Fairview Sailing, one of the UK’s longest-running yacht charter operators, is entering this year’s Round the Island Race with Savvy Navvy across its fleet. The partnership between the two companies, launched today, extends across charters, flotillas, and yacht training. The race will serve as the first large-scale test of Savvy Navvy’s new live location feature in a competitive fleet environment.
On Saturday, 11 July, over seven hundred boats are registered to line up off Cowes for the iconic Round the Island Race, a fifty-nautical-mile course around the Isle of Wight and one of the largest yacht races of its kind in the world. Conditions around the island can be demanding, with strong tides, a large fleet, and the usual challenge of keeping track of multiple boats across open water.
This year, Fairview Sailing will approach that challenge with Savvy Navvy’s live location sharing on board every boat, increasing visibility and competition out on the water.
Connecting the fleet on race day
The feature allows vessels to share their position on the chart in real time, with updates every few seconds. A crew member simply generates a link and shares it with others in the fleet, once accepted, everyone can see a shared live location on their digital chart, so crews can track the rest of the fleet throughout the race instead of relying mainly on radio check-ins.
Friends, family, and shore teams will also be able to follow the boats as they make their way around the island. For a group of yachts racing under the same banner, having a shared view of the fleet can simplify communication and reduce the usual complexity of managing several boats on the water.
"Our aim is always to make getting out on the water as simple and enjoyable as possible. Savvy Navvy gives our customers a powerful navigation tool that helps with planning, routing and confidence afloat, whether they're sailing in the Solent or exploring further afield. We're delighted to be partnering with a brand that shares our passion for making sailing more accessible."
Andy Byham, Managing Director of Fairview Sailing.
Why the partnership matters beyond race day
The Round the Island Race is a demanding test for any navigation tool, but the value of this partnership goes well beyond one event. For Fairview, it supports the way charter guests plan and make the most of their time on the water, while also helping RYA students build stronger digital-first navigational skills with an industry-leading solution. It’s a partnership designed to add value across Fairview Sailing’s wider operation, from charter and training to everyday boating.
What comes next?
As race weekend approaches, live location sharing gives organisers, charter operators, and sailing schools a practical way to keep track of multiple boats, with less time spent checking where everyone is and more time on the water itself.
Good luck to all the crews taking on this year’s Round the Island Race, and to the Fairview Sailing fleet, who are putting Savvy Navvy’s live location sharing feature through its paces in some of the most challenging waters in UK sailing.
Check out this free tutorial on how to use Savvy Navvy’s live location sharing here.
