Route Tab — planning, stats, weather, routing
The heart of VoyagePilot: draw a route, analyse it (distances, weather windows, safety), check the weather along the track, run isochrone weather routing, prepare a pre-departure briefing, organise crew watches, and measure your performance against the boat's polar.
Where to find it
Sidebar › Route
The Route tab groups seven sub-tabs across the top of the panel: Route · Stats · Weather · Routing · Briefing · Watch · Perf. Several of these sub-tabs have their own nested sub-sections.
Hierarchy
Route
├── Route (GPX import, boat polar, saved routes, waypoints)
├── Stats
│ ├── Summary (distance, time, departure, speed, fuel, legs, exports)
│ ├── Weather (climatological window + real-time weather alerts)
│ ├── Safety (land/shoal warnings, safe routing, AI optimizer)
│ └── Timeline (hour-by-hour crossing timeline)
├── Weather
│ ├── Watch
│ │ ├── Alerts (predictive scan of hazards along the route)
│ │ ├── Windows (favourable departure slots)
│ │ └── Profile (wind profile / forecast confidence)
│ ├── Briefing (AI-generated weather briefing)
│ ├── Sea State (wave analysis)
│ └── Barometer (barometric trend + alert thresholds)
├── Routing
│ ├── Config (objective, departure time, safety limits, compute)
│ ├── Results (direct vs optimized route comparison, sail plan)
│ ├── Pareto (spread of optimal routes)
│ ├── Windows (compared departure windows)
│ ├── Analysis (detailed AI explanation)
│ └── Planner (multi-departure planner)
├── Briefing (pre-departure passage briefing: GO/CAUTION/WAIT verdict)
├── Watch
│ ├── Crew (crew list, roles, night preferences)
│ ├── Planning (watch system, generation, timeline)
│ └── Review (equity, rest, violations)
└── Perf (polar performance: gauge + per-leg table)
Route sub-tab
Import GPX
What it's for: load an existing route from a .gpx file (from navigation software, a chartplotter, or a shared link).
How to use it:
1. Click the Import GPX button at the top of the sub-tab.
2. Pick your .gpx file.
3. The route and its waypoints are created and become the active route.
Tips & limits: only .gpx files are accepted. An unreadable file is silently ignored. To export a route again, use the export buttons in Stats › Summary.
Boat polars
What it's for: choose your boat's speed polar. It drives isochrone routing, the timeline, performance, and briefings.
How to use it: 1. Open the Boat polars dropdown and pick a built-in or imported polar. 2. Routing and performance calculations automatically use the selected polar.
Options & settings:
| Item | Role |
|---|---|
| Dropdown | Selects the active polar. The 🧠 entry is the AI-learned polar. Choosing Disabled turns off polar-based calculations. |
| Pencil button (editor) | Opens the custom polar editor to create/edit a polar by hand. |
| CSV/POL | Imports a polar from a .csv, .txt, or .pol file. |
| ORC | Opens the online ORC catalog: load the database, search for your boat (builder, model, sail number) and import its official polar. |
Tips & limits: the ORC catalog requires an internet connection; the search shows the first 50 matches. Without a selected polar, isochrone routing and performance stay unavailable.
Explain this polar
What it's for: get a plain-language, AI-generated analysis of the selected polar: the winds where the boat is most efficient, its best upwind/downwind points of sail, when it's under- or over-powered, and concrete sail-plan/routing advice.
How to use it: 1. Below the polar diagram (Route sub-tab), click Explain this polar (sparkles icon). 2. The text streams in live, structured in four parts: boat character, best winds, best points of sail, practical advice. 3. Click again (Close explanation) to collapse. Changing the polar resets the explanation.
Tips & limits: the analysis is anchored strictly to the polar's performance grid (it won't invent specs of a real boat of the same name) — a disclaimer reminds you: "AI analysis of the polar numbers — verify against real-world experience." The result is cached (per boat/language), so reopening is instant. Needs the LLM server connection.
My routes
What it's for: list, create, rename, reverse, share, hide, and delete your saved routes.
How to use it: 1. Click New to create an empty route. 2. Right-click on the map to add waypoints to the active route (see Waypoint list). 3. Click a route in the list to make it active.
Options & settings:
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| New | Creates a new empty route and activates it. |
| Colour dot | Route colour on the map. |
| Pencil | Renames the active route. |
| Double arrow | Reverses the waypoint order (start ↔ finish). |
| Share | Copies a route-sharing link to the clipboard. |
| Eye | Shows / hides the route on the map. |
| Trash | Deletes the route. |
Tips & limits: the rename / reverse / share buttons only appear on the active route. Reversing and sharing require at least 2 waypoints.
Waypoint list
What it's for: view and manage the active route's waypoints: coordinates, ocean zone, sunrise/sunset, UV index, tides.
How to use it: 1. Right-click on the map to add a waypoint to the active route (a route is created automatically if none exists). 2. Drag a waypoint (handle on the left) to reorder it. 3. Click a waypoint in the list to centre the map on it.
