The ultimate tracking and management system for professional yacht managers, suitable for fleets of yachts of all types anywhere in the world.

Pole Star's Yacht Manager is a powerful web-based system that allows you to automatically track vessels in real time from the shore via an internet enabled pc or via SMS to your mobile phone.

It enables you to track yacht movements to establish exact location, speed and heading; to assess the weather and sea conditions that may affect a vessel's voyage; and to monitor the safe passage of a vessel through dangerous or sensitive areas.

Key features

• Variable user-defined position reporting frequency from one per day to every 10 minutes
• Poll a vessel to receive immediate position report
• View entire fleet, group or single vessel on C-Map charts with zoom & pan functionality
• View Fleet List for data on your entire fleet, group or a single vessel
• Weather forecasting including storm, cyclone, swell height & wind speed information
• Track actual progress of vessel against planned voyage
• Set geo-zones to define high-risk areas and be notified when a vessel reports from that zone
• Voyage history logged and available for review
• Flexible "pay as you go" credits payment system

Hardware options
If a dedicated transceiver is required, you can use Pole Star's YM1, a covert Inmarsat D+ tranceiver that is simple to install onboard any yacht. Alternatively, the system can operate from an Inmarsat C transceiver if one is already fitted on the yacht.

Position reporting for routine tracking
Automatic Position Reports (APRs) are set at a default frequency of four per day to keep you informed of a vessel's progress. Reports include date and time, lat/long, and speed and heading displayed on interactive charts together with the latest meteorological forecasts (wind, wave, swell etc) if required.

The data is automatically displayed in on your Fleet List, the Fleet Map, which shows the entire fleet and the Asset Map for the individual vessel. You can programme APRs to be sent via email and/or SMS so you and your colleagues can be kept fully informed, even when you are not in the office.

Variable reporting frequency
You can change the reporting frequency of Automatic Position Reports for each vessel, as circumstances require, by resetting the reporting interval.

For example, if a yacht is heading towards a sensitive area or sailing into adverse weather conditions, you can send a command to increase reporting frequency to up to every 10 minutes to enable you to monitor progress more closely. Once the yacht is back in a safe area or in calmer seas, you can send a second command to reset the reporting interval back to four per day.

Voyage monitoring
This is an essential feature for any Yacht Manager who is required to operate to a certain schedule.

By creating waypoints for a voyage with specified dates and times of arrival/departure, the actual progress of the vessel can be assessed against the scheduled voyage. You will be notified of any deviation by a colour change in the vessel icon displayed on the maps. You can then either contact the yacht to find out the reason for the deviation or wait for the next Automatic Position Report for a further progress report.

Geo-zones
Geo-zones can be created to define areas of high-risk (reefs, shallows) or sensitive
(environmentally protected) areas which are displayed on the Fleet Map and on the Asset Map.
To be kept informed of yacht movements in the proximity of these areas, you can set up zone notifications.
Messages will automatically be sent via email and/or SMS to designated recipients as soon as a vessel sends a report after entering and/or leaving a zone.

For example: One of your yachts is on a week's charter around St Kitts (see below). You have created a geo-zone highlighting a high risk-area and set up a zone notification. When the vessel sends a position report from inside the zone you receive an email notification. You reset the reporting interval to once every 10 minutes to monitor the situation and you call the vessel instructing the charterer to move south away from the area. Once the vessel leaves the zone you receive another email notification informing you, so you reset the reporting interval back to the original frequency.

Meteorological forecasts
Yacht Manager enables you to choose meteorological forecasts to suit your requirements and ensure the safety of your fleet. To do this, you select a timeframe (from 12 hours ahead to 10 days ahead) and meteorological parameter (choose from wind speed and direction, swell wave direction/height etc) and display this as a graphical overlay on the map. Clicking on a specific point will display further data to enable you to assess the weather or sea conditions affecting the current voyage. You can also view cyclone information in graphical and text format in the same way.

There is a one-off fee for registering a transceiver on the Pole Star Yacht Manager system. This is not charged again, unless you run out of credits and have to re-register the transceiver. The daily service charge is incurred from the day the transceiver is registered on the Yacht Manager system. Credits can be purchased in packs of 1000, 2000 and 3000. (Typical usage of 4 position reports per day would cost the user 300 credits per month.)

FEATURE MATRIX:

Most Inmarsat C terminals are supported but users of older terminals are strongly advised to check the hardware compatibility list at Hardware Compatibility before purchasing the Pole Star Yacht Management service.
*Pole Star will use reasonable endeavours to track your transceiver and deliver your position reports. However sometimes this is not possible due to factors beyond our control, such as satellite communications failure.