ports, so check your favourite spots before you buy.

Nor is it always specified whether the apps use UTC or local time, which can give rise to errors of an hour.

Which Met Model?

Weather apps draw on a huge range of meteorological models to gather and present their data, so dig down into the version details to make sure the meteorological model being used by the app will suit your cruising plans.

• ECMWF: European model with 9km resolutions, updated twice daily, and considered the most accurate global model.
• GFS: 27km resolution with four daily updates, from the US. Not so good near coasts, as it doesn’t consider topography.
• ICON: 13km resolution (7km in Europe , making it the best for our continent) including horizontal wind speed. Developed in Germany with four daily updates.
• SPIRE: 12km resolution with intensive use of radio occultation data to provide top accuracy offshore.
• UKMO: Met Office model with 10km global resolution and an exceptional 1.5km in the UK.
• CFS : Produced by the US NOAA for climate-level predictions over nine months ahead.
• WRF: Resolves down to 500m and often used as a basis for other forecasting services.
• OS: Developed in Greece with a 12km resolution – that’s very good in the Med.
• AROME: French model with 1.25km resolution. Reliable around France , southern England, Ireland and as far as the German coast.
• HIRLAM: Collab between 10 European met offices for short-range accuracy.
• NAM: 12km resolution in N America.
• HRRR: 3km resolution for incredible detail over the US.

PredictWind

Developer: PredictWind $29 per year. www.predictwind.com

Fantastic interface, with a slick animated forecast that uses colours to reinforce the data on wind strength.

You can also toggle between traditional wind barbs and arrows, and consult wind, waves, electrical potential, cloud, rain, pressure and temperatures.

The ‘validation’ page lets you identify the most accurate forecast model in your location, but coverage is not universal.

PredictWind is also unique in offering an unbeatable set of tools, including offshore weather routing that analyses wave patterns to calculate how uncomfortable the sea state will be.

It also does GPS tracking and has a narrowband satellite comms version for more efficient offshore forecasting (using a separate Predictwind Offshore app).

There is even a dedicated Predictwind app within the Iridium Go! Satellite communicator.

Subscriptions for the smartphone app range from a free version to $499/yr for the professional package, giving you incredible wave modelling and offshore detail.

But just $29/yr gets you the Basic package with 1km resolution, while the Standard subscription for $249/yr adds in weather routing.

PredictWind has also developed a datalogger ($299) to record NMEA data, track your boat on GPS and put it all together in log files or blog posts, which you can send to a sat phone to put online.

You also become a mobile real-time weather and AIS station for PredictWind.

Developer: Theyr £11.00. www.theyr.com

Offers 17 different forecast models ranging from super accurate 1.1km resolution wind models of the English Channel to five-mile models of much of the rest of the world.

The free subscription provides wind forecasts at 1º (60nm) resolution. For £8.99/month you get 0.1º accuracy and extra wave data.

The £16.99/month Premium pack includes ice fraction and tidal stream data.

However, if you subscribe for a month at a time (rather than an annual contract), you pay a 30-40 per cent premium.

You can overlay the forecast onto a small scale Navionics chart, but the display feels old-fashioned compared to others as it isn’t animated and uses traditional wind barbs to indicate direction and strength.

Continues below…

How to interpret wave patterns for comfortable sailing

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Sailing apps for sailors who cruise

With the high cost of marine electronics, phone apps offer a plethora of affordable navigation data at your fingertips, says…

Tried and tested: tides planner app for iPads and iPhones

Duncan Kent thinks he has found the best Tides Planner App for iPads and iPhones yet

Developer: Windy Weather World Inc. £8.99 per month. www.windy.app

Aimed squarely at sailors and watersports enthusiasts. Offers wind and wave conditions in thousands of spots around the coast, giving cloud cover, rain and temperature up to 10 days ahead.

Free version provides tide times and heights. Subscribe to access forecasts from numerous detailed weather models.

The PRO subscription costs £8.99/m or £52.99/yr, providing archive info back to 2012, and model comparison and offline forecasts.

Compares the predictions of each model for a given spot then tells you which one has proven most accurate in the past.

A great tool, especially if you’re cruising away from home waters. PRO access also gives you swell data, isobars and HD mapping. (Not to be confused with ‘Windy.com’.)

Developer: Windy Weather World Inc. £58.99 per year. www.windhub.com

Intuitive controls allow you to toggle between weather models on one hand, as well as data including wind, gusts, rain, cloud, swell, pressure and electrical potential.

A slide-away table summarises the data for your chosen point, including a graphical analysis of wind speeds. Very easy to understand at a glance.

Includes information on tidal streams for spots you select with a tap of the finger.

There’s a tidal curve, too, showing high and low water times and heights, although you can’t interrogate it for extra detail.

Offers multiple weather models, but calculates its own high-resolution forecast for Europe and East Asia.

An annual subscription will cost you £58.99 in Europe, but cheaper elsewhere.

Developer: Flytomap £2.49. www.flytomap.com

Real-time weather data from 2,000-plus NOAA buoys mostly around the US coast.

There are some mid- Atlantic and a handful of others around the British Isles. Data varies depending on the buoy type, and can include pressure, wind speed and direction, wave period and air temperature.

Buoy E1 off Plymouth gives wind speed and direction, pressure and air temperature.

The Sandettie Lightship off Dunkirk also gives water temperature and wave height and direction.

Alas, there is no access to past reports that could tell you how conditions had changed in preceding hours.

A graph showing changing pressure or wind speed would be very handy, but there are other apps which do this, such as NOAA NDBC Buoy Live Marine (£4.99/yr).

Squid Mobile

Developer: the great-circle £5.49 per week. www.squid-sailing.com.

A good-looking app with core data that includes wind, rain, cloud and wave heights, atmospheric pressure and temperature. \

For the full choice of weather models, flexible subscriptions run from a week (£5.49) up to a year (£29.99).

It offers weather routing calculated in ‘the cloud’ to reduce satellite airtime while offshore and packages weather data so you can download it as a GRIB file for use on other displays or apps, which is great for blue-water sailors.

Allows you to select and edit the area you want by simply tapping a map.

You can then edit the time period, frequency and exact data you need to ensure it doesn’t clog up your Iridium satellite connection for hours. Good value.

Developer: Windfinder £1.39 per month. www.windfinder.com

The basic app provides a good animated map of current wind conditions across the globe.

To unlock more detailed forecasts you need to upgrade to Windfinder Plus (£9.49/yr or £1.39/m), which refreshes every six hours.

The basic app gives a 7km resolution in Europe (5km in the US), but coverage is limited to Europe, North America, Egypt, the Canaries and South Africa, so you wouldn’t choose this app to go offshore.

Other nice features include specific ‘spots’ for which you get instant wind, wave and tide read-outs, with 20,000 weather stations and 160,000 spots globally.

Windfinder Plus also offers access to 63,000 webcams and wind alerts. Costs £3.49 to get rid of the annoying ads.

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Best Sailing Apps - TOP 10 for Android

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Navigating the open seas has never been easier with the advent of modern technology.

Today, we have many sailing and yachting apps at our disposal, designed to enhance our maritime experiences.

These apps offer a wide range of features, from sophisticated navigation systems and detailed marine charts to weather forecasting and cruising guides. But with so many options available, how do you choose the best one for your needs?

To help you navigate these waters, we have ranked and described the top 10 sailing and yachting apps based on their ratings and reviews obtained from the Google Play Store.

Whether you’re a novice sailor looking for guidance or an experienced yachtsman seeking advanced features, this article will guide you to the app that best suits your needs. So, let’s set sail and explore these apps!

Navionics® Boating by Garmin Italy Technologies

Navionics® Boating is a comprehensive marine navigation app developed by Garmin Italy Technologies srl. This app is designed to provide accurate and detailed nautical charts, making it an essential tool for sailors, fishermen, divers, and boaters of all kinds.

The app offers a wide range of features including the ability to track your journey, mark waypoints, and capture geo-tagged photos. It also provides real-time weather data and tide & current predictions, ensuring you have all the information you need for a safe and enjoyable journey.

One of the standout features of Navionics® Boating is its SonarChart™, an HD bathymetry map that reflects ever-changing conditions. This feature allows users to contribute to the app’s database by sharing their sonar logs, helping to enhance chart details that are beneficial to the entire community.

Navionics® Boating also supports synchronization across multiple devices, ensuring you have access to your data wherever you are. The app is compatible with a variety of chart plotter brands, making it a versatile choice for those in need of reliable marine navigation software.

Whether you’re planning a fishing trip, a leisurely sail, or a diving expedition, Navionics® Boating provides a wealth of resources to ensure you’re prepared for whatever comes your way.

Sail Expert: Sailing App by Poterion

Sail Expert: Sailing App, developed by Poterion, is a comprehensive tool designed to enhance the sailing experience. Often referred to as the Swiss knife for sailors, this app offers a wide range of features that support navigation, regattas, and various boat maintenance logs.

The app’s sensors are used to fill the logs with data such as location, COG (Course Over Ground), SOG (Speed Over Ground), temperature, and pressure. If a WiFi NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association) provider is available, boat sensors are used instead, ensuring accurate and real-time data.

Sail Expert also supports a Wear OS watch companion app, allowing sailors to display instruments on their smartwatch. This feature brings essential data right to your wrist, making it easily accessible during your sailing adventures.

The navigation feature of the app provides alerts for off-course or target course, calculates the remaining distance, and estimates the arrival time. It also helps sailors plan passages using a graph of distance and time, and assists in crossing the start line at the optimal speed during regattas.

The app supports easy check-in and check-out of boat transfers, allowing sailors to prepare for trips in advance. Trips or parts of them can be exported directly from the app to CSV, GPX, and PDF formats. The data logged in the app can be synchronized with the Sail Expert website as needed.

While at anchor, the app monitors your position and sounds an alarm if you drift outside the set area. This area can be configured as a position and radius, or a series of points (polygon). A second device can be set up to remotely monitor the anchor alarm, providing an extra layer of safety.

Sail Expert: Sailing App does not require an internet connection or registration of basic functions, making it a reliable tool for sailors in all conditions. The developers encourage users to submit a report if the application malfunctions or crashes, ensuring continuous improvement and user satisfaction.

Navily – Your Cruising Guide

Navily is a popular cruising guide app with over 500,000 users worldwide. It serves as an ideal companion for all your boat trips, providing a comprehensive guide with over 25,000 marinas and anchorages. The app is enriched with 200,000 photos and comments from the community, offering real-time insights and experiences from fellow boaters.

One of the key features of Navily is its easy booking system. With over 700 partner marinas across Europe, Navily allows you to secure a berth in just a few clicks. The app partners with marinas to provide information updated in real time by the marinas themselves, including a full price list, operating hours, events, tourist attractions, services, and facilities.

Navily also features an in-app chat with users and marinas, fostering a sense of community among its users. It also includes real-time warnings on anchorages and an Emergency SOS feature, ensuring safety and assistance when you need it.

The Navily Premium offers even more functionalities, including weather forecasts, distance calculation and automatic itineraries, offline mode, advanced map filters, and an ad-free experience.

The app also encourages users to share their own experiences, contributing to the community by sharing photos, reviews, and helping to build the most innovative cruising guide. Navily is available in multiple languages including French, Spanish, German, and Italian.

iNavX : Marine Navigation by NavX Studios

iNavX: Marine Navigation, developed by NavX Studios, is a sophisticated handheld chartplotter and marine navigation application. It’s recognized as the world’s #1 handheld Chartplotter, providing access to marine charts, maps, weather, AIS (Automatic Identification System), and more.

The app offers complete worldwide chart coverage from multiple providers, including iNavX Professional+ Charts, Blue Latitude, Explorer, Theyr Weather, Waterway Guide, and more. This makes iNavX a versatile tool for sailors, boaters, and anglers alike.

For sailors, iNavX allows planning sailing routes with waypoint and route management. It provides proactive sail management with GRIB weather forecasts and AIS overlays, integrating with onboard systems. Sailors can also geotag photos to remember great sailing locations.

Boaters can stay updated on boating conditions with forecasts that include currents, winds, and swells. The app integrates with nautical instruments, allowing boaters to manage their equipment effectively. Boaters can also save and share great boating routes with the track log.

Anglers can discover new fishing spots by scouting out holes and inlets. They can identify the best fishing conditions and save their best fishing spots with unlimited markers.

iNavX supports NMEA data over TCP/IP using WiFi and integrates with external GPS, AIS receivers, and transponders. It also connects with nautical instruments such as Depth, Speed, Wind, Engine, Batteries, etc.

