Distance Race Sailing Challenge  

PURPOSE: Experience eleven different races of 70 to 350 miles in a variety of locations. You compete against a fleet of up to 20 wily competitors. You determine strategy and control course, sail selection, and mainsail shape of your boat, which responds very realistically to your commands. Improve your skills by simulated experience and by online, interactive tutorials, which teach Strategy, Tactics, and 2009-2012 Racing Rules.

FLEETS: Choose a one-design fleet from the Options Menu:

• Offshore Racer: High tech, fast and very responsive to course and sail changes.
• Sportboat: Extreme high performance, ultralight boats with large masthead asymmetrical spinnakers.
• Sprit Boat: High performance boats with bowsprits and asymmetrical spinnakers.
• Racer-Cruiser: Medium performance boats means more tactical racing and deeper downwind angles.
• Catamarans: Very fast and very sensitive to strategic decisions.

For each boat type, you can select length (30 ft to 50 ft), displacement category, sail area and rig type (fractional or masthead).

Boat behavior is realistic in response to your steering and sail trim as well as wind and waves. Behavior is based on extremely accurate performance calculation models that determine leeway, speed through the water, heel angle, etc.

THE RACES: . Selected for complex strategy often involving land affected winds and variable currents. Winds are the result of: Movement of weather systems, including frontal passages. Building and dying sea breeze or lake breeze or land breeze. Shoreline effects of convergence, divergence, and channeling. Every race is different every time!

1.      In the Southern New England / New York area: Vineyard Race, Block Island Race, and Long Island Sound Triangle. Variable, reversing, but predictable tidal currents. Land is often on two sides causing changeable winds.
2.      In the New England / Nova Scotia area: Marblehead to Halifax Race and Halifax to Gloucester Race. Strong Bay of Fundy currents and a long race with significant weather system movement.
3.      Chesapeake Bay area: Governor's Cup, Annapolis to Bay Mouth, and Annapolis to Smith Point and Back. Changeable, land affected winds and tricky currents.
4.      Great Lakes area: Chicago to Mackinac Race. Localized lake breezes and significant weather system movement.
5.      Florida area: Ft Lauderdale to Key West Race and Miami to Nassau Race. The mighty Gulf Stream and shifty winds due to warm water.

REALISTIC 3D 360° "ROVING EYE" GRAPHICS: In the zoomable 3D Sailing View, you see your boat and all sails in fine detail, responding to adjustments and steering. You see the competition, nearby shores, buoys and racing marks, whitecaps, puffs on the water, etc. You can easily look in any direction and see your sails from any angle without turning your boat. Optional windows can show a zoomable overhead view or a small, zoomable navigation chart.

NAVIGATION CHART VIEW: The chart is zoomable and slidable like electronic charts, so you can look at large area charts or detailed charts of your racing area. It shows the position of your boat. The Chart View can be full screen or you can watch your boat’s progress in a small chart window in the 3D Sailing View. Measure distance and angle on your chart using computer dividers and protractor. Use the chart to avoid shoals and to set up to nine waypoints for your GPS. With waypoints you can monitor range and bearing information in the Sailing View.

INFORMATION VIEWS: Optional windows include:

• Tactical view - Sizeable, zoomable overhead view for quick grasp of tactical situations.
• Navigation Chart view – Shows entire racing area, including marks of course, navigation aids, your boat’s position, and race instructions.
• Show Tracks – If selected, displays your sailing tracks since the start in overhead and Navigation Chart views. During a series race, the tracks of the best competitor also appear so you can cover them. After the race, select to compare where you sailed versus the winner.
• Zoomable Wind Chart – Displays wind vectors over entire race area at that instant and shows what caused the wind pattern: channeling, divergence, convergence, weather systems, puffs, etc. Zoom in for a closer look. Very detailed logic.
• Current Chart – Displays current vectors (direction arrows) over entire race area. Zoom in for more detail. “Page Ahead” for an hour by hour update.  Current logic is very complex to support real racing areas.
• Weather Forecast view – Shows predicted wind for today and tomorrow. Usually right, but as in the real world, sea breezes can be a surprise. Also shown are times of current change and a history of wind direction after the race starts. Select any time.

INTERACTIVE ANIMATED TUTORIALS:

You can use any of the interactive tutorials any time you are racing or between races. Race action is put on hold while you use the tutorials.

2009-2012 Racing Rules of Sailing Tutorials cover:

• Opposite Tacks
• Same Tack Overtaking
• Marks And Obstructions
• Rounding A Windward Mark
• Tacking For Obstructions
• Same Tack Before Starting
• Room At A Starting Mark And Other Miscellaneous Topics.

Tactics And Strategy Tutorials cover:

• Windshift Effects, Lifts, Headers, And Laylines
• Strategy For Oscillating Winds
• Strategy For One Side Favored
• Downwind Strategy
• Wind Prediction And Currents
• Wind Interference From Other Boats
• Starting And Mark Rounding

FEATURES THAT HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR RACING ENJOYMENT:

• Continued improvements in simulator speed and graphics detail to take advantage of newer, faster, wide screen computers, while still being fully useable on older Pentium and OS X computers.
• 15 Levels of difficulty keep you on the learning curve and having fun. Difficulty impacts sailing conditions and determines opponent abilities so that even the best racers will be challenged.
• Option to Replay a Leg in progress or just completed.
• Coach (optional) is always available to critique your sail trim, sail selection, strategy and tactics while racing and after the finish. Expanded Help Screens give tips to improve your racing. Use interactive Tactics and Strategy Tutorials at any time during or after racing to learn more.
• Instant Justice Protest Committeepenalizes all offenders, tells the 2009-2012 Racing Rule violated and its number. Use the interactive Racing Rules Tutorials to learn more.
• Reference Manual e-book gets you racing quickly. Racing Suggestions e-book gives you expert advice on boatspeed, strategy, tactics, wind and weather patterns.
• Options Selections in the Windows version are saved when you quit the simulator for easy repeatability. Use Macintosh single key commands to quickly select options before the first race .
• All boats are identified by name and distinctive hull and sail color for fast identification while racing. Name your boat! Display boat names while racing and on results page to keep track of competition during a race series.
• Quickly control simulator speed pressing Control Buttons and single key commands – Slow while starting, at mark roundings, or during tricky maneuvers. Speed up on long downwind legs.
• Ease of Use Features – Optional, easy mouse click steering. Optional tack, jibe, sail closehauled, and tack downwind commands. Extensive Help Screens. Options to give some jobs, like mainsheet control, to the computer. Hot keys and control buttons for frequently used commands.

Enjoy thousands of miles of racing without losing sleep!