Sailing

I've just completed a detailed analysis and comparison of the leading 5 marine charting apps for Android smartphones and tablets. There are some significant differences potential users should know about before purchasing or depending on an app when on the water. For my own sailing needs, Memory-Map is the best of the lot, followed by MX Mariner or, if you prefer vector charts to raster charts, Navionics Marine and Lakes. Coming in last are two apps that start out free to hook you in: Marine Charts Lite and NutiCharts Lite.

There's a temporary sale price at Defender Marine that's lower than I've ever seen for inflatable PFDs, including a model with harness. Every boater should know that a PFD is the single most important piece of safety equipment on a boat, and inflatables are not only highly effective but also less bulky and comfortable enough to wear all day. And of course inflatables now meet USCG legal requirements. Give yourself a late holiday gift to prepare for the coming sailing season!

Winter is a good time to start shopping for a sailboat, not least because you're less likely to make an emotional decision and buy a boat too quick because it's warm and you can't wait to get out on the water! Winter's good for taking your time to research boats and really figure out what it is you want and need. Here are the best websites not only for finding available boats but also for learning about your options, equipment choices, and price ranges. Enjoy the photos and daydreams, and stay warm while you prepare to seal a deal!

Those of us who sail in northern climes tend to read more in the winter when our boats are on the hard - and what better to read than books involving sailing? If you enjoy mystery novels and thrillers, you'll like "Circle of Bones" by Christine Kling (a liveaboard sailor-writer), which I just finished reading. It got me through a few cold winter nights while needing a Caribbean fix, with many good scenes aboard boats and a plot intricate enough for the most discriminating reader. Check it out!

Are you sailing in an area of cold water or cold air? In both cases, the cold creates special hazards - even if don't expect to get wet. The Coast Guard Auxiliary recently issued a bulletin listing steps all boaters should take to ensure they stay safe on the water when it's cold. Check this list to see if you might be overlooking something.

As part of my reviewing of apps created for sailors, I've recently started looking at sailing games. To be honest, I haven't been very enthralled by any so far, but I'll keep checking them out! The app Tall Ships Age of Sail has some interesting historical aspects and good physics as your maneuver your tall ship to fire your cannon at attacking ships. And Sailboat Championship PRO does a good job of representing tacks and gybes on different points of sail as you race different courses, but whether either will ultimately satisfy your gaming self probably depends more on your personality as a gamer than on your interest in sailing. I find another racing game, 3D Sailing Simulator Regatta, more fun and closer to the racing experience. And Little Sailor is better still - a realistic simulation and racing game. What do you think? Have you found a great sailing-oriented game app for your Apple or Android device? Please post a comment if so and I'll check it out!

Lots of sailors have recently new VHF radios on their boats (or maybe you recently got one as a gift and anticipate installing it this spring) that have DSC capability - but they never get around to activating the DSC function, leaving that critical feature worthless. Digital Selective Calling, especially when your radio is connected to a GPS, can save your life in an emergency. Far too often, when a boater has to make a mayday radio call, the voice communication is weak or disrupted - or the skipper has to drop the mic to rescue someone or save the boat - and the Coast Guard never learns the boat's location, greatly delaying or preventing rescue. Learn how to activate your radio's DSC so that it takes only a simple push of a button to get help on its way in an emergency.

Just back from St. John in the US Virgin Islands - and with the onset of frigid temperatures in New England I wish I was still there! As always I am convinced St. John is among the very best Caribbean cruising grounds, in my experience more beautiful and less crowded than the traditional BVI charter areas. The beaches and mountains are protected and pristine, the snorkeling like heaven, the water as good as it gets. Why not check out a bareboat charter and head down this winter?

After reviewing quite a lot of apps of interest to sailors, I've noticed the trend of app developers who have essentially nothing new to offer themselves but who just repackage existing online content to make a profit from selling the app or advertising on the app. That's one of the reasons it's worthwhile reading reviews before downloading any app. Here are some examples. The History of Sailing app primarily uses information from Wikipedia. Marine Weather Right Now repackages weather information from a website that likely is not as accurate as the data you can get in your area from NWS or NOAA sites or the apps that use that data. And most egregious is Nautical Books, which wants to sell you public domain books you can already get for free (read the review to see how).

Being stuck inside in unpleasant weather is a good time to check out weather apps for sailors and boaters. I've posted reviews of three weather products: MarineCast, Wind NOAA, and Marine Weather Right Now - along with reasons why it can be dangerous to depend on one of these. Also newly reviewed are Nautical Chart Symbols and two educational apps: Points of Sail and SailSim. Or follow this one link for an entire collection of sailing and boating apps.