What If Your Racecourse Could Move With the Wind?

by MarkSetBot 27 Oct 14:46 GMT

Every Race Committee knows the problem. You set the course. The wind shifts. And suddenly the racecourse you carefully established isn't the racecourse you intended.

Traditionally, fixing that means sending people and boats back onto the course to retrieve anchors, move marks and reset them.

But what if the racecourse could move with the wind?

That question gets to the heart of why MarkSetBot was created: build a robotic mark that could navigate to a GPS coordinate, hold position without an anchor and move when conditions changed.

Today, MarkSetBot has evolved into a race management platform designed to help Race Committees set more precise courses, respond to changing conditions faster, reduce on-the-water personnel requirements and provide better information for managing racing.

That evolution has taken over 800 improvements, refinements and enhancements, many inspired by the sailors, PROs and Race Committees who use MarkSetBot in real-world conditions.

"Our objective was never simply to build a robotic buoy," says Kevin Morin, CEO of Robobuoy, the maker of MarkSetBot. "The objective is to give Race Committees better tools to deliver better racing. That's still the test we apply to every improvement we make."

Purpose-Built for a Racecourse That Never Stands Still

Responding reliably when conditions change requires more than putting a motor on a mark. A robotic mark has to remain visible to competitors, perform when waves build and current increases, communicate reliably and respond predictably when it's time to move.

Those requirements have influenced MarkSetBot's design. Its large, rounded topside provides visibility and valuable sponsor space. Its wide hull provides stability. And its deep-mounted, steerable central propulsion system keeps the propeller immersed in waves while directing the appropriate amount of thrust where it's needed.

But the engineering isn't the point. What it allows the Race Committee to do is. Instead of dispatching a boat and crew to retrieve an anchor and reposition a mark, a Race Committee can move MarkSetBots remotely and make precise course changes in minutes. That can mean less waiting, more opportunity for racing, fewer mark boats and fewer people on the water.

International Race Officer David Campbell-James saw that flexibility firsthand while managing racing at the Bermuda Gold Cup.

"The system worked extremely well and gave us maximum flexibility as we completed 112 races. Changes in the wind required numerous course changes, which were managed extremely efficiently. That would have been very difficult, almost impossible, using anchored marks, and the mark layers would have been extremely grumpy by the end of each day!"

More Than a Mark: A Connected Race Management Platform

Moving the racecourse is only part of the opportunity. Race officials can manage Bots through a mobile environment, access wind information and trend data, review Bot movements through track playback, and connect with a growing ecosystem of sailing technology.

Integrations include TracTrac, Vakaros RaceSense, Expedition, Njord, PredictWind, Buoy Zone and SAP, along with systems providing wind instrumentation, automated horn and VHF functions, 360° video, AIS, boat tracking, OCS detection, weather radar and depth information.

MarkSetBot also has 5 layers of communication redundancy: Cellular; SMS-based communication; Bluetooth Offgrid Remote; the new HorizonLink, with a range of up to ten miles; and Starlink integration for events operating well offshore. Plus, an Anchor Button on the Bot provides a simple manual way to put it into anchor mode.

What began as a better way to position a race mark is becoming something broader: a connected race management platform.

Proven at the Top. Developed for Everyone.

MarkSetBot has been used at SailGP, the America's Cup, Pan American Games, 52 Super Series, 44Cup, and world, continental and national championships. Working alongside experienced PROs, Race Committees and sailors at these events continually challenges the company to improve the technology.

At the ILCA US Nationals Championship, Chairman Bill Vogel saw the difference. "Setting up and adjusting the trapezoid course was a breeze, taking just a few minutes compared to the 20 minutes it would have taken to manually set and reset marks. The precision they brought to the job was remarkable. The Bots not only saved us time, they elevated the quality of our racing."

"We learn from the people using MarkSetBot every day," Morin says. "An idea from a PRO at a championship can become a feature that helps a volunteer Race Committee at a local club."

Innovation Can Come From Outside Sailing

Innovation also comes from Robobuoy's work outside sailing. The same core autonomous marine platform is used in GolfShotBot for waterfront entertainment and NavalBot for defense, aerospace and scientific applications.

Advances in communications, cameras, sensors, positioning, software, power management and autonomy developed for one application can migrate across the Robobuoy platform.

"If an aerospace customer challenges us to solve a communications problem hundreds of miles offshore, we're always asking how what we learn can make our other products better, including MarkSetBot," Morin says.

It's one reason over 800 improvements aren't a finish line.

So, What If Your Racecourse Could Move With the Wind?

The answer isn't really about robotic marks. It's about what becomes possible for the people running and sailing the race.

For PROs and Race Committees, it's greater control, faster course changes, fewer anchors, mark boats and people required, and better information for managing racing. For yacht clubs, it's greater race management capability with fewer on-the-water resources. For sailors, it's less waiting and more time racing on the course the Race Committee intended.

The technology has changed dramatically since the first MarkSetBots went racing.

The objective hasn't.

Help Race Committees deliver better racing.

Find out more at www.marksetbot.com