Winter is here and we have 5 months to go before the Ice Breaker!
In the meantime you can practice your sailing strategy, picking lay lines and planing tacks by playing the free version of Virtual Skipper 5 Online. You can take the helm of some big boats like the Class America, Open 60, Melges 24 and sail at 14 of the best competitive sailing locales.
For the computer savvy you can also install 3rd party additions, including the Tornado Olympic class boats and the Extreme 40 class.
UPDATE: Having tried out Virtual Skipper 5 I was a bit disappointed with the type of sailing you could do with it. It’s great for developing strategy but the game play can be a bit slow and all of the sail adjustments are too automated. It seems that the other main sailing platform out there is Sail Simulator 5. They also have a free demo version available where you can race online. This game is more fun right off the bat and you have full control of all of the boat’s adjustments. You can even control the skipper and crew positions to adjust boat balance or to move your weight out onto the trapeze, and if you mess up you actually capsize the boat. You can also purchase the add-on Boat Set 1 that gives you a bunch of new boats including the Hobie Tiger and the NACRA F18 Infusion.
