G'day guys, I have recently come back from the states and bought a Garmin foretrex 401, these are a great gps for work but also double as a great sailing watch with count down timers, compass, speed etc. The question is can I use this with the Gps sailing that is going on, instead of the favored product that is seen on many of the guys sailing here. Second question is where is everyone saling today?!
If it takes position readings every 1 second I think it might be good for what they want with the data readings. My watch takes position readings every 2 seconds and so it is apparently not accurate enough for the GPS challenge.
I'm not an authority on it so don't take my word as gospel though. I think they have a list of what is accepted somewhere. Not sure if it gets updated very often with new models coming out though.
Wellington Points the best for all wind directions.
If the watch GPS works i'll buy one I don't know why they don't make a water proof watch style Locososys GPS?
I've had a Look at the specs and it has a 1 sec update, so I guess it's good to go, it's a great gps for my line of work and it's also waterproof so there's no dramas with getting it out on the water and not having to buy an additional waterproof case for it. If any one is interested they retail in the states for around $170 and about $250 in Australia for some reason. Now I just have to hope for some breeze this week.
Word of warning here. The Foretrex 401 is waterproof rated to IPX7 - this means that you can put it in 1m of water and it won't leak.
My past experience with the earlier model Garmin 201's (also rated to IPX7) was very poor. One decent stack or crash or even a missed gybe seems to be enough water pressure to force water into the unit and trash them.
Also check the GPS chipset they use. Navi units used the SIRF3 chipset which is considerably more accurate than chipset in the older Foretrex 201. (Google Mt Best GPS for some detailed technical discussions)
You must use an aquapac regardless of the unit.
J
From past experience "waterproof" means it's okay to cough on from about 1 meter or greater.
As drjukka said, the water pressure from one decent crash can be much greater than you'd realise. Whatever you get make sure at a minimum it's in a pouch.
IPX7 means it has been statically tested at 1m under water for a period of 30 mins and didn't leak..
Impact with water would be risky..
I use a Suunto Ambit GPS watch but it is 100m water resistant - but cost quite a bit more...
I use the Timex Global Trainer. It's 50m resistant. I have had some great crashes with it (Formula, downwind catapults at full speed) and it's still lookin good. Only takes readings every 2 secs with the GPS though so not good enough for GPS challenge but great to track the GPS, speed and heart rate wherever you go. http://global.timex.com/watches/ironman-global-trainer-gps-hrm-t5k444f5
Heart rate is always a LOT higher on downwind legs on a formula board by the way 
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Pretty sure I paid about $420 about 1 1/2 years ago from Rebel Sport. I see now you can get them for about $200 on eBay. $139 from one place.
I actually use it for race starts too. Nice big numbers if you set it up right.
