SPOT Requirements :: Tybee 500 :: A long way to go.. A short time to get there.

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SPOT Requirements

Contributed by John_Williams on Mar 25, 2010 - 02:57 PM

Tybee admin team is finalizing an amendment to the sailing instructions... SPOTs are on deck.

As we've been discussing for some time, SPOT units will be required for each team in the 2010 Tybee 500. The benefits of the technology include the added safety of the Race Committee and your ground crew knowing the boat's location throughout the event, plus the added value to team sponsors and spectators by having the tracking map right on the Tybee web site - see who's leading, who's chancing the rhumb line, and where the big moves are being made in real time. In addition, you'll be able to replay each day of the event with one click - review your team's daily strategy to see what paid off and what went wrong.

The good news is that SPOTs will be available to the fleet for a rental fee of $50 per unit. The better news is that there are no additional fees - no subscriptions, no extras, no nothing. If you already own a SPOT, this feature will be absolutely free.

More details to follow.

Comments

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- Todd Riccardi
- Posted on Monday, April 05, 2010 - 06:55 PM
Spot 2

I've heard that the new version of the Spot is much more reliable and lighter... anyone use this model yet?
I had my mother pretty nervous last year when my spot stopped transmitting a couple times.
- Garth
- Posted on Wednesday, April 07, 2010 - 01:24 PM
Spots are Unreliable

I used SPOTs briefly hiking in the ADKs. My intention was to test it out for use during the Tybee before they were required. Unfortunately the device was entirely unreliable and never relayed my position from the trail. They do not work reliably under canopy but I was both above and below treeline with no success. My consensus was they were totally useless because there was no indication if the device was transmitting properly and I had a transmission and tracking failure rate of 99%.

Anyone had better results?
- Todd Hart
- Posted on Friday, April 09, 2010 - 11:10 AM
The Spots all update at different times, if they are working at all, so using them for position status doesn't work. If it is a mandatory requirement, I think a race official should be in charge of them and they should be supplied by the race.
- Frank Moore
- Posted on Monday, April 12, 2010 - 08:13 PM
I would rather the spot money go to the kick off party Saturday night. Mystery is a good thing.