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 » Practice Racing » General Practice Race Notes

Page: 1 2 3 Next

Posted by
newsartist


Users avatar

Posts
41
Registered at
2009-08-20 03:01:55
2010-06-27 13:59:29 - General Practice Race Notes
Post annotated by RainbowChaser :
This thread was moved from the category Races.
I wanted to respond to Glynnwi's very good race suggestion without hiding RC's current Notice of Race.

A thread that is non-race-specific is good anyway!

My thoughts are that races should be laid out with options that can be chosen at the last minute based on actual winds.

In this case, Mark 5 could be announced after the Practice Race Start to shorten the course, and Mark 4 could be substituted as an alternate Finish.


--- Last Edited by newsartist at 2010-06-27 14:00:17 ---
Posted by
newsartist


Users avatar

Posts
41
Registered at
2009-08-20 03:01:55
2010-06-27 14:13:08 - Re: General Practice Race Notes
General course guidelines(?):

-The Start needs to be where new racers can join easily.

-The "Practice Race Course" should avoid the Actual Race Course to avoid confusing us, and the actual racers.

-Distance and direction, based on expected winds, should include a beat into the wind if possible.

-If possible, one or more legs should be unburdened by land. This allows multiple tactics and avoids boring 'follow the leader' situations.

-The Finish should be at a natural 'trap' to keep boats close, if people finish on DC's.

Races should end with the plan to let future races 'drift' toward new and interesting waters.

Your thoughts please?
Posted by
glynn


Users avatar

Posts
5
Registered at
2009-11-24 07:16:27
2010-06-27 15:51:05 - Re: General Practice Race Notes
newsartist said @ 2010-06-27 13:59:29:
I wanted to respond to Glynnwi's very good race suggestion without hiding RC's current Notice of Race.

A thread that is non-race-specific is good anyway!

My thoughts are that races should be laid out with options that can be chosen at the last minute based on actual winds.

In this case, Mark 5 could be announced after the Practice Race Start to shorten the course, and Mark 4 could be substituted as an alternate Finish.


--- Last Edited by newsartist at 2010-06-27 14:00:17 ---
my idea was to get away from using boats that have no consequence of hitting them when there is a hundred isles that can be raced around properly.i don't see any point in racing around an open bay when there is real isles in reach.even if it means missing one days practice in favour of heading in one direction dc setting to get the isles.to race properly
Posted by
RainbowChaser


Users avatar

Posts
2656
Registered at
2009-06-14 09:44:50
2010-06-27 16:12:56 - Re: General Practice Race Notes
Good thread news - here are my comments (in italic)

-The Start needs to be where new racers can join easily.

Agree. The first start should always either be the SOL Start or a point v close to it so as many as possible can join in

-The "Practice Race Course" should avoid the Actual Race Course to avoid confusing us, and the actual racers.

Agree in principle but there may be races where this isn't possible.

-Distance and direction, based on expected winds, should include a beat into the wind if possible.

Agree - several have suggested triangular courses as being most fun, and IRL racing usually starts into wind.

-If possible, one or more legs should be unburdened by land. This allows multiple tactics and avoids boring 'follow the leader' situations.

Not sure about this. Some areas where we race are dotted with super little islands. The Mark boats simply give us some flexibility when there aren't many islands available.

-The Finish should be at a natural 'trap' to keep boats close, if people finish on DC's.

Agree - and the finish, as svein suggested the other night should be shown to 4decimal places, even when it is a natural "trap".

Races should end with the plan to let future races 'drift' toward new and interesting waters.

Yes and no. We don't have to practice race every night if there are several nights available. Cruising to a better location and leaving at a fixed time or under our own steam makes a break. Racing every day could get a little wearisome and sightseeing is fun too!!

