Restarting sailing – how SailEvent can help

Before lockdown “sailing” for many clubs was synonymous with “racing”. And so SailEvent's mission is to bring phone tech to dinghy racing.

Now that our sport is restarting the emphasis is on leisure sailing. What better therapy can there be than the simple pleasures of just messing about in boats! So does SailEvent have a role to play in non-competitive sailing? The answer is emphatically Yes.

In its Club Guidance on Restarting Boating Activity the RYA makes these suggestions:

1. “Create a system so members can book time at the club or on the water.”

2. “Introduce or update sign out / sign in procedures.”

3. “Use RYA SafeTrx, mobile phones, UHF or VHF radios.”

Here’s how SailEvent can help the safety-conscious club implement these ideas:

1. Online booking. SailEvent online entry forms let your members book slots to go sailing so you know who to expect on site and can control their numbers.

2. Sign out/sign in. Using the SailEvent eTally app sailors can report that they are actually going afloat and, when they return, that they are safely ashore.

3. Location monitoring. The RYA guidance suggests that sailors take their phones afloat. Those who do can use them as GPS trackers so their location can be monitored. That’s the SailEvent eLocate feature – similar to RYA Safetrx but integrated with bookings and attendance.

All the information gathered by SailEvent is collated and presented to authorised persons. You have a single, definitive, auditable record of who is supposed to be sailing, who is actually sailing and where they are. That means clubs are equipped to implement standardised safety procedures for leisure sailing.

SailEvent is a cloud-based system that runs on phones, tablets and computers so there is no requirement for investment in special equipment. For privacy the location data for each sailing session is automatically deleted within 24 hours.

In this post we’ve talked in general terms about how SailEvent can help clubs implement aspects of the RYA's recommendations. In subsequent posts we are going to look in more detail at online booking, attendance recording and location monitoring.