Routage, the magic word from ocean racing that also helps cruising sailors

During these two months of the Vendée Globe, with our “Process”, the live talk with which we comment weekly on what is happening on the round-the-world race, we have tried to understand more about routes, strategies, and weather. Helping us were the many oceanic people who stopped by to chat with us, and our weather coach Gianni Bianchini.

Just with him, who is a Computer Engineer and an expert in route and strategy calculation, working with some of the best Italian ocean sailors, as well as a trainer who has taught courses to hundreds of students in collaboration with various Italian sailing clubs, we learned to understand the importance of this magic word,“routage.” Does it serve only the racers? Absolutely not. Calculating ideal routes is something that can come in handy for anyone who goes to sea, racers or cruisers. With Gianni Bianchini then we made this in-depth study, dedicated also and especially to those who, without thinking about racing, want to sail with awareness.

Routage and navigation software

Let’s start with a basic definition, which will guide us in this in-depth study. “Routage,” Bianchini explains, ” is the prediction of the optimal route (not necessarily the fastest but if you are cruising the safest) based on weather conditions and with the help of navigation software. Software puts together three elements: the characteristics of the boat (i.e., the polarities, which are the predictions expected from that hull in the various wind conditions and gaits), the weather, and the cartography.” Three elements that lead the way in calculating the optimal routes to follow when one wants to reach a particular destination. There are a variety of navigation software, free or paid, dedicated to professionals or amateurs. They are all a valuable tool for better navigational orientation, some of the most widely used in recent years being Adrena and Expedition Marine, both of which are fee-based (the former highly professional), and Qtvlm, a software the latter of which has the distinction of being free in the PC version and offering an optimal level for both racers and cruisers.

The two ways to routage

Once the chosen software is installed on our pc we have two ways: work in analysis mode or use it as if it were practically a chartplotter during navigation. “Routage presupposes work behind it,” Bianchini explains, “it is not simply a waypoint to follow on a screen. Studying the weather, downloading grib files, placing a waypoint accurately, is much easier to do with a pc. The pc has to be connected via wifi or usb cable (to the chartplotter) to the boat or in analysis mode without having it talk to the instruments on board. By connecting it to the boat, the navigation software interfaces with the boat’s instruments, acquiring the navigation data recorded by the electronics sensors (log, wind station etc). Mind you, wifi should not be understood as the internet connection, but as an on-board network that connects the instruments with our pc.”

“For recreational boating ,” Gianni continued, “you can also choose the analysis mode without connecting the pc to the boat’s network. Software like Qtvlm has a database with the polars of dozens of boat models. We are going to choose ours or a similar one. There may be small discrepancies in performance since the software is not connected to the boat and therefore does not have the actual speeds at 100%, but the overall picture will be more than accurate and with good quality. Connected to the boat on the other hand we will have data such as VMG, layline calculation, weather analysis comparison, a dimension therefore 100% accurate based on real data, particularly suitable for example for use in regattas. In this mode practically the onboard pc becomes a full-fledged chartplotter The analysis version on the other hand can also be good for Cruise use, it being understood that also in this mode it can be used with good success also in regattas. With Qtvlm there are a number of servers that provide the weather files, free of charge, such as GFS, Arome, Icom and others.”

The importance of “filters”

Given the weather forecast, given the boat’s polarities, the software will help us calculate the ideal route to a destination, highlighting points where there will be changes of tack or heading. “It turns out to be important to know how to use the filters that software offers, such as limits to wind, gusts, waves, and thunderstorms, to navigate more safely if we are cruising, for example. As a result, one can choose the weather windows that are most suitable for us to undertake a sailing . We can decide, for example, never to sail with more than 15 knots of wind and 1.5 meters of wave, if we are cruising with the family, we will then see if a weather window is available immediately or if we will have to wait later. As a result, by applying the filters, the recommended route will not necessarily be the fastest, but the one that is most suitable and comfortable for our needs, so perfect for example if we are leaving for a summer vacation with our sailboat.” Ultimately a useful, and even fun, way to be able to better study our course and plan our navigation in an informed and non-random way.

Edited by Mauro Giuffrè