Posted by
ivar-sails-no-more


Users avatar

Posts
8
Registered at
2010-02-04 22:24:21
2010-06-27 18:43:45 - Re: General Practice Race Notes
I like the idea of having some open water to experiment with courses and polars. Boats marking islands when needed, why not? Would like to see a race every night, so people can join in when they have time for it. Could there be a fixed line of tekst saying there is a practice race at 18.00, something like below
Race starts: Jul 03rd 09.00
Practice races every night at 18.00

Could make the word "Practice race" a link in bleu to an explanation of what practice races are.

Anyone have ideas of how about to have more clearity in finisching times? Or do we keep Boinking hahaha
Posted by
javakeda


Users avatar

Posts
73
Registered at
2013-03-01 03:18:22
2013-04-11 21:47:11 - Practice Race Rules
During today's PR, there was a lively chat about rules, and how they should be applied in a practice race. I suggest the chat raised a number of valid issues that bear further discussion:

Issue #1: It seems to me there are at least two 'goals' for Practice Races:

a) helping 'newbies' become familiar with the SOL client;
b) allowing all skippers time to practice sailing the boat that will be used in the main race.

That suggests to me that there could be two boat classes in the PRs [novice and experienced]. That would allow different rules for each class.

Issue #2: To what extent should the PR rules comply with or differ from the "real life" rules of yacht-racing?

Here is a three-tiered answer:

1) The rules of the main race should comply with the "real life" rules of racing -- unless there is a specific and compelling reason to the contrary.

2) The rules for 'experienced skippers' in the practice race should comply with the rules of the main race -- again, unless there is a specific and compelling reason to the contrary.

3) The rules for 'novice skippers' may be modified, and penalties for mistakes may be reduced, in order to encourage [hearten?] novice skippers.

NOTE: In this view, novice and experience skippers compete for different podiums [podia?]. It should not be possible for a novice skipper to "win" a PR if they did not comply with the rules that apply to experienced skippers.

Issue #3: To what extent should the PR rules accommodate the needs of those who are not sailing "hands-on" and are changing course via DCs?

The chance to practice DCs before the main race is IMO under-appreciated. But there are two competing arguments here:

1) To encourage practicing the use of DCs, we will minimize the penalty of missing a mark.

2) To make practicing the use of DCs real, we will impose the same penalties in the PR that one would experience in the main race.

A further alternative is a third class in the PR that is DC only.

My preference is to make penalties for the DC users the same as the penalties in the real race.
Hey, that is what those folks would experience.
Also, it is hard for me to believe that novice skippers are relying on DCs in Practice Races.

OK ... time for some feedback!


--- Last Edited by javakeda at 2013-04-11 21:57:37 ---
Posted by
Smo


Users avatar

Posts
80
Registered at
2009-05-02 21:49:04
2013-04-11 22:03:16 - Re: General Practice Race Notes
PR should be like IRL racing on ISAF rules or like sol. Inspecial cases RC (Race comittee) .. rainbowxhacer desides
Posted by
Mark


Users avatar

Posts
28
Registered at
2013-04-06 10:01:41
2013-04-11 22:09:54 - Re: General Practice Race Notes
Ive only been using the game a week or so but heres my view.

The PRs are an opportunity for noobs like myself to learn the client and how the game works. It also gives members a chance to chat and socialise.

There are already serious races where results count and there are rules to be obeyed. PRs to my mind should be fun snd as informal as possible while maintaining the semblance of a race.

In short, if it aint broke dont fix it
Posted by
javakeda


Users avatar

Posts
73
Registered at
2013-03-01 03:18:22
2013-04-12 00:28:54 - Practice Race Rules Discussion
Agree in principle with the concept, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
But, in the chat, there seemed to be a reasonable question as to whether "It was broke." Certainly Dana and I felt something was amiss.
I believe we owe it to the game to discuss the basic issues.
The alternative is that we ignore the significant issues that emerged in the chat.

