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Routing in Practice – Part two of SegelReporters Orca Experience Series
April 29, 2026 • 6 min read
The system creates the route, but humans sail it.
This article was originally written by Stephan Boden in German and published in Segelreporter on April 24th, 2026. The original author has approved the translation and the following publication.
An introduction
This is the second part of SegelReporter's series where sailors share their experiences with Orca. Today's topic will be about Orca’s routing capabilities. What works well? How well does weather routing function for sailors? What criticism is there?
The article is a summary of a podcast conversation. The participants contributing to this conversation were Oliver Ochse (Balearic Islands, Archambault M 34), Mike Peuker (Baltic Sea, Comfortina 32), Thorben Raffel (Baltic Sea, Elan 350), Stephan Boden (Baltic Sea, 20-foot dinghy cruiser), Carsten Kemmling (various boats and sailing areas).
Routing with Orca
In this round of the Orca experience series, the focus turns to a topic that affects both comfort and safety: Routing.
Different sailing areas, experience levels, and approaches were discussed – from the Danish South Sea to the Balearic Islands, from dinghy cruisers to performance yachts. One thing quickly becomes clear: Orca can do a lot and offers many options and features, but it is also a tool that needs to be used correctly to get good results.
Some of the participants previously worked with simple waypoints or bearing lines, and for those, Orca has introduced them to a new paradigm: Weather routing for sailors is a game-changer.
Sail routing starts by asking you to enter a destination – a harbor name is enough – and then delivers complex weather routing that not only calculates the optimal route through the wind, but also shows when the wind conditions are the best for an upcoming trip.
A much better picture of the actual course
This latter point in particular has emerged as a core feature for many users. Oliver uses it consistently for his trips around Mallorca. “I simply enter different departure times and see when I’ll need how long,” he says. The effect is practical: instead of rigidly setting off in the morning, the trip can be adapted to the wind and conditions. “Then I know I can still have a nice breakfast and only leave around midday.” In this way, routing becomes the basis for planning – not just for navigation.
Thorben also combines different approaches depending on the situation. Sometimes he places a classic point in front of the harbor entrance, sometimes he searches for the destination. What matters to him is that the system takes real sailing practice into account. “You get the tacking courses shown directly,” he says. Especially on longer passages or in changing conditions, this gives a much clearer picture of how a course can actually be sailed.
Sail routing on the Orca Display 2. Photo: SegelReporter
Polar data makes sailing routing more precise
A key component of these calculations is the boats’ polar data. This is where the strength of Orca's boat database becomes apparent. Many common boat types are already included. Mike reports that the values for his Comfortina are surprisingly accurate: “I was able to tack where it suggested I should.” He attributes small deviations more to equipment and crew than to the system.
Things become interesting with more unusual boats. Stephan found a quick workaround for his dinghy cruiser and generated the data himself with the help of AI. His 1954 measurement certificate provided the boat data, and the AI calculated the corresponding values for the polar table, which can be manually added in the Orca app. The result: an individually adapted profile that at least seems plausible. The effort is manageable, and the effect is significant. This makes the routing much more realistic.
Polar data can be added from Orca's boat database or entered as custom data. The polars can be scaled, for example, for more relaxed night sailing.
New features in the Orca spring update
Orca Navigation has introduced a new spring update. New features include an improved Aim Line with simultaneous display of boat heading and actual course over ground, a revised route preview with reverse function, GPX export, and direct transfer to Raymarine Axiom, as well as support for Doppler radar for Raymarine Quantum.
In addition, Display 2 has been made significantly darker for night operation, and touch operation has been made more precise. Prices have remained stable: the app for Android and Apple smartphones and tablets costs 49 euros in the basic version, including full chart coverage and weather routing.
Alongside the actual routing, smaller functions repeatedly come up in the discussion that make a difference in practice. One example is the display of heading and course over ground as separate lines, which has been available in the latest update. Especially in areas with strong currents, this makes it visible how much the boat is actually being set sideways. Stephan recalls an approach into Ramsgate with massive cross-current: “It feels like you’re entering the harbor at a 45° angle – and now you can finally see that crabbing into it is the right thing to do.”
The integration of additional information directly into the chart is also appreciated. VHF channels for traffic control centers at lighthouses or traffic points appear automatically when zooming in — a detail that saves time and improves situational awareness in everyday use.
The grey Aim Line represents Boat Heading, and the black Aim Line represents Course Over Ground.
Everyone routes differently
Despite all the enthusiasm, the approach to routing remains deliberately pragmatic. Hardly anyone relies blindly on an automatically calculated route. Instead, it serves as a starting point. “You go through the route once anyway,” says Thorben, especially with a deeper draft. Shallows, buoyed channels, or local peculiarities remain the skipper’s responsibility.
One difference in practice is how destination points are chosen. While Mike deliberately creates his routes precisely from berth to berth, most of the others stop one step earlier. They do not place the destination point inside the harbor basin, but at the approach or in front of the entrance. Oliver puts it pragmatically: you sail “up to just outside the harbor” anyway and then follow the buoys and fairway by engine. Stephan notes that this is probably exactly why he may never have noticed possible problems in sail routing – because, traditionally, he does not plan the route all the way into the berth.
This round is not entirely without criticism either. Mike has repeatedly observed inconsistencies in autorouting in motor mode – for example, routes that lead over shallows, ignore buoyed channels, or, in individual cases, even run through harbor moles. This always occurred directly in front of harbors; underway, the route was largely error-free. In traffic separation schemes, some suggestions did not correspond to the usual rules. In addition, there were individual outliers in recorded tracks or logbook data.
However, these points are put into context deliberately. First, because they mainly concern automatic routing and can easily be corrected manually. Second, because the other participants, due to their way of navigating – with destination points in front of the harbor and a final check – notice such effects much less often. In addition, automatically created routes should always be checked, because no system in the world is completely error-free. Everyone is probably familiar with this from road navigation as well.
Orca Support asks for honest feedback
Importantly, Orca is aware of these cases, explicitly asks about them, and asks for honest criticism. The developers are in direct contact with users, respond quickly to feedback, and, according to the group, are actively working on improvements. Their open approach to feedback is expressly highlighted as positive. Mike also reports one case where support helped immediately, and the problem was resolved right away.
Another aspect is operation in real onboard conditions. Rain, wet hands, movement – all of this creates demands that nobody notices in the living room. Here, Orca has apparently made progress. Thorben recalls earlier versions of the Orca Display where raindrops triggered inputs. “That has improved significantly,” he says.
The physical buttons on the device are also helpful here. Zooming, centering, or quick inputs can be performed independently of the touchscreen. A small but crucial feature.
This second round of the Orca experience series presents a clear picture. Orca is more than an app or a chartplotter – it is an integrated navigation system that combines planning, routing, and analysis. In particular, the weather routing, the integration of boat data, and the freedom of hardware choice set it apart from traditional solutions.
At the same time, it remains a tool that thinks along with the user. Practice shows that the best results occur where technology and experience work together. Or, as the conversation suggests between the lines: the route may come from the system, but it is still sailed by people.
