CLASSES, SERIES, HANDICAPS, FLEETS, RULES, PURSUITS
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Welcome to the racing page. Here you can find information on the racing that happens at Haversham Sailing club as well as links to documents you may need.
Dinghy Classes A variety of dinghies are sailed at Haversham Sailing Club. If you are thinking of racing, and you are not sure what boat is right for you, have a chat with club members and they will be happy to give their advice. The best time to do this is on a Sunday when many different types of boats will be about. Race Series and Trophy Events These take place every weekend throughout the year, Banks Holidays, and Wednesday evenings in the Summer. There are various formats used in these events and they are outlined below: General Handicap Racing Unless otherwise stated, these will be approximately 1 hour long and all taking part shall race against each other with a single start and single result per race. Average Lap racing will be used for the results. Fleet Racing Each sailor is assigned a fleet based upon their racing experience. The fleets are names Gold, Silver or Bronze and you can find the list of sailors here: The Gold and Silver fleet will race side by side but will have completely separate results. The Bronze fleet will start 5 minutes behind the Gold and Silver fleet to ensure a less crowed start line for those new to racing. Worth noting that the start for the Gold and Silver fleet will be the 5 minute warning for the Bronze fleet. Average Lap racing will be used for the results. Pursuit Race Unlike General Handicap and Fleet Racing, boats do not all start together. Instead, the slower handicap boats start first and the faster handicap boats start later. After a set period of time, usually 90 minutes or 2 hours, the race is stopped and the position on the water is taken as the final result. Back-to-Back Racing Throughout the year Back-to-Back races are used to mix up the racing and make better use of time when it is short. These are General Handicap or Fleet races and are usually shorter in length; either 20 minutes or 45 minutes. They follow the same format as per the above, however once all sailors have finished one race, the Race Officer will start the following race promptly. This will repeat depending on how many Back-to-Back races are scheduled. Other Racing formats There are some one-off racing events, such as the Summer Solstice Night Race, which have their own unique format. Be sure to check out their entry in the racing calendar and club social media for details on those events We recommend the following to get a good idea of what goes on at the club:
Sunday Racing Series Mid Winter Series 2022 When: 12 Sundays starting Sunday 2nd January through to Sunday 20th March Format: General Handicap and Fleet Racing Start Times: 10.00: General Handicap Race, approximately 1 hour long 11.30: Fleet Race, approximately 1 hour long 13.30: Fleet Race, approximately 1 hour long Spring Series 2022 When: 11 Sundays starting Sunday 27th March through to Sunday 5th June Format: General Handicap and Fleet Racing Start Times: 10.00: General Handicap Race, approximately 1 hour long 11.30: General Handicap Race, approximately 1 hour long 13.30: Fleet Race, approximately 1 hour long 15.00: Fleet Race, approximately 1 hour long Summer Series 2022 When: 11 Sundays starting Sunday 12th June through to Sunday 21st August Format: General Handicap and Fleet Racing Start Times: 10.00: General Handicap Race, approximately 1 hour long 11.30: General Handicap Race, approximately 1 hour long 13.30: Fleet Race, approximately 1 hour long 15.00: Fleet Race, approximately 1 hour long Autumn Series 2022 When: 9 Sundays starting Sunday 28th August through to Sunday 23rd October Format: General Handicap and Fleet Racing Start Times: 10.00: General Handicap Race, approximately 1 hour long 11.30: General Handicap Race, approximately 1 hour long 13.30: Fleet Race, approximately 1 hour long 15.00: Fleet Race, approximately 1 hour long Winter Series 2022 NOTE – A change from 2021 When: 7 Sundays starting Sunday 30th October through to Sunday 18th December (Excluding Sunday 6th November) Format: General Handicap and Fleet Racing Start Times: 10.00: Two 45 minute General Handicap Races back-to-back 13.00: Two 45 minute Fleet Races back-to-back Wednesday Evening races These are intended to initiate people into racing. If you have thought of trying your hand but were put off by the idea of getting in the way of the 'experts', then please don’t worry; these sessions are for you. Come along and give racing a try and the members of the Gold Fleet are often more than happy to share advice, tactics and help out in any way they can. There are three series through the year on Wednesday evenings. The Spring series, the Summer series and the Twilight series. The Dennis Cooke trophy for the Bronze (beginners) fleet and the Civil Service Sailing Club trophy for the Silver fleet are up for grabs so there is plenty to sail for if you are new to racing. Evening Series 2022 When: Spring: 8 races from Wednesday 30th March to Wednesday 18th May Summer: 8 races from Wednesday 25th May to Wednesday 13th July Twilight: 8 races from Wednesday 20th July to Wednesday 7th September Format: Fleet Racing Start Time: The starts times change through the year with the fading light. March – April: 18.30 May – August: 19.00 September: 18.30 |
HSC Handicaps and Fleets
Sailing Instructions – March 2023 Racing Handicaps – March 2023 Racing Fleets – March 2023/24 NOR: Race Series & Trophy Events – March 2023 Pursuit start times (new ones later in year) 90 minute start times and sequence – April 2022 2 hour start times and sequence – April 2022 Map of lake and course planner Yardstick RYA Portsmouth Yardstick – PNs can be found in the link at the bottom left of their page. Racing Rules of Sailing Are revised and published every four years by World Sailing, the international authority for the sport. Their latest Racing Rules of Sailing 2021 - 2024 can be found here. The RYA Racing link (disputes, advise etc) can be found here. CHANGES TO THE RACING RULES OF SAILING AND HSC SAILING INSTRUCTIONS 2021 The new RRS for 2021 - 2024 came into force on the 1st January this year. Most of the changes are to consolidate and clarify the previous rules but there are two that may have more impact on racing at Haversham and they are: Definitions – It is clarified that a boat crosses the start and finish line when any part of her hull crosses rather than hull crew or equipment as was the case previously. Rule 41 Outside Help – The right to protest if it is felt that a boat gains advantage from being helped is removed on safety grounds. Here is a link to a useful uTube video explaining the changes https://youtu.be/rY_PCJBsztk or for more detail of the changes see the RYA website. HSC Sailing Instructions have also been updated to take into account rule changes and to clarify and assist competitors and race officials at Haversham in particular: 11.6 – The start sequence for the new short races on Bank Holiday Mondays is explained. 11.13 – The starting area for the purposes of scoring Did Not Start (DNS) as opposed to Did Not Compete (DNC) - DNS attracts less points than DNC (see 16.3) – has been defined as well as the requirement on the competitor to mark on the signing on sheet that this has happened. 13.3 – The Race Officer has discretion to finish slower boats without displaying the shortened course flag so that faster boats can continue for another lap. The Q (yellow) flag will be displayed but there will be no sound signal. 17.6 – In certain conditions Lasers can sail with their rudders half way up i.e. when the wind is less than 10 knots and there is floating weed. |
