TackTracker

So you've equipped your club with a fleet of trackers and a TackTracker license and are eagerly awaiting your first regatta. We'd like to wish you every success and share some tips based on our experience at the many regattas we've tracked.

Our most important piece of advice is to prepare well prior to your first regatta. If you work through the checklists below you can be confident of a great result.

Getting Started

• Get your equipment unpacked and sorted. Charge up and clearly label all your trackers. (We use a Dymo type label to number all our trackers.) Install the TackTracker software and license and ensure all is working properly.
• Read the Quick Guide and watch the online videos to learn how to use the software.
• Take some trackers out on a weekend race, and practice loading the tracks and defining an event.

In the Weeks Prior to the Regatta

• Consider how to manage tracker distribution and recovery after each race session. Your objective is to get the right trackers on the right boats and to get them all back as soon as possible afterwards. Sailors will learn the process and help out, but it will take a few race sessions before it becomes automatic. Here's some factors to consider:
  • Position: At the etchell worlds (pictured) we had a commanding position at the only entrance to the marina off the hardstand. You'll also want your tracker distribution and collection point to be central and highly visible.
  • Helpers: Can you recruit helpers to distribute and collect trackers for you? Particularly after the race, it is a great help if you can focus on loading tracks whilst someone else runs around collecting, drying and unpacking.
  • Sign on/off: If you have an existing sign-on/sign-off process, consider building tracker collection and return into it.
• Consider how you will physically manage the trackers.  Do you need to create a numbered hook board?
• Add a clause to the Sailing Instructions to authorise the use of trackers issues by the race committee. If you plan to put trackers on all boats - consider making it mandatory.
• Consider how you will allocate trackers to boats. Create a schedule, or use ours. Make sure you have contact details for anyone taking a tracker.
• Consider whether you wish to set aside any trackers for the start boat and pin mark.
• If your courses use fixed marks, enter them into TackTracker now.
• Identify a suitable place for loading tracks. A quiet office is best - you will need 30 mins to focus on the task at hand.
• Try out the equipment you're planning to use for replay - e.g. the big screen by the bar. Verify that the resolution is adequate. If a dedicated PC is used, install TackTracker on the PC.

Just prior to the Regatta

• If you can get a reasonably final entry list prior to the regatta, use it to pre-allocate trackers. Store the boat (trackee) information into each device ahead of time.
  • Consider how you will name each boat on screen. For the etchell worlds, with 85 boats, we used bow numbers. For smaller fleets, we find most people prefer skipper names over boat names or sail numbers.
• If you are planning to publish online, create the regatta entry prior to the regatta. It won't be visible to the public until you change its state to "published".
• Get all your trackers charged up and reset ready to go.

During the Regatta

• Tell sailors about the tracking and how the process will work at the regatta briefing
• Use the quiet times during racing to take some pictures for use in the Regatta web page
• Make sure that each tracker is turned on when handing out. Either each turn on at the time of distribution, or turn them all on before distribution begins. (For BT-Q1000XT trackers, make sure you always switch to the LOG position!)
• Choose a tracker from a race leader for loading first and creating the races. Put aside trackers from people who have retired and load them later, once the race is defined.
• Go back and refine the position of the start line and marks once all tracks are loaded.
• If tracking multiple fleets, keep things simple and load one fleet at a time. After loading a fleet, lock your races (right click in the Library tab) so that subsequent tracks do not get accidentally added to the wrong race.
• If you are publishing online, make sure you let people know you are doing so. They will be keen to take a look.
• Consider putting a link to the replays on your results page, or even better, embed the web player.  People can not only see the results, but watch the replay!

After the Regatta

• Advise people how to view the tracks online.
• Reset your trackers ready for the next event.