Virtual Sailing: Discovery & Practice
Amazon.com Product Description
Learn to navigate as if you were aboard your own boat. The sole master aboard, you and your crew members will maneuver a fully equipped 33-foot sailboat in response to the winds and currents.
Over 50 subjects are developed in articles covering 1,000 screens. The articles are followed by practical exercises developed by the teachers from Les Glénans. At any moment you can consult an illustrated and commented glossary of over 400 nautical terms.
Take the helm and sail with the winds from any quarter, hoist the spinnaker or tack, estimate your position on a chart, recognize the different buoys, or listen to the latest weather report.
Buy Cheap Virtual Sailing: Discovery & Practice
Related posts:
The first thing I noticed was the primative computer graphicsemployed by the writers. The “stick figures” and linedrawings did not motivate or keep up my interest very long. The disk is new and should use new graphic techniques. Most of the make pleased defined sailing terms that can be read in any book on sailing. eg. Stage 8 of Chapman Piloting-Seamanship and Small Boat Handling. I estimate that less than 10% of the disk allowed the user interactive participation. The user guide which accompanies the disk questioned the viewer to use the help button to take any help. I found this lacking because when I tried to find out how their unique wind management indicator worked, there was not anything on the help pages…I do not recommend this disk as an aid to learning how to sail.
Rating: 1 / 5
This one is a turkey that should be avoided by all but the rawest of beginners, and even for them, there is probably something better than this software. The software seems to be one or two generations behind in its technical prowess, and makes minimal use of any simulation or animation techniques. In fact, it is organized much like a multi-tiered menu of unadorned, mostly static instruction pages reminiscent of any decent “learn to sail” hardcover book. In many cases one has to click his way back up a menu in order to penetrate another branch. The terminology is not always standard USA, and there is no alternative vocabulary. The graphics are primitive, but that wouldn’t be so terrible if one could in fact TRY some stated opinion to see what happened. Skip this one and look for another piece of software. You can also buy a wonderful hardcover copy of Chapman’s for less cash!
Rating: 1 / 5