RainbowChaser
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Posts posted by RainbowChaser
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During the global pandemic it has been hard to find positives but one thing is sure, Sailonline's appeal as a realistic sailing navigation simulator has drawn more attention from and participation with the real world of sailing . Our new partners come from the world of ocean racing and our traditional partners continue to value the add-on to real events (often bringing the real fleet on-screen) that Sailonline offers. Free to play Sailonline remains the most accessible form of virtual sailing online. Check out our Q2 2021 Calendar and see what we are up to!
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Sailonline is delighted to announce that it will be partnering with Ocean Racing Club of Victoria, for the running of the Melbourne to Devonport “Rudder Cup” Race 2020 which starts in Melbourne, Australia, on Sunday, December 27 at 11:15AEDT (00:15UTC).
The Rudder Cup is Australia's oldest ocean race and the 5th oldest organised ocean yacht race in the world, pre-dating the Fastnet by nearly 20 years and the Sydney to Hobart race by nearly 40 years.
It was in 1907 when Thomas Fleming Day, editor of the American magazine "Rudder," first wrote to his friend, the Commodore of the Geelong Yacht Club, T. A. Dickson, suggesting a race across Bass Strait to Tasmania in order to promote the sport of yachting. Day struck a trophy worth 60 guineas, a fortune at the time, as a prize for the winner. It is a tribute to all sailors that 113 years later, yachts are still racing the 195nm across Bass Strait for the honour of winning the Rudder Cup.
The Sailonline virtual race will open for practice on 24 December at 00:15UTC, to enable everyone to learn the ropes in time to be competitive.
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20 November 2020
PRESS RELEASE
THE CAPE2RIO RACE 2023, SAILONLINE.ORG AND DESIGNER MARK MILLS COLLABORATE TO BRING YOU AN EXCITING ONLINE PLATFORM TO HONE YOUR NAVIGATION SKILLS BETWEEN CAPE TOWN & RIO DE JANEIRO
Sign up commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first ever Cape2Rio race that took place in 1971 by racing online with us.The Cape to Rio race has a proud tradition of fast sailing around the dominant South Atlantic High Pressure System that guards the direct route between the city of Cape Town on the southern tip of Africa and the carnival city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, South America. The first running of the race took place in 1971 and since then there have been 16 editions of the race, not all going to Rio. Amazing ocean greyhounds like Pen Duick III & VI, Ondine, Stormy, Morning Glory, Zephyrus, Kwa Hari, Rambler 88, Icap Leopard, Maserati and many more have vied for line honours. The current monohull record stands at 10d 11h 29m 57s held by Maserati a VO70, the multihull record sits at 7d 20h 29m 02s held by Ultim Love Water.
To commemorate the 50th year since the race’s inception we, together with our partner Sailonline.org, will be hosting a virtual race commencing 2 January 2021. We are delighted to announce that the designer of the successful Cape31 Mark Mills has penned a Virtual 74 foot boat, the C2R74, described by Mark as follows: “Our 74’ Cape2Rio2023 design is an exciting development of the state of the art in offshore design shaped to reflect the unique event profile of the legendary Cape to Rio Race. This light chined design is drawn to perform most strongly on the long predominantly downwind racetrack, where unusually for most ocean classics running plays a significant role.”
A younger larger cousin of our standout Cape 31 One Design, they share some DNA, especially in the combination of light displacement, deep draft, and narrow waterline beam for low drag when upright. Increased IMOCA-derived bow volume reflects the predominantly off wind bias and ensures a bow-up running trim like her smaller sibling, while control is assured with twin rudders. The light weight and low wetted surface in VMG downwind mode promise the fastest elapsed time, while the deep draft and added stability from the hull shape when heeled, allow the crew number to be reduced to the minimum, as well as the associated weight of gear, food, and stores.
Above deck the sizeable sail plan is designed to allow the small crew to continuously get the most from the boat using powered winches, with an almost exclusively furling downwind inventory to reduce the amount of time required on the low windage foredeck. This drive towards small crews effectively sailing very powerful yachts offshore opens up the possibility of elapsed time records falling dramatically in races like the Cape2Rio 2023.
