Pittwater to Coffs - Follow the Yellow Brick road

by Damian Devine & Marius Coomans on 1 Dec 2010 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race's host club, The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club has partnered with British company Yellow Brick to install satellite GPS trackers on each boat in the fleet of the 2011 Pittwater to Coffs Race. Boat positions will be updated on the event website every 15 minutes and will follow the fleet from Broken Bay to Coffs Harbour Marina during the race, a first in the events 30 year history.

The RPAYC wanted to make sure the race could also be enjoyed by those who elect to stay onshore: family, friends and followers. After investigating a range of options over the past year, the club decided to invest in a state-of-the-art tracking system to allow the thrill of the race to be shared by those ashore and on the water.

The technology will to provide a real-time, graphical representation of the yachts during the race while up to date commentary is to be provided via Twitter and Facebook during the race and on the event website.

Additionally, the RPAYC decided to take the opportunity to streamline the administrative functions of a major race like the Pittwater to Coffs Harbour by integrating online registrations with tracking and communications.

'The Top Yacht system is used by most Australian yacht clubs to manage their races, so it was natural for the Club to select it as the online registration system. On the other hand, selecting a tracking system proved more challenging. A number of different tracking solutions are on the market with a variety of capabilities. While terrestrial systems, based on the mobile phone network are becoming more common, viable systems are still very expensive and their range limited. Satellite based systems have been used for tracking yachts for some time and provide the coverage required for offshore races', said Coffs Committee IT and web support expert and RPAYC Club member Marius Coomans.

The Yellow Brick Tracking system was selected because of some distinct advantages:

• The tracker is an easily installed, self contained unit
• It is battery operated and doesn’t require external power.
• The system uses the Iridium satellites to provide updates within seconds.
• Synchronised position reports provide unequalled fleet position accuracy.

The 'Skipr Tracker Integration System' pulls together information from the Top Yacht online race registration package and results package and integrates it with the Yellow Brick satellite tracking system to present the race positions and results via the purpose built Pittwater to Coffs website www.pittwatertocoffs.com.au.

The resultant system will prove its worth on many fronts, building interest in the Race for those onshore, convenient up to date information for participants and reduced administration costs for the organisers.

One of the year's most popular racing events on the East Coast, the Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race, the first ocean yacht race on the year’s racing calendar kicks off at 1300 hours on Sunday 2 January 2011.

The 2011 race will be the 30th Anniversary and promises to live up to its reputation as the 'warm water classic', attracting professionals and families alike in the middle of the summer holiday season.

With only two days to go, entries for the 2011 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race close this Friday 3 December at 5pm.

Enter online and find more information at: www.pittwatertocoffs.com.au