Before that first trip back at the helm, I did what most beginners do. I downloaded too many apps, understood about half of them, and ended up relying on the one I had already been using for years anyway.
MeteoSwiss. Which you already know about if you have been reading this newsletter.
But that experience made me think properly about what a beginner actually needs on their phone before going out on the water. Not fifteen apps. Not a full chart plotter setup. Just a small, reliable stack that covers the three things that matter most: knowing what the weather is going to do, knowing where you are and where you are going, and being able to get help if something goes wrong.
Here is what I would install if I was starting from zero today, specifically for boating on Swiss and Italian waters.
Weather: MeteoSwiss (free)
You already know this one. I mention it again because it is genuinely the most important app on this list for anyone boating on Swiss lakes, and I want to be clear about why. Most weather apps give you a general regional forecast. MeteoSwiss gives you lake-specific bulletins with wind speed, gusts, wave height, and storm warnings updated every few hours for each individual Swiss lake. That granularity is the difference between a forecast that says "partly cloudy, light winds" and one that tells you the Lugano inverna is going to build to 25 knots by 2pm.
Use it the night before and again on the morning of every trip. If you are boating on Italian lakes, the equivalent is the Aeronautica Militare forecast (meteoam.it) combined with the lake authority's specific bulletins, which vary by lake.
meteoswiss.admin.ch (also available as a free app on iOS and Android)
Weather (advanced): Windy (free, pro version available)
Once you want more than a basic forecast, Windy is the next step. It provides high-resolution wind, gust, and precipitation forecasts in an animated map display that makes it easy to visualise how weather is moving across a body of water. The animated layers — you can watch the wind build and shift across your lake in real time — are genuinely useful for planning a departure time or deciding whether to extend a trip.
The free version covers everything a beginner needs. The pro version adds more weather models and longer forecast windows, but is not necessary until you are doing longer passages.
windy.com (free app on iOS and Android)
Navigation: Navionics (€49.99/year for Northern Europe)
Navionics is one of the most widely used marine navigation apps in the world. Developed by Garmin, it provides detailed nautical charts covering coastal waters, lakes, and rivers across the globe, with real-time GPS positioning, route planning, and downloadable charts for offline use.
For Swiss and Italian lakes specifically, Navionics has good coverage including depth charts, marina locations, and points of interest. The offline download function is important — mobile signal is unreliable in some lake areas and you do not want to be navigating without charts because you lost connection.
The Northern Europe subscription costs €49.99 per year for 2026, which covers Switzerland, Italy, and most of Europe. For a beginner, this is the one navigation app worth paying for.
navionics.com (iOS and Android)
Navigation (free alternative): Savvy Navvy (free tier available)
Savvy Navvy combines chart-based navigation with weather overlay, making it a strong choice for boaters who want one app for both routing and weather. The free tier is genuinely useful for beginners — it covers basic navigation and includes wind and weather overlays without needing a separate weather app. If you want to start with one app rather than two, this is a reasonable place to begin before investing in Navionics.
savvy-navvy.com (iOS and Android)
Safety: What3Words (free)
This one is not a boating app specifically, but it belongs on every boater's phone. What3Words divides the entire surface of the earth into 3x3 metre squares, each with a unique three-word address. If you need to call for help and cannot describe your location, you can give the rescue services your three-word address and they will find you to within 3 metres.
On a lake or coastal water where there are no street addresses, this is genuinely potentially life-saving. It takes thirty seconds to download and costs nothing.
what3words.com (free, iOS and Android)
One app to avoid: anything US-focused
Most boating app roundups you will find online are written for a North American audience. Apps like KnowWake, Wavve Boating, and Buoyweather are excellent for US waters but have limited or no coverage of European inland lakes and the Italian coast. If you download them expecting Swiss lake data, you will be disappointed. Stick to the European-native options above.
That is the stack. Five apps, three of them free, one subscription at €49.99 a year. Everything a beginner needs and nothing they do not.
See you next week.
— Ale
You do not need fifteen apps. You need four.
MeteoSwiss for lake-specific weather on Swiss waters. Windy for a visual overview of conditions. Navionics for charts and navigation. What3Words for emergencies.
Download them before your next trip, not during it. And check MeteoSwiss the night before and again on the morning of every departure, not just when you think the weather might be a problem.
If you have never used Windy, open it now and zoom into your nearest lake. Watch the animated wind layers move across the water. It is the single clearest way to understand what the wind is doing and where it is going, without needing a meteorology degree to interpret it. Free, no registration required, works in a browser or as an app.
For day trips on familiar inland waters, your phone with Navionics is enough. A dedicated chart plotter is more reliable (no battery drain, waterproof, visible in direct sunlight) and worth investing in once you are doing longer passages or coastal cruising. For a beginner on Swiss or Italian lakes, start with the phone. Just make sure you have a waterproof case, a power bank on board, and the offline charts downloaded before you leave the marina.
