Normal Distribution

Posted: Thu 21st May 2009 in Blog

For all their dreadful website's dreadfull problems. Me and pretty much every other geek-come sailor is horribly addicted to The Volvo Ocean Race game. Sad I know. Its fun though.

I've sailed on a few yachts and managemnet by committee fails really badly. Open up the tactical decisions to the entire boat and your'll be last. Will turn any yacht into a 4 knot shit box.

So what have they done in the Volvo Game? Well theve added a dayly questionaire to the game allowing vote reality TV style as to what advice to give to Ian Moore the Navigator of Green Dragon.

Fourtualty for Green Dragon its only advice - hed doesn't have to take it, and he's got some pretty hot software to help him too. My advice to Ian is get some "la-La-I'm-not-listenting" musical finger head phones. There's sound tactical reasoning behind this not just contempt for my fellow arm chair sailors.

EXAMPLES

Q: Drop Kite at 25kn, 27kn or 30kn
A: 27kn - dull

Q: Port Gybe, Stbd Gybe, up the middle
A: Up the middle

Looking at what advice is being voted for I'm seeing a classic case of normal distribution. Since the question's always seem to be three options.A: Do one thing B: do another Or C: half way house inbetween, its always the in between that gets chosen. Now that will not do well for Green Dragon. Its generally achnowleged its not the fastest boat in the fleet. The reverse probably. That didn't stop them scoring the first major points of the race by a bold and unconventional tactical move left the rest of the fleet in the doldrums, then force to tack to make the Scoring point.

No move like that will come from the normal distrubution of votes on an online multiple guess. So online web two-point-oh navigation for yacht racing FAIL.

For referece I've already addmitted to Gybing my virtual boat at 4am when getting up to go to the Loo to Brian (boat name bsccommodore) so I'd better come clean publically.