Facebook

Login

Support Sailonline

If you haven't already - join the SAILONLINE YACHT CLUB!

Please also consider making a donation - all amounts are greatly appreciated!

Board » Flag Officers » Race proposals » Bora experience

Just a thought. There could be some races that introduce SOLers to very specific types of local winds. As an example I made a little course in the Adriatic sea, which is well known for its bora winds.

There is a long list of local winds that could be used as the theme for similar races:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_local_winds

***

Bora tends to blow most strongly during the winter months and can reach speeds above 200 km/h. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bora_(wind)

This proposed race starts in Venice, turns around Cres island in front of Rijeka, and finishes at the seaport town of Ploče.
Something for SOLers that like to navigate between islands.

The course is about 270 NM. Could be done as a weekend race. Or as a timed race with a fast catamaran. Catching the right time window when bora winds set in would not be easy and some really fast times could be set in the right wind conditions.
Attachments
Zorba, thanks for proposal and thanks for made it virtual.
IRL, no one really wants "bora experience" :-)

Yes, there are stronger winds and much higher seas in the world, but what's specific here is nearly 2000 m high mountain range separating warm Mediterranean coast line from much colder inland.
Thus, especially in winter, when Genoa Low has passed eastward and cold Arctic air comes behind, it rushes down hillsides with gale force.
But the most dangerous is 'reful', a wind blast that falls from all the way above, hits surface and spreads in any direction from NW to SE, without any warning or sign. In 150-160 km/h NE 'bura', such blast can easily reach over 200 km/h. On sea, that rip off sails, break mast or capsize boat.
So, the only reasonable action IRL, when hurricane 'bura' is forecasted, is to find a good shelter along SW coast of some island, double and secure your moorings, go down to the galley and open a bottle of some excelent Dalmatian red wine, and for the next 24-48 hours listen the wind screaming through shrouds.
Virtually, this should be fun, with just one more thing...

I'm strongly suggesting to move finish line from Ploče (not so exciting port town) to the other side of Pelješac peninsula and a bit further, in front of Dubrovnik city walls.
That way we got a race that also connects two jewels of the Adriatic!
Ibis redibis numquam in mare peribis
Excellent suggestion for Dubrovnik finish. That's where more local knowledge is useful. I will adapt the route accordingly.
As for real Bora experience, I have seen some videos and it looks really rough. But that's one of the advantages of virtual sailing races, we can do routes that would be highly dangerous, if not impossible to do, IRL.

Please login to post a reply.

Races

Next Race: 00d 00h 00m


Current Races:

Tall Ships Races 2025 - Le Havre to Dunkirk


Welcome to the first of four virtual Tall Ships Races in European waters which are concurrently being organized in-real-life by Sail Training International . The course for this first race is between the French ports of Le Havre and Dunkirk; circa 125nm in Sailonline’s magnificent 90m Barque.
NOTE: Starts and Finishes in tall ships racing are always offshore to avoid conflict with shipping and shipping lanes; online and real-life may not match exactly.
Race #1923
INFO by brainaid.de
Barque 90m PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: TS - SYC
Race starts: Jul 07th 16:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Red Eye - Key Lime Pie-gatta 2025

Opposite the Bahamas at the tip of the Florida peninsula, we find the Florida Keys, a honky-tonk arpeggio of islands, where another SOL classic, the Key Lime Pie-gatta, so-called after the famous local condensed-milk-based tart speciality, awaits to be navigated once again. We’ll race its “Red Eye” 180nm in very-American Santa Cruz 52s, ignoring such artefacts as bridges, causeways and piers joining the keys one to the other and to the mainland!
Race #1846
INFOby brainaid.de
Santa Cruz 52 PARTICULARS
NAM_AWIP WX Updates:
0245 / 0845 / 1445 / 2045
Ranking: SYC - RED
Race starts: Jul 02nd 12:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Sail Around Turkey 2025


Welcome to the 11th running of one of Sailonline's most iconic races, where our fleet races the length of the Turkish coastline from Hopa (the easternmost harbour on Turkey’s Black Sea coast) to Iskenderun (the easternmost harbour on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast). It’s a 1,372nm race and aboard our classic, 1st decade of the 21st Century, version 2 IMOCA 60, you should be able to get around the course in less than a week. That is if, of course, once you get out of the Black Sea you don’t stop to enjoy the sights or a BBQ or two in the Golden Horn, or on the Marble Islands, now land-locked Troy or Gallipoli or any of the myriad Aegean islands, that you shall have to carefully navigate past.
Race #1930
INFOfrom brainaid.de
IMOCA 60 v2 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC
Race starts: Jun 27th 15:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Go to race archive

SYC Ranking

  1. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CriticalHippo
  2. Sailonline Yacht Club Member KaSToR
  3. Sailonline Yacht Club Member WRmirekd
  4. Sailonline Yacht Club Member FreyjaUSA
  5. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rafa
  6. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Kipper1258
  7. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rumskib
  8. Sailonline Yacht Club Member BRENTGRAY
  9. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Patrick70119
  10. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CollegeFund

View full list

Series

Mobile Client

SYC members have the benefit of access to our mobile/lightweight web client!

The mobile client