Free sailing race tools for the race office.
A start timer for the committee boat, a handicap calculator for the results, templates for the sailing instructions, notice of race and race-day safety plan, line bias and course distance. In your browser, free.
Start sequence timer
RRS 26 countdown for 5-4-1-0, 3-2-1-0 or your own times, with flags, horn signals, postpone and recall. Big-screen mode for the committee boat.
Open the tool →Corrected time calculator
Handicap results for ORC, IRC, SRS and Portsmouth Yardstick: paste the boats, get elapsed and corrected times, line and corrected ranks, CSV.
Open the tool →Sailing instructions template
Fill in a form, get sailing instructions in the order of RRS Appendix J — start, courses, scoring, protests and a safety section built on check-in. Word or PDF.
Open the tool →Notice of race template
Everything a competitor needs before entering — rules, eligibility, entry, schedule, venue, scoring, risk statement, data protection and media — in the RRS Appendix J order.
Open the tool →Race-day safety plan template
Roles, safety boats, weather limits, the check-out / check-in tally, emergency numbers for your waters and the abandon signals — a race-day safety plan on one page.
Open the tool →Start line bias calculator
Wind direction and line bearing (or two GPS points) → how many degrees the line is biased, which end is favoured and by how many metres.
Open the tool →Course distance & bearing calculator
Click the marks on a nautical map: every leg in nautical miles with its bearing and beat, reach or run for your wind — plus the total and a share link.
Open the tool →Questions
Are the tools really free?
Yes. Every tool works in the browser without an account. Only file downloads (results CSV, course GPX, the Word and PDF templates) ask for your email and club, so we know who uses them — the tool itself never waits for it.
Do they replace official race signals or scoring software?
No. The timer helps the race committee keep time; the visual signals are what count under the Racing Rules of Sailing. The calculators show their formulas and sources so you can check every number, but your notice of race and sailing instructions decide.
What is VesselSOS Racing?
A race-office web app in its pilot phase: the organiser draws the course and shares a 6-digit code, skippers join in the free VesselSOS app, and the race office sees every boat live — positions, line and corrected rankings, and who is safely ashore.
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.