TwoNav is a navigation system with ideal tools to face demanding challenges like the Titan Desert.

Melcior Mauri and his team have been achieving successes for years, advising participants to fully enjoy the event and achieve the best results using TwoNav products.

In this article, we will review how the Titan Desert Morocco works, and we will see how TwoNav can help us get the most out of it.

Maps

Land and TwoNav allow loading a variety of maps. 

Analyzing the route on the map will allow us to better understand the area and even consider possible shortcuts during the race.

For the Morocco area, it is possible to install two interesting resources on any platform:

• OSM Morocco Map --> View online (TwoNav devices include it as a free download)
• Relief Morocco --> View on web

With the OSM map, we will see the main roads, river areas, populated areas...

With the relief map, we can see the terrain's topography.

Note: On TwoNav devices, reliefs are not displayed by default. You can enable the visualization from 'Settings > Activity Profiles > Map View > 3D Reliefs'

 

In Land or the TwoNav App, it is also possible to use online maps, which require internet ('Online Maps > World' contains maps from around the world, with topographic and aerial maps).

It's more difficult to have these online maps available during the race, but TwoNav users like Melcior Mauri usually have data prepared especially for the occasion, so we can achieve similar results loaded on TwoNav devices.

Organization Tracks

The organization provides the race tracks a week before.

These tracks are the reviewed routes that the organization recommends for the race. The safe path. But it's not mandatory to strictly follow those tracks. You can follow other paths, as long as you pass through the established checkpoints (CP).

For the starting and finishing sections, it is mandatory to follow the established track. These starting and finishing sections are marked with waypoints: WS and WPF.

That is to say, between the WS and WPF waypoints, for most of the route, the track is a reference but not mandatory to follow.

What is mandatory is to pass through the checkpoints (CP), which are not included in the track.

Checkpoints

One day before each stage, the organization will provide the checkpoints (CP) and water supply points (WATER) on a card like this one.

Usually, there are 4 checkpoints and 3 water supply points.

One of the checkpoints is the Ghost, which doesn't have a predetermined location the day before. Instead, they will provide it to us 1 hour before the start of the stage.

What do we do with these points with coordinates?

It's ideal to have them loaded on our GPS device so that we can use them as reference during the stage.

Loading Checkpoints on GPS

This can be done in 3 ways:

   A- Individual Waypoints

     

   B- Integrating these points into the track provided by the organization
     

   C- Creating a route solely with these waypoints

       

      In this case, similar to individual waypoints, we should always have the organization's track loaded as reference.

Next, we'll see how to perform each of these operations so that we can choose the one that suits us best.

A- Creating Individual Waypoints

This is the simplest way to have the checkpoints loaded on the device.

From the TwoNav device:

1. 'Menu > Waypoints'
2. Open the bottom menu and select 'New waypoint file'. We can name it after the stage.
3. Open the bottom menu and select 'New waypoint' > Coordinates
4. Enter the coordinates
5. Select name and icon
6. Repeat steps 3 to 6 for each of the checkpoints

B- Integrating Checkpoints into Provided Track

As soon as we have the coordinates of the checkpoints, we can add them directly to the track provided by the organization.

From the TwoNav device:

1. Load the organization's track.
2. 'Menu > Search > Coordinates'
3. Enter the coordinates of the point.
4. The point will be displayed on the screen. Open the bottom menu and select 'Show on map page'.
5. Long press on the point of the track that will remain in the center of the screen. The Pin Mode will open, with the selected point.
6. Open the bottom menu and select "Roadbook point here".
7. Select name and icon, and OK.
8. Repeat steps 2 to 7 for all checkpoints.

C- Creating Route with Waypoints

Land and TwoNav allow creating routes that don't have detailed tracing, but only waypoints, like the old RTE files.

