Frequently Asked Questions

Unfortunately there are two issues with Garmin watches that prevent us from supporting them:

• LTE connectivity: Only the very top-end (and very expensive) Garmin watches have LTE capability. Without LTE, the watch cannot send live position updates to the tracking server - it would need to be paired with a phone, which defeats the purpose of standalone watch tracking.
• Foreground-only apps: Even on Garmin watches that do have LTE, apps can only do live tracking when running in the "foreground". This means the tracker would need to take over the entire watch screen while sailing, preventing you from using your watch for other things like race timing.

In contrast, Apple Watch and Wear OS watches allow apps to track in the background while you use other watch features. For these reasons, we don't plan to port Windsurfer Tracker to the Garmin ecosystem at this stage.

Windsurfer Tracker currently supports:

• iPhone: iOS 15 or later
• Apple Watch: watchOS 9 or later (with cellular or paired to iPhone)
• Android phones: Android 8.0 or later
• Wear OS watches: Wear OS 3.0 or later (with LTE)

See the support page for info on the Windsurfer Tracker support forum. Post a message there asking to create an event or contact Andrew Tridgell directly.

You will need to provide a name and description of the event, a location, an admin password and a tracking password.

Not at this stage for the main wstracker.org site, but if you have a different community that you would like to support then please get in touch and we can discuss.

We would at minimum need someone from that community willing to take on the admin and support load, preferably someone familiar with web development.

Search for "waterproof phone pouch" on Amazon - you can find pouches that work well for under $10.

If you want a really high quality pouch then we highly recommend the Vaikobi phone cases as they are double sealed and very well made.

The cheapest option is to use an old phone you may have from when you upgraded in the past, or ask friends or relatives if they have an old phone they don't use anymore.

You can also get a new phone from places like Woolworths for $49 - search for the Telstra T-Essential phone. Sites like Reebelo have refurbished phones at good prices. If buying a better phone, look for one that supports eSIMs so you can use a cheap travel SIM.

You can also get Apple and Google watches second-hand from lots of places, but if getting a watch make sure it has LTE (often called "Cellular" in the listing).