History
Sail Tactics began as a curious research project to see if Mike Dvorak could forecast the complex winds of the San Francisco Bay during the 2013 America’s Cup. At the time, he was simulating strong downslope windstorms in the Rocky Mountains for his postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley. He honed his modeling system to simulate the terrain of the Golden Gate and was amazed to find how well his forecasting system worked for the high tech America’s Cup sailboats. Dvorak began getting forecast feedback by working with the American Youth Sailing Force (a competitor in the Redbull Youth America’s Cup) and hundreds of users who subscribed to his email forecast, sent out before large weekend races. Eventually demand necessitated automation of much of the forecasting process, and Sail Tactics became a subscription based forecasting service in March 2014. In January 2015, we launched a world-class tidal current forecast system designed by Rusty Holleman, a former America’s Cup tide forecaster, University of California, Berkeley PhD graduate, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute postdoctoral researcher. The value of Sail Tactics daily ultra-high resolution forecast is evidenced by the fact that our subscribers won nearly every major sailing race in San Francisco Bay in 2014 and 2015.
Mission Statement
Sail Tactics provides the most accurate, up-to-date, and detailed sailing forecasts possible to give our subscribers a racing advantage.
Values
- Colorful wind and tidal current maps can captivate the sailor’s mind and increase understanding of the natural forces that make the boat move.
- Old forecasts are inherently less accurate, so we provide the freshest forecasts possible to reduce this inaccuracy.
- In order to make timely decisions on the water, forecast maps should be simple and easy to use.
- Finding better winds and more favorable tidal currents are faster than even the best racing sails and equipment in many situations.
Mike Dvorak, PhD
(650) 454-5243
http://www.sailtactics.com
Sail Tactics moves its forecasting operations to the Coastal Bend Region. The client company provides highly detailed wind and tide forecasts to sailboat racers and enthusiasts.
Weather on Wheels is a free app that helps travelers avoid weather-related hazards when driving and is now available to IOS/ Apple users.
Innovation Center creates a space for synergy among clients.
