Sailing & Marine
Open water. An independent position source.
Miles from shore with no cell coverage, SkyLocation delivers exact coordinates, speed over ground, and position accuracy — a reliable backup to your primary chartplotter.
Forty miles offshore. Your chartplotter just went dark.
Electronics fail. Saltwater corrodes connections. Voltage spikes fry circuit boards. Every experienced sailor has a story about a chartplotter dying at the worst possible moment — approaching an unfamiliar harbor at dusk, navigating a shipping channel in fog, or rounding a headland with hidden rocks.
SkyLocation on your iPhone becomes an independent position source that shares no wiring, no power bus, and no antenna with your boat electronics. Keep your phone in a waterproof case clipped to your PFD, and you have an independent GPS position that keeps working when a failure takes out your main navigation system — as long as the phone has battery and a view of the sky.
On the open ocean, GPS reception is at its absolute best — no buildings, no trees, no terrain to block signals. SkyLocation shows speed over ground for dead reckoning checks, and coordinates are ready to radio in a pan-pan or mayday call if the situation demands it.
Horizon adds twilight times for navigation rules — civil, nautical, and astronomical — plus a live compass that points to port via your home beacon. Sun, moon, and a way home, fully offline.
Built for sailing & marine
Every feature designed for your specific needs.
Independent GPS Backup
Your phone runs on its own battery, its own antenna, its own GPS chip. When your boat's electronics fail, SkyLocation can still give you its own position, as long as it has GPS reception.
Speed Over Ground (SOG)
Track SOG in knots for dead reckoning calculations, passage planning, and estimating time to waypoint. Compare against your knot meter to check for current.
Position for the Ship's Log
If your seamanship practice calls for a manual log, copy latitude, longitude, and time at regular intervals. SkyLocation does not continuously record a route or reconstruct a voyage for you.
Mayday-Ready Coordinates
In a distress call, the most critical information after "nature of emergency" is your position. Coordinates are on screen, ready to read into the VHF on channel 16.
Harbor Approach Verification
Entering an unfamiliar harbor? You can compare the displayed position with your chartplotter as a secondary check. Matching readings can increase confidence, but neither device guarantees accuracy. Follow official charts and maritime guidance.
All-Weather, Day or Night
GPS works through clouds, rain, fog, and darkness. When visual navigation fails, satellite positioning still works with a clear view of the sky — it doesn't need to see the horizon or the stars.
“On our passage from the Canaries to the Caribbean, SkyLocation was our backup position source the entire crossing. Independent of our nav system, its own battery, there whenever we checked. When our chartplotter acted up on day 9, we had an independent position to fall back on.”
— SkyLocation User
Frequently Asked Questions
How does SkyLocation compare to a dedicated marine GPS?
Will GPS accuracy be better offshore than near shore?
How should I protect my phone from saltwater?
Can I use SkyLocation for coastal racing or regattas?
How do I include my position in a VHF radio distress call?
Should I still carry paper charts?
Explore More Use Cases
Ready to try SkyLocation?
Free on the App Store and Google Play. No account required. Works offline from the moment you open it.