YB Tracking

How Do You Really See the Atlantic Ocean?
If you've ever looked out of an aircraft window while crossing the Atlantic, or spent days aboard an ocean liner making the journey between continents, one thought inevitably comes to mind: just how vast the Atlantic Ocean truly is.
From 35,000 feet, it seems endless. From sea level, even more so.
At YB Tracking, we are fortunate to play a small but important role in helping adventurers, explorers, athletes, and pioneers share their journeys with the world. Time and again, we are inspired by individuals who choose to challenge what is possible.
Recently, three remarkable pilots gave us a front-row seat to one such achievement.
Britain's Alicia Hempleman-Adams, alongside Americans Bert Padelt and Peter Cuneo, successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a hydrogen balloon, a feat that had not been accomplished for two decades.
Even more significantly, they became the first balloonists in history to complete a transoceanic flight in a gas balloon using hydrogen as the sole source of lift.
While the official figures are still being finalised, the team unofficially travelled 2,852 miles (5,282 km) in just 70 hours and 11 minutes. To put that into perspective, they spent nearly three days suspended beneath a balloon, carried across one of the world's largest oceans by nothing more than the wind and their determination.
The journey also marks a personal milestone for Alicia. Together with her father, Sir David Hempleman-Adams, they are the only father-and-daughter pair to have both crossed the Atlantic by balloon.

For more information about the project, visit: https://atlantic-explorer.com

This week, while supporting the Plastimo Lorient Race, we had the pleasure of working from the new Maison des Skippers (Skipper’s House).

If ever there was a place that truly embodies the heart of offshore ocean racing, this is it. The building brings together the full ecosystem of the sport, with workspaces, training areas, and preparation zones, all designed to make life easier for teams and streamline coordination among professionals.

Its purpose is clear: to bring together skippers, teams, clubs, and industry stakeholders in a single environment dedicated to performance, learning, and exchange. The energy on site reflects exactly what makes Lorient La Base such a unique hub, an environment where sailors can start, develop, and refine their journey towards the highest level of offshore racing.

The facility also hosts the Lorient Offshore Racing Campus, creating strong connections between skippers, crew, boat preparers, and coaches. It is here that the day-to-day sporting life is structured: navigation planning, boat preparation, briefings, and ongoing programme coordination all take place under one roof.

From the third-floor deck, the view is exceptional. The marina showcases an extraordinary concentration of offshore racing talent and technology, including the new Ultim Gitana 18, an Ocean Fifty, the IMOCA MACSF and others, Class40 yachts, and the ever-competitive Class Mini 6.50 fleet, alongside other one-design classes.

Lorient La Base is undoubtedly a destination that any sailor or sailing enthusiast should experience. It offers a rare concentration of excellence and ambition, and a clear reminder of why French offshore sailors continue to set the global standard in the sport.

Pushing Limits. Breaking Records. Verified by YB Tracking.

More than ever, explorers, limit-seekers, boundary-pushers, and adventure-driven individuals, whatever name you give them, they are redefining what’s possible.

Across land, sea, and every environment in between, they are relentlessly chasing records and pushing beyond known limits.
These are the people who transform ideas, sometimes extreme, into measurable achievements and who are willing to go further, endure more, and commit fully to prove what can be done.

From the highest peaks to the longest endurance challenges, these attempts all share one critical requirement: accurate, trusted data.
That’s where YB Tracking comes in.
Our tracking systems are among the few trusted and accepted by Guinness World Records, the Ocean Rowing Society, and other governing bodies for verification, providing the precise data needed to validate every second, metre, and mile.

Some of the incredible attempts we’re supporting:

• The longest single mountain bike descent on the world’s tallest mountain
• “Stay Strong” towing a 1982 Land Rover 100km in 100 hours
• Multiple Transatlantic & Transpacific and every other ocean rowing records
• Fastest kayak or rowing circumnavigation of Great Britain
• Fastest global navigation by sailboat, both solo and crewed
• Hot Air Balloon elevation record
• Polar crossings

Different challenges. Different disciplines, but they all have two things in common:

The drive to set a record and YB Tracking, ensuring it’s accurately captured for verifying

As much as these individuals and teams are focused on the end goal, many are also driven by a deeper purpose. A significant number undertake these challenges in support of charitable causes, using their record attempts as a platform to raise awareness and funds for important initiatives around the world.

In doing so, they combine personal ambition with meaningful impact, taking the opportunity to shine a light on causes that need visibility, support, and action.

Virtual Finish Lines and Timing Gates

As World Sailing has announced rule changes allowing the use of Virtual Finish Lines, and event organisers adopt these changes, ensuring accurate and reliable position reporting at the moment of crossing is critical. This document outlines how YB Tracking delivers precise, verifiable timing data and how this differs from standard tracking solutions.

Accurate Finish Detection
Unlike many tracking systems, YB3 and YB3i trackers are capable of transmitting a position report at the exact moment a vessel crosses a defined virtual finish line or timing gate. Using Polyfence technology, each tracker is pre-programmed to monitor for specific geographic coordinates. When the tracker intersects any point along the virtual line:
• A position is transmitted immediately
• The transmission occurs outside the normal reporting interval
• The reported data includes the exact GPS time and coordinates of the crossing
This ensures the recorded time reflects the actual crossing event, not an estimate.

No Interpolation, True Event Capture
Many tracking systems rely on interpolation, thereby estimating a finish time between two scheduled position reports. YB Tracking does not. Each crossing generates a real-time transmission at the point of intersection, removing the uncertainty associated with calculated or inferred results. This provides greater confidence for:
• Official race timing
• Course compliance verification
• Shortened course scenarios

System Requirements & Considerations
For optimal accuracy, the virtual finish line must be defined using fixed, reliable coordinates.
• Accuracy is directly dependent on the quality of the coordinates provided
• Moving objects (e.g. drifting buoys or committee boats) cannot be accounted for
• The system does not automatically adjust for positional changes after setup
• If any changes occur after initial confirmation, YB Tracking must be informed as soon as possible so updates can be manually applied and distributed prior to any crossing

Additionally, trackers are typically mounted at the stern of a vessel. As a result:
• The system records the position of the tracker, not the bow
• Boat length is not factored into the recorded crossing point
• Race organisers should account for this where relevant within their scoring rules

Included as Standard
Virtual Finish Line and Timing Gate functionality is included as part of the standard YB Tracking service and is available for all tracked events.

If you require information or clarification, please email: [email protected]

From the team at YB Tracking, we wish you a safe and joyful Festive Season and a very Happy New Year.
Thank you for your continued support throughout the year.
We look forward to an exciting 2026 as we move together into the future of event tracking.