The short version: this is a free game run by one person, it is not for navigation, and you are expected to sail it fairly. Last changed 6 September 2026.
Virtual Navigator is a free simulation game. It is provided as it is, with no warranty of any kind, and it may change, pause or stop at any time. Races run on real weather that cannot be rewound, so a fault in the engine or a lost server can cost a race; the admins will say so in the race log and may correct or restart boats, and that is the only remedy.
Not for navigation. Nothing on this site, including the forecasts, charts, routes and tracks, may be used to navigate a vessel.
One account per person. You must be 16 or over. Keep your password to yourself; what is done with your account is done by you. You may delete the account at any time from your profile page, as the privacy notice describes.
The engine enforces the rules of the game: one polar for the fleet, real weather, no time travel, marks honoured. Around it, a few rules for people:
Names. A boat name or display name must not impersonate a real yacht in the race, a real person, or an organiser, and must not be offensive. Admins may rename or remove a boat or an account that breaks this, and will say so in the race log.
Play it straight. Do not probe, load-test or scrape the server, run more than one account, or try to interfere with anyone else's boat.
Results are what they are. The leaderboard ranks what was sailed; admins do not adjust it except to correct a course or a data fault, which is always logged.
Virtual Navigator is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any race organiser, sponsor or tracking provider. Race names are used only to say which real fleet a course is sailed alongside. Real boats appear from public tracker and AIS feeds, for comparison only; their owners may ask for a boat to be hidden and organisers may ask for a course to be withdrawn, and both are honoured promptly. Official documents belong to the organisers and are linked, not republished.
Routes and boat names you submit are yours. By submitting them you let the site sail them, show the sailed track publicly, and keep the submission log that makes the no-time-travel rule auditable. Downloaded polars, forecasts and tracks are for your own use in the game.
The site's own code is open source under the MIT licence; the data it draws on carries the licences listed in the footer.
Open an issue on the GitHub repository. Changes to these terms are dated at the top of this page.