There’s a big gap between wishing a helpful app existed and actually creating one. Two Virginia racing sailors bridged that gap when they created and released Tack X, an IOS app for iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches. Julie Ann and Paul Wash, Richmond sailors who race out of the Fishing Bay YC, started sailing about six years ago. After competing on a Hunter 216, “which was precious but not meant for racing,” says Julie Ann, the couple decided to buy an S2 7.9.
From a phrase gleaned from a cartoon, their three-and-a-half-year old son Ned dubbed the new boat Cheeky Monkey, and the family’s racing career got serious.
Although the Washes and most of their crew were new to sailing, they brought in more experienced guest sailors and learned quickly. They traveled more widely from the Southern Bay to the Screwpile Regatta and Annapolis NOOD. With Paul at the helm, Julie Ann trimming sails, their 11-year-old daughter Anne-Kinsey as pit/“chute squirrel,” and Paul’s sister Becca on the bow, the crew tends to place in second or third in their class. 
As an active racer and also a software consultant who builds apps (on a larger scale), Paul started to work on his racing app idea.
“We found there were a lot of sailing apps but nothing really specific,” says Paul. When the Apple Watch was released, he started to work on the idea in earnest. Now available at the App Store in its first version (at a discount price of $3.99 through January for SpinSheet readers), the Tack X app gives you a sequence countdown for the start (configurable by hand) and a distance-to-line function.
Once you’ve started racing, the screen shows your heading, course, theoretical wind angle based on your tacking angle, speed over ground, and more. Julie Ann works on the creative side of the business and does sales; Paul continues to improve the product. Find the user guide and other product specifics at tack-x.com or facebook.com/TackXApp.
