Best apps to track your sailing races (2026): live tracking, replay and start tools compared

To track and review your own races, use Waterspeed or ChartedSails: both record with a phone or import from a GPS device and break each race into legs and manoeuvres. If you run a regatta and want the whole fleet live on a map, look at Kwindoo, Vakaros RaceSense or TracTrac. For the start line, SailingWatch and the Vakaros Atlas 2 ping the line and show your distance to it.

Compared as of October 2026, from each product’s website, App Store page or blog and, for Waterspeed, its help centre. We make Waterspeed; corrections welcome at support@waterspeedapp.com.

What should a sailing race tracking app record?

Your GPS track, speed and the time of the gun, so you can see each leg, tack and mark rounding afterwards. Good apps add the wind, so they can show VMG and tack angles.

The track shows where you went; speed and wind show why you gained or lost.

Do you need live tracking or a replay after the race?

Most racers need a replay; live tracking matters most to organisers, coaches and spectators.

Live tracking needs a tracker on every boat and someone to set up the event, so it is usually set up by clubs and race committees. A replay of your own boat needs only your phone, watch or instrument.

How do the race tracking apps compare?

They fall into three groups: your own analysis, live fleet tracking, and the start.

App	Records with	Live tracking	Replay after the race	Start tools	Analysis
Waterspeed	iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS; Garmin, COROS, Suunto sync; Vakaros import	Live position by link for people ashore (Pro)	Yes, with speed chart	Countdown with sync and alerts (Pro); no line ping	Tacks and gybes (Pro); VMG, legs, polar chart (Ultra)
ChartedSails	Phone; files from Garmin, Vakaros, Velocitek and others	Not listed	Yes, with synced video	Race timer, mark pings, start line metrics	Legs, tacks and gybes; VMG with Racer plan
Kwindoo	A phone on each boat	Yes, fleets of 1,000+ boats	Yes, same player as live	Not listed	Speed heatmaps, tack analysis, VMG, speed per leg
Vakaros Atlas 2 + RaceSense	Atlas 2 on the mast	Yes, at RaceSense events	Yes, RaceSense player	Line ping, distance and time to line, timer; automatic timer and OCS calls with RaceSense	Telemetry log, exported with the Vakaros Connect app
TracTrac	GPS tracking set up by the event or club	Yes, for events and clubs	Yes, with leaderboard	Not listed	Per-leg performance table
SailingWatch	iPhone and Apple Watch	Not listed	Yes, distance, duration, top speed	Countdown, line ping, line bias, distance to line	Tack angles and laylines on the wrist
SailRacer	Android and iOS, InkDisplay screen	Not listed	Not listed	Start timing calculation	Routing and tactics from wind, polar and current

“Not listed” means we did not find the feature on the product’s website or store page. RaceQs, a 3D replay app, is not in the table: we could not find a current App Store or Google Play listing for it.

Which app is best for analysing your own races?

Waterspeed and ChartedSails go deepest after the race. Both split the session into legs and manoeuvres and show VMG.

Waterspeed records on iPhone, Android, Apple Watch and Wear OS, syncs Garmin, COROS and Suunto, and imports Vakaros Atlas files. Replay is free. Pro shows every tack and gybe with entry and exit speed and compares two sessions. Ultra adds VMG, upwind and downwind legs, port and starboard runs, gain and loss per leg and a polar chart from your own track. The wind comes from the forecast as one average for the session, so correct it on a shifty day. See race analysis with GPS replay.

ChartedSails is built for racers. It detects races, splits them into start, upwind and downwind legs, and syncs onboard video with the replay. Groups let a coach share replays and reports with a squad.

Where ChartedSails is stronger: video sync and a wider range of sailing instrument imports. Where Waterspeed is stronger: watch recording on Apple Watch and Wear OS, and one app for 30+ watersports.

Which app is best for race committees and live fleet tracking?

Kwindoo, Vakaros RaceSense and TracTrac. Waterspeed is not a fleet tracking system for a race committee.

Kwindoo tracks every boat from a smartphone, with no extra hardware. Organisers get a Race Office dashboard with scoring, live leaderboards and a GPS SOS alert.

Vakaros RaceSense runs on Atlas 2 or Atlas Edge instruments fixed to each boat. The timer starts automatically in sync with the fleet, and each crew sees at once if they were over early. Every RaceSense event includes live tracking.

TracTrac tracks events; its app shows races live or as replays, with a leaderboard.

Which app helps most at the start?

SailingWatch and the Vakaros Atlas 2. Both ping the ends of the line and show your distance to it.

SailingWatch puts a countdown, the pinged line, line bias and distance to the line on an Apple Watch. Atlas 2 pings the boat and pin ends and shows distance to line, time to line and time to burn. SailRacer calculates your start timing from wind, polar and current.

Waterspeed’s Race Countdown runs on iOS, Android and Apple Watch. Sync - and Sync + snap it to the lower or upper minute, alerts sound and vibrate at 4 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds and the last 10 seconds, and recording starts at zero. It does not ping the line.

How do you choose a sailing race tracking app?

Start from who will use the data.

1. To review your own races: Waterspeed or ChartedSails.
2. To run a regatta with live tracking for spectators: Kwindoo, Vakaros RaceSense or TracTrac.
3. For line bias and distance to line: SailingWatch on Apple Watch, or a Vakaros Atlas 2.
4. With an Atlas on board: record there, then import the file into Waterspeed or ChartedSails for the analysis.
5. If you also windsurf, wing or paddle, or wear a Wear OS, COROS or Suunto watch: Waterspeed.

Related: How to start a sailing race, Race timers compared, Vakaros Atlas + Waterspeed, Session replay, VMG and true wind angle