Updates for Sailors Onboard Merchant ships

Rigel Marine

Hello hi.. Myself Capt.Ranjith one of your premium subscribers and I have been using windy extensively for the last one year ..I regularly check windy for the forecast for my ship voyage route and regularly amend my route basis the forecast from Windy..Thanks for that ..I believe with all the latest updates the usage of windy app will be more beneficial and give all required info for the users..May I request in your following updates to give some updates focused more for sailors like me onboard merchant ships like enhanced passage planning tools , plug-in like AIS based tracking with Windy for Merchant vessels etc ..These tools will be widely used by all the sailors onboard merchant ships and this will bring in more users for Windy..Thanks

idefix37

@Rigel-Marine
Hi Capt’n
Some users have already requested an AIS overlay for Windy.
However, this data is already available on the electronic navigation systems, such as those using ECDIS system or even on the simpler sea chartplotters and routing devices
What would be the point of having it on a weather app like Windy?

Rigel Marine

@idefix37
Hi,
Thank you for your response.
I completely agree that AIS information is already available on ECDIS and onboard navigation systems. My suggestion is not to replace or duplicate ECDIS functionality, as Windy is clearly not a navigation app.
However, from an operational point of view, having an optional AIS overlay within Windy could be useful for:
Monitoring traffic density in weather-affected areas.
Cross-checking weather impact on traffic flow.
Situations where officers can review forecasts away from the bridge .
I believe Windy is already widely used by maritime professionals for weather analysis. Integrating limited AIS visualization (purely informational, not for navigation) could enhance decision-making during planning stages.
Of course, this would remain supplementary and not a substitute for certified navigation systems.
Appreciate your feedback and open discussion.
Kind regards,
Capt. Ranjith

Yann Kerherve

@Rigel-Marine

Hi Captain Ranjith,

I am currently working on the new version of the “GPS from COM” and “GPS from TCP” plugins.
It will probably be officially published in a few days, but you can already test it by installing it directly from the following URL via “Install plugin directly from URL”:

https://windy-plugins.com/14130635/windy-plugin-shipposition/3.0.1/plugin.min.js

This new version allows you to display the AIS targets from your onboard NMEA network (i.e. targets received by your vessel’s AIS receiver, not MarineTraffic) directly on the weather map.

Several additional features are also available and can be enabled or disabled as required (https://yannkerherve.github.io/position-plugin/).

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or if you would like any adjustments.

Kind regards,
Yann

idefix37

@Yann-Kerherve
Excellent ! I did not remember your plugin was able to provide AIS data in Windy.

idefix37

@Yann-Kerherve
One question. Now plugins are also displayed in the mobile app, but as far as I understand your plugins only works on a computer and only on Windows?

Yann Kerherve

@idefix37
I am currently working on an Android application that will act as the small server receiving TCP NMEA data. On some boats—especially smaller sailboats—the NMEA stream is sent over TCP through a Wi-Fi router to a tablet or a smartphone. This will allow those boats to use my plugin as well.

Since the plugin is primarily designed to run on computers, it will be published in the coming days without this functionality. The small APK will be added later, and no modification of the plugin will be required because it has already been designed to support it.

However, since I don’t know anyone who has a direct serial (COM) connection between a phone and an NMEA emitter, the “COM” section stays visible in the plugin, but I have not been able to test whether it is actually possible that it could works.

idefix37

@Yann-Kerherve
Merci Yann !

Rigel Marine

@Yann-Kerherve Hi ..Thanks for the info ..Will wait for further update from your side to try the AIS plugin.. Presently I'm unable to download the zip file for your plugin..
Regards,
Capt Ranjith