Monthly Archives: April 2020

Tuesday cup

Sign up, train your skills, join some races against sailors around the world and be ready for our Tuesday series online. If you are not already in the group of sailors please contact us so we can add you. Coming Tuesday will be the start of the series before the first gun there will be a trial run for anyone that wants to settle in and see what the water is like.

Virtual Regatta used for our sailing competition

As we are unable to sail on the water at the moment, we plan to run the first Tuesday series and weekend series using the Virtual Regatta. Some of us had a go last week and, on the whole, most of us managed to get around the course relatively well. Some have clearly had more time to practice than others but I’m sure there are folk out there to give them a good run for their money! The series will start on Tuesday 21st for the first Tuesday series and Sunday 26th for the weekend series. Both will run in the evening and can be raced from the comfort of your own home. The trophies that would usually be awarded for these series will be given for the virtual racing instead so there is all to race for.

Here are some instructions on the Virtual sailing we are going to have while we can’t get onto the real stuff. There is some information from the RYA website, with a link to the rest of the information on there. It is recommended to have a play around before you attempt to sail a race just to prevent yourself from floating around without a clue where to go! 

You don’t need to pay to use Virtual Regatta. It’s as simple as visiting their website from a laptop or PC or downloading the app on a smartphone or iPad and clicking ‘play now’ on either the inshore or offshore game. You can then enter the game and learn how to use it and compete against others all around the world. If you want to compete and keep your score, you’ll need to create a login and a user profile. You also have the option of entering the eSailing World & GBR National Championships.  

We are having a training session this Tuesday from 19:00. Please send Erwin your boat name, or make FSC~virtual a ‘friend’ on the virtual regatta app / download. This allows us to see who is online and to know if we are ready to start. Prior to the start, we will send a race access code to everyone who plans to race. The first race will start at 19:05 to give everyone time to get in and find the start line (experience has shown that this can be the trickiest part!) We plan to run 5 practice races with each subsequent race starting 2 minutes after the last boat crosses the finish line in the previous race. Each race will have the same access code.

When the race has started you are unable to join that race, just wait till the next one. Send me a message if you can. The race should take about 5-8 minutes (I think). If you want to have a telephone conversation about what to do let me know.

We are going to take it very slowly in the first couple of races to show everyone the racecourse. The first session will be a ‘follow the leader’ type, where I will try to let others follow the leading boat just to see where you should go. For this, we will need a form of communication, if email works let me know.

When you enter the race go downwind until you have passed the start line, you should have a committee boat on the right-hand side with lay lines marking the approach to the start line. Count down is 1 minute, penalties result in your boat slowing down for a set amount of time, just keep sailing – no need for a 360.

Contact us for more information, or if you want to have someone talking you through the information or practice.