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Rolex Fastnet PreparationRoyal Ocean Racing Club
25/06/13
ROLEX FASTNET RACE 2013WHAT WE WILL COVER
• The role of the navigator
• Pre-race preparation
• Sources of weather and tidal information
• BRAKE
• Weather Routing
• Creating a Race Plan
• During the Race
The role of the navigator
ROLEX FASTNET RACE 2013THE ROLE OF THE NAVIGATOR
• Notice of race
• Sailing instructions
• Rules
• Class regulations
• Safety regulations
• Performance Data
• Sail Crossovers
• Hazards & VTS
• Shipping (Lights)
• Course to sail
• Strategy
• Competitor tracking
• Sailing instruments
• Navigation software
• Weather
• Tides and currents
• VHF and satellite coms
• Protests
Pre Race Preparation
ROLEX FASTNET RACE 2013ONSHORE ADMIN
• Notice of Race– Rules governing racing (inc. weather availability during racing,
COLREGS and VTS, (Rule 10 IRPCS))
– Race Course (Marks of the course)
– Programme (Race date, skippers briefing, prize giving)
– Registration and measurements
• Sailing Instructions– Start sequence
– VHF Channels
– Reporting
– Finish Area
– Penalties
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONIMPORTANT REGULATIONS
1.11 COMMUNICATION1.11.1 WEATHER AND TIDAL INFORMATIONRule 41(c) is replaced by:
A boat shall not receive help from any outside source, except (c) help in the form of information which is freely available to all boats, which shall include navigational, weather, tide or current information from any source which is available to all boats whether or not by payment of a fee or subscription, but shall not include any information gathered or the subject of interpretation by, or any advice received from, any source not on board the boat and which is specific to the boat and her situation.
By way of example and interpretation, downloading charts, weather and/or tidal GRIB files from subscription services, or having such information passed to the boat in its pure form, is permitted but receiving messages or information which is the result of interpretation as it applies to the boat is not permitted.
Mark Instructions Notes
Sconce Buoy Leave to port 50° 42’.53N 001° 31’.43W
Runnel Stone Lt Buoy Leave to starboard 50° 01’.18N 005° 40’.36W
Fastnet Rock Round to port TAKE THE TIME WHEN THE FASTNET LIGHT bears 180º magnetic, record the time on the declaration and report by text message or email. See SI 2.05.2
Pantaenius Buoy Round to port 51º 17’.02N 009º 41’.04W This is a 1st Class Steel special mark yellow buoy with “X” top mark and Radar Reflector Light FL.Y. 3 secs.
The Isles of Scilly, including Bishop Rock, and all outlying rocks and islets within 8 miles of Peninnis Head Lt., St Mary’s
Round to port
Then to the finishing line at Plymouth. See SI 2.19
Distance: approximately 608 miles
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONTHE COURSE
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONTHE COURSE & VTS
ROLEX FASTNET RACE 2013BOAT PREPERATION
• Instruments, GPS, Radar, Comms– Calibration (depth etc) & Operation (MOB Procedure, target tracking,
charts, sunrise & sunset times etc)
– Spares
• Polars and Sails– Nav polars
– Sail Crossovers
• Nav equipment– Compass & Binoculars
– NavNotes & Log
– Checklists
– Charts and tidal stream atlas
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONNAVIGATION LIGHTS & COLREGS
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONPOLAR DATA
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONSAIL CROSSOVER CHART
Pre Race Weather
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONWEATHER INFORMATION
• Historical (Climatology)– Useful for telling us historically the weather patterns on the course
• Real Time… almost– Useful for validating weather forecasts and GRIB files
• Satellite– Great for validating GRIB weather files and seeing frontal systems
• GRIB Files– Used wisely, the most powerful weather forecasting tool
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONHISTORICAL WEATHER DATA
Statistics based on observations taken between 11/2000 - 5/2013 daily from
7am to 7pm local time
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONHISTORICAL WEATHER DATA – Across the race course
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONREAL TIME WEATHER DATA
Real Time Weather observations at RNAS Culdrose 2118 BST 210613
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONREAL TIME WEATHER DATA
Real Time Weather observations www.xcweather.com 2120 BST 210613
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONWEATHER VALIDATION
Source: http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONWEATHER VALIDATION – Satellite & GRIB comparison
Source: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk Source: http://www.predictwind.com
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONWEATHER VALIDATION – Satellite imagery in Deckman