The app includes an essential toolkit with a GRIB weather forecast, tides/currents, an anchor alarm, AIS integration, and a port/navaid search. Users can also print detailed charts to use in combination with the app.

iNavX is compatible with various marine technology providers, including C-MAP, Theyr Weather, Waterway Guide, AIS, Brookhouse, DigitalYacht, ShipModul, vYacht, Vesper Marine, NMEA 2000, Chetco, and more. It offers a new chart store where users can purchase all their favorite charts with subscriptions varying by chart and provider.

The app has been praised by Practical Sailor, Sail Magazine, and iMarineApps for its comprehensive features and user-friendly interface.

C-MAP – Marine Charts by Navico Norway AS

C-MAP – Marine Charts, developed by Navico Norway AS, is a marine chart plotter application that provides high-quality sea charts, navigation, traffic information, and weather data to assist in planning your next water trip.

The app offers downloadable offline charts that ensure safety and stress-free enjoyment during cruising, fishing, and sailing. You can adjust the maps by saving routes, waypoints, and tracks, all of which can be accessed offline. The app also allows you to remember that special day or share your trip with friends and family, including reviews and photos.

With C-MAP, you can:

• Download or stream the latest offline sea charts for free
• Find the optimal route to your favorite places using automatic routing
• Navigate with your personal offline chart and maintain access to saved routes, locations, and tracks as if you were online
• Refer to AIS data: check the boats around you within a radius of 100 km, and their position, speed, and course
• Switch between day, night, and bright modes
• Obtain weather information
• Find relevant information about marinas, ports, beaches, shops, etc.
• Personalize your own map: highlight areas of the map based on the size of your boat, use your favorite measurement units, and create routes and tracks for locations
• Share locations, routes, tracks, reviews, photos, etc., to help others find the best places
• Save places you want to visit and access them later from any computer or device

The C-MAP app is continuously updated to ensure the best experience and provide the latest maps and features. The maps are available online for free. You can also purchase a subscription for one of the new 70 regions, download charts to your mobile device, save data, and enjoy maps even in remote areas without a connection.

The app has been praised for its comprehensive features and user-friendly interface, making it a reliable tool for sailors and boaters alike.

Windy.com – Weather Forecast

Windy.com, also known as Windyty, is an exceptional tool for visualizing weather forecasts. This fast, intuitive, detailed, and highly accurate weather app has earned the trust of professional pilots, paragliders, skydivers, kite surfers, surfers, boaters, fishermen, storm chasers, weather geeks, and even government and military officials, rescue teams, and more.

Whether you’re tracking tropical storms or potential bad weather, planning a trip, pursuing your favorite outdoor sports, or just need to know if it’s going to rain over the weekend, Windy provides the latest weather forecasts for your area.

What sets Windy apart from other weather apps is its ability to provide higher quality information than most professional features of other apps, all while being completely free and without ads. The powerful, smooth, and fluid display makes weather forecasting truly enjoyable!

Windy offers all leading weather forecast models, including global ECMWF and GFS, as well as local NEMS, AROME, and ICON (for Europe), NAM (for America). You can access over 40 weather maps, including wind, rain, temperature, pressure, swell, and even the CAPE index.

The app also features global satellite composite images created from NOAA, EUMETSAT, and Himawari. The images are updated every 5-15 minutes depending on the area. Doppler radar covers most of Europe, America, Asia, and Australia .

You can display observed wind and temperature, weather forecasts, airports worldwide, over 1500 paragliding spots, and nearby webcams on the map. The app is fully customizable, allowing you to add your favorite weather maps to the quick menu, customize the color palette of the layers, and access detailed options in the settings.

Windy offers features and data sources such as:

• All leading weather forecast models: ECMWF, GFS by NOAA
• Several local weather models NEMS, ICON, Arome, NAM
• High-resolution satellite composite images
• Comparison of forecast models
• Over 40 global weather maps
• Weather radar for many places in the world
• 16 altitude levels from the surface up to 13.5km/FL450
• Metric or imperial units
• Detailed weather forecast for any location (temperature, rain and snow accumulation, wind speed, gusts, wind direction)
• Detailed Airgram and Meteogram
• Meteogram: temperature and dew point, wind speed and gusts, pressure, precipitation, cloud cover for each altitude
• Altitude and time zone information, sunrise and sunset time for any location
• Customizable list of favorite spots (with the option to create email alerts for future weather conditions)
• Nearby weather observations (real-time observed weather – reported wind direction, wind speed, temperature)
• Searchable over 50,000 airports by ICAO and IATA, including runway information, decoded and raw METAR, TAF, NOTAMs
• Over 1500 paragliding spots
• Detailed wind and wave forecasts for kite and surfing spots
• Tide forecast
• Topographic maps by Mapy.cz and satellite images by Here Maps
• English + 40 other languages

PredictWind – Marine Forecasts

PredictWind – Marine Forecasts, developed by PredictWind Limited, is a powerful tool that provides accurate weather forecasts and a suite of marine tools to ensure safety and efficiency on the water. With access to the world’s top ranking forecast models, including ECMWF, SPIRE, UKMO, GFS, and more, PredictWind offers reliable and accurate weather data. The app’s very own PWG & PWE models offer incredible accuracy and a record-breaking 1km resolution.

The app allows you to view high-resolution maps for wind, gust, CAPE, wave, rain, cloud, pressure, air temperature, sea temperature, ocean data, and solunar. In addition to forecasts, PredictWind provides a suite of powerful marine tools. The Weather Routing feature takes your start and end points then calculates your route factoring in tides, currents, wind and wave data, depth, and your boat’s unique dimensions to give you the best route for comfort or speed. Departure Planning quickly summarises the weather conditions you’ll encounter along your route if leaving on day 1, 2, 3, or 4, helping you select the perfect departure date.

Additional features include Daily Briefing, high-resolution forecast maps with animated streamlines, wind barbs or arrows, detailed analysis tables, comparison graphs for multiple forecasts, live observations and webcams, local knowledge about the best spots, amenities, and activities at your destination, weather alerts, ocean data, free customised GPS tracking page for your blog or website, and AIS data to view over 280,000 vessels worldwide on the AIS network.

The app is continuously updated to ensure the best experience and provide the latest maps and features. It has been praised for its comprehensive features and user-friendly interface, making it a reliable tool for sailors, boaters, and weather enthusiasts alike.

MarineTraffic – Ship Tracking

MarineTraffic – Ship Tracking is a leading ship tracking application developed by MarineTraffic. It displays near real-time positions of ships and yachts worldwide. Connected to the largest network of land-based AIS receivers, this app covers most major ports and shipping routes.

The app allows you to view vessels on the live map, search for ships, boats, and seaports, and see what’s near you. More than 100,000 vessels per day report their positions via MarineTraffic AIS. You can view live wind and 48-hour wind forecast on the map, animate the tracks of past voyages, and see the current status of ports, expected arrival times of boats and ships.

You can manage your list of vessels (“MY FLEET”), which is shared across all your devices and MarineTraffic.com. The app also allows you to view over 2.5 million photos of ships, ports, lighthouses, and more.

With ACCESSPLUS 24 (in-app purchase), you can identify and track vessels sailing beyond the range of terrestrial AIS receiving stations, using satellite tracking. The app also features an augmented reality tool that allows you to identify vessels around you at a glance. Just point your device’s camera towards the horizon and get all the information you need about the vessels in your area, such as name, flag, speed, distance, and more.

For paid subscribers of MarineTraffic, the app offers additional features such as nautical charts, advanced weather maps, advanced density maps, and SAT-AIS data.

The app is continuously updated to ensure the best experience and provide the latest maps and features. It has been praised for its comprehensive features and user-friendly interface, making it a reliable tool for sailors, boaters, and maritime professionals alike.

SailFreeGPS

SailFreeGPS, developed by FredB, is a comprehensive sailing app that turns your smartphone or tablet into a unique navigation device. It displays your current location, course (COG), speed (SOG), maximum speed, trip distance, average speed, and a magnetic compass.

SailFreeGPS displays the history of your COG and SOG (up to 6 hours), allowing you to check the trim effects of your sail. It also filters GPS information to enhance accuracy (averaging the last set of measurements). The app allows you to share your position, COG, and SOG with friends. It also assists during Man OverBoard operations (MOB), saving the location and guiding you to it.

The app displays your track on Google Maps (up to 24 hours) and assists during regattas with a countdown timer and a start line. You can save up to 8 waypoints and activate the GOTO function using ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival). You can also save/load your track in GPX/KML files, calculate distance and bearing, and activate an anchor alarm or course alarm.

SailFreeGPS is suitable for all boats, motorboats, and sailboats. The developer, an amateur sailor who decided to create this app after an Atlantic crossing cruise, regularly adds new features to the app as time permits. For better results, don’t forget to calibrate your compass

Aqua Map – Mobile Chartplotter

Aqua Map – Mobile Chartplotter, developed by GEC srl, is a comprehensive marine navigation app that offers a wide range of features to ensure a safe and enjoyable time on the water. The app is optimized for both smartphones and tablets and provides access to the most updated USACE surveys and USCG List of Lights.

Aqua Map offers vector and raster nautical charts for offline use, updated regularly. It also includes satellite images and a manual route planning feature. The app provides real-time information on bridges, hazards, and best fuel prices during route navigation. It also includes a basic anchor alarm and an advanced AnchorLink with mirroring and email/telegram notifications.

The app provides marine forecasts for wind, waves, currents, and worldwide weather information. It also includes over 1800+ weather buoys and tide & current predictions and simulations. Aqua Map also features a powerful search with advanced settings and a light/dark display mode.

One of the standout features of Aqua Map is the Live Sharing-Aqua Map community feature, which allows you to find new friends on the water and share your data with the community without leaving the app. The app also integrates with the “ActiveCaptain” and “Waterway Guide” communities, providing access to tens of thousands of points of interests and reviews all over the world.

Aqua Map also allows you to connect NMEA devices through WiFi and use instrument and AIS data all across the app, including navigation and anchor watch. It also displays AIS targets on the chart with automatic collision detection.

The premium version of the app, Aqua Map Master, offers additional features such as marine forecasts, AnchorLink with mirroring and telegram/email notifications, and a Route Explorer with real-time information on bridges, hazards, and best fuel prices.

These apps offer a variety of features, from navigation and chart plotting to weather forecasting and cruising guides. They are designed to enhance your sailing and yachting experience, whether you’re a novice sailor or an experienced yachtsman. Remember to check out the reviews and features of each app to find the one that best suits your needs.

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10 Best Marine Weather Apps for Boaters

There are helpful marine navigation apps that make it easier to get from point A to point B, and there are fishing apps that will boost your catch rate, but another variety of app that all boaters need to know about are marine weather apps.

These can help you avoid rough seas, dodge storms, and choose destinations with favorable winds and calm conditions. Ready to get started? Grab your phone, and check out these 10 top contenders.

Best Boating Apps: Navigation, Fishing, Weather & More

1. Buoyweather

Buoyweather is a longtime favorite of boaters for its easy navigation, solid accuracy, and map location-based forecasts. Detailed wind and wave forecasting, not available from many apps, is a big plus. It worked just fine for us when we tried it on a Samsung Galaxy S10, but customer reviews do indicate that the current 1.2.3 version works best on Apple products and may crash at times on some older Androids.

Price:  You can get two-day forecasts for free but advanced features and long-range forecasting requires a $14.99 premium upgrade.

Click here to download.

2. Fishweather

Anglers may love Fishweather for its onsite fishing reports, but all mariners will love its detailed wind maps showing both wind strength and direction on color-coded wind charts with detailed forecasting out to a week.  Plus, we’ve used Fishweather for years and over time have found that its wind forecasts one to three days out are about as accurate as any get.

Price: Free, but some of the more advanced features (like sea surface current charts and real-time Nowcast observations) require paid upgrades (starting at $3.99); however, even the basic version has a wealth of data.

3. NOAA Marine Weather Forecast

If you want an app that covers all of the marine weather bases, NOAA Marine Weather Forecast does the trick. Its comprehensive list of features includes buoy data, six-hour historical wave height trends, tide and current forecasts, National Weather Service marine forecasts, NOAA severe weather reports, NEXRAD radar imagery, and real-time wind, wave and temperature data.

