Decently Exposed
by John Curnow, Editor, Sail-World AUS 6 Dec 2021 14:00 PST
That's clear! © B&G
I had wanted more. Quite a lot more, actually. Ever since I had seen them it had been a bit like Kaa, the snake in The Jungle Book. You know: "Look into my eyes"... Yes. Jumbos Rule had well and truly piqued my curiosity about B&G's Nemesis.
A quick recap about why sailing information needs to be decently exposed to fit with the new world comes from Jumbos Rule itself. "So B&G Nemesis is the first of its kind in the marine industry. A new generation of intelligent sailing data display that offers unparalleled visibility, touchscreen and Apple watch control, with complete customisation, or easy to use pre-set multi-function templates and automatic dashboards, based on your point of sail."
"Nemesis allows you to define what data you see, when and how you see it, no matter what the conditions, providing an intuitive link between your trusted instrument network and the real world."
Moving to now, and many thanks go to Kim Rodriguez, Navico's PR Manager for the Americas, who definitely helped to kick the tin along (a lot) with these images, and organising the responses to my questions provided by Executive Vice President of B&G, Alan Davis.
Q: What does the Brunswick buy-out mean for the brands?
A: As our CEO, Knut Frostad, pointed out throughout the acquisition process, it's business as usual for us at B&G as a brand, and it will continue to be. We are operating as an independent business unit within Brunswick's Advanced Systems Group (ASG), which includes numerous well-known marine brands (C-Map, CZone, and Mastervolt), and it's clear they have a deep appreciation for the heritage and tradition of the B&G brand.
Q: What direction is Navico taking? The brands haven't yet gone the wearable tech route, but is this on your radar?
A: We won't get into any specifics of our future-looking strategies and product development, but suffice to say that being within ASG will allow us as a company to play a big part in delivering a full bow-to-stern integration to customers, and an end-to-end experience to consumers that will be unique to the industry. We really have a chance to help elevate that experience for boaters like no other marine company in the world can do.
Q: How will you differentiate your product from the competition?
A: In the case of B&G, it's clear that we've always been able to differentiate our products from others through the real-world testing and development we do within professional, high-performance sail racing. B&G's extensive racing heritage, especially offshore, offers an unrivalled platform for developing new technology, which is put through its paces by the world's best, in the most challenging conditions.
Q: Given you have your own App, how do you see the rise of the 'app nav' options?
A: Given the move to mobile in other industries, it is a natural progression for the marine industry to be also adapting to the benefits of mobile apps. For B&G specifically, we are not trying to create a stand-alone sailing app. We want users to see the app as part of the onboard integration and a natural extension to your onboard electronics, on land, delivering a seamless way for them to synchronize, mirror or control between both, transferring data from one to the other. What you see today is only the beginning of this journey.
Q: How did the Annapolis show go in terms of engagement and feedback from visitors, or any other comments about the show from your POV?
A: The show was incredible for us. It was the busiest we have ever experienced, which was slightly unexpected given some of the other show attendances since 2020. It was so good to speak to customers, users and the sailing community in person again. It was also highly encouraging to see such a huge increase in the many boat builders/exhibitors who were also showing B&G onboard.
Q: What on-the-ground installations have there been to date like Wild Oats?
A: There have been many notable new installs around the world in the last few years, both in the cruising and racing markets. In the cruising market, boat manufacturers, such as Oyster Yachts, are switching their electronics over to B&G. In the racing market, we have continued to see our products in high demand, testament of which is the likes of INEOS Team UK, and ETNZ, along with the entire SailGP fleet featuring B&G electronics and instruments; with the B&G Zeus3s Glass Helm built into the F50's wingsail.
Additionally, the 2020/21 Vendee Globe had 22 of the 33-boat fleet with B&G on board, including the winner, as well as more than 20 boats rigged with B&G in the Transat Jacques Vabre that is just concluding.
Q: What feedback has the product team had or can provide in terms of explaining USPs in relation to being customisable and having so much information available easily and so clearly? What have been any end user benefit statements relating to all of that?
A: Nemesis is a data display designed to be used at the mast, or in the cockpit of the boat. With its touch screen, Nemesis was designed to include a 360-degree polarizing layer built into the touch LCD, which provides wide viewing angles from any orientation whilst wearing polarized sunglasses. In addition, this also allows the unit to be mounted in portrait or landscape without affecting the view ability.
Q: From a tech POV, what does the Nemesis 101 bible say?
A: Nemesis is fully configurable and controllable via the touch screen allowing you to be creative with custom dashboards using the built-in dashboard editor to show the data you want, where, when and how you want to see it.
You can swipe between dashboards by using the touch screen, all without the need for an external PC. Or even use your Apple watch to remotely swipe between dashboards.
Nemesis was designed with the user in mind to supply the best user experience in an environment they are familiar with from other mobile devices.
Ultimately, all I can say is simply exposure for data and the ability to use it swiftly and intelligently is already better than decent, and it looks like it is on its way to whole new level. What fun!
End of the Pacific Experiment
Over 88% of eligible Australians (over 16 years) are now double vaxxed, and plans are in place for booster shots, and jabs for children. So we're in pretty good spaces, and that is awesome, for the seven jurisdictions on the two islands regime has been just a tad boring. Yes, we had earned the mire and the chagrin, as well as the very derogatory nicknames from the Northern Hemisphere, but we're soon to be out (mostly), and that is just awesome for Summer racing.
SailGP blasts in to the world's most spectacular natural amphitheatre, and that is exactly what our Managing Editor, Mark Jardine, called Sydney Harbour during our most recent call, and then shortly thereafter, the Apple Isle gets the attention that puts it one the world map almost as much as Errol.
So as James Tiberius Kirk said, "Make it so, Mr Sulu."
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Finally, many thanks for making Sail-World your go-to choice. We're always here to keep pumping out the news. Stay safe, and enjoy your time on the water,
John Curnow
Editor, Sail-World AUS