As I see it, simply saying the equivalent of "fuggeddabouddit" ["forget about it" -- translating the slang] is abdicating responsibility.
Posted by
Pocobueno


Users avatar

Posts
24
Registered at
2011-05-27 17:42:56
2013-04-12 05:33:18 - Re: General Practice Race Notes
@javakeda
we had here a discussion about PR - rules for a long time.
Since then, i take it as a 'Just for fun' run.
And when there is no PR - we go to burn down tractors or something like that.
So, get prepared for the real race and don't worry about PR-rules so much
Pocobueno

Page: 1 2 3 Next

Please login to post a reply.

Races

Next Race: 00d 00h 00m

Current Races:

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
GB 90 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: OCQ1 - OCCH - MIG - SYC
Race starts: Feb 02nd 11:00 Registration will open soon
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Race to Up Helly Aa 2026

A-OI!!! The fiery spirit of Shetland’s legendary Up Helly Aa returns, and Sailonline’s annual race to Lerwick is once again upon us. Covering 383 nautical miles from Aberdeen, SOLers will tackle winter waters steeped in Viking tradition. This year, we race the classic Frers 33, a proven cruiser-racer born from the golden era of offshore racing and still a sturdy performer both on the virtual and real water. Can you master the course and reach Lerwick in time for the flames?

SAILING NOTE: Gruney may be approached from any direction but must be passed for rounding purposes as indicated on the chart.
Race #2005
INFO by brainaid.de
Frers 33 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
SYC
Race starts: Jan 30th 17:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Red Eye - Hobart Convict Run 2026

Back in 2010, one of our SOLers of the first hour, AUS_Scott76, came up with this ‘Convict Run’ out from Hobart, past Cape Raoul and the penal colony of Port Arthur, round Tasman Island, up and back down the east coast of Tasmania, to finish with a tight technical run – so Scott called it – up the picturesque D'entrecasteaux Channel, home to Hobart once again. It’s 250nm, ideal for a bit of ‘Red Eye’ in comfortable Finngulf 43’s, and if the original idea was to pick up some convicts on the way for a bit of R&R and sea air, you may always drop’m back before returning to Hobart!
Race #2002
INFOby brainaid.de
FG 43 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: RED - SYC
Race starts: Jan 27th 12:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

New Ice Age 2026 - Longyearbyen to Browerville


Although we have by no means exhausted the possibilities of ice boating on lakes at high latitudes or high altitudes, it was noticeable that as our 2025 Series progressed, there were calls from time to time for longer-distance challenges, and so in response to these calls we will pretend that global warming has reversed and as a result the coastal waters of Antarctica and Russia and Canada have fully (and smoothly!) frozen over offering us the possibility of a 4-race New Ice Age series in our trusted no-PL DN machines. Our first leg takes us 2600nm from Svalbard’s Longyearbyen east to North Alaska’s Browerville. You’ll be a few days on the ice, so dress warmly and take some provisions; go!
Race #1968
INFOby brainaid.de
DN PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: NIA - SYC
Race starts: Jan 22nd 07:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Cross the Convergence 2026 - Robinson Crusoe to Galapagos


Welcome to our first race of a new series of ocean voyages across the World’s convergence zones, this first race taking you north from south of the Tropic of Capricorn to the Equator-straddling Galapagos, home of magical iguanas and other exotic fauna (but no mythical kings, Dory) Departing from the island where in 1704 adventurer Alexander Selkirk inspired Daniel Defoe to write the best-seller "The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe", by debarking off the unsound "HMS Cinque Ports", four months before she foundered off the coast of present-day Colombia, we will sail the 2200nm in our decidedly sounder and faster than the " Cinque Ports",
Ocean 50 !
Race #1983
INFOby brainaid.de
Ocean 50 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: CCZ - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Friday,
January 30 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Jan 16th 18:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Go to race archive

SYC Ranking

  1. Sailonline Yacht Club Member KaSToR
  2. Sailonline Yacht Club Member WRmirekd
  3. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CriticalHippo
  4. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rafa
  5. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Sax747
  6. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rumskib
  7. Sailonline Yacht Club Member bonknhoot
  8. Sailonline Yacht Club Member vida
  9. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Panpyc
  10. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Kipper1258

View full list

Series

Mobile Client

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

The mobile client