Vector GPS aids sailors in Volvo Ocean Race

Hemisphere GPS is supplying Vector heading systems to three of the seven sailboats competing in the Volvo Ocean Race - a seven-month, globe-circling odyssey involving some of the world's best sailors.

Hemisphere GPS, a designer and manufacturer of GPS products used in more than 50 countries, is supplying Vector heading systems to three of the seven sailboats competing in the Volvo Ocean Race - a seven-month, 31,000-mile, globe-circling odyssey involving some of the world's best sailors.

The three multimillion-dollar sailboats are the Pirates of the Caribbean, sponsored by the USA-based Walt Disney entertainment conglomerate; ABN-AMRO One, sponsored by ABN-AMRO, the Holland-based international financial institution; and Ericsson Racing Team, sponsored by Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications giant.

All three boats will be using state-of-the-art Vector products for heading accuracy when the Volvo Ocean Race - widely known as the Mount Everest of ocean racing - begins on 6th November 2005.

The Volvo Ocean Race travels through some of the world's most demanding and treacherous seas.

Boats and crews will be pushed to the limits of their endurance as they navigate through sweltering calms, iceberg-filled oceans, and gales that can blow for weeks on end.

The Pirates of the Caribbean, ABN-AMRO and Ericsson racing teams equipped their sailboats with Vector products because they are among the very best in the world, says Mark Cox of Diverse Yacht Services, a British marine electronics and hardware firm that is providing a range of support services to the teams.

"We do extensive research - looking for the best marine electronics products in the world - to help our clients get an edge", said Cox.

"Our research tells us that Hemisphere's Vector products process and provide heading data at extremely fast rates".

Therefore, the Pirates of the Caribbean, ABN-AMRO and Ericsson teams all asked Diverse Yacht Services to install Vector systems on their sailboats.

The systems were purchased from Hemisphere GPS' European distributor, Saderet Ltd, in Buckinghamshire, UK.

The Volvo Ocean Race will begin this Sunday with a week-long, spectator-oriented 'in-port race' in which the seven crews will display their sailing and navigation skills in and around the Spanish port of Sanxenxo.

On 12th November, they will depart from Vigo, Spain, and travel south around Africa's Cape Horn, east to Australia/New Zealand and onwards to the southern tip of South America, then up the west coasts of South and North America to New York, across the Atlantic to the UK, and north to the finish line in Gothenburg, Sweden (Volvo's headquarters) on 17th June 2006.

"This will be an excellent demonstration of the Vector's capabilities", said Cox.

"Timely, accurate headings are essential for these teams to perform at their maximum potential".

Rick Heiniger, President of Hemisphere GPS, a wholly owned subsidiary of CSI Wireless, said: "We are delighted that the very experienced crews of three of the world's fastest and best-equipped sailboats have chosen Vector products for their all-important headings".

"It represents an important, high-profile endorsement of Hemisphere's marine GPS products".

The Pirates of the Caribbean, ABN-AMRO and Ericsson boats have been fitted with Hemisphere's Vector Sensor product that calculates accurate heading and position utilising Hemisphere's proprietary GPS technology.

Along with the Vector Sensor, two multipath-resistant antennas are used to receive the GPS signals.

Increasing the distance between the two antennas can increase the system's heading accuracy.

With the antennas two meters apart, the Vector Sensor computes heading information with better than 0.15 degrees accuracy - matching or exceeding the accuracy of competitors' products, while being significantly more affordable.

In addition to marine applications, the Vector Sensor serves the machine control market that includes agriculture, heavy construction equipment, cranes, communications and other industries for which accurate headings are essential.

Hemisphere also designs and manufactures the Vector, a rugged 'smart antenna' heading system that combines the electronics and antennas into a single half-metre enclosure.

Using a Hemisphere-patented moving base-station Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) technique, as well as integrated gyro, tilt and magnetic sensors, the Vector provides heading information to within half-degree (0.5) accuracy - exceeding IMO type approval standards, and enough to replace traditional gyrocompasses for many applications at only a fraction of the cost.

Vector products, available worldwide through a variety of channels, are also used for positioning.

They achieve sub-metre positioning accuracy using decoded correction data from land-based Coast Guard beacon stations or Space-Based Augmentation Systems such as North America's WAAS, Europe's EGNOS and Japan's MSAS.

The Volvo Ocean Race dates from 1973, when the first was held.

It was known then as the Whitbread Round the World Race because Whitbread Plc, an international conglomerate, provided crucial financial backing.

Whitbread sponsored similar races every four years until 2001, when Volvo assumed overall sponsorship.

The 2005-2006 event will feature seven boats competing in nine long-distance legs of open-ocean sailing, broken up by seven short-distance 'in-port races' at various locations around the world.

Back to top