[J22-Fleet 1] RaceQs tracking

Sun Aug 20 22:15:36 CDT 2017

While the process and cautions in M7 are similar and generally applicable, US Sailing and ISAF's Judge's Manual treat GPS Evidence as a unique topic as follows:
US Sailing Judges Manual6.9.6 GPS Evidence When allowed by class rules, Global System Positioning (GPS) devices have become increasinglypopular as on‐board equipment during racing. The GPS units may be owned by a party or madeavailable to a fleet during a regatta by the OA or outside entities.   
Parties might wish to present information from these devices to the protest committee during ahearing. Usually the party wishes to use these devices as evidence that might depict:    Location on race course (e.g., during an OCS hearing)   Position relative to other boats or a mark.  Indication of course changes or penalty turns. 
Typically, parties seek to introduce information from these devices AFTER an initial hearing,claiming that it meets the standard of “significant new evidence” as required under rule 66(Reopening).  
The PC should consider the following questions:  Where was the location of the device on the boat (and vis‐à‐vis other boats –especially if supplied by an outside entity?  How was the device secured?    Is the information represent the original acquired data or was there some form ofprocessing or interpolation?  How were locations of marks and other objects determined? 
Just as they would with photographic and video evidence, the PC should consider and useevidence from GPS devices with caution. Generally, GPS evidence:  Is rarely accurate enough to confirm boat‐to‐boat (or boat to starting line) distances.    Is usually not good enough to overturn the judgment of a race officer decidingwhether a boat is OCS at the starting signal. However, it may be useful in an OCSredress when a boat maintains, for example, that they restarted (perhaps by taking aturn around the pin end of the line), but the race committee did not record thatrestart.    Can be useful when the devices are on all boats to develop a "big picture" abouthow an incident unfolded (but once again, not “precise” locations of those boats).    Can help determine the timeliness and validity of either a one‐ or two‐turns penalty.    Can be useful in the case of mistaken or missing identity. 
ISAF Judges ManualP.3.2 Marine navigation"... Arithmetical solutions can come from ... computers or GPS navigators andcan all can be equally valid whilst giving differing results. ... Navigation equipment and software programmes may be new or specially developed forcompetitor’s needs. When information from such software or equipment is needed toresolve a dispute, the PC may not have sufficient knowledge to be able to interpret thedata provided. Under such circumstances expert assistance should be sought from outsidethe jury. ..."
A few thoughts:
1. As WYC's SIs are silent, GPS track information (like Kattack or RaceQs) may be submitted by a party to the WYC PC to prove whatever point they are trying to make.  
Please note: - Some regattas, like Star of the North Regatta, have SIs that prohibit the PC from considering GPS data.- When WYC originally went to a trapezoid course, there was a unfortunate protest involving most boats sailing the wrong course.  In the protest hearing, WYC Protest Committee accepted eyewitness testimony, photo evidence and Kattack GPS evidence. 
2. WYC PC should take into account that GPS tracking has a margin of error or may not be functioning correctly (either independently or found contrary to all other information). 3. WYC PC has wide discretion to decide whether the GPS information is relevant (or irrelevant), supportive (or not supportive), conclusive (or inconclusive) in deciding the protest.
Official Dave Perry Disclaimer: This is just my personal opinion, and in no way reflects the official opinion of the WYC Protest Committee of which I am a member.
Hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Kevin
Kevin Kennykevinpkenny at yahoo.com
      From: Matthew Thompson via J22 <j22 at lists.wyc.org>
 To: Mike Miller <miller.m at mchsi.com>; "j22 at lists.wyc.org" <j22 at lists.wyc.org> 
 Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2017 11:06 AM
 Subject: Re: [J22-Fleet 1] RaceQs tracking

Question for Kevin K:
Does tracking like this fall into the M7 recommendations, or is this something that lives on its own? I'd argue this fits in there since it has its own inaccuracies (it thought I hit 56mph on my board this morning) and is just another way of "recording a view point".  Thoughts?
On Thu, Aug 17, 2017 at 10:35 AM Mike Miller via J22 <j22 at lists.wyc.org> wrote:

Hi all,
A few of us in the 22 fleet have been recording a few of our Thursday races on a free app called
RaceQs.com. A large number of Capri's and a few Sonars have also been using this app and report good race analysis and fun using it. I now have created a J22 fleet within the website so we can view only our fleet. I am new at this but doesn't look to complicated.
If you want to join in the fun here is what is needed:
1. Load the free app on IPhone or Android. It is RaceQs.com on the IPhone. You need to register an account with email and password too.
2. Enter your boat name or number.
3. I leave live streaming off
4. Click preset start time to 18:20 or if able to 18:26, which is our actual start time for J22's. With the phone turned on, it will start the recording automatically. This eliminates the need to go down below and remember to turn it on. Only one person per boat should record. Under settings, you can preset an auto shut off mode. I set mine to battery less than 5%, speed greater than 20 kn and recording time of 2 hours. Your battery life should be greater than 50% to start, but it really does not use much power. After the race you can also turn off the recording manually.
5. Once done tracking, click save and upload. This track will now be in your tab tracks. You can view it at various speeds.
6. The real fun begins once you get home and log into your new account on raceqs.com
7. Your new track will appear on the race feed tab. After it loads, it may show all the WYC boats. On the left side arrow, only have a check mark for the J22's that downloaded their race.
You can then play around all the features and view some tutorials to gather the full analytics.
You will be impressed!
Thank Craig Smith for leading the charge on this!
A byproduct could be proof for redress of racing and finish order, should the RC not see you finish!
Or if you do a 720 or 360, proof again.
The photo enclosed shows the 4 boats that recorded last week, 2 minute 53 seconds after the start.
Mike Miller
En Fuego 486

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