Navigator Broughton says the full impact of the Internet is not yet clear. A special server is used to control each team’s access, but at sea, as on land, the Internet is a difficult beast to control. “I think policing it is so difficult,” he says, and access could well open the door to advice from shore, which, though strictly prohibited, could be accomplished by having a consultant post recommendations to a Web site.

Not only would land advice alter the nature of ocean racing, hiring such advisors would add to the already high cost of the race. Limiting access to set sites is in part an attempt to prevent this.

Most teams have two navigators aboard who feed data from yacht instruments and the Internet into complex software programs that predict which potential tracks would be fastest. Already the race has seen examples of wise use of available information. On the first leg, northwest of the Canary Islands, all the yachts were very close in an area of light wind when illbruck Challenge decided to break off.

Initially they lost their position, but the move paid off well with better wind, and they ended up winning the leg. “They made a really good, quite brave decision,” says Broughton. “My hunch is that it was well researched, but it’s always a little bit of a gamble when you jibe away from the fleet.”

Despite the advances and new rules that play a role in such decisions, one thing hasn’t changed. The brain remains the most important tool for pulling everything together. “Generally speaking,” says Broughton, “it’s still a navigator’s race.”

—Mark Schrope

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