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 » General Discussion » Around the world race

Not to whine or anything, but why was the time allotted to each race in this series so short? I had to take 3 DNFs because the leg I was on evaporated. Now I know that server space might be an issue, but really, Leg 6 was pulled before leg 5. It's a shorter race with less map and weather to load so shouldn't it be the one to stay?

The other sort of irksome thing is this: now in order to finish the race, you have to use a router and be in the top 150.(ish) I have chosen for the past couple of years to not use a router or any help outside of my noggin and what comes attached to SOL. Great, my choice I know and I'm ecstatic if I get in the top 100 - it's a "win" if I get in the top 150. But that doesn't happen an awful lot, and now with truncated race times, I am denied the satisfaction of finishing, and tactically I'm glued to the rhumb line as that will determine my position when the plug is pulled. In other words no more flyers in the second half of the race.

So, SOL people, I love the opportunity to do this, but am very frustrated by this turn of events- maybe a solution would be to have SYC membership mandatory, or some other form of income to offset server costs. If this can't be done then the closing date/time should be posted and maybe a countdown could run so time running out would be visible to all us back markers

--- Last Edited by Blue Magic at 2011-04-03 13:58:30 ---
Blue Magic - Upfront the rules of the Global Challenge were posted - namely that a new leg would start 48hrs after the arrival of the first boat in the preceding leg. The idea was to generate a sense of continuity.. a real round-the-world race. As an SYC member your ranking will always be the position you are in at race close, so you never "lose" as such, although the personal frustration at not finishing is heartfelt (I didn't finish every leg of this race, so I do understand).

I am sorry if you did not see the announcements in both Leg 5 and Leg 6 which explained what was happening with respect to their closures.

Leg 6, as you say, was much shorter and well over 50% of starters had finished.

Leg 5,more than 6000nm, was a far greater challenge and consequently, 50% of starters have yet to finish.

Because the effort expended in Leg 5 has been so enormous, it was decided to keep this Leg open longer that would otherwise have been the case.

Traditionally SOL doesn't have more than two races open at the same time, it has always been thus, but with long ocean races running "in the background" this rule has been over-ridden recently.

On your next point, regarding success on SOL, many SOLers who finish very well in races are not using any form of routing or other software. All SOLers who do well, as well as others (like me who do not!) expend a lot of time and effort into trying to do well.

Using a router or other navigation software is not a "magic button" to certain success - all any router can do,I understand, is indicate what it, at that moment, has determined to be an optimal route based on the wx data and parameters given. It is an indicator, no more, of what is doable.

There are free routers available online and details are available here on SOL.

It remains, however, a point of pride for many that their excellent results are due to personal judgement.

Finally, SOL would love for everyone to join SYC and thus provide an income stream but the beauty of SOL is the fact that it is free. After sailing a few races people are hopefully motivated either to donate or to join SYC in acknowledgement of the value to them of SOL. If people don't donate or join SYC then... that is their choice too.


--- Last Edited by RainbowChaser at 2011-04-03 21:31:56 ---
Edit: sorry this is AGage.... *oops*

He does have a point regarding rank when race is closed though - best tactic is to stick to rhumbline to minimize DTG as this is how SOL bases its ranking, not to sail as you would if race were not about to close.
Consider the same race, and say I am 120th, the race is a) sailed to completion, b) stopped 36 hours prior to my ETA. Now, I am 120th because I have sailed far from rhumbline for better conditions, so in case a) the next 36 hours was going to see me pick up ~65 boats because I was sailing in more favourable conditions, case b) sees me finish in 120th.
Similar to the start of a race where often those who finish top are at the bottom of ranks (like L5 some of us headed almost AWAY from Gibraltar at the start).

I understand there is nothing else that can be done, and why SOL must occasionally pull races early. Just pointing out that having your rank at time of closure recorded isnt always a good thing, sometimes you will benefit other times lose, on where you would actually have finished.

I would make a suggestion which should not be too difficult/take long to implement. When a race is going to close early, not only post this information on the home page, but also within the SOL client. There is a field within each fleet/race file named 'message', which currently just has the name of the race and how many entrants there are, ie it is the first sentence you see in the top right of the SOL client.
Now this message field could also include the time remaining, so that it would read "{RaceName}, racing with X boats, CLOSING IN: d.hh.mm.ss" All that requires changing is the code that generates the race xml files...

--- Last Edited by ronny_f at 2011-04-08 04:53:45 ---
Must be a login cache issue or something... I have been (as AGage) constantly logged in all race, but logged in as ronny this morning to do a little boat-sitting and then closed his race screen down, but obviously SOL didnt log me out ??? indeed I just had to logout/relogin as myself again...
I help develop the client interface for the best online ocean racing sim there is... __/)/)_/)__

Please login to post a reply.

