New nav program

Peter Isler and Nick White introduce 'Expedition'

Two world-renowned navigators today announced the release of Expedition - a complete tactical, performance, navigation and weather analysis software package. Whitbread-winning navigator, Nick White (ex- Yamaha) and two-time Americas Cup winning navigator Peter Isler (Stars & Stripes) have used their experience navigating with many other systems to develop a completely new software package that is more powerful and much easier to use.

"We've spent many months refining Expedition to the point where it far surpasses the performance and usability of any other product," said White. "Its time to share our effort with the sailing world."

Isler recently used Expeditions powerful navigation and route optimisation tools to guide the Santa Cruz 52 Winnetou to first overall in the 2004 West Marine Pacific Cup (San Francisco - Hawaii). Expedition was also instrumental in the pre-race analysis that directed Winnetous rating optimisation and sail inventory. With Expedition operating on a wireless portable display, the 58 foot sloop Talisman won the offshore race in the 2004 IMS Worlds in Italy.

Beta testing has been underway for some time in a wide variety of boats and applications. Here are some comments from some early users.

"For deliveries, and coastal navigation I always used "Nobeltech" because the racing-oriented software on the boat's computer was so difficult to use. But Expedition was so easy to learn and use, that I can now use the same program for general navigation on deliveries as we use for all our racing." Tom Ots, captain of the 58ft racing sloop, Talisman.



"I'd never used a computer on my boat before, but for the Transpac we decided to try out Expedition because of its route optimisation tools. It was amazingly easy to hook up to my boat's instrument system and simple to learn. Thanks to Expedition's routing advice and performance tools, we sailed our boat fast and went the right way to win our class." Chris Busch, owner, One Design 35 Wild Thing, 1st in Class in the 2003 Transpacific
Yacht Race.

Although Expedition possesses all the basic tools of a contemporary computer navigation program, it is much more than that. It has been specifically designed from the ground up to fulfill all the requirements of the modern racing navigator and tactician, whether on deck or in the navigation station, around the buoys or offshore. Throughout the development process, versatility, ease-of-use, performance and reliability have remained the key goals. New users will find Expeditions Windows-style interface very intuitive and straightforward. It can easily be connected with most instrument systems including Ockam & Brookes and Gatehouse and interfaces with all modern GPS receivers.

"I'm proud of how well it performs in a variety of applications - from a simple GPS-only system like I have on my 30 footer to a fully-wired grand prix racing boat," said White. "A first-time computer user on a small boat will have no problem picking it up but it has the power and tools to satisfy the most demanding offshore navigator."

"Expedition has so many different and powerful features that its hard to single one out. But certainly one of my favorites is StripChart," says Isler. "I sail on a lot of different boats as tactician and one of my biggest challenges is to quickly get an instrument system calibrated without distracting me from my primary job. Expeditions tools make the calibration process feasible without taking me out of the game on the race course. Its like having your own personal navigator on board."

After the first version of Expedition was used successfully by Nick and Peter aboard the Volvo 60, NewsCorp, in the 2001-2 Volvo Ocean Race, Nick shifted gears and began adding buoy racing features so Peter could employ it on Farr 40s and also aboard Stars & Stripes in the 2002-3 Louis Vuitton Cup. Expedition also managed all data capture, logging and display for the Stars & Stripes weather program which Nick managed. Nick has continually enhanced the software by further testing on both offshore and around the buoys campaigns including Pyewacket, Wild Thing, Maitri, Winnetou, Windquest, Revolution, Shadow and Talisman.

Expeditions features include:

- A chart plotter that seamlessly rotates, mosaics and moves between charts, zooms and centers on or ahead of boat. Expedition supports Maptech Pcx or Bsb charts as well as Softcharts. Full user control over waypoints, marks, laylines, track and race schedule information. There is no need for a separate, stand-alone navigation program.
- Polar functions to output, analyze, create or modify a yacht's polars.
- Start line and windward/leeward course tactical support tools
- Instrument input and output functions to exchange any Expedition data with your boat's instrument system, including polars and calibration values.
- Weather analysis that can overlay functions such as barometric pressure, wind, current and/or sea temperature on to navigational charts
- Routing tools to give the most efficient routing, in a simple, easy-to-use interface. (Since inception, this feature has undergone rigorous testing and fine tuning for optimal accuracy).
- Logging function to record race and weather data that can be replayed or analysed later to assist with instrument calibration or polar study.
- Schedule tools to track and analyse competitors in offshore racing, including simple handicap support.
- Stripchart program to graph any instrument function with functionality to easily review past data and save 'tests'.
- Runs on the Microsoft Windows® operating system
- PocketPC versions also available
- Networking (including wireless) support
- Tide and current information
- Internet connectivity

More sample screenshots on page two

To read more about Expedition - click here