Source: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk Source: http://www.predictwind.com
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONWEATHER VALIDATION – Ensembles & Spaghetti Plots
Source: http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/enspanel2.html
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONGRIB FILES
• GRIB files are the format used by the world Met Offices to store and exchange weather forecast data
• Most sources of GRIB files use the US General Forecast System model (GFS) – Important to know that the base horizontal resolution for this is 28km
– Therefore for every 28km by 28km square there is 1 data point every 3 hours. (With NO land effect)
• Most FREE GRIB files are raw outputs from this numeric model
• Most data is run at a 10m height
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONGRIB FILES – 1.0 degree resolution (Standard FREE file)
Source: UGRIB GFS Model 1600 GMT 21/06/13
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONGRIB FILES – 0.5 degree resolution (Native resolution)
Source: UGRIB GFS Model 1600 GMT 21/06/13
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONGRIB FILES – 0.1 degree Hi-Res (Subscription only)
Source: PredictWind GFS Model 1600 GMT 21/06/13
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONPRE RACE PREPARATION – WEATHER SOURCES
• Historical (Climatology)– www.windfinder.com
• Real Time– www.windfinder.com
– www.xcweather.com
– www.weather.uwyo.edu (University of Wyoming) text only, low bandwidth
• Satellite– www.metoffice.gov.uk
– sat.dundee.ac.uk
– www.sat24.com
• GRIBS– PredictWind, UGRIB, SQUID2…
Pre Race Tide and Currents
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONPRE RACE PREPARATION – TIDAL INFORMATION
• Almanacs (Paper/Digital)
• Tidal Diamonds (Paper/Digital)
• Tidal Stream Atlas (Paper/Digital)
• GRIB (Digital)
Choose your source now and practise with it to make sure it works for you
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONTIDAL STREAM ATLAS
Source: UKHO Tidal Diamonds and SHOM Tidal Atlas, 2300GMT 21/06/13
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONTIDAL STREAM & GRIB
Source: Tidetech SW Approaches 0.04 degree , 2300GMT 21/06/13
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONTIDAL STREAM & GRIB
Source: Tidetech Channel 0.02 degree, 2300GMT 21/06/13
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONTIDAL STREAM & GRIB
Source: Tidetech Channel 0.02 degree, 2300GMT 21/06/13 ZOOM
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONWEYMOUTH LONDON 2012 – the extreme e.g.
Source: Tidetech London2012 0.001 degree,
BRAKE
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONWEATHER & TIDE SOURCES
WEATHER SOURCES
• Historical (Climatology)
– www.windfinder.com
• Real Time
– www.windfinder.com
– www.xcweather.com
– www.weather.uwyo.edu (University of Wyoming) text only, low bandwidth
• Satellite
– www.metoffice.gov.uk
– sat.dundee.ac.uk
– www.sat24.com
• GRIBs
– PredictWind, UGRIB, SQUID2…
TIDE & CURRENT SOURCES
• Tidal Predictions
– www.easytide.ukho.gov.uk
– www.ntslf.org
• Tidal Stream Atlas
– SHOM for Deckman
– Winning Tides for Deckman
– Peter Bruce’s “Tidal Streams Between Portland Bill and St.Alban's Head”
• Tidal Diamonds
– UKHO in Deckman
• Current GRIBs
– www.tidetech.org
Pre Race Weather Routing
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONWEATHER ROUTING – THE COURSE
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONWEATHER ROUTING – BASIC GRIB WEATHER ONLY
1.0° GFS GRIB
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONWEATHER ROUTING – BASIC GRIB vs. MEDIUM RES
1.0° GFS GRIB
0.5° GFS GRIB
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONWEATHER ROUTING – MEDIUM RES AND TIDAL DATA
1.0° GFS GRIB
0.5° GFS GRIB
0.5° GFS + UKHO & SHOM Tidal data
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONWEATHER ROUTING – MEDIUM RES AND TIDAL GRIB
1.0° GFS GRIB
0.5° GFS GRIB
0.5° GFS + UKHO & SHOM Tidal data
0.5° GFS + Tidetech Current GRIB
Creating aRace Plan
During the race
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONNAVIGATORS ROLL DURING THE RACE
• Try to be out of a watch system
– allows you to function based on forecast and reporting times
• Link with the Tactician and Skipper about key decisions
– Headlands, wind shifts, tide gates, VTS etc.
• Determine the optimal course to steer, with context e.g sea state, developing conditions etc.
– Refer to your Race Plan and if needed, modify it
• Re-run weather routing
– after each forecast, update with weather observations and satellite imagery if available
• Competitor Tracking
– Online and with bearings at dawn and dusk
• Performance Monitoring– Check your polar data, modify your navigation polar if you loose a sail
ROLEX FASTNET PREPARATIONWEATHER ROUTING – COMPETITORS
TP52
Farr 45X-35VOR70
