TimeToSail - sail race timer application for Garmin watches

Application page in Garmin Store link

This is sail race timer application with some extra features.

Main features

- Race timer with settings: 2, 3, 4, 5 minutes, exact time of day and any arbitrary time value as you want.

- Speedometer screen shows speed SOG and course COG with function to store current speed and course for port and starboard tack.

- Recording activity and GPS track with function to make split recording of each race as a single activity.

- Auxiliary timer to make mesuare in parallel with the main timer works.

- Timer auto restart mode for training of starting procedure.

- Reminer function shows some text note when you press Start and Stop buttons.

- Tone signal and vibration are given each minute, last minute they will be given each 10 seconds, and last 10 second they will happen each seconds.

- Current time of day showing

- Storing race start time of day

- Rich set of settings: color schema (dark or light), turn on/off vibration and tone signal, turn on/off GPS receiver etc. 

More detailed description could be found here https://pilgrim-travels.blogspot.com/2025/04/timetosail-sail-race-timer-application.html

How to control

Main timer screen:

Menu        - main menu of the application with access to all functions and settings.

UP/Down     - change time or synchronize with official race countdown.

Start/Stop  - start or stop main timer respectively. 

Back        - reset the main timer to configured value (swipe right), start or stop auxiliary timer

Menu Exit   - exit from the application (swipe left)

Speedometer screen:

You can switch to Speedometer manually using Menu of the application or swipe up.

Back    - exit from Speedometer screen back to Timer screen. 

UP      - store current speed and course for port tack

Down    - store current speed and course for starboard tack

Detailed description

Timer

The app has two timers: a main timer and a auxiliary timer.

Main Timer

To set the main timer, go to the menu and select "Timer Settings." Here you will be prompted to select one of the preset values ​​(5, 4, 3, or 2 minutes), set a precise start time (but no later than 24 hourы from the current time), or set a custom timer value.

The main timer is turned on and off using the standard Start/Stop buttons. You can reset the timer to its default setting using the Back button.

At any time, before turning on or while running, you can adjust the time to the nearest minute by pressing the Up or Down buttons. This allows you to synchronize the time with the timer on the referee's boat, for example, if the timer was started late.

The time is indicated by tone and vibration signals, which initially sound once per minute, then every 10 seconds starting at 60 seconds, and every second for the last ten seconds. These signals can be disabled using the "Sound" = Off and "Vibration" = Off configuration settings.

At the start (when the timer reaches 0:00), the time of day is recorded. This time will be displayed on the main screen if "Race Start Time" is selected for the "Bottom data field" setting.

The main timer has three possible modes of operation after the start, when the timer reaches 0:00: the timer turns off, the timer switches to stopwatch mode, and the timer restarts.

The timer switches to stopwatch mode if "Cont. after end" setting is selected. If this setting is enabled, the timer will count time begining from the start. This can be useful for determining how late the start is. It can also be used, in conjunction with the previous function, to determine the finish time in handicap races.

If the "Auto restart" mode is enabled, the timer restarts with the previous settings after reaching 0:00. This mode is useful when practicing starting procedures, especially when a crew starts multiple times.

Auxiliary Timer

To enable the auxiliary timer, change the "Bottom data field" setting to "Auxiliary timer" This timer is essentially a stopwatch that can be used in parallel with the main timer. It can be useful when you want to determine how far behind or ahead a competitor is at a mark in handicap races. To enable or disable this timer, press the Back button. The auxiliary stopwatch can only be used while the main timer is running.

Recording a Workout and GPS Track

The app allows you to record a workout, including a GPS track. The recording will be available on your smartphone and in your personal account at connect.garmin.com. If recording is enabled and in progress, the "REC" indicator will be green. Otherwise, it will be gray. If split recording is enabled, the indicator will be yellow while in standby mode (until you press the Start button again).

To save power, you can disable GPS track recording. This can be useful during long races or when the battery is low. The "Speedometer" screen will also not function.

