Sailing (sport)
Encyclopedia
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
.
There is a broad variety of kinds of races and sailboats used for racing. Much racing is done around buoys or similar marks in protected waters, while some longer offshore races cross open water. All kinds of boats are used for racing, including small dinghies
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
, catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
s, boats designed primarily for cruising
Cruising
Cruising may mean:*Cruising , driving around for social purposes, especially by teenagers*Cruise , in aviation*Cruising , leisurely travel by boat, yacht, or cruise ship...
, and purpose-built raceboats. The Racing Rules of Sailing
Racing Rules of Sailing
The Racing Rules of Sailing govern the conduct of yacht racing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, model boat racing, dinghy racing and virtually any other form of racing around a course with more than one vessel while powered by the wind...
govern the conduct of yacht racing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, model boat racing, dinghy racing and virtually any other form of racing around a course with more than one vessel while powered by the wind.
Harbor or buoy racing
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
s, skiffs, sailboards, and other small craft. A competition, or regatta
Regatta
A regatta is a series of boat races. The term typically describes racing events of rowed or sailed water craft, although some powerboat race series are also called regattas...
, usually consists of multiple individual races, where the boat that performs best in each race is the overall winner. The most famous such event is the America's Cup
America's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
, but harbor races are common anywhere there is a community of sailors. A notable example is found in Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, where the Bermuda rig
Bermuda rig
The term Bermuda rig refers to a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is also known as a Marconi rig; this is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats...
, now almost universally used on small sailing vessels, can still be seen in its purest form in the Bermuda Fitted Dinghy
Bermuda Fitted Dinghy
The Bermuda Fitted Dinghy is a type of racing-dedicated sail boat used for competitions between the yacht clubs of Bermuda. Although the class has only existed for about 130 years, the boats are a continuance of a tradition of boat and ship design in Bermuda that stretches back to the earliest...
, used for a series of races contested each year by the colony's yacht clubs. Bermuda also played a role in the development of the International One Design
International One Design
The International One Design is a class of sail boat developed for yacht racing. It is a 33-foot open cockpit day sailer used for day racing, rather than for overnight, or ocean races, such as the Newport–Bermuda Yacht Race...
.
This kind of race is most commonly run over one or more laps of a triangular course marked by a number of buoys. The course starts from an imaginary line drawn from a 'committee boat' to the designated 'starting' buoy or 'pin'. 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 jibe
Jibe
A jibe or gybe is a sailing maneuver where a sailing vessel turns its stern through the wind, such that the wind direction changes from one side of the boat to the other...
marker. Next another jibe on a second downwind leg to the last mark which is called the 'downwind mark' (or 'leeward mark'). At this mark the boats turn into wind once again to tack to the finish line.
Inshore racing
Inshore racing is yacht racing not in protected waters but along and generally within sight of land or from land to nearby islands, as distinct from offshore racing across open water and oceans. The duration of races maybe daylight only, overnight or passage races of several days. Some races, such as the Swiftsure Yacht RaceSwiftsure Yacht Race
The Swiftsure International Yacht Race is the premier long distance sailing race in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia area. Starting and ending in Victoria, BC, Canada, the Swiftsure is international because the mid-point markers are in U.S. waters...
, are actually a group of inshore races of various distances along overlapping courses to allow for different classes and skills. Depending on location, stability and safety equipment requirements will be more extensive than for harbour racing, but less so than for offshore racing. Different levels of requirement for navigation, sleeping cooking and water storage also apply. These races are suitable for many club racers including Junior Offshore Group
Junior Offshore Group
The Junior Offshore Group is an organiser of offshore yacht races in the UK using IRC handicap system. Aimed at smaller yachts, though the size of the smallest yacht keeps getting bigger as the years go by....
(JOG) yachts, and certain trailer sailer
Trailer sailer
A trailer sailer is a small yacht or large dinghy style of sailboat that is moved to sailing locations and stored on a road trailer. It is neither a Day sailer or a Pocket cruiser but may be used for either purpose depending upon design suitability...
s meeting race requirements. The Chicago to Mackinac Boat Race
Chicago to Mackinac Boat Race
The Chicago to Mackinac Sailboat Race is run by the Chicago Yacht Club. It is one of the longest fresh-water races in the world, with hundreds of boats entering the race each year. It starts off the mouth of the Chicago River in Chicago, crosses Lake Michigan, barely enters Lake Huron, and finishes...
is a 333 miles (535.9 km) freshwater race on Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
.
Offshore racing
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
of the world.
