CYC Virtual Sailing – a step by step introduction.

CYC virtual sailing is available to members from all Sections.

We may not be able to get out on the water during the Lockdown, but at CYC we can still race boats. There is a growing community at CYC that are turning to Virtual Sailing to get their fix of water sports.

This post is intended to help you get started. It can seem a bit daunting at first with so many new things to setup and get used to. But if you take it one step at a time, its quite straight forward. If you have ever played a video game, then virtual sailing is going to be easy.

Its possible to enjoy eracing on your own, just sign up with Virtual Regatta Inshore (VRI) and have fun.

But if you want to join in the races organised by CYC, then you have to setup a few more tools.

 

To Get Setup (before the event)

1) Install Virtual regatta Inshore https://www.virtualregatta.com/en/ and register to choose a Pseudo Name, this will be your name that shows up during racing, and in the results tables.  VRI, can be run on mobile phones, iPads, or on a pc.

Once installed and registered, there is a “sailing school”, which will take you through the boat and race controls. It’s recommended that you complete this before joining a regatta.

On Virtual Regatta Inshore, there are many “open event” races for you to join to practice and develop your techniques.

2) Sign up with Discord. The Racing is organised through Discord, an online discussion site, once you have registered, you can join in any of the discussion threads. The link to the private CYC discord server can be found in many of the club newsletters, if you can’t find it contact cycdinghysection@gmail.com for the link.

3) Choose a Sail number. Visit Saliranks https://sailranks.com/v/players choose a Sail number (>1000) that hasn’t already been taken. (just make a note of the number, you register it in the next step)

4) Register your sail number with the Race Officer on Discord,  Visit the #registration channel in discord – enter your Pseudo Name and chosen Sail Number. (so that you can be registered as an esailor)

5) Register for the specific race event : Visit the Regatta thread (e.g. #regatta-04-04-2020-1500 ) and again enter your Pseudo Name and Sail Number (to register for that specific event)

The Event

6) Join the regatta chat on discord. Approximately 20 minutes before Race time – have discord running, with the regatta thread selected so you can chat to the other competitors and receive instructions from the race officer. Use the chat to confirm you are ready to race.

7) Enter the CYC Race  : The Race officer will issue a Race Name e.g. CYC1. Enter that in VRI in the Custom Race field.

8) Race Join the race, when you first enter the race you will be shown the course. line up at the start line. Enjoy the race!

9) Wait for the next race keep discord open to chat between races and get updated instructions.

8) Check your results. Check your series results by visiting the Sailranks page (there is a link at the top of the regatta’s thread.