Next to your personal floatation device, having a float plan prepared is the next measure boaters should take to ensure their safety while on the water. Taking the time to prepare a float plan just got easier as Sirius Signal, a leader in marine safety innovations, announced the arrival of the smartphone app Afloat Plan Home.
Afloat Plan Home hit app stores on May 20 after Sirius Signal CEO Anthony Covelli began working on it in 2018. It is an efficiently organized and easy-to-use app that lets emergency contacts of the boater know when and where the boater’s destination is mapped out.
“Float plans are always done before you get underway,” said Covelli. “A water sport recreator is anybody who does anything on the water…and should use Afloat Plan Home. Afloat is a double entendre. Everything you do on the water as a recreator, you start by staying afloat, and the goal is that you return staying afloat.”
After downloading the app, Afloat Plan Home prompts the user to input their personal and vessel information, including the boat’s name, color, length, make, and model, to provide a detailed description of the vessel’s appearance. The app also provides a checklist for boaters to complete to ensure they have everything they need before departure.
Once all the information is input, the user may create a float plan. When creating the float plan, the user will enter their current location, destination, number of people on board, and the date and time they’re expected to arrive. Once this float plan is completed, the application will send your float plan as a link which will go out in a text message to up to five desired emergency contacts.
For example, I would enter that I’m leaving from Dana Point Harbor at 8 a.m. and intend to dock at Shelter Island in San Diego by 7 p.m. Once docked at my final destination, I would open the app and check that my trip has ended. This will notify my emergency contacts that I have arrived, and my float plan has concluded. If an emergency occurs, and I never dock, the app will send out emergency notifications that I never ended my trip. The app will send the contacts two automated phone calls instructing them on what’s happening and what to do next; a voicemail is automatically left, and text messages.
Afloat Plan Home is not just for those on a boat— watercraft users of all types, including kayaks, jet skis, and paddleboards—can send their description and starting point in a text and pick the start time and expected return time. As explained, if the trip is not ended, the provided contacts will be reached with the user’s last known location and a link to a map showing their area of operation.
Another helpful app feature is the unique offline “first aid kit.” This interactive feature plays a looped voice recording of a first-aid treatment that guides the user through step-by-step procedures instructing how to handle the most common on-water emergencies.
This app isn’t just for the captain or owner of the vessel. All members onboard can download Afloat Plan Home, even as a guest or a crew member, to ensure that their emergency contacts know their float plan. Those boarding as guests can adjust their float plan to the different trips they are partaking in and the various vessels they will board, including cruises, fishing charters, or even those kayaking or paddleboarding for the afternoon.
The app is available in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. For more information, please visit https://siriussignal.com/sirius-signal-marine-safety-app-rebranded-as-afloat-plan-home/.
