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Profile for outlaw



Name outlaw
Email Address n/a
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Posts33
  • 2020-07-09 12:18:47
    Re: Public testing new HTML5 client
    Board » General Discussion
    Using "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox completely breaks the dashboard clock "TIME UTC" and any number of thins that depend on the clock (dc countdown, predictor line etc).
  • 2018-09-13 21:48:43
    Re: VMC
    Board » General Discussion
    1. I prefer 'his'. Not that I've ever claimed to be human.
    2. The only claim is that if I sail a couple hours at a set VMC, and arrive at point A, it is fundamentally impossible to beat me to point A. Bimmer could sail to point B, then have the faster path to the finish. Happens.
    3. The causality for picking the target IS confusing. In an ocean race I could decide to go 'west', wade thru bird entrails until I come up with VMC280, and tack at TWD280 because that's how the VMC function works.

    OTOH in a round the buoys type race I could just do an SOTP estimate where/when I'm going to tack, determine the TWD @tack, and use that as the target. Post tack the boat would just point in the general direction of the mark, bearing ~240, probably.
  • 2017-11-05 11:27:33
    Re: Crossing the Finish Line
    Board » Technical Support
    The short and correct answer is that only leaderboards on the frontpage matter...

    Ranking order is updated like every 5 minutes (?).
    DTF leaderboard and fleet positions every minute.
    Actual boat positions, as in observing your own boat, every 10s (nominal, may be closer to 11-12s, and somewhat random), or every 30s (precise, 30.00s) for 'inactives'.

    The key is that updates are sequential, no two boats have the same update time.

    Now imagine three boats that are very even, then their ranking is determined by who has the most time elapsed.

    Leaderboard shows
    A xx:01:09
    B xx:01:07
    C xx:01:01

    Now update intervals are not precise, we get a roll-over

    B xx:05:09
    C xx:05:03
    A xx:05:01

    B has not sent a command for 18 min and is switched to 'inactive'

    C xx:10:07
    A xx:10:05
    B xx:09:40

    Next step we cross the line...

    C xx:10:07+2s
    A xx:10:05+4s
    B xx:09:40+29s

    Nobody gains anything.
  • 2017-01-23 09:30:47
    Re: 40' Series Championship 2017Q1 & Q2
    Board » Flag Officers » Championships
    Is there any real reason to run the full series?

    Strategy A
    Sardinia - SOTO
    Hebrides - SOTO

    Strategy B
    Sardinia - SOTO
    Hebrides - DNS

    The second option keeps the SOTO available for the full series, especially the finale.
  • 2017-01-01 22:32:45
    Re: “Clause 4” and ISAF rule #69.
    Board » Flag Officers » Rules and Decisions
    Happy new year to y'all.
    quick thoughts, again I really don't share Joao's concerns...

    1. All I see in Joao's PDFs is boats sailing VMG on TWA which is perfectly normal. Plus some noise from hmm's weather being sourced differently.

    2. If you want to show foul play, use "compare stats". Robot sailing should be really obvious on that one.

    3. Again I don't see how data logging would be particularly useful. Simply because pretty much everything can be easily extrapolated.

    4. And amazing tactical analytics would be effort. Time spent on the go-fast problem, worth it. Monumental time spent on letting the computer do tactics? I wouldn't, benefits would be dubious, and tactics is the gameplay for me anyhow.

    5. One could ask whether the forecast wind should be absolute... I say it should, because that's the requirement for set-and-forget router use, and having actual wind different from forecast would make a (now illegal) steering robot necessary.

    6. One could ask what's the difference between follow and cover... Cover is a legit tactic, and to follow is frowned upon, but where is the difference? There is a difference, but it's somewhat ill defined.
  • 2016-12-25 12:12:50
    Re: 2017 SRC Programme
    Board » General Discussion
    Merry X-mas. A couple observations. Not so much on start times, where I'm mostly indifferent. In part because I'm perfectly happy to skip a race if the big inconvenience happens 2 days down the road, not something that can be planned by the SRC... and at last starts are rather predictable. But the drop in race numbers and competitors.

    1. Poor start/finish layout
    Look no further than the upcoming Sydney-Hobart. See attachment. I think it's possible (pending final wx, and I have not run software yet) that on would need to start with a 5 minute straight line course, then turn on point. This for a 600nm ocean race. Skill involved - none. Annoyance - huge.

