PredictWind launched Man Overboard, a new app that detects crewmember’s separation from the vessel within seconds, marks their position, and escalates alerts to crew, chartplotter, and shore contacts. The app is available for DataHub Pro users and is designed to close one of the most dangerous gaps in offshore safety.
The Man Overboard app works passively in the background of a crewmember’s smartphone or smartwatch that holds a Wi-Fi connection to DataHub Pro. The moment the connection breaks, the app logs the boat’s GPS position and starts an escalating alert sequence first on the disconnected device itself, then on every other monitored device on board, the boat's chartplotter, and designated contacts ashore.
“By the time anyone notices someone is missing, the boat could be hundreds of meters away,” said Jon Bilger, PredictWind founder. “The Man Overboard app closes that gap. It marks the position the instant a device drops off the network, so the crew heads back to where the person went in, not where the boat was when the alarm sounded.”
The app is compatible with Simrad, Raymarine and B&G chartplotters, supported Apple Watch models, and iOS, and Android smartphones. Alerts to shore contacts require DataHub Pro to have internet access, and can be sent to mobile numbers in more than 80 countries.
“What it solves is crew awareness: knowing within seconds that something has happened, not minutes later,” Bilger said.
