The Cowes Week App

The Cowes Week App is available to anyone with an iPhone or Android device. Competitors will be notified when it becomes available shortly before this years event. General information can be obtained and Entries made via the website prior to that. Read on to find out how the app works and how to get it...

What does it do?

The official Cowes Week App provides you with everything you need for the Regatta, whether you're taking part, spectating or following the event from home, including:

• Latest news from Cowes
• Guide to the Classes with lists of boats taking part
• Results for every race
• Live schedule of racing and courses
• Shoreside events guide and venue map

Additionally for competitors:

• Your own schedule of racing
• Automatic notification of your course each day as it's released
• Course mark bearings and distances
• Race announcements for your class
• In-app Declaration
• Live continuously updated results for your class
• Official Notice Board (ONB)
• Detailed wind forecast from the event meteorologis
• Background GPS tracking of your boat.

Notes: To use the app as a competitor, each member of the crew will need the boat's unique registration code. You can find this by visiting the Update your Entry page on the Cowes Week website.

Competitors: How does the tracking work?

If you're a competitor, each day the app will start tracking your position at around 10am and finish tracking when all boats are off the racetrack. To maintain battery life, the tracking is not continuous; instead it will gather your position roughly every five minutes and send it to our race management systems so that we can track the progress of your class and make more informed decisions about important aspects such as shortening your course in light airs. The data is not made public, so you have no need to worry that other competitors can view your track.

The whole operation is designed to be trouble-free and largely invisible. Just bear in mind the following points:

• Try to keep the device somewhere where it can "see" the sky for good satellite reception. A waterproof pocket would be great, or somewhere else above the waterline. On a bigger boat, try not to leave the device down below, as it will likely use more battery power as it struggles to find satellites and send positions.
• Make sure you charge your phone each night. Running the app will use more power than normal and you should not expect your phone to go more than a day without a recharge.