Volvo Ocean Race Game- Kiwi Magic sails again… virtually

by Colin Preston on 1 Feb 2009 Since October 2008 another great race has been taking place, almost continuously, to be the fastest sailor around the world. Weather data has been studied, sails selected and tactics have been calculated over copious coffees.

Many late nights and early mornings thousands of men and women have had to fend off partners who just don’t understand how serious this race really is.

This is of course the online Volvo Ocean Race game that presently has over 140,000 virtual boats racing around the world in cyber space. Around the globe sailors and wanna-be-sailors have been logging in daily to alter their boats based on the real time weather updated twice each day. Okay, so its not that real.

Groups of competing boats have formed into mini online groups battling amongst fellow group members as well as all the other competing boats. We are told that most of the fleet are from the northern hemisphere; however there are many others from the Pacific Rim.

Included in these groups of virtual boats is the ‘Kiwi Magic’ group, named after New Zealand’s first attempt to challenge for the Americas Cup in Freemantle in 1986/87.

Being the 45th largest of 4,300 groups the ‘Kiwi Magic’ group currently has 104 boats all trying to get on the podium of each leg to fly the flag, and win a free shirt, that part of the racing is the same.

Some have come agonisingly close with ‘Veela’ managing a 25th in leg 3 and ‘Quixotic’ got to 108th in the present leg 4 to Qingdao with these and others having paid for the ‘extras’.

Commendable efforts include ‘Montynzeusen’ and ‘Kiwi Express’, getting to 1375th and 1410th in this last leg without the extras.

To clarify, the bought ‘extras’ provide semi-auto pilot features that allow for less sleepless nights and help the skippers to keep their day job.

Those participating Kiwi VORG (Volvo Ocean Race Game) sailors and any who want to say they have raced around the world are welcome to join the ‘Kiwi Magic’ group.

Also, if you have better results than those above then come on board your virtual country needs you!

Lastly and most importantly, with many still to finish the present leg before the next long 12,300 mile leg to Qingdao in two weeks, now is time to re-build your brownie points.

www.volvooceanracegame.org