The GPS receiver status is indicated by the "GPS" indicator on the main timer screen. Gray means the GPS receiver is disabled. Red means the satellite signal is poor and coordinates cannot be determined. Yellow means the signal is satisfactory. Green means the signal is good.

Two recording modes are available: single and split.

In the single mode, recording begins immediately after selecting "Start recording workout" in the app menu. Recording will end when you exit the app or select "Stop recording workout." Single recording is convenient for cruising or recording workouts.

However, a single recording is inconvenient during a regatta, as it will be difficult to distinguish where one race ends and the next begins during subsequent analysis. Therefore, a split recording mode was implemented. To select this mode, change the "Split recording" configuration parameter to "On." Then select the "Start Recording Workout" command. Recording will only begin physically after the timer starts (by pressing the Start button). Recording will end after the timer stops (by pressing the Stop button). Each subsequent press of the Start button will start a new recording. To exit this mode, select the "Stop Recording Workout" command in the application menu. The timer will also stop as with a single recording, when exiting the application.

Speedometer

The application has a second screen that displays the current speed in knots (SOG) and the vessel's true heading (COG). These values ​​are only available when the GPS receiver is enabled and at least satellite signal is satisfactorily (yellow GPS indicator).

To switch to this screen, select "Speedometer" in the app menu. It's also possible to switch to this screen automatically immediately after start race by enabling the "Auto switch to Speedometer" configuration option.

Speed ​​and heading data comes from the GPS receiver and may have anomalous deviations. To eliminate these random erroneous samples, a moving average algorithm with a 5-second averaging window is used.

You can save the current heading and speed for starboard (Down button) and port (Up button) tacks to later understand how much the wind changed, or how well the sailes are adjusted.

Saved values ​​will be displayed to the right or left of the current speed and heading values, respectively.

Reminder Function

The app has a feature that displays short text messages (15 characters) after pressing the Start and Stop buttons to remind you of certain required actions. For example, to turn on or off a video camera, etc. To change the text, select the "Reminders" menu item and then "Start Text" or "Stop Text" When typing, use the Start button to select a character and the Back button to delete the last character. To finish typing, select OK from the character list.

Other Settings

Two color schemes are available: dark and light.

Change History

ver. 1.7.2

    - "Start at exact time" can now be set within 24 hours

ver. 1.7.1

    - Changed fonts and colors of saved speed and course. Introduced new state for REC indicator to show Split recording in standby

ver. 1.7.0

    - New feature: Storing port and starboard speed and course to compare with the current

ver. 1.6.2

    - Fix: timer auto restart was not worked if "Cont. after end" is turned on.

ver. 1.6.1

    - Fixed not working menu for reminder stop text editing

ver. 1.6.0

    - New feature Reminder is added, changed the way to identify the current watch model

ver. 1.5.4

    - Added new supported watch models: fr255, fr255m, fr255s

ver. 1.5.3

    - Added new supported watch models: epix series, quatix 7 PRO, tactix 7

ver. 1.5.2

    - Fixed random SOG and COG values when GPS signal is weak. Added new watch models: fr255sm, fr745, fr945, fr945lte, instinct 3 amoled 45/50 

ver. 1.5.1

    - Fixed overlapped text when time is bigger 1 hour

ver. 1.5.0

    - Support touch screen operations to switch to Speedometer view or exit app

ver. 1.4.1, 1.4.2, 1.4.3 

    - Added new models of watches support (Fenix 7 family)

ver. 1.4.0

    - Added new feature "Start at exact time". It allows to set the exact time when start will happen.

ver. 1.3.1

    - Fixed bug when timer stops after time was corrected to zero during douwn counting mode.

ver. 1.3.0

    - Additional stopwatch is introduced.

ver. 1.2.1

    - Fixed fonts size on devices with display resolution larger than 240x240, e.g. fenix6 and fenix7.

ver. 1.2.0

    - Added new feature "Split recording". It allows to save GPS tracks and other statistics of different races separately.   

ver. 1.1.0

    - GPS is On by default

    - New screen Speedometer is added. It shows speed SOG and course COG. The values are average samples during last 5 sec to avoid abnormal measurements.