Chris Fretz (LE-55) gives his comment's on the ballot issue of prohibiting the use of electronic devices that indicate real-time speed, position and vectoring.

Chris asked me to distribute his opposing opinion on this issue

 

Don’t ban GPS

On the next ballot we will be asked to vote for a change in the bylaws that will dis-allow GPS based compasses. The board recommended this for two reasons. Reason one is that a GPS compass is able to compute other factors such as speed, VMG and lifts and headers. It is felt that this is outside assistance under rule 41. I disagree because GPS has been publicly available at no cost for over 13 years. With GPS a satellite signal is used like the magnetic pole to find direction. The second reason is cost. With these additional features we may feel that we have to get a GPS compass to compete. A GPS compass runs from $340 to $600 while a digital magnetic compass runs from $500 to $1100. We know that current digital compasses don't last forever. A $340 GPS compass has almost all the features of the $1100 Tacktick Race Master plus a built-in speedometer.

Currently the class does not have a rule relating to electronics. With GPS, companies creating cheap innovative products that will make all of us better sailors. We can individually decide if we want our eyes in or out of the boat. In the future we may elect to restrict what information can be used but if we ban GPS compasses we are limiting our options to one vendor today.

Chris Fretz
LE55
chrisfretz@yahoo.com