SailFast Version 10.3.1
Release 28 March 2024

Bug Fix:
-Fixed a problem caused by an upgrade of the webserver hardware and software which prevented the download of Grib files from the server to the client PC.

SailFast Version 10.3
Release 12 September 2019

New Features:
-Added polar for Baltic44_(Asym&Sym).
-The same download code is now used for both the free demo and subscription purchases. The activation code now determines the mode of operation.

Bug Fixes:
-Fixed problem where program crashes on start up and user has to use Ctrl-Alt-Delete to open Task Manager and force SailFast to close. Problem may occur if user starts SailFast with a double click and 2 instances of SailFast try to open. Only a single instance of SailFast is allowed. Problem fixed and warning message is now issued if a second instance trys to open.

SailFast Version 10.2
Release 30 June 2019

Bug Fixes:
-Improved responsiveness of the View/Grib Data table. Changes to Enable, Delete and Archive are now immediately reflected on the chart display.
-View/Grib Data table updates automatically when new Grib files are downloaded.
-Fixed bug where some waypoints were getting assigned the waypoint name or description of the previously created waypoint.
-Fixed bug where a boundary line was corrupted when one of the end points of the line is deleted.
-Speeded up the SailFast Window response when the user resizes the window by dragging an edge or corner.

SailFast Version 10.1
Release 28 May 2019

New Features:
-GOMOFS % complete status and improved error messaging when checking for GOMOFS forecast files.

SailFast Version 10.0
Release 26 March 2019

New Features:
-Support for NOAA GOMOFS tidal curent.
-Draw line of postion.
-Display of windward laylines and target boat speed.
-Locking of waypoints.
-Meter or feet display units.
-HRRR forecast support.
-Seven additional built-in polars.

Bug Fixes:
-Fixed program hanging when processing certain very large grib files.

SailFast Version 9.2
Release 12 June 2018

New Features:
-All boat polars that ship with SailFast are now available in the polars drop down list. The user no longer has to specify polars to list in the Options/Polars dialog.

Bug Fixes:
-Fixed display of city names so the city with highest population in a given section of the displayed chart is shown.
-Corrected code error that prevented the creation of polar folders for the Beneteau First36.7 and Beneteau First 40.7.

SailFast Version 9.1
Release 7 May 2018

New Features:
-Improved the chart coastline resolution for the US Great Lakes.
-Added option to display city names when the chart is zoomed in.

Bug Fixes:
-Corrected missing zoomed in display of some South Pacific Islands.
-Corrected the wind direction shown in the new Optimum Route Table. Direction was in error by 180 degrees. This is a display error only, optimum routing was unaffected.

SailFast Version 9.0.1
Release 25 March 2018

New Features:
-The data in file OptimumRoute.csv introduced in version 8 is now available to view on screen as the Optimum Route Table. The boat position and highlighted route segment are synchronized with the highlighted row of the Optimum Route Table.
-New optional weather routing settings:
+ Reduce night time sailing speed to reflect actual performance. May apply to racers and also cruisers who reduce sail at night for safety and shorthanded sailing.
+ Route to avoid extreme winds.
+ Route to avoid extreme significant wave height.
+ Run the engine and sail under power for routing segments with very light wind.
-Support for NMEA DBT and MTW sentences for the display and recording of water depth and water temperature.
-Ability to print an image of the main SailFast window and the Optimum Route Table.
-Increased the maximum grid resolution of requested Saildocs grib files. Wave Watch 3 (WW3) increased from 1.0 to 0.25 degrees. NAVGEM increased from 1 to 0.5 degrees.
-Option to add an offset to a wind instrument's reported apparent wind angle. Useful to correct an error that cannot be corrected by normal instrument calibration.

Bug Fixes:
-Fixed code errors that would prevent using the NMEA true wind direction for the initial portion of the optimum routing. This is a user What-If option.
-Corrected the wave direction obtained from WW3 (Wave Watch 3) grib forecasts. Direction was in error by 180 degrees.

SailFast Version 8.0.3.0
Release 16 July 2017

New Features:
-New OptimumRoute file. A user accessible file with detailed sailing data for every segment of an optimum route is now available. File OptimumRoute.csv is created when an optimum routing is completed. The file contains detailed data for each segment of the optimum route including apparent and true wind, heading, boat speed, current, and lat lon. It is now easier to follow the suggested routing, plan sail changes and judge actual vs. simulated performance.
-Improved user interface responsiveness, especially when using large Grib files. Processing Grib parameters for display is now done in background, allowing user chart adjustments to be made at the same time.
-The Isochron Display Spacing toolbar button is now always active. Spacings can be adjusted anytime, including while doing an optimum routing.
-Easier boat positioning when displaying an optimum route. Press and hold of Next or Previous arrows moves boat repeatedly in increasing step size.
-Improved optimum route accuracy in cases where the wind is very light or the simulation time step is < 1 hour.
-Improved ability to follow boundaries of a "dog leg" course. Marblehead to Halifax racers will appreciate this.

