PAR Posted June 14, 2009 Report Share Posted June 14, 2009 Turn off the "view other boats" thingy and you can see your track better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docpal Posted June 14, 2009 Report Share Posted June 14, 2009 I do that on occasion when I'm laying out the course, but watching the chaos all around me breaks up the monotony... : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Potts Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 ...course (not tacks, courses...) with Ken and Larry as we've been ramming a good portion of the Swedish coast in our attempt to get out of this corridor and back into open water... Wait, you're RACING?!? I thought we were invading Sweden! Why else would I have landed 6 times on the same piece of shoreline? ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docpal Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 Paul's got great "team" strategy; he's using "RYD"to block all the other boats behind him..... You've grounded six times, I've hit twice, and I think Larry might have 2 or 3 more as well. Hydrofoils would have been a better choice for this leg... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 A handy feature, I wish they'd install is a compass rose over the boat, so you could insure the course you've selected is where you really will go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docpal Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 I agree, since the "12/24 hour red dots" seem to be arbitrary each time I check them. Another nice feature would be a "scale" to check with as you changed the size of your screen so you'd have some idea of distances to travel before making course changes, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbrewer Posted June 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 I was reading the forum trying to get an idea of why I was running aground (3 times) after setting a course that should have let me safely pass. It appears that the game updates your position every ten minutes, but that ten minutes may not coincide with the screen auto-update every ten minutes. So when the screen updates, or you refresh, it may be showing where your boat was 1 second ago, or 9 minutes 59 seconds ago. That's not so bad in the open ocean, but trying to gibe into a 3 mile wide strait at 19 knots when the position you set the course from might be 3 to 4 miles off....well. The game apparently is averaging the course on the tracking feature more in the last couple of legs. If you pay attention to your past track at all to see your course over ground it is very deceptive. I've discovered crossing your fingers is very helpful . Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docpal Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 Larry, Thanks for confirming that I'm not seeing things ! I KNOW that I have set a course that should easily clear the upcoming buoy, but after an hour or so of sailing my course seems to "drift" as though there was a Westbound current! As I test I ran side by side with you last hour on the same exact course. The course lines were parallel only for 20 minutes, then they seemed to start separating. Could be map projection, computer monitor fluctuations, etc. etc. In spite of the glitches I think it's a hell of a game when you figure that they are actually in some way keeping track of over 218,000 players who have a wide variety of game variables in their control. AND they do not charge to play the game..... ! Still they must be doing well through sponsors, sales of sailing tools, etc. because I had sent them a note awhile back asking if we could buy some sort of T shirt if we finished the race ( something like"I virtually sailed around the world in my pajamas"type of thing) and they said, they had considered the idea, but at this point in time there is no race t-shirt planned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Potts Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009  Docpal,  I think you hit the nail on the head - Map projection is everything. A difference in starting position will send two boats on different courses due to great circle routes and blah blah... It sure would be nice if you could turn on a lat-lon grid and a zoom-sensitive compass rose. Sorry - Can't stop to talk now... I have to see if I've run aground again yet ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docpal Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Does anyone know what "1400 hours local time" IS for starting the last leg on the 25th? Since I've missed most of the starts in the entire race I'd like to try and see what it's like to be there for a change... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Potts Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 "local time" is GMT+2. Â If you click on "Play" and wait for everything to load you can look at the clock at the top of the map screen. Â It currently displays "local time" as about 22:30 but my local time in North Carolina is 16:30 so if you're on Eastern time the game starts at 0800. Wind updates this time around are 0200 and 1400 Eastern time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docpal Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Ken, Thanks! I wasn't sure if "local"meant GMT or Stockholm time....I'm glad they weren't doing the 2AM wind changes for all the legs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Local time is CEST aka Central European Summer Time, their equivalent of daylight savings. CET is GMT +1 so CEST is GMT +2. EST is GMT -5 and EDT is GMT -4. To make a long story short, EDT is 6 hours earlier than CEST. There was a point during a previous leg when the USA went to daylight savings, but Europe waited another 3 weeks or so, then it was really confusing ??? Yeah, the new wind update time really stinks. Fortunately it is a short leg, so there won't be many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 For anyone that hasn't had enough, there is a new race around France starting 2 July. www.virtualregatta.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbrewer Posted June 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 I just realized I never started this leg...... :-[.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docpal Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Larry, Ahhhh, so maybe THAT'S why you (and Wyvern) weren't showing up on my screen. It gave you a race position, but you weren't visible. Dave, I think I'm gonna end my virtual racing in St. Petersburg, and get back to building "Petunia" so I can really get out on the water later this year (?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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