Sailonline.org is a non-profit, non-commercial sail-racing navigation simulation run entirely by volunteers. All races are free and each SOLer (a Sailonline racer) gets exactly the same boat. The challenge is navigating through the weather. Sailonline.org uses almost real-time weather downloaded from NOAA and the boat physics are considered to be the most life-like of any online simulation. Our virtual C2R2021 Race will open for pre-race practice on Monday, 28 December, to give everyone plenty of time to familiarise themselves with the performance characteristics of the new C2R74 design.
We welcome existing members of Sailonline.org and anyone interested in racing online to join up on the website www.sailonline.org between now and the start of C2R2021, where there are always races available for you to hone your skills, in particular, two Cape Town based virtual events, racing the C2R74 for the first time, a Round Robben Island (Sprint championship race) starting at 1600utc on 28 November and Cape Town to Port Elizabeth (SYC championship race) starting at 1600utc on 7 December.
The Cape2Rio Race 2023 will commence 2 January 2023, please contact info@cape2riorace.com. and keep up to date with developments on our website www.cape2riorace.com and social media feeds. For high-resolution photos or interview opportunities, contact Christa Badenhorst on functions@rcyc.co.za or Anthony Spillebeen on anthony@spillebeen.co.uk.
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Welcome to the PIC Coastal Classic Yacht Race 2020 - one of New Zealand’s iconic yacht races up the E coast of North Island, from Auckland to the harbour at Russell. Originally raced by speedboats in the 1920s, aiming at speed records, the yacht race, now a classic in it’s own right, was first conceived in the 1980s by a member of the Auckland Multihull Sailing Association who wanted to recapture the historic course. The event is, of course, now raced in classes – Multihull, Monohull and Cruising – and continues to have a wide range of prizes on offer, not just for division winners, but for seamanship and even for the littlest boat to finish!
Sailonline is delighted once again to be hosting the virtual version of the “Coastal Classic”, sponsored as always by PIC, and we shall again be racing our trusty 60ft Trimaran, which should keep us reasonably competitive with the IRL Multihull racers. The virtual race will open for practice on 17 October 2020 at 2100utc to allow ample time for friends and family of IRL racers to find us and learn how to compete on our platform.
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It doesn’t seem like three years since Sailonline last joined with with SSANZ to provide a virtual version of the challenging Round North Island Race, but three years it is. All participants, real and virtual, relish the opportunity to take part in this four-leg event. In reality, those brave enough to take part, have the opportunity to pit their courage, their skills and their competitive natures in a race where they will face the swirl of the Tasman Sea winds and currents mixing with the Pacific coupled with the formidable task of navigating the Cook Strait, where these waters funnel between New Zealand’s North and South Islands. Sailonline’s virtual event uses wind grib forecasts from NOAA downloaded four times a day and released into the game in 10 minute pieces, making this a truly realistic wind navigation competition.
This is Sailonline’s fourth time of racing the Virtual RNI and Leg 1, the relatively short hop from Auckland to Mangonui, will start at 0100utc on 22 February 2020 - Sailonline’s virtual version will be available for preview from 17 February and registration will open for pre-race practice on 18 February.
Essential Reading
The real race has a formula by which race legs will open (after the initial one) which is explained here. PLEASE NOTE: Sailonline will be competing as closely as is virtually possible with the real yachts but will at all times give a minimum of 24hrs notice of a start time. It is intended to close each leg promptly, in harmony with the real race, but there will be some allowance here. The aim is for the overlap between legs of the virtual race to not exceed 24hrs. As always, race ranking will be your position at race close for each leg.
Cook Strait
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Don't forget ... if you can't be on the water in reality, you can always race a virtual 60ft trimaran with Sailonline - still free to play with realistic/real-time winds from NOAA!!
Full info on Sailonline's homepage or, if you prefer, right here on crew.org in the Sailonline Forum here:
http://crew.org.nz/forum/index.php/topic/17276-pic-coastal-classic-yacht-race-2019/
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Welcome to the PIC Coastal Classic Yacht Race 2019.
