Best Sailing Simulator?

Vern1961

Vern1961

Vern1961

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Joined
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Swindon UK
Looking for something a bit different, thought I might try my hand at virtual sailing. There appear to be two main contenders on Steam -

Sailaway https://store.steampowered.com/app/552920/Sailaway__The_Sailing_Simulator/?snr=1_7_7_151_150_1

and ESail https://store.steampowered.com/app/794860/eSail_Sailing_Simulator/?snr=1_7_7_151_150_1

Has anyone bought or tried either of these. For a complete novice to yachting but nevertheless wanting something more than an arcade game, which would be recommended most?
 
Bit of a killjoy, but can't you just join a sailing club and jump in a real dinghy?
I learned 10 years ago and post being certified, it was mega cheap to hire a real one for an hours play.

I kind of get simulations for activities that are too dangerous or expensive (e.g. flying, motor racing), but for something like this, wouldn't the real thing be a LOT more fun.
Have to say, I got a real kick out of it.
 
I take your point, but that's not really the question I asked.

Both of the sims I noted are ocean going as opposed to lagoon based. Another important factor is that I can't swim! Well not enough to survive falling off a boat in deep water. I might just be able to cope with a narrow boat on the Kennett And Avon Canal in real life, but the very point of a sailing simulation is to chill out on the PC after work.
 
Interesting stuff - I regularly sail and thoughts of sailing sims have crossed my mind on more than one occasion.

From a very quick read around on both it looks like esail maybe the more technically accurate simulator and looks like it has some potential as a learning aid - however sailaway looks like the more polished product - I'm tempted to give it a try to be honest.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
I learned 10 years ago and post being certified, it was mega cheap to hire a real one for an hours play.
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Decades ago, we were offered the chance to go sailing as a games option at school.
I couldn't do it as it cost too much, even back then.

Mr_Sukebe said:
Bit of a killjoy, but can't you just join a sailing club and jump in a real dinghy?
Click to expand...
Sailaway is £30, Esail is £15.

But what (roughly) would it cost to join a sailing club, learn to sail one of them little clipper/laser/whatever-it-was sailboats on a lagoon or lake, get certified and then hire one for, say, an afternoon?
Serious question, by the way, as I'm considering both the real thing and maybe getting one of these sims....
 
Vern1961 said:
Another important factor is that I can't swim! Well not enough to survive falling off a boat in deep water.
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When I used to sail I'd never go out without a buoyancy aid, I couldn't swim too well either. Sorry I can't help with the original question :(
 
ttaskmaster said:
Decades ago, we were offered the chance to go sailing as a games option at school.

But what (roughly) would it cost to join a sailing club, learn to sail one of them little clipper/laser/whatever-it-was sailboats on a lagoon or lake, get certified and then hire one for, say, an afternoon?
Serious question, by the way, as I'm considering both the real thing and maybe getting one of these sims....
Click to expand...

Check RYA site - you can find local sailing clubs and schools on there - https://www.rya.org.uk/wheresmynearest/Pages/CourseDetail.aspx?code=DLEVEL1.

I've even seen some clubs that provide free tuition/training and will hire a club boat for as little as a tenner.

Water sports schools I've seen charge approx £150-200 each for the courses and often discount if you pay for them together (typically 2 day course for level 1 and same for level 2).

You'll find that you'll need at least the level 1 qualification to hire a dinghy out.

Hire costs tend to be anywhere between 15-30 an hour depending on the boat e.g. pico, feva or lasers (again with discounts if you're a member).

Go do it! It's great fun if you have a couple of hours free on the weekend and want to muck about on the water.
 
ttaskmaster said:
Plus membership fees and so on.
A bit on the pricey side for now, I think...
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Not necessarily - always worth checking the local clubs and what they offer. Had I done that before just going to a water sports school which tend to be much more commercially orientated, I'd have saved a lot.

One of the local clubs has annual membership of £200, think it was £50-60 for the training (possibly even free) and charged a tenner for taking one of the club boats out (not per/hr).

Lot of places also run taster sessions to try and get you hooked :p
 
Well after a bit of thought I have plumped for Sailaway. Partly because it models the whole world, also ESail is early access and I'm still a bit peeved over the Flight Sim World debacle which crept out of early access then was promptly cancelled.

The first thing I need to work out and something that has always puzzled me, is how you set the sails to travel in the opposite direction to which the wind is blowing!
 
Vern1961 said:
The first thing I need to work out and something that has always puzzled me, is how you set the sails to travel in the opposite direction to which the wind is blowing!
Click to expand...

See what tutorials they have - I expect they'll have something on Points of Sail and also Tacking which'll explain what you need.

You can sail about 45' degrees off the direction of wind (with main and fore sail aka the jib or genoa pulled in quite tight) and tack across the wind (wheel hard over, as the bow comes through the wind let the jib sheet off and tighten it up on the winch on the other side) - the result is that you end up zigzagging upwind - it makes for very slow progress
 
Loaded Sailaway up last night and it is very overwhelming! Game starts you amidst 30ft waves somewhere in the Caribbean. Some brief pop up tutorial notes which left me going, "ugh?"

Thought there would be a free play mode where you can potter around in a sheltered harbor or lagoon to pick up the basics and to go where you want. If there is, I can't see it in the menus. Possibly I need to RTFM but now wondering whether refund and ESail might be the better option.
 
Vern1961 said:
The first thing I need to work out and something that has always puzzled me, is how you set the sails to travel in the opposite direction to which the wind is blowing!
Click to expand...
I once wondered how it worked and Googled it. IIRC, it's basically akin to how an airplane wing generates lift. That's when I thought it might be cool to take sailing lessons...
 
I ended up refunding Sailaway and bought Esail instead - I may repurchase at a later date. Haven't advanced too far into ESail yet, but the tutorials are very good not least because the basics are done with the yacht under diesel power. I made a bit of a hash trying to follow instructions when it came to first time setting sails but at least it's in calm water and I can have another go ad infinitum until I grasp the terminology and procedures.

I was also a bit perturbed on visiting the Sailaway forum on Steam to see quite a bit of antagonism back and forth between users and the devs, not a good sign IMHO.
 
if you really want to learn to sail, the most enjoyable and cost effective way is to go on a activity beach club holiday in the med,they do rya level 1 and two all in the cost of the holiday. Ive been going for the past fourteen years.
 
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I have vr regatta, and have also done a little bit of dingy sailing in my time, I have to say vr regatta is very realistic to me the sails and boat react in the correct way.

It is a little bit limited in terms of gameplay, but basically you sail a dingy and are challenged to a few races.
 
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