Digital Yacht Crew: the navigator

Part 1 in a series about Yacht Service without Crew Members.

As 100ft+ yacht owners rely on their captain and crew members to navigate and roam the seas, owners of smaller luxury yachts depend on their own skills to navigate their yachts. Even though chartplotters and apps made the life of sailers a lot more convenient: navigation is hard especially in unknown territory: water depths, local rules and regulations, currents, tides and weather are just a few of the topics one has to keep in mind before heading out.

Most boaters respect the seas and do their research before heading to unknown waters, research online, checking the weather, getting in touch with locals and get informed about the local situation are the usual standard preparations. The most seasoned yachters realize these preparations take time, before the family hops on board and start enjoying their holidays instantly, mom, dad or granddad already spend days in preparation. The most common solution is hiring a local captain, this however not only comes at great expense of privacy: a place for him at the breakfast table, but also results in lost, scarce space for the required cabin. If the goal is to navigate safely, sail with ease and confidence without nights of preparation connectivity and connected devices come into the picture. Imagine sitting in the airplane flying towards the homeport of your luxury yacht, reviewing your tailor-made itinerary all sorted out with input from local sailors and tourist information. Once arrived at your yacht you know all systems are green, you navigate away from the port and contact your virtual and personal navigator who talks you through the latest weather conditions and updates. Together you tweak the itinerary to the specific requirements you and your family made just a moment ago. How does that sound?

According research by Statista by the end of 2018, there were an estimated 22 billion internet of things (IoT) connected devices in use around the world.

How important for you is it to be fully prepared before your yachting trip? How important is it to sail with confidence and have support 24/7 during your holidays? Contact Marinminds: one solution for the full yachting experience.