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Board » General Discussion » New Blog Site for SOLers



Announcing the opening of solfans.org -- a new blog site by and for SOL fans.
The site will offer in-depth looks at SOL-related subjects including:
-- routers and routing
-- race strategy
-- weather impact
-- VMG/VMC tactics
-- PERF calculations
-- and more....
The site administrators are kroppyer and javakeda.

SOLers who blog, or would like to blog, are invited to become contributors. The solfans crew can help you with the mechanics of getting that first post published.

All SOLers are invited to check out the articles at
solfans.org
Two new blog posts went up today.

Kroppyer posted a guide to his SailOnLine Performance Calculator. The calculator helps skippers determine the PERF cost of a tack or gybe.

My post shows how WINSTON saved time at the end of The Vineyard race by using a VMC heading. Easy to do if you know how.

Check them both out at solfans.org.
In case you haven't noticed, new posts have been published. outlaw started a series, SOL Sailing School, which you should surely check out.

solfans.org

--- Last Edited by kroppyer at 2014-12-04 10:38:32 ---
Excellent ! Thanks for the heads up, and of course thanks to outlaw for sharing a bit of his knowledge to people like me (ever rookie solers)
Another heads up: If you haven't already, check out the new posts on solfans.org. Two amazing, technical race reports from a SOTP view, and outlaw explains more about using VMC, methods that are (in my mind) essential to fully understand small- and midscale racing.

If you have any questions about the posts, don't hesitate to ask, here or on solfans, in the chat or any other way.
More very useful posts as ever: thanks for running this, chaps.

Is this the place to post requests for future articles? (If not, then ignore the rest of this...)

In the excellent intro to qtvlm, the 'final word' section refers to the need for interpretation of the routing created. I was wondering if there could be a follow-up to this guide, showing what is meant by this, what to be looking for, what potential traps blindly following a routing may lead one into, etc.


Many thanks!
Excellent point :) I was (and still am) planning to write more about using QtVLM.

Interpreting the routing results (in combination with other data/forecasts/pilots) is something I don't fully master. I'd be winning more if I did. But I will try and expand on the 'defects' routers have, and what information you can get out of a routing other than the supposed fastest route.
These were really great reads, thank you
outlaw gives some insight in interpreting and understanding router output, here. In this case it's BWR's output, but it'll help you with QtVLM too.

I still hope I find the time to write a follow up on using QtVLM (as I said above), but at least you now have outlaws post to help you with the isochrones :)

--- Last Edited by kroppyer at 2015-01-23 00:02:51 ---

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Welcome to Kuwait for a short 78 nm TIMED race from the port of Doha (not to be confused with Doha, Qatar) to Basra, Iraq. Jazirat Light on Auha Island is the only mark to observe, leaving it to port. The Beneteau First 40.7v2 racer-cruiser is our ride this month. This is a TIMEDrace so you may RE-REGISTER HEREto try again after finishing a run. You will have 13 days and 11 hours to test your skill and decision making after the race opens.
Race #2008
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Sailonline is proud to once again partner with the San Diego Yacht Club for the annual Islands Race! This iconic offshore challenge spans approximately 140 nautical miles, starting in Long Beach, rounding the Catalina Islands, and finishing in San Diego. Shifting coastal winds and tactical island roundings will test every sailor’s judgment and nerve.

This year, our SOLers will race the Ker 40, a proven high-performance design by Jason Ker and built by McConaghy Boats. Fast, responsive, and demanding, the Ker 40 rewards precision and smart strategy. The competition will be tight. Every decision will count. See you on the start line!
Race #2009
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Cross the Convergence 2026 - Samoa to Hawaii


The second race of our new series of ocean voyages across the World’s convergence zones, takes us northward again up the Pacific Ocean, now from Samoa at 13.5 degrees South, across the Equator to Hawaii, famed for its breaking surf and active volcanoes, on the edge of the Tropic of Cancer at 19.5 degrees North. It’s 2300nm, so we’ll take our very steady Steinlager II. Race #1982
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Beketov by Balloon 2026 - In Siberia


Way-back-when France and England, and Spain as well, were squabbling about who should control what of North America, only to lose the most of it to their own insurging colonists, their eastern European neighbour empire, Russia, was quietly assimilating vast, thinly nomadically populated territory of its own – Siberia! Amongst the many explorers and adventurers that served Russia so well in these conquests was the Cossack hetman Pyotr Beketov. Let’s pretend we’re he and eschewing horseback, let’s travel by balloon from Yekaterinberg to Krasnoyarsk – just a short 2000km (1100nm) section of the Trans-Siberian Express’ 9289km!
Race #1972
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West Papua to Oregon 2026

Our next race in our Ocean Championships is the first of a series of great natural migrations we will track in 2026. The leatherback turtle is the most widely distributed marine reptile on planet Earth, and chooses to breed in warm tropical waters, but prefers to forage in more temperate habitats, travelling thousands and thousands of miles effortlessly annually to maintain this way of life. Our race will follow one of the typical trips of this turtle, from breeding grounds in the seas off West Papua to the coast of Oregon. It’s only 5900nm, so to keep up, but in comfort, we’ll follow in our Gunboat 90.
Race #2006
INFO by brainaid.de
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Race starts: Feb 02nd 11:00 Registration Closed
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