Virtual Club Racing

Published 13:18 on 10 Apr 2020

Members are invited to take part in the BSC Virtual Club Racing on www.virtualregatta.com.

For those not already using the system here's how to get started:

1. Go to www.virtualregatta.com and click on the Virtual Regatta Inshore button (note that the system can be slow to load), or download the Virtual Regatta App to your phone or tablet. Note that the system is created to work best on Google Chrome and some other browsers are not as responsive to the controls so its recommended that you use Chrome
2. If you haven't used the system before click on the green "I Create My Account" button and create your profile or click "I have an account" and sign in if you are already on the system.
3. On the next screen click the round button with three green heads at the bottom left of the page. Then at top right on the next page in the pseudo type in Brightlingsea and from the drop down list that appears select BrightlingseaSC and then click on the white head icon to the right.
4. Now you can see the BSC account page and in the top middle click the green + heads button to ask to become a friend of BrightingseaSC.
5. Now use the white arrow at top left to go back to the main page where you can see your own name at top left and below that green and white buttons for Sailing School and Custom Race.
6. If you have not sailed much before you can click on Sailing School to learn the basics.
7. If you are already a competent sailor but want to learn how to use the virtual regatta system click on the round sailboat button at the very bottom left and this will take you to a Tutorial to learn how to race online. It's really important to work your way through this as it shows you how to control the boat, hoist the spinnaker, use the various tools on the system, switch between views of the course, etc, etc.

The Race Officer will set up the system for the race approximately 15 minutes before the published start time and as soon as it is set up you will be able to sign on and enter the race area. To take part in the race:

1. Go to www.virtualregatta.com, click on the Virtual Regatta Inshore button and log into your account. We recommend you use Google Chrome.
2. Click on the green and white Custom Race button (you might need to scroll down to find it)
3. On the next screen a pop up box will appear offering you the opportunity to pay to upgrade to a VIP account. You can ignore this by simply clicking to the right of the box and it will disappear (you only need to pay if you want to be able to run your own custom races, but taking part in the club's races is free).
4. On the right of the screen is a white box with a set of tabs across the top. Make sure that the Join tab is selected and highlighted in green.
5. At the bottom of the box you can now see a big green button with a padlock, sailboat and arrow. Click this button.
6. A pop up box will appear into which you can type the current BSC access code (for April this will be bscapril2020) and click the green tick button.
7. It may take a few seconds to load but the next screen will show you a screen offering you extra tools you can use in the race. Some may be free or you can opt to pay for others if you want to. Once you've selected the tools you want to use click the green arrow at bottom right to proceed.
8. It takes a few seconds to load but next you will see a screen showing you the location of the race on the left (sorry, we can't race on our own course but with venues like San Francisco, Palma and Sydney Harbour its not too bad) and the type of course we will be racing today on the right. Once it's run through the course for you it will automatically switch over to the race area.
9. You are now sailing your own boat in the race area and need to control the boat, look out for your fellow competitors and prepare for the start sequence to begin at the allotted time.

Last updated 12:28 on 4 March 2024