WEBBED FEAT - THE SYDNEY TO HOBART YACHT RACE VIA SATELLITE

Beaming race data as-it-happened to home PCs around the globe with Inmarsat satellite technology

For the first time, home spectators of the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race were able to follow exactly where each competitor was positioned as the race progressed via the official web site (www.rolexsydneytohobart.com). Using the Inmarsat D+ satellite tracking solution, images of the competitors’ real-time positions and speed were transmitted back to land and relayed onto the web site at regular intervals.

The Inmarsat D+ is a two-way data communications service that operates from pocket-sized units. In the 2002 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, these units were installed on all competing vessels by satellite and wireless data solutions supplier, TC Communications. The global positioning system (GPS) capability on Inmarsat D+ facilitates tracking, tracing, short data messaging and supervisory control and data acquisitions (SCADA).

During the race, the tracking terminals provided GPS information drawn from six satellites, which then broadcast coordinates via the Inmarsat satellite network back to earth every 10 minutes. The information was then sent to web site developers, Massive Interactive in Australia where they plotted the updated positions of each craft and uploaded onto the site’s major feature, Yacht Tracker. The information included sailing speed, direction and position.

Not every yacht would complete a signal within each 10-minute period, although on average about 50 yachts sent data over the Inmarsat system with each transmission.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) is the Sydney to Hobart race organiser which commissioned the web site development and was particularly focused on the Yacht Tracker function. This component of the website was designed for avid spectators of the race, as well as friends and family of the crew members wanting to follow their progress.

Joe Goddard, CEO, CYCA cites the major benefit of this system as the ease and timeliness of accessibility to information for the online onlookers.

“In years gone by, we used to have 10 people in Hobart on the phones who would field a large amount of calls enquiring about the whereabouts of specific vessels,” reflects Goddard. “By utilising the Inmarsat network and linking it to the web site, we now have only two people uploading the information at regular intervals. More conveniently – for race fans and for us - the calls are now kept to a minimum because all the information is out there on the web in the public domain.”

Since its inception in 1944, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race has become an icon of Australia’s summer sport, and is one of the world’s most celebrated yachting events.  The race traditionally begins on the waters of Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day (26 December) and travels down the eastern coast of Australian via the Tasman Sea.

Over those years, the Sydney to Hobart Race and Cruising Yacht Club of Australia have had marked influence on international ocean yacht racing. The Club has influenced the world in race communications and sea safety, maintaining the highest standards of yacht construction, rigging and stability for ocean racing yachts. 

In the months leading up to the race, the CYCA put out a tender for the development of the race’s official web site. Part of the brief was to create a function which tracked the progress of each contender and was made available to the public via the Internet. Massive Interactive’s winning proposition answered this requirement by using the Inmarsat satellite system and services to attain real-time data of each boat.

“The inclusion of Inmarsat technology in their proposal was advantageous to Massive Interactive’s cause in the tender process. Through our extensive research of GPS, the CYCA has become very familiar with Inmarsat products, and we consider its technology to be more sophisticated and reliable than that of competitor’s, ” said Goddard.

Said Michael Butler, managing director, Inmarsat Limited, “The use of Inmarsat D+ to relay real-time progress details of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is a perfect example of the strategic convergence of IT, communications and mobility.  Whilst continuing to serve traditional markets, Inmarsat is as focused on contributing to the ongoing development of personal and multimedia mobile satellite communications.”

Todd McDonnell, CEO of TC Communications concluded, “Both TC Communications and Inmarsat are dedicated to taking communications solutions via air, land and sea to new levels of accessibility and sophistication. In this case, yacht racing has benefited through the combination of satellite technology and the Internet. When real-time positions and speed are made readily available to spectators, the highly competitive nature of the sport is evident and the viewing experience becomes even more compelling.”

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) contracts TC Communications for the provision of Inmarsat communications systems and support services. The key components of TC Communications support are a 24/7 help desk facility providing telephone support and a support contact point to vessel Operators and Maintainers for their Satellite communications systems.

As part of the contract TC also provide field engineering staff to conduct on site repairs to Inmarsat B Ship Earth Station equipment on board RAN vessels where required.  Spare Parts provision and management, supporting field engineering staff as well as spare parts kits allocated to RAN vessels. Provision of training for RAN personnel in Inmarsat B Operation and Maintenance where requested by the Commonwealth.