On November 8, Maître Coq, an advanced design mono-hull foiling sailing yacht, began the 2020 Vendée Globe around-the-world yacht race with one of the most technically advanced survey receivers on board; the Spectra Geospatial SP90m GNSS.
Available to rent or buy fromSEP Geospatial and the SEP Shop, the Spectra Geospatial SP90m is a powerful, highly versatile, ultra-rugged and reliable Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) positioning solution. It can be used for a wide variety of applications, both in real-time and post processing. What’s more, it comes with a range of integrated communications options. These include Bluetooth, WiFi, UHF radio, cellular modem and two MSS L-band channels which allow it to receive Trimble RTX correction services.
The Vendée Globe
The Vendée Globe is a solo, non-stop around-the-world yacht race which takes place every four years. Starting and finishing in Les Sables-d’Olonne in the Vendée region of France, this extreme endurance test, for both sailor and boat, is widely considered to be the ultimate challenge in ocean racing.
This year, skipper Yannick Bestaven will be able to use the Spectra Geospatial SP90m to ensure he has precise position and boat heading information. This will be relayed to the autopilot system on Maître Coq in real time. This allows Besthaven to respond to the changing sea and wind conditions and strategically adjust the autopilot, as he changes and trims sails and trims foils to achieve maximum sailing efficiency.
The SP90m was selected by Antoine Connan, head of engineering for the Maître Coq racing team. He has subsequently reported that the team is very happy with the installation of the SP90m on board. The hostile environment and requirements for accurate positioning information at sea, meant the selection of the SP90m was an extremely important technical choice. Its ultra rugged design, minimal size and low power consumption makes it ideal for marine environments.
Spectra Geospatial
We have offered a number of Spectra Geospatial products through our SEP Shop for many years. It’s an established brand which offers high-quality products to the survey, GIS and construction markets.
When it comes to conventional surveying equipment, Spectra Geospatial offers a broad product portfolio. As well as GNSS, it also offers optical total stations, data collection hardware, field and office software and a wide range of construction tools. All Spectra Geospatial brands are backed by strong technical support.
If you would like more information on a Spectra Geospatial product, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
In the meantime, we wish Yannick well and look forward to following his progress in the Vendée Globe 2020.