Useful Apps for Dinghy Sailing
Modern smartphones have become genuinely useful tools on the water. Whether you're chasing better upwind VMG, trying to nail your race starts, or just want to know if the wind will fill in by lunchtime, there's an app for it. This guide covers the best apps for dinghy sailors across weather, racing, analysis, navigation, and race management — with honest notes on what each one is actually good for.
Weather apps
Getting the forecast right is the most important preparation you can do before a session. These two apps are the standard in the dinghy sailing community.
Windy
Windy is the go-to forecast app for most sailors. The animated wind map gives you an instant read on what's coming, and the ability to switch between forecast models (ECMWF, GFS, Arome) means you can cross-check uncertain forecasts before committing to a session.
Key features:
- Animated wind speed and direction maps
- Wave height prediction
- Multiple forecast models for cross-checking
- Weather radar overlay
windy.com — free, with a premium tier for higher resolution forecasts.
PredictWind
PredictWind runs its own proprietary forecast models on top of the standard global models, which makes it noticeably more accurate in coastal and complex terrain conditions. More relevant for offshore sailors, but worth having if your local venue has tricky wind patterns.
Key features:
- High-resolution proprietary wind forecasts
- Weather routing and trip planning
- Offshore and coastal forecast comparison
predictwind.com — free basic tier, paid plans for full features.
Racing, tracking, and performance analysis
This is where technology has the biggest impact on dinghy sailors who want to improve. GPS tracking, post-race analysis, and video review can reveal patterns in your sailing that are invisible to the naked eye.
SailingMetrics
SailingMetrics is built specifically for competitive dinghy sailors who want to get faster. The Android app records GPS tracks and video simultaneously, so you can overlay your physical movements on your tactical decisions after the race. Beyond recording, the platform gives you a full performance environment: competition management, handicap-corrected results, fleet rankings, and a decentralized sailing league you can join from anywhere.
Key features:
- GPS tracking with simultaneous video recording — review your tacks, gybes, and mark roundings with full context
- Performance analysis — speed, VMG, tacking angles, and leg-by-leg breakdowns
- Live audio callouts — hear your speed and heading without looking at the screen
- Tacking training mode — structured drills with instant feedback
- Competition and regatta management — run a full club series, manage entries, publish results, and track standings
- SailingMetrics League — a decentralized, handicap-based competition open to all sailors, free to enter
- Skipper rankings — see where you stand in the wider community
Download the SailingMetrics app or create a free account to start tracking your sessions and comparing your performance over time.
Kwindoo
Kwindoo focuses on live race tracking with a spectator-facing interface. Useful for clubs that want to stream race positions to a website or display, and for sailors who want live position data shared with coaches on the water.
- Live race tracking and spectator feed
- Race replay
- Club and event management tools
Navigation apps
Most dinghy sailing happens in familiar local waters, but if you're exploring new venues or coastal sailing, a navigation app earns its place on your phone.
Navionics Boating
Navionics provides detailed nautical charts with depth contours, tidal streams, and hazard markers. For dinghy sailors, tidal information is the most practically useful feature — knowing how the tide will run across a race course can change your entire strategy.
- Detailed nautical charts
- Depth contours and sonar charts
- Tidal predictions and current overlays
- Community-contributed updates
Navionics — subscription-based.
Race management apps
For race officers and sailing clubs organising events, these apps replace clipboards and stopwatches with something more reliable.
Sailrace dinghy race timer
Easy to use dinghy race timer and scoring app that can be used by sailing clubs to manage, run and score dinghy races.
Key features:
- Starting sequence
- Live streaming
- Scoring (single fleet and Portsmouth Yardstick)
Link to Sailrace
Summary
The apps that make the biggest difference for most dinghy sailors are a good weather forecast and a performance tracking tool that gives you something to learn from after every session. If you're not already reviewing your GPS tracks, that's the highest-leverage change you can make to your training.
If you have an app you'd recommend that isn't listed here, let us know — we're happy to try it and add it to the list.