Since he was 8 years old, the Belgian Skipper Gaëtan Thomas has never stopped sailing. Whether on superyachts, fishing boats or charter yachts, he has always taken advantage of every opportunity to take the sea.
After completing several solo sailings, Gaëtan Thomas took the reins of the Garmin Team during the 2017-18 edition of the prestigious Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. For the first time in his career, the young sailor led a team in a round-the-world race. A mission he accomplished with brio as Team Garmin finished in 4th place!
The boats of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race are equipped with TIMEZERO for the management of navigation and the implementation of race strategies. Gaëtan Thomas masters the software and the tools on his fingertips.
This year, he is back with a new challenge for November 2021: a solo circumnavigation on board his Class 40. He welcomed us aboard the “Be a Drop” to explain to us how he uses the TIMEZERO software for his navigations. Moreover, he presents the main features he uses regularly such as the Routing module, the display of weather data or the display of AIS targets around the boat.
Why do you use TIMEZERO software for your navigations?
The software is very useful because in a few clicks and marks, you can see where you are, what is the distance to go, what’s the baring to waypoints, how long to get there.
You can see targets like other boats, big tankers or fishing vessels. You can see how long you might intercept within like closest point of approach or at what time you are going to be at the closest point with that vessel.
How do you use the software during a regatta?
One of the best when you are racing, is obviously that we want to be as fast as possible all the time, on the best route. So, we’ve got one of the module on TIMEZERO, is the Routing module. You download basically some weather data and then on the side you have an Excel sheet explaining your target winds with such winds in such angles. The software will find for you the best routes, the quickest one. That is something we use it all the time!
If you want to race, it’s really important to get a tool, a software to get you as fast as possible. I really suggest TIMEZERO, it’s really easy to understand and it will not take long to manage.
Discover the presentation of Gaëtan Thomas and his complete interview in video below:
If you want to follow our TIMEZERO Ambassador Gaëtan Thomas, please feel free to visit his blog:
To learn more about TZ Navigator, the navigation software used by the Skipper Gaëtan Thomas, we invite you to visit our video tutorials page available for free here:
