Follow the fleet via Yacht Tracker and 3G mobile

• NEWS
• 22 Dec, 2006 03:57:00 PM

Follow the fleet via Yacht Tracker and 3G mobile

The Club is also moving forward with sound technology and has upgraded the audio component of the website. This year, competitors will be able to call a landline 24 hours a day and leave a voice report which will be uploaded to the website.

Families, friends, devout yachties and spectators can watch the real-time progress of yachts in this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race for the first time on 3G enabled mobile phones and by visiting the new look ‘Yacht Tracker’ page on the race web site www.rolexsydneyhobart.com

This year 3G mobile users will have access to race standings and abbreviated breaking news via their mobiles (at http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/mobile/ ), which the CYCA’s web master, Immediate Past Commodore Martin James, believes is an exciting development.

“Those following the race will be able to get a snap shot of what’s happening at sea wherever they are, which will be particularly useful while most people are away from their office and on holidays,” James says.

The Club is also moving forward with sound technology and has upgraded the audio component of the website. This year, competitors will be able to call a landline 24 hours a day and leave a voice report which will be uploaded to the website.

A new look ‘Yacht Tracker’ page with easier navigation tools will show the position, speed, distance to finish line, projected finish times and overall placings for competing yachts throughout the race, with updates every 10 minutes.

Special transmitters fitted to each boat send out latitude and longitude readings which are then beamed back to earth and automatically plotted on the web map. Viewers can zoom in on individual boats or choose up to ten of their ‘favourites’ by branding them with coloured icons to make them easy to spot in the fleet of 78 yachts.

For a view of the fleet on photographic imagery of the earth, users can click onto Google Earth to fly over the fleet as the boats pass down the coast, across Bass Strait and into the Derwent River.

Yacht Tracker is a popular way for families and friends of competing crews and interested fans of the renowned bluewater classic to keep in touch with the race. In 2005, the award winning site received 96 million hits during the race from all around the world, up 32% on the year before.

“You can watch the race unfolding via Yacht Tracker including knowing when yachts change course, knowing what speeds they are travelling and therefore which part of the fleet is experiencing wind, who is currently leading their division and if the lead boats are on record breaking time - all without getting your feet wet!” says James.

There is already plenty of material on the race website including stories, skippers’ profiles, photographs, boat profiles, a list of entries and plenty of facts and figures on the 62 year history of Australia’s premier ocean race.

The CYCA’s broadcast partner Channel 7 will also be providing comprehensive race coverage starting with all the action of the Boxing Day start on Sydney Harbour. Tune into Channel 7 from 12.30pm AEDT for their live coverage of the 2006 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race hosted by Matthew White and yachting expert Rob Brown.
 
As the race unfolds, Seven will screen race updates which are scheduled to start on December 26 at 3.55pm, 8pm and 10pm. From 27 December updates will go to air daily at 2pm, 3.55pm, 8pm and 10pm until the handicap winner is decided.