Two of our websites are blogs charting the progress of two sailing yachts Jalan-Jalan and SY Concerto. Almost simultaneously, they each requested the facility to have people track their progress.
Using the Google map protocol and a combination of php and kml scripts this was embedded in a blog page.
There are a number of options which can be utilised in tracking depending on the number of co-ordinates that are in the code. In open waters it can be set up as a “track” but with coast hopping, it is better ste up as a number of points – otherwise one can have the track going over land – never a good thing with a yacht.

Although, the skippers forward the co-ordinates to me for uploading, this can be done simply by the crews – providing the co-ordinates are written in a specific fashion – and uploaded using ftp.

See where Jalan-Jalan and SY Concerto are currently.