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Profile for Chappo



Name Chappo
Email Address peter@mindmechanics.com.au
AvatarUsers avatar
Posts53
  • Re: Minor Beta update 23 May
    Board » Technical Support
    Aaron
    There seems to be no limit to the clever, convenient enhancements you keep adding. Your Optimum Angles tool saves me a lot of computing time, many thanks (and my wife says thanks too!)
  • Re: SOL World Race: Leg 2 Analysis
    Board » Flag Officers » Races
    I have been tweeting Askel Magdahl, the navigator on Sanya who pulled off that clever passing move to win the Rio leg of the last Volvo race on Eriksen 3. He said he uses Expedition and Deckman plus some of his own routing software. I wonder what course he is working on for this Dhabi leg??
  • Re: General System Spec - to aid SOL development
    Board » Technical Discussion
    3 year old desktop, 19 inch screen accessing via Firefox

    Microsoft Windows XP Professional
    Intel Core2 6400 2.13GHz @ 2128 MHz
    Graphics Card: 256MB ATI Radeon X1300PRO

    2046 MB System RAM (Score: 104)
    - RAM Speed: 3191 MB/s

    CPU Tests (Score: 210)
    - Floating Point Operations/Second: 50669288
    - Integer Operations/Second: 123177326
    - MD5 Hashes Generated/Second: 710277

    Graphics Tests (Score: 33)
    - 3D Frames Per Second: 112

    Hardware Tests (Score: 10)
    - Primary Partition Capacity: 298 GB
    - Drive Write Speed: 11 MB/s

    Nova Bench score 354

    Internet download rate 1.78 Mbps

    Screen resolution 1280 by 1024
  • Re: Gain or loss by using TWA
    Board » Technical Support
    How do you find time for work Aaron, you have been very busy creating tools, updating your blog, being very competitive in SOL and now working on SOL development! That sounds like a very flash tool you are working on so I will keep an eye on your blog. Thanks for your great work.
  • Re: Gain or loss by using TWA
    Board » Technical Support
    *8MR, I am not an IT guru but wouldn't these choices be made by the SOL server when you are looking at the forum and perhaps it is configures any large attachments that cannot physically be displayed in the message as attachments only.
  • Re: Gain or loss by using TWA
    Board » Technical Support
    8MR, I see the diagram embedded in the post and as an attachment too?
  • Re: Gain or loss by using TWA
    Board » Technical Support
    Excellent summary 76. I presume it is not to scale but broadly highlights the distance differences. It certainly makes a good case for twa but as Aaron notes, just because the fast yachts have curved tracks, often actually reflects continuously adjusting VMC sailing rather than TWA sailing.
  • Re: Gain or loss by using TWA
    Board » Technical Support
    Good points Aaron, it is easy to work with confidence when plotting within 6 hour weather cycles, much more challenging after 6 hours so CC is a safe option. We have all seen some big shift between weather updates. I note you mentioned you have written a small tool that calculates both max VMG (for upwind & downwind) for a given TWS – , and also maximum VMC given input of TWS, TWD and a CC to the waypoint. Does it link to an uploaded polar or does it just require manual input based on different angles and BS from the polar at the time you choose to do a calc. Is that tool available for download somewhere? I use my simple worksheet attached for my max VMC calcs. I find it pretty good downwind, can be misleading upwind.
  • Re: Can't get rankings and race leaderboards
    Board » Technical Support
    Thanks Jack. Yep I am on the work computer where I am getting the Leaderboard and Rankings. I will check my home PC.
  • Re: Gain or loss by using TWA
    Board » Technical Support
    I have taken advantage of the speed difference of CC or TWA in different races and yachts. I am not an expert but I think the differences come from various factors such as the shape and position you are sailing on the polar, whether you are sailing into a heading or lifting wind change and whether you are going upwind or downwind. So even though the CC is a shorter course, that advantage can often be offset by the fact that the last part of the CC course is so much slower than the TWA course (when sailing upwind into a header, or at the start of a CC course into a freeing wind change, the CC course is much slower than the TWA course.

Races

Next Race: 00d 00h 00m


Current Races:

Azores Challenge 2025


Another almost forgotten race at SOL. For only the second time we will sail the Jester Azores Challenge route from 2016.
What is the Jester Challenge?
Every two years a group of singlehanded sailors heads for Plymouth to sail the Atlantic. The Jester Challenge is not a race in any way, shape or form, simply an opportunity for skippers to test their boats and their seagoing mettle in a supportive and non-competitive environment. Skippers can make stopovers in other ports or harbours if they so desire, and there is no stigma attached to retiring from the event. Each sailor takes full responsibility for him or herself, their boat and the equipment they carry. There are no entry fees and virtually no rules, although there are guidelines.
Our rules are a bit different and we have a 60ft trimaran at our disposal and we have 1200nm to cover. Let's see what our yachts and their skippers can do. We wonder what you will take on board?
Race #1898
INFO from brainaid.de
60ft_Trimaran PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
ARQ1 - ARCH - SUPSOL – SYC
Race starts: Mar 17th 17:00 Registration will open soon
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Melbourne Osaka Cup Double-Handed Yacht Race 2025

