Yacht racing is a sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course marked by buoys or other fixed navigational devices or racing longer distances across open water from point-to-point. It can involve a series of races with buoy racing or multiple legs when point-to-point racing.
A maxi yacht usually refers to a racing yacht of at least 21 metres (70 ft) in length.
The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales, on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately 630 nautical miles (1,170 km). The race is run in conjunction with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, and is widely considered to be one of the most difficult yacht races in the world.
Cowes Week is one of the longest-running regular regattas in the world. With 40 daily sailing races, up to 1,000 boats, and 8,000 competitors ranging from Olympic and world-class professionals to weekend sailors, it is the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world. Having started in 1826, the event is held in August each year on the Solent, and is run by Cowes Week Limited in the small town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other water-borne craft for as long as such watercraft have existed.
The Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the City of Cherbourg in France.
A yacht club is a sports club specifically related to yachting.
The Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race (MHOR) is a biennial sailing race which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2005. It runs between Marblehead, Massachusetts and Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is believed to be the longest running offshore ocean race in the world and is considered one of the pre-eminent ocean races of the North Atlantic.
International Rating Certificate (IRC) is a system of handicapping sailboats and yachts for the purpose of racing. It is managed by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) in the United Kingdom through their dedicated Rating Office, and the Union Nationale pour la Course au Large (UNCL) in France.
The Royal Ocean Racing Club is a club in London with a further clubhouse and office in Cowes, Isle of Wight. It was established in 1925 as the Ocean Racing Club, as a result of a race to the Fastnet Rock from Cowes, finishing in Plymouth. It received royal approval by King George V in November 1931 since when it has been known as the Royal Ocean Racing Club.
Tiamat is a 40-foot racing yacht that sails out of Dublin Bay, Ireland under the burgee of the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club.
The North 26 is a boat designed by Julian D Everitt in 1982, Cowes UK, who also designed the E-boat. Big brother to the E-boat, intended for Yacht racing inshore and in Junior Offshore Group races to rate under Channel now IRC measurement rule. Examples race the English Channel and have a wide flat sole plate that enables them to sit the mud in English ports with the keel retracted. This feature also enables safe beach sitting whilst cruising and use as a Trailer yacht.
The Boomerang 20 is a sailboat that was designed by Eric Maizey in the late 1960s to race and cruise on Port Phillip in Melbourne Australia, sheltered water but choppy conditions. The original boats were built at the family home in Frankston with the assistance of the kids and neighbours in cold moulded ply. As interest grew and production increased, the majority were fibreglass construction. The hulls were built by contractors such as Bruce Orchard and fitted out at the Maizey home until the growing business took up residence in a factory in Kookaburra St. Frankston. Boomerangs began appearing at major regattas in increasing numbers, and their reputation for excellent sailing qualities and bulletproof design grew with their successful racing results. The class soon gained JOG qualification and so could race in the relevant offshore events. After Eric Maizey's untimely death, the business was sold and the Boomerang was built in Victoria, Australia, by Maison Marine in the 1970s and later by Peninsula Yachts. The class association continued to grow. Many hundreds have been built over a 25-year period, and there are quite a few still around the waterways. The Boomerang 20 has always been a classic. It is one of the all-time best-sellers of the 20-foot trailer sailers,
The sport of sailing involves a variety of competitive sailing formats that are sanctioned through various sailing federations and yacht clubs. Racing disciplines include matches within a fleet of sailing craft, between a pair thereof or among teams. Additionally, there are specialized competitions that include setting speed records. Racing formats include both closed courses and point-to-point contests; they may be in sheltered waters, coast-wise or on the open ocean. Most competitions are held within defined classes or ratings that either entail one type of sailing craft to ensure a contest primarily of skill or rating the sailing craft to create classifications or handicaps.
The Union Nationale pour la Course au Large also called UNCL is a French yacht club
The Transpac 52 (TP52) is a class of yacht used for competitive 52 Super Series yacht racing, and the Audi MedCup previously, besides the world championship of the class. The class is recognised by the International Sailing Federation which entitles the class to hold an Official World Championships.
Half Ton class was an offshore sailing class of the International Offshore Rule racing the Half Ton Cup between 1967 and 1993.
Captain John Holden Illingworth was an English naval engineer in the Royal Navy who achieved fame as a yacht racer and yacht designer. Described on his death as "the father of post-war offshore sailing racing", he held most of the senior positions in British yachting and pioneered several innovations in the sport.
Handicap forms for sailing vessels in sailing races have varied throughout history, and they also vary by country, and by sailing organisation. Sailing handicap standards exist internationally, nationally, and within individual sailing clubs.
Alan Philip Smith is a New Zealand sailor who has sailed at the Summer Olympics and in 8 America's Cup campaigns.
