reason Vakaros has taken the big step to develop hardware dedicated for this purpose. ‘This has been a challenge for
us knowing this use is tailored to a specific market of racing sailors and their regatta managers, but we could see no solution other than to have a system where we have our own network and hardware that can deliver the absolute highest levels of accuracy and effectiveness.’ For race managers, RaceSense
puts the power of reliable information in a tablet format with a simple, easy to understand user interface focused on getting races started quickly, fairly and accurately. The high resolution of the system’s recognition of boats at the start means there is no longer the guess work of which bow or sail numbers were obscured by others, endless general recalls due to this uncertainty, and the stress of subsequent U and black flags deployed to control the fleet. The RaceSense systemis in fact
fully automated, where OCS calls are not relying on X-flags and sound signals fromthe signal boat, but will light up the onboard display in bright red LED colours. An advanced feature in the software can not only identify a boat as OCS, but if the rules allow, assign a penalty as an alternative to having to go back to start or worse, to be disqualified. In this sense the systemcan be used
Above and right: mounted on a mast or longeron, the Atlas 2 offers centimetre- scale spatial resolution and a compass accurate to the tenth of a degree
to referee the race and impose penalties only as desired by the class. Rather than being knocked out of contention, this imposed penalty approach could let you play on, albeit with a littlemore work to do. With its powerful dual-band GPS
system and an interconnected network among the fleet’s onboard Atlas 2 displays, use of RaceSense also negates the need for each team to ping both ends of the start line nor enter the starting countdown timer individually because this is centrally controlled by the race managers. This ensures accuracy and synchronicity for competitors and race managers alike.
This system is also very energy
efficient: because the Atlas 2 is optimised for its function with LED displays and its own network, the displays draw very little battery power…100 hours of use before needing recharging is typical. All these features are why high-
performance classes such as the M32s, 69Fs and the RS21 class have all embraced the use of RaceSense. There’s no reason this list cannot expand into use in handicap racing classes as well, and holds promise for being used for accurate race results as well, both in elapsed and corrected times.
www.vakaros.com
❑ SEAHORSE 63
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