Price: A data download like this doesn’t come free, however, and you’ll have to spend $1.99 to get NOAA Marine Weather Forecast on your phone.

4. NOAA Weather Radar & Live Alerts

We find this free app (with ads and in-app purchases) a top pick for its high reliability. Unlike many apps it doesn’t crash, lock up, or fail to deliver the data you want, when you want it. It includes real-time animated weather radar on a background map that’s easy to zoom in and out on, and also includes short and long-term forecasting.

The Live Alerts feature can become annoying at times (who needs their phone to beep a marine weather alarm, when they’re in their car or at the desk?) but is obviously quite valuable when you’re out on the water the forecast you saw earlier in the day turns out to be wrong.

Price: Free, with in-app purchases.

5. Predictwind

A favorite of serious sailors, Predictwind incorporates live weather observations from over 20,000 live stations, has high-resolution forecast maps, and forecast alerts. It also garners a rather impressive 4.8 out of five stars on the Apple App Store. That matches up with the uber-accurate forecasts we observed while using the app, which nailed wind direction and speed exactly.

Price: Free accounts get lower resolution mapping, and in-app purchases starting at $3.99 let you access better data.

6. Sailflow

Sailflow is a global service that taps into 50,000-plus weather stations to develop free wind forecasting. Radar precipitation maps, forecast maps, tide and current data, and nautical charts are also in the mix. This is another app that impressed us with its accuracy, predicting wind speed and direction to a tee.

Price:  For sailors it’s another top pick, but getting the detailed data takes a $3.99 (and up) in-app purchase.

7. Storm Shield

Another app developed for land-based activities but quite useful for those of us enjoying the boating lifestyle, Storm Shield is one you may want to load up and forget about—until it sets off an alert. Unlike many of the county-based weather alerts generated by apps, Storm Shield narrows down to your exact location.

Price: It’s a free service but if you want additional functionality like radar and wind speed forecasts, you’ll have to spring for the $0.99 in-app purchase.

8. United States Coast Guard

Yes, the United States Coast Guard has its own app, and while strictly speaking it isn’t 100-percent about marine weather, it has some valuable weather data boaters along any coast will want: free access to the latest weather info coming from the NOAA weather buoy nearest to your location.

Price: Free!

9. Weather Channel

Much of the information you’ll find on the Weather Channel app is relevant to land and it’ll take a bit of time to figure out how to navigate to the data we boaters care about, but still, this is a great weather app to have at your fingertips thanks to its extremely high reliability (on both Apple and Android platforms), live radar, severe weather alerts, and accurate forecasting. In fact, according to a study compiling seven years of forecasts performed by ForecastWatch , Weather Channel had the best overall accuracy around.

10. Weatherbug

Weatherbug has been around for a long time and is packed with data that’s not relevant to boaters (like pollen levels and traffic alerts), but this is another freebie with in-app purchases which places a tremendous amount of weather data at your fingertips. Maps for radar, lightning, wind—18 of them in all—and hourly to 10-day forecasting account for Weatherbug being picked the Best Weather App in 2016 and again in 2019 in the Mediapost Appy Awards.

So there you have it: 10 best marine weather apps no boater should be without. Now load one or more onto your phone, and you’ll be ready to cast off the lines and enjoy your next day on the water armed with a slew of knowledge about the weather that’s in store.

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12 Best Boating Apps for Your Smartphone

Are you a boating enthusiast? Do you love being outside, on the water, with the ocean breeze in your face? If you do, there are several smartphone apps that can make your boating experience much more enjoyable.

A lot of really great apps are available for amateur captains looking for the local weather conditions, marine navigation, and help with vessel maintenance and repairs. Some of these apps are more user-friendly than others, but most are easy to use with a little practice.  We evaluated 12 of the most popular boating apps for weather, navigation, and maintenance. Whether you’re boating for fun or business, these apps will make your experience less of a hassle and more of an enjoyable experience.

We’ve compiled a list of the best smartphone apps for boating just for you!

1. Marine Weather

2. my radar noaa weather radar, 3. navionics boating, 4. u.s. coast guard mobile app, 1. navionics, 2. raymarine rayview, 4. sea pilot, 1. boating suite, 2. marine and lakes, 3. u.s. coast guard mobile app, 4. boating essential safety gear, final thoughts, best weather apps for boating.

Checking the weather before each outing is a must. If you’re aware of the impending weather conditions, you’ll know what to expect while enjoying your day out on the water.

Wave height, wind strength, and high or low pressure systems can determine whether or not it’s safe to be out on the water in a certain area. You can read the clouds and check the weather before you leave for the day to get an idea of what the weather is going to consist of, but for more accurate knowledge use a weather app designed for marine travels.

Top Features to Look for in Boating Weather Apps

• Real-time Weather Forecast
• Predicted Weather Forecast
• Automatic Updates
• Emergency Alerts

The Marine Weather app by Accuweather has some of the highest user ratings. This app can be easily downloaded on iOS and Android devices. The goal of this app is to inform and keep boating fanatics up-to-date on all surrounding weather situations.

Not only does this app provide a detailed weather forecast, it also includes GPS navigation. If you find a good fishing spot or an area you’d like to further explore, you can save the GPS points to guide you back to the same location at a later time.

Designed by the Aviation Data System, this app provides detailed, real-time weather updates and predicted forecasts. The My Radar app is highly reviewed and rated by users.

It has some really great features; you can opt-in to receiving emergency weather alerts regarding dangerous weather conditions. You also have the option to get accurate, detailed wind animation and temperature shading. My Radar is user friendly and will add value to your boating trips.

Navionics is a very detailed app that offers multiple features. This app has access to several different types of oceanic and maritime charts including an electronic copy of NOAA Rasters. The app allows you to use your device as a plotted chart for navigation anywhere in the world. When changes occur, the app is updated automatically so you’ll always be in the know. It allows users to be aware of weather forecasts every mile of the journey.

The U.S. Coast Guard Mobile App is a very detailed app. It provides all kinds of different information for boaters. It includes safety information for personal and commercial boating, weather updates, and allows users to report anything that seems suspicious. If a suspicious circumstance is reported or if you run into trouble, the Coast Guard will send a boat out to the location immediately. The weather updates come from NOAA so they are extremely accurate and up-to-date.

Best Navigational Apps for Boating

Nowadays, smartphones are used for everything. GPS Navigation on a smartphone is pretty simple and accurate. You’ve most likely used your GPS while driving, so why not use it while boating too? Navigational boating apps are equip with detailed maps which include depth, high-tides and low-tides, and several other important details that will allow you to determine the best and correct path to take during your boating adventure.

Top Features to Look for in Boating Navigational Apps

• Real-time Maps
• Plot Charting
• Wifi Ability
• Offline Maps

We already know Navionics is great for weather and navigation while boating. Right now, we’ll take a closer look at why Navionics is such a good choice for navigation. Navionics will make navigating your vessel extremely easy.

It includes GPS plotters and sonar charts with HD contours allowing maximum knowledge of your surroundings. You’ll receive obstacle and high-tide alerts which will aid in smooth route of travel. If there is an osbstacle in your path, you’ll have access to maps to determine an alternate route.

You can also download offline maps to use if you expect to be out of range for mobile signal.

Raymarine Rayview turns your smartphone into a chart plotter and a radar. It offers two different multi-functional display types; the C-series and E-series. The maps are high-quality and accurate. With this app you can screen-shot and save locations directly to your camera role for later reference. Raymarine Rayview is a great option for navigating your way around any body of water.

Sea Nav is really cool because it offers augmented reality. If you’re looking for an exciting and fun way to navigate your boat, this is it! You can connect your camera with the app and view your route in a virtually real way. The app includes detail information with maps and weather updates. Nobel Tec and Pocket Mariner are similar to Sea Nav and work equally as well for navigation.

Sea Pilot offers automatic tracking as well as navigation. Weather forecasts, charts, and routes are updated automatically providing a live view of all needed information. You can download maps directly to your phone for later viewing or times with no mobile signal. When your smartphone is connected to wifi, you can connect the app to your boat’s sensor which makes this app stand out from the rest.

Best Boat Maintenance and Repair Apps

In order to continuously enjoy your boat you’ll need to maintain the condition of your boat and make repairs as necessary. Purchasing a boat is a big financial decision, it’s wise to protect your investment as much as you can. There are apps available for iOS and Android devices that will help maintain the condition and track repairs for your boat.

Top Features to Look for in Boating Maintenance and Repair Apps

• Tips and Tricks
• Note Taking
• Ability to Log Trips and Fuel

Boating Suite is a maintenance app designed by boating enthusiasts, for boating enthusiasts. This app will take some of the stress of maintaining your boat off your hands. It allows you to log trips, fuel, expenses, and to do lists. The screens are easy to navigate and very user friendly. In this single app, you’ll get a complete picture of everything you need to know about your boat . All your important information is available in one place.

Marine and Lakes is an app of all trades. With this app, you can track the weather, view and download different maps, and keep up with boat maintenance . Marine and Lakes is an extension to Navionic. You can use it to easily find gas stations and repair shops while you’re out on the water or on land.

This is an app backed by the military. The U.S. Coast Guard is committed to safety on the water. Inside the app, you’ll find a plethora of information. Weather, charts, and information are all easily accessible within the app. It also includes safety information and boating maintenance tips and tricks.

This app gives you a look at some of the coolest and most desirable items to help maintain your boat and keep you safe. In this app you’ll find a really handy safety checklist to make sure your boat is up to par with all the safety standards. You’ll also have access to repair and maintenance tips. This is a really great app for keeping your time out on the boat safe and fun.

You love your boat, right? You want to have a great time every time you set sail, correct? Each one of these apps will contribute to a better experience every time you’re out on the water.

It doesn’t matter if you’re taking a long or short trip, you’ll find these apps extremely useful. They are all designed for you to make the best of your boating experience, while keeping you safe.

Weather, navigation, and maintenance are all extremely important factors to consider before and during each boat trip. This list has been thoughtfully compiled by a boating enthusiast to help you have a fun, hassle free time with your amazing boat.

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The 19 Best Apps For Sailing 2024

The top apps for sailing that we couldn’t live without since becoming liveaboards.

I love the fact that sailing means I’m on my phone a lot less, but there are some sailing apps (like weather forecasts) that are literally life-saving.

I check them religiously twice a day (and get nervous when we’re offshore and without internet service!)

I’m so grateful we live in a modern world where we don’t have to rely on outdated systems to keep us safe at sea. Although you’ll always get those sailors who prefer the traditional ways, I think it’s prudent to use every single tool available to you to keep you as safe as possible out here.

Honestly, it’s also far more enjoyable when you have a helping hand from some of the best apps for sailing around!

Having access to such a huge amount of information is incredibly useful and before you set off on your liveaboard adventure you should download these sailing apps to your phone and give them all a go.

You’ll soon whittle them down to the ones you couldn’t be without!

We’ve written this article based on our extensive experience in using them throughout our three years living on a sailboat and sailing around Europe. They are also the sailing apps used by all the full-time cruisers we meet, so you can be sure they are the most useful! Read on to find out more.

And if you’re still in the planning stages of your sailing adventure then take a look at our guidebook for anyone planning a life at sea. 200+ pages of everything we’ve learnt, from making the dream happen through to making it last!

Quick Menu: Apps For Sailing

• Tides Planner
• Marine Traffic
• Google Earth
• No Foreign Land
• Anchor Watch
• Revolut banking app
• Zoom video calls

Sailing Apps We Love!

We use sailing apps CONSTANTLY. I honestly don’t know where we would be without these amazing little squares that store themselves on our phones and tablets. They have all made sailing life a million times easier for us, and when you live at sea that’s what you want. An easy life.

Below we’ve listed our absolute favourite sailing apps. The ones we use daily that you should seriously consider downloading.

Navigation and Anchoring Apps For Sailing

These are our top go-to apps for sailing that help us with all things navigation, including finding the best places to anchor (and sleep tight!)

We use these apps almost every day for planning and on passages, so keep them saved in your favourites for easy access!

1. Navionics Sailing App

This is an incredible navigation sailing app that gives you an entire region of charts for the price of one chart plotter chart.

I honestly think we would have run out of money a long time ago if it wasn’t for Navionics, as the price of charts on our standard chart plotter was absolutely insane!

Obviously, as with all technology, there might be a day when it fails, so we don’t solely rely on it. We still make sure we have paper charts for areas we’re visiting. In two years of cruising it hasn’t let us down yet!

