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Testing navigation apps. Orca and Skippo

14 July 2025 · 7 min · 4K views · Oslofjord

What this video covers

Thomas Nilsson compares Skippo and Orca navigation apps after dropping Navionics, having tested both extensively over a sailing season on Norwegian waters including Oslofjorden.Watch Route creation in both apps works destination-first — more like car navigation — which creates awkward workarounds for regatta courses where start and finish share the same point; Navionics handles manual route drawing more intuitively.0:45 For auto-routing through a complex area with bridges, cable ferries, and shallow channels near his home harbour, Skippo outperformed Orca.2:46 Orca's chart display is cleaner and less cluttered, reducing the need to zoom, and its light-sector rendering is larger and more readable.3:10 Both apps correctly display the new Norwegian coastal light symbols (over 1,900 updated lights) that Navionics has failed to update after a year.3:54 Orca receives AIS data directly from the boat's antenna via an Orca Core unit connected to the NMEA network, making it more real-time than Skippo's mobile-network AIS.4:24 Orca's weather routing works well for planning but cannot adapt to live wind data from the masthead sensor while underway.6:03 Skippo's pricing requires separate purchases for Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, making full Nordic coverage approach Orca's cost.6:15 For frequent sailing across Nordic waters, Orca is Nilsson's preference; Skippo suffices for occasional sailing within Oslofjorden.6:56

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