Built to solve what’s missing, we made it
Our Mission
to revolutionize sailing by transforming raw boat data into insights and even foresight. We empower sailors to make better decisions, sail faster, and connect more deeply with their journeys—and with each other.
At Smartboatia, we believe sailing should be smarter, safer, and more sustainable. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and building a community of sailors, we’re not just enhancing the sailing experience; we’re also contributing to a better future for our oceans.
This is our story, but it’s also just the beginning.
Together, let’s sail smarter and make every mile count.
Benny Pieritz
How It Started
In late fall 2019, Sina, our two little kids, and I set off on a world circumnavigation. Out on the open ocean, with our minds finally free from the rat race, we got a bit frustrated with our navigation instruments. They provided real-time data—but that was it. No trends, no patterns, no context.
We had to figure everything out ourselves. Is the wind shifting gradually? Should we leave the whisker pole up or take it down? Are our trim adjustments actually improving performance, or is the boat just reacting to changing conditions? The data was all there, but it was locked away.
With my background in digitizing and optimizing manufacturing processes, I couldn’t stop asking myself: Why doesn’t this exist for sailboats? What if we could transform the raw data boats already generate into actionable insights—not just for navigation, but to help us sail smarter, faster, and even share meaningful moments with others?
That idea stuck with me. I started building a simple software prototype. Then, the pandemic hit. We were moored in Florida at the time, and it became clear our circumnavigation had to end—at least for now.
By passionate Sailors and technology enthusiasts
To get the boat back across the Atlantic, I teamed up with Hartmut, a seasoned sailor who had recently won the Double-Handed North Atlantic Ocean Racing Trophy. His experience made him the perfect person to put my prototype to the test.
At first, he was skeptical. But after a week at sea, something changed. He came to me and asked why the “Smart Boat Thing” wasn’t reachable—it had become a tool he relied on.
During that crossing, we tested and refined the prototype together. Some ideas worked, others didn’t, but the potential was unmistakable. Hartmut’s growing enthusiasm made me realize this could be something other sailors would find valuable too.
Still hundreds of miles west of the Azores, I emailed my friend Burkhardt, a professor of Data Science at Leuphana University in Germany. Burkhardt is an entrepreneur, a data enthusiast, and, most importantly, a passionate sailor. I briefly described my idea and asked if he knew of any students who might want to help.
By the time we made landfall in Germany, I pitched the full concept to him. He was hooked. So much so that we co-founded Smartboatia together in April 2021.
Smartboatia Gmbh
Est. Travemünde, Germany, 2021
Find out more about the