Bug Fixes:
-Fixed bug on the list display of Grib parameters to be displayed. Not always correct on program startup.
-Fixed bug in tracking mode saved data. The true wind direction data value was 180 degrees in error. Displayed wind arrows and internal calculations were correct.

SailFast Version 7.0.0.4
Release 27 March 2015

New Features:
-Supports display of multiple grib files with same parameter (ex. wind) at the same time. Permits direct comparison of different grib forecasts such as GFS and COAMPS. Also allows a patchwork of smaller gribs to be used and displayed for optimum routing.
-Two new Saildocs Grib types, NAVGEM (NOGAPS) and OSCAR, may be selected for download. NAVGEM is a Navy global forecast similar to GFS. OSCAR (Ocean Surface Current Analysis Realtime) is a direct computation of global surface currents using satellite sea surface height, wind, and temperature.
-Undo/redo (forward/back) buttons for the displayed chart position.
-Three user programmable pre-set chart position buttons.
-Select the number of isochron lines in a routing solution to display.
-Option to disable the display of the license notification on startup.

Bug Fixes:
-Fixed bug when running a Saved track and then asserting Active track display. Could cause program crash.
-Fixed bug when the GRIBS folder was empty.
-Fixed missing display of progress information during an optimum routing simulation.
-Fixed unhandled excepton error when user canceled an optimum routing simulation.Corrected error generated when wind or current grib has V and U componets in reverse order. Issue found when using a TideTech FOAM current grib. Did not affect grib display but did generate a fatal error when running an optimum route solution.

SailFast Version 6.2.0.0
Release 6 April 2014

Bug Fixes:
-Corrected error generated when wind or current grib has V and U componets in reverse order. Issue found when using a TideTech FOAM current grib. Did not affect grib display but did generate a fatal error when running an optimum route solution.

SailFast Version 6.1.0.0
Release 4 July 2013

New Features:
-User may now specify the magnetic variation value. This is useful when operating without a GPS connection or with a GPS that does not include variation in its NMEA output.
-Support for the NMEA HDG sentence which provides magnetic heading data from a heading sensor or auto pilot. The Simrad AP26 and AP27 use the HDG sentence.

SailFast Version 6.0.0.1
Release 26 April 2013

New Features:
-User friendly tool for creating Grib file requests from Saildocs. With internet connection Grib files may be downloaded directly to your PC without any intermediate email steps.
-Updated optional OCENS WeatherNet3
-Added polars for Beneteau First 40.7

Bug Fixes:
-Corrected data display in bottom status message and in the data information cursor display window. For the Current paramater, was only showing direction in degrees true, but with no "T" indicator. Now properly shows in degree true or degree magnetic as selected by user.

SailFast 2011 Version 5.2.4
Release 29 July 2012

Bug Fixes:
-Eliminated display flicker on program load and when resizing the chart window.
-Fixed rare occurrence of a section of coastline not being plotted.
-Added graceful error handling for case of a corrupted waypoint file.

SailFast 2011 Version 5.2.1
Release 24 May 2012

New demo version with all features operational. Requires an activation key which expires after about 1 week.

SailFast 2011 Version 5.2
Release Jan 2012

Bug Fixes:
-Fixed Windows security error when reading binary WVS chart files, causing install failure.
-Added indication of degree true or magnetic to bottom data display and iW mouse position.
-Corrected error in Gulf of maine tide file. 

SailFast 2011 Version 5.1
Release April 9, 2011

Reported Problems:
-Some install problems reported.

Bug Fixes:
-Corrected wave direction.
-Coded workaround for non-standard sea surface temp files with data in degree C instead of degree Kelvin.
-Moved location of application data files written by user to Windows USER/...AppData folder to reduce chance of Windows security file access permission errors.

SailFast 2011 Version 5.0
Release April 5, 2011

Reported Problems:
-Wave direction inverted
- OCENS GLBOCN sea surface temp files do not display properly.

Bug Fixes:
-SeaTemp will now be displayed past last forecast. Useful for GulfStream usage.
-Apparent wind angle (AWA) now displays as +/- degrees relative to bow.
-Fixed error in polar speed when true wind angle = 180 degrees.
-Fixed polar speed error when interpolating and wind exactly equaled a polar wind speed.
-Eliminated Compact SQL database dll requirement which caused some install problems.
-Compatible with 64bit OS.
-Added constraint to maximum allowed zoom in. Excessive zoom in sometimes cause by unintentional mouse action could cause program crash.

SailFast 2010 Version 4.0.2
Release March 27, 2010

Reported Problems:
-Some install problems have been reported .. more....

Bug Fixes:
-Resolved problem with PC that have date or number formats other than English-US.
-Install now checks for required resources: .NET 3.5 and SQL Compact 3.5. If not present they are installed automatically before SailFast is installed. The install zip file contains copies of the required resources. The install zip is now ~250 Mb.

