provide detail on the relationship between these factors – both known to degrade considerably integrity of sail fabrics – and hence the lifetime of a sail - but which up to this point have not been able to measured effectively in the marine environment. Furthermore, the data will provide insight to sailmakers to profile of the types of customer they are selling to and their typical sailing behaviours, to help build the right product for each user’s specific needs.


The real benefits to the marine industry will take time to crystallise, as any new technology comes with the challenge of educating the industry and consumers in its potential. If it becomes widely adopted, a reasonable period of use to accumulate periodic data to account for seasonal trends will be required to make a big impact to the industry. But some might argue that some data is always better than no data, if the context is appreciated, and appropriate caveats applied. Even before use of the device has grown to the scale where reasonable conclusions can be drawn from the data sampled, sailmakers could immediately use the data source to verify warranty claims.


Insurers are another group who are enthused by the prospect of a completely new source of data. Alongside other information feeds, it could be conceivable that data collected in a ‘black-


box’ style recorder, recording a range of feeds from GPS location to wind conditions and including the sails being used at any one time, from the Sail-Sense (though perhaps stopping short of aviation style cockpit recorders!). The fact that data being recorded could be used by insurers to build safe parameters of operation would certainly by some leisure marine users as a compromise of their freedom, but if such a system could help to improve overall marine safety (and with it insurance payouts), and reduce premiums for those who choose to adopt it, it could gain traction.


In time, the device could be adopted widely enough in the sailing fraternity to be an able to offer a surveyor or prospective buyer of a second-hand yacht a clear picture of its sails condition, and if Spinlock can turn this huge slice of the market on to the concept, it will really be able to live up to the ‘passport for sails’ moniker.


Charlie Carter continues “Part of the challenge to reach the wider market is making the information palatable for those regular sailors who are interested and see the value in data acquisition and data analysis tools for performance reasons, or otherwise, but who aren’t professionals running performance programmes for the top race teams. Automating the processing of data to present results in a clear and


useful, often graphical way, requires bridging the gap between having highly technical capability to record and manage big data, and distilling exactly the benefits or outcomes the mainstream customer wants to quickly draw from that information, while dealing with a range of technical ability in the end-user. At Spinlock we often refer to what we call ‘the Strava effect’ - where the sports market is fascinated with the report on their running or cycling activities, regardless of whether they are seeking performance gain or just through intrigue. What Strava and many other apps do brilliantly is pitch the complexity of use perfectly at the mass market – simple enough for an average person learning the ropes to manage and enjoy, but with enough depth of complexity to engage the professional sportsman.”


The sailing world is ready for the technology revolution, and with high tech data acquisition systems becoming more affordable, more compatible with existing systems and more user friendly in their implementation and use, expect to see some exiting new products reaching the market in the coming years as start-ups and established names recognise the potential for transferring technology into the leisure marine world.


The Report • December 2018 • Issue 86 | 49


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