Some of the most famous offshore races are the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, Australia on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart. The race distance is approximately...
, the Transpacific Yacht Race
Transpacific Yacht Race
The Transpacific Yacht Race is an offshore yacht race starting off Point Fermin, San Pedro, near Los Angeles, and ending off Diamond Head Lighthouse in Honolulu, a distance of around . Started in 1906, it is one of yachting's premier offshore races and attracts entrants from all over the world...
, the Fastnet race
Fastnet race
The Fastnet Race is a famous offshore yachting race. It is considered one of the classic offshore races. It takes place every two years over a course of . The race starts off Cowes on the Isle of Wight in England, rounds the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland and then finishes at...
, the Bermuda Race
Bermuda Race
The Bermuda Race, or Newport Bermuda Race, is a biennial yacht race from Newport, Rhode Island to the island of Bermuda, a distance of 635 nautical miles across open ocean. The first Bermuda Race started in 1906 from Gravesend Bay, N.Y. with three entries. The race was held several times in the...
, the 2005 Rolex Transatlantic Challenge
2005 Rolex Transatlantic Challenge
The 2005 Rolex Transatlantic Challenge was celebrated at the 100th anniversary of the 1905 race for the Kaiser's Cup also known as "The Great Ocean Race"...
, Hamilton Island Race Week
Hamilton Island Race Week
Hamilton Island Race Week is a keelboat regatta set against the backdrop of the Whitsunday Islands, on Queensland's Great Barrier Reef.-History:...
, the West Marine Pacific Cup
West Marine Pacific Cup
The Pacific Cup is a yacht race from San Francisco, California to Kaneohe, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. The enjoyable exercise in Yacht racing is run in even-numbered years by the Pacific Cup Yacht Club and sponsored by West Marine and others...
and the Bayview Yacht Club North Channel Race. Several fully crewed round-the-world races are held, including the Volvo Ocean Race
Volvo Ocean Race
The Volvo Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three years. It is named after its current owner, Volvo...
(formerly called the Whitbread Round the World Race), the Global Challenge
Global Challenge
The Global Challenge was a round the world yacht race run by Challenge Business, the company started by Sir Chay Blyth in 1989...
and the Clipper Round the World Race
Clipper Round the World Race
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race was conceived in 1995 by well-known yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and together with William Ward, founded Clipper Ventures, a company that would run the race. The first race set off a year later on 16 October 1996. The event gives paying amateur crew...
.
South African yacht clubs organise the South Atlantic Race (the former Cape to Rio race), the Governor's Cup from Cape Town to St. Helena Island, and a race between Durban and Mauritius.
Single-handed
Single-handed sailing
The sport of single-handed sailing or solo sailing is sailing with only one crewmember . The term is usually used with reference to ocean and long-distance sailing, and particularly competitive sailing....
ocean yacht racing began with the race across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
by William Albert Andrews and Josiah W. Lawlor in 1891; however, the first regular single-handed ocean race was the Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race
Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race
The Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race, or STAR, is an east-to-west yacht race across the North Atlantic. When inaugurated in 1960, it was the first single-handed ocean yacht race; it is run from Plymouth to the USA, and is held every four years....
, first held in 1960. The first round-the-world yacht race was the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race
Sunday Times Golden Globe Race
The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race was a non-stop, single-handed, round-the-world yacht race, held in 1968–1969, and was the first round-the-world yacht race...
of 1968-1969, which was also a single-handed
Single-handed sailing
The sport of single-handed sailing or solo sailing is sailing with only one crewmember . The term is usually used with reference to ocean and long-distance sailing, and particularly competitive sailing....
race; this inspired the present-day VELUX 5 Oceans Race
VELUX 5 Oceans Race
The VELUX 5 OCEANS Race is a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed in stages, managed by Clipper Ventures Plc since 2000. Its current name comes from its main sponsor, VELUX, a Danish company. Originally known as the BOC Challenge, for the title sponsor BOC Gases, the first edition was...
(formerly the BOC Challenge / Around Alone) and the Vendée Globe
Vendée Globe
The Vendée Globe is a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed non-stop and without assistance. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years....
. Single-handed racing has seen a great boom in popularity in recent years.
There is some controversy about the legality of sailing single-handed over long distances, as the navigation rules
International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 are published by the International Maritime Organization , and set out, inter alia, the "rules of the road" or navigation rules to be followed by ships and other vessels at sea in order to prevent collisions between two or more...
require "that every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper lookout..."; single-handed sailors can only keep a sporadic lookout, due to the need to sleep, tend to navigation, etc.
