Can smart systems save club racing?
Can smart systems save club racing?
Publish Date: 2026-05-12 01:01:00
Source Domain: www.yachtingworld.com
Andy Rice explains the latest technology that could make yacht racing smarter, easier, and less reliant on volunteers
We’re all time poor. The word ‘pastime’ is barely still in modern usage, because we simply don’t need ways of passing the time – instead we’re seeking to carve out small chunks of leisure in our ever-busier schedules. And that has made it harder and harder for us to justify time-intensive activities like a long weekend of yacht or dinghy racing.
Michael Morin is a lifelong sailor who is committed to helping find solutions to this challenge. While the digital revolution has been a large cause of the problem, Morin believes new technology can help alleviate it too.
“I belong to Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit. We have probably just as many boats in the harbour as we have ever had,” he says. “Actually, we have more boats in our harbour because we expanded our harbour more than 10 years ago. But when I began sailboat racing 40-some years ago, we had twice as many boats on the racecourse as we have today.”
MarkSetBots being towed out to course. They have electric motors to hold station or change position. Photo: Paul Todd/outsideimages.com/NYYC
He believes one reason is that sailing is just too time consuming. “You get out and you’re waiting for your race to start; then it starts and you get a general recall… If you’re involved in a regatta it just takes up so much time. People are time-poor and it is a real problem for families. So, while there are more boats in the Bayview harbour, there are fewer people who are racing every Wednesday, every Tuesday, every Saturday.
“Because there are fewer people racing, there are fewer volunteers. We have ageing volunteers and fewer people offering to volunteer. That’s a real big struggle for clubs.”
Today Morin is the director of sales and marketing for MarkSetBot, a company founded by his son, Kevin, in 2014 producing robotic, motor-powered racing marks. Kevin is a member at…
