Pre-Race Checklist: SailSensor Data

A Data Checklist, Not Just a Boat Checklist

Before the start, every crew has its own checklist: right sails on board, rigging checked, life jackets distributed. But there's one checklist that's often left to improvisation: the data checklist. If you sail with sensors on board, the time before the start is when you decide whether the data you'll see during the race will be reliable or misleading. Five minutes of proper checks are worth more than any last-minute adjustment made by eye.

This checklist doesn't replace the boat's technical one, it complements it, adding the layer that covers sensors, calibration and the app.

Battery and Connection: The Check You Never Skip

The first point is also the most obvious, and for that reason the most often forgotten: sensor battery level. A battery at 20% at the start of a race risks dying right at the critical moment, halfway through the second close-hauled leg. Check the level in the app before leaving the harbour, not once you're already on the water.

Also check the Bluetooth connection between each sensor pair and the onboard device: an unstable pairing ashore, with little interference, is a sign that at sea — with more active devices around — things could get worse.

Calibration Ashore: Resting Zero and Symmetry

Before hoisting the sails, with the sensors already mounted but the sail still at rest, check that the differential pressure reading is close to zero on every pair. A consistent offset at rest indicates a poorly mounted sensor, not perfectly aligned with its counterpart, or a calibration issue to fix before the start.

Also check the symmetry between sides: if you have sensors on both port and starboard on the same sail, the resting readings should be comparable. A systematic difference between the two sides is far easier to spot ashore, calmly, than during the start with the clock running.

The App and Onboard Device: No Surprises at the Start

Open the app before leaving the harbour and check that all sensors show as connected and are transmitting real-time data. Check that the device's storage space is enough to record the entire race: a log that cuts out halfway through is a problem you always discover too late, at debrief time.

If you use sensors like SailSensor Pressure together with SailSensor BoomAngle, check that both data streams are synced on the same timeline: cross-referencing pressure and boom angle only makes sense if the timestamps line up precisely.

4-Check Checklist Before the Start

The First Minutes After the Start: What to Really Watch

In the first minutes of a race, with flags, positioning and traffic around the line, it's easy to ignore the data completely. But in those very minutes, the comparison with the baseline you just recorded tells you whether your starting trim is already consistent with conditions, or whether you're starting with a mainsail already over-trimmed for what the day's wind calls for.

If you notice anomalous readings compared to what you saw ashore — a zero that doesn't hold, symmetry that breaks down, data missing on one sensor — that's the moment for a quick check, not something to leave until the first mark rounding. A system like SailSensor Bridge, which centralises data from multiple sensors on a single screen, makes this check immediate instead of a hunt for the problem across separate screens.

A data checklist followed consistently, race after race, becomes an automatic routine of just a few minutes — and the difference between trusting the numbers you see during the race, or having to doubt them exactly when they matter most.