    2. Races are too long
    Look back at the Gray Whales. Four days of awesome racing, followed by nine days of parade. To be fair that couldn't be expected, and Mount Westdahl - Middleton Island was a classic, but tying up competitors in a race that is decided is not a good outcome. Same for many of the very long 3-4 week ocean races. One opportunity that takes forever to see through. Not good.

    3. Too long breaks between races
    I flat out disagree on the reduction of races. More races mean more opportunities, and should increase interest. Also it's just bad if someone stumbles on the site and has to wait forever for the next start. The average gap between races in Q1 - (sigma t^2)/(sigma t) - is 4.5 days, that's too damn long.

    4. Too much focus on coastal races
    So by my count for Q1, there's 8 short round the buoy races, which I like, but honestly have nothing left to prove, 3 long ocean races, 2 medium ocean races (H2S which is impossible for me and Cairns - Darwin), and 12 medium length coastal things.

    Simply put medium coastal is probably the most router (software) friendly format, combined with the need to be online at specific waypoints. And those things make up half the schedule. IMO the best racing happens on 500-1000nm ocean legs, see BA-Rio, Abel T (thanks SRC :-) ), Gray whales, Sail Fiji (always), S2H (always) etc. December was great. Q1 is totally lacking.
  • 2016-10-21 12:52:36
    Re: VMC
    Board » General Discussion
    There's two big problems in this discussion, one being linguistic. That is Angle, Bearing, Course & Direction meaning approximately the same thing. Just how it is. Work it out yourself.

    Second is the extremely unfortunate fact that "bearing to the next mark" is somehow the default course for VMC calculations. As Rod correctly observes

    ...on any VMC course, the angle to the desired 'destination point' is constantly changing, and that therefore the calculation (or geometric estimation) of the VMC course must also be constantly repeated.

    Just don't do that. VMC to the next mark, and by extension DTF is as important as the weather in Shimane two days from now.

    My assertion is simply that if I make up some number, say 152 degrees, then express the boat speed as a course (152) vector and a normal (62) vector, then always choose the point of sail that maximizes the course vector. I call that VMC152.

    If I sail VMC152 for six hours I expect to be the 152-degree-most boat in the fleet. The corrolary is if I happen to end up at the mark, I will round the mark first.

    That leaves two minor issues, first while this works over six hours, it absolutely will not over six days.

    And second the need to get the VMC direction right, where estimating TWD at the next tack is the most obvious approach.
  • 2016-09-29 20:58:49
    Re: VMC
    Board » General Discussion
    Hi I've actually gone and made another post on the topic. Tell me what you think, maybe it's easier to understand.

    http://solfans.org/blog/sailing-by-the-numbers/vmc-revisited/

    Two comments on the last post. VMC to waypoint is pointless on a fundamental level, that's just some random bearing with no real meaning. It does matter for DTF purposes. DTF is of course also pointless.

    Once this gets us to the VMG laylines then we're on the layline??
    If I understand this right, VMG layline is when you barely make it to the mark on VMG? With a proper VMC course you will tack a bit later than that.
  • 2016-09-20 10:54:43
    Re: Open letter to SRC.
    Board » Flag Officers
    For the record the primary stat that I care about is the relative bearing, from boat outlaw to my most dangerous competitors. I use sollog as the most accurate and convenient way to aquire this bearing. A very secondary number is the relative movement among boats, also this defaults to 'away' much of the time, which makes it less useful. Everything else is irrelevant to me.

    Further I think that tactics are absolutely essential to racing, and limiting the information needed for tactics would lead to a sad shell of a game.

    Finally the main factors for sol success would be, intelligence, on both the tactical and strategic aspects of routing, streamlining, meaning less time spent on the routing / steering grind, and commitment, time spent overall and at inconvenient daytime. (My commitment is sorely lacking nowadays...)

    If there was serious abuse of AIS / bots among the top boats I think it would be highly visible, and I'm not aware of it happening.
  • 2016-09-17 13:09:38
    Re: The Tall Ship boat in fact was … a dinghy one.
    Board » Flag Officers » Rules and Decisions
    Hi, just my belated two cents...

