Francis – Page 29 – Navigation Mac

Charting compared, a mixed result

Posted on8 th 201311 th 202412 comments

Three weeks and 600 nautical miles of sailing between the mainland and the Balearic Islands have allowed me to test in live some of iPad maritime applications we have.

Warning : There is no question of making a point-by-point comparison between applications, but rather to highlight certain essential aspects of their use. On the other hand, applications used were up-to-date at the beginning of July. Developments are rapid, and updates may have occurred in August or early September that I did not have. Finally, the messaging app iNavX associated with Navionics charting available ~~from the X-Traverse server~~ for me is the "master-standard" marine applications. iNavX is the most complete application in terms of features to date, and Navionics charting (from the X-Traverse server, I specify) closest to the geographical reality observed by many users.

Marée info : SHOM tides prediction on iPhone [Update]

Posted on18 July 20136 th 202410 comments

Thousands of users have known about the excellent website for several years tide.info which offers the tidal times and heights of the SHOM for all the coast stations of the Channel and the Atlantic. Boaters, professional fishermen, beach fishermen, kite surfers and other relevant users visit daily the information pages of this website.

Its author, Guillaume Bolo, set about creating an app for iPhone (iPad compatible) using the content of its website, but with the particularity of providing, for a low subscription (*), tides for a whole year. The data are tidal predictions from SHOM, reproduced with permission by contract. Their reliability therefore leaves no doubt, although SHOM does not control the content before editing. Read more …

Mac Navigation Sets Sails

Posted on11 July 20135 th 20245 comments

This year, from February the 20 th until August 10 August, I will test in the Mediterranean Sea several applications in their latest updates. Navionics Marine HD, Nobeltec TimeZero, Imray, etc,… All applications widely discussed on this blog tested live. I will speak broadly late August or early September.

Also planned a new iBook complete guide about the application… shhh, We'll talk later at the Grand Pavois boat show. In the meantime, your servant will hardly be reached until September. Happy holidays to all !

Sail with an iPad on a large classic yacht

Posted on11 July 201320 July 2020

Training week-end onboard the 6 and 7 July 2013 " Navigate with an iPad » aboard Owl, a classic ketch gaffer 21 meters high, built in 1909, departure from Agde.

The crew (Skipper + Sailor and hostess) takes care of the manoeuvre, food and cleaning. Cabin linen is provided.

I was on board to give the training on how to use the apps with iPad : iNavX, Weather4D PRO, AyeTides XL mainly. On the program : routes preparation, routing optimization, Optimized route tracking, Refreshing the routing, etc,. A great moment to combine the latest technologies with yachting of great tradition. Read more …

3G/4G tethering [Update]

Posted on2 July 201320 July 20207 comments

In coastal navigation, sometimes it's easier to connect to the 3G cellular network than to get a WiFi connection with a land-based hotspot. Cellular transmission antennas are becoming more and more numerous on the coast and on the islands. But as you follow my recommendations scrupulously (¹), I have no doubt about it, you have a WiFi+3G iPad without having taken out a subscription, i.e. without a SIM card, and you are quite right. So how do you do it ? Read more …

MaxSea TimeZero on iPad

Posted on20 June 201321 June 20236 comments

Announced for three months, The first version of TimeZero has been available for iPad for a few days. Under the brand Nobeltec, bought by Signet S.A., MaxSea holding company (¹), this free application contains a simplified design suitable for the tablet technology that has made the reputation of the French publisher.

I was waiting with curiosity for a while the position taken by MaxSea about the iPad phenomenon. The least I can say is that I am not disappointed. Read more …

Apps de navigation : the new products of spring 2013

Posted on8 June 20135 th 2024One comment

Things are moving on the iOS app publisher side. Updates follow one another and new functions appear. A quick tour of the new virtual products, because I haven't tested anything at sea yet. It will come, Don't doubt it ! Read more …

The aiShell waterproof case for iPad Mini

Posted on27 May 201320 July 20202 comments

This time, it came up ! The new waterproof case for iPad Mini by Andres Industries, to whom we owe the famous iPad Case, is finally available.

Smaller, lighter, more discreet, but just as robust, it is ideal for protecting your iPad Mini on boat, on beach, under the rain or in the desert (¹). With this funny name “ aiShell " , literally “Coquillage Andres Industries”, the manufacturer offers a case with all the tips of the big brother for iPad : a waterproof power connector, windows for cameras, adaptation to existing REM mounts. It even added two retractable legs to facilitate its use on a flat surface. A completely Germanic design. Read more …

ENCs, Routing and sailing shaves stone

Posted on10 th 201320 th 20217 comments

The relationship of a recent experience of an iNavX user and Weather4D PRO routing function invites me to bring a warning to the attention of novices boaters in computer use.

A regatta course, departure from St Helier (Jersey) to arrival Granville, optimized with Weather4D PRO using fine grid GCWF model and MyOcean currents prediction, gave the following route in iNavX :

The optimized route transferred to iNavX

Mirror iPad screen… in the cabin. [Update]

Posted on2 th 201324 August 20202 comments

Hey yes, this is the world upside down ! At the beginning of iPad use in a boat, the tablet was used to capture the screen of a PC fixed to a chart table for display applications such as MaxSea in the cockpit. The solution has been - and still is - widely used. But since I've been working with a few accomplices to demonstrate that the iPad is capable of providing a perfectly autonomous navigation solution (¹), These tablets are increasingly installed at a fixed position in the cockpit.

Once attached and connected to a waterproof power supply, on a wheel column or close to the tiller, disassembling the iPad may seem tedious for a few minutes to spend inside the cabin. The solution would it not mirror its screen to display on a single PC screen via WiFi, in order to monitor the progress of the boat on the electronic chart while we are active in the galley ?

[Update September 24/08/2020]