SailFast 2010 Version 4.0.1
Release March 2010

New Features:
-Added support for sea surface temperature and accumulated rain. All parameters
can now be displayed with color gradients and contour lines, and with fading effects.
-Wind and Current vector arrows can now be displayed in 3 styles.
-Added option to disable NMEA input during optimum routing simulation. This can
reduce conflicts caused by fast NMEA updates from multiple instruments.
-Can now delete all boundary line waypoints at same time as the boundary line.
-Waypoints of a disabled boindary line are now automatically hidden.
-New option for line width and color of chart coastline; line width of boundary lines and optimum track

Reported Problems:
-Program crash with XP PC with German date and number formatting of client PC.
-During install required resources on client PC not checked or installed, causing failure of install. This version requires .NET 3.5 and SQL Compact 3.5 on the client PC.

Bug Fixes:
-Prevented a waypoint being dragged to a new position from affecting other waypoints dragged over.
-Reduced time required to process very large Grib files and reduced the memory required. Some older PCs could crash from out of memory error.
-Resolved problem with some Grib files produced by Sailflow.com could not be read due to non-standard leading or trailing bytes.

SailFast 2009 Version 3.0.5.1
Release June 9, 2009

Reported Problems:
- Some Gribs supplied from Sailflow.com are not compatible with SailFast. An "out of range index error" occurs. (This will be resolved in the next release.), June '09
- Very large Grib files may result in "out of memory" error. Reported with Windows XP, 1.5 GB memory and 18 MB Grib file. (Changes to reduce memory required will be in the next release.), Dec '09

Bug Fixes:
-Fixed a program activation issue found with an XP Professional PC. Failed to provide a computer code and program crashed.

SailFast 2009 Version 3.0.5
Release May 17, 2009

New Features:
- Added present vessel position lat lon to screen data area. Requires NMEA GPS connection.
- Added support for NMEA RMC and GLL sentences which comply to the older NMEA 2.X versions.
-Added user selection in Tools/Options/NMEA dialog to write NMEA data to a log file. This is useful for capturing NMEA data sent to SailFast and debugging NMEA instruments and multiplexers. File size is limited to 1 Mbyte.

Reported Problems:
- None

Bug Fixes:
-Fixed potential problem when NMEA data was no longer being sent to your PC, and the Tools/Options dialog was opened and closed. This could cause SailFast to crash.

SailFast 2009 Version 3.0.3
Release March 29, 2009

New Features:
- Improved Grib file read time by up to 85% for large files.
- Via Grib file forecasts, the display of mean sea level pressure is now supported, in addition to 10 meter wind and surface current supported previously.
-Added a Grib viewing capability independent from running an optimum routing solution. This makes it much easier to evaluate weather forecasts, both future and historic.
-Displayed wind, current or pressure are now interpolated by time and position. Previously interpolation was only performed as part of optimum routing. This lets you visualize exactly how weather is expected to change between the fixed Grib forecast times.
-Wind and Current is now displayed whenever the What-If setting is set to extend the forecast and the display time is after the last available forecast. Warning indications are provided in the bottom status bar since the forecast may be out of date.
-Six sample polars are now included. These are A35, Farr40, First 36.7, Catalina 22, J109 and the Sabre 38.
-Numerous enhancements made to the user interface. New Pan/Center control eliminates inadvertant panning.

Reported Problems:
- Globalsat BU-353 USB GPS not working with SailFast. (Fixed with version 3.0.5 with added support for older NMEA 2.X version sentences.)

Bug Fixes:
-Corrected out of memory problems when reading very large Grib files.
-Corrected rare problem in properly determining the size of a Grib file. Could cause failure to read the file.
- Fixed bug that could hang the program when the polar diagram dialog was opened and all 5 polar folders were designated in the Options/Polars dialog.

SailFast 2008 Version 2.1.1
Release Nov 7, 2008

New Features:
- The View / Grib Data dialog now includes buttons to delete or archive listed Grib files.

Reported Problems:
- None

Bug Fixes:
-Corrected problem with the View / NMEA Data dialog which hid the display of NMEA sentences.
-Eliminated display of error message
"Grib file syntax not supported. PDS Octet21 Table 5 =...." for Grib files with an accumulated time parameter such as accumulated rain. Found in Grib downloaded from GRIB.US (www.grib.us/).
- Fixed problem with Grib files using forecast time units other than hours. This was observed with Gribs from www.PredictWind.com.

SailFast 2008 Version 2.0.5
Release May 18, 2008 <

Bug Fixes:
-Fixed problem when operating system default date format was other than mm/dd/yyyy format. < ="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">

SailFast 2008 Version 2.0.4
Release May 6, 2008

New Features:
- Added support Grib files with surface current forecasts. Used by Newport-Bermuda race competitors.
- User customized display of wind and current arrows.
- Faster wind and current interpolation and routing simulations.

SailFast 2008 Version 1.0.3
Release Jan 27, 2008

New Features:
- New worldwide basemaps.
- Improved long distance Range-Bearing display.

SailFast 2007 Version 1.0.1
Release May 26, 2007
Major upgrade to SailFast 2005 using Visual Studio and .Net framework.