FINISHED in Zeilen TransOcean sailing Race

HURRAY...HURRAY...HURRAY 


Suratna has Finished her Zeilen TransOcean Sailing Race in Paramaribo, and ultimately reached the 25th Place; some 6 hours, 15 minutes and 51 seconds behind the Winner. (+ 6h 15m 51s). 


The last day was a glorious day as my plan to make a strategic move to the North-West to start the Ultimate End-Sprint worked out Fantastic. 
I managed to set heading to the Finish about 11 hrs before and in that stretch I could pass some 38 boats, :)

A screen shot for the Podium Winners:
1st Place for Cagouille17 in a winning time of 11 days, 8 hours, 43 minutes and 50 seconds
2nd Place for Fourwinds1000 who finished only 16 minutes and 32 seconds later
3rd Place for Dilolo who came in 32 minutes and 43 seconds after the winner. 


A complete ranking list can be found here : LiveSkipper - Ranking Zeilen TransOcean Sailing Race


A like to conclude showing the map of the route that Suratna followed (link also on the right in the list of links)

I  like to thank, my followers and readers, the organisers , Nauticlink and Zeilen Magazine and not in the least LiveSkipper for allowing their Marvelous sailing simulator to complete this beautiful Zeilen TransOcean Sailing Race. 


Note: for sailors that appreciate virtual sailing, Liveskipper is organizing a new but shorter race in Japan on 21st May starting at 08:00 GMT. Hope to see you there. 

End-Sprint to Paramaribo

I think I found out the Best location for the End-Sprint start to the Finish in Paramaribo !
it is coordinate N: 9degree 32' 26' and W:52degree 15' 35"


My placing at the moment of making my last jibe was 63. 


I am sailing on the Final Course to the Finish of the Zeilen TransOcean sailing race to Paramaribo.
Since the moment of my last jibe, I have gained already some 5 places and my rank now is 58. I hope I have the good line to pass some more boats.


The Podium is now too far for me. Some 2 days back I should have sailed further South for the stronger winds. However I didn’t.:(

I will report once Finished.

The best Location/Time to start the End Sprint

The wind is stronger and the boats are sailing beautiful with mid twenty kts of boatspeeds. The Fleet has moved more to the South last day, except that I found myself almost as the most Northerly boat in the fleet this morning. 
Luckily the wind direction gave me best approach speed to the Finish in going South and I can close the gap maybe a little.


Still difficult to say what will be the best approach to Paramaribo. South has the best wind speeds but then the winds are more easterly there, which would either push you further south for the final jibe or would force a jibe just before the Finish. 

Most likely the Finish of the first boats will be tomorrow mid-day gmt; but...........tomorrow is Friday 13th May ?!


My rank this morning 18 in a still growing fleet of 1062 boats.

How to Approach the Last part of the Atlantic?

Today I see some two groups forming in the middle of the Atlantic passage? This is strange for me, as I can see only one route , jibing till the Finish. Maybe I have to do some simulations in the LiveSkipper simulator to see which of those groups has the better strategy. Funny thing however is, that both groups have some of the better sailing strategist !

Or................would it be the story of the 2 dogs fighting and the 3rd getting the bone? So if I keep sailing on headings around the direct line of sight, I might get the benefit ; at least my placing is improving greatly !!! So maybe , maybe ?

Winds are still in the same NE corner but picking up in the mid teen Kts. The boatspeed is nicely now 25 kts and I have to be careful not to spill my coffee , Irish coffee that is of course.

My Rank this morning : 24th   in a fleet of 1059 boats.

In the middle of the Water

Sailing across the Atlantic. The wind is nice constantly from the NE directions and strength comfortable just over 10 kts. This allows to sail the boat in the high teens boat speed giving a very nice sailing experience.

And though some boats have slightly different routes, the majority of the fleet is keeping a common route.


Distance sailed yesterday about 577 Km = 312 Nm, not a bad day of sailing I would say.


My rank now 34 with 1058 participants in the TransOceans race.

Passed Cape Verde Islands

So early last Night Suratna passed and validated the Gate at Cape Verde Islands. In the process I won many places , mainly by steering close to the Western buoy to reduce the overshoot to the minimum .

Now we are sailing in Westerly direction towards Paramaribo in a nice 12 kts NE breeze. The wind is veering more towards ENE in coming hours.

I have to make a study of the wind situation, should have done that maybe before, to see what is the best and fastest route to the Finish, as the winds in the South are stronger, but the wind-angle to wards Paramaribo is not that favourable.

Just you show you the route followed so far a screenshot of the TransOcean map, see link on the right.