Races

Next Race: 00d 00h 00m


Current Races:

Kalamata to Alanya 2024


For the beginning of the ARCH competition's third quarter, we will sail our boat, SOTO 40, from Kalamata, Greece over the Aegean Sea always eastward to the race finish, 520nm away, in Alanya, Turkey.
Race #1824
INFO from brainaid.de
SOTO 40 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
ARQ3 - ARCH - SUPSOL - SYC
Race starts: Jul 22nd 17:00 Registration will open soon
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Kamchatsky to Tromsoe 2024

Just before the light failed entirely in Antarctica, Skip Novak managed to get his Pelagic 77 out of the ice and north up the Pacific to Kamchatsky. The sun is shining (24/7) and not a penguin to be seen, and Skip believes the Norh East Passage is ice-free (sufficiently) to attempt it, so all aboard for a c 4250nm voyage from east to west across the top of Siberia, Russia and Norway to Tromsoe!
Race #1779
INFOby brainaid.de
Pelagic 77 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: HLAT - SYC
Race starts: Jul 18th 19:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Cowes to St Malo TIMED Race 2024

Organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club since 1929, the Cowes to St Malo Race is a true RORC Classic. Starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line, Cowes, IOW, a magnificent spectacle can be watched from The Parade, Cowes. The Cowes to St Malo Race is part of the RORC Season’s Points Championship, the world’s largest offshore racing series. Dating back to 1906, the Cowes to St Malo Race precedes all of the world’s famous races including the Fastnet Race. This is a TIMEDrace, so you may RE-REGISTER HERE to try again, after finishing a run. You will have 13 days and 11 hours to show your skill and decision making after the race opens.
Race #1828
INFOby brainaid.de
TP-52 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
TRQ3 - TRCH - SUPSOL - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Saturday,
27 July at 23:00 UTC
Race starts: Jul 14th 12:00 Registration Open!

▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Lake Ontario 300 Challenge 2024

Lake Ontario Offshore Racing (LOOR) welcomes Sailonline to a second race of their annual series, this time as hosts of the virtual LO300. As the name implies, the LO300 is a 300nm offshore race across the length and breadth of Lake Ontario, from and back to Port Credit YC. Once again, as is our wont on Lake Ontario, a fleet of Beneteau First 36.7s is being made available to virtual racers. There is an overall prize for the SOLer who best bosses Lake Ontario over the two races hosted on SOL, this 300 and the Susan Hood raced back in May; so let the competition be fierce!
Race #1805
INFOby brainaid.de
First 36.7 PARTICULARS
NAM_AWIP WX Updates:
0245 / 0845 / 1445 / 2045
Ranking: LOOR - SYC
Race starts: Jul 13th 15:10 Registration Open!

▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

SSANZ Triple Series 2024 - Race 1


Welcome once again to our online buddied Short-handed Sailing Association of New Zealand brilliant long-standing SSANZ Triple Series for two-handed yachts on the waters of the Hauraki Gulf, sponsored this year by Lewmar Marine. Commencing with a c 46nm quick dash out to Motuora Island via The Haystack and home, we will as always compete in virtual Young88s, against the real-life fleet of the members of the ever-Young 88 Association!!
Race #1823
INFO by brainaid.de
Young 88 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SSANZ - SYC
Race starts: Jul 12th 21:15 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Tall Ships Races 2024 - Tallinn to Turku


Welcome to the second of three virtual Tall Ships Races on the Baltic Sea which are concurrently being organized in-real-life Sail Training International . This second race is from Tallinn, Estonia to Turku, Finland; circa 150nm in Sailonline’s stately Full Rigger.
NOTE: Starts and Finishes in tall ships racing are always offshore to avoid conflict with shipping and shipping lanes.
Race #1812
INFO by brainaid.de
Full Rigger PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: TS - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Friday,
July 19 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Jul 11th 14:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Southampton to Punta del Este 2024

Sailonline is delighted to offer our sailors a 'reversed' Atlantic ocean race. As the RTW championship Atlantic part takes a detour to the Bahamas, we will offer you a reversed course as we will not do the 'usual' leg this year either. It is the July edition of this year's Ocean Championship. Our boat is the OD_65v3.
PRIZE: SMPF
Race# 1820
INFO from brainaid.de
OD65 PARTICULARS
WX updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: OCQ3 - OCCH - SUPSOL - SYC
Race starts: Jul 01st 11:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Go to race archive

SYC Ranking

  1. Sailonline Yacht Club Member WRmirekd
  2. Sailonline Yacht Club Member FreyjaUSA
  3. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CriticalHippo
  4. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Vida_Maldita
  5. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rafa
  6. Sailonline Yacht Club Member TarassBoulba
  7. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Flamingo
  8. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CollegeFund
  9. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Sax747
  10. Sailonline Yacht Club Member bonknhoot

View full list

Series

Mobile Client

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

The mobile client