Marine Product Reviews just discovered a great iPhone App that any boater with an iPhone or iTouch should seriously consider. The NOAA Buoy Data Reader is from Verona Solutions and the app presents data from NOAA weather buoys near you based upon your current location. What's great about the app is that it presents you with every NOAA weather buoy in your area in both a list format as well as represented on a chart of the area. You then select the buoy that you'd like data for and you can see data for the sea conditions for that specific buoy.
The data that you get includes the specific location, wind direction, wind speed (in knots), wind gust speed, significant wave heights (if available), dominant wave period, atmospheric pressure and pressure tendency. All data indicates the specific date and time that the data is from. Great features include being able to add buoys to your favorites list so you can quickly get data for the buoys that are most relevant. The iPhone app will default to showing the buoy list of map view. You are also able to enable an auto retrieve of your location and specify the radius that you'd like buoy data for (example see data for all buoys with in 100 miles). You can also see buoy data for NOAA buoys outside your current location by searching city and state. The NOAA Buoy Data Reader iPhone app is easy to use and we found it to be pretty stable. This app is a great resource for any sailor or boater who wants actual weather information for their vicinity. It's an app that helps you be informed and stay safe on the water. For $2.99, it's had to beat the price. It's also fun to see what is happening real time in other areas or at buoys out at sea in stormy conditions. The NOAA Buoy Data Reader app is compatible with the iPhone 3.0 or later or the iPod Touch.
