1999 Sydney Hobart News

Telstra Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race on Track with Technology

Telstra has announced that all 1999 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race entrants will be provided with sophisticated tracking devices to enhance safety procedures and introduce an unparalleled monitoring service for the general public.

In its capacity as the major sponsor of the 1999 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Telstra will team with J-Trac International to provide MiniSat roaming technology for all race participants.

J-Trac will provide mobile satellite handsets and Telstra will provide satellite air-time to send data in real-time from each yacht to race organisers, media and Telstra web site visitors.

Used in conjunction with GPS (Global Positioning System) units, the MiniSat service will be used to track the progress of every yacht's position, to within a 15 metre radius, throughout the 630 nautical mile race.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has offered unqualified support for the initiative and has amended race rules to ensure all yachts carry the accredited tracking technology.

Telstra Group Manager Sponsorship and Olympics, Mr Adam Jeffrey, believes that the MiniSat satellite phone system will greatly boost communications and provide an additional tool to deliver accurate up-dates of the yachts' progress.

"As the major sponsor of the 1999 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Telstra is delighted to assist race organisers with the deployment of state-of-the-art communications technology," Mr Jeffrey said at the Official Launch of the Telstra Sydney to Hobart at the Cruising Yacht Club of Auastralia in Sydney today.

"This year, Telstra's satellite communications equipment will be carried by all competing yachts. As the leading provider of telecommunications in Australia, Telstra is intent on ensuring that its technology delivers accurate race information to people around Australia and throughout the world," Mr Jeffrey said.

Reinforcing Mr Jeffrey's view was J-Trac International's Managing Director, Jason Byrne, who said that a great deal of time and resources had been invested in developing technology over the last 18 months.

"By cleverly utilising the technology Telstra and J-Trac have developed, we now have at our disposal even more sophisticated technology that will further improve the race's impressive safety standards.

"Through the tracking technology, race organisers can now easily locate yachts at any time and in any location, regardless of the weather or the time of day," Mr Byrne said.

In addition to providing the MiniSat satellite phone system, Telstra will also make available CDMA mobile phone handsets for a number of media and race participants to conduct media interviews. Telstra has started deploying the new CDMA technology throughout Australia as a replacement for the analogue network that is scheduled for closure in several stages over the next 15 months.

Telstra is also predicting that the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race web site will once again prove highly popular with people from Australia and throughout the world.

Last year over five million hits were recorded with 34 per cent coming from overseas locations. This year's web site has been extensively re-modelled offering site visitors the latest race information including graphics and video footage.

The address of the 1999 site is at www.syd-hob.telstra.com.au

Telstra has been a supporter of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race since 1992 and the naming rights sponsor since 1995.