Welcome to the Beer Can Racing App!

To get advice on how to use the app to plot the Course for your next race, please follow the links at right.

But first, if you haven't already done so, please download the App from the Apple AppStore

Please Note : Beer Can Racing is for REFERNCE ONLY, and does not satisfy US Coast Guard regulations for navigation.

Complete Instructions are COMING!

Select Country

First, you'll need to select in which Country you will be racing.

For all US locations, NOAA charts will be used. These are RNC (raster) charts, and do not always scale prefectly as you zoom in and out, but they are FREE!

For New Zealand, the LINZ [Sourced from LINZ. CC BY 4.0] charts have been included - although not all of them may be at the higest resolution. Please let us know asap of any additional charts (by number) we should be adding.

For the rest of the world, we are using OpenStreet Maps for now. We will continue to incorporate any free charts available as a tile service.

As a future improvement, we also intend to include the ability to upload any Navionics chart subscriptions you already have.

If no Internet is available, you will only be able to select "My Location".

Select Region

The second step is to select a predefined Region, or if your area is not yet included, choose "My Location".

Beeer Can Racing will automatically load the Magnetic Declination for your Region.

Add Local Marks

After selecting your Region, you can add as many Marks as you need! If you are in a Region with pre-defined Local Race Marks, you will be able to select from the list, and then specify Port or Starboard Rounding for each. After each Mark is added, it will appear in the list to the right of the screen.

Ping Your Current Location

The moment you click the PING button, your current position is recorded.
You can then specify whether to ADD this Mark to your Course:

• as the 1st Mark (e.g. if you are pinging the Race Committee Boat)
• as the last Mark of your Course so far
• replace the existing first Mark (e.g. re-pinging the Committee Boat)
• or you can just read your current position!

As always, you can select a Starboard or Port rounding, or you can return without saving by clicking the small X in the top right of the window.

Add Mark at Range & Bearing

You can add a Mark at a specified Range (distance) & Bearing (degrees Magnetic).

If you have already added a Mark, the new Mark will be added at the Range & Bearing from the last Mark of your Course.

If no Marks have been added yet, the Mark will be set from your curent location. You can also later edit the sequence of Marks by re-arranging their order in the Mark Details screen. If you do this, the Range & Bearing will then be recomputed from the Mark prior to it in order... (***this has not yet implemented, just came up with the idea while writing these Instructions!!)

Add Mark at Latitude & Longitude

You can add a Mark at a specified Latitude & Longitude. No magic here ... just specify in Degrees & Decimal Minutes, then whether it should be rounded to Port or Starboard.

Add Mark by Clicking on Chart

You can also add a Mark by long-clicking directly on the chart. This is helpful if your Course needs to be modified to avoid land or other hazards. Although the Mark is added as the last Mark of your Course, you can re-arrange the order in the Mark Details screen. You can also edit the name of the Mark there, and specify whether it needs to be rounded to Port or Starboard.

Edit Marks - Mark Details Screen

When you click on the Mark Details Screen, you will be able to review all the Marks you have saved so far. From this list, you can choose to re-arrange the order by clicking the "stacked" icon in the top-left, then dragging the Marks to whatever order you need. You can also edit each Mark individually by swiping right (from the left side to right side of the screen) on the Mark, and selecting EDIT. You can delete any Mark on this screen by swiping left (from right side to the left side of the screen), and selecting DELETE.

All edits are saved immediately, and when you are done, you can either select the DONE button, or click the small X in the top-right to go back to the chart.

Delete Marks - Mark Details Screen

You can delete any Mark on this screen by swiping left (from right side to the left side of the screen), and selecting DELETE.

All Deleted Marks are removed immediately, and when you are done, you can either select the DONE button, or click the small X in the top-right to go back to the chart.

Move Marks on Chart

You can move any Mark from its original location by first clicking on it (a bubble with the Mark's name will appear above it on the Chart), and then as a second gesture you click-hold-drag the Mark. This can be a bit awkward at first and takes a little practice!

Show All Local Marks

This will draw all of the Marks that have been entered for your Region. Soon you will bee able to add more Marks for your Region, and even create new Regions, but for now, please request by sending feedback via the online form.

Delete Saved Marks

Use this option if you want to delete all of the Marks you have saved for your Course. You will be asked to confirm this action before proceeding.

Cleear User's Track

Click this to erase your red track.

Navigate To A Mark

Whenever you select a Mark on the Chart, a bubble will appear above it on the chart, and your current Range & Bearing to the Mark will be displayed on the right side of the bottom info bar. On the left side will be displayed your current Speed (in knots) and Direection of travel.