DAILY RACE · RIGA – SKULTE – RIGA
Race tonight. 19:00 Riga time. Free.
Identical boats, real forecast wind, a proper start and an umpire on the server. About 40 minutes, in your browser.
Regattas need a free SkipperCheck account: log in or create one, and the simulator opens on the race. Entries open at 18:30 Riga time, 30 minutes before the gun. Add to calendar
The course for Fri 9 Oct
- START Line square to the wind · 201 m · the committee boat (orange flag) at the starboard end, the orange pin at the port end
- 1 · SKULTE leave to port · 16.2 NM on 035°
- FINISH 16.2 NM on 215° · back through the start line
- LENGTH 32.5 NM · time limit 72 minutes (12 race hours at ×10)
Laid for good by the race committee an hour before the gun: the start is always into the wind.
Join in three steps
- Log in — free. A free SkipperCheck account is all you need. Nothing to install: the race runs in your browser.
- Open the race. The join button opens the simulator straight on the race in the ⛵ REGATTA lobby. Or open the regatta lobby in the simulator (Free Mode, ⛵ REGATTA).
- Press JOIN from 18:30. You start below the line, sails up, in ELEONORA. The five-minute start sequence runs in real time with the flags on the committee boat; at the gun the clock goes to ×10 for everyone. Round WINDWARD and SKULTE on the right side, then cross the finish line.
Keep the simulator tab in front while you race. Page reloaded or tab closed? Open the simulator again within 10 minutes and press REJOIN THE RACE.
Fair by design
Same boat for everyone. Every entry sails an identical ELEONORA — the same hull, sails, spinnaker and trim. A differently tuned boat cannot enter.
Checked on the server. Every track is held to her speed table in the wind she actually had; a track faster than she can sail does not count.
An umpire on the server. When boats touch it rules within a second or two, the same on both screens. The offender owes a two-turns penalty; touching a mark costs one turn.
The same wind for all. The real forecast, frozen an hour before the gun and replayed for every boat alike, with its shifts and puffs. The start line is laid square to it.
Last race
No results this week yet. The first boats on the line set the times.
Can’t make 19:00? Race the time trial
A time trial of Riga – Skulte – Riga is open until Thu 15 Oct, 19:03 Riga time: the same course in the same frozen weather, any time you like, against up to 8 ghosts — the top three, your own best and the live fleet. 1 attempts so far.
Race the time trial nowYour club’s race night, by link
Create a private race in the same lobby: a windward–leeward, a triangle, or a course you draw on the chart anywhere in the Gulf of Riga. Pick the start time and the speed (×1 to ×20) and share one link — up to 40 identical boats, the same umpire, the same real wind. We never send e-mails for races: your link is the invitation.
Open the regatta lobby, then CREATE.
Bring your crew
The more boats on the line, the better the race. Send the link to your sailing friends or your club’s group.
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. A free SkipperCheck account is all you need to race, and every boat on the line is the same ELEONORA.
What boat do we sail?
ELEONORA, an Albin Ballad 30: a 9.1 m tiller-steered yacht with a spinnaker. Everybody gets an identical boat — the same hull, sails, spinnaker, autopilot and AUTO TRIM — so there is no handicap: the fastest boat wins.
How long is a race?
About 40 minutes. The five-minute start sequence runs in real time; at the gun the race clock goes to ×10 for everybody. Riga – Skulte – Riga is 32–35 nautical miles, some 6–7 hours of sailing for ELEONORA. The time limit is 72 minutes (12 race hours).
What time is the race where I live?
Every day at 19:00 Riga time: 18:00 in Berlin, Zurich and Vienna, 17:00 in London. The countdown at the top of this page also shows the gun in your own time. Entries open 30 minutes before the gun.
I missed the start. Can I still race?
Yes. Each daily race becomes a time trial for 7 days, in the same frozen weather. You race up to 8 ghosts — the top three, your own best and the boats of the live race — and your best time goes on the leaderboard.
What if my tab closes or the page reloads?
Open the simulator again within 10 minutes and press REJOIN THE RACE: your boat comes back where the server last had her, and your start, marks and penalties stand. Keep the simulator tab in front while you race — the race clock runs on in a hidden tab, your boat does not.
Which rules apply?
A light automatic umpire on the server rules when boats touch: port/starboard (rule 10), windward/leeward (11), clear astern (12), tacking (13), acquiring right of way (15) and mark-room (18). The offender owes a two-turns penalty; touching a mark or the committee boat (31) costs one turn. Over the line at the gun, the committee boat shows X and you go back to start. The engine is locked from the preparatory signal.
Is there current?
No. Races sail in still water, so the wind decides — the same wind for every boat at the same place and time.
Do I need to install anything? Can I race on a tablet?
Nothing to install: it runs in any modern browser that supports WebGL 3-D graphics. A computer gives the biggest view; on a tablet the helm, the sails and the sheets are touch buttons.
Who sees my name?
Other skippers see your boat’s name, home port and flag — never your account name or e-mail. You set them under ✎ BOAT in the simulator; until you do, the boat is ELEONORA of Riga and the flag is the citizenship in your account. The top ten of each daily race and the time trial’s top three are shown on this page by boat name and flag.
Can I watch a race without sailing?
Not yet. You can race the fleet’s ghosts in the time trial once the race has finished.
More from the same simulator
The regatta is one part of the SkipperCheck bridge simulator. Between races, sail any of its seven sailing boats in the real wind in Free Mode — see the online sailing simulator — or practise berthing with the boat docking simulator. All the simulators: simulators.
Going on charter? Many charter companies ask the skipper for a VHF radio operator’s certificate. Our online VHF SRC course (€199) takes you through theory, a radio simulator and the exam to the SkipperCheck SRC certificate. Which radio certificate is accepted depends on the yacht’s flag state and the charter company, so check with them first.
Chart: coastline © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); depths © EMODnet Bathymetry Consortium (CC BY 4.0); race wind: MET Norway forecast. The regatta is a simulation for training and fun, not a sanctioned sailing event.