Morning office update

Started a day late. Decided that the official game lost it appeal after it got blocked at work. Decided I might as well play the better game sporadicly.

Just made my turn West heading for Gib, making 3knts in very light airs. Currently placed 572nd
 
You're going dead downwind which is very slow. Enter a TWA of 139.5 then when you get near the Spanish coast enter a TWA of minus 139.5. You will find that the VMG will rise to around 5 knots even though you are steering away from the wind direction. I'm actually doing 6.5 knots speed and 5 knots VMG downwind with that setting.
 
342nd /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif But at least I'm only 20 miles behind the leaders. (Always look on the bright side of life... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif )
 
You are making up places already and have just passed our very own ybw_SunShine. Your next two targets are also sailing dead downwind so you will take them out soon.

Don't forget to gybe when you near the African coast. Enter a TWA of 139.5 (not minus). You will turn 79 degrees to starboard from your current course but allow a margin of error so you don't hit the headland.

From time to time you can play with the TWA figure by increasing/decreasing by half degree points and see if the VMG improves. The wind strength can affect the best angle. Don't do as I did earlier in the race and enter a plus course instead of a minus or you will gybe accidentally.

/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Too late. You have already taken them out!
 
OK ...I'll try,

Open the polar diagram, tha spiders web!

then click on the steering wheel and hover over the map in front of your boat, the figures showing are the true wind speed, true wind angle, boat speed and vmg.

the important one for heading upwind or downwind is vmg, you want to try and get this figure to a maximum +ve upwind or -Ve downwind. To get to a point dead downwind in the least time you end up sailing about 40degress off the direction you are trying to get to, the boat goes much faster and the deaddownwind speed (vmg) gets higher.

If you click in the steering contro9l panel on steer true wind angle you'll see this figure alter as you hover the cursor around, when you are happy you've got the best angle, click left click and the steering angle will stay and then you can send the instruction and th eboat will sail to that wind angle.

You can also see a small circle move around the graph on the polar showing the different boat speeds at different wind angles.

Hope that helps...
 
At the moment the search facility isn't ready but will be hopefully with newe software as we head out into the Atlantic, you can look at the leader board link on the map top right.

Right now ybw SKT is sat on top of my boat !
 
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