5th SailBot Regatta – 2011. Annapolis, Maryland

SailBot 2011, the North American competition for robotic sailboats was held at the United States Naval Academy from 13-16 June 2011! The competition was open to the 2 meter SailBot Class and an Open Class (which are boats up to 4 meters in length – see the Class Rules for the actual requirements of each class).

The competition consisted of five events to test various aspects of the design, construction and control logic. Each event was worth 10 points for a maximum of 50 possible earned points.

  • Fleet racing to test speed (non-manual rudder and sail control incurs no points penalty)
  • Station keeping to test logic
  • Endurance contest (a 10-km race)
  • Autonomous navigation contest to test precision.
  • Judges evaluation of a presentation on the design, construction and innovation

As in the past, there was no entry fee! Six teams participated in conditions that ranged from near-calm to 15 knots. All the teams were competitive and showed clever innovations. For the first time in SailBot history the final placings were not determined until the last boat crossed the finish line in the last event!

Results

Place Team Fleet Racing Station Keeping Presentation Navigation Long Distance Total
1 US Naval Academy – Gill The Boat 9 9 8.8 10 4 40.8
2 University of British Columbia 10 9 9.1 7 5 40.1
3 Royal Military College 7 9 7.8 5 28.8
4 Memorial University 8 5 8.3 21.3
5 US Naval Academy – Spirit Of Annapolis 7 4.5 8.8 20.3
6 Queen’s 6 5 8.1 19.1