Login
Support Sailonline
If you haven't already - join the SAILONLINE YACHT CLUB!
Please also consider making a donation - all amounts are greatly appreciated!
Posted by A2 ![]() |
|
This event is one of my favorites here at SOL. Evaluating the design offerings by the emerging class of budding naval architects gives this race its unique distinction.
IMSYC-66 C.O.R.E. values Methodology: I have chosen to employ an Ordinal ranking system that is common to duplicate bridge competition where the results are compared to players holding identical cards with bidding and sequence of play the only variables. This year the polar txt files provide data for 18 points of sail for each of 6 different wind speeds for a total of 108 data points. Within each data point a design is awarded 1 point for each design that it has a higher value than. Therefore with 11 designers represented 10 is the maximum award available for any given element and 5 is the median. Here for brevity's sake I will list only Upwind & Downwind composites utilizing TWAs of 90 and below for the former & 100 and higher for the latter. Comparative Ordinal Ranking Evaluation Boat . Upwind . Downwind A: ___ 9.46 ___ 9.28 B: ___ 8.35 ___ 8.18 C: ___ 8.22 ___ 6.49 D: ___ 6.37 ___ 7.64 E: ___ 6.03 ___ 6.82 F: ___ 3.59 ___ 5.66 G: ___ 4.87 ___ 3.62 H: ___ 4.37 ___ 2.56 I: ___ 2.32 ___ 1.31 J: ___ 0.69 ___ 2.18 K: ___ 0.72 ___ 1.27 This years leading design obtained a Max performance value at 83 of the 108 data points in the array demonstrating unparalleled excellence across the board for upwind & downwind points of sail in medium to light wind conditions. I have substituted letter codes for the boat designations so that others may conduct their own analysis without prejudice. --- Last Edited by 8mR Who at 2011-05-30 17:02:00 --- None so blind |
|
Posted by RainbowChaser ![]() |
|
Now if THIS post doesn't generate discussion about the IMSYC boat designs this year then nothing will!!!
![]() Thanks!! |
|
Posted by Rod |
|
To 8mR Who
I have attempted to evaluate the 11 designs, but in a subjective way (not mathematical). I note also that two of the designs are clearly superior, but I also note that the maximum downwind performance occurs at different TWAs. Does your procedure account for performance characteristics of this kind? I assume that someone will run a 'router' simulation in a number of different wind regimes and derive a more exacting evaluation---but it won't be me, and therefore I conclude that I have little chance of winning for my design choice----but I will sail my eventual choice---and hope for the best.. If it breaks, it's not strong enough--if it doesn't, it's too heavy. |
|
Posted by A2 ![]() |
|
I have read the proposals provided by the link on the front page blog post of this site. The designers applied their VPP's to SailPlanner to estimate their optimized solutions.
Based solely on the published polar txt files provided by all the designs, the leading boat indicated by my list has the maximum value for 66 of the 72 points of sail for 8m/sec and below, conceding only 3 upwind TWAs to the 2nd place boat & 3 downwind TWAs to the 3rd place boat. To be sure all I have done is rank the values not predict a winner nor choose a route. This procedure however does narrow the field for those who wish to do a more definitive analysis. That being said I believe the best strategy is a well developed polar, your mileage may vary. --- Last Edited by 8mR Who at 2011-05-31 00:27:51 --- None so blind |
|
Posted by 76Trombones ![]() |
|
This was a much trickier challenge than previous IMSYC, and I suspect that some of the students are glad to see the back of it!