Welcome once again to what these days is Sailonline’s almost annual virtual Melbourne to Osaka Yacht Race. In real life, this double-handed 5500 nm race between these two sister cities, one deep in the southern hemisphere, the other high in the northern hemisphere, is run every four to five years, and this year is such a year. So, this year’s online version is in sync with the Melbourne Osaka Cup 2025 organised by the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV), and the Sandringham (SYC) and Osaka Hokko (OHYC) yacht clubs. We’ll be racing the well-known First 40, a popular size of boat which should be a good match for many of the boats entered in the real race. With the doldrums unavoidably lying across our course, you can expect to be at virtual sea for at least a month!
Race #1669
INFO by brainaid.de
First 40 Particulars
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC
Race starts: Mar 16th 06:00 Registration Open!

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Channel Islands 500 Yacht Race 2025


Prepare for an exhilarating offshore challenge in the Channel Islands 500 Yacht Race! Collaborating with the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Sailonline brings you a 500-nautical-mile test of skill, speed, and strategy. Starting in Santa Barbara, you’ll navigate between Santa Cruz Island and Santa Rosa Island, rounding three marks before finishing in San Diego. Our SOLers will be competing in their Melges 40s, a high-performance offshore racer designed by the Botin partnership. Who will conquer the Pacific and claim victory? Set your course and race for glory!
Race #1899
INFO by brainaid.de
Melges 40 PARTICULARS
NAM_AWIP WX Updates:
0245 / 0845 / 1445 / 2045
Ranking: SYC
Race starts: Mar 14th 22:30 Registration Open!
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Lake Ladoga Ice Race


For our second race of the 2025 Ice Yachting series, we shall risk disturbing another sect of monks, these of the Orthodox persuasion rather than Buddhist. Good ice is often found in remote places, and remoteness breeds contemplation, and Valaam Island at 61.3N in the north east corner of Lake Ladogo is as remote as it gets. Surrounded by pristine ice in winter, we find there one of the great monasteries of Russian Orthodoxy. So, get your visa’s, fly to St Petersburg, take the N-121 north to Vladimirovka, and get your DN-skates on for another no-PL monk-minding race, this time of 110nm in length, out around Valaam, then Derevnya, to finish near Berezova.
Race #1851
INFOby brainaid.de
DN PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: DN - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Friday,
March 14 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Mar 10th 09:00 Registration Open!
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Tristan da Cunha to Coronation Island 2025

The adventure continues as we embark on the second leg of the RWW series, racing from Tristan da Cunha to the remote and uninhabited Coronation Island, NO, Elephant Island. Nestled between the Scotia Sea and the Weddell Sea, both island were named by 19th C British whalers. Prepare for a thrilling journey through the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties, where relentless winds and challenging seas will test the mettle of every crew. This leg will be sailed aboard the historically iconic Steinlager II and is part of the prestigious OCCH 2025 series. The RWW series ranking will be determined by each team's best 7 out of 8 race results, so every moment counts! Are you ready to face the ultimate test of skill and endurance?
PRIZE: SMPF
Race #1890
INFO by brainaid.de
Steinlager II PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: OCQ1 - RWW - OCCH - SUPSOL - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Friday,
March 21 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Mar 03rd 11:00 Registration Closed
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Sinbad by Balloon 2025 - Dondra to Toamasina


Above you see a stratospheric balloon, that if only we had gribs at that altitude would get blasted along quite rapidly and predictably. Alas we just have our SOL balloon that sails rather lower to the sea and that we have crossed the Atlantic in, west to east, last year for the first time in the southern hemisphere. So much fun was had by all, that this year we will attempt the Indian Ocean, but in four legs. Another great piece of fiction, the voyages of Sinbad By Balloon not magic carpet, although you may need a bit of magic to make any progress at times. Pack your wicker basket full for your first leg of at least 2300nm from Sri Lanka to Madagascar; it’s not a picnic hamper, you could be in the air for longer than you hoped!
Race #1883
INFOby brainaid.de
SOL Balloon PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC - SBB
RACE CLOSE: Tuesday,
March 18 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Feb 05th 11:00 Registration Closed
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SYC Ranking

  1. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Patrick70119
  2. Sailonline Yacht Club Member WRmirekd
  3. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CriticalHippo
  4. Sailonline Yacht Club Member KaSToR
  5. Sailonline Yacht Club Member vida
  6. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rafa
  7. Sailonline Yacht Club Member FreyjaUSA
  8. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Kipper1258
  9. Sailonline Yacht Club Member bonknhoot
  10. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Sax747

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