lustyd
Well-Known Member
To be fair, they are required to ensure data is up to date or to remove it. This is partly why cg66 was closed as it couldn’t/wouldn’t comply with modern data protection laws.
RYA SafeTrx Is Closing Down 31 December 2025
- Thread starter RunAgroundHard
- Start date
ylop
Well-Known Member
They must know how many times it has initiated a rescue. I suspect very few - the type of person who uses it are the type of person who has multiple means of calling for help so almost never gets to shore contact reporting overdue as the first trigger.
ylop
Well-Known Member
Did they ever say essential or was that your emphasis.
Interestingly I’ve never heard them do that but if 10 yrs in they are having to do it - perhaps it’s evidence that it wasn’t really fit for modern boating?
Was CG66 withdrawn because of Safetrx or was Safetrx partially introduced because CG66 had to go? I’m not sure CG66 or the database of boats in Safetrx is really a “safety system” - knowing my boat has blue spray hood and sail bag and carries a life raft isn’t going to tell them much. Perhaps if they find my boat washed up ashore it might give them contact details for me. But I’m generally a bit sceptical that a database of inevitably patchy boat details is actually that amazing.
And yes nobody has since has a problem contacting HMCG on Ch16! It’s almost like the boating community gets upset about changes that actually cause no harm!
No public money as far as I know, but if you are annoyed it is going it’s hard to argue it wasn’t a good use of the funds for the 10 yrs it was there!
That we can be certain of!
I’ve never used a bingo/gaming app in my life. I’ve not made the comparison - but building apps and maintaining them is resource intensive. Someone has to pay for that. This was a commercial product the RYA licensed in. They have decided to discontinue it. If you are annoyed RYA member by all means tell them how sad you are and that you want them to make a replacement. If you aren’t a member then like all free things - nobody owes it to you to keep providing for free!
I have no idea how you were supposed to hear about it. Have you asked the people you have a contract with? The details are in the license agreement within the app.
Certainly a valid concern although it may be that protecting that data is what makes it hard for them to message you.
are you going to be unable to go boating on Jan 2nd without an app watching over you?
Why does it need anything?
I think AIS is probably a better tool! But if your objective is just to share your location with a loved one there are multiple options:
- what’s app lets you share your location for a fixed period of time
- google maps lets you share your location indefinitely or for a fixed period
- navionics app lets you share location (and possibly planned route?) with others, may require a subscription
I am sure there are others. The only feature of the passage plans not available elsewhere is the overdue “escalation” text messages which I think is a good feature but is clunky when in poor signal areas.
The days of people going to sea and not speaking to a loved one until they come ashore and find a phone box are over.
AIS is not mandatory. It will only be useful if someone is looking for you / knows you might be overdue. A PLB might be a better tool for alerting your need for help, or the latest phones (and even some watches) now have satellite SOS capability. But of course that won’t help if you have been taken unwell of knocked out (actually some of the watches claim to detect if you are motionless but perhaps won’t work at sea?)
I’ve never met anyone who relied on Safetrx - my guess is perhaps 20% of leisure boaters were using it some of the time. The last time I did an RYA course, with experienced sailors about half had heard of it but none had used it except me. The only people I know who actually use it religiously are a group of sea kayakers. A group not even within the RYA remit!
I think you are mislabeling Safetrx as though it was some amazing safety system when it was a basic log of vessel details, a location tracker and some crude rules for escalating. Perhaps its most powerful feature was the way they handled privacy by not giving any of that info to HMCG until a problem was escalated - but I don’t know who was particularly worried about sharing that with UK CG anyway.
jwilson
Well-Known Member
I have never used Safetrx as a ".... tell somone I'm overdue" service, nor do I call the CG and tell them I'm setting off from X towards Y as I know a few people do. However I have always thought that a CG accessible database of basic boat details and a decent photo would be useful, hence putting my boat and personal data into CG66 and then Safetrx.
ylop
Well-Known Member
I know a number of people here probably think the same as you (and I've met some in real life).
I'm struggling a bit to picture the situation where that would make a real difference; it doesn't stop them asking you for all the information when you call them with a problem. Perhaps it helps if a boat washes up on the shore?
Lucky Duck
Well-Known Member
If your shore contact called in but didn’t know the specifics of the boat in question then there would be some value?
Never Grumble
Well-Known Member
I downloaded the App when it first started but a couple of weeks ago I deleted it mainly because I had never used it and the couple of times I had tried to use it struggled with it.
ylop
Well-Known Member
It might, but would they know enough to mean the CG could confidently identify it?
dunedin
Well-Known Member
You didn’t need the app to set up the boat and contact details on the database (CG66 replacement) - many of us did that using the web screens instead of the app.
The app was only needed for the voyage tracking function. And deleting the app will not (I would expect) have deleted your boat records from the database.
ylop
Well-Known Member
I assume people have now received an email? I have.
lustyd
Well-Known Member
Not that I can see, what address was it from?
ylop
Well-Known Member
hello (at) email . rya . org . uk
Mine arrived mid afternoon.
It starts:
Dear user,
According to our records you are somebody who has actively used the sail plan or track only mode in RYA SafeTrx. For this reason we are giving you advance notice that RYA’s SafeTrx (the UK version of the Safetrx app), will be closing at the end of this year.
According to our records you are somebody who has actively used the sail plan or track only mode in RYA SafeTrx. For this reason we are giving you advance notice that RYA’s SafeTrx (the UK version of the Safetrx app), will be closing at the end of this year.
Perhaps they are messaging people in batches depending on use pattern?
dunedin
Well-Known Member
So perhaps only emailing people who used the tracking function, not the people who only added details to the database?
Goldie
Well-Known Member
That seems to be the case with me, certainly.
SaltyC
Well-Known Member
Agreed. I do not expect an e mail. Filled in the data base but felt safetrx was for small boats near base.
I felt I may invoke false calls being out of phone signal so never used tge tracking.
RunAgroundHard
Well-Known Member
I can imagine SafeTrx being a significant hassle, as over due boats have well meaning contacts reporting them overdue to the CG, when, in the majority of time, there was no issue. Who would want a system like that, in an organization that needs to improve productivity and lower costs.
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Plum
Well-Known Member
I have the app, an account and have entered boat details but never used the tracking function. No email received.
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dunedin
Well-Known Member
But I think you match what I said - per the information in post #52, as you have never used the tracking function they would not have included you in that mailing.
Dellquay13
Well-Known Member
I had a cg66 then a SafeTrx file. I always thought it most useful if I or more probably my partner could only get the DSC red button call out in distress, without the voice call to follow. As part of our safety plan if I go overboard, I have always stressed to her the most important part of a distress call is the red button, spending minutes down below on the radio could be fatal, so just reach down the companionway and press the red button while keeping an eye on me in the water. The radio will probably get lively with calls from the coastguard, but if I’m MOB, I told her to prioritise getting the boat back to me, over answering their questions. If possible just call back with something simple like “this is yacht Foxtrot, man overboard!” and leave the radio again. The coastguard should be able to cross reference our mmsi to our SafeTrx info.
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LittleSister
Well-Known Member
On the plus side, I had thought a while ago I needed to update my entry (including changed email address) on there, now I don't! 