David Cusworth, Head of Partnership and Innovation at marine navigation company Savvy Navvy, considers ‘digital first’ navigation and how new technologies are making navigation more accessible, safer and intuitive than ever.
Paper charts in the UK account for less than 16 per cent of sales. The UK Hydrographic Office announced the phase-out of paper charts back in 2022. The RYA launched its Digital First initiative in 2023. The shift to digital navigation is no longer on the horizon – it is well underway.
One in four RYA instructors are already using Savvy Navvy in their training courses. Boaters today, especially those new to the boating lifestyle, are digital natives. They have grown up with smartphones, apps and instant connectivity. This shift is not about abandoning tradition. It is about moving with the times on digital, removing the barriers that kept boating complicated, inaccessible and, frankly, more intimidating than it needs to be.
From policy to practice
For this shift to fully take hold, we need more of the marine industry to move from policy to practice. Boaters are already expecting tools that match how they live, learn and boat.
“Our job is to prepare sailors for real-world situations, whether they are using paper, a plotter or an app,” says Edd Hewett, Principal at Ardent Training. “Digital First makes training more relevant, more engaging and ultimately more effective. It is not about replacing skills, it is about enhancing them with better tools.”
Ardent Training recently launched a major update to its flagship RYA Day Skipper Online Theory Course to include more electronic navigation tools, real-world simulations and a dynamic focus on digital solutions that students will actually use on the water. They have recently also been really supportive of a series of new Savvy Navvy ‘digital first’ features including chart annotations, an industry-first new tool, enabling boating instructors to turn digital charts into interactive learning tools. Others include three point fix and manual routing.
The new baseline
Today’s boaters – whether they are twenty-somethings buying their first boat or experienced sailors upgrading their toolkit – expect navigation to work like everything else in their digital lives. Real-time weather, live tidal data, smart routing and daily chart updates are not luxuries. They are the baseline.
Savvy Navvy, often referred to as ‘Google maps for boats’, delivers this by bringing every aspect of passage planning into one app. Unlike any other boating navigation solution, Savvy Navvy provides smart routing – giving users the optimal route and dynamic ETAs based on real-time data: departure time, chart information, weather conditions, tide, boat specifications and local regulations.
‘Couch to boat’
Like planning car journeys, boaters want to be able to plan from their phone at home and bring it straight to their displays on the water. Whether on a boaters’ phone, tablet or plotter – boaters expect to be able to connect the journey they planned from home to when they get to their boat, then be updated with the latest weather and tidal information in real time.
This expectation is driving innovation across the industry. Savvy Integrated now brings clutter-free charts and smart routing to built-in boat management systems, such as CPAC Systems’ newest Marivue product line. It sets a new standard in infotainment, connectivity and display technology bringing the intuitive and connected experience people expect from modern mobility into recreational vehicles and marine applications.
By offering intuitive charts and essential navigation solutions to OEMs, we are enhancing boating experiences and enabling the seamless connection between home planning and the water journey.
Join the digital first movement
When navigation is accessible, when planning a passage takes minutes instead of hours, when checking conditions is as simple as checking your phone – more people boat. More often. With greater confidence.
Digital navigation is not the future – it is the present.
To find out more about the Savvy Navvy app, or for qualified instructors to access their Professional Edition account, visit www.savvy-navvy.com
Savvy Navvy is currently open to let recreational boaters become shareholders. Find out more about their crowdfunding here: https://europe.republic.com/savvy-navvy6
