RTK GPS-Based Race Management System Aims to End General Recalls

Resolute Cup racing © Paul Todd / www.outsideimages.com

With the goal of removing one of sailing's most time-consuming and frustrating conundrums—the general recall—the New York Yacht Club partnered with leading sailing electronics producer Velocitek to create the first centimeter-accurate starting-line management system designed for use with large fleets of 20 or more boats. The system was used at the 2024 Resolute Cup and the 2024 IC37 North American Championship and operated flawlessly during all races.

"For more than 175 years, the New York Yacht Club has been at the sharp end of advancements in the sport of sailing," said Forrest Williams, the chair of the Club's Race Committee. "Nothing wastes more time in our sport than the laborious process of throwing up the general recall flag and starting over. Two years ago, we decided to partner with Velocitek to create a system we could use in our major one-design regattas, including the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup and the Resolute—and with our fleet of IC37s. We have finally seen the fruits of all that labor, and it was well worth the wait."

GPS devices that assist with starting-line maneuvering and time-and-distance management are nothing new for the sport. However, the use of stand-alone systems on each boat created almost as many issues as it solved. The need to "ping" both ends of the line often resulted in dangerous pileups at the committee boat and pin ends of the line. Even when linked to a system run by the race committee, standard GPS devices lacked the precision required by race officials to confidently call a line at a major event.

The integration of GPS units with RTK technology—short for Real-Time Kinematic—which enhances standard Global Navigation Satellite Systems signals with a correction stream from a local RTK base station (at left) to achieve 1.8 cm (or less) positional accuracy, has made possible the creation of a comprehensive starting system that can be managed entirely by the race committee. This base station can be set up either on a nearby shoreline (within 12 km) or on a race committee boat.

For more on RTK technology here.

"The 2024 Resolute Cup is the first time RTK GPS has been used for race management outside of the America's Cup and SailGP," said Alec Stewart, CEO of Velocitek. "It lets us figure out down to a few centimeters where each boat is on the starting line, which is essential for accurate and fair OCS calls. We developed the system over the last two years with the New York Yacht Club Race Committee, and we're really excited about what it holds for the future of the sport."

At the 2024 Resolute Cup, a provided boat-event sailed in Sonars and featuring amateur-only teams from 28 of the country's top yacht clubs, this system enabled the race committee to remotely trigger the starting timer for all competitors, provide each team with an extremely accurate real-time measurement of its distance to the starting line and, once the starting gun sounded, quickly identify and notify any competitors that were on course side at the gun via a simple user interface (right).

The end result was 22 highly competitive races over four days without a single general recall. Additionally, every boat that did pull the trigger a hair too early was able to return and restart.

"For the starts, the distance to the line and not having to ping [the ends of the starting line] yourself has been really helpful," said Resolute Cup competitor Michael Kirkman. "It saves you time, and you can do other stuff. And in the start, you know that's where the line is, you can't hide behind other boats and it creates a really fair starting line. We haven't had any difficulty with it on the starting line."

Over the next few months, the system will be further refined with the goal of using Velocitek Live on every IC37 regatta hosted by the Club in 2025 and in other events.