You know what they say, 'there's an app for that'. Well, when it comes to apps to support your paddleboarding adventures, there are a few firm favourites here at Aquaplanet HQ. We've rounded them up for you, so get downloading and start planning!
Location/safety
What 3 Words (app)
Revolutionary way to navigate to any specific 3m point on the globe.
Easy to memorise or convey an exact location
Good for finding wild locations away from roads / paths, etc.
Works on GPS (i.e. without phone signal)
Increasingly used by emergency services
Water Quality / Campaigning
Safer Seas & Rivers Service (app / webapp)
Observe and monitor the water quality of Sea & Rivers around the UK
Find local bathing and paddling spots and check their water safety
Get Alerts about pollution and sewage discharges
Report health issues directly through the app to aid campaigning
Use the app to directly canvass your MP/Water Co. CEO for cleaner water.
Sign petitions to pressure governments to act to save our oceans.
Paddle Recording
Strava (app)
One of the biggest exercise monitoring/recording apps.
Now includes paddle sports as recordable activity
‘Segments’ to help break up your paddle into fun sprint stretches
Compare your progress and performance with others or go for your PB
Form and join clubs - like The SUP Team - by Aquaplanet
Surf
Magic Seaweed (app / webapp)
The Surfer’s favourite
Surf specific info for surfing spots around the world.
Easy to read Tide, Wave, Swell and Weather information
Webcams in many locations for realtime viewing
Galleries of user images at most spots
Weather
Windy.com (app / webapp)
Visually excellent animated wind and weather map
Shows lots of information in easy to digest form.
10 day forecast for any location worldwide
Lots of info for outdoor sports: Wind, gusts, tides, waves, rain accumulation, weather warnings, etc.
Great for expedition and trip planning