Marine technology is making water adventures safer, easier to find stopovers and tides
Marine technology is making water adventures safer, easier to find stopovers and tides
There’s an app in today’s world for just about everything. An app, of course, is an application, a specialized program or piece of software designed for one particular purpose. It can be downloaded easily to a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. For many who spend time on the water, either for fun or business, apps have become indispensable. There are apps to help you locate marinas, boat repair shops and even restaurants. The choice is wide and experimenting with the exact app fitting your needs is recommended.
Safety is a top concern for those on the water. Fog, high winds and especially thunderstorms are real threats. There are many weather apps available. Walt Cheatham, a guide with Adventures Kayaking in Bonita Springs, says: “I will use The Weather Channel app for double-checking the forecast. Most importantly, you can check the latest radar to see if there are any storms out there.”
“I count on my radar app to stay out of harm’s way,” says Capt. Glenn Smith, who pilots Adventures in Paradise tour boats in Fort Myers.
Steve Colgate, co-founder of the Offshore Sailing School in Fort Myers with a location at the South Seas Island Resort on Captiva, concurs: “One app that many sailors use is MyRadar,” which determines location using an animated, high-definition radar display (from government radar sites). The display is easily scrolled and zoomed. You also get basic weather details. A severe weather warning option is also available. For sailing weather, Colgate says he also uses Wind Alert and SailFlow.
Tide information and navigation charts are crucial for a successful day on the water. Cheatham says: “I use Tides Near Me every single day I am on the water,” which is free and provides tide reports, charts and predictions, solar/lunar details and is
automatically set to your location. Colgate also uses the popular Navionics Boating app that combines NOAA Raster Navigational Charts with its own products, including sonar charts of the sea bottom and updated tides. The system plots a safe course to your destination based on boat specs and can also track and store journey details. Christine Fay, with the Marine Trading Post in North Fort Myers, says: “Every fisherman I know has tide and navigation apps.”
For other safety concerns there is ABYC Boat Essentials, which has the U.S. Coast Guard mandatory onboard safety rules and also tracks maintenance alerts and supply lists. Although not just for marine use, the SPOT App is recommended by Fay. Using GPS technology, the SPOT determines exact location. This information can be sent to friends or relatives or through an SOS device; emergency personnel if necessary.
Need to find a marina or a boatyard? Marina Guide by Mojoso gives information on nearby marinas. Waterway Guide Marinas boasts of more than 3,600 listings for marinas and boatyards. This free app will do the search for distances of 5 to 100 miles. It also gives service and amenity details.
For a more complete mariner’s guide, there is the Waterway Guide southern edition that covers the Florida coastline and along the Gulf coastline to Brownsville, Texas. Updated each year, the guide includes navigation charts and information, marina listings and information about places to visit shoreside. It’s available for the iPhone or iPad, if you have the iNavX app. Navionics Boating also provides information on local marinas, fueling locations (with prices) and boat repair shops. BlueChart Mobile from Garmin includes typical navigation functions and up-to-date weather. The Active Captain function allows interaction with other mariners, especially for marine services such as marinas and fuel docks.
How important are marine apps? Colgate says: “Apps are widely used in sailing.”
Capt. Glenn Smith adds, “I wouldn’t say they replace systems I use every day, but I use them all the time.”
And perhaps if the Skipper had had a radar app, there wouldn’t have been a “Gilligan’s Island.”