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NEWPORT, RI (July 11, 2025) Sail Newport has engaged a new technology to assist in the management of race starts at the 41st Newport Regatta this weekend.  The Vakaros Racesense system will be implemented to provide live tracking to assist sailors and race committees in managing race starts and courses.  

“Thank you to the Vakaros team for becoming a partner in our 41st Annual Newport Regatta.  This is a technology-based sport in many aspects and Sail Newport tries to be at the forefront when it comes to regatta management technology.  We are looking forward to using the system this weekend,” says Brad Read, executive director of Sail Newport.  

Each boat will be equipped with an industry-leading Atlas sailing instrument, providing not only automated race management features, but also additional data to help sailors race smarter. The system also captures all the action on the racecourse of every boat, providing a comprehensive view of the race for both on-screen spectators and for use at after-race briefings.

The Vakaros Racesense system, through its installed device on each race boat, operates with remarkable precision and speed.  The technology reports through an on-the-water mesh network with a central node or ‘coordinator’ device on the race committee signal boat. Race Committee members can input commands via a tablet, connected to this coordinator device. 

The system is most useful to sailors to avoid OCS (over early) and by race committees to manage calls on the start line. The system boasts a 25 cm positional accuracy and sends notices milliseconds after the start,  enabling sailors with a faster opportunity to correct its start and get clear.  

The timing is synchronized through GPS time and the device includes a magnetometer, gyroscope, accelerometer and other technology in the hardware.

This weekend, all boats in one of the three Newport Regatta divisions, including the F-18, A-Class Cats, 505, and VX One class, will be fitted with the devices.  The boats are expected to race North of the Newport Bridge in the Potter Cove Area. 

In addition to live tracking of the Newport Regatta, the system is in operation this weekend at the Melges 15 Europeans in Ireland, the RS 21 Italian Cup in Riva del Garda, the J/70 Summer Cup in Cascais, and in over 10 club racing series events.  

Since its inception, the technology has been used at 17 World Championships and over 450 regattas in the U.S., Oceania, Europe, and more since its debut in 2023.  

The link to the Live Tracking will be posted on the regatta website, posted on social media and sent to competitors through the WhatsApp channel.

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