Tech Talk
by Nancy Birnbaum
Blue Water Sailing
AUGUST 2009
Power in Your Palm - BWS's Picks for the Best iPhone Apps for Cruisers
Well, it finally happened. Apple just delivered its one-billionth application download from the App Store, which currently features over 25,000 apps (35,000 by one estimate) built by thousands of developers.
The significance of the milestone (besides just the one billion mark) is that it’s taken only nine months from when the App Store launched on iTunes to hit one billion paid and unpaid downloads.
And the good news is that there are a few salty developers out there creating apps (short for applications) just for you and me. Granted, the selection is still small, but it won’t be long before the rest of them catch on to the fact that sailors and cruisers are techie-types who enjoy all the fun and clever ways that the iPhone lends itself to life.
Blue Water Sailing navigates the way ahead with our choices of the Best Apps for Sailors. Included are apps for navigation, weather prediction and forecasting, tide predictions weather buoy data, nautical knots, conversions for just about anything from currency to shoe sizes, as well as some “just for fun” apps thrown into the mix.
If you already have an iPhone, well…then you already know how much fun it is to use. If you’re one of those thinking about getting one, here you will find a few more reasons why you should. You can download any of these apps at the iTunes Apps Store.
Navigation
Navionics Viewer (version 2.0) – by Navionics (FREE)
This FREE version comes with charts for South Florida from Key Biscayne to Ft. Lauderdale and northwest Italy (with marinas search), just to whet your appetite so that you will purchase the full version. They are running a limited time offer whereby you can download additional charts starting at only $4.99.
You can see your GPS position on the map, seamlessly pan and zoom, query objects, search marinas, measure distance, locate boat ramps, coastal roads, wrecks, anchorages, view in both day and night modes, and many more features to come with free updates in the near future. Charts are still being added, but too slowly for some consumers. They currently offer 22 chart titles on iTunes.
I found the newest version fast and easy to use. I liked the settings that let you see your fuel consumption or even set a safety depth.
Anyone sailing the Intracoastal this season will want to have this in their pocket. Now, when you need fuel or a marina, you can touch the icon and pull up all the specifics. Touch the phone number to call them or find out just how much farther you have to go to get there.
PLUSSES: Since the charts are stored “on board” the phone’s memory you find fast performance and zero data transmission fees as well as continued service even if you are out of range. And the special, very low prices on charts (until they pull the offer, that is).
MotionX-GPS – by MotionX ($2.99)
Popular with runners and bicyclists alike due to the Topo Map function. But this app will make sailors happy as well. You can export your waypoints and tracks by e-mail.
Go to the MotionX-Logbook or MotionX- Waypoints, touch the waypoint or track you wish to export and then touch the “Share Wypt Now”/ “Share Track Now” button. Very cool!
Using MotionX-GPS on the iPhone 3G is a great way to keep track of your sailing races at the end of the day, and although it’s more geared for off-roadsters, it still has some very cool features like a racing stopwatch, lat/long, waypoints (saving and sharing), distances, SOG, and a nice compass.
MotionX-GPS – “Lite” version is free, or get the full version with 303 waypoints and other great features for only $2.99. At that price, MotionX-GPS gets my vote for a must-have.
iNavX – by GPSNavX / Navionics Mobile – ($49.95)
One of the first navigation apps for the iPhone and virtually indistinguishable from the programyou run on your laptop, iNavX offers easy to use charting with waypoints, tracks, port search, instruments and the ability to share waypoints. Taking advantage of the free U.S. raster charts available from NOAA, iNavX lets you track your course and set waypoints on a very small screen, (a bit of a drawback when your track is a long one). It could have better information available on the chart, for marinas and such.
PLUSSES: The ability to download GRIB files for WX data is a very useful feature. It acts as a repeater for popular marine nav software that supports NMEA data over TCP/IP such as MacENC or GPSGate. This includes GPS, AIS receivers & transponders, and instruments (Depth, Speed, Wind, etc.)
GPS Kit – Garafa LLC ($9.99)
A full-featured GPS application. It features route tracking, waypoints, and maps in a way that only the iPhone can provide. I used this on a recent bike ride and got all my track info. This could come in handy for finding your way back to the boat from the Port Captain’s office! Nice Terrain Mode.
PLUSSES: Most of GPS Kit functions normally even without a data connection (cell or Wi-Fi). This includes tracking, waypoints, compass and all the dashboard functions. See their website: http://www.garafa. com to read the Blog on what works without data connection.
Marine Weather
Hurricane – by Kitty Code ($3.99)
The aptly titled Hurricane from Kitty Code, LLC is a Hurricane tracking application just in time forhurricane season. Don’t leave port without it!
Features: Atlantic Interactive Tracking map with storm data, generated on your device as it becomes available, throughout the hurricane season. Satellite view includes the Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Northeast Pacific
PLUSSES: Tracking map that is not just an image, but an interactive tracking map, which allows you to move between tracks, viewing each plot’s detailed information including wind speed, latitude, longitude, storm speed and direction, pressure, date and time in the tab bar. Offers Storm Bulletin, Storm Forecast/ Advisory, Storm Discussion and Storm Probabilities updated often.
WeatherBug – (FREE)
Features: Live, local weather conditions from more than 45,000 professional weather stations around the world. Current neighborhood-level temperature and wind conditions along with two-day forecast.
PLUSSES: Severe weather alert messages from the National Weather Service and WeatherBug Network and Radar maps with zoom feature using Apple’s touch and pinch features.
EZ Radar – (Your area) – by Steve Parker ($0.99)
Features: Animated radar coverage direct from the National Weather Service. Any Tornado or Severe Thunderstorm warnings are overlaid on top of the radar echoes.