My rank this morning is 40 in a still growing fleet of 1049 boats. For a ranking list see Ranking list

Target Cape Verde Islands

The target for today is to pass the Gate at the Cape Verde Islands and validate before turning the Heading West to Paramaribo.
Yesterday, we had a weakening wind (<10kts) that slowed the boatspeed. The wind direction was not too bad and we could use the Genaker as most effective sail. 
Today offers a little better wind and the direction is still fine from NE. 
ETA at the gate is Sunday 15:00 GMT, wind permitting.

I see some boats sailing SE to very close to the African coast and after some study, I found out the wind is a lot stronger up there. Guess these boats have a good strategy and some may even pass me.

My rank is now 122 and the fleet 1049 boats.

Past the Canary Islands

Yesterday saw the head of the fleet pass the Canary Island along the West side. Where the first boats that followed the Coastal route just now are to arrive. 


The wind has calmed down to the single digits and also veered to the North. These conditions have slowed the progress, but as the air and water temperatures are warmer it is still considered beautiful sailing. 


My Rank: 101 now in the fleet that has grown to 1048 boats. 


Have you discovered the Chatroom in LiveSkipper (LS) already?
It sits below the game screen, but  only visible when you do not engaged the Full screen option. 

at the arrow you find the button for Login or Logout. 
There are standard 3 Chatrooms, one for each of the main LiveSkipper languages , France, English and Spanish. Type your chat in the one line open space and if done Send
For those skippers that have joined a Club within LS, there is a special Club chatroom, only open of club-members. 
It allows you also to open a special chatroom with a friend of yours, so you can have some private talks. Search for your friends boat-name in the list on right side, if found , double click on it and a special Chatroom will open for you two.

Past the Azoren Islands

It is now definite! The route from the Western strategists has proven to be the better over the Coastal strategy for conquering the Northern Atlantic !
The quickest coastal boat is still some 200 Nm North of Madeira, while the best western boats have passed the Azoren with about 400 Nm. 


The wind has weakened now however, and is causing a difficult approach to Cape Verde islands. With the weaker winds, comes also more variable winds, so what one morning looks a good strategy, might turn around in the afternoon, which reduced the progress. The main point is that all sailors are in the same winds, so it looks still an even battle for the Podium. 


My Rank this morning: 104 ;and the fleet has grown to 1045 participating boats. 
If you would be interested in the trend of my progress and that of a lot of other boats in the English Forum of LiveSkipper, then you may have a look at my race status report LiveSkipper boats -- trending for race status

Polar diagram 
Did I propose yesterday  to try the Advance Mode in the simulator, today I like to inform you on the benefits of using the polar diagram available. 

To engage the Polar diagram, you click on the "Polar" icon in the right-side top of the screen; see the hand. 








A new window will open with a lot of information on the boat, its sails and its performance. 

On the top you see the type of boat this polar is for. 
In the half circle (0-180degrees is shown as this boat and sails are symmetrical) you see different coloured curves. This is one curve for each of the available sails, each with its own colour. [the Auto sail does not have a curve, but it would be a curve that indicated about 90-95% of the performance of the best sail per heading.]  
The yellow straight line is an indication for your TWA (True Wind Angle; the angle between your boat-heading and the wind-direction) here it is 108degree. 
With this you can easy find the optimal heading to sail most effective. 


The polar tells me then that the purple sail "the Genaker" is the fastest sail with a boatspeed of 29.1 kts at the windspeed of 17.2 kts. 


This information on sail selection , heading , TWA and boatspeed is also available and permanently visible in the bottom right side of the screen, see the screenprint on the right.
Sails can be selected by the arrows around where now Genaker is shown, locked now as I sail with the WP scheduler on. Auto Heading will engage the autopilot that locks the TWA, so it will change your heading when the wind-direction will change. 
The 2 small arrows around My Boat, will activate any marks that you have set in the simulator and allows boat setting from the location of that mark. 


What would happen when the wind increases in strength? Well, you can simulate this by clicking on windspeed and up it to about 19.7 kts 

see a next polar with higher windspeed. 
Now it informs me that the "Solent Jib" sail (green curve)is the most effective for this wind-direction, -speed and my heading. Giving me a boatspeed of 30.3kts!

But would I change heading and the TWA increases to 115degree, again it will be the Genaker that is the best sail. 


So this is a Fantastic tools to assist you in sailing optimal conditions, that for sure you need if you want to end up on the Podium in this fleet of experienced Sailors. 

The Chase is ON!

