Instruments? Yep, we’ve got an app for that!

Another cheer for Squirrel!  Thanks to his help tonight, we now have instruments for our races, and some fun new technology to play with:  wifi!

All the data that the instruments measure and compute are now being broadcast on a local wifi network on the boat.  Anyone with a compatible app can tap into this data stream and see whatever instrument value you want to focus on, right on your phone.  This winter when I researched this, i decided that iRegatta was the best of these apps.  It’s designed for racing, and includes the ability to set the race course, define the start line, find the favoured end, plus, it has a J100 polar table in it, so it will advise us on all kinds of tactics, like when we’ve reached a layline to a mark, the expected wind angle on the next leg, whether we will make better course made good by sailing high and slow or low and fast, and — my favorite — whether we have trimmed the sails to reach our speed potential or not.

Calvin called it our secret weapon…but of course, we have to learn how to use it.  So, if any of you are interested, go ahead and install an app.  iRegatta itself isn’t pricey, but it jumps to around $20 to get the feature that connects to the instruments over wifi.