Pocket Mariner, developer of nautical apps for boating enthusiasts, today launched the very first ship tracking app for Mac OS. Boat Watch, which has been a popular app for users of iPhones and iPads, now enables Mac users to spot boats and ships and follow them on a real-time map. Boat Watch will also provide information about boats being tracked, including their names, types and destinations.
Many boating enthusiasts around the world who enjoy tracking boats have used the free Boat Watch to spot boats and ships and follow their journeys on oceans and other major waterways. For the first time ever, Mac users can also use Boat Watch’s full mapping mode – leveraging the built-in maps from the latest Maverick OSX – to spot boats and ships and follow their journeys.
With an optional paid add-on feature, users who track a particular vessel will receive an alert when the boat sets sail or arrives. This feature is ideal for those with loved ones at sea, or for those interested in tracking ferries and rescue vessels – or following cargo across the world. This feature also provides full ship details such as speed, course, and country.
Boat Watch features include:
* Spotting any boat or ship via real-time AIS
* Seeing the Name, Type and Destination of each vessel
* Setting any boat as a “Favorite,” and automatically tracking it on the map
* Searching and finding boats and places
* Sharing boats on Facebook, Twitter or by email
System Requirements:
* OS X 10.9 or later
* 10.6 MB
Boat Watch 1.0 is fFree and available worldwide through the Mac App Store here.
Source: Pocket Mariner
[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]
I’ve heard of train-spotting, but never boat-spotting. I need to get out more.
No, you don’t.
Well, if you want to spot real boats, getting out is pretty inevitable, if you want to find large bodies of water with boats on.
Ummmm…..OK.
Mac market share just increased a few point in Somalia…
I’ve been using an app on my iPhone for years. “Marine Traffic” has done all this. I’m surprised that this is now only making it to OSX but also wonder at its use. As a mobile app, I can approach a port and tell what vessels are on or out …. ferries for example. As an on-board aid, I see this as being more useful on a mobile device.
I have been using Ship Finder by PinkFroot software for iOS for years and it great . They also had an augmented reality app which uses the iPhone camera to identify the ship in question .
In addition they have a plane finder app
Both of these really provide virtual radar which cab be quite useful .
For real time boating AIS on an iPhone or iPad you should try the Boat Beacon and SeaNav apps – SeaNav has an amazing AR view which includes Buoys and Lighthouses as well as ships.
Great app for those African pirates. Instead of burning all that fuel looking for ships to hijack, just whip out an iPad.
By dint of your argument, Egyptians, Moroccans, Libyans, Algerians, South Africans, Namibians are all pirates because they are all Africans?
Somali pirates are somali first and then African second, just as all Germans are Germans first and then Europeans second. This statement is applicable to any nation around the world, but if your reasoning is taken to its logical conclusion, then all peoples on this planet are pirates because of how we are misusing this planets resources compared to other species!