![]() Not only were the designers given free reign over pretty much every aspect of the hulls and rigs but they had to get them through a "slightly" finicky validation process (permission to throw crumpled up midterm exams at instructor). Oh, and write and debug a pretty solid VPP to boot! I'm always curious to hear more about the design process - a couple of the reports stand out from this point of view. I implemented Jakob and Mikael's code and spent a weekend monkeying with it. I did some "designing" but no optimising, which is usually much more work than fun... My "traditional" hull was built to be a minimum displacement, max LWL, min beam, min depth, min CP with full width flare (convex) at bow and stern. You'd never do the last part in particular designing IRL, but this exercise is in some ways the opposite of what racing boat designers usually do. Sort of VPP equivalent of a winged keel. Once the hull had been trialed I shifted the centres back a bit for a small boost. No limits imposed here, and probably a chance to exploit a loophole? Didn't investigate. My hulls were parametric. I can't imagine trying to get a digitised lines drawing through the checks. Another alternative would be to use CAD - Free!ship or any other NA package will generate tables of offsets that convert easily to the britfair format use here. Two rigs - a high aspect "wing" with no draggy headsails, and a one with spin. You pay full-time a weight penalty for the ability to carry a spin even with no jib set. Bummer ![]() The wing is faster through about TWA140-150. We'll have to make up VMG downwind by playing shifts. The trad rig is a better all-rounder maybe, but maybe less fun. ---- It's possible to built a "scow" hull with massive righting moment on a nice narrow immersed section. Tricky to pass the rules, and I had trouble keeping the VPP stable, but otherwise it's faster than the "monohull". There seems to be an unadvertised limit (hmm) that KG must be neg, which hurts this approach. I ended up carrying around unneeded lead. ---- Kudos to the design teams for their very hard work, and thanks to jakob for bringing this to SOL (or vice versa). Special thanks for sharing the course material. Better than a crossword! ![]() 76T |
|
Posted by sol ![]() |
|
8mR would you go into a little more detail how you did this... i understand you ranked each boat on each TWA/TWS in the polar and then award 10 pnts to first, 9 to 2nd etc for each point, then what? Added them up for the upwind and downwind angles as you specified ?
And somehow normalised, how divide by 108? (or however many data points there were?) Awesome idea, including this for vmg angles would be extremely helpful... I take it you have a mac from your comment in 'Useful Free Tool' thread, so perhaps you may not be able to use this, atleast not without WINE or similar, but I posted a new tool over on soltools.wordpress.com that is particularly useful for this race ![]() ---------------- Who wrote this post please? --- Last Edited by RainbowChaser at 2011-06-07 08:33:58 --- |
|
Posted by A2 ![]() |
|
I tried to explain my methodology but I am more than willing to dispel any lingering confusion.
This is a ranking of the boat speeds achieved at each TWA for each W.S. listed in the polar txt files. There are 18 points of sail for each of 6 wind speeds. So it is a straight forward spreadsheet table. I divided those data points into 2 groups of 9 each, 30~90 & 100~180. If all the boat speeds are different, then you will do a sort and corresponding assign ordinal values of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 & 0 for those designs, at that data point. In some cases there are equal boat speeds listed in which case 1 point is awarded for each design that is below that mark & 0.5 for each design that it is equal with, for example; 10, 9, 8, 7, 5.5, 5.5, 4, 3, 2, 0.5 & 0.5 In an array of 11 boats the total for these ordinals is always 55. From there it is only just the basic average for the number TWAs for the given subset. All the upwind ordinals added together divided by 9 and likewise the downwind ordinals. This is done for each Wind Speed and then similarly averaged together. If not done in this fashion for simplicity's sake here in the forum, where formatting is not possible, there would be 108 separate categories, which is how the spreadsheet is organized prior to any averaging. In effect all upwind ordinals added together divided by 54 and then the same for the downwind ordinals. The numbers in the list represent the average ranking, not the boat speed. While this approach may not be very sophisticated and lacks quantitative specificity, it clearly identifies those boats at either end of the performance spectrum. --- Last Edited by 8mR Who at 2011-05-31 15:22:53 --- None so blind |
|
Posted by captjack1942 ![]() |
|
Did you take into account prevailing winds in the Western Med and East Atlantic in June?
http://www.offshoreblue.com/navigation/pilot-charts.php |
|
Posted by A2 ![]() |
|
The boat designers took into account the expected wind conditions, I have merely taken their output and compared them to each other. In doing so I identified a particular boat that is faster on 66 out 72 points of sail for 8m/sec and below wind conditions.
