Second Sol 2013 begins June 14 | Metaverse Sailing

Second Sol 2013 begins June 14

Posted on June 13, 2013 by janefossett | Leave a comment

The Second Sol Regatta begins Friday June 14. Twenty teams of sailors will compete in two rounds of qualifying races, broken into five different time slots to accommodate the large size of the entry fleet. Round One is June 14 – 15, and Round Two is June 21 – 22. The winners of the timeslot races will then meet for a Final regatta shootout in North Sea on June 23.

Here’s the list of team leaders and team names with their sail numbers and their Round One group assignments.

RACE TEAMS AND ROUND ONE RACE LOCATIONS

FRI 12:30 NYC/ Atlantic
013 JoyofRLC Acker — FIYC 1
012 Pensive Mission — DYC Mowmows
002 Diamond Marchant — NYC1
008 EmmanuelMara Resident — MSRSC TeamDM

SAT 09:00 North Sea/ Breadnut
003 lesbo charisma — Team Arimto
006 ariel gallais — Moon’s love cats
020 Us Vemo — Kingfisher
018 Mami Charmann — WYC1

SAT12:00 TrYC/Farragut
007 Allie Tomsen — Seafarers
011 Sara Solo — Sea Lions
019 Bear Silvershade — Shadow Seekers
009 Ronin Zane — Grumpy Old Men Yacht Club

SAT 15:00 DYC/ Queequeg
021 KalEl Tryce — Bistro on Blake
014 Aquarius Paravane– Echo Beach Bums
004 SerenityAeon Resident — Blue Marlins
005 Victor Cruiser — Wind on face

SAT 18:00 FIYC/ Plum Gut
015 Alain Gloster — Eureka
010 Chaos Mandelbrot — Penguin Racing Team
017 SachBee Resident — WYC2
001 Arrekusu Muramichi — Kazenojin Seiringu

Here are charts for each of the five timeslots in Round One. (Note: North Sea has two additional charts that may be used at the RD’s option).

On June 21-22 the fleet will sail the second half of the qualifying series. I’ll post the details for Round Two on Monday!

Second Sol 2013 begins June 14 | Metaverse Sailing

S4L SECOND SOL 2013 REGATTA: Qualifiying Races - ROUND ONE.

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*** SECOND SOL 2013 REGATTA THREAD ***

Three Second Sol “Rules” for Virtual Sailing. | Metaverse Sailing

Three Second Sol “Rules” for Virtual Sailing.

Posted on June 13, 2013 by janefossett | Leave a comment

The Second Sol Regatta begins June 14. Twenty teams are ready to compete in a total of 84 fleet races.

Before the start gun goes off however, I wanted to bring up three specific racing issues for the Patchogue II fleet.

Skipper/Crew Side-Switching Downwind

This issue primarily affects boats with a solo skipper. When sailing on a far broad reach or a run, the wind forces come from behind a boat and generate very little “heel.” A Patchogue II with a solo skipper will heel to the side where the skipper is seated.

However, Patchogue II likes to sail flat, with no heel. Often the only way a solo skipper can flatten the boat on a run is to first sit on the windward side until the boat heels too far in that direction, then move to the leeward side to bring the boat back past zero heel. The skipper then repeats the process, usually every 10-15 seconds. That maneuver can reliably produce a 5-8% speed boost by keeping the boat ‘balanced.’ However, this gain is so small that a skipper will probably only think to use it during a race.

Flat gives the best Boatspeed

There are several ISAF rules that prohibit non-wind methods of boat propulsion, including versions of tiller-waggling, sail back-winding, and crew weight-shifting.

However, I think a good argument can be made that skipper side-shifting in the Patch II is intended to enhance wind effects; side-switching downwind is therefore not an abnormal means of boat propulsion. Sailors who use this in Second Sol should not be penalized.

Rapid Reefing

Ronin Zane reports a similar effect with reefing upwind or on a reach. If a solo skipper or small number of crew sail a beam reach in a stiff breeze, they may often find that they have excess heel if they don’t reef. However, they may also find they lose too much speed when they add a reef point.

