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 Discussion » Gribs

When the Sardinia Cup opened yesterday, some racers noted that the wrf gribs outside the racing area and out to the weather system looked odd, and they do, and they always have done. As we do not sail there and the software that modulates the synoptic forecasts to generate local so-called 'meso' effects has to do a lot of 'crunching', the wrf gribs that are fed into SOL only cover the racing area. The rest of the weather that you see on SOL or that you download from SOL via brainaid or AGL is generated by the SOL bilinear interpolator. Since between the race area boundary and the weather boundary there is only one piece of data available for interpolation, that being the data at the race area boundary, the result of this interpolation is constant wind out to the weather system boundary and this looks odd especially if the weather system boundary is a long way 'out'. Those of you mathematically-minded may well wonder why does the weather not reduce linearly to 0 at the edge, then. Well, because that's not how the algorithm is written.
Some of you may also wonder why we show weather out beyond the race area at all. The reason for that is that the predictor line(s) pointing out from your bow will go haywire if it/they run(s) out of wind in less than six hours ahead. So we have to have wind six hours ahead at your boat's Vmax at right angles out from the boundary.
As said, it has always been thus, from the very first time we used wrf for the Boston to Newport and then for such iconic SOL perennials like Pacific North West and The Vineyard and all our Sprints including those in 60kn DN's requiring gribs extending across vast areas of frozen forests, prairies, tundras and the like.
Clipping along

Please login to post a reply.

Races

Next Race: 00d 00h 00m


Current Races:

Aeolian Cruise 2025


This is the final race of the ARCH 2025 series and your last chance to improve your ranking. It promises to be an exciting 210nm slalom through the beautiful landscapes of the Aeolian Islands. Our Moody S38's will take off from Tropea and sail west between successive islands to reach the finish line in the Gulf of Palermo.
Fair Winds.
Race #1991
INFO from brainaid.de
Moody S38 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
ARQ4 - ARCH - SUPSOL - SYC
Race starts: Dec 15th 17:00 Registration will open soon
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Chatham Island TIMED Chase 2025

The final TIMED race of 2025 takes us to the isolated and mysterious Chatham Islands archipelago 430 nm east of New Zealand’s South Island. There promises to be plenty of breeze from every point on the compass as we sail the Farr 38 around Chatham Island, Pitt Island, and The Forty Fours on this 124 nm course. 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 #1990
INFOby brainaid.de
Farr 38 Particulars
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
TRQ4 - TRCH - SUPSOL - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Saturday,
27 December at 23:00 UTC
Race starts: Dec 14th 12:00 Registration will open soon
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Great Bear Ice Race 2025


You can fly to Great Bear Lake Airport, but if the ice is good, instead hire a pick-up truck, load your disassembled DN into the cargo bed and drive, first following the McKenzie River north, and then straight across the lake to the start of our final Ice Boat series race of roughly 100nm in length. The Airport authorities have agreed to leave all lights on, so you should just about be able to see where you are going as you zing and rumble, PL-free over the ice!
Race #1853
INFOby brainaid.de
DN PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: DN - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Friday,
December 12 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Dec 07th 09:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Chile Islands RTI Sprint 2025


Across the Canal Puyuhuapi from Puerto Cines on the Chilean mainland lies the Parque Nacional Isla Magdelena, and further west across the Canal Moraleda from Magdelena lie the islands of the Chonos Archipelago. Returning for the first time since 2017 we find ourselves in vari-charted waters here, with the mapping between physical islands and their names not 1:1 but rather some:some. It’s only 26nm but you could get lost! Good luck.
Race 1980
INFO by brainaid.de
First 40 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
SPQ4 - SPRCH - SUPSOL – SYC
RACE CLOSE: Thursday,
December 11 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Dec 06th 21:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Christmas to Christmas Island 2025

Two waypoints, start and finish, and between them 5827 NM of two oceans. Not much time if we want to sit at the Christmas Eve table. You will need to maintain an average speed of over 10 knots, maybe quite possible with this Maxi Trimaran, but prepare your vessel well and choose the best of the many possible routes. Hands up everyone who knew there were TWO Christmas Islands?! OK, maybe you have sailed this Sailonline course before... but it's time to get ready for the 2025 challenge of racing between Christmas Island in the Pacific to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean! It also marks the conclusion of our prestigious Ocean Race Championship 2025. Please have fun! Fair winds!
PRIZE: SMPF
Race #1967
INFO by brainaid.de
Maxi Trimaran PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: OCQ4 - OCCH - SUPSOL - SYC
Race starts: Dec 01st 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 CriticalHippo
  3. Sailonline Yacht Club Member WRmirekd
  4. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rafa
  5. Sailonline Yacht Club Member vida
  6. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CollegeFund
  7. Sailonline Yacht Club Member bonknhoot
  8. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Panpyc
  9. Sailonline Yacht Club Member sassy63
  10. Sailonline Yacht Club Member BRENTGRAY

View full list

Series

Mobile Client

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

The mobile client