To do this for the Titan Desert, you can follow these steps:

1. Create a route with provisional waypoints. 
   
   • How to create this type of track
     • See article for TwoNav
     • See article for Land
   • You can create these provisional points based on the track of each stage (See example video in Land)
   • This work can be done 'on-site' on the TwoNav device, but it can also be done the week before the event, from home on the computer with Land, leaving the entry of the final coordinates for the day before the stage (1 hour before in the case of the Ghost).
   • It is recommended that the position of the starting and ending points of our route be exactly the same as those of the WS and WPF points of the track provided by the organization. 
     Initial and final approach sections are made strictly following the track provided by the organization.
2. Correct the final coordinates of each point. When we receive the coordinates of the waypoints, the day before the stage (the Ghost 1 hour before), we will have to correct them in the route we created earlier.
   From the TwoNav device:
   1. 1. 'Menu > Routes'. If the route is not open, we open it by tapping on it.
      2. Expand its content by tapping on the left icon.
         
      3. Select the first point to change its coordinates.
         In this case, it will be WATER1, or CP1 (the initial point, Start, should already have correct coordinates because we created it on the WS waypoint of the organization's track)
         
      4. Modify the coordinates, and go back.
      5. Repeat the operation for each of the points.
         In the case of the Ghost CP, we won't be able to do it until one hour before the start.

Change the order? It may be that some of the points we created before knowing the coordinates have an incorrect order. For example, the first point may not be a supply point, or the Ghost may be before or after.

1. Long press on that point
2. Select 'Move up' or 'Move down'
3. The point will move in order 

Finding Shortcuts

As we mentioned, for most of the route, it's not mandatory to follow the organization's track. We only need to pass through the checkpoints. This means we can find alternative routes that save us time.

This can be done beforehand, by looking at maps to identify possible shortcuts in the route. Of course, it will be easier to do this work in Land, although the TwoNav device can also be useful on the ground, both to find alternatives and to follow those we identified earlier in Land.

For years, Melcior Mauri has been working with Land to analyze each stage and find possible shortcuts, which he then marks as new tracks and waypoints. In this way, his team has a very valuable resource during the race. When they reach a possible shortcut, they have an alert, and they can decide whether to follow the official track or the shortcut.

In recent versions, TwoNav has incorporated the functionality of Variants, which allows integrating this type of information into a single track, making the navigation process more comfortable and with more complete information.

In the following articles, you can find detailed information on how the variant system works:

• How to create variants in Land
• Using track variants in TwoNav 

Attention: Leaving the track recommended by the organization represents a risk, as there are no guarantees that this path is passable, or even dangerous. It may happen that we decide to take an alternative route and have to go back due to a problem. The Titan Desert is an adventure race, and each participant must decide the risks they take.

Navigation

During the stage, it's essential to have the track provided by the organization.

If, in addition, we have the waypoints with the checkpoints or even a route with the points ordered successively, we will have a valuable reference for orientation and to find possible shortcuts that save us time.

Then we have 2 options to establish our navigation in TwoNav. 

A- Navigate the organization's track

B- Navigate the track with waypoints

 

A- Navigate the organization's track

At the start of the stage, we choose to navigate the organization's track. Then that track will be our active navigation and will be highlighted in blue and white.

If we have added the checkpoints to the track, then we will see them on the map, and it will also indicate the remaining distance to the next point.

If, in addition, we have created a possible variant, the points of possible deviation will also be marked as waypoints.

Remember that in this article you have all the information about variant navigation in TwoNav.

If we deviate from the track, the route deviation alarm will sound. 

If we don't want to see it, we have 2 options:

• When the alarm pops up, click on it. Then it will no longer appear during that deviation.
• Disable the deviation alarm (Settings > Activity profiles > Alarms > Data fields > Route deviation)

B- Navigate the Track with Waypoints

At the start of the stage, we choose to navigate our track with the created waypoints. Then that track will be our active navigation, and it will be highlighted in blue and white.

A straight line to the next waypoint will be shown, and we will see the distance separating us from it.

When we reach a waypoint, the navigation will automatically jump to the next one.

If it doesn't, we can use the 'previous waypoint/next waypoint' buttons on the button bar.

It's necessary to have the organization's track as a visual reference, as the start and finish sections are mandatory, and it will also be a valuable visual reference.

 

 

Remember that the Titan Desert is an adventure race. TwoNav provides you with tools to enjoy it safely, but preparation and prudence are key to success. Additionally, having the support and advice of professionals like Melcior Mauri is highly recommended to make the most of the experience.