Thirty-seven years ago a member of the Auckland Multihull Sailing Association had the idea of racing from the Devonport/Orakei area of Auckland's harbour up the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, to the harbour of Russell, in the tradition of the speedboats of the 1920s. Since then the race from Auckland to Russell has become known the world over as the Coastal Classic and these days is raced in classes with a wide range of prizes on offer - for division winners, for seamanship and even for the littlest boat finishing.
Sailonline is delighted to again host the virtual version of this New Zealand classic race and this year we are again racing our 60ft Trimaran, which should keep us competitive with the IRL race front-runners. The virtual race will open for practice on 21 October at 2100utc.
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Sailonline is delighted to be returning to Auckland, on New Zealand’s North Island. Feeling like a home-from-home, the waters of the Hauraki Gulf have, over the years, become more familiar to our virtual racers than our own home waters around the globe! For the eighth year in succession, Sailonline is looking forward to racing as the virtual partner of the Short-handed Sailing Association of New Zealand for the SSANZ Lewmar Triple Series 2019. Raced annually in the waters off Auckland, this three-race series remains the biggest two-handed sailing series in New Zealand.
In 2014 Sailonline began an association with the Young 88 Owners Association and will again be racing all three events with our virtual Young 88.
If any SOLers are taking part – remember to let us know and we’ll feature you in the blogpost!
The three races will be raced on Sailonline on the following dates (UTC):
Race 1 – Lewmar 60 Baltic --- 5 July
Race 2 – Lewmar 100 Baltic ---2 August
Race 3 – Lewmar 50 Baltic --- 30 August
Sailonline’s first race is now open for registration and pre-race practice.
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Leg 1 of the Sailonline virtual version of #RNZ2019 is now open for pre-race practice - starting on 16 February at 0100utc, here's the info:
Leg 1 description:
Welcome to Leg 1 of the SSANZ Round New Zealand Race 2019. Leg 1, of four in total, takes us 160nm from Auckland to Mangonui. You don’t have long to get your Sunfast 3600 ready for this adventure! Race #1214
INFO from brainaid.de
Sunfast 3600 Particulars
WX Updates: 0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
RANKING: SYC - RNZ -
Clipper - this will be the first time we are RNZ-ing in the Sunfast as it is a fairly new polar in our fleet - first used in the buddied-in-reality Melbourne to Osaka race last year where one of our racers was racing his Sunfast in reality!
BUT
In addition to several North Island races, Sailonline also buddies with various real races around the world - ORCV and RQYS in Australia, RHKYC in Hong Kong, SDYC in California, Stamford YC in Connecticut USA, Silverrudder Challenge in Denmark and, not forgetting Sail Training International for tall ships racing - and our polars do pretty well. Of course Sailonline tries to pick the boat/polar that fits in with the publicised real fleet which helps!
Even thought BOPTYS isn't running the Auckland-Tauranga race this year, it is usually a "buddy" event, and it is currently open for pre-race practice with a start on 2 February at 0200utc
Hope to see you racing with us!
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For anyone unable to race in reality, once again Sailonline is hosting a virtual version - we'll be doing our best to start Legs 2, 3 and 4 with the real fleet and keep up! We'll be racing our Sunfast 3600 polar this time round and hope to include the tracks of the real fleet on-screen as we've done before.
Sailonline's complete 2019 Q1 racing calendar is here:
To race on Sailonline remains absolutely free and the techniques for racing on the platform is the same for all races, so why not learn the basics ahead of the RNZ itself? ... we hope to see some of you joining in!
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First Event: SITraN Challenge – Falmouth to Les Sables-d’Olonne -- Start 13:30UTC, Thursday 14 June 2018
The host club for the passage race and the main event, the Golden Globe 2018 Race is The Royal Nomuka Yacht Club of Tonga
A new buddy-up and what a mammoth event this is going to be. Sailonline.org will be partnering with the organisers and sponsors of the Golden Globe Race 2018 to bring not one, but two races to armchair navigators around the world. First, we have the SITraN Challenge from Falmouth, UK to Les Sables-d’Olonne, France on 14 June 2018. This will be a ‘shakedown’ passage for the ‘real’ yachts and a chance for virtual sailors to get to know the characteristics of the Rustler 36. Then, on 1 July the solo round the world non-stop Golden Globe 2018 Race will start from Les Sables-d’Olonne.
