New marks to revolutionize sailboat racing

Kingston, Ontario (April 1, 2015) – In a major development for race management, a Canadian company has announced that it will be working with regatta organiser CORK in Kingston to test its prototype Hovermarktm system of Mark laying.

“Imagine no more ground tackle, no more missing or drifting marks, and video records of every mark rounding,” said DR Owen, Flite Hovermark’s CEO. “This will revolutionize sailboat racing”

Although he remained tightlipped about the concept, Scuttlebutt has learnt that trials took place in Kingston during the recent DN World Championships using the frozen lake to test equipment. It appears that drones, controlled by a smartphone app, are programmed by the Race Officer to hover in the designated position and direct a laser beam downwards which effectively becomes the mark.

While early reports suggest that the testers are enthusiastic about the concept, one ice boater noted that a malfunction in the strength of the laser melted the ice at the weather mark and caused the fleet leader to “run afloat”, costing him the race. It was also reported that a signal to the pin end drone was hacked in the minute before the gun , leading to a bias that favoured a particular competitor.

Representatives of CORK were unavailable for comment.