PLUSSES: I use EZ Radar – FL
almost every day now that we’ve got the southerly flow back in the forecast. The animated radar screen shots load very fast and you can zoom in on key areas with buttons on both the top and bottom of the screen. You can also decrease or enlarge the map using the standard twofinger “pinch” or “flick”’—one of the things we all love about the iPhone.
WXSYS On Demand - Marine – (FREE) http://www.wxsys.com/MarineiPhone.aspx.
Access Marine weather by pointing your iPhone browser to http://marine.mobi.
Features: Query by lat/long. Convenient recall list saves previous entries. Concisely formatted text weather. Clear color radar and infrared. Zoom, scroll & pan images with one touch. Requires network connection.
PLUSSES: Although not truly an iPhone App, this one specifically deals with Marine Weather. Also available for the Blackberry by monthly subscription ($9.99) includes 10-day demo.
General Marine
Wind Meter – by GoingApps ($0.99)
Wind Meter is the first application to let you measure the wind speed using your iPhone. Know the approximate wind speed between 0 and 28 mph wherever you go! We were really jazzed to see this neat wind speed app for the iPhone and downloaded it right away.
PLUSSES: You can easily convert between mph, kph, knots, feet per second and Beaufort. Very nifty and simple! Great use of iPhone technology.
This application uses sound conversion to gauge wind velocity. As the wind speed increases, the application converts the louder noise on the microphone into a wind velocity reading. It is really cool and will be appreciated by sailors everywhere.
AyeTides – Hahn Software LLC ($9.99)
Displays tides and currents for over 10,000 stations worldwide.
PLUSSES: Does not require the Internet: all stations are available at a moment’s notice. Automatically compensates for the station’s local time and for Daylight Savings Time. Rotate the iPhone to the landscape mode and see the graphical representation instantly!
Tides – by Mobile Geographics (Free)
A tide app for U.S. and non-U.S. ports with charts and forecasts—and it’s free.
PLUSSES: Tides automatically looks up the closest prediction station to your location and retrieves the tide table for that spot.
NavClock – by Split Rail, Inc. ($1.99)
Easy one-screen display offering current time (12 or 24 hr), GMT tracking, waypoints, compass and all the dashboard functions. See their website: www.splitrailsoft.com to read the Blog on what works without data connection. and Zulu, lat/long and the current weather conditions where you are: Wind, Visibility, Pressure, Dew Point, Humidity and Feels Like.
PLUSSES: All the important info on one handy little screen!
Windbuoy – by Cluebucket Consulting LLC ($2.99)
This is a must have application for sailors, wind surfers, fishermen, boaters, weather watchers and anyone else that likes to know what the wind is like out on their favorite body of water. Windbuoy is a simple, customizable application that retrieves and displays wind speed, direction, gust, air and water temp and wave height as reported by any one of hundreds of NOAA buoys.
PLUSSES: Customize the display to show the units that you desire: speeds can be reported as meters per second, knots or mph; temperature as Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Bombora – by BomboraSurf ($6.99)
A comprehensive ocean data application—built especially for surfers, sailors, fishermen and anyone else that loves the ocean. Bombora contains a fantastic selection of tools that provide you with an arsenal of information for your forecasting tool-belt. You have real-time buoy data custom-catered to your exact GPS location, complete with near shore wind reports, trends and forecasts literally in the palm of your hand.
PLUSSES: Historical Charts for buoy data could come in handy for voyage planning.
Anchor Alarm – by Chris Parsons ($9.99)
You can’t have too many alarms onboard, can you? Anchor Alarm is a simple back-up alarm that you can have right next to you while you sleep. Set it up to notify you of anchor drag or use it anytime you want to monitor how far you are from any given starting point.
PLUSSES: It even comes with a dark colored user interface so that if it wakes you in the middle of the night, it won’t ruin your night vision. Could be very handy.
Other Useful Apps
Measures – by Michael Neuwert ($1.99)
For the price, this is too good to pass up for any traveler. More conversions that you can shake a spinnaker pole at! Gals will love the clothing/shoe size converter (U.S. to European), and the guys will love the gauge converter. Both of you will appreciate the Currency Converter since it includes every currency known to man.
PLUSSES: There’s something for everyone including four quickly reprogrammable favorite buttons for your most-used conversions.
Sailor Knots – by Lars Bergelt ($4.99)
Only nine knots, albeit the most important ones. It just leaves you wanting more! Where is Grog’s Animated Knots on the iPhone?
PLUSSES: It’s the only animated knot app thus far. 
Speed – by Steven Troughton- Smith ($.99) A simple speedo that gives you knots as well as mph and kph.
PLUSSES: Very easy way to check your transducer
SoLuna – by Danny Flippo ($0.99) Moon phases, sun & moon rise/ set as well as nautical twilight times.
PLUSSES: Gives you current lat/long! Now isn’t that handy?
Wi-Fi Finder – by JWire (FREE) Just what you needed! Find the closest Wi-Fi hotspot wherever you happen to be. Bookmarking capable and up-to-date info with locations being added on a daily basis.
PLUSSES: Clearly, with all these great apps, it will be handy to know where you can get online. It also tells you how to get to the closest hotspot. You can specify using the filters if you want to search certain providers like AT&T or only cafés or restaurants. In fact, it doubles as a “Find It” app.
Recommended Reading:
If you love your iPhone then you’ll want to read iPhone: The Missing Manual by David Pogue (the New York Times computer columnist). Pogue Press/O’Reilly 2008, 2nd edition. ($24.99).
David shares all the inside info that will be your guide to unlocking the iPhone’s potential. It’s fun and full of useful tips, shortcuts and workarounds. Don’t leave the dock without this guide.
Click to order!
The Author with her iPhone!
