AdventureLive vs PredictWind tracking for sailors

What is the difference between AdventureLive and PredictWind tracking?

PredictWind's tracking is a page for boats, fed by the device you carry. AdventureLive is a page for any adventure, fed by an inReach, a SPOT or Garmin LiveTrack. They overlap for a sailor, so here is the plain fact: AdventureLive does not support PredictWind's tracking or the devices PredictWind uses for it, such as an Iridium GO!, a DataHub, a ZOLEO or a YB tracker.

AdventureLive never replaces your tracker, its plan, MapShare or the SPOT shared page. It reads an inReach or SPOT you already carry and adds a 3D map, the weather where you are and HELP emails to home contacts. This page is part of our guide to the best live tracking for adventures.

We make AdventureLive, so weigh our view with that in mind. What we say about PredictWind comes only from its own site and help centre, linked under Sources. Where those pages are silent we write "not stated on the pages we read".

At a glance

What does PredictWind tracking do well?

It is built around boats, and it shows. PredictWind's page says tracking is free for all PredictWind users. It lists the phone, DataHub, DataHub Pro, Iridium GO!, Garmin inReach, YB3i, ZOLEO, YB Tracker, Bivy Stick and AIS as ways to feed it. That is a wider list than AdventureLive supports.

Viewers get a live position map with 2D or 3D boat icons for different vessel types, a shared feed of blog posts, photos and videos, animated replays of past passages, and predicted weather routes shared on the map. The page also describes historic weather maps. A sailor who wants a public logbook with replays gets that here.

It also reaches into the boat. PredictWind says a DataHub adds roll, depth, sea and air temperature and battery voltage to the tracking page, and that it gives GPS data even offline. It recommends a DataHub for the most accurate and reliable position updates. Those readings come from your boat's own instruments, which a satellite tracker alone cannot give.

What does AdventureLive do well?

AdventureLive gives family a 3D satellite map with your route and the line you have actually travelled. On a passage with no set route, a leg can have no GPX at all, so followers see the line the boat actually sailed. The trip page shows the weather where you are now and for the next 48 hours: wind, temperature, rain and storms, with safety alerts for strong wind and gales, severe cold, heat, heavy rain and thunderstorms. It does not show swell, waves, sea temperature or currents.

You can name up to five home contacts. If your inReach or SPOT sends a HELP message during a trip, each gets an email with the time, the place on a map and the trip page. Followers never see that. Rescue is run by Garmin Response for an inReach, or SPOT's GEOS centre, not by AdventureLive. An SOS goes to that service, which tells the emergency contacts you set up with Garmin or SPOT. AdventureLive does not email home contacts about an SOS.

Its limits: no phone app; it needs an inReach, a SPOT or a Garmin watch with LiveTrack, plus that device's own plan; it reads a tracker no more often than every 4 minutes (inReach) or every 2½ minutes (SPOT), and only while a trip is live. It has no boat instruments and no logbook feed.

When should you choose PredictWind tracking?

Choose it when:

• you sail, and your boat has a DataHub, an Iridium GO! or another device PredictWind lists;
• you want boat telemetry, replays and a media feed on one page;
• you already use PredictWind for routing and want tracking in the same place.

When should you choose AdventureLive?

Choose AdventureLive when you carry an inReach or SPOT and want:

• a 3D map of the passage that people open with no app and no account;
• the weather where you are, with safety alerts, beside the dot;
• HELP emails to named people at home;
• one dot from several trackers, such as an inReach and a SPOT.

To start, Plan your trip. You sign in with Google, or with email and password plus a 6-digit code we email you. Then follow linking a tracker.

Can you use both?

Yes, if your tracker is one AdventureLive can read. PredictWind lists Garmin inReach as a supported device, and AdventureLive reads an inReach through MapShare, so one inReach can feed both, following each service's own steps. We found no page that rules that out. If your boat's tracker is an Iridium GO!, a DataHub, a ZOLEO or a YB, AdventureLive cannot read it. Then you would carry an inReach or SPOT as well, keep MapShare or the SPOT shared page on, and link it. That is a second satellite plan, so weigh the cost.

For ocean passages, see sailing passage live tracking and how AdventureLive compares with YB tracking.

Which is better for a long passage?

For a crew that wants boat data and replays, PredictWind's page. For family who want one clear map and the weather at the boat's position, with HELP emails, AdventureLive on top of an inReach or SPOT. The forecast is a guide, not a guarantee, so check local forecasts and marine warnings before you set out.