I'm probably late to the party - as always, but what's all this gps stuff about? I'm assuming people are tracking themselves with their gps watch. Why?

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forsyth said..
I'm probably late to the party - as always, but what's all this gps stuff about? I'm assuming people are tracking themselves with their gps watch. Why?

gpsteamchallenge.com.au/

and: www.gps-speedsurfing.com/

GPS's themselves measure behaviour/performance, measuring behr/perf leads to increased behr and improved performance.

GPS team challenge participation leads to building friendships and camaraderie

It's never too late to join the GPSTC, the latest members are the most enthusiastic and wishing they'd joined earlier

after you join you will soon spend a fortune in approved devices, speed boards, race sails, weed fins, trips to Lake George..

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powersloshin said..
after you join you will soon spend a fortune in approved devices, speed boards, race sails, weed fins, trips to Lake George..

Bring on LG!! As much as I enjoy foiling on Moreton Bay there is nothing like hanging with the speed freaks at Beachport. They are an odd bunch

And you will be on the beach with a tiny sanding block sanding your fins sharp discussing what grit wet and dry you should be using . I've only just started going down that track and 30 kts seems terrifyingly fast .

If you don't want to join an official group and get sanctioned speed numbers, you can use any decent gps watch to archive your sessions.

All I want to know is my speed, maximum speed, distance sailed, and a track of my session. I happen to be now using a Garmin watch (Fenix 5X and 245 Music). I archive with Garmin Connect. There are other brands that collect gps as well. I have used Timex in the past.

By the way, I recommend against using Strava for archiving if you want to keep good records of your maximum speeds. Strava uses positional data to calculate speed even when the watch file already contains speed numbers. Positional numbers are noisy compared to speed numbers, which are usually collected with doppler. Strava's maximum speed is always too high. Garmin Connect's maximum speed is exactly the maximum of the speed numbers collected. You can verify this by converting the FIT file to CSV, then getting the maximum number in the speed column. K888 on these fora has some good writeups about this.

I see. I was once clocked by the highway patrol doing 40kmph on an 8kt waterway but that was a while ago now. Love speed but never thought of using my watch. I have a Garmin Mariner. It is specifically for sailing so might check the SOG reading next time I'm out. Thanks for the insight. Gr8 to hear there r so many speed freaks out there.

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forsyth said..
I see. I was once clocked by the highway patrol doing 40kmph on an 8kt waterway but that was a while ago now.

That's awesome! Haha shame you didn't have a licensed craft so they couldn't book you

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segler said..
If you don't want to join an official group and get sanctioned speed numbers, you can use any decent gps watch to archive your sessions.

All I want to know is my speed, maximum speed, distance sailed, and a track of my session. I happen to be now using a Garmin watch (Fenix 5X and 245 Music). I archive with Garmin Connect. There are other brands that collect gps as well. I have used Timex in the past.

By the way, I recommend against using Strava for archiving if you want to keep good records of your maximum speeds. Strava uses positional data to calculate speed even when the watch file already contains speed numbers. Positional numbers are noisy compared to speed numbers, which are usually collected with doppler. Strava's maximum speed is always too high. Garmin Connect's maximum speed is exactly the maximum of the speed numbers collected. You can verify this by converting the FIT file to CSV, then getting the maximum number in the speed column. K888 on these fora has some good writeups about this.

I use Strava just because I am into other sports also that Strava is very good for so use Strava for all my sports tracking. But I expect every Garmin user is also using Connect as the standard process to get data from your Garmin to Strave is via Connect (which is automatic once setup, so you just stop your activity and a minute later it is in Strava with no other user action required). So if you have it in Strava you most likely also have it in Connect and can find it easily enough once you get the date of an activity from Strava.

When I have time on a PC later, I then download the original file from Connect and upload to KA72 and copy the stats to the Strava Description.

Strava is good because you can search your data easily (for windsurfing activities including text search), and you can analyse with nice graphs etc. It could be better for windsurfing, but is great for cycling. Still there is not many windsurfing options and it does better than most.

