News.

The Ocean Race, with PredictWind as Official Tracking and Weather Services Supplier, is set to revolutionise race coverage

3 July, 2025 - The Ocean Race, often described as the toughest test of a team in sport and widely recognised as a leader in impactful ocean health initiatives, and PredictWind, a global leader in marine weather forecasting, are collaborating on a new race tracker.

The landmark cooperation spans several key events beginning with The Ocean Race Europe 2025, and leading into both The Ocean Race Atlantic 2026 and The Ocean Race around the world in 2027.

In looking to push the boundaries of technology and improve the fan experience with a next-generation race tracker, The Ocean Race found a keen collaborator in PredictWind, with a shared vision to establish a new standard in race coverage and data transparency with a revolutionary new tracker.

The Ocean Race Europe tracker has been completely redesigned and transformed into a dynamic platform that offers unprecedented access to real-time race data and insights.

The new race tracker will provide fans, teams, stakeholders and the media with the immersive feeling of being onboard, showcasing:

• Live GPS Tracking: An intuitive interface with dynamic 2D and 3D views for precise yacht positioning.
• Global Weather Overlays: Comprehensive weather forecast and retrospective datasets to enhance understanding of meteorological conditions.
• Predictive Routing: Visualisations of each yacht's projected course, using real-time weather, boat polars, and PredictWind’s routing engine.
• Full Telemetry Feed: Includes boat speed, course over ground, true wind angle, distance to leader, distance to finish, distance travelled, and projected distance to next mark/finish line (all in nautical miles).
• Multimedia Integration: Updates from the on board reporter (OBR) and race crews on each boat are integrated within the race tracker.

“This new race tracker, designed and built in collaboration with PredictWind, is an innovative and engaging platform that puts the fan first,” said Richard Brisius, Race Chairman of The Ocean Race. “From predictive analytics to immersive content from on board the boats, the new tracker takes the fan experience to a new level.”

"Partnering with The Ocean Race is a huge moment for us," said Jon Bilger, PredictWind Founder. "Our team has worked hard to deliver a product that doesn’t just track the fleet but tells the full story of the offshore race, in real time, with technology that’s never been this powerful or this accessible."

A version of the tracker will be available for media and race teams to embed on their sites, to expand the reach of the race and enable new and existing fans to follow the event in their favourite online environment.

The new tracking and weather platform will go live on 10 August, with the start of The Ocean Race Europe 2025, offering a next-level viewing experience for millions of fans across the globe.

The Ocean Race Europe fleet of seven flying, foiling, IMOCAs is racing under the banner of Connecting Europe, with the race start on August 10 from Kiel, Germany and racing to Portsmouth (UK), Matosinhos / Porto (Portugal - fly-by stop), Cartagena (Spain), Nice (France), and Genova (Italy), before finishing in Boka Bay (Montenegro), marking the first time The Ocean Race fleet will race on the Adriatic Sea.

PredictWind, the world leader in marine forecasting, has unveiled a groundbreaking innovation that will redefine the future of weather routing with Automated AI Polars.

Sailors know that no two boats – or skippers – are alike. Recognising this, PredictWind's AI Polars are engineered to optimise routing based on your boat's real-time data combined with your distinctive sailing habits. By understanding your boat's behaviour in all wind and wave conditions, the AI Polar automatically adjusts to give you more accurate routes than ever.

Previously, personalised polars were the exclusive domain of elite navigators. PredictWind has now made it easy and intuitive for every sailor. "With our AI Polars, we are bridging the gap between professional navigators and recreational sailors. Now everyone can benefit from hyper-accurate, tailored weather routing," says Jon Bilger from PredictWind.

Using this feature is as easy as plugging in the PredictWind DataHub to your boat’s instruments and activating AI Polars. The technology springs into action, capturing and interpreting vital data points like boat speed, wave conditions, true wind speed, and true wind angle. In addition, hydrodynamic modelling intricately predicts your boat's movement. In addition, the weather routing predicts the performance effect of the waves on the routing, offering the most precise routing output available.

With the inclusion of wave conditions and individual comfort preferences, PredictWind ensures not just optimal but also comfortable routing. AI Polars also guarantees accurate data by smartly filtering out times when the boat is anchored, motoring, or motor sailing.

Once activated, AI Polars aren’t static. They evolve, consistently harnessing new data to refine and perfect your personal boat polar, enhancing precision with every nautical mile you cover.

PredictWind continues to lead the marine forecasting frontier, reaffirming its commitment to bringing professional-grade tools to sailors everywhere. With the launch of AI Polars, the horizon has never looked more clear and personalised.

Press Release: Iridium GO! exec® Now Available from PredictWind

PredictWind, the world-leading provider of weather and routing services for the marine industry, is proud to announce the availability of the Iridium GO! exec. This device is the most versatile unit in the satellite phone market with its increased data speeds, improved functionality, and competitive pricing.

What makes the GO! exec unique for the marine user is the low power draw, battery backup and portability coupled with the improved speeds over its predecessor. The GO! exec allows the user to get more weather data while offshore, while retaining key safety features. The IP65 water rating and ability to make voice calls directly from the unit, with a sealed battery, make this unit life-raft capable and an essential safety device.

We’re excited that the GO! exec offers increased data speeds for our customers at a really competitive price point. Our exclusive Unlimited Plan provides unlimited data for PredictWind services and pre-paid data for when you want full internet access. This means you never have to worry about getting bill shock again, and you’ll always have data for services while offshore.

Keryn McMaster, Support Team Manager at PredictWind, says, "Customers can now download larger forecast maps and more weather layers with minimal download time. They can also view national met office weather warnings overlaid on any of our weather maps, real-time observations from land stations and yachts, ocean and tidal currents, satellite imagery, and real-time boat positions via the AIS Network. All this data means our users can make better decisions to keep their crew and vessel safe offshore."

The PredictWind DataHub seamlessly integrates with the Iridium GO! exec to enable GPS tracking, allowing friends and family to see the boat's position on a map and check its progress, and view blog posts and photos in real time. The DataHub also shares wind speed and direction, directly from the boat's instrumentation to the GPS tracking webpage.

PredictWind Weather Routing has transformed the way cruisers get weather offshore. With the Iridium GO! exec, weather routing calculations are even faster and more accurate. "Gigabytes of data are used in the PredictWind cloud to calculate the route in a compact file that is less than 1% of the equivalent GRIB data," says Jon. "This data saving is a game-changer for low-speed satellite connections, and is now even faster to acquire with the Iridium GO! exec."

The Iridium GO! exec also allows real-time updating of the boat's polar, using machine learning techniques to produce an extremely accurate polar for the boat in all conditions. This, combined with real-time wave routing, gives the user the best possible data to inform their decision-making while offshore.

With its permanent internet connection, the Iridium GO! exec has also enabled PredictWind to develop its new Anchor Alert App. This app monitors the movement of the boat's GPS location, wind speed, direction, depth, and other NMEA 2000 data, alerting the user if conditions change or become unsafe.

"We truly believe the Iridium GO! exec is a quantum leap forward in terms of functionality and safety and is an essential device for any boat venturing offshore," says Jon. With its increased data speeds and safety features, the Iridium GO! exec is the perfect go-anywhere device for customers who need to stay connected while on the water.

Find out more about the Iridium GO! exec here