GPS Trackers in Dinghy Sailing

I understand that GPS devices are not allowed to be used in many dinghy racing classes; which is understandable if you were planning to use them while racing to help you calculate your Velocity Made Good and speed over the water. However, we are working closely with TackTracker so you can take a small black box GPS tracking and recording device on the water with you so your sailing and non sailing friends can follow the racing off the water. It makes sailboat racing come alive and at the same time helps to explain just where you went wrong. We used six of them last weekend at the Rooster 8.1 Class National Championships. I have turned some of the data displayed with the TackTracker software into a YouTube video for you to follow.

We have also uploaded one of our training races when we were filming the new Boat Whisperer DVD (out soon) so that you can get your hands on the software interface. Feel free to zoom in and out, track one boat, slow down or speed up the playback. You will need Microsoft silverlight installed on your computer to run it. There is a link in the post if it your computer requires it.

I do hope that many classes reconsider the use of a 'black box' style GPS recorders in the future. It really makes the racing come alive and I am sure it will encourage more sailors to take part.

While you are on the Rooster Blog, take a look at Andrea Brewster's Trip down under.