Quick Introduction

TackTracker is a yacht race player and analyser created to help sailors of any ability sail better. With the optional license it is also a complete navigation rally manager.

TackTracker works from tracks downloaded from handheld GPS devices carried by each boat on the water. It uses these tracks to replay the race or event, and to provide valuable analysis.

Download the free TackTracker player for your PC or Mac computer and you can:

· View races online that have been published at TackTracker.com. Play them in real time, or tack by tack, leg by leg. As you do so, the system tells you how far each yacht has sailed, how fast she is going, and how high to the wind on both port and starboard tack.

· Define a race and lay marks and the start and finish line

· Define and run an on-water navigation rally and automatically score all competitors.

A core design goal for TackTracker is to make the end-end process of recording tracks, loading them, in and making them ready to play, as simple and quick as possible. We wan't this to be a tool you can use for weekend racing throughout the season, and not just regattas or special events.

These features are all available in the free download version.

These are the same races that may be viewed in TackTracker's web player at http://www.tacktracker.com/web/races. Use the standalone player for a more powerful analysis, and for playing pay-for-view races.

· Play your tracks in the Track Player. Controls let you navigate back and forth point by point, tack by tack or leg by leg.

That's because TackTracker automatically detects every tack (change of course) you make, and knows each leg of the race. It even figures out whether you are on port or starboard tack.

· Zoom in and out using the mouse scroll wheel, and drag the track across the screen by holding down the mouse button, or have the system track a selected boat.

· Show distances and bearings in the Track Player by clicking mouse button 1 and then moving the mouse:

· View Current Time, Speed, Bearing and VMG (both relative to the course and to the wind) as you navigate around the course

Select a race the track browser to simultaneously play all tracks in that race. You can watch the interaction between yachts as you play the race.

You can select the current track to navigate, and which tracks you wish to view:

· See distance traveled, bearings and speed for every Tack in the Tacks Table. The highlighted row indicates the tack the boat is currently on. You can also select a row to navigate directly to the selected tack.

· Export tracks to Google Earth. You can view your track against a satellite image of the actual terrain. For yacht racing this can be useful if tide and sandbars feature in your course. TackTracker's Google Earth integration includes many of the same analysis features as the built in player.

The Legs Table shows you distance travelled, time taken and average speed for each race leg. You can sort the table by any column to compare yachts and see who sailed the shortest distance, who was fastest, and who sailed highest.

As with the Tacks table, the currently highlighted row indicates the current leg. Select any row to navigate directly to that leg of the course.

· View Interactive Charts indicating Speed, Bearings and VMG for the current leg:

You can record and play your own races and build a personal track library by purchasing a Race Editor license from www.tacktracker.com.

· Import tracks with the Track Loader. TackTracker can import many types of GPS files, such as GPX, SBP, CSV and VCC files. If you use the recommend QStarz BT-Q1000X series GPS, TackTracker can load your tracks directly from the GPS itself.

TackTracker's Race Editor lets you create races in TackTracker quickly and automatically. List the marks of the course, then graphically place them in position. You've now defined the race course, and TackTracker will automatically segment all tracks into race legs.

TackTracker graphically shows the start and finish lines and marks of the course. Distance circles indicate 100m distances from the next mark.

· Find your tracks using the Track Library. The browser automatically organizes your saved tracks, with a folder for each year and month, allowing you to build a record of your racing over time and easily find past tracks. Just click on any track to view it.

· Add Backgound images, Fixed Marks, Landmarks and Paths

TackTracker has a range of tools for providing context for your racing and making for more exciting replays. For example, you can overlay the replay over your own aerial photographs, maps or charts. You can import geographical elements from a Google Earth KML file, such as a shoreline or landmark.

you can share your tracks and receive other peoples tracks over the internet for the current race being viewed.