Looking to hit the open waters to get 2014 going? Don’t fancy paying for all that expensive equipment that goes along with the trip?

Not to worry, your smartphone could be your savior as we have found the top 3 apps you should definitely take some interest in if you’re planning on going sailing anytime soon.

Weather Pro

One of the most important things you need to know when deciding whether or not to go and test the waters is the weather.

It can change without warning and you can get into some serious trouble if you aren't sure just what way the weather is going to turn.

But Weather Pro will give you one of the best resources available when judging the weather with a flurry of brilliant features.

Weather Pro gives you a real-time weather update for over 2 million global locations, in three hourly stages.

If you pay the £1.99 fee, you also get up to date and real-time satellite images to give you the most precise view of what weather is heading your way.

Plus the app offers a superb design and friendly interface, making it easy to operate no matter how rough the waters may be.

PredictWind

Going out to sea with nothing but the wind behind you? The PredictWind could soon become your go-to app when out at sea.

It offers a far more detailed view of wind patterns compared to other apps, offers you a weather routing tool, to find out which way is fastest for you as well as giving you a look at which day may be best for you to go sailing on that route.

PredictWind also uses detailed land data to give you unrivaled accuracy when judging forecasts of breezes and tides.

The app also gives you real-time wind data for the past 48 hours in a friendly, animated display to make it easy to see how the wind has changed in your exact location.

Navionics

By far one of the most detailed sailing apps available, Navionics helps you plan routes, predict ETAs and makes sure that you never get lost when you are out at sea.

Whilst it isn't cheap, costing upwards of £20, it is super-detailed and gives you information varying from simple maps all the way up to swell sizes in a location to give you the best chance to take a look at your upcoming route.

The app even gives you precise times for sunrise, sunset and lets you select your favorite locations to give you easy access to your most commonly used routes.

You can purchase separate apps for separate locations to save from a humongous download time for just looking at one route.

All of these apps give you the best chance possible when tackling the elements aboard your boat, and are packed with tons of helpful bits of information as well, something you simply can’t get enough of when out at sea.

They are definitely worth investing in if you hit the open water regularly, and could well make your experiences out at sea far more enjoyable.

Please also remember that although there are great waterproof mobile phones like the Sony Xperia Z1 they are not designed for salt water so a splash will be fine but a dunk in the ocean will not be!