Satellite Race Trackers- Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?

Several years ago, the ORCV was an early adopter of using satellite tracking systems for our longer distance ocean races. They proved to be an instant success, allowing friends at home to watch the progress of a race from their armchairs and providing the race management team a great tool to better manage the race as well as adding another valuable element to our already comprehensive safety management system. Sailors understandably have now come to expect these trackers to be a routine part of our ocean race offering.

In the early years, the trackers were sourced from YellowBrick, a UK based company that provides trackers worldwide for many ocean races. Their product proved very reliable and their website has been highly refined over many years of operation.

For the ORCV, notwithstanding our high level of satisfaction with their product, there were significant challenges in working with YellowBrick. Firstly, and most importantly, there was the cost. Over a year, the YB trackers were costing $10,000-15,000, which was a very significant component of our race expenditures, and rising due to the weakening Australian dollar. On top of that, having to forecast our needs months in advance and then shipping the trackers half way around the globe and back again and was administratively difficult.

After carefully reviewing the options, before last summer, the ORCV decided to purchase its own set of InReach trackers. Technically, these units are at least as good as the YB trackers and use to same Iridium satellite system which is ideally suited to our latitudes. Additionally, the InReach devices offer us additional features, like being able to communicate via SMS with the fleet or individual boats. Furthermore, having our own trackers makes it much easier and more cost effective for us to offer boats trackers for the return trip home. Using our own trackers saves the ORCV about $5,000-$10,000 a year and pays back in 2-3 years so economically it was a no-brainer!
The big challenge was being able to offer a website with all of the features that we all have become used to with YB trackers. We have been very fortunate in having one of our members, Grant Dunoon (of TryBooking.com fame!) who has been prepared to develop that website for the ORCV, free of charge, which has been no small undertaking and we are very grateful to Grant for his help.