Cruiser Racing
Many cruiser sailors do not race – until a competitor comes along...
You are quite happily sailing along, without a care in the world,
when you notice a similar yacht heading in the same direction. At first
you just sit up a little and admire its lines but then you realise it is
catching up.
The mainsheet is tweaked and you sit down
on the windward side and try to forget about it. But within ten minutes,
the genoa cars are being freed with WD40 and the kids are sitting on
the windward rail. All whilst you nonchalantly wave at the other boat
and try to look like as though you’re not racing.
Many
cruiser sailors do not race – until a competitor comes along...
If
you’ve ever wondered about how you go about poking your bow over a start
line, read on. In this new series of articles we hope to give an
overview of what you need to consider and then look at each point in
more detail over the coming months.
Accessible cruiser racing
Cruiser racing is mostly organised by sailing clubs and, over
recent years many have gone to great lengths to make racing more
accessible to cruising sailors. Spinnakers send a shudder through many
cruising sailors and therefore one of the most progressive classes at
the moment is the white sail fleet, which does away with them
completely. Lack of crew is no longer a problem as many clubs run a
series of ‘two-handed’ races where the skipper and one crew pit
themselves against similarly crewed boats.
Courses
There are a variety
of organised races and it is wise to go for a type of course that you
will enjoy – whether that is a race out to the Eddystone Light and back
or a blast around the harbour for an hour in the evening.
Races may be individual one off events, such as the ‘Round the Island
Race’ sailing around the Isle of Wight with 2,000 other competitors,
local charity races or a series of local or offshore courses where
points are scored on each race.
Insurance
It is worth checking
your insurance policy to ensure you are covered. Some insurers
automatically cover sailing yachts for racing whilst others will charge a
premium, often derived from the replacement value of the mast, spars,
rigging and sails.
Equipment
The sailing club or race organiser will
publish a NOR (Notice of Race) and Sailing Instructions detailing what
equipment and regulations apply to that race.
The ISAF (International Sailing Federation) have an equipment and
requirement list called the Offshore Special Regulations (OSR).
The OSR denote area categories and prescribe equipment relevant to
the type of race that is being undertaken whether that is in sheltered
water or non-stop circumnavigations.
Racing Rules
The Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) are loosely based on
the COLREGS but give more precise rulings for situations where many
boats are in close proximity to each other. They cover specific racing
problems, such as when vessels shall keep clear or have right of way
whilst rounding a mark or tacking and gybing.
The RRS
also detail the flags and pennants that are flown and how the race is
conducted. Nobody expects you to know the RRS inside out when you first
start, however it’s worth knowing the basics. Handy Guide to the
Racing Rules as a book and an App are worth having.
Fair racing
Unless all boats sail as a one design fleet, boats of
varying size and shape need a system to ensure that the race tests good
sailing and not just who has a faster boat. A boat entering a race will
require a corrective formula which is applied to gain a final result.
The formulas are usually based on one of two methods:
- Boat design data is compiled and a formula used to predict performance – often called ‘rating’
- The performance of the boat is observed and a formula applied – often
called ‘handicapping’ The most common handicaps used at present are the
Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) and the
International Rating Certificates (IRC). However there are plenty of
system out there and many clubs have their own in-house club handicap
system.
![](/web/20120815225522im_/http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionImages/cruising/nov11/fair-racing.jpg)
Photos and words by Simon Jinks, RYA Instructor at SeaRegs Training www.searegs.co.uk
Contact UsArticle Published: October 26, 2011 15:53