Tag Archives: weather

Ocean racing along the latitude parallels

This is not really a report on my Geraldton-Cape Town race so much as some observations on SOL ocean racing which hopefully might lead to some conversations on the Solfans blog and Sol chat.

I have promised to do a Pilot Charts routing before each race to show what, according to the ‘most likely’ reading of the Pilot Charts for the location and time and year we are racing, would be the ‘most likely’ quickest course.

This is of course not likely to be the course any of us might actually sail because we’ll be racing in ‘real weather’, and not ‘most likely’.  However, even from this second race where I have compared the Pilot Charts course with the actual, there are some interesting observations to make. Continue reading Ocean racing along the latitude parallels

SSANZ 100 — pre race

At start time, a Low Pressure system is moving east across North Island − crossing the coast at Hokianga Harbour, about 100nm NW of Auckland.
SSANZ100StartWeather00Zpct67This weather system will determine the winds (TWS and TWD) for the fleet throughout the race.

An initial wind forecast of 6 kts out of the east dictates an on-the-wind start.  The sail remains a beat to wind’ard until past the initial Motutapu S mark and into the Motuihe Channel.

Continue reading SSANZ 100 — pre race

The Vineyard 2014 — Pre-Race

Pre-Race update:

With less than 24 hours to go, the wind at the start is forecast to be out of the NE and under 5kts. Total time for the race looks to be about a day and a half.
StartAtTheCows_titledThe wind is forecast to clock 90° in the first six hours, giving racers a port tack start, and then a long reach up Long Island Sound on starboard.
Slipping through Plum Gut, the starboard tack continues until the clocking wind forces a tack toward the sea. By that time, TWS is just over 6kts.

Continue reading The Vineyard 2014 — Pre-Race