The second year of my sailing adventure was quite a challenge, and it wasn’t related to sailing. I had to stay home with my family because of the circumstances. Yet still, I used the time staying at home for something new. I developed an app for my needs, hoping other people might like it too. It is an anchor watch app.
When I purchased Tabi, she was basically kicked out of the slip at the private boat club. I obviously wasn’t a member and there is a huge waiting list for the slips. I only had a few days to prepare the boat and move out. I didn’t have any experience handling a sailboat alone. I was terrified. Luckily, I only had to motor for 30 minutes or so and I could anchor right outside of the marina. I anchored there for the first night, and I used an anchor watch app from day 1 of my sailing adventure.
Since then, I have used several apps but it was difficult to find the one I like so I thought I probably could make one for myself. I developed iOS apps a long time ago, and many things have changed since then. Last year, I started learning Swift and SwiftUI, and I was able to make the basic part of the app in 2 weeks. Though, I went through phases of developing the app on and off for the next several months. It took quite a lot of time to polish up the app. Then, I went back to Tabi in March this year and finally tested out the app in real situations, then launched the app.
First of all, I wanted the app to be able to watch the boat remotely. Even while I travel with Tabi, I would go to the shore daily whenever I get the chance. It is super nice to be able to see how the anchor is holding up while I’m on land. So, I implemented the functionality, and this is available to all users unlike other apps.
I have been using Navionics solely to find anchorages because I don’t have many other resources. I thought it would be great if users of the app could share their anchoring experiences with each other. I made the app to encourage sharing the anchoring experiences to others. Users can find anchorages on a map.
Those two may be the foundation of this app. I also wanted to make it simple to operate for anchor watch sessions. If you’re looking for a good anchor watch app for your boating adventures, give it a try and also feedback.
