klemsaba
Member
For the past several years I have been using Motion-X GPS tracker for the iPhone to track my sailing and for the most part it is a good app. I tried others but continued with Motion-X. The Apple Watch version was a nice addition but it requires the app on the phone to be running. Not a problem sailing our S2 8.0, but I wasn't setup to take my phone with me out on the Sunfish.
Last year I ran across an iPhone/Apple watch app called WorkOutDoors. Specifically this is an AppleWatch app for tracking workouts that includes mapping capabilities. What caught my eye was the 'Sailing' workout. The developer released a new version a couple of weeks ago with a lot of improvements and new options. Took it out sailing yesterday on the Sunfish and I was very pleased with the data that came back. It won't track specific courses or waypoints, but if you're interested in a recreation of your sail without taking your phone with you, this works really well.
The map is off as it shows me sailing through a jetty that was extended several years ago. This an error in the map data and not the GPS tracker. It shows up correctly in Google Maps. I'm not using it for navigation so not a huge deal. Although, you can load routes into the app. Haven't explored that yet and probably won't. BTW, you can export GPX files to import into your favorite tracker application and can include a lot of data in the export.
It is interesting tracking my heart rate while out sailing. It will do split/lap timings which is fun to mess with.
You can also customize the screens for each workout and what is displayed. I mainly used the 2nd (Custom) screen. All screens can be adjusted to your tastes. There are a lot of parameters to customize.
I haven't used it enough to know the impact of battery life while using the app. I suspect on epic sailing days the watch battery will run out before the day ends. Eventually when the novelty wears off, I won't be raising my wrist to continually look at the data. That should help with power conservation. I'll need to get a portable power charging bank to charge the watch while taking a break on the beach.
The iPhone app is basically used to setup the Apple Watch app and to review the workouts. It is not required for tracking workouts. The Apple Watch does all the tracking. For $5 you get all the features so don't worry about paying extra for add-ons or yearly subscription services.
What trackers do others use while sailing?
Last year I ran across an iPhone/Apple watch app called WorkOutDoors. Specifically this is an AppleWatch app for tracking workouts that includes mapping capabilities. What caught my eye was the 'Sailing' workout. The developer released a new version a couple of weeks ago with a lot of improvements and new options. Took it out sailing yesterday on the Sunfish and I was very pleased with the data that came back. It won't track specific courses or waypoints, but if you're interested in a recreation of your sail without taking your phone with you, this works really well.
The map is off as it shows me sailing through a jetty that was extended several years ago. This an error in the map data and not the GPS tracker. It shows up correctly in Google Maps. I'm not using it for navigation so not a huge deal. Although, you can load routes into the app. Haven't explored that yet and probably won't. BTW, you can export GPX files to import into your favorite tracker application and can include a lot of data in the export.
It is interesting tracking my heart rate while out sailing. It will do split/lap timings which is fun to mess with.
You can also customize the screens for each workout and what is displayed. I mainly used the 2nd (Custom) screen. All screens can be adjusted to your tastes. There are a lot of parameters to customize.
I haven't used it enough to know the impact of battery life while using the app. I suspect on epic sailing days the watch battery will run out before the day ends. Eventually when the novelty wears off, I won't be raising my wrist to continually look at the data. That should help with power conservation. I'll need to get a portable power charging bank to charge the watch while taking a break on the beach.
The iPhone app is basically used to setup the Apple Watch app and to review the workouts. It is not required for tracking workouts. The Apple Watch does all the tracking. For $5 you get all the features so don't worry about paying extra for add-ons or yearly subscription services.
What trackers do others use while sailing?