The Apple App Store recently updated the iPhone app. If you update the app from version 1.10 to 1.20 you will need to change one of the settings for the app to work correctly: change the directory from /gprmci/ to /gprmc/ - in other words, delete the "i" and the app should work correctly.

The iPhone app is now working with the Sailtracker server. Look here for details...

If you want to have your boat tracked in this year's race you can sign up during packet pick-up at Santa Barbara Yacht Club. Android and iPhone users can download the required app any time prior to sign-up and we can help get you online at that time. For those without either, I will have a few extra Motorola tracking phone kits available.

The new iPhone tracking app has some bugs. I've reported these to the author, who has fixed them and submitted changes to the App Store. I'm not confident Apple will release the update prior to the 2012 Santa Barbara to King Harbor race, so I'm engineering some workarounds on the Sailtracker server to make it work in the mean time. Early testing looks good and I hope to roll this out by the end of the weekend.

There is now an iPhone app available which is compatable with Sailtracker - GerGTS Tracker. This app is currently in testing with the goal of being ready before the 2012 Santa Barbara to King Harbor race. Stay tuned.

It is still possible to get signed up for the live tracking system for the 2011 Santa Barbara to King Harbor race. All day Thursday we will be assisting racers who would like to install the Android application with setup and entry into the database. We also acquired a few more tracking phones which will be available there as well. Inquire at the race packet pick-up area.

Those who purchased transponder packages for the 2011 Santa Barbara to King Harbor race can pick them up today at King Harbor Yacht club from around noon until 8pm, or at Santa Barbara Yacht Club Thursday or Friday until 9am. Inquire at the club office or bar at KHYC, or at the race packet pick-up area at SBYC.

SailTracker will be available to all racers for the Santa Barbara to King Harbor race again this year.

The 2010 race was the first race in which the SailTracker system was available so it was deployed in a limited fashion to test the system's operation and racer's interest. Tracking participation consisted of 7 King Harbor and 1 Marina del Rey boats and was limited to the Motorola phone transponder system. This year the goal is for more participation with additional tracking device options now available.

Racers who would like to have their yacht participate in this year's SB-KH tracking should contact me as soon as possible to ensure the transponder/app is working correctly and registered with the service prior to race day. If you need to purchase a transponder phone package you should contact me immediately as I only have a limited number of phones on hand.

If you're a racer and have an Android phone then you're in luck. Now available for use with SailTracker: an app from the AndroidZoom app store. The GPS2OpenGTS Pro app opens the option of tracking to a whole new audience of racers who don't want to manage a separate tracking device. This app has been tested working with the SailTracker system. Note that the free version of this app will not work properly with SailTracker.

The new Android app joins the existing commercial app GSM Tracker by Aspicore, available for some Nokia Symbian phones. If you own a supported phone with GPS you can now have, for a modest fee, the software you need to connect to SailTracker from your own phone.

If you decide to purchase one of the above two apps for your phone you'll need some configuration information to send your data to SailTracker. Contact me for details how to register your app with the SailTracker service.

Unfortunately there is no app available at this time for the Apple iPhone/iPad, though I am considering developing one. For the time being, iPhone users who want to participate can purchase a GPS transponder kit or borrow a friend's Droid...

The backend tracking server was given a software upgrade this past month. This update primarily consisted of bug fixes but did contain some system improvements over the version used in 2010. One of the new features of interest is the on the fleet tracking screen - now the past 10 locations are shown on the map as well as the position of the yacht. In the past it was only possible to view the track history in single yacht playback mode; fleet mode only displayed the yachts' current location.