One of the great things about it is that it’s updated regularly and contains useful information about anchorages and weather patterns in the area. We’ve found the notes included vital in many circumstances.

Navionics has been so useful that it’s replaced our chart plotter entirely.

We bought two Galaxy Tab A3 tablets (these have great screens for seeing in all kinds of different conditions) and two waterproof cases for them, and we fitted a tablet holder to our binnacle, along with a charging point.

We also downloaded the Navionics app to our phones so that we have four navigation devices if any one of them fails. We can’t fault it!

Note: There are a few problems we can foresee about relying solely on a navigational sailing app like Navionics, though we’ve never been unlucky enough to experience them!

One, if the GPS signal fails for some reason then it doesn’t matter how many devices you have, it’s not going to work!

Two, if you lose all your electrical equipment – perhaps if you get struck by lightening. Or maybe you don’t have enough redundancy devices and several just happen to break at the same time.

It’s a good idea to have paper charts as a back up for longer, more complicated passages, and ‘learn’ the route a little before setting off so you know if there are easy anchorages along the way to duck into if the worst happens.

Just as everything in sailing, there is only so much you can prepare for these freak occurrences!

2. Tides Planner Apps For Sailing

If you are in a tidal area this app from Imray provides all the information you require.

I still get a little nervous about working out the tidal range myself (maths was never my strong point!) Now I have something to double-check my calculations that I think is pretty reliable.

We have been sailing mostly in the Med where tides aren’t really a thing, but when we venture into tidal waters this is one of the apps we rely on most!

3. MarineTraffic

This is a sailing app we only recently discovered. It uses phone signal to find AIS information in your area and lets you know where boats are (and gives extra information such as boat speed and destination so you can get an idea of their possible heading).

Obviously, not all boats have AIS, so it really is only a guide, but it’s helped us work out whether we could be on potential collision courses and act sooner than we might have done through eyesight alone.

It would also be a really nice extra piece of information to have during fog or low visibility.

You need an internet signal for it to work, and you can find out our top ways to get internet while sailing here .

The sailing app costs £3.99 or you can use the web version for free!

4. Google Earth

Our anchor works best in a sandy bottom, so when we’re expecting heavy winds we want to make sure we’re somewhere the anchor will dig straight in and hold well.

Sometimes Navily or No Foreign Land detail the bottom but sometimes they don’t. That’s when we turn to our good friend Google Earth!

A lot of anchorages or shallow passages can be clearly seen on Google Earth and you can head to an anchorage and find that patch of sand even in the dark!

It’s surprisingly useful for sailing and an app we would thoroughly recommend!

5. Navily Apps For Sailing

One of our go-to sailing apps for anchorage information. Although there is anchorage information on the Navionics app, we tend to find a lot more information and extra anchorages on Navily.

They are rated for their overall protection so you can get an idea of how protected you’ll be in predicted winds, and they give information about the bottom holding and other extra useful things like whether there are amenities on shore, how busy or noisy it was etc.

We always check it before heading somewhere to anchor and have found it to be pretty accurate. Just bear in mind that the reviews are people’s own experiences so they won’t necessarily match your own!

6. No Foreign Land

An absolute gold mine of information for anchorages, this website is saved in my favourites bar and I use it A LOT! It’s a kind of review-based site for anchorages and marinas where users can add their experiences and useful information.

A great feature that can’t be found in other sailing apps, especially for families, is that you can add your boat and check in to the anchorages you arrive at so that you can find other cruisers with similar interests and go say hi!

People will usually add the age of their kids so you could connect easily with other sailing families. You can follow boats you know so that you can see if you’re in a similar area to friends you’ve made!

It also saves your route so you can see where and when you’ve arrived at different anchorages, which we find a nice little reminder of our journey so far.

It’s constantly improving, so now there is extra information being added to anchorages such as whether there is water and electricity, where laundry services can be found, and other useful things like supermarkets and car hire.

If you write a blog you can add links to articles you’ve written about the places you’ve visited.

There really is a whole wealth of features that I’m still discovering – admin are super helpful and will talk you through it all if you get stuck!

7. Anchor Watch Apps For Sailing

We have had mixed success with this sailing app but it’s so popular with most that we decided to include it here. Give it a go and see for yourself!

Anchor watch uses GPS location to set off an alarm if your boat starts drifting outside set parameters. You can input the amount of chain you have out and it will go off if you’re dragging anchor.

We had problems with it, as no matter how wide we set the parameter the alarm went off constantly anyway, even on a super calm day when it was clear we weren’t even moving, let alone dragging.

After a whole night of no sleep with the alarm going off every few minutes we gave up, but most sailors seem to love it so perhaps this is just us using it wrong!

One of the things I liked the idea of most was the fact you can get it to send you a message when your boat is moving so that if you were on shore you would get an alert.

This would definitely have put me more at ease when the wind picks up!

Weather Apps For Sailing

We use several different weather apps for sailing, because why not make the most of all the information you can get your hands on when it comes to keeping you and the boat safe!

Different weather models work better in different parts of the world, so our top tip is to ask on Facebook forums which weather model people have found works best for the area you’re sailing in.

These can differ even just from region to region, so make sure you do a little research before you head there for the most accurate forecasts!

8. Predict Wind Sailing App

We tried several wind forecasting apps before deciding Predict Wind was the most reliable for the area we were sailing in. We often check Ventuski on our laptops too for a second opinion.

PredictWind uses GRIB data from various sources. You can choose your source if you like (eg. if you have a preference for US or European weather models).

We have found the table feature really useful as you can compare all the different models at once and see the gusts in the area too. It also shows things like predicted wave height.

There are various add-ons that we would definitely get if we had money to spare. We would use the gust map instead of the wind map to be sure we weren’t going to get blasted.

One of the most useful seems to be the routing feature, where you can add your route and departure time and speed, and it will tell you what the conditions are predicted to be depending on where you are during your journey.

You can of course work this out for yourself but it would save a lot of time to have this done for you!

As with all weather models we’ve tried out we usually add 5 or 10 knots to the predicted wind speed as more often than not they underestimate!

When we left the Cyclades and headed to the Ionian we started to get really frustrated with Predict Wind as it was so often inaccurate.

This was partly to do with the fact that the winds in the Ionian are a lot less predictable, but when we asked around on forums we found people got the best forecasts from the Windy sailing app. We switched to that and got a bit luckier with our passage planning!

Personally, I don’t find Windy as easy to use as Predict Wind, but Adam finds the opposite so I guess it’s more a case of what you’re used to! Use both for the best idea of what the weather might do!

10. Blitzortung

This website was recommended to us by a sailing friend and it’s been a lifesaver on many occasions. Unfortunately, thunderstorms here in Greece seem to strike with very little warning and with quite some ferocity.

Blitzortung tracks lightning strikes around the world in real-time, so you can literally watch them coming towards you and prepare appropriately.

The white flashes are the live lightning strikes (to 1-minute accuracy) and then old lightning strikes are shown fading down to red so that you can get an idea of the direction the storm is travelling.

You can see how it saved our bacon here !

Useful Apps For Sailing

These certainly aren’t apps for sailing that we check every day, but they’re nice to have downloaded for those times you’re bored on a long passage, or want access to knowledge quickly.

Keep them in mind for the next time you need some entertainment on a calm sail!

11. Sail Expert

The Sailing Expert app does a whole range of different jobs for sailors, but we’ve included it in this list for it’s ability to keep sailing and maintenance logs.

The device’s sensors are used to fill the sailing log (location, COG, SOG, temperature, pressure) so that you don’t have to worry about keeping a paper record of your passage.

12. Knots 3D

Even the most experienced sailor can become a little rusty with their knot-tying skills when they aren’t using them every day.

Adam and I have the go-to knots that we love and use all the time, but every now and again we get frustrated when we forget a specific knot that would be useful for something specific.

The knots 3D app is great because it has a database of literally hundreds of knots and you can view the knots tying process in 3D, which is so much easier than from the page of a book!

It costs a few dollars but is worth it if you’ll be spending lots of time on the water!

13. Star Gazing Apps For Sailing

There are plenty of options out there, but we love star walk 2. This is such a great thing to do at night on a boat, especially in remote anchorages.

Instead of guessing blindly at the planets and constellations, star gazing apps will tell you for sure. Just hold up your phone to the night sky and it will show you a moving image of what you should see.

It’s surprisingly accurate and we’ve had a lot of fun with it. It will also help if you want to try a bit of celestial navigation on passage!

14. Audible – A Sailing Essential!

This is an absolute must-have for me, and one of the sailing apps I use the most. Although it’s not technically a sailing app, I think it should be!

Audible gives you access to millions of audiobooks of all kinds. It’s great for long boring passages where not much is happening, and we use it all the time when we’re doing work on the boat or doing things like tidying or sorting.

It needs minimal internet, it’s entertaining and soothing. We are completely addicted and I must have motored through about 20 books while working in the boatyard.

Sanding away with my headphones in made the job a whole lot more appealing!

You can get a free month’s trial here , and after that, it’s 7.99 a month for one book of your choice. It’s cheaper than buying a book each month but the price can sting if you get through them at the rate we do.

To combat this I take full advantage of their deal of the day where you can get books for £1.99. You just have to be a little less picky about what you listen to, which has forced me to listen and find I enjoy genres I never would have thought to listen to.

You can also get access to a whole range of podcasts (we love the true-crime ones!)

Correction : Audible has now introduced books that are included in your subscription so you don’t have to pay extra for them. They aren’t always the best quality reads, but they’re entertaining enough and as they’re free you can just skip the rubbish ones!

Should Be Apps For Sailing!

We’ve included a few of our personal favourite apps that aren’t specific for sailing but are super useful for cruisers anyway!

15. Revolut

This is our go-to app for managing our money while we’re out of the UK. Revolut gives great exchange rates so you don’t get stung too much when you’re out of the country.

The app means you can manage all your finances from one place and keep tabs on how much you’re spending and what on! It records everything for you in an easy-to-read chart so you can review your spending at the end of each month.

You can sign up for a free Revolut card here to make sure you get the best rates when spending abroad.

16. YouTube For Sailing Knowledge

This sounds like a strange one to add, but honestly, YouTube is a sailor’s bible these days. If you can’t learn it from YouTube then you don’t need to learn it!

We’ve found tutorials on how to fix the most random boat parts on YouTube. There’s such a huge wealth of information on there that I couldn’t leave it off the list!

It’s also a great place to learn about whether liveaboard life is really for you. There are a thousand different sailing channels out there that video daily life on board.

A lot of them show life as you dream it’s going to be, so you have to be a little careful to pick the right channels if you actually want to know what life is really like aboard a sailboat full time (trust us, it isn’t a bed of roses for anyone all the time!)

A few big channels we found to be more realistic are Sailing Kittiwake and Sailing Millennial Falcon . Or you can check out ours here for a bit of insight as to what it’s really like to sail on a budget!

17. Zoom, What’s App Video or Skype Apps For Sailing

When you live on a sailboat you’re often away from family and friends for months or even years at a time. There is nothing quite like having a video call (when the internet allows!) with those that you’re close with to pick you up after a bad day at sea or make you feel a little less far from home.

We’ve found that Zoom is best for group calls with multiple people and you get 40 minutes free, and can then end the call and restart!

You can even organise things like quizzes online to entertain yourselves and make you feel as though you’re really there.

We prefer What’s App video calls for one-to-one conversations as it’s much easier to use on your phone. It’s great to call someone from home on a long and boring coastal passage and have someone to catch up with!

18. Google Maps

The brilliant thing about sailing is that it takes you to new and interesting locations. But that also means it can be hard to know where you can get provisions or boat parts as you’re often sailing in unfamiliar areas.

To help us work out where we can provision or get certain services (Adam is always looking up fishing shops!) we use good old Google Maps.

We have the app on our phone and use it to navigate to the nearest stores or tourist attractions and it’s super useful for working out walking distances to the things we need. Sometimes we even plan anchorages around the things we need onshore and the distance we’ll have to walk to get there!

19. Instagram

This might seem like a bit of a strange one to have on the list but let me explain myself. Instagram is actually an awesome way to meet other sailors and get great sailing advice.

It’s a small world, the sailing community. If you create a sailing related profile and add and interact with a load of other sailing profiles you’ll be amazed at how many people you’ll start to actually connect with. And then meet up with.

We’ve met so many people in real life that we started talking to in Instagram, and we’ve stayed in touch and asked for help and advice along the way. It’s such a great resource that most people probably don’t even think of using. GET ON IT NOW!