Not only that but it out performs the other boats going up wind at the higher wind speeds as well. It does not have the reaching capability in higher winds of the 3rd & 4th place boats however, so if the weather gives you that option for the majority of the race then you would be well advised to pick one of those. --- Last Edited by 8mR Who at 2011-05-31 16:58:59 --- None so blind |
|
Posted by sol ![]() |
|
Nice spinnaker lobe for the higher TWSs 76T!
![]() No TWA=0 line though - which turned out to be a good thing as it made me modify the polar Explorer to handle such files... Any particular reason for not including it?? or a TWS=0 column? Sure they are only zeroes but nedded for correct interpolation of high TWA's or very low wind speeds... -------------------- Who wrote this post please? --- Last Edited by RainbowChaser at 2011-06-07 08:35:08 --- |
Races
Next Race: 00d 00h 00m
Current Races:
Garagiste's Test Lab

Race #1939
INFOby brainaid.de
RC 44 Particulars
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
TRQ3 - TRCH - SUPSOL - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Saturday,
23 August at 23:00 UTC
Race starts: Aug 10th 12:00 Registration will open soon
GO TO RACE
Patricks Test

Race #1932
INFO by brainaid.de
Young 88 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
SSANZ - SYC
Race starts: Aug 03rd 08:00 Registration Open!
GO TO RACE
Joanne's Test Race Zone
Race #1847
INFOby brainaid.de
Fareast 31R PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC - RED
Race starts: Jul 25th 12:00 Registration Closed
GO TO RACE
Marstrand to Cowes 2025

We invite you to another race, which will kick off the third quarter of our ARCH series. We'll set off from Marstrand, Sweden, which, along with Skagen, Denmark, marks the line commonly recognised as the border separating the Baltic Sea from the North Sea. The 650nm route will take our Ripitide 50 across the North Sea and the English Channel to Cowes, England. Watch out for the fast ferries crossing the Channel from Calais to Dover 😊.
Race #1935
INFO from brainaid.de
Riptide 50 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
ARQ3 - ARCH - SUPSOL – SYC
Race starts: Jul 21st 17:00 Registration Open!
GO TO RACE
Nantucket Sprint 2025

Welcome to Nantucket, from whence Herman Melville’s Cap’n Ahab sailed round The Horn into the northern Pacific Ocean to hunt the gray whale - whose migrations are celebrated elsewhere in SOL’s Q4 schedule - he never to return. And whaling too, as the 19th C progressed, like Ahab disappeared from Nantucket as the harbour silted up and mainland Massachusetts whaling stations benefited from rail connections. But beach life, yachting and nostalgia has rescued the island from oblivion, so to celebrate leisure, SOL gives you the Nantucket Sprint - 25nm in 29er_XX’s from east of Tuckernuck Island across the sound to a finish just inside the mouth of the harbour. Enjoy!
Race 1936
INFO by brainaid.de
29er_XX PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
SPRQ3 - SPRCH - SUPSOL – SYC
Race starts: Jul 19th 15:00 Registration Closed
GO TO RACE
Puil's Practice Palaver
Nearly there; only 2500nm to go, round the Horn and up the Red Sea to Suez into what will more than likely be more headwinds for this sixth leg of our African circumnavigation, to be followed in September by a final sneaky dash up the canal back to where we started all those months ago. We’ll be sailing a not entirely appropriate-for-upwind-work 60ft Trimaran!
Race #1859
INFOby brainaid.de
60ft Trimaran PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC - ABS
Race starts: Jun 03rd 11:30 Registration Open!
GO TO RACE
Gulf of St Lawrence - test - Mirek
-
Race starts: Apr 21st 17:00
Registration Open!
