The Winds Are Yours // $79+, Android & iOS
If you want a weather app that goes all out, the PredictWind app may become an on-the-water mainstay for you. This app brings live weather forecast data to your phone or tablet in an easy-to-use format. Forecast tables and graphs will help the skipper plan ahead, while live wind maps can be viewed in the way of one’s choosing. A simple gradient-colored arrows over blue ocean interface may be preferred by some while the more complex wind barbs over colored wind speed gradients and pressure contours will be appreciated by others. Swell maps, rain maps, cloud maps, isobar maps, air and sea temperature maps… PredictWind is a veritable map gumbo.
What’s more, weather routing, departure planning, forecast alerts, and live wind observations from 20,000 stations around the world are features that help PredictWind stand out. Not only can you know what’s happening around you at the moment, but you can plan ahead to make the right next move.
The PredictWind app is free for both iOS and Android, but more features are unlocked as you pay for the Basic, Standard, or Professional versions. Standard, the most popular, is $79 for three months, or $199.
Match Up // Free, iOS
The appropriately named “We are on a boat” app is an interesting concept with a simple premise. One creates a profile as either a boat owner or somebody who wants to be on a boat, and the app diligently seeks to match skipper with crew. If you’ve got a boat but nobody to share with, or maybe you simply want to broaden your horizons, download We are on a boat and see what kinds of characters show up. If you feel stranded ashore and need to take to the sea, create a profile and see what kind of skipper is willing to take you.
Is this the Tinder of boating recreation? Time will tell. For now, We are on a boat is available for free for iOS.
Queen of the Drag// Free, Android & iOS
Dragging an anchor is something just about all boaters experience at some point or another, and the DragQueen app is here to help.
The app uses GPS to provide customizable alarm options for the skipper who doesn’t want to wake up on the shore. DragQueen’s alarm is reportedly very loud and annoying, perfect for this kind of application. What’s more, the source code is supposed to be made available to the public in the hopes that others will take it and enhance it. The app was developed by the same folks as the ActiveCaptain app. For those of us with MFDs, the app could make a useful backup.
The DragQueen app is available for both iOS and Android platforms, free.
