Yacht racing

Yacht racing can be broadly broken up into two types - offshore racing and harbour (or 'round the cans') racing.

Table of contents

1 Offshore Racing
2 Harbour or Dinghy Racing

2.1 Typical Course
2.2 Classes

Offshore Racing

Offshore racing is for large keelboats or multihulls and generally involves a fleet of yachts, or large multihulls racing on a coastal course, or even around the world. Some of the most famous offshore races are the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the Fastnet race, the Volvo Ocean Race (formerly the Whitbread), the Vendee Globe, and the America's Cup.

Harbour or Dinghy Racing

Harbour racing is usually enjoyed by sailors of keelboats, dinghies, catamarans, skiffs, sailboards, and other small craft.

Typical Course

Most racing of this type is on triangular courses marked by a number of buoys. The course usually starts from an imaginary line drawn from a committee boat to the starting buoy. A number of warning signals are given telling the crews exactly how long until the race starts. The aim of each crew is to cross the start line at full speed exactly as the race starts. A course generally involves tacking upwind to a windward marker or buoy. Then bearing away onto a downwind leg to a second gybe marker. Next a gybe on a second downwind leg to the last mark which is called the "downwind mark". At this mark the boats turn into wind once again to tack to the finish line.

Classes

Harbour racing can be further subdivided into two categories: One-design and not one-design. In one-design all boats entered in a race must conform to the same standard (class rules ). In this way the boats are as identical as they can be manufactured, thus emphasizing the skill of the skipper and his/her crew. Examples of classes currently active are: Snipes, Stars, Thistles, Lightnings, Lasers, J/24, etc. Each class has a detailed set of specifications that must be met for the boat to be considered a member of that class. At important regattas the boats are measured prior to the event to insure that they do conform.

When all the yachts in a race are not members of the same class, then a handicap is obtained. The handicap attempts to specify a "normal" speed for that boat. In perfect world, after applying the handicap each boat would have the same finishing time if each was sailed equally well. However, it is difficult to obtain one number,the handicap, that equiably covers all conceivable sailing condition, Still a handicap is used to determine how the boat finish. Each boat is timed over the specified course. After it has finished, the handicap, is added to each boats finishing time. The results are based on this sum. The boat with the smallest time + handicap is the winner.