Facebook

Login

Support Sailonline

If you haven't already - join the SAILONLINE YACHT CLUB!

Please also consider making a donation - all amounts are greatly appreciated!

Board » Technical Support » Volvo 70 polars

Posted by
Hirilondë


Users avatar

Posts
48
Registered at
2010-02-22 12:50:31
2013-05-07 05:19:01 - Volvo 70 polars
I have to think the speeds for close hauled sailing in the game polars for moderate winds are inaccurate. I am sailing in 11.09 kts of wind and I sail faster at 30º twa than at 40º. I have never seen a polar like this before. I can't believe the boats sail well at all at 30º twa, never mind do it faster than 40º.

Valleys in polars occur at angles where one sail is losing efficiency the another has not gained it yet. I can't imagine that a sail change is called for between 30º and 40º in 11 knts. of wind. I know of no boat that would require a sail change between those angles at any wind speed.
Posted by
Tyger / Robert Neilson


Users avatar

Posts
108
Registered at
2012-05-28 15:07:00
2013-05-07 06:07:58 - Re: Volvo 70 polars
Hiri - I noticed that to but apparently this has been discussed in the past. From what Jakob says I assume it is a legitimate polar. Very strange though. http://www.sailonline.org/board/thread/2902/vo-70-polars-question-for-jakob/?page=1
“We may have arrived on different ships, but we are all in the same boat now!” Martin Luther King Jr.
Posted by
Tyger / Robert Neilson


Users avatar

Posts
108
Registered at
2012-05-28 15:07:00
2013-05-07 06:36:04 - Re: Volvo 70 polars
.... more discussion here. http://www.sailport.se/board/thread/1364/vo70-v4-and-vo70-polars/?page=1
Seems as though SOL is using the old polar for this race and not the updated version.
Any other SOL race I have been in with the Volvo 70 boat, the polar has been the VO70-v4.
I wonder if RC and the Techs are aware.

--- Last Edited by Tyger at 2013-05-07 06:39:57 ---
“We may have arrived on different ships, but we are all in the same boat now!” Martin Luther King Jr.
Posted by
Tyger / Robert Neilson


Users avatar

Posts
108
Registered at
2012-05-28 15:07:00
2013-05-07 07:09:49 - Re: Volvo 70 polars
The VO70 polar on the Blur site would suggest that at 11 knots of wind, the upwind VMG would be about 48 degrees and BS of just under 10 knots.

http://www.blur.se/polar/VO70_polar.txt

Very different to the SOL boat.
“We may have arrived on different ships, but we are all in the same boat now!” Martin Luther King Jr.
Posted by
NZL_Scotsman


Users avatar

Posts
251
Registered at
2008-10-04 07:59:40
2013-05-07 10:26:12 - Re: Volvo 70 polars
Polar doesn't make sense to me either. I thought this generation of VO70 was quite poor upwind, but the polar suggests it is excellent. It also seems to be faster BS closer to the wind in some moderate tws, which definitely does not make sense.
Posted by
Hirilondë


Users avatar

Posts
48
Registered at
2010-02-22 12:50:31
2013-05-07 12:41:58 - Re: Volvo 70 polars
New or old, I don't believe what we have is accurate, at least not for moderate winds. The rest of the ranges of both angles and wind speeds looks good, or at least plausible.

If I recall, the highest the 2008 boats could point was 36º TWA. The tendency for ocean racing boats is to give up some weatherly efficiency in favor of greater speeds off the wind. This is because they virtually always race in the favored direction around the world (easterly) or for the passage they make. So it wouldn't surprise me if these boats were not as weatherly as the 08 boats.

What ever we use as polars is an approximation, or the polars of a specific boat as they are all slightly different. But regardless, I can't imagine any of them can sail 30º TWA, nor do I believe they lose speed bearing off from 30º TWA towards 40º at any wind speed.
Posted by
Hirilondë


Users avatar

Posts
48
Registered at
2010-02-22 12:50:31
2013-05-07 22:09:38 - Re: Volvo 70 polars
That looks much better.
Posted by
NZL_Scotsman


Users avatar

Posts
251
Registered at
2008-10-04 07:59:40
2013-05-07 23:01:31 - Re: Volvo 70 polars
We have switched to the VO70v4 polar. The older polar seems to have problems with the interpolation.
Posted by
Hirilondë


Users avatar

Posts
48
Registered at
2010-02-22 12:50:31
2013-05-08 12:22:25 - Re: Volvo 70 polars
Thanks for the explanation and following through on this.

