RYA SafeTrx App 

The RYA SafeTrx app monitors your boat journeys and alerts emergency contacts should you fail to return on time.

RYA SafeTrx is a smartphone app for both Android & Apple iOS devices (iPhone, iPad) that allows you to track your journey (in UK territorial waters) on your smartphone.

RYA SafeTrx provides all recreational boat users, particularly dinghy cruisers, PWC users, canoers, kayakers, wind and kite surfers and smaller boat users who don't have or use AIS with a cheap, easy, and reliable means that can inform HM Coastguard of their voyage plans and dynamic location in the event of distress.

You can enter your journey details directly from your smartphone and set off knowing that should you not return by the time given, a nominated emergency contact will be alerted and advised to initiate appropriate action.

Where an emergency contact calls HM Coastguard about an overdue trip, they will have access to your location and SafeTrx Trip data through a secure SafeTrx server.

Since RYA SafeTrx periodically sends your location data back to our servers, the Coastguard's response team can get help directly to you, and quickly.

RYA SafeTrx is an ‘easy to use’ tool that exploits smartphone technology to supplement traditional communications equipment (e.g. VHF DSC) and alerting methods (e.g. distress beacons) to increase safety.

It does not replace GMDSS, EPIRB, PLB or AIS.

Frequently Asked Questions

Watch the RYA SafeTrx Introduction Video 

RYA SafeTrx 2015 

Through collaboration with SAR organisations, improvements have been made to the technical and operational aspects of RYA SafeTrx 2015, which we believe offer significant functional enhancements to the existing application. 

New features

• A new Emergency Call feature which allows you to quickly make a distress call from within the application; the app sends an Emergency Location update to the SafeTrx Monitoring Console if you have a data connection and it shows your location, course and speed on the screen so they are available to you immediately
• Improved trip planning with access to UK Met Office sea area weather forecasts from within the app
• The addition of personalised checklists allows you to create and review your own list of checklist items prior to departure
• A new Mobile Logbook feature which stores up to 20 trips on your phone, and can be replayed at any time within the app in video playback mode

Sail Plan Mode (formerly Alert Mode) and Track Only Mode (formerly Performance Mode) will be available to both RYA members and RYA registered SafeTrx users for free.

SafeTrx can be downloaded from:

 (UK)
Requires Android’s OS 4.0 and above

(UK)
Requires Apple’s iOS 7.0 and above

Now that the RYA SafeTrx application has been upgraded, please ensure that you download the new version of the app.

Please note that the older RYA SafeTrx apps (iPhone version 2.1.52 and Android version 1.5.5) will no longer function. You will not be able to log into the older application or use this application to run trips. While your journey history, emergency contacts and statistical data have been kept intact as part of the app update, you may need to update your vessel details to ensure the Coastguard has access to the latest information.  You can do so by logging into the RYA SafeTrx boater website (https://safetrx.rya.org.uk/) with your RYA login credentials. 

Instructions: getting started

• Download the RYA SafeTrx app
• Register on the RYA website if you have not done so previously, using your membership details if you are a member
• Login to the app with your website username and password
• Register your boat and emergency contact details
• Enter your trip details and ETA. Tap 'Set Sail'
• Arrive at destination, tap 'End Trip'

To avoid a false alert, ensure that you end your trip on arrival at your destination or extend the trip ETA time. Please also ensure you enter a valid mobile number for your Emergency Contacts.

If you are having any problems downloading or using the app visit the FAQ page

 

Award winning

The application has picked up a number of awards in the US and in Ireland.

In the US, the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA) recently awarded SafeTrx the Silver Award of Distinction in the category for ‘Best Navigation/Maps on a Mobile App’ on behalf of the 2015 Communicator Awards. In addition, the SafeTrx website won Gold Award of Excellence for ‘Best Activist Website’.

In Ireland, SafeTrx picked up the Innovation in Maritime Safety Award at the inaugural Maritime Industry Awards 2015.