Sailing is one of the oldest ways to travel the world, and for centuries, experienced sailors used to navigate the seas in all kinds of conditions. Luckily today, you don’t have to rely 24/7 on your human skills or a bunch of mechanical devices. There are thousands of great apps that do the hard work of sailing for you.

 A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor, but good apps for sailors made life on a boat much smoother. 

We selected 8 handy apps for all sailor enthusiasts that help you with different jobs on your boats - from route planning and navigation, wind forecast and tide movements to choosing the best anchorage or even tying knots easily and catching more fish.

SAVVY NAVVY - plan your route and navigate with ease

Savvy Navvy promo

Imagine having Google Maps for boats. Drop a pin for start and finish and see the automatically plotted route. Download the best boat route planner app for a free 14 days trial and get everything you need in one place. No matter if you are a sailor, paddleboarder, jet skier or kayaker. Your phone or tablet will turn into a powerful and easy-to-use chartplotter for all kinds of vessels. 

With this intuitive app, you get a clear picture of where you are, what the tide is doing, what weather to expect, how to plot your course to steer and how to find a good anchorage. The routing planning tool works with inputs for wind, tide, current, departure time and boat data. 

Savvy navvy is available on Android and iOS and can be used on an unlimited number of devices simultaneously. After the trial version, you can upgrade to one of the yearly subscription packages in the pricing range of 44,99 to 74,99 EUR. Find out more at savvy-navvy.com 

NAVILY - choose and review your anchorage or marina worldwide

Navily logo with boat

Navily helps you choose between 30 000+ anchorages and marinas. This community-focused app contains useful information, pictures and ratings of anchorages gathered from more than 700 000 sailors worldwide. Navily provides an innovative and up-to-date cruising guide. 

With this app, you can easily book a berth in a marina and chat with other users and marinas. You get insights from locals on the seabed, on protection from wind and currents, tips about local specifics, restaurants and much more. 

Navily is a freemium app accessible for iPhones or Android phones. In addition to free features, the premium version unlocks extra features such as automatic itineraries, 72-hour weather forecast, maps filters and distance calculation at sea. Read more at navily.com

KnowWake - know your way on the water

KnowWake is a free marine GPS app working both on iPhones and Android phones. This app is powered by a rapidly growing community. It is something like a merge of Google Maps and Waze working in real time for all parts of the world that are accessible by boats. 

Every point of interest has a route button that will guide you through deep water, or you can drop a pin anywhere on the chart and get directions to it. You will know your way on the water easily and reliably. You’ll observe everything from neighbourhood restaurants, marinas, fuel moors, and bays to nice swimming and snorkelling spots. 

Join the growing community navigating together by downloading the app from knowwake.com 

PredictWind - rely on accurate wind forecasts

PredictWind provides the top-ranked forecast models globally. It is one of the most popular winds and weather apps for sailors, created and run by real sailors. 

The weather models and predictions are extremely accurate, even in the most remote regions of the world, whilst the app itself is intuitive. 

PredictWind offers 2 apps for Inshore and Offshore sailing. These apps contain several powerful tools - weather routing and departure planning tools, live wind observations, and forecast alerts directly to your phone. PredictWind is highly rewarded among racing and offshore sailors. The Offshore app is paired up with Iridium GO.

The Offshore app from PredictWind is free and allows downloading of multiple GRIB files for your coastal or offshore passage. The Inshore and Coastline app displays high-resolution forecasts, and you can log in from any device. This app has a free 3 3-month trial and several subscription packages starting at 29 USD for a yearly plan. Find out more at predictwind.com.  

Anchor Watch Pro - sleep better when anchored  

It is one of the skipper’s nightmares to have the anchor suddenly off the seabed, with a boat drifting away closer to other boats or to the shore. AnchorPro allows you to sleep peacefully - if your anchor does not hold and your boat is outside of a designated perimeter, the app will trigger an alarm.  

When you are about to drop your anchor, set the anchor location at the moment of lowering the anchor. The app will track your position. You adjust the allowed distance (the radius in which your boat is supposed to move while anchored). Other options are to insert distance and bearing to the anchor and specify the location of your anchor later. The alarm emits various signal patterns, so don’t be afraid you will not hear it. 

Anchor Pro is available for free on iPhone and Apple Watch devices. Android users are charged 5.99 USD. Download this most reliable anchor alarm app from Apple or Google store. 

Marine Traffic - discover vessels around you

Ship with marinetraffic logo

The recently enhanced Marine Traffic app gives you all kinds of information about global maritime traffic and various maritime analytics processed in appealing visualizations. Especially useful is the Explore tool that provides near-real-time positions of vessels globally and information about ports, lighthouses, obstructions, expected arrivals, areas of interest, and vessels’ position history. An interesting possibility is to visualize global shipping activity in various years and observe the trend. 

Another popular feature is a visualization of a vessel´s past track on a live map, including data about speed, weather, and waves in a specific time frame of a vessel’s position. Curious users can even view an estimation of how much a certain ship costs by using a Vessel Valuation feature.

This app is accessible to all Android and iPhone users, and you can download it free of charge. Several features are part of premium package plans starting at 16 EUR per month. See what ships are right now out there on the water via marinetraffic.com   

FishAngler - Catch the Finest Fish

Fish Angler Fisherman

Many sailors love catching their dinner by themselves. You can catch more fish with this number one free fishing app. FishAngler helps anglers discover new fishing spots, know the best times to fish and capture all the details of fishing trips and catches. 

With other features like interactive maps, 7-day forecasts, fishing logbooks, groups, bait recommendations and more, FishAngler has become one of the most valuable tools in a fisherman’s tackle box from beginners to avid professionals. 

You get instant access to all of these features for free (no monthly fees, no subscription costs) on both iOS and Android devices. Read more on fishangler.com.

Animated Knots - learn fast, tie faster

Animated knots logo

This knots teaching app is a time-saver for all sports activities where you need to master the skill of tying knots. Sailors, climbers, fishermen, and rescue workers will learn faster with this best knot-tying app.

You don’t need an Internet connection for this app to work, so you can use it as a useful learning activity during longer sailing trips. 

You can purchase this app for 5.99 EUR on iPhones or iPads and 5.49 EUR on Android devices. Desktop versions are also available. Learn new knots at animatedknots.com

Tides Chart - check the tide anywhere

Tideschart logo

Simple, free, and straightforward tide "app" to view the tide levels. In addition to information about tides, you can observe lunar data, fishing times, surf reports and weather forecasts for the next 7 days. 

Tides Chart is not an app but rather a web application optimized for both iPhones or Android phones. It’s a very useful tool helping you plan your sailing trip in parts with tides. You simply choose your destination region and view the information.

Get the app on your phone through the website tideschart.com/World-Tides 

Take the hassle out of planning, forecasting, plotting, and anchor watching and give a chance to some of these apps. All useful information is at your fingertips.  

It is becoming increasingly popular for sailors to use apps because of their numerous benefits. From route planning, wind and tide forecasts to finding anchorages and tying knots; there are many apps available for sailors of all levels. 

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