“The App for Recreational Boaters…Navigate Confidently…Find your Friends… Explore new waters…”
Wavve Boating
Land at a local Marina this summer and you are sure to see a beautiful poster, with an aerial shot of the boat filled marina. The poster is made by Wavve Boating company – advertising their online app!
I was intrigued when I heard the first radio interview given by Adam Allore, who designed the app while sailing off Kingston. He was an engineering graduate student at Queen’s University and he realized that the online navigation charts were difficult to read and really just the regular paper chart digitized.
“What we’re trying to make is getting from point A to point B on the water as simple as Google Maps and Waze has done for land-based travel,” Allore said.
And for those familiar with the land apps, you know that if there is a traffic accident up ahead you will see RED. But what happens to our charts. If there is floating debris (remember the high water and floating docks) you never know from a paper chart – but Wavve Boating relies on fellow boaters adding this information and - you can also tell Wavve when the debris has moved or is gone.
In a hurry, you can program your Wavve app to make sure you find the right passage: ‘Hey, my boat is 10ft. fishing boat with a 1ft. draft, while yours is a 35ft sailboat with a 4ft. draft … Obviously, I can explore shallow bays, while you must stay in the deep channels. Wavve will automatically customize each of our charts to our draft! Yes, your draft! Indicating in red where you should NOT go.
My first question was ok, so I invest in the App here this summer, but what about when I am off Fort Myers in my neighbors fishing boat? Yes, it will work everywhere, it is not a series of maps, but rather a navigation system that covers the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and both coasts of the United States and Canada.
There is a 14-day free trial ! Following that there are two subscription plans - $0.99/month or $5.99/year, a user can cancel at any time.
This subscription covers all digital charts supplied by Canadian Hydrographic Services (CHS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). The individual paper chart value of this is in the tens of thousands.
The second question was asked by others, “Does the mapping work offline or do you need to have cellular signal for it to work? Wavve answer: Wavve Boating will automatically cache map data when you are connected to cellular or Wi-Fi. If you go offline, the GPS functionalities will still work, and you will be able to use that cached data. To guarantee the phone caches the data you want, when connected to cell or Wi-Fi, pan and zoom the map to the body of water you are interested in travelling.
Adam launched Wavve in March 2017 and by August their new mobile app for the recreational boating industry was launched in the Apple Store. There are now eight members of the Wavve team, working on projects including making an Android version.
I asked Wavve what are the three things they wanted our TI Life readers to know.
1. This is a product and team born on the Saint Lawrence River showcasing the innovation and tech talent that can grow in this area.
2. Wavve Boating is a community. As more members join and become ‘Wavvers’ they add value to the collective boating knowledge so all can benefit.
3. They are striving to remove the anxiety of navigating new waterways so boaters can focus on what is important, the environment they are in and the people they are with.
This summer they are working hard to share their story with River Rats and the whole boating industry. Already gaining important followers. On August 4th they sponsored the Thousand Islands Patriot Dock, Deck and Den tour but better still ask your marina neighbor if he has heard of Wavve Boating. Together you should download the App and join the many hundreds who are helping to make our River safer and navigating easier and fun.
Want to try a dry run? Check out this YouTube.
'You can download Wavve Boating for any Apple device now here: https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1241140495?pt=118659238&ct=TIL&mt=8
You can learn more about Wavve by visiting the website here: https://wavve.ca/
By Susan W. Smith, Editor, TI Life Info@thousandislandslife.com