This year is the 50th Anniversary of the 1968 ocean classic won by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in his 32 footer, ‘Suhaili’. The GGR SITraN Challenge will start off Pendennis Point following the Suhaili Parade of Sail. The Suhaili Parade of Sail will be led by Sir Robin and include a fleet of classic yachts from the past as well as the competitors in the GGR18. At 13:30, Sir Robin will fire a cannon from the deck of Suhaili to start the GGR SITraN Challenge charity race to Les Sables-d’Olonne.
Entrants include some of the world’s best known skippers – legends of single-handed sailing.
Rustler 36
The virtual GGR18 boat will have characteristics close to those of a Rustler 36 of which there are six yachts entered in the passage race and the main event. Participants in the virtual GGR18 will be able to test their navigational skills against the real Rustler 36s as well as the other yachts in the fleet. Also, with the permission of the race organisers and with the cooperation of YB Tracking, Sailonline.org will display the real fleet on the virtual race screen. This adds a sense of ‘reality’, competitiveness and involvement in the race.
Sailonline's virtual SITraN Challenge – Falmouth to Les Sables-d’Olonne is now open for registration to allow ample time to practise. Competing in virtual races on Sailonline is free and no advantage can be gained by buying a better suit of sails or including ‘rock star’ crew members. This is true one-design racing and a test of skill.
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2018 sees the eighth season of Sailonline’s association with tall ships races organised by Sail Training International. This year’s racing will take us not only around Europe but also into the Far East and the Sailonline series will include all five of the scheduled races. As always we will endeavour to bring a selection of Class A ships on-screen so that we can compare our performance(s)!
This is what we have in store:
The Three Festivals Tall Ships Regatta - starting in May, two races from Liverpool, England, to Dublin, Ireland and then from Dublin to Bordeaux in France.
The Tall Ships Races 2018 - two races in July – Race 1 from Sunderland, England, to Esbjerg, Denmark and Race 2 from Stavanger, Norway, to Harlingen, Netherlands. In between, the real ships will Cruise-In-Company between Esbjerg and Stavanger but shore-hugging our Class A polars is not a good idea so again this year we will be leaving the real tall ships to their meanderings!
SCF Far East Tall Ships Regatta- one race starting at the end of August from Yeosu, S Korea to Vladivostock in Russia.
This virtual sailing experience runs hand in hand with Sail Training International's mission - the development and education of young people through the sail training experience, regardless of nationality, culture, religion, gender or social background. Sail Training International and Sailonline both count heavily on volunteer support with financial gain excluded from the equation.
Navigating a tall ship is a remarkably challenging affair, especially if you are more familiar with modern yachts, and gives a real insight into the true nature of ocean exploration in days gone by, so why not start learning the basics today so you will be ready for your Tall Ships experience!
There are four classes of Tall Ship in the real races, ranging from the biggest Class A Square Rigged ships of more than 40m in length, down to training yachts of 9.14m. Sailonline has developed performance polars based on published data for several different tall ships, and races to compete against Class A ships.
Sailonline's first race will open for practice on Sunday, 20 May.
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After two years of 'practice', Sailonline.org is pleased to team up with the organisers of the Sundance Marine Melbourne Osaka Cup 2018 Double Handed Yacht Race to bring the virtual version of the race to armchair navigators around the world. Time to race against the real fleet.
The Melbourne to Osaka Yacht Race is a 5,500 nautical mile 2 handed yacht race - one of the longest two handed yacht races in the world and the only one running from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere. It encounters multiple weather systems and seasons as it crosses the Pacific ocean. The course takes the competitors into Bass Strait, up the east coast of Australia into the southeast tradewinds then through the doldrums on the equator. It then heads into the northeast tradewinds to the finish in the port of Osaka.
