Honest comparison
The best ways to share a sailing track (2026)
There are four families of tools sailors use to share a passage: travel trackers (Polarsteps, FindPenguins), AIS position trackers (MarineTraffic, VesselFinder), the sharing built into navigation apps, and voyage-map tools like Bosco. Each has a real use case.
| Bosco | the alternatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Travel trackers (Polarsteps, FindPenguins) | Bosco keeps the exact sailed line and sailing stats | Great diaries, but the route becomes pins and straight lines |
| AIS trackers (MarineTraffic…) | Bosco replays the whole voyage, with photos and journal | Live position only — no history you own, no story |
| Chartplotter sharing (Navionics…) | One public link, no app needed to view | Viewer needs the same app; sharing stays in-app |
| Manual blogs & screenshots | Automated: import GPX, stopovers named, page ready | Full control, but hours of work per passage |
When something else is the better tool
For live safety tracking, AIS services are the right answer. For mixed land-and-sea trips on iOS today, a travel tracker fits better — Bosco has no iOS app yet. And nothing beats a hand-written blog for long-form storytelling.
Where Bosco fits
When the passage is over and you want to show what you actually sailed: the exact track, the ports, the photos, an animated replay — as one link, free.
Frequently asked questions
- What do I need to use Bosco?
- A GPX file. Any chartplotter or navigation app that records tracks can export one — Navionics, Garmin, Raymarine, B&G, OpenCPN…
- Is there a catch to 'free'?
- No. Bosco is free, has no ads, and your tracks remain exportable and deletable. It was built by a sailor for his own voyages first.
- Can Bosco show my live position at sea?
- Yes, optionally: an active voyage can display the boat's latest AIS position and the remaining planned route — but Bosco's heart is the voyage replay, not live tracking.