From September 26–28, the IC37 North American Championships brought three days of tight racing to the waters off Newport, RI, hosted by the New York Yacht Club—with Velocitek RTK on the line, literally. Our RTK Pucks powered the action, and a few clear themes emerged from the event.
Competitors Trust the System
The IC37 fleet pushed the line as hard as ever. That only happens when sailors know they can bank on the system’s accuracy. With Velocitek RTK, the boats had confidence in their time and distance to the start, which produced incredibly close racing—not just at first mark roundings, but on the scoreboard.
Going into the final race, four boats were within two points of the lead. After the final race, just three points separated 1st through 5th—a tight, fair result made possible by Velocitek RTK accuracy.
Race Committee Trust the System
The race committee also benefited from the certainty of Velocitek RTK. Instead of forcing races in marginal conditions, they stayed patient, knowing they could run efficient sequences without general recalls or the dreaded ping parade. The system gave them the confidence to manage the regatta on their terms.
The RC even set signal flags aside. With countdown timers synchronized across the fleet and a Bluetooth-driven airhorn, flags would only have introduced lag into an otherwise automated process.
By the final start, they trusted the system enough to have a little fun: the signal boat looked deserted during the sequence. (Don’t worry—one Race Officer was meerkatting through a hatch to keep an eye on things. Trust but verify, as the saying goes...) With the line managed automatically, they could relax and let technology do the heavy lifting.
Actual footage of the RC sighting the line:
Efficiency on Display
- Day 1: Four solid races, zero general recalls—just fair starts and clean racing.
- Day 2: The weather didn’t cooperate, but it wasn’t a setback. With four races already in the books and confidence in the Velocitek RTK system to run efficient races, there was no stress.
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Day 3: Three more races were run with time to spare. The championship came down to a four-boat showdown in the final race, with incredibly tight competition all the way to the finish with the top boats finishing in a pack 3-4-5-6. The final scores saw 1 point separating 1st from 4th, with a 3 way tie for 2nd. Trust in starting systems makes for closer regattas. Accuracy matters.
IC37 NAs by the Numbers
- 0 general recalls
- 0 starts using RRS 30 (100% P-flag, except no flags were used...)
- 7 races, 6 different race winners
- 3.33 average points per race for 1st place boat
- 1 point separating 1st and 4th
- 3-way tie for 2nd
- 8 points separating 1st and 7th
- Full start data here
What the RTK Data Showed
Aggressive but Clean Starts
Boats were consistently starting within just a few meters of the line—sometimes even slightly over—but there were no general recalls. RTK gave competitors the confidence to push hard while keeping the racing fair and under control.
DtL Histogram — Competitors pushed the line, but recalls never materialized.
Speed at the Gun Matters Most
The fastest starters weren’t always bow-out at zero meters. For example, in Race 4 the winner hit the line ~5.5 m back at 7.7 kts—fast, clean, and well-timed. Across the event, boats carrying speed into the line consistently converted those starts into strong finishes.
Finish position vs Start Speed — Boats hitting the line with speed finished better (Revised 10/14/25).
Consistency Beats Hero Moments
A few boats managed picture-perfect starts—within a meter of the line at full speed—but didn’t turn them into wins. The top finishers tended to live in the sweet spot: 5–15 m off the line at 5–6.5 kts, race after race.
Start Time Histogram — Consistency outperformed perfection.
The Takeaway
When both sailors and race committees trust the technology, the result is better racing. Velocitek RTK delivered accuracy, fairness, and efficiency at the IC37 North Americans—turning three tricky days on the water into a seamless championship.
Velocitek RTK: Accuracy Matters.