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Board » Technical Discussion » Historical Ships Sailing Polars

I'm interested in either authoritative or speculative answers to the question of where does SOL come upon the Polars for Viking ships and Tall ships. As a hobby project I've been working on a game simulating historical (especially naval) ship performance. My dream is to have unique performance models for a wide variety of ships from the Age of Sail and set them against each other in various scenarios. I expect I'll have to creatively extrapolate their performance from a wide variety of sources. However I was excited to see that at least some one has charted some boats based on modern replications like the Barque used in the SOL Tall Ships series and the Longship Drake. So any input on additional sources would be very gratefully received.

If you're interested in the topic at all I'll share a link to an article I read in my research this afternoon: http://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol13/tnm_13_4_29-39.pdf

That article by popular historian Sam Wills really drives home how horrible (by racing sloop standards) the upwind performance of these ships might have been and makes it all the more remarkable what feats of navigation were achieved during the golden age of sail.
Tardigrades the slow-walking extremophile.

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Cross the Convergence 2026 - Cocos to Sagar Island


Kapil Muni, incarnation of Lord Vishnu, founder of the Samkhya school of philosophy, disturbed from his meditation, in his wrath reduced the 60,000 sons of Sagar to ashes, as they dug the earth to retrieve the sacrificial horse that Lord Indra, the king of the Gods, stole off Sagar, thus creating the Sagara (ocean). Aeons later, Bhagiratha, a descendant of Sagara, asked Ganga to cleanse the ashes of the 60,000 princes, and her resultant torrential fall from heaven created the great river and where it met the ocean, the princes’ souls were washed and raised to heaven and Gangasagar (Sagar Island) was formed. So, let us join the pilgrimages to Kapi Muni’s Temple (see above) and race 2400nm from Cocos Island deep in the Sagara thence, in rather rapid Rapido 60s.
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The Vineyard Race 2026


For the 16th consecutive year, our SOLers are invited to tackle this iconic 250nm overnighter. The classic route charges out through the sound, leaves Buzzards Bay Light to starboard, rounds Block Island to starboard, and heads home.

This year's weapon of choice is the Beneteau First 47.7. A proven performer since its 2012 SOL debut, this Farr-designed cruiser/racer excels at leading real and virtual handicap fleets. Success will demand sharp tactical navigation, so watch the polars closely to conquer the sound's shifting winds!
Race #2056
INFO by brainaid.de
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Shearwater - Rio de la Plata to Irish Sea 2026

Welcome to the fourth leg of our MIG series. This time we're racing the Sooty Shearwater on their migration from the breeding grounds in South America to the northern Atlantic. This is also part of our Ocean Championship, and as such the third race of OCQ3 2026. This race will be sailed in our Gunboat 90. Race #2055
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