23.4 SHIP RACES

More detail to come soon. For now, the main thing to do is SHIPRACE.
Yes, just SHIPRACE, all by itself.

Ship Races are open to any captain or ship owner who, when on board,
does SHIPRACE JOIN.

At that point, the captain or owner may use SHIPRACE BEARINGS to get
the bearings to the starting point of the race.

Bearings tell you the direction. When sailing, you'll see the actual
markers for the legs of the race quite clearly in open ocean as
's' for starting, 'f' for finishing, and letters 'a' through 'z'
(the s will look different from the starting point) scattered across
the seas.

SHIPRACE WHO will show who is involved.

SHIPRACE STATUS will show how competitors are doing in the race.

CONFIG SHIPRACE ON may be used by anybody to listen to race notices.


Ship Race Symbols
-----------------
The starting line is one or more plus (+) signs.
The finishing line is one or more minus (-) signs.

Individual legs are marked by one or more small letters, starting with a and
moving up towards z, in alphabetical order. The first leg would be marked a,
the second b, and so forth.

Ships competing in the race should look different than other ships.


Moving Ahead Through the Race
-----------------------------
When a race has been initialised, SHIPRACE JOIN and CONFIG SHIPRACE ON.

If you don't already know where the starting line is, use SHIPRACE BEARINGS to
get the direction you must travel in order to encounter the starting line.
The starting line will be a line of red crosses (+) on a white background.

Then move your ship towards, but not yet ONTO, any of the starting line 
locations to ready yourself for the start of the race. You can move in any 
direction, in any manner. You can row, sail, drift, or whatever. You can be 
moving north, south, east, west, or any other of the 16 mariner's compass 
points.

Once the ship race has STARTED, move your ship onto any one of the starting
line locations. Once you have entered a starting line location, you have begun 
the race. You will be notified that you have started. So will everybody else 
who is listening in on the SHIPRACE channel.

Watch out! You must -enter- a starting line location (after the ship race has
been started) in order to start the race. Sitting there on the starting line as
the race starts means nothing.

You do not have to traverse the entire length of the starting line! You
merely have to pass through it at any of its points, by entering at any point 
then moving off it.


Moving Along
------------
Use SHIPRACE BEARINGS again to find the direction to the first leg (marked 'a'
on the map). Finishing each leg is the same as starting - move to any leg
marker for the leg you are working on. You can move in any direction, and by
any means. 

You will be notified when you have completed the leg. So will everybody else
that is listening in on the SHIPRACE channel. Once you have passed through
any of the leg markers, you have completed that leg and should move on to
the next.


Winning the Race
----------------
Move onto any location that is part of the finish line (marked with '-',
red dashes on a green background). You will be notified of your finish, as 
will everybody else who is listening in on the SHIPRACE channel.

DO NOT quit the race yet. Please wait until everybody else has finished.


Seeing How You're Doing
-----------------------
SHIPRACE STATUS will give a fairly accurate report on the positions and
progress of competitors. Time is, of course, given in the only time reckoning
that makes any sense - Achaean time.


The Courses
-----------
Course 1: 6 legs, starts and ends southeast of Tasur'ke. General flow is
southwest between Ulangi and the mainland, around Ulangi, and back.

Course 2: 12 legs, starts and ends north of Clockwork Isle. General flow is
southeast around Clockwork, southwest to pass between Mysia and Ulangi, around
Zanzibaar, wiggle around a bit more, and back!

Course 3: 14 legs, starts and ends south of Aalen. General flow is eastward,
winding through an open chop area with sharp turns and short straights.

Course 4: 8 legs, starts and ends north of Polyargos. General flow is
anti-clockwise around Tapoa and Shala-Khulia. 

Course 5: 25 legs, starts near the Eastern Shore and ends near Tasur'ke. A test
of endurance, moving clockwise around the entire continent of Sapience.

Course 6: 4 legs, starts and ends in the Sapphire sea. A short beginner course
with anti-clockwise movement.

Course 7: 17 legs starts southwest of Polyargos and ends at a small island
southwest of Zaphar Isle. Sailing eastward, anti-clockwise around Shala-Khulia,
winding through open chops in the Sea of Screamed Prayers, then generally
southeastward to the finish.

Course 8: 4 legs, starts and ends near the Ilyrean Tundra. A short course
winding through a small section of the northern chops. 

Course 9: 10 legs, starts and ends west of Rageteeth Beach in Meropis. Two
clockwise laps in a circle, with some tight navigation through choppy waters.

Course 10: 12 legs, starts and ends near the island of Karbaz. Zig-zagging
through the frigid chops northwest of Sapience.

Course 11: 9 legs, beginning near the northern tip of Meropis and runs through
the Bay of Nilakantha to circle a desert island, ending just north of Orilla.

Course 12: 7 legs, starts in the cold waters near the Valho Coast, rounds the 
isle of Minos, winds through the chops in a generally southward manner, and
ends near Tasur'ke.

Course 13: 3 legs. Beginning at Zaphar Isle, ships must take the most direct 
route toward the village of Orilla upon Meropis. This is a long first leg, and 
the first checkpoint will be reached near the harbour. The course then turns 
northward and proceeds to the isle of Tapoa, where ships will round its western 
coast before heading to the race's finish line, which lies in view of the 
eastern Tuari coast.