No one is holding a gun to your head and saying you have to buy an expensive tacktick...
no one said anyting about the purchase, just the vagueness about the rule, and the relative equivocation about the ruling body to be clear. Hoping that a rule solves itself, is not a strategy.
You can buy a $2 wrist compass and be compliant.
The majority of the top of the fleet at NA's did not have any electronics on board, so if you want to argue that you need to buy these gadgets to be competitive think again. I have a tacktick and I hardly ever sail with it because in most conditions it's more of a distraction than anything. I can tell a header without having big numbers to tell me.
You, and the fleet leaders have lots more experience and time on the water, than guys like me and Richard. I think you may agree that we can see lift downwind, but there are those of us that get lost looking for headers and lifts upwind, and calling oscillations upwind so I am looking to begin sorting this out a little better. Which device I buy, I may rely upon to help me with this aspect of our technique upwind. Furthermore, as Dave points out, being able to turn off GPS may be adjudicated differently under protest, depending on the judge. Rules should seek to avoid double standards of interpretation.
As far as the trackers goes... they were cheap boost cell phones that only sent signals. Doesn't the wording say receive GPS?
Boost phones have an internal GPS (as do all cell phones, in order to be emergency 911 compliant), which is how they can track in the first place, so by the strictest definition, this statement is not true.
