App brings real-time booking to marinas in the Med

Greece-based SaMMY enables real-time berth-booking through waterproof, wireless sensors in the marinas, which will also provide updates on local weather, water and wave conditions.

Here at Springwise, we’ve seen numerous technological solutions to the urban problem of finding a parking space, from in-ground sensors alerting motorists to empty spaces to peer-to-peer parking apps. However, we were yet to see the same logic applied to the luxury world of yachting, where finding a berth in a busy marina at the height of summer can be every bit as much of a challenge. Enter SaMMy, a new mobile app available on Android and iOS which aims to be, in their own words, the ultimate travel companion for yachters, skippers and marina administrators.

Users of the app can search for a berth using their boat’s dimensions in marinas in Greece and Cyprus, and then book online using the app just like a hotel room or a space in an airport carpark. However, that is not all that the app will do. The creators of SaMMY have installed a series of waterproof wireless sensors at the marinas covered by the app which — in addition to recording which berths are free — take meteorological and environmental readings to give hyper-local information on weather conditions, wave measurements and water quality, giving users the best information about potential berths. The app will also provide mapping information on local amenities near to the marina and guide the yachter into their berth using navigational and parking assistance.

Currently the app only covers Greece and Cyprus though new marinas are scheduled to be added soon. Could marina administrators around the world reduce their burden and improve customer service with an app like SaMMY?