Options & settings:
| Item | Role |
|---|---|
| Handle (≡) | Drag-and-drop to reorder waypoints. |
| Pencil (on name hover) | Renames the waypoint. |
| Zone name | Opens the matching ocean zone in the Zone tab. |
| Badges | Sunrise/sunset, UTC offset, UV index, per-point tide info. |
| Cross (×) | Removes the waypoint. |
Tips & limits: sun / UV / tide info loads in the background and needs a connection. Each point's number reflects its order in the route.
Stats sub-tab
Four sub-sections: Summary · Weather · Safety · Timeline. A "No route selected" message shows until a route with at least 2 waypoints is active.
Summary
What it's for: key crossing figures and exports.
Options & settings:
| Field | Role |
|---|---|
| Distance | Total distance in nautical miles. |
| Est. time | Estimated duration at the chosen speed. |
| Departure | Departure date (drives the climatological window calculation). |
| Speed | Average speed (− / + buttons, 1 to 20 kt). |
| Fuel consumption | Entered in L/h; shows the total estimate in litres and gallons. |
| Legs | Per-segment distance breakdown (WPT 1→2, etc.). |
| Export GPX / Export KML | Exports the route as GPX or KML. |
| Send to Axiom | Sends the route to a Raymarine Axiom chartplotter over NMEA (IP + port, bridge test, send). |
| Chartplotter export | Native chartplotter formats (expandable list). |
Tips & limits: Axiom NMEA send requires an active bridge on the network (status shown green/red) and the chartplotter's IP address. The entered fuel consumption is remembered.
Weather
What it's for: anticipate seasonal risk along the route and surface real weather alerts.
Options & settings: - Weather window: per segment, shows the transit month, ETA, risk level (low/moderate/high) from pilot charts, and alerts (cyclone, squall). - Real-time weather alerts: hazards detected from the forecast / loaded GRIB; clickable to point to the affected waypoint.
Tips & limits: the window is climatological (monthly statistics), not a forecast. Real-time alerts improve when a GRIB is loaded.
Safety
What it's for: check that the route doesn't cross land / shoals and optimise it.
Options & settings: - Land / shoal warnings: segments crossing land or shallow water. - Safe routing: enables a re-route that avoids obstacles (toggle + recompute). - AI route optimizer: proposes an improved route you can re-import.
Tips & limits: safe routing and the optimizer work from the existing waypoints; recompute after editing the route.
Timeline
What it's for: play out the crossing hour by hour (weather and progress) from the polar.
How to use it: open the sub-section; hover/click a leg to highlight the matching waypoint on the map.
Tips & limits: the timeline uses the selected polar and the loaded GRIB if present.
Weather sub-tab
Four sub-sections: Watch · Briefing · Sea State · Barometer. Requires an active route with at least 2 waypoints.
Watch
What it's for: continuously scan the route for hazards, departure slots, and wind trends. Three nested sub-tabs: Alerts · Windows · Profile.
How to use it: 1. Open Alerts: the predictive scan starts automatically. 2. Use the start/stop button and the refresh icon in the watch header. 3. Switch to Windows for favourable departure slots, or Profile for the wind profile and forecast confidence score.
Options & settings:
| Sub-section | Content |
|---|---|
| Alerts | Detected hazards, status badge (clear / warning / danger), AI summary, click to point to the waypoint. |
| Windows | Recommended departure slots and weather opportunities. |
| Profile | Wind profile along the route and forecast confidence score. |
Tips & limits: the scan and AI summary need a connection. Accuracy depends on the available forecast; load a GRIB for better results.
Briefing
What it's for: an AI-written weather briefing for the crossing, from the forecast/GRIB.
How to use it: open the sub-section and start the generation; the text streams in.
Tips & limits: works best with a GRIB loaded. Offline, a degraded mode is still available. Not to be confused with the top-level Briefing sub-tab (the GO/CAUTION/WAIT passage briefing).
Sea State
What it's for: analyse waves along the route (height, period, direction).
How to use it: open the sub-section; click a point to highlight it on the map.
Tips & limits: relies on wave data from the forecast and GRIB.
Barometer
What it's for: track the barometric trend at the start point and tune alert thresholds.
Options & settings: - Barometric trend: pressure curve at the first waypoint. - Threshold configuration: alert trigger thresholds (wind, wave, etc.).
Tips & limits: the trend is computed at the first waypoint's position.
Routing sub-tab
Isochrone weather routing: computes the optimal route accounting for the polar and forecast wind. Six sub-tabs: Config · Results · Pareto · Windows · Analysis · Planner.
Config
What it's for: set up and launch the routing computation.
How to use it: 1. Choose an optimization objective. 2. Set the departure time (a link button syncs it to the displayed forecast time). 3. Adjust the safety limits (max wind and wave). 4. Click Compute. The panel switches to Results when done.
