No race officer sailing

Set the app on each device so they broadcast to the same frequencey and at same interval and then use that as your method of gatheirng results.  easy to see who is ocs and when they finish.  allowing for gps error ask the sailors if you have a close finish to confirm who they crossed with and where in relation to one another.  times ca be taken from there to give py results too.

obviously biggest hurdles are getting people to either set there new phone up to do this or invest in an older device and sim card, plus the waterproof case/bag for it.  i reckon iphone 5 would be a good setup with a cheap pay as you go sim for under £100 per boat.  next hurdle is for them to remember to do it.

i started doing this 10years ago at it was hard to convice people to risk their phone back then and still now its not easy, but its definatley getting into the realms of club racing use.

bonus of broadcast is can be watched by anyone with a link on a computer

Available off the shelf,  for a typical club application £50 per tracker,  PA

I was one of the beta testers for SAP Sailing Analytics which used mobile phones.

Whichever software you use (and I'd highly recommend you take a look at the free app Sailracer.net) there is work to do.  I'd say more work than with the old paper route but the playback has its advantages. So long as you have fixed buoys and only have to ping them the once, the workload can be reduced somewhat, but it's still a chore putting in the course and roundings etc then adding all the competitors. It's doable at club level but a ballache unless you have someone who loves the computer side of things but then you may as well just have an OD.

The logistical nightmare of getting everyone to turn up with the app running on their phone and the phone charged was another pita! We gave up and now just do pursuits when we have no OD which just need someone to buzz the start which at times will be one of the competitors.

* RaceQs would have had me missing at least two marks by a few metres in this Sunday's races so you need to reset your fixed mark positions on a race by race basis as in addition to the GPS accuracy the marks themselves move around by a few metres in different wind directions.

My question was more a curiosity as to whether the technology existed that for general racing other than setting a course the race officer duties could be eliminated - in a mixed fleet. The club buys the trackers and increases the club dues according. Not every member needs a tracker unless off course you sail at a club where there are no boats left in dinghy park on a Sunday morning 

For general racing it sounds that it would be feasible. Everyone gets more races per year. I’ve visited clubs and seen almost as many people running the race as actual sailing which is not healthy long term. 

Obviously each club will have its big races when they won’t have enough tackers and a race team would be required.