Sailing course distance & bearing calculator.
Click the start, the marks and the finish on a nautical chart. Every leg gets its distance, bearing and point of sail for your wind — and the course gets a link you can send to the fleet.
Free to use in your browser. No account, no app.
Marks
Legs
| From → to | nm | Bearing | Point of sail | Time |
|---|
Add at least two marks.
Waypoints and route for a chartplotter or OpenCPN.
Bearings are true, great-circle distances. Check the course against the chart and your sailing instructions — this map is not for navigation. Point of sail from the angle between the leg and the wind: under 44° beat, over 150° run, otherwise reach.
Run the whole race on one screen. Run it for the whole fleet — everyone’s phone shows the same countdown with VesselSOS Racing (pilot).
Run your next raceSources
Questions
How is the distance calculated?
As the great-circle distance between the marks on the WGS-84 globe (mean Earth radius), converted at 1 nautical mile = 1852 m. The bearing is the initial true bearing from one mark to the next.
How do you decide beat, reach or run?
From the angle between the leg’s bearing and the direction the wind comes from: under 44° is a beat, over 150° a run, anything between a reach. Leave the wind empty if you only need distances.
Can I share the course with the fleet?
Yes. “Copy share link” puts the marks, names and wind in the link itself — nothing is stored on our side. Anyone who opens it sees the same course.
Are the bearings magnetic?
No, they are true. Apply the local variation from your chart for a compass course.
Can I use the map for navigation?
No. OpenStreetMap and OpenSeaMap are community maps. Use the official chart for the race area to lay and check the course.
More free tools
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.