eSail sailing simulator
Rupert Holmes tries an innovative computer sailing experience
This sophisticated sailing simulator was created by Chris Baldwin, a software developer with a background in e-learning. A charterer of bareboats in the sun every year, he quickly got frustrated by forgetting many of the skills and nuances of sailing between each trip.
“At the time the existing learning aids were very basic,” he says. “I thought there must be a way to remember and develop your skills – and have some fun at the same time.” He also saw it as a way to get children and young people more involved and excited about sailing.
Just like sailing a physical boat, eSail can offer a different experience for everyone who tries it. You can visit different places, practice berthing without an audience and try your hand at racing. If you’re into sail trim you can pay close attention to tell tales, but if you want to take it easy there’s an automated sail trim function.
I started with a motoring familiarity exercise, in effect slaloming between marks in a winding channel, to get accustomed to the basic boat controls. The response is very realistic for a mid-30ft yacht, with the same tendency to oversteer as many newcomers find when sailing a yacht with wheel steering. Equally, the steering response changes at different boat speeds – again exactly as you’d expect on a real boat.
Next I attempted a fun ‘race’ with simple beating, running and reaching legs. All sail controls and crew members are replicated – the latter in the form of a pair of virtual hands. Each manoeuvre is realistic in terms of the individual processes required. First you have to station crew in the right places, then winches have to be loaded or unloaded before a sheet can be wound in or eased.
A similar process is used when mooring or anchoring the boat. You can practice boat handling in a wide range of marina and Mediterranean stern-to type settings.
The sailing area is a fictional one, designed to give a variety of short passages and anchoring/mooring options. There’s also a map and chartwork section that simulates using a paper chart for the sailing area.
Even as someone who spends some 120 days a year on the water and sails 4,000-5,000 miles per year, I found it surprisingly compelling. As well as being a learning tool, and great reminder for skippers and crew who only get occasional opportunities to sail, it’s great fun in its own right and provides the opportunity to get a sailing ‘fix’ whenever you have a spare 15-20 minutes.
Continuous development of the platform is planned, with more sailing areas and improved graphics planned for next spring.
Non-fictional locations will also be introduced at some stage, although Baldwin is cautious about doing so too quickly, pointing out that a huge amount of work is needed to create graphics that reflect real-life locations.