The pleasure of boating and sharing its experiences with others has taken on a whole new meaning for yacht owners, crews and guests during the last few years due to the ‘Mobile Device Revolution.’
These days just about every boat has tablets or smartphones onboard when cruising, and these are already sending photos and cruising comments to the various social networks to share with friends and family.
So, wouldn’t it be great if a lot of this valuable data could be captured in a single mobile application dedicated exclusively to boaters? This would enable everyone to input information about where they are boating, and also to access what they need to know from others who have taken their boats to places yet to be discovered!
Well now it has been made possible… With Twoater, the Social Intelligence Network for boaters.
Twoater is the brainchild of Guy Thackray a keen yachtsman himself, who like so many creators of useful concepts, simply saw a need that was crying out to be met!
Having sailed for most of his life, Guy had seen first hand how arriving at a strange port could be a harrowing experience, and frequently a waste of precious ‘quality time’, because updated information on ‘where to go, for what’ was often not available, or out of date.
So, Guy developed the Twoater concept based on the fact that whoever has been to a port, or cruised in a certain area, will be able to share his or her vital knowledge of all the things that a yachtsman needs to know. And of course that data will soon build up, and be available for the benefit of all Twoaters.
Another key driver behind Thackray’s motivation was a desire to improve safety, an objective that everyone who spends time afloat would agree with. So the Twoater App has a ‘PanPan’ emergency function built into it which can be customised by the user to send a direct and pre-populated SMS Twoat to a nominated ‘buddy.’ This operates in addition to reaching out to other Twoaters in the same cruising zone, who could come to assist in the unfortunate case of a genuine emergency at sea. (Note: This is not intended or designed to replace the accepted PanPan emergency procedure already in place, only to reinforce it, in appropriate coastal zones with adequate network coverage.)
The thought process for Twoater from day one was to encourage users to think; ‘Boat & Twoat…. for instance a typical practical functionality in the software build is the ‘Track to Twoat’ option. With this, Twoaters are able to easily go to a #useful Twoat. For instance, a beautiful bay that someone Twoated about, or perhaps a great #restaurant. At sea one is shown the bearing and distance to sail, and on land a street map view. Both of these constantly update as you move towards your chosen position.
Twoater’s originator and architect readily admits that having created the world’s first social network for boaters, he now needs people to sign up, get engaged and Twoat their informative posts. For the sake of brevity and precision Twoats are restricted to 140 characters per entry, and Guy is highly aware that the quality, breadth and level of detail that becomes available to the Twoater Network is now dependent on the boaters who sign up. Guy says that he has great faith in the will and integrity of yachtsmen to provide such input, which just as importantly, will also be a lot of fun to do!
As an example, Neyland Yacht Haven in Pembrokshire, situated in the UK’s only coastal national park, joined Twoater in its early stages. Their Director James Cotton said; “We could see the potential of a social media platform specifically aimed at the boating community. Both bertholders and visitors can easily keep in touch with each other, and with us for information and news”
So now, Guy is making a special offer to new Twoaters who want to get involved in the fun, and share their cruising information with others. From now until 31st December 2014, every new Twoater who downloads the App and posts at least one #useful Twoat, will get the Extended Pack FREE until the end of 2015. (Note that the basic version will always be free).
To sign up and Twoat…Searc
h for ‘Twoater’ in the iTunes app store, or for more information contact Guy Thackray at: twoaterinfo@gmail.com
Media enquiries to Peter Franklin – YachtMedia
E.mail: Yachtmedia.buz@gmail.com – Tel: +31 652 394 689