And to help get you started here are some awesome ocean Instagram captions so you don’t have to do any of the hard work.

Conclusion: The Best Apps For Sailing

So there’s a low down on our all-time favourite sailing apps. Hopefully, they help you out as much as they’ve helped us! If you have any more favourites then please do let us know below so we can add them to our favourites library!

If you found this useful then it really helps us out if you share this post or follow us on social media below for more!

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thanks so much for this wonderful review of apps and sailing resources!

That’s really nice post. I appreciate your skills. Thanks for sharing.

This is such a great list. I’ve had my own but there are some real gems in here I had never thought of. One thing I’m looking for is a simple app to track where I’ve stowed all the spare parts on my boat.

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• Search Search Hi! We’re Emily, Adam and Tiny Cat, liveaboard sailors travelling the world on our 38ft sailboat and writing about it as we go. We hope we can inspire you to live the life you’ve always dreamed, whether that’s exploring the world or living a more simple way of life in a tiny home. Find out more. Patreon
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Top 13 Best Sailing Apps to Download Today

13th oct 2017 by samantha wilson.

Nowadays there’s much more to your smartphone or tablet for the sailor. It’s now feasible to use mobile technology to help navigate, keep track of tides and currents, and even tie knots. Whether you’re a day cruiser or hard-core racer, there’s an app out there that could help make your sailing life a little bit easier. In this guide, we’ll look at some of the very best apps on the market and help you decide which is the best for you.

Wärtsilä iSailor (IOS and Android)

Free (Offers In-app Purchases)

http://www.isailor.us/news/

IOS - Wärtsilä iSailor

Android - Wärtsilä iSailor

This award-winning navigation app has one of the largest chart databases generated from official vector charts worldwide which are regularly updated for free. The interface offers clear navigation information, electronic charts, and additional content and is recognised worldwide as one of the most reliable and accurate navigation sources. The app utilises either your device’s GPS or an external Bluetooth GPS. The available charts include North America, Latin, and South America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Far East, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand and are purchased via the iSailor interface. However, the charts do not come cheap with each UK chart area costing £25.99. The extensive list of features includes NMEA heading and Rate-Of-Turn sensors, positioning system based on GPS, NMEA Echo Sounder, NMEA Wind Sensor, tides and currents, charts and routes, sailing guides and regional marinas and much much more. The app is well presented and responsive with excellent waypoint, route and navigation menus.

Navionics (IOS and Android)

Free (offers in-app purchases)

https://www.navionics.com/gbr/apps/navionics-boating

IOS - Navionics - Boating Marine & Lakes  

Android - Navionics - Boating HD Marine & Lakes

Voted best on a test by Yachting World, Navionics’ functionality is refined and smooth and is fully customisable. Swapping between normal and sonar views is a one-touch operation and there are various shading options for depth contours. Key navigational features can be enlarged in Easy View enabling them to remain visible even when the chart is zoomed out. Route markers can be created without Navionics+ but you are unable to activate or follow a route. However, permanent features enable you to plan your trip and measure the distance between points, add markers to selected points and check wind forecasts. Navionics+ includes dock-to-dock autorouting which quickly creates detailed routes even through narrow passages and channels based on chart data and navigation aids, advanced route planning with ETA, distance to arrival, heading to WP and fuel consumption. Detailed weather forecasts and weather buoy data and wireless compatible plotter sync are also included within the subscription. The IOS version benefits from a timeline which enables you to look back at your trips in the track Timeline where you can view any photos taken whilst tracking.  All in all, Navionics is easy to use and offers the sailor a good all-around package.

INavX (IOS only)

£4.99 (Offers In-app Purchases)

IOS - iNavX: Marine Navigation   

The ability to access charts from different providers such as Navionics, CHS, NV Charts and Fugawi, set iNavX apart from other navigation apps on the market. The advanced chart plotter enables the user to plot position in real time using your device’s in-built GPS with easy pan, zoom and rotational charts. Waypoints can be created and routes can be planned accordingly. The track log allows the user to record the actual route and can be integrated with an external GPS, AIS receivers and transponders. The app can also act as a repeater for marine software such as MacENC and supports NMEA data over TCP/IP using wifi. GRIB weather forecasts, tides and currents, an anchor alarm and AIS alarm are also included within the toolkit. The app allows the sailor to switch between platforms without losing stored waypoints, tracks and routes whilst NV raster charts are high resolutions even when fully zoomed in. Named waypoints are displayed and the entire waypoint layer can be switched off if needed. Tidal information can be added with the additional purchase of the AyeTide app. The app is intuitive and comprehensive and is perfect for waypoint management for racing.       

MetOffice (IOS and Android)

IOS - Met Office Weather Forecast   

Android - Met Office Weather Forecast  

Website -  https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

As well as publishing its shipping forecasts, inshore waters forecasts and gale warnings on their website, the Met Office have also produced an app. Real-time UK National Severe Weather Warnings with the interactive warnings map including saved locations is displayed. Warnings follow the same pattern as those broadcast by the coastguard. Also included are surface pressure charts, wind direction, base and gust strength. An interactive UK wind map is also of use to the sailor as are the weather alerts.

Windy (IOS AND Android)

IOS - Windy   

Android - Windy   

Website - https://www.windy.com/

Windy is an intuitive and accurate weather forecast app which provides an up-to-date weather forecast. The app allows the user to zoom out to see global weather patterns or to zoom into a local area within a clear and concise interface. The data is based upon ECMWE, GFS, NEMS, NAM, and other forecast models and is one of the most accurate weather apps on the market. The app is fully customisable and displays observed wind and temperature, forecasted weather and even nearby webcams. The data can be displayed in metric, imperial or custom units such as mph, m/s, etc. Detailed forecasts for any location can be displayed and include temperature, wind chill, wind speed, pressure, humidity, rain, and snow accumulation. A range of 28 weather layers can be applied which include weather, wind, temperature, clouds (low, medium and high), visibility, pressure, and even ozone layer.

Predict Wind (IOS and Android)

Free (plus in-app purchases)

IOS - PredictWind Offshore Weather  

Android - PredictWind Offshore Weather  

This free app allows the sailor to download multiple GRIB files for both coastal and offshore passage. Although expensive, depending on the level of access required (from £9 to £399 per annum), the app offers high levels of detail and one of the highest resolutions and most accurate forecasts available online. The Predict Wind server calculates the weather routing and departure planning with the highest resolution forecast data into a small file size making it ideal for transmission over low bandwidth. The interface is intuitive and easy to use with a resolution of 1km at its best.    

Yachting Weather (IOS and Android)

IOS - Yachting Weather   

Android - Yachting Weather  

A simple user-friendly app which uses GFS data from weather365.com, giving a three-hourly forecast. The forecasts are based on your current GEO location or any other sea area worldwide determined by GPS. The three-day forecasts (two days on IOS) come in six-hour intervals and are available worldwide. A high resolution, comparable to approximately 12X12 sea miles is advantageous to the sailor allowing changing winds, gusts or rough sea within a short distance to be forecast. Forecast data includes storm risk, wind speed, wind direction, gusts, wave heights and direction, air pressure, temperature, and humidity.

AIS (Automatic Identification System)

Marine traffic (ios and android).

£4.99 for IOS and £3.99 for Android

IOS - MarineTraffic - Ship Tracking   

Android - MarineTraffic Ship Positions

Although not intended to replace a boat’s AIS, this app is a handy reference guide which displays near real-time positions of ships and yachts worldwide. Vessels can be viewed on a live map and identified with augmented reality (in-app purchase necessary). Port arrivals and departures for over 4,000 ports and marinas can be viewed as well as current conditions in ports and ETAs for boats and ships. Vessels around you can be identified at a glance by simply pointing your device’s camera to the horizon. The database contains over 2.5 million photos of ships, harbours, and lighthouses and you can upload photos to MarineTraffic directly from your device. Great fun for non-sailing guests.

Ayetides (IOS only)

£7.99

IOS - AyeTides   

Ayetides simply displays tides and/or currents for over 12,500 locations worldwide without needing a network connection. Viewed either in tabular form or as an interactive graph, the app shows you the tide’s value at any point during the day. Stations can be found on a map or by your current location and are regularly updated. AyeTides XL has been designed for iPad use.

Sail Racer (IOS and Android)

Free plus an annual subscription

Website -  http://sailracer.net/

IOS - Sail Racer   

Android - Sail Racer   

Sail Racer is an additional tool to use alongside standard yacht equipment to help make tactical decisions faster. The app monitors your position to optimise your start and maneuvers based on current, wind, lay-lines and polar data. The app features a visual starting box on the map with moving Time-To-Burn line/area for optimal start timing, easy switching between compass and map and automatic mark coordinates leaving skippers free to concentrate on maximising performance and tactics. Wind gust and lull effects are visualised in a shift bar on top of the compass rose and on the map whilst boat efficiency is calculated according to polar data.

Anchor Watch (IOS and Android)

£0.99

IOS - Anchor Watch   

Android - Anchor Watch   

Anchor Watch utilises the GPS on your smartphone or tablet to constantly monitor your boat’s position within set limits. If you drift out of the predefined area the program will immediately alert you via sounds, vibration alerts, popups, email, SMS or even a phone call. The drift radius can be set from 15ft to 75m by the touch of a finger or by manual entry. The settings panel is fully customisable to allow for different alarm types. In-app purchases include advanced nautical maps which can be downloaded and used offline.

Animated Knots by Grog (IOS and Android)

£4.99 for IOS and £4.69 for Android

IOS - Animated Knots by Grog  

Android - Animated Knots by Grog

Tying the correct knot in every scenario inspires sailing confidence and can prove vital to safety. Animated Knots by Grog was named best knot-tying app by Outside magazine and is a simple to follow comprehensive tool for any sailor. Step-by-step or frame-by-frame animation illustrates the knots tying themselves. Detailed descriptions of each knots advantages and disadvantages, uses and other information is displayed by tapping the info button. The vast knot database is fully searchable and includes all commonly used knots such as the ubiquitous Bowline and Cleat Hitch to the more exotic sounding Zeppelin Bend. It even includes necktie knots such as the Half Windsor for those nights at the Captain’s table.

Imray Marine Rules and Signals (IOS)

£5.99

IOS - Imray - Marine Rules and Signals  

For the occasional sailor, it’s far too easy to forget the basic knowledge and rules of the sea.  Leading chart and marine book publishers, Imray have produced this handy reference guide which contains all the rules and signals at sea that you’ll ever need. Illustrated with diagrams and short concise text, a guide is an indispensable tool for any sailor. The app includes steering and sailing rules, day and night time marking of boats, actual sound signals including distress signals and full Colregs text. It also covers buoys and their lights, flags, racing flags, semaphore flags and, radio calls. The content can be scrolled or viewed individually or in sequence. Charts and images can be zoomed and panned. The data is based on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea and includes current amendments.

Written By: Samantha Wilson

Samantha Wilson has spent her entire life on and around boats, from tiny sailing dinghies all the way up to superyachts. She writes for many boating and yachting publications, top charter agencies, and some of the largest travel businesses in the industry, combining her knowledge and passion of boating, travel and writing to create topical, useful and engaging content.

More from: Samantha Wilson

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• Weather apps: The best tools for accurate marine forecasts

As a boater, staying informed about weather conditions is vital for a safe and enjoyable experience on the water. Unpredictable weather can pose risks, affecting navigation, fishing plans, and overall safety. Thankfully, with the advancement of technology, there is a wide range of weather apps available that provide accurate forecasts specifically tailored for marine activities. In this article, we will explore the top weather apps that can help boaters make informed decisions and optimize their boating experiences.

The importance of weather apps for boaters

Weather apps have become essential tools for boaters for several reasons. First and foremost, they provide up-to-date and reliable weather information that helps boaters plan their trips, avoid adverse weather conditions, and ensure a safe voyage. Accurate weather forecasts enable boaters to prepare for potential storms, high winds, or heavy rain, ensuring they are well-prepared and equipped with the right gear.

Additionally, weather apps offer specific marine features such as wind speed, wave height, tide forecasts, and real-time radar. These features are particularly useful for sailors, fishermen, and boaters navigating open waters, as they require precise information to plan their routes and activities effectively.

Read our top notch articles on topics such as sailing, sailing tips and destinations in our Magazine .

