Every release of the SkipperCheck COLREG and ship-handling simulator, newest first: what changed, in plain words, and a link that opens it straight in the simulator.
A new vessel, LOTE, a 24 m hydrographic survey catamaran with two azimuth thrusters and a multibeam echosounder, whose AUTO TRACK holds her on a survey line at a set speed. ≋ SURVEY opens eight exercises off Jūrmala and in Kaštela Bay: lines on AUTO TRACK and by hand, the racetrack turn, coverage and overlap, and a sound-velocity cast held on station.
Two new vessels: a 28 m harbour tug with two azimuth stern drives and winches, and an 18 m push tug with flanking rudders. Towlines sag, stretch and part at their weakest point, and a line leading abeam can pull a tug over. ⛓ TOWING has six exercises, from a disabled yacht to escorting and braking a tanker.
✎ SCENARIO sets up an exercise of your own: the place, your vessel, the time and the weather, other vessels with their orders and routes, and triggers that start, stop or turn them. Run it, take any vessel's helm, save it and share it by link; everything stays in your browser.
⚑ DISTRESS shows the Annex IV signals in training (flares, smoke, flags, SOS by lamp and horn), always marked TRAINING, also for other skippers in the shared sea. Four drills put a vessel in distress near you: sight her, report what she showed, relay the MAYDAY and stand by; a guide explains each signal.
A 16.5 m pilot launch with a heavy collar fender, and ⚑ PILOT with transfer drills: put the pilot aboard a tanker, a bulk carrier or a container ship under way, or take him off, by day or night, in a calm, moderate or rough sea. The ship's own pressure field pushes and pulls you alongside, so the approach from astern on her lee side matters.
🛟 MOB (Shift+O) marks the position on the chart and the radar, puts the dan buoy over and starts the MOB clock. DRILLS runs the recovery methods that fit each boat (the figure-eight, quick-stop and deep beam reach under sail, a direct return under power, the Williamson, Anderson and Scharnow turns for ships) by day or night, scored out of 100.
Two working vessels, an 80 m platform supply vessel with a joystick and a simple dynamic positioning, and a 26 m crew transfer catamaran, at Baltic offshore platforms, a wind farm and a training platform in the Gulf of Riga, each with its lights, fog signal and 500 m safety zone. ⛽ OFFSHORE has ten exercises, from the call before entering the zone to cargo lifts on DP and push-on transfers at a turbine.
Free Mode is free for everyone, with no account. The shared sea and regattas need a free SkipperCheck account. The detailed Baltic and Croatian charts and every docking lesson come with Marine Simulator Training or the Skipper Refresher Course. The simulator is a training tool, not a navigation product.