I've been reading for a while now and thought I would pick up the terminology sooner or later .
I think I understand the 2 sec peak and 5 x 10 but what is an alpha? And what do the numbers in the 1k and 500m sections relate to.

Assume that I know nothing and phrase your answers accordingly

Are you asking questions relating to the GPS Teams Challenge (GPSTC) or another competition?


2 second peak as you probably understand is the top speed over two seconds. Similarly the 5 x 10 seconds is the top speed over five periods of ten seconds.

The following categories in the GPSTC are as I understand them. Correct me if I'm wrong.

1 Hour: The hour with the best speed

Alpha Racing (500m): sailing from a point out 500m, turning around and sailing back to that point. There used to be a very good guide on this on the intellimas site but it looks like its gone.

Nautical Mile: Best speed to cover a nautical mile

Distance: Amount of distance sailed in a session.

The GPSTC doesn't have 1k and 500m categories as its not totally focussed on speed and the nautical mile distance helps even it up for those who are not blessed with a short speed strip.

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Mobydisc said..

Are you asking questions relating to the GPS Teams Challenge (GPSTC) or another competition?

Just in general as they seem to pop up in many events but you have covered it well

Hi brewman, next time you're at coal point feel free to chat to anyone with a GPS strapped to their arm. Heres a link to our lake Macquarie team. We are all happy to answer any other questions you have and hope to see you on the water.

http://gpsteamchallenge.com.au/team/view/9

Alpha is total distance of 500m including the gybe.
the start and finish point of the run must be within 50m

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Stuthepirate said..

Alpha is total distance of 500m including the gybe.
the start and finish point of the run must be within 50m

So its only sailing out 250m and 250m back? I wonder what happened to the guide?

We've set up alpha markers, the entry gate is 50m apart and the gybe marker is 250m away.
But remember the rule is "less than or equal to 500m" and less than or equal to 50m.
But using the max allowed should give you the best result.
And if you do a very wide gybe, that's part of the 500m, so the runs in and out become less than 250m.

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Mobydisc said..

Are you asking questions relating to the GPS Teams Challenge (GPSTC) or another competition?


2 second peak as you probably understand is the top speed over two seconds. Similarly the 5 x 10 seconds is the top speed over five periods of ten seconds.

Isn't it s the average of the top five 10 second speeds ?

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The following categories in the GPSTC are as I understand them. Correct me if I'm wrong.

1 Hour: The hour with the best speed

Alpha Racing (500m): sailing from a point out 500m, turning around and sailing back to that point. There used to be a very good guide on this on the intellimas site but it looks like its gone.

Nautical Mile: Best speed to cover a nautical mile

Distance: Amount of distance sailed in a session.

The GPSTC doesn't have 1k and 500m categories as its not totally focussed on speed and the nautical mile distance helps even it up for those who are not blessed with a short speed strip.

And I think the distance was agreed to be 24 hour period on same calendar day - so multiple sessions in a day are ok but not one evening followed by a morning (next day).

I have wondered if sailing downwind then derigging (turning of GPS) , driving upwind and then turning gps back on and sailing downwind again would be allowed in the distance category ? Im not sure it would give a big advantage as the time wasted driving / rigging might be more than the gain of not sailing back upwind (or just staying in one spot). I cant imagine it would be worth doing for the hour.

Last time I looked there weren't any sheep stations being offered as prizes so it really isnt that big a deal but its nice to know what the rules are.

There is also two ways of measuring the speeds (doppler and trackpoint) this can make a difference under some circumstances, again being consistent is the main thing.

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Mobydisc said..
Alpha Racing (500m): sailing from a point out 500m, turning around and sailing back to that point. There used to be a very good guide on this on the intellimas site but it looks like its gone.

Thanks for spotting that Mobydisc. I will follow it up with Mal.

This page still works which shows some older tracks that illustrate the Alpha quite well.

http://www.intellimass.com/TrackData/GPS%20Alpha%20Racing%20Top%2010.htm

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hardpole said..

And I think the distance was agreed to be 24 hour period on same calendar day - so multiple sessions in a day are ok but not one evening followed by a morning (next day).

The GPSSS and WGPSSRC 24 hr Record Rules are any 24hr period. You may start before midnight and sail until the same time the next day if you wish. I think the G{STC is the same but for a monthly result to count in GPSTC you can't cross into the next month during the session as Craig Hollins did when he set the original 24hr windsurfing world record. :-(

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hardpole said..

I have wondered if sailing downwind then derigging (turning of GPS) , driving upwind and then turning gps back on and sailing downwind again would be allowed in the distance category ? Im not sure it would give a big advantage as the time wasted driving / rigging might be more than the gain of not sailing back upwind (or just staying in one spot). I cant imagine it would be worth doing for the hour.

That would certainly be allowed in the Distance category as long as you GPS is turned off when not sailing on the drive upwind. You are probably correct in that it would most likely be slower and result in less distance sailed in a record attempt where the record contenders are sailing for as much as 16 hours or more with very few short breaks! Not to forget that it is very hard on the back leg to sail downwind on one tack for an extended time!
If you can find a flat water spot where you can sail downwind for an hour, (over 35 NM!) and you have a back leg of steel, it would be one possible way to crack the hour record. 90mile beach on a Nor-Wester anyone? (break something - next stop Antarctica! )

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hardpole said..

Last time I looked there weren't any sheep stations being offered as prizes so it really isnt that big a deal but its nice to know what the rules are.

There is also two ways of measuring the speeds (doppler and trackpoint) this can make a difference under some circumstances, again being consistent is the main thing.

There is almost always a significant difference between Trackpoint data and Doppler data. Doppler is much more reliable and accurate and Trackpoint is not accepted for official records anymore. If you have an old obsolete grandfathered trackpoint only GPS it can still be accepted in GPS Team events, but if you are vying for top positions you really should do the right thing and get a Doppler data GPS.

You are right Hardpole. I meant the average over five times of ten seconds plus the distance only counts for a calendar day so if someone windsurfs past midnight then its a new session.

As the team rankings are based on calendar days, individual rankings are also based on calendar days. The idea is that teams are compared each day, and ranked accordingly. A side effect of this is that midnight local time is the cutoff, and it has to be this way for the site to work with the current scoring system.

I'm OK with this, as those massive achievements are more the domain of gpsss and other sites, the gtc is more about encouraging your mates to get on the water more.