Three products. One ecosystem. Setup, race, finish, score, publish, replay — all connected, all in real time.
Most sailing software solves one problem. Flying Start covers the entire race day — before, during, and after.
The planning tool. Set up your season before race day.
The racer’s instrument panel. Start line intelligence on your wrist.
The race-day command centre for the committee boat. It is not available yet. Run your races from the RC Web App today.
The three products share a backend and talk to each other in real time. No hardware, no cables, no manual data transfer.
Flying Start vs the biggest names in sailing software.
| Feature | Flying Start | Vakaros Atlas 2 | iRegatta | Sailwave | eStela | TracTrac | ClubSpot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | |||||||
| iPhone app | ✓ | ✗ Hardware | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Apple Watch | ✓ Standalone | ✗ | ● Add-on | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Web dashboard | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Race Timer & Instruments | |||||||
| Countdown timer | ✓ 5 sequences | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Distance to line | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Time to line | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| OCS detection | ✓ | ✓ RTK precision | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Crew sync | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Marine instruments | In testing — coming soon | +£355 dongle (NMEA 2000) | ✓ WiFi NMEA | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Live Tracking & Replay | |||||||
| Live spectator map | ✓ Free | ✓ RaceSense events | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Race replay | ✓ Free | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Clubhouse TV mode | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| No hardware required | ✓ | ✗ Atlas 2 required | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ GPS trackers | ✓ |
| Race Management & Scoring | |||||||
| Event management | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ● Basic | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Online entry | ✓ Free | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ Paid |
| Race scoring (RRS) | ✓ Free | ✓ Automated | ✗ | ✓ Free | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automated finishing | ✗ Times keyed in | ✓ GPS auto-finish | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Push notifications | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sailwave import | ✓ Verified | ✗ | ✗ | N/A | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Connected Ecosystem | |||||||
| Timer + scoring integrated | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Tracking + scoring integrated | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Pricing | |||||||
| Hardware cost | None | £949/boat (Atlas 2) checked 17 Aug 2026 |
None | Windows PC | None | GPS trackers | None |
| Racer cost | Free (Pro £4.99/mo) | Included with hardware | Free* (4-min limit) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| RC scoring cost | Free forever | Contact | N/A | Free | N/A | N/A | % of fees |
| Live tracking cost | Free | +£39/mo per boat | N/A | N/A | £60-685/mo | Custom quote | N/A |
* iRegatta free version stops receiving GPS/NMEA data after 4 minutes. Full suite requires iRegatta Pro ($19.99) plus in-app purchases.
Today, a typical sailing club uses Sailwave for scoring (Windows desktop), pays eStela or Kwindoo for live tracking (£60-685/month), and racers use a basic timer app or iRegatta with no connection to any of it. Three separate systems. Three separate costs. No integration.
Flying Start replaces all three with one connected ecosystem — and the race committee tools are free to get started.
Simple, transparent, and dramatically cheaper than the alternatives.
eStela live tracking: £60-685/month (£720-8,220/year)
Kwindoo tracking: €48/month (€576/year) or €5/boat/day
iRegatta Pro full suite: $34.95 one-time (iOS only, no RC integration)
TracTrac hardware tracking: custom quote (typically thousands per event)
ClubSpot regattas: 2.5-4% of all registration fees
Flying Start gives your club live tracking, scoring, event management, public results, and race replay for £0.
We're honest about what we don't do yet.
TracTrac and YachtBot use satellite-connected hardware trackers that work hundreds of miles offshore with no mobile signal. Flying Start's phone-based tracking needs cellular coverage. For bluewater events, dedicated hardware is still necessary.
ClubSpot handles membership, billing, marina berths, dining POS, reservations, and accounting alongside regattas. Flying Start focuses purely on racing. If you need a full club management suite, ClubSpot covers more ground.
Regatta Toolbox and ClubSpot process entry fee payments directly. Flying Start's entry forms collect competitor details but don't yet process payments. For events that charge entry fees online, you'll still need a separate payment solution.
Free for race committees. Free to try for racers. No credit card. No commitment.