Post by Kim Perkins

This summer, we spent two weeks cruising the Gulf Islands in a 26-foot sailboat. While this may sound like a prime opportunity to “get away from it all”, the truth is technology played an important role in keeping us safe and on track throughout the trip.

Considering there’s an app for everything these days – from Voodoo to popping bubble wrap – it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there are plenty of apps for boaters. Here are some of the apps and websites that we relied on the most.

Tides – The tide doesn’t just determine what kinds of creatures you will find on shore, it’s an important influence on your route and itinerary. Some places can be reached only during high-tide; to attempt during any other time would run your boat aground. Additionally, the direction and strength of the current can drastically affect the speed and course of your boat, even overwhelming your motor completely in some areas. We used the Day Tides app to view the tide levels and consulted the Navionics chart app for information on current flow.

Weather – When you’re out on the water, the weather is the most important factor. It determines whether you will be voyaging out into unprotected waters or bunking down in a protected bay for days on end. When you’re travelling by boat, you don’t move on to the next location when you want to, you move when the weather permits you to. And unlike on “regular” holidays, it isn’t the sun and rain that matter most, it’s the wind.

When you’re boating, you need to know what direction the wind is blowing, how hard and how long it will it last. We used the Weather Office’s marine weather forecast site to view the weather forecast and consulted the Big Wave Dave website for more precise details on the forecast timeframe. We used the Wind Alert and Wind Finder apps for details on current weather conditions. Note that the Wind Alert and Wind Finder apps require you to be in range of a cellular network.

Navigation – Sailors used to navigate by stars using charts to determine the route and identify nautical dangers. Nowadays, we navigate by satellite and the charts are electronic. While it’s easy to spend thousands of dollars on an expensive chart plotter, we achieved similar results with a GPS enabled iPad and the Navionics app. This setup allowed us to plan our route, track our progress, and identify water depth, currents and hazards while we were under sail. Remember, regardless what electronics you have on board, all boats are legally required to carry paper charts – and it’s a good idea to consult them since GPSs aren’t infallible.

Fishing – Although the Island Outfitters Fishing Report is a great resource to find out where the fish are biting, the only thing we managed to catch was an enormous seastar which ate the bait in our crab trap. Surely, there must be an app to instruct wanna-be fishermen on the how/where/when of fishing and crabbing the Gulf Islands. If you know of such an app, please let me know.

Check in – Every adventurer knows it’s important to check in with your friends and family so they don’t send out a search party. We used Facebook to upload daily location updates, photos and our Navionics route information to keep friends and family up to date with our travels.

Did you use technology during your travels this summer? What technologies did you use the most?

Other useful boating apps:

• GPS Tracks – Track your on-shore hikes and create a GPX which you can publish on Google maps.
• Chart symbols – Not sure what that symbol on your chart means? This is a reference guide for nautical chart symbols.
• Rules & Signals – Not sure who has right of way? Forget what the red buoy means? This is a reference guide to rules and signals at sea
• ProKnot – Illustrations and animations for all your knot-tying needs.
• iBarometer – Turn your smart phone into a barometer to monitor atmospheric pressure. Requires network connection.

Kim Perkins is a Social Media Researcher and Strategist at bWEST. She has been working with us parttime since May 2010. As it turns out she’s a heck of a writer and sailer as well – who knew. If you liked this post, and why wouldn’t you, then subscribe to the RSS feed as Kim will be a regular contributor going forward.