Tangential, but does anyone know of a video game that really gets sailing right? The best I knew of was Valheim, but it is not really great at all, I don’t think tacking works… at all?
There is a very fun, and somewhat realistic global sailing navigation program.
Look up sailnavsim.
It is a sailing simulator not visual. (Except for maps.)
You can join races, start a random race, and/or create your own races. By yourself, or against others.For example during COVID, we organized a open race from England to South Africa. The race runs in real time, so for open ocean races, depending on where you are going, it can take weeks. You leave your boat at a certain heading, then can leaner three computer - for an hour, a week, or whatever. But the wind can change. Using a wind map( link provided) you adjust your headings. Then check your SOG( speed over ground). If you're not careful, you might actuality go backwards. Also avoid Islands in the middle of the ocean( zoom in on the map.)
So, in terms of navigation is quite realistic.
Sailaway and eSail on Steam are OK if it’s winter and the lakes are frozen but as a sailor I just couldn’t get into it, plenty accurate but I’d rather just go sailing.
Ultima IV, Quest of the Avatar. Okay maybe not entirely, but it's more accurate than your average game's concept of 'sailing in the same direction as the wind = fast'.
The article mentions Sydney harbours 18 foot racing skiffs. These are very light 3 man racing vessels with far more sail than boat. They are very fast and require all 3 crew to be suspended on trapeze wires far from the hull, just to stay upright.
They are fun to watch because they flip and capsize a lot.
Want to go full physics nerd? Sailing can be described in terms of reference frames. While to an outside observer a sailboat can travel about 45 upwind, from the boat's reference frame one must add the forward speed to the wind vector, putting the "apparant wind" much closer to directly ahead. A modern sailcraft like a windsurfer really does feel as if its travelling directly into the wind, or is making its own wind. Going almost as fast as a car, hovering above the waves, directly into the wind, feels like magic because it basically is.
A high-performance foiling catamaran can, under the right conditions, make progress against a 10-knot current by using the apparent wind generated by the current itself. As the current moves past the stationary water, it creates a relative wind of 10 knots that the catamaran’s sails can harness. By angling its sails and using its foils to minimize drag, the boat can generate thrust and lift, potentially achieving a speed over water faster than the current. This allows it to tack or gybe efficiently, making indirect progress upstream.
Real sailors arrive using the "colada" effect but lately there's been a growing reliance on the "chelada" effect since Modelo introduced those tasty red cans! They go down fast and make a day of sailing go even faster.
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