Exploring top weather apps

Buoyweather: Buoyweather is a long-time favorite among boaters for its user-friendly interface and accurate map-based forecasts. The app offers detailed wind and wave predictions, making it an excellent choice for planning sailing trips or boating adventures. While it works seamlessly on Apple products, some Android users have reported occasional crashes. Fishweather: Loved by anglers, Fishweather provides on-site fishing reports and detailed wind maps with accurate forecasts. Boaters can rely on this app for wind strength and direction predictions, which are crucial factors for successful fishing trips. NOAA Marine Weather Forecast: This comprehensive app covers all marine weather aspects, including buoy data, historical wave height trends, tide and current forecasts, and National Weather Service marine forecasts. It also provides real-time wind, wave, and temperature data, making it a valuable tool for boaters. NOAA Weather Radar & Live Alerts: Known for its high reliability, this app offers real-time animated weather radar and short to long-term forecasting. Boaters can stay updated with accurate weather data without worrying about app crashes or technical glitches. Predictwind: A favorite of serious sailors, Predictwind incorporates live weather observations from thousands of stations, high-resolution forecast maps, and forecast alerts. The app boasts impressive accuracy, especially for wind direction and speed predictions. Sailflow: Sailflow is a global service that taps into over 50,000 weather stations for precise wind forecasting. Boaters can access radar precipitation maps, forecast maps, tide and current data, and nautical charts, making it a top pick for sailors. Storm Shield: While primarily developed for land-based activities, Storm Shield is useful for boaters with its exact location-based alerts for severe weather. Boaters can receive timely alerts to stay safe during unexpected weather changes. United States Coast Guard: The United States Coast Guard app provides free access to the latest weather data from NOAA weather buoys near the user's location. This valuable information is essential for boaters navigating coastal waters. Weather Channel: Although much of the information on the Weather Channel app is relevant to land, it offers extremely high reliability, live radar, accurate forecasting, and severe weather alerts. Boaters can trust this app for comprehensive weather data. Weatherbug: Weatherbug, a long-standing weather app, is packed with a wealth of data, including radar, wind, and accurate forecasts. It has been recognized as the Best Weather App in multiple app awards, making it a reliable choice for boaters.

Weather apps have revolutionized the way boaters plan and navigate their journeys on the water. From accurate wind and wave predictions to real-time radar and severe weather alerts, these apps provide critical information to ensure safe and enjoyable boating experiences. Whether you're a sailor, fisherman, or recreational boater, incorporating a reliable weather app into your boating routine is a must.

Optimize your boating experience with weather apps

Utilize these top weather apps to stay informed about weather conditions, plan your trips, and ensure a safe voyage on the water. With accurate forecasts and real-time data, you can optimize your boating experience and make the most of your time on the waves.

So what are you waiting for? Take a look at our range of charter boats and head to some of our favourite sailing destinations .

FAQs about weather apps for boaters

Which weather app is best for marine forecasts?

Buoyweather, Fishweather, and Predictwind are highly regarded for their accurate marine forecasts and user-friendly interfaces.

Are there free weather apps available?

Yes, many weather apps offer free versions with optional in-app purchases for additional features and data.

Are weather radar apps reliable for boaters?

NOAA Weather Radar & Live Alerts and Weatherbug offer reliable real-time radar and forecasting, ensuring boaters have up-to-date and accurate weather information for their trips.

Home » Blog » Gear » The best sailing apps for bluewater cruising

The best sailing apps for bluewater cruising

By Author Fiona McGlynn

Posted on Last updated: August 4, 2023

The best sailing apps for navigation, weather, and more

As much as we love to get out on the water and disconnect, we still have a soft spot in our hearts for the apps that make life afloat a little easier. Below are our fav apps that we use regularly. Let us know the sailing apps that you can’t live without in the comment box below.

SAILING NAVIGATION APPS

For IOS  and Android  (FREE, charts sold separately)

Navionics has recently put out an exciting new update. In December 2018 they released a version which runs on both smartphones and tablets and includes an Active Captain overlay. As our backup navigation system this app has been invaluable! We use it for passage planning, double-checking our position, and when our Raymarine chartplotter glitches out. For those of you with wanderlust, we found that Navionics had the most accurate charting for Mexico. Worldwide maps are available and we would now take our iPad along on any charter boat excursion. Another feature we love is the apps’ compatibility with Raymarine products. I often plot all of our waypoints below deck on the iPad and then wirelessly upload it to our Raymarine chartplotter – how sweet is that!

For Android,  Desktop Windows and Mac (FREE)

When it comes to navigation, who doesn’t love redundancy? Like many cruisers we are running OpenCPN on our laptop. We recently installed it on our and android phone as a backup. Having recently ditched paper charts on our boat , it’s nice to have a backup for your backup. OpenCPN does not contain charts so you have to download those separately. Free NOAA charts are available and work with OpenCPN as do CM93 world charts.

SAILING WEATHER APPS

PredictWind

For IOS, Android, Desktop for Offshore version  (Inshore version FREE, Offshore version by subscription)

PredictWind offers two great apps for weather forecasting: one for inshore and coastal sailing and another for offshore sailing. The inshore app displays high resolution weather forecasts, accessible by internet or mobile data and the offshore version additionally allows you to access GRIBS via a satellite or SSB connection. We used the offshore product on a Pacific crossing in 2017 and couldn’t have been happier with the results. The forecasts were very accurate and we could quickly download them over our Iridium Go connection. See our detailed review of the PredictWind Offshore app here.

For Android (FREE)

We find Windfinder works well for forecasting wind speeds but has been inconsistent for tide data. Good for planning a day-sail and checking current wind conditions at various locations.

Weather Station

For  Android (FREE).

Some smartphones have built in sensors to detect temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. We use this app as a backup system to tell us about our current environment and we’ve found it to be as accurate as our Maretron Weather Station (a $700 piece of equipment). Robin has also used it for his work in the past as a building science engineer for diagnosing issues in buildings…it’s that accurate.

This is our go to grib weather app. It’s nice for storing gribs offline and checking later when we no longer have cell connection. Interface is a bit glitchy on the zoom, but the data is quick.

OTHER SAILING APPS

For Android  & Desktop Windows and Mac (FREE)

While not exclusively a sailing app, we love this web browser because it dramatically speeds up web browsing and reduces mobile data charges by eliminating ads and compressing images. While sailing in the South Pacific where internet was famously slow and expensive, Opera made it possible to connect. Infact, it’s even meant to allow you to browse over a satellite connection, though we never had any luck making this work with our Iridium Go.

MarineTraffic

For  IOS ,  Android  ($5.99)

View any in-range vessel with AIS on a live map. We’ve used Marine Traffic to track down buddy boats, or follow family and friends on their cruising adventures. MarineTraffic recently added a neat new augmented reality feature that allows you to identify vessels around you by pointing your device to the horizon. It gives you all the information you need about the vessels: name, flag, speed, distance from you and a lot more.

Anchor Watch / Alarm

For  Android (FREE)

Our chartplotter is in the cockpit (making it hard to hear the anchor alarm with the companionway closed). Also, we don’t like to keep the chartplotter on when we’re at anchor as it is networked to the depth sounder and AIS (which all combine to drain our batteries). So, we were excited to discover that there are several anchor alarm apps. We used an app called Drag Queen (which no longer seems to exists) but have heard good things about Anchor Watch / Alarm. Not only does it alert you when your vessels drifts out of your set parameters, but it will even send you an SMS message (a nice option if you’re going out of sight of the boat).

What do you think are the best apps for sailing? Let us know in the comment box below.

Fiona McGlynn is an award-winning boating writer who created Waterborne as a place to learn about living aboard and traveling the world by sailboat. She has written for boating magazines including BoatUS, SAIL, Cruising World, and Good Old Boat. She’s also a contributing editor at Good Old Boat and BoatUS Magazine. In 2017, Fiona and her husband completed a 3-year, 13,000-mile voyage from Vancouver to Mexico to Australia on their 35-foot sailboat.

Steve Hodges

Thursday 9th of May 2019

Good suggestions, thanks! I'd add SailFreeGPS (android only).

Thursday 28th of February 2019

@Rick... Respect your right to choose but paper goes out of date and it is easy make mistakes when you're tired. As someone old enough to remember what it was like to sail without an instant position fix I love the way Digital GPS linked charts take the stress out of sailing. To know which side of the sand bank you are on is worth a lot.

Love Navionics. Just love it. I can plan my route on the big screen laptop sitting in the club bar. Routes port to my tablet and phone. Even when off watch I can keep a weather eye on what is going on from my bunk.

Fred Hoefer

Thursday 21st of February 2019

Waterspeed is my favorite app for recording sailing plans and showing speed data, weather, wind direction and velocity forecasts and you can save all of your data for future review and comparison. It’s definitely worth checking out!

Friday 1st of March 2019

Great suggestion! Thanks Fred

Sunday 17th of February 2019

Would like to recommend iNavX. iNavX uses NOAA charts and others. It also has an anchor alarm built in.

NOAA updates its charts frequently. Using iNavX its possible to have the most recent charts at all times. Commercial charts are updated less frequently. Sometimes, much less frequently.

Thanks for the suggestion Jonathan!

Saturday 16th of February 2019

There's only one 'app' as far as I'm concerned, paper Admiralty charts and a pencil.......

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Top 10 Sailing Apps

Sailing is one of the most ancient ways of getting around, but that doesn’t mean it has to be archaic. Today, there are tons of excellent sailing apps available to help enhance your seafaring experience. Sailing requires skill, and it can be hazardous to those who are inexperienced. Although technology can never replace sailing expertise, it can undoubtedly improve the quality of your time out on the water. You can learn from these apps and improve your sailing knowledge without buying books or paying for lessons. There’s plenty of apps available for sailors, and each has something of value to offer both onshore and offshore. From tutorial guides to navigation tools, here are the top ten best phone and tablet apps for sailing.

Table of contents

List of the Best iOS and Android Sailing Apps

1. knots 3d.

Thanks to careful boat design and engineering, sailboat rigs are more straightforward than ever. Sailing vessels from decades past once had enough rope to satisfy any scoutmaster, but now it’s a lot easier to sail without managing too many lines. Nevertheless, even new rigging requires a certain amount of knot expertise. Improperly tying knots can be disastrous at sea, and a bad dock tie-up can cause your boat to break away and drift. Not only that, but who wouldn’t want to impress the guys at the yacht club with impressive knot-tying abilities? Now, with the Knots 3D app, you can learn and master over a hundred essential sailing knots with ease. This app allows you to view the knot-tying process in three dimensions, which is a lot easier than looking at a static book page. You can use the app to improve your existing skills as well, and it’ll make you look like a champ while tying up at the dock. Knots 3D is available for $1.99 on both iOS and Android phones and tablets.

2. United States Coast Guard

This app is an absolute essential for anybody who sails in the United States. If you’ve owned a boat on U.S. waters, you’re certainly familiar with the Coast Guard and the essential work they perform every day. They’re the primary lifeline for sailors and boaters, and they also enforce the many maritime laws and regulations of this country. Remember, sailing isn’t like driving a car on the road. While you still have to follow the rules, you don’t need to do anything wrong to be ‘pulled over’ out on the water. The Coast Guard can (and often does) board you for no reason at any time. They do this to ensure you follow all of the mandatory safety and environmental regulations that apply to your boat. The Coast Guard app will help educate you about the rules, which will keep you safe and ensure you don’t receive a citation for a preventable violation. The Coast Guard’s rules are reasonable, but you have to know them to follow them.

This app isn’t just about following the law. It also gives you access to the latest weather updates from nearby NOAA buoys, which helps you navigate and prepare for foul weather. The Coast Guard regularly updates the app when they find new navigational hazards and allows you to report them as well. Along with the mandatory VHF radio, the Coast Guard app is an excellent navigational and safety tool to take along on every sailing journey. The Coast Guard App is available free for both iOS and Android.

3. Go Sailing

Go Sailing is an excellent app to connect with other sailing enthusiasts and find the best local spots when you’re out cruising. It’s a social media platform for sailors, and it’s a great way to meet people who share the hobby. Others often use the app to find other sailors to join them on their trips, and others use it to find crew members or spare parts in an emergency. It’s always great to be part of a community, and this app can help you find people who can be a great asset during your sailing trips.

A social network can be a great tool to improve a sailing trip, especially if you’re cruising to a new area. You can use the app to get in touch with the locals and attend events or secure supplies when you’re unfamiliar with the area. The user interface of this app is seamless; it works great, plus it’s fun to connect with people over a mutual enjoyment of sailing. The Go Sailing app is available free for iOS and Android.