What’s the fix? Well, they can put all of the crew on windward rail, wait till heel is ‘too much,’ and then reef. That will right the boat back into the ‘go‘ zone. At the point the boat has a good heel angle, the the skipper can then free the reef again. That will cause the boat to accelerate and start to heel once more…

Ronin was concerned that repeated reefing might be illegal in a race, under the RRS Rules and guidelines against non-wind propulsion.

Ronin’s point is well taken. A real-life skipper would never change reef several times each minute. However, within the physical constraints of virtual sailing, in my opinion a sailor who tries to gain a small advantage by rapid-reefing is within his/her rights to do so. Reefing is a wind management tool, hence a racing technique. It’s not an exploit.

Equally important, recent Trudeau boats have a built-in reefing penalty. A boat will lose momentum for a few seconds with each reef change. That means any gain from ‘Rapid-Reefing’ is guaranteed to be small.

Having said that, let me again comment that although any rapid-reef benefit is small, in my opinion it’s legal.

Crew Alts

Ok ok, your crew doenn’t show up for the big match; what do you do? Well, it’s simple to rez a few of your favorite Alt-avatars, and use them to crew for you,Right?

Well Wrong. From every vantage I can think of, sailing with an Alt differs extremely from sailing with ‘human’ crew. I could write several pages on this topic, but I think I’d bore everyone to tears and put myself to sleep in the process. This is an obvious issue.

Bottom line, I think sailing with one’s own ALT in a race is illegal. (It’s probably also an abomination against man, god, and nature). Any skipper who deceptively races with their ALT in Second Sol should, by vote of the Judges, be DSQ for that race.

The above comments are just my opinions and apply only to Second Sol. I’m happy to hear other angles on these issues, and I’ll likely change my own view if someone makes a truly cogent argument over any of the ‘rules’ points raised above. 

Three Second Sol “Rules” for Virtual Sailing. | Metaverse Sailing

Phoencians Columbus Expedition - The Ship

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Key Facts

		Built in 2008 using traditional materials and construction techniques, Phoenicia is the only sailing replica of a Phoenician vessel anywhere in the world. Many academics and specialists researched and advised on the construction of the vessel, which is primarily based on the wreck of the Jules Verne 7 that was found in the Mediterranean and dated to around 600BC. Ship Specifications 50 tons Length overall: 20m Beam: 5.8m Draft: 1.5m Freeboard: 1.3m Number of sails: 1 Mast: Height 15m Rig: Square rig Steering oars: 2 Yard:2 joined timbers 14m long

Research, Design & Building Process

Research & Design In 2004 the Phoenicia team, led by Philip Beale, undertook a research project studying the archaeological data of the Phoenician era.  Having researched the type of vessel which would have been used for such a voyage, a number of leading maritime archaeologists and historians were consulted to develop the design specification based on archaeological data from shipwrecks of this era. Shipwrecks found in the Mediterranean provided detail as to the likely dimensions and construction methods used within ships of this era.  Other artifacts such as coins and pottery have also been examined in a thorough investigation of Phoenician artifacts to ensure that the design and construction techniques for this replica vessel are as authentic as possible. Professor Patrice Pomey assisted the research team by providing exclusive access to information on the Jules Verne 7 shipwreck, excavated off the coast of Marseille, which provided the primary source of information for the reconstruction. Building the Ship Khalid Hammoud, a renowned wooden shipbuilder, was selected from a number of candidates to manage the construction of the replica vessel in the ancient Phoenician city state of Arwad.  The Hammoud family has been building wooden vessels in Arwad for generations and is proud of their own Phoenician ancestry. Khalid worked with a small team of shipwrights with 5-10 people working on the ship at any one time.  The build process was assisted by regular visits from members of the design team. Khalid and his team used traditionally sourced materials (including Aleppo pine Mediterranean oaker walnut, Mediterranean pink pine, cypres pine, handmade olive wood tenons and iron nails) according to the design specification.  Information on the materials was sourced from shipwrecks. The Ship Building Process The ship build began in mid-November 2007 on Arwad Island when the keel of the Phoenicia was laid. Over a period of nine months the ship was successfully constructed ready for the expedition. Sea trails took place in August 2008 before Phoenicia set off. You can view the photographic documentation of the ship building in the expedition Photo Gallery.

Phoencians Columbus Expedition - The Ship