Sailing Dynamics Instructor

PURPOSE: Beginning and intermediate sailors can learn the fundamentals of sailing and fine points of sail trim. As you build skills, progress to detailed sail shaping and racing basics. Your boat responds realistically in excellent 3D 360^o "Roving Eye" graphics.

More experienced sailors and racers will find The Instructor a good pre-season “brush-up” with it’s complete sail shape and trim features, realistic boat handling, the latest Racing Rules and concept reviews. Where else can you practice feathering a dinghy in heavy air or surviving death rolls! The Sport Boat, Skiff, and Catamarans can be extremely challenging beasts!

The Instructor includes Tutorials, a Sailing Simulator, and a Racing Simulator. Fifteen difficulty levels, optional currents, and variable wind conditions, let you start off easy and increase the challenge as you learn.

COMPLETELY NEW COMPUTER INTERFACE: Whole new screen layout! Includes easy to use Control Buttons and new commands. Very intuitive. Buttons are context sensitive and change depending on what you are doing with the boat. Buttons are color coded to give quick status updates on your boat controls.

YOUR BOAT: Choose from Optimist Dinghies, 2 person Catamarans (like Tornado), high performance Offshore Catamarans, Skiffs (like 49er), ultra light Sport Boats, several types of 1 or 2 person Dinghies (similar to Lasers, JY15s, and 505s), Keelboats, Cruising Sloops, or Offshore Racers. Boat behavior, sail inventory and shape controls are accurate for each boat. Specify length, displacement, sail area, and rig for Keelboats, Cruising Sloops, and Offshore Racers; and tiller or wheel steering for the latter two boats.

BOAT HANDLING AND BOATSPEED: Upwind, steer to follow telltales or heel angle. Downwind, steer to mainsail telltales or spinnaker breaks.

Trim and shape the mainsail by adjusting mainsheet, outhaul, luff tension, vang, mast bend, or expanded traveler controls. Trim and shape jibs, genoas, spinnakers, asymmetric spinnakers, or partially furl or unfurl your jib. While making adjustments, you can freeze all other action in The Instructor. Watch boat performance and sail shape change. When satisfied, return to the action.

Position crew on weight sensitive boats more precisely- In, out, back, forward, leeward, trapeze, etc.

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

INTERACTIVE ANIMATED TUTORIALS: There are sailing skills tutorials on sail trim and rules of the road. There are racing tutorials on tactics, detailed sail shaping, and the latest Racing Rules. These are hands-on tutorials requiring you to actually trim the sail or practice the maneuver. All tutorials have been expanded. Apply these new skills in The Instructor's Sailing and Racing Simulators.

IN THE SAILING SIMULATOR, practice steering, beating, docking, mooring, ship avoidance, man-overboard, and other boat handling skills in a series of modules. Each module gives you specific goals and sailing tips for achieving them. The Sailing Skills e-book (electronic book) and expanded Help Screens explain applicable sailing principles. If asked, the Coach comments on how well you’re sailing and offers suggestions. Use boat behavior, the Coach’s feedback, and skill score to judge your progress.

Practice and enjoy your newly acquired skills in a new simulator environment called JUST SAILING. It eliminates all scores and instructional material and allows you to have fun sailing in a large, highly varied area of your choice: Along a coastline, among a cluster of islands, in a river, or in a lake. Every sail is different! Select very strong wind for a real challenge!!

IN THE RACING SIMULATOR, practice in a 4 boat fleet of your choice. Then move up to 10 boat fleet action. Select triangular or windward/leeward courses that include a pre-start period. Or, have the computer give you a perfect start on triangular or windward/leeward courses so you can practice fleet racing without the pressure of getting a good start. If asked, the Coach gives wind predictions and tips on smarter racing and trim. Use feedback from the “Instant Justice” Protest Committee, Coach, skill score and fleet position to judge your progress. Display laylines and equal lines in all views until you are comfortable with these important concepts! Your mainsail changes color if you are being blanketed or backwinded by a competitor.

REALISTIC 3D 360^o "ROVING EYE" GRAPHICS: The zoomable, dynamic 3D Sailing View makes your boat come alive. Your boat and all sails appear in fine detail, responding to adjustments and steering. You see the shore, marks, the competition, committee boat, white caps, puffs of wind on the water, etc. A great deal of geographic variety has been added. 500% more detail in graphics! "Roving Eye" graphics let you look at your boat and sails from any angle and altitude and look in any direction as far as the horizon, up to a full 360^o. Great for spotting on-coming ships, starboard tackers, or wind on the water. Small zoomable overhead view enhances close maneuvers and gives you a good sense of the competition.

OPPONENT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: All racing opponents know their pre-start maneuvers, tactics, strategy, the latest Rules, how to give and avoid bad air, and how to sail the selected boat. Their expertise increases with the difficulty level you pick! At higher difficulty levels, your computer opponents are very smart!

FEATURES THAT HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR SAILING & ENJOYMENT:

• Sound Effects give you feedback on sail trim (luffing sails), boatspeed (rushing water) etc!
• Conditions - Wind strength selection and currents impact difficulty. For instance, select steady, moderate breezes with no tide for novices. Move up to shifty breezes or strong gusty wind. Add currents. New option for "Very Strong Wind" adds challenge to the new Just Sailing mode.
• 15 levels of Difficulty keep you on the learning curve and having fun! Difficulty impacts sailing conditions and determines opponent abilities. Select low levels for novices. As you become more skilled, high levels will keep you challenged day after day!
• Coach, if asked, makes helpful comments during and after any sailing module or race and during tutorials. Continued refinements to coaching model! All new Help Screens give tips to improve your sailing and racing, including catamaran racing and asymmetric spinnaker trimming!
• Instant Justice Protest Committee penalizes all offenders, tells the latest Racing Rule violated and its number.
• Sailing Skills e-book covers beginner’s sailing basics, racing fundamentals, advanced topics such as windshift strategy, heavy weather sailing, wind and weather patterns, and more.
• New easy to use reference manual e-book gets you sailing quickly.
• Option Selections in the Windows version are saved when you quit the simulator for easy repeatability.
• Optional, vertical steering zone makes mouse - hand movement very much like hand movements when steering with a tiller or wheel.
• Ease of Use Features - While learning, you can give the computer control of the jib sheet, spinnaker sheet, spinnaker pole, or closehauled steering. Optional automatic mainsheet trim and Quick-Click Control Bars for mainsheet, traveler, jib sheet and spinnaker sheet. If your windows mouse has a wheel, use it to trim your mainsheet. Optional tack and close hauled commands. Easy mouse controls and many hot keys. It's up to you!

Sailing Dynamics Instructor is ideal if you want to learn on your own or teach a friend. It's a great pre-season refresher!

Requires Windows 98 or better, including XP or Vista, or Macintosh OS X Power PC and Intel-based Macintosh versions. Older 2005 Edition Macintosh Classic version available on CD-Rom only.