Sail Newport Brings RaceSense In-House
Newport, Rhode Island, has never lacked for serious sailboat racing. It is home to some of the country’s most competitive fleets, experienced race officials, and high-profile regattas. At Sail Newport, maintaining that reputation means continually looking for ways to make racing more efficient, precise, and fair.
So when Sail Newport decided to invest in RaceSense, it wasn't looking for technology for technology's sake. The organization had already seen the system in action and had a pretty good idea of what it could do.
Sail Newport first used RaceSense at the 2025 Newport Regatta, when Vakaros team members Todd Wilson and Jake Keilman joined the race committee on one of the event's three circles. A year later, Sail Newport owned its own system and was using it across multiple circles during the 2026 season, including the Newport Regatta and Safe Harbor Race Weekend.
For Regatta Coordinator Diarmaid Desmond, the decision came down to a simple question: could RaceSense help Sail Newport run better races?
The answer, based on the first season, has been a resounding yes.
From Trial to Investment
Sail Newport's first experience with RaceSense came at the 2025 Newport Regatta. Wilson and Keilman joined the race committee to operate the system on a circle wtih VX Ones, Formula 18s, 505s, and other classes.
Four classes were equipped with Atlas 2s, giving Sail Newport a firsthand look at how RaceSense could help keep a busy racecourse moving with multiple fleets.
The results made a lasting impression.
“That regatta drew a lot of praise afterwards for the sheer volume of racing we completed and the pace we turned races around at, and RaceSense on that circle was a significant part of it,” Desmond explained.
The experience fit naturally with Sail Newport's existing approach to race management. Six years earlier, the organization had invested in five MarkSetBots, which have since become central to how its race committees manage courses.
“We have always tried to stay at the front of the curve,” Desmond stated. “We are no strangers to backing technology that improves the sport, both from a sailor's perspective and a race management one.”
After seeing RaceSense in action, Sail Newport decided to purchase its own RaceSense system.
“We had seen enough to recognise how valuable RaceSense is and the difference it makes to how racing is run, and we wanted to be able to offer it ourselves.”
Owning the system now allows Sail Newport to support classes that already use RaceSense while introducing it to fleets using the technology for the first time.
Raising the Bar
The 2026 Newport Regatta was Sail Newport's first event running RaceSense in-house, with the system deployed across two separate circles. One hosted the Etchells and Melges 24s, competing in their North American and East Coast Championships respectively. The other hosted the VX Ones.
All three classes had already embraced RaceSense elsewhere in their racing circuits.
“Sail Newport sets out to offer the best race management we can,” the organization stated. “When the classes coming here are already racing with RaceSense elsewhere, meeting that standard means having it on the water for them.”
RaceSense provided automatic OCS calls, finish logging, and live tracking.
“It ran flawlessly across both circles.”
One moment during the regatta showed what that capability looks like on a busy racecourse.
On one side of the signal boat, the Etchells were approaching their start sequence. Simultaneously, the Melges 24s were finishing on the starboard side. RaceSense was handling both: identifying OCS boats in the Etchells start while automatically recording Melges 24 finishes.
Confidence From Start to Finish
For sailors, one of the biggest benefits is knowing immediately what happened at the start.
“Knowing instantly whether you were OCS or cleared is huge, and it makes the whole thing far fairer for everyone,” explained Desmond.
That certainty is especially useful under the different starting penalties. It can also reduce general recalls and help move fleets more quickly from one race to the next.
“We can start under P flag with confidence,” said Desmond. “Sailors are not sailing an entire race with the worry hanging over them that they were caught under a U flag and will find out at the end of it. They know where they stand from the moment the gun goes.”
Teams can take their race logs into tools such as Njord, combine the data with video, and analyze what happened on the racecourse. The same information used to manage championship racing can become a training tool for understanding starts, positioning, speed, and decision-making.
RaceSense at Safe Harbor Race Weekend
Sail Newport continued using RaceSense at Safe Harbor Race Weekend, deploying it on the ClubSwan 28 circle while also running an IC37 circle.
The Swan fleet used RaceSense in Florida before arriving in Newport for its summer season. Having the system available meant the class could continue using technology it already knew.
It also demonstrated how little intervention the system could require from Sail Newport.
“We never had to see a single unit in person for the Swans. It was very straightforward, and it saved a lot of running around.”
Working with class representatives over WhatsApp, Sail Newport ensured the Atlas 2 units were updated and registered them to the RaceSense network using their serial numbers as opposed to having a physical check-in.
A Modern Racecourse
RaceSense is part of a broader shift in how Sail Newport manages racing.
The organization has used MarkSetBots for years, allowing race committees to reposition marks quickly as conditions change. That flexibility is particularly useful in Newport and Narragansett Bay, where wind conditions can shift dramatically.
RaceSense adds connected, real-time information to the starting and finishing processes, and the two technologies can work together directly.
Like many organizations, Sail Newport mounts a pole in the center of a MarksetBot and positions the unit at the pin end of the starting line.
Sail Newport's sailing instructions define the line between an orange flag on the signal boat and an orange flag on the pin-end MarkSetBot, with the Vakaros unit mounted directly to that flag. Together, the systems allow Sail Newport to adjust the physical racecourse quickly while maintaining a precisely defined, connected starting line.
Setting the Standard
For Sail Newport, the investment is also about the expectations that come with hosting major events.
Fleets travel to Newport for North American and championship-level events with high expectations for the quality of racing. Sail Newport views that reputation as something that has to be continually earned.
“Sailing is evolving, and Sail Newport has to evolve with it. That is why we push as hard as we do,” said Desmond.
“When a fleet travels here for a Championship they are entitled to expect the racing to be run to the highest level. That is a standard you have to keep earning rather than one you hold onto by standing still,” Desmond explained.
As a public sailing center, Sail Newport operates a large junior and youth sailing program alongside its high-caliber racing. Those young sailors are growing up seeing RaceSense, MarkSetBots, and other technology as a normal part of the racecourse.
“What we like just as much is what it shows the next generation,” Sail Newport says. “They are seeing where the sport is heading, not where it has been.”
What's Next
During the 2026 season, RaceSense was used at the Newport Regatta with the Etchells, Melges 24s, and VX Ones, and at Safe Harbor Race Weekend with the Swan 28s. As more classes adopt RaceSense across their own circuits, Sail Newport expects that list to grow.
The next major step comes in October at the IC37 North American Championship. The IC37 is one of Newport's premiere one-design classes, and the championship will mark the class's first event racing with RaceSense.
The organization has also found that getting new race officials up to speed doesn't take extensive training. Sail Newport held training sessions during the summer, including one for Director of Administration Hannah Lasorsa. After one land-based session and a day shadowing on the water, Lasorsa was able to operate RaceSense for the VX Ones at the Newport Regatta.
For yacht clubs and race organizers considering RaceSense, Sail Newport's recommendation comes from having been in that position just last year.
“Run one event with it and see for yourself. We were in exactly that position last summer, and the only thing we would change is doing it sooner.”
