Sailing race tracking without trackers.
Every boat live on a sea chart, line and corrected rankings while they race, and every crew counted back ashore. Skippers join with a 6-digit code in the free VesselSOS app they already carry.
For one-design fleets, ORC and IRC handicap racing, club regattas and championships.
Regatta day, fixed.
What the race office gets.
The course on a sea chart
Start and finish ends as a buoy, the RC boat or a fixed mark; marks to port, starboard or pass through. Leg lengths and bearings as you drag.
Line and corrected, live
ORC and IRC time-on-time, or any time correction factor — projected while boats race and marked “proj.” until each one finishes.
The start countdown on every phone
You run the RRS 26 sequence; every joined phone shows the same countdown and flags. The flags on the committee boat still govern.
Flags, not verdicts
Possibly early (“6 m over at the gun”) and possible missed marks are flagged for the race officer to confirm or clear.
Results at the last finish
Provisional line and corrected results, exported as CSV or a Sailwave file. The race officer can correct any finish by hand.
You decide what competitors see
Live, 15 minutes delayed or own boat only. When every boat sees the same, it is information freely available to all boats (RRS 41(c)). SOS boats are always shown.
Your race on VesselSOS, step by step.
- 01 · YOU
Draw the course
Start line, marks and finish on a sea chart in the race office web app. Publish when it is right.
- 02 · YOU
Share the 6-digit code
At the briefing, on VHF, as a QR on the noticeboard or by SMS. Entries can come from a CSV — a Manage2Sail export works.
- 03 · SKIPPERS
They join in the app
Profile → Races in VesselSOS: boat and persons on board in two taps, and they are on your map.
- 04 · YOU
Start, follow, count them in
Run the sequence, watch line and corrected positions, publish provisional results and close the race at 12 / 12 ashore.
Every crew back ashore.
Joining is checking out
Name, boat, persons on board and an ashore contact come with the skipper’s profile — no sign-out sheet.
A tally until 12 / 12
On the water, finished, retired, ashore. Ashore is marked at the harbour; the race closes when everyone is in.
SOS, with the call guided
SOS on the competitor’s phone guides the call to the right rescue centre and alerts the race office the same second, with position.
The 3 nearest boats
One tap asks the three nearest boats to help (RRS 1.1). The time they spend assisting is logged.
VesselSOS is not a rescue service and never alerts a rescue centre for anyone. It does not replace safety boats, VHF or your club’s safety plan. Write your race-day safety plan →
Honest limits.
- VesselSOS Racing is a pilot for the 2027 season. Race mode arrives in a VesselSOS app update.
- Phone GPS is about ±3–5 m: early starts and mark roundings are flags for the race officer, never decisions.
- Corrected positions during the race are projections. Results are provisional until the race committee publishes them.
- Series standings, RC-boat mode in the app and Sailwave/Manage2Sail sync are SOON. CSV import and CSV/Sailwave export are in the pilot.
- Positions need mobile coverage; positions recorded without signal upload when it returns.
Free tools for this race.
In your browser, no account. Downloads ask for an email; the tools never do.
Questions
Do we still need flags and a committee boat?
Yes. VesselSOS Racing shows the start sequence on every phone, but under RRS 26 the visual signals on the committee boat govern. Keep your flags, horn and sailing instructions as they are — the phones are a second clock, not the signal.
Which handicap systems does the live ranking use?
Time on time: ORC and IRC, or any time correction factor your sailing instructions give (for example SRS). Live corrected positions are projections until each boat finishes. For Portsmouth Yardstick results, use our free corrected time calculator.
Do competitors need a new app?
No. Race mode lives inside the free VesselSOS app, under Profile → Races; home stays the same. Race mode arrives in an app update for the 2027 pilot season — VesselSOS is on iPhone today, Android later. Organisers and spectators use the web.
What happens when someone sends SOS?
SOS works exactly as in the app today: the SOS screen guides the skipper to call the right rescue centre for those waters, with the position ready to read out. In a race it also alerts the race office the same second, and the race office can ask the 3 nearest boats to help (RRS 1.1). VesselSOS does not call or alert the rescue centre for anyone.
Who sees the competitors’ phone numbers?
Only the race office, for safety. The public live page shows boats, positions and results — never phone numbers or contacts. Contact details are deleted 30 days after the race.
What does it cost?
It is free for competitors, always. We are onboarding a small group of clubs as pilots for the 2027 season and agree the terms with each club — no prices yet.
Other races on VesselSOS Racing
Run the whole race on one screen.
VesselSOS Racing is the race-office web app we're building with pilot clubs: draw the course, share a 6-digit code, see every boat live with line and corrected positions — and every crew back ashore. Skippers join in the free VesselSOS app they already carry.