Why Race “ … competitive sailing can add another dimension to your enjoyment of the sport as well as adding to your safety at sea. The beauty of racing is that it's great at honing your sailing skills. … “ “ … it's a lot of fun, building team camaraderie and giving you a focus for your sailing. … “ “ … racing does a Lot to improve your safety at sea - switch back to cruising mode and you know your Limits and the boat a Lot better, and if the 'iron spinnaker' Lets you down, your improved boathandling means you are more likely to be able to get out of trouble. … “ Practical tips:
Above are a few extracts from an article in the summer issue of OFFSHORENEWS, The RNLI’s newsletter to Offshore members. The full article is reproduced below. The cut and thrust of competitive sailing can add another dimension to your enjoyment of the sport as well as adding to your safety at sea. The beauty of racing is that it's great at honing your sailing skills. Switching on the engine mid-race is just not an option, you've got a course to follow that encourages you to practice manoeuvres you might avoid if you were cruising, and there are other boats around to complicate things. With most racing there are pretty stringent safety requirements, you have the benefit of being involved in an organised event, and there are usually fellow competitors not too far away. Plenty of people know where you are and you're not out alone. That's why an event such as the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) race is used by many cruisers to help them to cross the Atlantic in the company of other boats. Racing is all about getting the most out of your boat and what you learn about your boat on the racecourse can be transferred back to the cruising environment There's nothing like trying to complete a manoeuvre or change sails quickly to highlight ways to make your gear work better - and by looking at the set up of other boats you are likely to pick up ideas which simply make sailing the boat easier and slicker. The better you know your boat, the more comfortable you are with your boathandling, and the better you operate your gear, the safer you are on the water Just a few reasons why it's worth the effort - quite apart from the fact that it's a lot of fun, building team camaraderie and giving you a focus for your sailing. So where to start? The range of racing is vast, from low-key amateur events that are just a step away from a cruise in company, through to the fully professional, like the Volvo Ocean Race, with every shade of grey in between. Courses too vary from 'round-the-cans' shorter inshore racing that may last just a few hours, to longer distance offshore racing tasting a number of days.
The best way is to join a sailing club of some sort and start off with Local, Low-key club racing. You'll get the benefit of mixing socially with racers keen to share their experience, and you can get used to racing in your local waters, with not too many boats against people who aren't too far above your ability. It's simply the next stage on from a cruise in company. You can always hold back, start after the others and Learn a Lot from observing what they are doing. Plenty of sailing schools offer race training, either on your own boat, or you can join them for an event. There are a number of organisations that run regional or national racing events or series over the year. The Royal Ocean Racing Club organises offshore racing nationally as well as administering the main handicap systems. Don't I need a fast boat? No. You'll find boats lined up against you with the latest gear and new sails, but at the end of the day in most fleets you can find other boats to aim to beat, and gain satisfaction from finishing in front of someone else, even if you get beaten on handicap. Racing can sometimes mean people push their boats too hard, but as pushing so hard that you to break gear is no way to win races, the Lesson of when to push and when to back off is an early one to learn. I personally feet that racing does a Lot to improve your safety at sea - switch back to cruising mode and you know your Limits and the boat a Lot better, and if the 'iron spinnaker' Lets you down, your improved boathandling means you are more likely to be able to get out of trouble. Practical tips:
|