4. AyeTides

One of the most significant hazards of sailing in a harbor is tide changes. Every year, hundreds of boats run aground or damage their hulls in shallow water. Many prudent sailors have gotten stuck at some point in their sailing career, and it’s a massive inconvenience (if not serious safety problem) whenever it occurs. Usually, people run aground due to inexperience or insufficient tide data, which is an understandable reason to have an accident. Now with the AyeTides app, you can access real-time and accurate tide data from over 12,500 locations around the world. AyeTides takes the guesswork out of navigating shallow waters. This gives you the ability to avoid hazards and plan ahead of time without complicated and inaccurate tide estimates.

While it’s still necessary to have tide charts, the app can help confirm information and keep you and your boat away from dangerous shallow areas. AyeTides keeps you up-to-date with the best available data so you’ll be in the know as conditions change. It can also help you predict future conditions to decide where (and where not) to anchor for the night, which is always a big plus. The AyeTides app is available for iOS for $7.99.

5. Cruisers Sailing Forum

Forums are one of the best online resources for how-to tutorials, troubleshooting, and locating hands-on experience from other sailors. The Cruisers Sailing Forum app gives you easy access to the renowned online platform, along with access to all of its recent and archived content. The forum offers excellent resources for sailors, and it’s a great place to ask a specific question and find somebody with the experience to answer it. Thousands of Cruisers Sailing Forum members contribute regularly, and there’s information about virtually everything already there. When you have a problem with your rigging or just need to find a good local spot to fish, you can post a question to the forum and get an answer from somebody who knows.

Forums are an incredible perk of modern technology, and the Cruisers Sailing Forum app makes it easy to access a priceless trove of information all from your phone or tablet. Resources are available there not only for boat maintenance and repair but also for great local spots and sailing locations that you may have never found otherwise. There’s a great community on the forum, and it’s certainly worthwhile to join and introduce yourself. You can bring along the answers wherever you go and use it any time you need. The Cruisers Sailing Forum app is available free for both iOS and Android devices.

6. SailFlow

Sailflow is an excellent app for planning a sailing trip, or for using on the water to get accurate weather information. The SailFlow app uses real-time and precise weather data from over 50,000 weather stations around the globe. This information is vital for both planning trips and predicting weather conditions. While accurate weather data is available elsewhere, it always helps to have a handy app that’s easy to interpret and available on the go.

Reliable weather information is always beneficial when you’re out sailing. A weather radio is a great tool to have also, but not every dangerous weather condition is broadcast over the air. A severe thunderstorm warning over the radio can certainly help keep you safe, but it doesn’t take a particularly powerful storm (which would be harmless on land) to cause significant issues over the water. With the SailFlow app, you can screen incoming weather conditions and determine for yourself if it’s safe to keep sailing. The SailFlow app is available free for iOS and Android, but there’s a pro version available too that offers some great perks.

The INavX app is the app you need for precise and accurate navigation. It features many excellent navigational tools, including up-to-date charts that are on-demand whenever you need them. The INavX app works with your onboard GPS and enhances navigation with ease. You can use it to monitor weather, check on tides, and find the best local places to go wherever you sail. You can use it to pin a previous location, so it’ll always be easy to find that great spot again. Remember, it’s still essential to have proper training in the use of charts to navigate waterways. INavX is not a replacement for charts and GPS systems. Instead, it’s an extremely handy addition to your navigation toolkit, and it offers a ton of great digital features that you wouldn’t have access to on paper or in a traditional navigation system. The INavX app is available for $14.99 on iOS.

8. Fast Track GPS Tool

Here is another great GPS and navigation app for sailors. It’s called the Fast Track GPS app, and it offers plenty of great navigational aids for sailing and boating. Like most traditional GPS apps, it features real-time location services to serve as a cross-reference with your primary navigation systems. Additionally, it has a large database of waypoints to assist in navigating areas where the information may not be as clear. The FastTrack GPS app also features live weather information and forecasting to ensure safe passage when other weather data is unavailable or unclear. This app allows the user to precisely pinpoint and save their location, which helps keep track of where you’re going and where you’ve been so far. It also includes live wind direction data, which can help you decide where to go and when to tack. In addition to an onboard radar system, you can also use this app as a proximity-alert device to help avoid collisions with the shore or unsafe and shallow waters.

Charts and proper navigation systems are still vital for safely navigating, along with a real person on watch in case somebody makes a mistake. However, this app provides some extra resources which can be extremely handy, especially when traveling in unfamiliar areas. The Fast Track GPS Tool is available on Android devices for free.

9. BoatUS App

Being a member of BoatUS is a lot like AAA for motorists, and it’s a fantastic way to add a sense of security to your trip. Mechanical failures and accidents at sea can be a total nightmare, and BoatUS can help ease some of those worries so you can enjoy your time on the water headache-free. The BoatUS app gives you access to 24/7 boat towing in many locations, just in case something happens, and you need assistance. In addition to towing and dockside assistance services, the BoatUS app is also a great resource for important marine data including forecasts and small craft advisories. With notifications turned on, you’ll get a buzz every time a weather authority shares an advisory or warning that you’ll need to know.

BoatUS doesn’t just deal with sailing hazards—they also provide great location-based information on discounted goods and services such as fuel and mooring. Their resources include locations and prices for services such as boat repair, dining, parts, mooring, and fishing information too—it’s your local guide that fits in your pocket. They also have a location-based map of West Marine stores so you can stock up on spare parts or accessories for your boat when out of town. You can use it to share your location to friends and family on social media, and also automatically via text and location so somebody always knows your recent position. This well-rounded and useful sailing app is available free for iOS and Android, but you’ll need to sign up for access to towing services.

10. PredictWind Marine Forecasts

Here’s another great weather app for sailing, and it features plenty of great tools to help you stay in the know. This isn’t any old weather app—it features full resolution maps, tables, and charts constantly updated with live data. Using the PredictWind app, you can monitor real-time wind speed and direction reports on an interactive map, along with temperature data and live forecasts. This app has uses a proprietary PWG and PWE marine weather monitoring system, with ECWMF and GF5 models, ensuring pinpoint accuracy, reliable forecasting, and excellent resolution. Also, the app is designed to be easy to use, allowing you to find and interpret important weather data without trouble or confusion. This is a very handy app to have around, and it can help you chart a course in confidence. The PredictWind Marine Forecasting app is available for free on iOS and Android.

However you choose to sail, you can benefit from one (or many) of these useful apps. We shouldn’t rely entirely on technology when sailing, but it can be very helpful to have around to make the experience more enjoyable. We can now access information and tools that mariners never had before, and it makes sailing easier and safer for everyone. Check out these apps and see for yourself how they can enhance your time out on the water.

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Daniel Wade

I've personally had thousands of questions about sailing and sailboats over the years. As I learn and experience sailing, and the community, I share the answers that work and make sense to me, here on Life of Sailing.

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Inside the shocking Sicily yacht tragedy that left 7 people dead

There was a violent storm, but even then, luxury yachts are built to weather such events. so why did this boat sink off the coast of sicily, leaving seven people dead, by natalie finn | e news • published august 24, 2024 • updated on august 24, 2024 at 10:34 am.

Originally appeared on E! Online

Nobody was trying to reach the lowest depths of the ocean or otherwise test the boundaries of human endurance .

But what was supposed to be a routine pleasure cruise aboard a superyacht turned deadly all the same on the morning of Aug. 19 when the 184-foot Bayesian got caught in a storm and sank off the coast of Sicily .

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"I can't remember the last time I read about a vessel going down quickly like that," Stephen Richter of SAR Marine Consulting told NBC News . "You know, completely capsizing and going down that quickly, a vessel of that nature, a yacht of that size."

Of the 22 people onboard, including crew, seven people died. The last of the bodies was recovered Aug. 23, an expectedly sad coda to what had already been a tragic week as the search for answers as to how this happened got underway.

And to be sure, every minute of the Bayesian's ill-fated outing is being fiercely scrutinized, starting with the general seaworthiness of the vessel itself.

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Because, frankly, this was a freak occurrence.

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"Boats of this size, they’re taking passengers on an excursion or a holiday," Richter explained. "They are not going to put them in situations where it may be dangerous or it may be uncomfortable, so this storm that popped up was obviously an anomaly. These vessels that carry passengers, they’re typically very well-maintained, very well-appointed."

But in this case, a $40 million yacht sank, seven people are dead—including a billionaire tech mogul and his 18-year-old daughter—and morbid fascination doesn't need a second wind.

Here is how the story of the Sicily yacht tragedy has unfolded so far:

What happened to the yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily?

The Bayesian had set off from the Sicilian port of Milazzo on Aug. 14 at capacity with 12 guests and 10 crewmembers aboard.

The aluminum-hulled vessel was built in 2008 by Italian shipbuilder Perini Navi and registered in the U.K. Cruise sites listed it as available for charter at $215,000 per week, per the Associated Press.

On the morning of Aug. 19, the superyacht was anchored off the coast of Porticello, a small fishing village in the Sicilian province of Palermo (also the name of Sicily's capital city), when a violent storm hit.

The vessel "suddenly sank" at around 5 a.m. local time, seemingly due to "the terrible weather conditions," the City Council of Bagheria announced shortly afterward, per NBC News .

At the time, only one person was confirmed dead—the ship's chef—but six others were said to be missing. The 15 survivors—who managed to make it onto an inflatable life boat, according to emergency officials—were rescued that morning by the crew of another yacht that had been nearby when the storm hit.

"Fifteen people inside," Karsten Borner, the Dutch captain of the ship that was able to help (the Sir Robert Baden Powell), told reporters afterward, per Reuters. "Four people were injured, three heavily injured, and we brought them to our ship. Then we communicated with the coast guard, and after some time, the coast guard came and later picked up injured people."

When the storm hit, his boat ran into "a strong hurricane gust," Borner said, "and we had to start the engine to keep the ship in an angled position."

They "managed to keep the ship in position," he continued, but once the storm died down, they realized the other boat that had been behind them—the Bayesian—was gone.

The wreck ended up settling 165 feet below the surface, according to Italy's national fire department.

Fire officials said that divers, a motorboat and a helicopter were deployed to search for the missing.

Meanwhile, footage was captured of the ship capsizing on closed-circuit TV about a half-mile away from where it was anchored.

In the video obtained by NBC News, the illuminated 250-foot aluminum mast of the ship appears to list severely to one side before disappearing completely. Survivors recalled having just a few minutes to literally abandon ship.

Who were the seven people who died when the yacht Bayesian sank?

The tragedy initially became headline news because billionaire tech mogul Mike Lynch—"Britain's Bill Gates," some U.K. media called him—was among the missing. His body was ultimately recovered Aug. 22 .

"They told me that suddenly they found themselves catapulted into the water without even understanding how they had got there," Dr. Fabio Genco, head of the Palermo Emergency Medical Services, told NBC News Aug. 22. "And that the whole thing seems to have lasted from 3 to 5 minutes."

Genco said he got to Porticello about an hour after the Bayesian capsized.

Survivors "told me that it was all dark, that the yacht hoisted itself up and then went down," he said. "All the objects were falling on them. That’s why I immediately made sure, by asking them questions, if they had any internal injuries."

Why did the yacht sink?

Italian prosecutors are investigating to determine what transpired before the boat went down, according to NBC News.

Meanwhile, the CEO of shipbuilder Perini's parent company The Italian Sea Group defended the vessel itself as "unsinkable."

Perini boats "are the safest in the most absolute sense," Giovanni Costantino told Sky News Aug. 22 . What happened to the Bayesian "put me in a state of sadness on one side and of disbelief on the other," he continued. "This incident sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact."

Costantino said it had to have been human error that led to the boat sinking, declaring, "Mistakes were made."

"Everything that was done reveals a very long summation of errors," he told newspaper Corriere della Sera Aug. 21, in an interview translated from Italian. "The people should not have been in the cabins, the boat should not have been at anchor."

The weather was "all predictable," he continued, adding that the storm "was fully legible in all the weather charts. It couldn't have been ignored."

The yacht's captain, identified as James Cutfield of New Zealand, was taken to Termini Imerese hospital for treatment. From there, he told La Repubblica, per Sky News , that he didn't see the storm coming.

Borner, the captain of the ship that rescued the 15 Bayesian survivors, told NBC News that he noticed the storm come in at 4 a.m. local time, and saw what looked to him like a waterspout, a type of tornado that forms above water.