Options & settings:
| Objective | Goal |
|---|---|
| Fastest | Minimises time. |
| Safest | Prioritises safety. |
| Comfortable | Minimises discomfort (heel, cross sea). |
| Balanced | A compromise. |
| Least Fuel | Reduces engine hours. |
| Setting | Role |
|---|---|
| Departure time | Datetime; a "departure in the past" warning with a 1-click fix appears when needed. |
| Link button | Snaps the departure to the current forecast time. |
| Departure history | Instantly switch to already-computed departures (no recompute). |
| Max wind (kt) | Safety limit, 15 to 50 kt. |
| Max wave (m) | Safety limit, 1 to 8 m. |
| Compute / Cancel | Starts or stops the computation (with progress bar). |
| Clear | Removes the result. |
| Ensemble routing | After a computation, runs the "spaghetti" ensemble routing (strong-wind probabilities, confidence, AI summary). |
Tips & limits: requires a polar and active forecast data (loaded GRIB, active forecast layer, or climatology). A departure in the past skews the computation; use the offered fix. Ensemble routing is only available after a first computation.
Results
What it's for: compare the direct and optimized routes, and review the sail plan.
Options & settings: - Comparison table: distance, duration, max wind/wave encountered, safety and comfort scores, difficulty (stars), sailing/motoring hours, time saved. - Optimization badges (smoothing, straits crossed, speed optimization, cross-sea risk). - Same speed vs Match ETA strategy when available. - Per-leg sail plan. - AI route explanation. - Import route: turns the optimized route into an editable route.
Tips & limits: if the route is partial (weather exhausted / compute budget reached), a warning explains the cause and the shortfall distance.
Pareto
What it's for: explore the spread of optimal routes (time / safety / comfort trade-offs).
Options & settings: clickable Pareto chart, Show all routes button on the map, selected-route summary (with "knee point" marker), AI explanation.
Windows
What it's for: compare several departure times and their impact on the crossing.
Options & settings: best-window card, comparison matrix of windows, AI summary.
Analysis
What it's for: a detailed, collapsible AI explanation of the routing reasoning.
Planner
What it's for: multi-departure planner: compare up to 6 departure dates at once.
How to use it: 1. Add departure dates (+ button) or use auto-generate (6 slots 12 h apart). 2. Run the computation. 3. Compare departures in the matrix and select one.
Tips & limits: maximum 6 departures; requires a polar and active forecast.
Arrive by (reverse routing): below the matrix, the Arrive by card answers "to arrive by time T, when should I leave?". 1. Enter the goal in Target arrival (local time) (defaults to the fastest arrival rounded up to the next hour). 2. The card recommends the latest still-feasible departure (green Recommended departure box), with an interpolated Ideal window ≈ line when applicable. 3. Each compared departure is marked feasible (✓) or not (✗), with its slack early / late.
A departure is "feasible" only if it arrives on time and its safety verdict is not WAIT (an on-time but dangerous route is excluded). If nothing works: "No compared departure reaches the destination by this time (safely)…". It reuses the planner's results — no fresh computation.
Briefing sub-tab
Passage briefing
What it's for: a pre-departure summary with a GO / CAUTION / WAIT verdict, AI narrative, weather summary, tidal windows, refuge points, and a checklist.
How to use it: 1. Open the sub-tab and click Generate briefing. 2. Wait while data is gathered and then analysed. 3. Review the verdict, narrative, and sections (weather, tides, refuge, checklist). 4. Use the refresh icon to regenerate, or the print icon for a printable version.
Options & settings: Generate, Refresh, Print buttons. Clicking a refuge point centres the map on it.
Tips & limits: requires a route with at least 2 waypoints. A GRIB badge indicates GRIB use; offline, a degraded/GRIB mode is used. Distinct from the Weather sub-tab Briefing (a purely weather briefing).
Watch sub-tab
Watch schedule
What it's for: organise crew watches across the crossing, checking fairness and rest. Three sub-sections: Crew · Planning · Review.
How to use it: 1. Crew: add crew members (name + Enter), set their role and night preferences. 2. Planning: pick a watch system, set the departure time, then Generate. 3. Review: check the fairness of hours and any rest violations.
Options & settings:
| Sub-section | Items |
|---|---|
| Crew | Crew list; role (Skipper / Crew / On call); avoid-night (sun) or prefer-night (moon) preference; removal; group warnings. |
| Planning | Systems 3h/3h · 4h/4h · 4-4-6 · Swedish; Auto-double checkbox for heavy weather; departure time; Generate; visual timeline; Save; Export to logbook; manual slot editing (reorder, change the crew on watch). |
| Review | Equity statistics (total hours, night hours, critical slots); rest violations. |
Tips & limits: generation requires at least 2 non-"on call" crew members. Saving is tied to the active route. The Swedish system is a staggered rotating watch.
Perf sub-tab
Polar performance
What it's for: compare actual speed (SOG) to the polar potential, leg by leg, with an efficiency gauge and heel estimate.
How to use it: 1. Set the departure time and SOG (speed over ground, − / + buttons). 2. Click Compute. 3. Read the efficiency gauge (0–200 %), the instruments (SOG, target, TWS, TWA, heel), the best/worst legs, and the per-leg table.
Options & settings: departure datetime, SOG setting, Compute button. The per-leg table shows TWS, TWA, heel, target speed, SOG, and efficiency (motoring legs are flagged).
Tips & limits: requires a selected polar and a route with at least 2 waypoints. An efficiency above 100 % means you're beating the polar target in those conditions; it uses the loaded GRIB for wind.