Stefan's Duck Pond

PRIZE: SMPF
Race #1900
INFO by brainaid.de
Orange 125 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: OCQ3 - OCCH - SUPSOL - SYC
Race starts: Feb 06th 00:00 Registration Closed
GO TO RACE
Trapped Camel
-
Race starts: Aug 21st 15:03
Registration Open!
Caravanserai
-
Race starts: Aug 08th 17:00
Registration Open!
Patrick's Playpen

Welcome to the legendary "Westcoaster," a race that has tested sailors for over 50 years. Spanning 435 nautical miles, this iconic journey takes racers from Melbourne, across the formidable Bass Strait, and around Tasmania's rugged west coast to the finish line in Hobart. Organized by the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria, the Westcoaster is renowned for its challenging conditions and adventurous spirit. This year, our SOLers will tackle the course in the swift and capable First 47.7, a yacht launched by Beneteau in 2000, built for speed and endurance in long ocean races. Get ready for an exhilarating ride in one of Australia’s most celebrated yacht races!
Race #1841
INFO by brainaid.de
First 47.7 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC
Race starts: Aug 03rd 08:00 Registration Open!
GO TO RACE
Mirek's Mess & Canteen
music deleted
Race starts: Apr 26th 18:00
Registration Closed
Antarctica 1 of 3
-
Race starts: Jan 27th 21:57
Registration Open!
Flinders Island TIMED Race 2024

Race #1776
INFO by brainaid.de
Ocean 50 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
TRQ1 - TRCH - SUPSOL - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Saturday,
27 January at 23:00 UTC
Race starts: Jan 14th 12:00 Registration Open!
GO TO RACE
Tasman Double 2023 - Hobart to Sydney
music deleted
Race starts: Jan 02nd 02:00
Registration Open!
John's Test Zone
It's time to test your ocean racing skills in a variety of weathers as we head the 6400 NM between Hong Kong and Auckland in a fast Super Maxi 100. We'll be heading from a northern summer to a southern winter so keep plenty of cold weather gear and warm rum on board!
PRIZE: SMPF
Race #1597
INFOby brainaid.de
Super Maxi 100 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
OCQ3-OCCH-SUPSOL-SYC
Race starts: Sep 01st 04:00
Registration Closed
calm's Practice Race
Last raced in 2021, we return to Boston for another race to Newport. And just like in 2021, the chosen boat is once again the speedy R/P 66. This is a TIMED race so pick your winds wisely and see how quickly you can complete this 132nm run! For reference, the winning time in 2021 was 6:12:28.
RE-REGISTER HERE to race again after finishing a run
Race #1700
INFO by brainaid.de
R/P 66 PARTICULARS
NAM_AWIP WX Updates:
0245 / 0845 / 1445 / 2045
Ranking:
TRQ3 - TRCH - SUPSOL - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Sunday, 18 August at 23:00 UTC
Race starts: Aug 05th 12:00
Registration Closed
ZONA DE PRUEBA DE MANUEL

Please note the displayed course is provisional; the actual course will be set after the IRL course is announced at the skipper's briefing 48 hours before the start, and no later than 24 hours before the start.
Race #1561
INFOby brainaid.de
Young 88 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC - NTR
Race starts: Jan 10th 14:00 Registration Closed
GO TO RACE
San Sebastian to La Rochelle 2021
Once again, our SOL race will be shared with a group of Polish sailors, representing one of the stages of their Virtual Training Cruise around Europe. 171 nm in Delphia 47s across the not always calm Bay of Biscay from San Sebastian to La Rochelle will undoubtedly be one to test their skills. Welcome/Witajcie and we wish you all fair winds.
Race #1441
INFOby brainaid.de
Delphia 47 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC
Race starts: Mar 05th 17:00
Registration Open!