The International Centre for Waterspout Research posted on X Aug. 19 that it had "confirmed 18 waterspouts today off the coasts of Italy. Some were powerful waterspouts, one of which may have been responsible for the sinking of a large yacht off of Sicily."

Borner said he didn't know why the Bayesian sank so quickly, guessing "it may have something to do with the mast, which was incredibly long." (A tall mast, even with its sails down, means there's more surface area exposed to wind, which can result in tipping.)

Confirming that one person was dead and six unaccounted for immediately following the wreck on Aug. 19, Salvo Cocina of Sicily's civil protection agency told reporters that a waterspout had struck the area overnight.

"They were in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.

The 59-year-old founder of software firm Autonomy had been on the trip with his wife Angela Bacares and their 18-year-old, Oxford-bound daughter Hannah to celebrate his recent acquittal in the U.S. on fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from the $11.7 billion purchase of his company by Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

In a bizarre turn of events, Lynch's co-defendant at trial, Stephen Chamberlain, the former vice president of finance at Autonomy, died after being taken off life support following a road accident on Aug. 17. Chamberlain's attorney told Reuters Aug. 20 that his friend and client had been out for a run when he was "fatally struck" by a car.

Meanwhile, multiple people who contributed to Lynch's defense were on the cruise with him and his family.

The bodies of Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer—who testified on Lynch's behalf—and his wife Judy Bloomer, as well as lawyer Chris Morvillo, a partner at the U.S. firm Clifford Chance, and his wife Neda Morvillo, a jewelry designer, were recovered on Aug. 21 .

In a LinkedIn post thanking the team that successfully defended Lynch, Morvillo wrote, per Sky News , "And, finally, a huge thank you to my patient and incredible wife, Neda Morvillo, and my two strong, brilliant, and beautiful daughters, Sabrina Morvillo and Sophia Morvillo. None of this would have been possible without your love and support. I am so glad to be home. And they all lived happily ever after…"

The first casualty confirmed Aug. 19 was the ship's Canadian-Antiguan chef, later identified as Recaldo Thomas.

"He was a one-of-a-kind special human being," a friend of Thomas told The Independent . "Incredibly talented, contagious smile and laugh, an incredible voice with a deep love of the ocean and the moon. I spoke to him nearly every day. He loved his life his friends and his job."

Hannah's body was the last of the missing six to be found , with divers bringing her remains ashore on Aug. 23.

Lynch and Bacares, who was rescued, also shared a 21-year-old daughter, according to The Times.

While awaiting trial, Lynch—who maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings—had spent 13 months under house arrest in San Francisco. Back home in London afterward, he admitted to The Times in July that he'd been afraid of dying in prison if he'd been found guilty. (He faced a possible 25-year sentence.)

"It's bizarre, but now you have a second life," he reflected. "The question is, what do you want to do with it?"

(E!, NBC News and Sky News are all members of the Comcast family.)

The 10 worst states to retire in the U.S. No. 1 isn't California or New York

While the  best state to retire  in the U.S. is also one of the smallest in the country, the worst state to retire is the largest.

Alaska ranks as the worst state in the U.S. to retire for the  third year in a row , according to Bankrate’s  study of the best states to retire  in 2024.

To compile its list of the best and worst places to retire in the U.S., Bankrate ranked all 50 states across five weighted categories:

• Affordability (40%):  Analyzes factors such as local and state sales taxes, cost of living and average annual property taxes
• Overall wellbeing (25%):  Includes factors such as the number of adults over 62 per 100,000 residents and access to food and health care
• Quality and cost of health care (20%):  Looks at factors such as the cost of health care at the state level and the performance of each state’s health system
• Weather (10%):  Evaluates data on factors such as a state’s average annual temperature and average number of tornado strikes, earthquakes and hurricane landfalls
• Crime (5%):  Examines factors such as the amount of property crimes and violent crimes per 100,000 residents

Bankrate analyzed datasets from a number of sources, including the Council for Community and Economic Research, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Tax Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Here are the 10 worst states to retire, according to Bankrate.

Notably, Alaska ranks last in the weather category. Although temperatures in Alaska can range from 45 degrees to 75 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, they can sink  as low as negative 10 degrees Fahrenheit  in the winter.

Alaska can be an expensive place to live, especially for retirees with a fixed income. On average, the cost of living in Alaska is about 30% higher than the rest of the country,   according to RentCafe . Housing costs are about 17% higher than the national average, and utilities and health-care expenses are both nearly 50% higher.

On the upside, Alaska can be a very tax-friendly location for retirees. The state doesn’t have income tax, estate taxes or inheritance taxes and doesn’t tax pension payments or retirement benefits from Social Security.

Lack of affordability appears to be a common thread among the other low-ranking states on the list, which include New York, Washington and California — all known for being relatively pricey.

However, just because a state has a higher cost of living doesn’t necessarily mean you should write it off as a potential retirement destination. You may just need to plan to set aside more money for retirement than you would if you were planning to retire somewhere less expensive.

CNBC Make It’s  retirement calculator  can help you estimate how much you’ll need to save for retirement based on factors like your current age, savings, income and when you’d like to stop working.

And while living costs can be a key determinant in deciding where you may want to retire in the future, it’s also good to keep other non-financial aspects in mind. For example, access to social and community-building activities is an important, but often overlooked, consideration for retirees, according to Bankrate.

“Having that sense of community and human connection is huge to healthy aging,” Kerry Hannon, a retirement expert and Author of “In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work,” says in Bankrate’s study.

“Isolation and loneliness are not something you want to move toward, so look for your community,” she says.

More from CNBC:

• Southwest to get rid of open seating, offer extra legroom in biggest shift in its history
• Boeing’s missteps have cost it billions. Here’s its plan to get back to its glory
• Delta says the Olympics will cost it $100 million as travelers skip Paris

Cheyenne DeVon is a Money reporter at CNBC Make It. She covers a variety of personal finance topics including managing credit card debt, retirement planning and personal saving. She also reports on tech innovation topics including A.I., cryptocurrency and NFTs.

• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

Offshore sailor Henry Bomby shares his top iPad yacht apps for racing and cruising

• April 7, 2015

Solo sailor Henry Bomby uses an iPad for everything from navigation and AIS to weather forecasts and routeing. We asked him to choose his favourite apps

Henry Bomby, 23, is one of Britain's top young offshore sailors. Photo: Brian Carlin

Few new products have changed the way I navigate at sea so much as the tablet computer. In my case that means the iPad, although most of the sailing apps I mention here are also available for Android tablets.

Although iPads should only be used as a back-up or as an aid to a standalone navigation set-up, their high GPS speeds and accurate charting applications make them really useful as chartplotters. Only the 3G iPad has a built-in GPS aerial (lower spec models use wi-fi). This will pinpoint your location regardless of whether or not you have a mobile phone signal.

It just connects via bluetooth so you can mount it anywhere in the boat. I use the GNS 2000 MFI, which costs £89.50. Although it is a bit of a bulky set-up, it has a super-fast GPS speed and is a cheaper option than upgrading to a new iPad 3G.

There are two ways to use an iPad, or other tablet device, on board: as a standalone computer using apps or as a remote display link to another computer (or as both). All of the best boating apps can be downloaded from the likes of iTunes or Google Play and manufacturers’ websites are provided for more information.

Best iPad apps for navigation

Transas iSailor

This is my favourite navigation app. iSailor has one of the largest chart databases worldwide. Its charts are generated from official vector charts and I have found them to be very reliable. It’s a useful tool when you’re racing as far inshore as you dare off coasts such as Brittany. The charts are continually updated and the updates are free. However, charts per zone are among the most expensive, the UK South Coast charts cost £17.49. Price: app free, average chart price £17.49. www.isailor.us

TimeZero is a part of MaxSea, the renowned routeing software company. An appealing part of this app is that you can opt to use raster charts, which are scanned copies of paper charts, for many areas – a comfortable transition to electronic navigation for anyone used to paper charts. You can also download areas to your iPad, so chart loading while zooming in and out is extremely fast. TimeZero provides a 3D perspective, which is great for entering unfamiliar ports. I use this app more and more. Price: app free, average chart price £34.99. www.maxsea.com/maxsea_timezero_ipad_app

The most popular charting app, Navionics has similar tools and functions to TimeZero. I don’t use it because I have the routeing program Adrena for more complex tasks. However, it is a very sound bet and its charts for numerous sailing areas are cheaper than those of iSailor. For example, high-definition charts covering the whole of UK and the Netherlands cost just £39.99. Price: app free, average chart price £34.99. www.navionics.com/en/mobile-pc-app

Best iPad apps for race starts

This is packed with features, including GPS, AIS and an NMEA input for displaying boat instrument data (available as additional in-app purchases). I primarily use this for the start line feature. It calculates line bias and has a metre countdown for distance to the line. Price: iRegatta Basic £6.99. www.zifigo.com

This app has impressive starting features, including time and distance to the line, and it works well as a big and easily viewable COG and SOG display, freeing up your other instruments to display other useful information. Better still, it’s free.

Price: free. www.itactic.it

Best iPad apps for weather forecasting

This app demonstrates the potential of tablet navigation. It is only available on Android for now, but there are plans for a release in the Apple app store soon. It lets you download and view weather models from a variety of sources, including Great Circle, Saildocs and NOAA. You can run routeing information through the app. A growing catalogue of polars helps make the routeing calculations more accurate. GRIB files, polars, routes and routeings are all saved in standard formats and are transferable. Impressive. Price: standard app free, Pro £3.99, WR routeing £20. www.sailgrib.com

The iPad equivalent to SailGrib, though also available as an Android app, Weather4D is less powerful, but is still packed with some great features. It has a good GRIB viewer, including a 3D view of the world, which I really like. As with SailGrib, a subscription allows you to download different weather models such as GFS, CMC and the French WRF model, down to a resolution of 0.04°. Weather4D Pro can run routeing in a similar way to SailGrib. However, the operation for this is more complicated. Good, but not quite the complete package yet. Price: standard £7.49, Pro £23.99. www.weather4d.com/en

Best apps for wind tracking

iRegatta has a great, user-friendly interface to track the wind. You can set the wind angle on each tack and can shoot head-to-wind just before the start by taking a photo directly into the wind. The app then helps to keep track of windshifts and easily illustrates the timings of an oscillating breeze with a neat diagram in the bottom right of the screen.

Price: iRegatta Basic £6.99. www.zifigo.com

Best apps for tides

Tides Planner

This is my favourite app to keep track of tides and currents. You simply scroll through its list of destinations to find the tidal height at different times at 8,000 world locations, including all US, Europe and Australasia stations. Tidal stream data is provided for UK, Ireland, Belgium, Holland and parts of Germany and Denmark. The app also has useful information such as tidal coefficients and the times of sunrise and sunset. It is free, but it’s worth buying its tidal atlases of the UK coast and the Bay of Biscay for only £2.49. You can easily flick through this to get an understanding of what the tide is doing.

Price: free, UK/Bay of Biscay tidal atlas £2.49.

www.tucabo.com/products/tides-planner

My iPad set-up

I use my iPad on deck all the time, so I need a fixed point on deck where it can be left on charge and can be detached easily if I need to move around. I have mounted it near the companionway, on the starboard side using 3M Dual Lock, the very strong Velcro-style fastenting strips.

Secured by this, my iPad is easy to view from the helming position on both sides and is well protected, so I can use it when starting a race as easily as when I head offshore and switch it to charting and navigation, using software to display AIS data and position myself within a fleet. I also have a 12V charging port just inside the companionway, so that the iPad is charging when it is in its dock.

Short-handed offshore racing is all about making life as easy as possible and the iPad is a great tool for supplying all the information I need, and more.

Henry Bomby, 23, is one of Britain’s most promising young offshore solo sailors. As part of the Artemis Offshore Academy Scholarship scheme, he completed a fully funded season in the solo one-design Figaro class. He sailed in this circuit for a further year and is currently competing for his third year on the Figaro circuit. See www.henrybomby.com

This is an extract from an article from Yachting World July 2014

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Paris 2024 had it all: Sporting drama, revered venues, singalongs... and Snoop Dogg

Austria’s Valentin Bontus takes men’s kite gold; first medal for Singapore at Paris 2024

Eleanor Aldridge of Great Britain wins historic first Olympic gold medal in women’s kite

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Sailing - sport explainer presented by allianz, kite sailing, marseille marina, the pictogram, worldwide partners.