Match Racing
In match racing only two boats compete against each other. The best known competition of this type is the America's CupAmerica's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
. The tactics involved in match racing are different from those of other races, because the objective is merely to arrive at the finish line before the opponent, which is not necessarily as fast as possible. The tactics involved at the start are also special.
Other races
Certain races do not fit in the above categories. One such is the Three peaks yacht raceThree peaks yacht race
The Three Peaks Yacht Race is held each year in June in the United Kingdom since 1977. It is based on an idea of the late Bill Tilman, who had advocated a Three Peaks Challenge route without using motorised transport...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
which is a team competition involving sailing, cycling and running.
Yacht Clubs
Many town yacht clubs maintain their own racing teams for both juniors and adults. Often several yacht clubs will get together to hold events that can include more than 100 entered boats per race making up the regatta. Although oftentimes both adults and juniors sail the same classes of boat, junior classes usually consist of Optimist and 420's on the east coast, and of Naples Sabots and CFJ's (club Flying Juniors) on the west coast, and, universally, Lasers that are broken down further depending on skill and age levels. Age levels are usually from 8-18 for juniors and then 19-64 for adults. Senior classes are popular on the west coast and tend to be held in Naples Sabots, an 8' design that was founded in the Long Beach/Naples area and is an extremely popular west coast boat.Classes and ratings
Many design factors have a large impact on the speed at which a boat can complete a course, including the size of a boat's sailSail
A sail is any type of surface intended to move a vessel, vehicle or rotor by being placed in a wind—in essence a propulsion wing. Sails are used in sailing.-History of sails:...
s, its length, and the weight and shape of its hull. Because of these differences, it can be difficult to compare the skills of the sailors in a race if they are sailing very different boats. For most forms of yacht racing, one of two solutions to this problem are used; either all boats are required to be identical (a one-design
One-design
One-Design is a racing method where all vehicles or boats have identical or very similar designs or models. It is also known as Spec series. It is heavily used in sailboat racing. All competitors in a race are then judged based on a single start time...
class), or a handicapping
Handicapping
Handicapping, in sport and games, is the practice of assigning advantage through scoring compensation or other advantage given to different contestants to equalize the chances of winning. The word also applies to the various methods by which the advantage is calculated...
system is used. Other approaches include use of "open" classes or construction classes.
In one-design racing all boats must conform to the same standard, the class rules, thus emphasizing the skill of the skipper and crew rather than having the results depend on equipment superiority. Examples of popular classes include Islander 36
Islander 36
The Islander 36 sloop is an inboard-powered, family cruiser and weekend racer with berths for six.The I-36 as she is commonly referred to, was a mid-volume production, California-built, fiberglass-reinforced vessel with an early 1970s to 1984 manufacturing run of about 650 vessels...
, Flying Scot
Flying Scot (dinghy)
The Flying Scot is a day sailer dinghy used for pleasure sailing as well as racing throughout North America. The Flying Scot was designed in 1957 by Gordon K...
, Esse 850, Etchells
Etchells
The International Etchells Class is a racing class of one-design sailing boats.-History:In 1965, Yachting Magazine launched a competition to select a new three man Olympic keelboat. E. W. "Skip" Etchells, a boat designer, builder and sailor, was interested in the competition, but refrained from...
, Santana 20
Santana 20
The Santana 20 is a one-design class of sailboat commonly used for racing. The boat is popular on the west coast of the United States with large fleets in Portland, Seattle, Eugene, Los Angeles, & San Diego. There are also fleets in the Midwest including Denver, Kansas City, Tulsa, Oklahoma City...
, Snipe
Snipe (dinghy)
The Snipe is a foot, 2 person, one design racing dinghy. Designed by William Crosby in 1931, it has evolved into a modern, tactical racing dinghy with fleets around the world. The Snipe is simple, making it easy to sail and trailer. The boat is recognized by the International Sailing Federation as...
, Star
Star (sailboat)
The International Star is a 6.9 m one-design racing keelboat for two people.The boat must weigh at least 671 kg with a maximum total sail area of 26.5 m . It is sloop-rigged, with a mainsail larger in proportional size than any other boat of its length...
, Soling
Soling
A Soling is a class of open keelboat designed by Jan Linge of Norway in 1965. In 1968, it was chosen from among many other boats to be the men's triple-handed boat for the 1972 Olympics...