Aland Sea TIMED Race
Norrtalje Segelsallskap, 70km NE of Stockholm was founded in 1920, and time was when the society’s season opened with a challenging offshore race from the club line off Flaten island at the mouth of the long and narrow Norrtaljeviken, out onto a triangular course around the Aland Sea, to finish at Simpnas slightly to the north on Bjorko island - some 78nm in total. A fine race that SOL, being from these parts, ran annually up until 2013. Last run in autumn 2018, we return here to race the course again in the form a TIMED RUN in spanking new Club Swan 50s.
RE-REGISTER HERE to race again after finishing a run.
Race #1444
INFO by brainaid.de
Club Swan 50 Particulars
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
RANKING:
TRQ1 - TRCH - SUPSOL - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Sunday, 28 February at 23:00 UTC
Race starts: Feb 15th 12:00
Registration Closed
Bimmer's Test Zone
What about a speedy X-362 380nm race in the waters off S America, just to blow cobwebs away!!
Race #1415
INFOby brainaid.de
X-362 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
SYC
ALT. CLIENT:Classic
Race starts: Dec 21st 16:00
Registration Open!
Antarctica 3 of 3
-
Race starts: Sep 16th 11:13
Registration Closed
BLANK POLAR
Race starts: Feb 16th 00:00
Registration Open!
SYC Ranking
Series
- test
- SYC ranking (series rename test)
- 2016 TRQ4
- 2016 TRQ3
- 2016 TRQ2
- 2016 TRQ1
- 2016 TRCH
- 2016 SUPSOL
- 2016 SRQ4
- 2016 SRQ3
- 2016 SRQ2
- 2016 SRQ1
- 2016 SPRCH
- 2016 OCQ4
- 2016 OCQ3
- 2016 OCQ2
- 2016 OCQ1
- 2016 OCCH
- 2016 Corporate Open Gold
- 2016 A3
- 2015 TRQ4
- 2015 TRQ3
- 2015 TRQ2
- 2015 TRQ1
- 2015 TRCH
- 2015 Tasman Double
- 2015 Tall Ships
- 2015 SYQ4
- 2015 SYQ3
- 2015 SYQ2
- 2015 SYQ1
- 2015 SYCCH
- 2015 SUPSOL
- 2015 SSANZ Triple
- 2015 SRQ4
- 2015 SRQ3
- 2015 SRQ2
- 2015 SRQ1
- 2015 SPRCH
- 2015 OCQ4
- 2015 OCQ3
- 2015 OCQ2
- 2015 OCQ1
- 2015 OCCH
- 2015 Aegean Rally
- 2014 Timed Races Championship
- 2014 Tasman Double
- 2014 Tall Ships
- 2014 SYC Championship
- 2014 SSANZ Trio
- 2014 SSANZ RNI
- 2014 Sprints Championship
- 2014 Scandinavian Tour
- 2014 Round The World Race
- 2014 Ocean Championship
- 2014-2015 Sailonline World Race
- 2013 Tall Ships
- 2013 SYC Championship
- 2013 SSANZ B&G Simrad
- 2013 Capt Anderson
- 2012 W Australia Regatta
- 2012 Tall Ships
- 2012 SSANZ B&G Simrad
- 2012 RNZ Two Handed
- 2012 Global Challenge
- 2012 Ecker Cup
- 2012 Black Sea
- 2012 A3
- 2011 Vancouver Island
- 2011 Tasman Double
- 2011 SSANZ B&G Simrad
- 2011 SOL Global Challenge
- 2011 SJORA Series
- 2011 Scandinavian Tour
- 2011 Round North Island
- 2011 Asian Sprints
- 2011-2012 SOL World Race
- 2010 Tasman Double
- 2010 Ouzo Rally
- 2010 Iberian Tour
- 2010 Auckland Regional
- 2009 French SOLo
- 2009 Bosphore - Bretagne
- 2008 SYCC
- 2008 -2013 SYC Week Race Championship
- 2008 -2013 SYC Week-End Race Championship
- 2008 -2013 SYC Ocean Race Championship
- 2008-2009 Sailonline Ocean Race
Mobile Client
SYC members have the benefit of access to our mobile/lightweight web client!