Yesterday the Western heading was changed into a Southern one, once the hart of the Big Depression was passed.
After some hours in calmer winds, the wind became West and got stronger and stronger 20+kts. Now sailing south with a boat speed of 27.7 Kts; Fantastic sailing!.

Please be reminded that I keep  a map with the daily location(green pin's) here Suratna TransOcean route 

Rank:106

For the New sailors in LiveSkipper I would propose, if you haven't done it, to change to the "Advanced" mode, {look in Setting menu, and change with the buttons on right side of the window} . 
You get some additional tools/facilities that will help you in making the sailing more comfortable and keeping a better pace! 

First of All some different Sails are available and you will see that there is at least one sail the gives a better boatspeed as the Auto-Sail, as these special sails are better designed for their specific purpose. Be careful, however, if you sail with the wrong sail, your boat speed will drop below that of the auto-sail. 

And a very good tool comes available the WayPoint (WP) scheduler and Scheduler. These allow you to mark a target on the map and set heading and sail to it. Then click the mark to make it active and you can set a next mark, with its heading and sail to reach it, and so forth. This allows you to schedule hours if need be days in advance your route of choice using the sails you prefer ; there is of course the option to keep using the auto-sail which normally is 90-95% effective compared with the best sail, but prevents sailing with the wrong sail. 
The difference in scheduler mode is that WP (green color) is scheduling on location, so you have to reach the mark before the actions of that mark are actioned on your boat, while the Scheduler (purple color) is scheduling in time. 
Wind shift, could therefor cause the boat to make change in heading and sail at another location, but at the properly set time. 
So WP is very precise to sail around cliffs, and buoys. The autoheading is only possible to engage in the Scheduler, not the WP program.


Try it out, and if you have any questions.............ask :)

         

The Big Depression in the North Atlantic

The Big Depression in the North Atlantic pulled the TransOcean Fleet apart! 

The "western" sailors are approaching the centre of this depression after which they will turn South and try to catch up the "eastern" sailors along the Spanish coast!
The Route will then go via the Azoren to the Cape Verde Islands (see the arrow) but whether the route is straight south will depend on the wind systems. 


The fleet is daily growing and now the number of participating boats is 1031 already. 
My rank this morning:491, but I still see it as the best route investing now and harvesting later; hopefully. 

The Wide Open Atlantic

That was a FANTASTIC day of Sailing through the Channel, YESTERDAY, I mean.


Sailing just before Dover in a 200+ place at my day-break, I turned West and gained already some places. The Channel with a strong  Easterly wind that was strongest in the middle 5-8 Nm, made it favourable to make regular jibes. So I was buzy jibing and even sometimes, depending on wind strength changing a sail here and there . This brought my at the early evening depending on my jibe (port or starboard) to a 33-56th place. 


After passing the longitude of Plymouth , however, the wind veered to the south and then you will have found out how less effective these boats can sail in upwind heading. 
A wind forecast review showed me more southerly winds along the Portuguese coast to come of weak to moderate strength. So looking further to the West on the Atlantic stronger and more favourable westerly winds are expected. 
So I decided to sail west towards the better winds and hope these forecasts sustain and I will enjoy speedy sailing in a good day from now in Southerly directions. 
I hope , I am right which will give me a better chance on the Podium and if not well I will have lost a lot of places. 


It is obvious that the better ranked boats in this moment are sailing the Bay of Biscay, but will they stick ?


My place this morning was 425th ; the fleet has grown to 1012 participating boats. 

Racing the Channel

Normally I will not update twice a day but today being the first full day I make an exception.

This ( my) morning (well in Europe around mid-night) the leaders in the Fleet had just passed the Strait of Dover and heading Westwards. Now about 12 hrs later the leaders
have almost reached the longitude of Plymouth in Cornwall looking for the moment to make a turn South for rounding the Frence cliffs at Brest or will the winds forecasts have better options.

The winds have been strong and I have sailed a short moment even a 30kts boatspeed.
It was rather busy though with many jibes, as there was a narrow path in the middle of the Channel with the highest winds and some sail changes to make the optimum speed.

Some explanation on the Ranking figures:
Some of you might have wondered why is my ranking so low as I am not in the front??? or why is it that high I  am almost the most westerly boat in the Channel ???
The progress control in LiveSkipper does measure the distance between your boat and the next gate, that is at the Cape Verde island in our case. This implies that sailing in Westerly direction that distance is almost the same and it matters a lot whether you are sailing under the Frence coast (shorter distance better classification) of sailing under the English coast (longer distance - lower classification). Trust me when we have turned and progress in southerly direction is made, it all will shake up and show a more accurate ranking status.
For sailors who want to see there ranking , you may have a look at the ranking list
 rank
or you can push the icon just below the game window on the LiveSkipper simulator screen.

