An introduction to MTS / Boat Track
Although small, we are a long-established UK company based in Portsmouth, with maritime customers all over Europe, and a handful even further away. We believe this is because we offer a very efficient Marine Tracking System at very attractive prices, and we are certain our many 'long term' customers would agree. Our two principals Andy and Christine have both been involved in data communications since the early nineties and were a major part of the team that developed Turbo Track and Turbo Dispatch, still used today by UK police and motoring organisations to communicate incident information electronically to VROs (vehicle recovery operators) .
In 2007 we both retired as directors from Mobile Tracking Systems (then industry leaders in parts of the emergency services) to enjoy semi-retirement and a 'bit of boating'. We also started Boat Track to help our fellow sailor friends get a quality system at a sensible price. Of course, those friends told their friends, who told their friends, and before too long it was a small family business again!
''Captain' Andy in the captain’s seat on the bridge of USS Enterprise (CVN-65) probably saying "make it so"
'Number One' Christine proudly operating in Boat Track's first purpose-build control centre around 2007
Boat Track has been around for close on twenty years — a little history
Our original GPS trackers did not use the internet, as it just was not reliable enough; instead, they used a PMR Radio Network-based system called Mobitex. Typical cost back then was around £350 for the tracker, and the monthly airtime was around £33 per month. The units were built to our design by our associates Phoenix Systems UK in Fareham.
They were very bulky by today’s standards, and had to have external aerials for both GPS and the wireless networks. Location updates were a single fix every 5 minutes when moving, and every two hours when not. Fortunately, costs have plummeted since then, and the internet (while not perfect), with the right checking software, now does the job as well and much cheaper than Mobitex did.
Our first stand-alone tracker manufactured in Fareham around 1998
The first boat we fitted a tracker to back in 2004
Our customers range from RIB weekend sailors to captains of million-pound motor cruisers
The majority of our customers are just boating enthusiasts or RIB operators running sightseeing tours, etc., but we also have a number of charter fleet operators and the odd celebrity. For example, when the late Brian Angliss (of AC Cars fame) purchased the former Isles of Scilly Arun lifeboat to take out to his new home in New Zealand, it was us he came to for his trackers.
Likewise, when in 2013 Dan Stevens discovered, languishing in a Majorca boatyard, Richard Branson's iconic Virgin Atlantic Challenger II, he decided it had to be saved, and to do this he hatched a plan to make it seaworthy enough to get it back to Seahawk Workboats yard in Plymouth, where it could be properly restored. To allow the press and others to follow this somewhat uncertain trip of some 1,500 nautical miles, he fitted a Boat Track unit so everyone could follow the journey.
We have worked on, or advised on, projects with, amongst others, the National Physical Laboratory, Southampton Port Authority, National Crime Agency, and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, along with supporting various marine charities' fundraising attempts.
Isles of Scilly Lifeboat 52-18 Robert Edgar in New Zealand
Virgin Atlantic Challenger II after being rescued
Why us? We may not be a big operator, but we do know what we are doing.
We hope that this very brief history gives you a chance to see that, although we are not a big multi-national company, we are more experienced than most when it comes to tracking your vessel. Also, you can see we haven't just come on to the scene — we've been involved with using GPS for asset tracking since its earliest days. Perhaps best of all, our customers appreciate us enough to recommend us to their friends.