Yes, I now use Connect to archive my sessions. It will display everything you need to know, including a GPS track on a map. And yes, the watch automatically downloads to a Connect app on a phone within bluetooth range as soon as you you finish a session. It is also good for saving off a year's worth of sessions (or any other long time period you want) to keep.

I really like Strava, but that problem with using only noisy positional data to calculate speeds is a non-starter. It would be so easy for them to use speed numbers that are already in the FIT files. I have emailed them about this. No response. There are plenty of other sports out there that use speeds (and maximum speeds, for instance) as important data.

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segler said..
Yes, I now use Connect to archive my sessions. It will display everything you need to know, including a GPS track on a map. And yes, the watch automatically downloads to a Connect app on a phone within bluetooth range as soon as you you finish a session. It is also good for saving off a year's worth of sessions (or any other long time period you want) to keep.

I really like Strava, but that problem with using only noisy positional data to calculate speeds is a non-starter. It would be so easy for them to use speed numbers that are already in the FIT files. I have emailed them about this. No response. There are plenty of other sports out there that use speeds (and maximum speeds, for instance) as important data.

Yeah, I take my stats from KA72 since it gives the windsurfing specific stats that neither Connect or Strava do. Most of the time the max speed on Strava is close, but sometimes it is out by a few knots when a positional error occurs.

Strava would not give a second thought to a windsurfing error complaint. This would make about 0.000001% of their users. Strava is mostly about segments which are positional, and that is why they use positional data. It is not the best choice for just windsurfing. But if you are into lots of sports including windsurfing and want to keep all your data in one place including competitive segments, it is the best choice for that. I consider Strava and Connect similar for a windsurfer. If you want to get 5X10s or NM etc. you still have to process it somewhere else (like KA72). Luckily it is easy to do that on a PC in a minute or so with no cables or devices.

Wind Sport Tracker is a handy Android app than records and analyses the same speed criteria as the competition websites. It will import GPX and SPB files.

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forsyth said..
I see. I was once clocked by the highway patrol doing 40kmph on an 8kt waterway but that was a while ago now. Love speed but never thought of using my watch. I have a Garmin Mariner. It is specifically for sailing so might check the SOG reading next time I'm out. Thanks for the insight. Gr8 to hear there r so many speed freaks out there.

Garmin connect - GPSTC V4 app. Made by a windsurfer for windsurfing. Check that your watch is compatible. Once you start on the speed search 40kmh will be 'pfft'! Get out there, woohoo

GPSTC v4 is an excellent app but it provides twenty times as much information as I need for the (extremely) modest amount of data I need.

Pretty much all Garmin GPS watches allow you to write your own data screen apps.

All I need are accumulating distance, real-time speed, and time of day on one screen, and maximum speed on the second screen. I created one app called Foiling with those two screens. Simple. When I upload a session to Connect, it shows all those plus much more, including the GPS track on a map. On the water I watch the first screen without ever having to touch the watch buttons. If I am working on speed, I watch the second screen. Simple.

My eyes or windsurfing skills are not good enough to read the watch while going fast, so no value for me in instantaneous speed. I have one data screen with clock time (so I don't get in trouble for being somewhere late), activity time, distance and max speed. I typically will stay out longer to make a round distance number or minimum sailing time when my arms are hanging off at the end of a session!

When I uplad the file to KA72 later, it gives me all the usual paramaters.

I need to add here that if all you desire is some GPS feedback in your speeds, all the watch and phone apps mentioned here are excellent.

But GPSteamchallenge is a competition where fractions of a Knot can make a significant difference in the individual and team rankings, and it therefore requires the use of GPS devices with a higher level of verifiable accuracy and consistency. The best currently available new ones are the Motion and others based on the Ublox GPS modules. Many of the participants also use smartwatches and smartphone for more detailed (but less reliable) on the water feedback and assistance.