Best Apps for Your Yacht Charter Holiday

Editor

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Created on Feb 3, 2022

Feb 3, 2022

Categories: Sailor's Stuff Life Aboard

1. Navionics

One of the most preferred applications is Navionics. You can download the app by selecting your cruise region (North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and Ocean). This app turns your phone into a small chart plotter. As you can plan your route, you can also get weather reports and wind forecasts. Its price ranges from $1.99 to $129.99 depending on the cruise area.

2. What Knots to Do

Sailor ties are pretty hard work for all of us, except for those of us who are seasoned sailors. What Knot To Do contains 70 ties with illustrated examples. These include important sailor knots, as well as those for fishing, camping and lashing. If you download the application before your boat holiday, you can practise the necessary ones and you can find the opportunity to improve them before you get on the boat. You can also pass on your knowledge of knot to your friends with the thin ropes that you can find on the boat. It is free.

3. Windguru

As one of the best wind forecasting sites, Windguru is heavily preferred by surfers as well as sailors. Before making your itinerary, we recommend that you use this application, which provides information such as wave height, period, cloudiness, temperature as well as wind. It is free.

5. Seapilot

Developed by Raymarine, the leading yacht electronics brand, Seapilot is a user-friendly and comprehensive application. With Seapilot loaded with up-to-date maps, you can see your location on the map and even the location of other boats in your filotilla. The premium version of the app, also includes route creation and weather conditions. You can try its premium features in the 36-hour trial version, and if you like it, you can buy it for $39.99. The basic version is free.

6. Life360

A family location sharing app developed not only for sailors but also for daily use. It draws attention among sailors for its ability to share its location and follow loved ones. It is offered in three different versions for $4.99, $9.99 and $19.99 depending on their additional services.

7. Anchor Alarm

This app will sound an alarm as soon as your ship floats away. Visual and sound signals will alert you as soon as your boat floats over the defined radius. Even if you have laid your anchor in the best way possible, currents, winds, or the possibility of entangling yours with another boat's anchor can cause an anchor dredge. Having an anchor alarm on your phone while you sleep in your cabin will definitely improve your sleep quality. The basic functions of the app are free, the pro version is $4.99.

8. Navily

It is one of the most preferred applications in Europe. With over 500,000 users, Navily is unmatched for finding the best mooring spots. It offers navigation guides, 50,000 marinas, anchorage information and online reservations for marinas in more than 10 countries. Thousands of photos and user reviews make this application attractive for sailors. Downloading the app and basic versions are free, maps for cruise zones are paid.

9. Google Earth!

We can learn about the underwater situation with the maps and sailor applications we use while anchoring. However, this may not always be possible. In this case, we also recommend that you take a look at Google Earth. In Google Earth, you can see many anchorages, shallow passages, even in the dark you can see if a ground is sand or moss. Of course it's free.

10. SkyView Lite

If you're spending the night in quiet bays on your boat holiday, and there aren't many light sources around, it's great to watch the stars. SkyView Lite uses your phone's screen and sensors to show objects in the sky in augmented reality. All you have to do is lift your phone towards the sky. Instead of desperately trying to guess the planets and constellations, you will learn a lot and have fun with this application. SkyView also has a "time travel" feature that shows the sky as it appeared in the past or as it will appear in the future based on information about the movements of celestial bodies. It is free.

Bonus: YouTube

There is almost nothing you can't learn from YouTube. This includes sailing. You can learn a lot from YouTube about fixing simple breakdowns, learning sailor knots, mooring and berthing types.