Sea Tow Services International, Inc., the world’s leading professional marine assistance organization, announces the launch of the Sea Tow App. Available for free download from www.seatow.com/app by iPhone and Android smartphone users (regardless of whether they are Sea Tow Members or not), this indispensable boater’s tool offers a host of functions combined for the first time in a single, robust marine app.
Sea Tow App users have fingertip access to up-to-date marine weather forecasts, alerts and radar; tide tables and graphs; GPS location, speed and heading; and a link to 24-hour on-water assistance. The app features an elegant, easy-to use graphic interface with Day and Night running modes.
“The Sea Tow App is designed to be a quick and comprehensive reference tool for boaters, not only when they’re on the water, but also when they’re planning their next trip,” said Capt. Ryan Pratt of Sea Tow Treasure Coast in Jensen Beach, Florida. Capt. Pratt combined his extensive computer and design skills with his professional Captain’s experience to serve as architect and co-Project Manager for the Sea Tow App. Jester Communications of Hilton Head, South Carolina, is the developer. Well-known meteorology firm Weather Underground supports the app’s Weather and Tides functions.
Co-Project Manager and Sea Tow Chief Administrative Officer, Kristen Frohnhoefer said, “We have built in many functions that were previously only available in paid apps, but that we know are important to boaters. Sea Tow is releasing this app free of charge because we want to do everything in our power to have the most informed boaters on the water and we want to make sure they can easily contact us for assistance. ”
The Sea Tow App’s many valuable functions include:
Weather. This multifaceted function provides the user with current conditions including wind speed, direction and gusts; daily marine forecast with visibility, barometric pressure, water temperature and sunrise/sunset; weekend forecast, and seven-day forecast. Users can display this information not only for their present location, but also for up to seven additional locations in the Continental U.S., making it easy to check the forecast in advance for all the stops in a weeklong itinerary. Clicking the “map” button displays a terrestrial weather radar map for a particular location—users can “Tap” for more detail.
Tides. This highly detailed function displays high and low tide tables for up to eight different locations in both digital and graphic chart format for up to eight days ahead. The Tides function draws data from 3,800 U.S. tide stations; users can search for their desired locations both by Zip Code and by clicking on a map and “pinching in”. When GPS-enabled smartphone users have the phone’s “Follow Me” function turned on, the app automatically will find the tide station closest to their current location.
GPS. This handy function displays the user’s latitude and longitude—which can be shared with other boaters via e-mail if desired—and pinpoints the location on a terrestrial map. The “helm” screen provides a graphic representation of a compass and speedometer that display the user’s True and Magnetic headings, SOG (Speed Over Ground) and COG (Course Over Ground). Designed for coastal and inshore navigation, the GPS function also can be used offshore by satellite-enabled smartphones. The Sea Tow App’s innovative Night mode, which reverses each screen’s light graphics to dark, lets users view its GPS and all other screens in the dark without impairing night vision.
24-Hour Assistance. No matter where you are in the Sea Tow App, you will see a slider bar at the bottom of the screen that the user can deploy to contact Sea Tow’s 24-Hour Call Center. The app supplies the caller’s lat/long position to the assistance specialists who are standing by 24/7/365 to get a Sea Tow Captain underway to their location in his familiar yellow boat.
“Our main goal to keep boaters proactive and help them to prevent mishaps on the water, but the app has both non-emergency and emergency response functions as well,” said Capt. Pratt. “The Sea Tow App turns an iPhone or Droid into a boater’s best friend.”