, Thistle
Thistle (dinghy)
The Thistle is a high performance one-design racing dinghy, also used for day sailing, popular in the United States. The Thistle was designed by Gordon K. Douglass who later designed the Highlander and Flying Scot. Starting in 1945, 4000 boats have now been built. Their construction originally...
, Lightning
Lightning (dinghy)
The Lightning is a sloop rigged sailing dinghy originally designed by Olin Stephens of Sparkman & Stephens in 1938 and was first sailed on Skaneateles Lake, Skaneateles, NY, USA. More than 15,000 Lightnings have been built since then...
, Crescent Sailboat
Crescent Sailboat
The Crescent Sailboat was built exclusively in Detroit, Michigan from 1953 to 1974. These boats were designed in 1953 by a Ford Motor Company engineer, Dick Hill and friends, who were experimenting with fiberglass. 27 hulls were constructed and raced One-Design. The class made a movement to become...
, Laser
Laser (dinghy)
The International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard and the Laser One is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. According the Laser Class Rules the boat may be sailed by either one or two people, though it is rarely sailed by two. The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes...
, and J/24
J/24
The J/24 is an International One-Design keelboat class as defined by the International Sailing Federation. The J/24 is a one design class created to fulfill the diverse needs of recreational sailors such as cruising, one design racing, day sailing and handicap racing.The J/24 is the world's most...
. Each class has a detailed set of specifications that must be met for the boat to be considered a member of that class. Some classes (e.g.the Laser) have very tight specifications ensuring that there is virtually no difference between the boats (except for age) - these classes are sometimes called strict one-design. Other classes allow more variation, such as allowing both wood & fiberglass hulls (e.g. the Albacore
Albacore (dinghy)
The Albacore is a 4.57 m two-sailed planing dinghy developed in 1954 from an Uffa Fox design. Hulls may be made of either wood or fibreglass....
) or other changes that do not give a theoretical advantage. At important regattas the boats are measured prior to the event to ensure that they do conform.
An open class is based on a box rule, which specifies a maximum overall size for boats in the class, as well as features such as stability. Competitors in these classes are then free to enter their own boat designs, as long as they do not exceed the box rule. No handicap is then applied. Since it is essentially based on the use of custom boats, such events are generally limited to high-budget racers. Popular examples of open classes are the Open 50 and 60
International Monohull Open Classes Association
The International Monohull Open Class Association is an international association within the sport of sailing which administers the monohull class of sailboats...
classes used in single-handed
Single-handed sailing
The sport of single-handed sailing or solo sailing is sailing with only one crewmember . The term is usually used with reference to ocean and long-distance sailing, and particularly competitive sailing....
offshore events. However the Moth
Moth (dinghy)
The Moth Class is the name for a small development class sailing dinghy. There are three "species" of moths currently in existence: the International Moth, a fast sailing hydrofoil dinghy with liberal restrictions; the Classic Moth, a traditional dinghy with tighter restrictions; and the British...
class is an exception, with boats being no longer than 11 feet (3.4 m).
A construction class is based on a formula or set of restrictions which the boat's measurements must fit to be accepted to the class. Resulting boats are all unique, yet (ideally) relatively close in size, cost and performance. America's Cup
America's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
is the most famous competition involving construction class boats. Perhaps the most popular and enduring construction formula is The Metre Rule, around which several still popular classes were designed.
When all the yachts in a race are not members of the same class, then a handicap is used to adjust the times of boats. The handicap attempts to specify a "normal" speed for each boat, usually based either on measurements taken of the boat, or on the past record of that kind of boat. Each boat is timed over the specified course. After it has finished, the handicap is used to adjust each boat's finishing time. The results are based on this sum. Popular handicapping systems in 2006 include PHRF
PHRF
Performance Handicap Racing Fleet is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other...
, portsmouth yardstick
Portsmouth yardstick
The Portsmouth Yardstick or Portsmouth handicap scheme is a system of handicapping used primarily in small-boat yacht racing.The handicap is applied to the time taken to sail any course, and the corrected time can be used to compare widely different sailboats on even terms. Portsmouth Numbers are...
, IRC (Sailing)
IRC (Sailing)
IRC is a system of handicapping sailboats and yachts for the purpose of racing. It is managed by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in the United Kingdom through their dedicated Rating Office....
, and ORR. Earlier popular rating systems include IOR
International Offshore Rule
The International Offshore Rule was a measurement rule for racing sailboats. The IOR evolved from the Cruising Club of America rule for racer/cruisers and the Royal Ocean Racing Club rule.-Rule context - past and present rating systems:...
and IMS.