The race, first held in 1987 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the opening of the Port of Osaka, is held approx. every four years to celebrate the City of Melbourne and the City of Osaka sister city relationship. The 2018 event coincides with the 40th anniversary of this relationship and is a collaborative effort of three yacht clubs:
Sandringham Yacht Club - the Melbourne Host
Ocean Racing Club of Victoria - administering the on-water activities, &
Osaka Hokko Yacht Club - the Osaka HostFor the virtual Sundance Marine Melbourne Osaka Cup 2018, Sailonline will be using the polar of a Jeanneau Sunfast 3600 yacht. There are three Sunfast 3600s entered in the main fleet starting on Sunday, March 25th including 'Kraken', 'Mister Lucky' and 'Maverick' sailed by Sailonline regular Rod 'Roddo' Smallman.
The Sailonline race is now open for pre-race practice to enable everyone, especially newcomers, to learn the ropes in time to be competitive.
Gill Australia has, once again, generously donated prizes for the placegetters in the Sailonline.org Virtual Melbourne to Osaka 2018. Prizes will be from the Gill Official Event Merchandise. Details to follow.
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Just a heads-up that @Sailonline will be buddying with this race again this year - racing a virtual Orma 60 polar!
Full info here
The virtual race is now open for pre-race practice and, as ever, @Sailonline is free to play!
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Welcome to the 2017 PIC Insurance Brokers Coastal Classic Yacht Race.
Thirty-six years ago a member of the Auckland Multihull Sailing Association had the idea of racing from the Devonport/Orakei area of Auckland's harbour up the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, to the harbour of Russell, in the tradition of the speedboats of the 1920s. Since then the race from Auckland to Russell has become known the world over as the Coastal Classic and these days is raced in classes with a wide range of prizes on offer - for division winners, for seamanship and even for the littlest boat finishing.
Frank Racing
Sailonline is delighted to again host the virtual version of this New Zealand classic race and this year we are returning to a multihull, our 60ft Trimaran, which should make us more competitive with the IRL race front-runners but sadly may well see us leaving behind SOLer NZL_WairuaExpress in his Beale 35,
Open Country who is competing again this year.
Racing in/around the Hauraki Gulf will always bring reminders of SOLer yachtyakka who regularly raced this course on Promise so cast a thought to the skies and yakka’s memory as you race up the coast this time.
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Once a year for the past seven years around the date of International Talk Like a Pirate Day (19 September) a Piratical frenzy overtakes SOLers. Racing a modern yacht polar we change our names, start speaking pirate lingo and race around the islands of the Caribbean during hurricane season while visiting several of the amazing rum distilleries of the region in our Carib Rum Run PRIZE Race. It is tremendous fun and while our navsim skills may not improve that much during the course of the event, our ability to talk like a pirate surely does! Sailonline's race this year starts on 13 September at 1000utc and will open shortly for pre-race practice.Since the death of Andrew “Bart” Simpson in San Francisco in 2013 and the subsequent founding of the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation in his memory, commemorated every year by a global day of sailing, known as Barts Bash in early September, we also promote this sailing charity during this race. Bart's Bash has just announced that funds raised this year will go towards projects in the Caribbean islands recently devastated by extreme weather.The Carib Rum Run is always a PRIZE race and this year there are two prizes.1. To the race winner will go a Nauticalia replica of Captain Cook’s Chart Magnifier, donated by RainbowChaser:
2. To the first non-SYC member to finish will go the prize of a one-year membership of SYC sponsored by the Sailonline Yacht Club under this year’s SYC Membership Pay Forward scheme (anyone interested in being a sponsor in this wonderful scheme please contact coord@sailonline.org).JOIN THE SYC TO RACE WITH A PIRATE NAMESYC Members only may change or modify their SOL boatname to something more piratical for the duration of this race! All info is here. Such a boatname change for this one race will not change your login credentials or affect your SYC rankings. You may, of course, join SYC at any time before race finish!Useful Links
SSANZ Triple 2021
in ShortTalk
Posted
In case you can't be on the water in reality, Sailonline is again offering all three SSANZ Triple Series races on its virtual #navsim platform.
INTRO BLOG/INFO
Sailonline remains free to play and we look forward to seeing some NZL flags bringing excellent competition to this 2021 SSANZ series!