    1. In general I'm honestly very indifferent to the performance model. In normal conditions where tacks are hours or days apart it will simply never matter. Of course you get the odd race where performance wins ( Ornö Runt :) ), that's fun. Overall, don't fix wha's not broken.

    2. There might be a misunderstanding concerning real life tall ships. These ships seem to tack poorly in light air, with 20kn of wind, meaning the bulk of the portugese coast, they should be able to perform normal tacks.

    3. Short tacking is a simple matter of geometry. You might as well complain about gravitation. For 'credibility' you could look at the Abu Dabi - China leg of the las VOR, or the San Francisco America's Cup. Bottom line is people will do as many tacks as their 'performance model' allows. Deal with it.

    4. That said the combination of really poor upwind performance (70-80 degreees TWA) and minimal perf hit makes short tacking more profitable than usual.

    5. As stated before me, Alexandria won by picking the right time to go offshore. Excellent decision making.

    6. I recall some boats doing a sawtooth pattern in open water. That puzzles me TBH. That might have been a form of protest, or a total misunderstanding how short tacking works, or a problem with their routing software. It's absolutely not a fast or sensical way to sail.

    7. You can fix short tacking with appropriate course design. I for one don't care much for long, coastal races in general. Just my opinion of course.

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Magical Mediterranean 2026 - Benghazi to Korcula

We return to Antiquity’s Middle Sea for a seventh celebration of all things Mediterranean - fickle winds, history and olive oil. This time we will sail from ancient Benghazi, whence once grain shipped continuously to feed Rome’s urban masses, to the medieval Venetian thalassocracy’s port of Korcula, birthplace of Marco Polo; 700nm in classy Club Swan 50s!
Race #1978
INFO by brainaid.de
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Red Eye 2026 - Georgian Bay

Welcome to the sensational scenic Georgian Bay of northern Lake Huron, the first area of the Great Lakes to be visited by Europeans in 1615, so former SOLer A2R informed us when he designed this geometrically tortuous course of 317nm criss-cross through its island maze. Originally known as Lake Manitoulin, in 1822 the bay was renamed after King George IV after his succession to the throne. This time we’ll take the very flashy Fareast 31R, which hopefully should keep you wide awake!
Race #2051
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Tall Ships 2026 - Stavanger to Aalborg


Welcome to the fourth of four virtual Tall Ships Races in European waters which are concurrently being organized in-real-life by Sail Training International . This fourth race is from Stavanger in Norway into the Skaggerak to a finish off Denmark’s Aalborg and perhaps an Aquavit to toast the adventure afterwards – a final circa 250nm in Sailonline’s classic Clipper 240.
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 #1995
INFO by brainaid.de
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Chinook Salmon - Canada to Andreanovs


A year after spawning in the upper reaches of the rivers of British Columbia, Chinook Salmon develop the age-old urge, so familiar to SOLers, to go to sea, heading for different parts of the northern Pacific Ocean. This race catches up with a particular school with an instinctive memory for the Andreanov Islands far west on the Aleutian Islands chain, as they depart the Salian Sea between Vancouver Island and the San Juans. It’s 2200nm and we’re taking the 60ft Trimaran, in the hope we can keep up!
Race #2048
INFOby brainaid.de
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Juventud TIMED Race 2026

Welcome to Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth), Cuba’s second largest island after mainland Cuba. Known as a haven for pirates, the island was the inspiration for novels “Treasure Island” and “Peter Pan”. The circa 120nm course runs clockwise around the island.
This is a TIMEDrace so you may RE-REGISTER HEREto try again after finishing a run. You will have two weeks to test your skill and decision making after the race opens.
Race #2049
INFOby brainaid.de
The boat for this race is the sporty Mini 6.5p Foil PARTICULARS
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1 August at 23:00 UTC
Race starts: Jul 19th 12:00 Registration Open!
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Alaska to Easter Island 2026

Welcome to yet another all-new series. The initial leg of the RNW (Round the New World), Alaska to Easter Island, also part of our Ocean Championship. The first race of OCQ3 2026. This race will be sailed in our revised 'version 2' Imoca 60 Foil. Race #2042
INFO by brainaid.de
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WX Updates:
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Ranking: OCQ3 - RNW - OCCH - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Saturday,
August 1 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Jul 06th 11:00 Registration Closed
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