Please login to post a reply.

Races

Next Race: 00d 00h 00m

Current Races:

Lake Victoria TIMED Race 2026

This month’s TIMED race takes us inland to Lake Victoria in the heart of Africa. Starting at Rosebery Channel in Uganda sail the AC72v2 on a 196nm course around Bugala Island on the way to the finish line in Tanzania’s Speke Gulf. This is a TIMEDrace so you may RE-REGISTER HEREto try again after finishing a run. You will have 13 days and 11 hours to test your skill and decision making after the race opens.
Race #2018
INFOby brainaid.de
AC72v2 Particulars
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
TRQ1 - TRCH - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Saturday,
28 March at 23:00 UTC
Race starts: Mar 15th 12:00 Registration will open soon
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

SSANZ Round North Island Race 2026 - Leg 4

The final challenge awaits in Leg Four of the Round North Island Series! From Napier, the fleet sets off on a 354 nautical mile run back to Auckland, completing the full circumnavigation where the journey began. Fatigue may be setting in, but this last leg could decide the overall standings. Sailing the fast and responsive Sun Fast 3600, our skippers will need sharp tactics and steady focus to finish the series strong and claim victory!

The start time for this race may change at short notice to align with the real race. The confirmed start date and time will be announced via an in-race “L” flag message — Please monitor race communications closely.
Race #2014
INFO by brainaid.de
Sun Fast 3600 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: RNI - SUPBUD - SYC
Race starts: Mar 12th 22:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

SSANZ Round North Island Race 2026 - Leg 3

Leg Three of our Round North Island Series, in partnership with SSANZ, keeps the pressure on! From Cook Strait, the fleet turns north for a 187 nautical mile passage up the east coast to Napier. It may look like a quick overnighter, but shifting coastal winds and the ever-lively Cook Strait demand sharp focus. In our responsive Sun Fast 3600s, a proven short-handed racer and powerful downwind performer, tactical decisions and precise timing will make all the difference!

The start time for this race may change at short notice to align with the real race. The confirmed start date and time will be announced via an in-race “L” flag message — Please monitor race communications closely.
Race #2013
INFO by brainaid.de
Sun Fast 3600 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: RNI - SUPBUD - SYC
Race starts: Mar 08th 22:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

South China Sea Race 2026


Welcome all to the South China Sea and a virtual chase in Cookson 50’s of the Rolex South China Sea fleet, racing 650nm – as the local red-footed booby flies – from Hong Kong to Subic Bay on the southern tip of The Philippines’ Luzon Island. Chances are it will be a fast downwind ride, so see how you can keep up with the real-life fleet which we hope to be able to follow on our monitors.
Race #2016
INFOby brainaid.de
Cookson 50 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SUPBUD - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Saturday,
March 14 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Mar 04th 03:20 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Iceland to the Falklands 2026

Welcome to an all-new route, the first of three Round the 'Old World' of Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia. To give each leg of the ROW a bit of length we'll try to hug the coasts as little as possible, so starting in Iceland our first leg of the series, which will also be the final leg of our Quarter 1 Ocean Championships takes us 7200nm to the Falklands, the full length of the Atlantic end to end. To make sure we'll get it done within the month we'll be sailing our Maxi Trimaran.
Race #2010
INFO by brainaid.de
Maxi Trimaran PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: OCQ1 - ROW - OCCH - SYC
Race starts: Mar 02nd 11:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Go to race archive

SYC Ranking

  1. Sailonline Yacht Club Member KaSToR
  2. Sailonline Yacht Club Member WRmirekd
  3. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rafa
  4. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rumskib
  5. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Sax747
  6. Sailonline Yacht Club Member vida
  7. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CriticalHippo
  8. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CollegeFund
  9. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Panpyc
  10. Sailonline Yacht Club Member sassy63

View full list

Series

Mobile Client

SYC members have the benefit of access to our mobile/lightweight web client!

The mobile client