Recommended Apps for Ipad

[julianj08]

Hi all… what gps/nav/weather apps do you I put in my iPad for cruising…Thanks in advance…John

[madhatter1]

I use two. Navionics and wind finder. Plus whatever you local favorite weather app is. Somewhere in between the apps lies the truth.

[Freestyle]

I just upgraded to a full Garmin auto pilot and navigation system and love it.

I also keep two iPads running Navionics and Aquamaps. It is amazing between the three how different their course recommendations are some times. If you only have one watch you know what time it is. If you have three, then you have to make some decisions which I regard as part of the fun and I do not miss spending hours looking at paper charts.

The real value of the iPads is having back ups that guests can hold in their lap and look at stuff when we don't need them. Navionics is the best for guests because it tells them all of the shore side facilities near where we are going with phone numbers. They become more active participants in the itinerary and happier customers.

Bruce

Freestyle
1986 62 CPMY (54MY with ext)
Tampa

[Pascal]

For whether I use WindAlert and WindFinder. The optional subscription for WindAlert gives you access to private reporting stations which are not available elsewhere. It also allows you to select various models to compare the forecast

For crossings to or in the Bahamas I rely mostly on

https://www.passageweather.com/maps/florida/mappage.htm

Very clear interface which really shows the trend in wave heights.

For navigation I use Aquamap especially on the Bahamas as it uses explorer charts. While Navionics works fine stateside, in the Bahamas the charts have dozens of well documented serious errors. I know of a number of incidents where boats have ran aground following Navionics in the Bahamas. The bigger issue is that a few years back after Garmin bought Navionics they gradually switched their Bluechart data from explorer to Navionics.

A friend of mine with an 80’ Hatt updated the charts on his plotters before a trip to the exumas last year and almost ran aground coming into Gtown. He stopped with 6” under the wheels…