This page is designed to help new users to create sailing Results, using the Sailwave software. It is being written by a Sailwave novice, so that’s the level it is aimed at. If you are an experienced user, please suggest any changes. I have assumed a working knowledge of PCs, and software such as Excel spreadsheets – if you know that much, you’ll find this easy.
Getting the Sailwave Software
It is freely available from the Downloads area of the Sailwave Website. There’s also a decent amount of guidance and a link to a user group. Half an hour browsing this site will tell you a lot. It is advisable to use the most recent version – but be aware that by doing so, users of older versions may not be able to edit any sailwave file you create (requiring them to download the newer version too, which is no bad thing).
Starting a New Series
The best way to start is to take an existing file and to amend it – this will give you a list of racers and an example of the scoring. I have decided to store the Sailwave file in the Results directory on the website (i.e. in the same place that the results are published) – so you may find other relavant examples there.
If you are starting a new series, take an similar old one, open it, and use File, Save Series As, to create a copy. If you’re not sure of the file name to use, look at the filenames behind the links on the website. Sailwave files are saved with an extension of .blw, whereas results are published as a .htm file – otherwise, keep the filenames the same.
A key point to start with is that a Sailwave file relates to a Race Series. It holds the details of all the competitors, boats, handicaps and so on, as well as various ways of creating, storing and publishing the results.
Setting up the Series
Use menu View, to make sure ‘Hide property bar’ is unchecked (click on it to uncheck it if necessary). You should see a box headed Properties on the left. This contains information that relates to the Series as a whole, such as the title, and discard profile. As with most things in Sailwave, double-click any value you want to change. Another useful tip is to hover the mouse over the various buttons for a useful description of what they do.
Adding Competitors
Add new competitors through the Edit menu. This allows you to create new ones, and to copy existing ones (e.g. for the same type of boat) if you have previously selected one by clicking on it.
Editing Competitors
Select a competitor, then right click on it, or use the Edit menu. This will display a form – you will probably find all you need under the ‘Competitor’ tab – e.g boat name, helm & crew names, default handicap, etc.
Adding Races
Add new races through the Edit menu. This will create a new (blank) column in the spreadsheet area.
Entering Results
Right click on a result box to get a menu for many options to enter a result. Results can be entered by:
- Position (good for Darts),
- Elapsed Time (based on a Start Time and Finish Time for each competitor – you only need to enter the Start Time once per race),
- Finish Codes (such as DNF etc).
- Other methods.
Handicaps
Handicaps, if used, can be entered under the Competitor tab. We normally use a default for the whole series. Options include PY and SCHRS. There are two steps to this:
- Define the Rating System for the Series – see in the Properties panel.
- Enter the Default Rating for the Competitor (edit Competitor, Competitor tab).
When scoring a Dart series, handicaps are not used. Other events are typically handicapped. The Fast Cat fleet uses ISAF SCHRS (sometimes with adjustments to support and encourage older designs). For mixed monohull and catamaran racing, such as the Evening Series, we use DSC PY ratings for all boats. Refer to the Sailing Info page for these numbers.
Scoring a Series
Sailwave calculates scores when it is told to do so. Click the Rescore button (or use the Tools menu). If you change anything that affects the results, you will need to Rescore.
If In Doubt
When you are wondering how to change a value that’s staring you in the face, try double clicking on it and/or right-clicking. This often pops up a form where you can edit all the relevant information.
Publishing Results
This is the whole point of the exercise, and is also a piece of cake. Use the Publish menu & select Results… A form appears where you define all you need to create the results table. The Options tab seems to cover everything. I suggest you include these options:
- Include All Sailed Races
- Publish Series Summary Table
- Publish Individual Race Tables
- Include DNC Results
- Include Corrected Times (for a handicapped race).
Then click Next.
- Pick a destination to publish to: Select: To a Web Page on Your Computer.
- Enter the filename, such as D:\Program Files\Macromedia\Dreamweaver4\DeeSC\results\2006\Hilbre06Monos.htm
- Click on Publish
I recommend you save the sailwave file in the same place, with the same name (excluding the .htm bit!).
Upload both files to the webserver.
More
There are many other options, enabling us to score by Fleet, Age of Competitor, probably even the colour of their eyes. Also to apply a different handicap for each race (e.g. if a boat is sailed solo or two-up on different occaisions). When you need to use these options, I am quite sure you’ll be able to find them by looking around the menus, pop-up boxes, and so on.
Good luck!