Android Marine sets sail for the Vendée Globe 2020

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Oh yes, everything happens ! In my entire computer-nautical career I had never played any computer game whatsoever., not even the historic Windows card game that cost businesses thousands of idle office hours… but you should never say : Never !

Or donc, here I am registered for Virtual Regatta, one among the most 340.000 players registered at this time, ready to start the Vendée Globe tomorrow at 1:02 p.m.. Like any beginner, I watched a few videos to quickly understand this game, Who, we are all, seems relatively simple for an experienced sailor. But from there to playing in the big leagues, there are still several oceans to cross !

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GNS 3000 Bluetooth GPS receiver for mobiles

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The new GNS 3000 announced by Global Navigation Systems since last spring is finally available (¹). It replaces the GNS 2000 Plus. Now equipped with a Bluetooth transmitter 5.0, it has an SD Card connector to record position data continuously.

Compatible with Android products, it is mainly aimed at devices without integrated GPS. It can be used with all PDAs, Bluetooth-enabled laptops and tablets. It has a Li-Ion battery offering a battery life of 10 hours continuously. Read more …

SailGrib sets sail for the Vendée Globe 2020

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Non, it's not a joke ! SailGrib embark with Weather4D on the Vendée Globe 2020 with Virtual Regatta. The two friends Henri and Olivier have together developed a routing module directly integrated into the game.

Philippe Guigné, the creator of the online game Virtual Regatta, explains in an interview with Sails & Sailboats :

«… we want the virtual Vendée Globe to be aimed at the general public and it is therefore logical that we help newbies by providing new tools. So, For this edition we are offering a routing assistance system, directly integrated into the game, in partnership with SailGrib and Weather4D. These routings will first be simplified so that everyone can use them. In a second step, we will put in place more elaborate routings which will allow us to determine long-term strategies…"

A new development for the two leaders in navigation applications, weather and routing on mobile devices, which should allow them to popularize their applications to a wide audience, and perhaps trigger vocations among the large number of players who have never set foot on the water.

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ECMWF weather data soon to be open to public [2th part]

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Source : The Parliament Mag par Umberto Modigliani, ECMWF Deputy Director of Forecasts, responsible, with the department director, continuous production of forecasts and relations with users.

Early October, the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (CEPMMT) will take a big step forward by making hundreds of its forecast maps available to everyone free of charge.
These changes are part of a broader European initiative to make public sector data free and open, encourage innovation and support a thriving, data-driven digital economy.

So far, full access to these forecast maps was restricted to national meteorological and hydrological services of ECMWF Member States and Cooperating States, to members of the World Meteorological Organization and commercial customers. Access was subject to a series of personalized licenses and high fees. Read more …

ECMWF weather data soon to be open to public [1first part]

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Created in 1975 on the initiative of European Union members, The European Center for Middle Term Meteorological Forecast is an independent intergovernmental organization whose headquarters, to date, is located in Reading, England. The CEPMMT is funded by 22 Member States and 12 Associated States. It employs near 350 people, And its equipment as supercalulars is one of the most important in Europe. For fifteen years, CEPMMT forecasts tend to be among the most precise in the world, According to the verification data of the world meteorological organization (WMO). The CEPMMT is currently led by the French meteorologist Florence Rabier, who worked at the local weather-france weather office.

More, Since the advent of Brexit, The situation has changed. The United Kingdom is no longer part of the EU, The CEPMMET must move to a European country, And it may have, For weather data users, consequences… positives. Read more …

Weather4D and SailGrib enhance the AIS network

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Numerous AIS tracking networks broadcast over the internet are available. Among the best known : Marine Traffic, Vessel Finder, SiiTech, LocateEverything, and many others. One of these networks particularly stands out, AIS Hub, an AIS data sharing center in NMEA format, that provides developers with an API for integration of its network into applications, and therefore display of AIS targets received via the Internet directly in the application. Featured from the origin in the functions of Weather4D Routing & Navigation, this system has made it possible to envisage new and particularly innovative services. Read more …

Weather tutorial available on Amazon [Update]

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A new version 1.4 of Weather tutorial "Introduction to marine weather" for Kindle is available on Amazon. Available on almost all media and operating systems thanks to free " Kindle ". This version was reviewed and aligned with the latest IOS version, with working videos on the latest devices (*).

Understanding of weather phenomena up to requests and decryption weather forecasts and GRIB weather files, This guide offers, After a reminder of the basic notions of meteorology, A practical and concrete approach to accessing relevant information, visualize and analyze them. An indispensable learning tool before addressing navigation weather applications like Weather4D, SailGrib, and others. Read more …

New at Navionics

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The few hundred boaters, Android devices users, Who made me happy to follow this blog have been able to see with disappointment the absence of news since the end 2014. I am well sorry, But still to date I note very little in the field of maritime navigation. Apart from the applications already mentioned above which present updates without a revolution, The Android universe seems little of interest to the developers of navigation apps. When analyzing the global market share of Android on smartphones and tablets, and conversely the poverty of navigation applications compared to the proliferation under iOS, We remain doubtful. But that's how.

Therefore I am happy to find a pretext to take back my editors, supplied by Navionics, which for once in its commercial policy offers an improvement in the price of its Navionics Boating application. Read more …

Marine electronics manufacturers and the tablet phenomenon

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A few days before the opening of the Paris Boat Show where, I remind you of this, I will be present on the stand iTabNav (Hall 2.1 – D31), An overview is in order. And precisely, in our immediate horizon we shall have, like every year, proximity to marine electronics manufacturers and their representatives.

At the previous edition of the boat show, I had noticed the reluctance – not to say hostility – of manufacturers towards the growing phenomenon of tablets and other smartphones on the navigation market. By dint of promoting these devices and their applications, I probably didn't just make friends in this business. However, Strong pressure from boat buyers, and therefore navigation electronics, has forced those manufacturers to integrate a minimum of interactivity between their own hardware and the mobile devices now owned by a majority of browsers.

This prompts me to take a quick look at the status of the applications provided and the progress of the proposed functions.

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