You may well say “racing is not for me or racing doesn’t interest me”.  When any sailor commences racing what is immediately apparent is that they will not win their first race.  Nobody will laugh. Rather they will offer  advice and encouragement. Initially, just completing the course may well be a challenge.  Take up the challenge. Before very long the newcomers sailing improves remarkably to the point where competitiveness is achievable. Simply being part of the proceedings (even uncompetitively) will improve your general sailing and boat handling skills faster than any other sailing you may do.  This is our promise to you.

The Racing Rules of sailing are included in this section for your information. By all means read them and attempt to digest them. Good Luck!  You do not need 99% of this stuff to participate in DDSC club level racing. Learn the difference between starboard tack and port tack and who has “right of way”  and what “giving room at a mark (buoy)” means and you are away for most purposes. If in doubt , just avoid a collision.

Most club level racing is conducted under a handicap system which is intended to allow for  boats of different performance to compete evenly. This means that first over the line is not necessarily the winner. A slower boat some distance behind may well prove to be winner under the “yardstick” scoring system. Two identical boats however will compete on a first past the post basis because they have the same “yardstick”.  The “yardsticks” for most classes of monohulls and catamarans are also included on this page. There is a formula required to apply these handicaps to actual race time and end up with corrected time.