Winds are now showing some sign of weakening so there is an interesting day of sailing ahead of us.

A Good Start

The Zeilen TransOcean sailing race came to a good start from IJmuiden. The fleet benefited from a strong (around 20kts) Easterly breeze.
This morning 3 gmt most boats have passed the Strait of Dover already and are turning to the West into the Channel and still benefiting from this strong Easterly winds.

I myself did not have the optimal course as is reflected by my ranking of 191 in the fleet of 965 boats. However the race is still long and there will be plenty of opportunity to win (or maybe loose) places.

Though it is late, you still can register for this race, here Liveskipper ;be it that you will have some miles to make up to the fleet.

The Start ###TODAY### of Zeilen TransOcean Sailing Race

 A last warning for the Start TODAY 1st of May 2011, of the Zeilen TransOceans virtual Sailing Race. Starting time is 19:00 GMT or 21:00 CET

There is still time to register here LiveSkipper , or on Nauticlink ; register for free and enjoy the excitement of virtual racing. I hope to see many sailors on the Start

LiveSkipper has been refreshed and it is an easy, comfortable, clear simulator and allows you sufficient nightrest with the excellent WayPoint Scheduler; and it is completely FREE even including the Scheduler, different sails and the auto pilot !

A study of the winds for the 1st day of racing shows mainly Easterly winds , strong , so I guess that Spinakker will have to do its work. Most likely the boats will pass Strait of Dover within 8-9 hrs to enter the Channel ; still in Easterly winds. 

It promisses to be a quick start in this race.

Training option with LiveSkipper in Bermuda

For those interested in this Zeilen TransOcean sailing race but new in LiveSkipper, I can inform you that a short race is organised that could be used fantastic to learn the LiveSkipper environment or hone your skills.

Note: this is an Imoca60 boat used in this Bermuda race . In the Zeilen TransOcean a Maxi_Trimaran will be sailed, but the LiveSkipper principles are the same

There is a short (just over one day) Sailing Race in the Bermuda's to start on Friday 29th April at 15:00 GMT. Register here:
LiveSkipper Bermuda Sailing Race

When you are new in LiveSkipper, you will have to create first a sailing boat account; which is completely free.

This short race, {and I have checked the windforecast, that is promissing a good breeze for comfortable sailing}, will give you the opportunity to learn the LiveSkipper sailing simulator and to give a view on how experienced sailors set their strategy for this race.

The Maxi Trimaran sailing boat

 
The Maxi Trimaran is one of the largest and fastest sailing boats at the moment. 

Maxi Trimaran a video impression

So this boat is the one you can be sailing for the TransOcean race .

Just log in on LiveSkipper , or on Nauticlink ; register for free and

                         start sailing.

The Specs:
Type : Oceanic Maxi Trimaran
Main Hull Length : 40 m. (131 feet)
Ama length : 37 m. (121 feet)
Width : 23 m. (75.4 feet)
Displacement : 23 tonnes (50,660 pounds) light but not too much.
Draft : 5,80 m. (19 feet)
Mast Heigth : 47 m. (154 feet...)
80 metric tons (176,211 pounds) of pressure under the mast base,
Winches withstand tensions more than 14 metric tons (30,837 pounds). Big arms needed.
Foils: 300 kilos (661 pounds) each...very light
Main Sail : 450 m2 (4,521 sq. feet)
Gennaker : 610 m2 (6,566 sq. feet)
Solent : 270 m2 (2,906 sq. feet)
13 sailors

All carbon as always.

And with the optimum winds and heading , the speed should reach over 40 kts.   

Route Map for TransOcean sailing race

I am testing a little how the blog can help me, so bear with me if one or the other post is a little off


I have started to make a Map for Start, Gate and Finish of the Zeilen TransOcean sailing race.
this link should bring you there Route Map TransOcean

I intend to indicate daily my position and give some comments in the blog, if there is anything interesting to say.

TransOcean Sailing race announcement.

A TransOcean sailing race is announced by Nauticlink that will sail from
Starting Point: IJmuiden , The Netherlands                                     to
Finish : Paramaribo, Suriname

Race Name: Zeilen TransOcean Race
The Start will be Sunday 1st May at 19:00 GMT = 21:00 CET

The sailing will be performed with the virtual sailing simulator LiveSkipper .
Registration is complete free, at Nauticlink, or Zeilen magazine www.zeilen.nl/transocean

Or if you have already sailed before with LiveSkipper, you can go to their site http://www.liveskipper.com/index.php and sail with your previous registered boat, or even make a new boat.