Comparison

Sailor vs Around the Sticks

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Sailor

This app connects sailing clubs and their members, providing access to club information, event schedules, and real-time racing updates. Members can view location and contact details for clubs across Australia and receive program and booking information directly on their phones.

Highlights
  • Connects sailing clubs and members
  • Club location and contact details
  • Event program and booking access
  • Real-time racing information
  • Message function for updates
Features
Read full description

Sailor connects sailing clubs and their members. Sailors can view location and contact details for clubs across Australia. Clubs subscribed to MySailingClub.com.au can provide their members and visitors with access to their program of events and booking details directly on the member's phone. Clubs can keep sailors updated with real-time racing information and reminders for social events via the message function.

About

Around the Sticks

This yacht racing app provides essential navigation data like mark bearing, distance, and steering angles. It's designed for autonomous race conditions, minimizing user input so you can focus on sailing. Never get lost on the course again with its intuitive interface and offline capabilities.

Highlights
  • Autonomous race condition optimization
  • Offline internet connection required
  • One-touch race mode
  • Proximity mode for mark turns
  • Race start timer with sync signals
  • Custom mark and course creation
  • Pre-loaded and expandable course database
Features
Read full description

Around the Sticks is a richly featured yacht racing course app, providing clear and concise information on mark bearing, distance, shape of turn, side to pass and steering angle relative to mark. Optimized to perform autonomously in race conditions, the app requires very little user inputs, leaving you free to concentrate on the racing. Never get lost out on course again! Key features include: -Designed specifically for use in race conditions, and operated through a waterproof casing. Phone will not go idle whilst racing, rather the screen will dim and can be awakened by tapping anywhere on the screen (user settable) to save battery. -No internet connection is required whilst racing. -Buttons on main screen are automatically locked to prevent accidental activation. -One touch race: Once race is started (either with race timer or manually), no further inputs are needed from the user (if all mark positions are known to the app) mark rounding is automatic and the target moves automatically to the next mark. Laid marks, (without set/known coordinates) can be incorporated into courses to maintain the sequential structure. In these cases, once rounded an easily activated manual advance option advances to the next mark. -The main screen includes a link to course description, progress through the course, clear and easy to read bearing to and distance to, name and picture of the next mark, the side it must be left to, plus the name of the following mark of the course. Speed Across Ground and VMG to the mark are also included on the main screen. -Once near (distance user settable) to the next mark, proximity mode is activated. The shape of the turn and the bearing to the following mark are pre-emptively displayed, allowing the crew to prepare for the turn -Race start timer with sync signals for 5, 4 and 1 minutes to start, a user-settable timer button and clear audio cues. This can be used to trigger the start of a course within the app, or as a stand-alone feature -Clear help captions help explain features when you're getting started. Tap on a feature to display a caption explaining its function. Once you're familiar with the app, captions can be disabled in user settings -Create and store your own marks and courses, either by entering co-ordinates or "pinging" current location. User courses can be compiled with a combination of existing and custom marks, in a few moments. Ideal for race days where you're handed a new course at the last minute. It's also easy to enter into the app the entire course list for your club at the start of the season, so any course you may require is instantly accessible -Around the Sticks comes pre-loaded with marks and courses from Melbourne, Australia, this database will be extended regularly to include more territories/clubs, and stay tuned for course sharing options between users.. -Warning: As with all navigation apps, continued use of GPS may drain the battery life faster than normal. It is recommended that the app's easy to use timed screen dimming feature is activated to minimize this.

Screenshots

Sailor4 screens
Around the Sticks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sailor at Free against Around the Sticks's $10.99. Sailor also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.0). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Sailor is free to download; Around the Sticks costs $10.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Sailor versus Around the Sticks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSailorAround the Sticks
PriceFree — better$10.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews—83.3% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB33 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperNorthstar Technologies IncTim Metherall

Customer experience

Sailor

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Around the Sticks

Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

None

Sailor

No in-app purchases

None

Around the Sticks

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sailor free?
Sailor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Around the Sticks free?
Around the Sticks costs $10.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Sailor or Around the Sticks have ads?
Neither Sailor nor Around the Sticks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sailor or Around the Sticks?
Sailor ships an update monthly, and Around the Sticks monthly. Most recently, Sailor was updated on November 9, 2026 and Around the Sticks on November 6, 2026.

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