The Racing Rules of Sailing (often abbreviated to RRS) 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. A new revision is published every four years (after the Olympic Games) by World Sailing, the sport's world governing body. Full information on the rules [1] can be viewed at World Sailing.
The Racing Rules of Sailing were most dramatically simplified in 1997 since the 1940s. The new document contains four main rules [Part 2, Section A]:
Four rules about general limitations: [Part 2, Section B]
Three rules about marks and obstructions [Part 2, Section C] plus some other rules about starting errors, taking penalties, moving astern, when you are capsized or anchored or run aground, and interfering with another boat.
In total there are 91 rules but (since the major simplification in 1997) only 15 rules govern what boats do when they meet on the water (part 2 rules). It is not necessary to know all of the rules to successfully compete in a dinghy race, but a knowledge of the basics is recommended.
Sailboat racing is a self-regulated sport. As stated by the Racing Rules of Sailing, "Competitors in the sport of sailing are governed by a body of rules that they are expected to follow and enforce. A fundamental principle of sportsmanship is that when competitors break a rule they will promptly take a penalty, which may be to retire.". [2]
Depending on the nature of the infraction, the penalty may be either: (1) performing a turn consisting of one tack and one gybe or (2) performing two turns consisting of two tacks and two gybes (except for windsurfing).
For most rules infractions, a competitor may be absolved from disqualification from the race by taking such a penalty. However, if the infraction caused injury or serious damage, or produced a significant advantage in the race or series, the penalty shall be to retire. If a competitor fails to take penalty turn(s) they may be disqualified after a hearing by the Protest Committee. The aforementioned principles do not apply to match racing (like the America's Cup) where on-the-water umpires impose penalties immediately after an infraction occurs.
Sail races are governed with flags and sound signals to indicate flag changes. The flags used are taken from the International maritime signal flag set. During a race and for any signal concerning the race, these flags are defined in the Racing Rules of Sailing but the signal can be modified by the Sailing Instructions.
The raising (hoisting) or removing of a visual signal is accompanied by the emission of a sound signal to draw attention to the new signal. The type of the sound signal (one short sound, two short sounds, one long sound, etc.) is described by the rule according to the type of signal. The usual meanings of these flags are as follows:
The Answering Pennant (AP) with or without a numerical pennant is used to indicate a postponed race. A numerical pennant below the AP denotes the time, in hours, of the race postponement.
| Flag signal | Number of sound signals when raised | Number of sound signals when lowered | Description | |
 | AP |  | | Races not yet started are postponed. |
 | AP 1 | | | Races not yet started are postponed 1 hour. |
 | AP 2 | | | Races not yet started are postponed 2 hours. |
 | AP 3 | | | Races not yet started are postponed 3 hours. |
 | AP A | | Races not yet started are postponed. No more racing today. | |
 | AP H | | Races not yet started are postponed. More information ashore. | |
These signal flags are used before a race start and most commonly as part of a start sequence/procedure.
| Flag signal | Number of sound signals when raised | Number of sound signals when lowered | Description | |
 | P | | | Normal preparatory signal - no starting penalties are in effect. A boat over the line at the start can return through the line or round an end but must keep clear of boats not returning. If they fail to return through the line however they will be scored OCS (on course side). |
 | I | | | The Round-an-End Rule 30.1 will be in effect. A boat over the line during the minute before the start must sail to the pre-start side of the line around either end before starting. If they fail to do this they will be scored OCS. |
 | Z | | | The 20% Penalty Rule 30.2 will be in effect. A boat within the triangle formed by the ends of the line and the first mark during the minute before the start will receive a 20% scoring penalty. |
| | I Z | | | Both the I flag rule and the Z flag Rule will be in effect during the minute before the start. If they fail to round an end then they will be scored OCS. |
 | | | The Black Flag Rule 30.3 will be in effect. A boat within the triangle formed by the ends of the line and the first mark during the minute before the start will be disqualified without a hearing. (Renumbered to 30.4 in the 2017–2020 edition.) | |
 | U | | | The U Flag Rule will be in effect. A boat within the triangle formed by the ends of the line and the first mark during the minute before the start will be disqualified without a hearing. If a restart or resail is called, the disqualification is rescinded, unlike the black-flag or Z-flag penalties. (Added to the 2017–2020 edition as rule 30.3; already frequently included in sailing instructions for specific regattas.) |
These signal flags are used in the pre-start procedure. Class flags can be numeral pennants 1 , 2 , and 3 however they can be substituted to avoid confusion with the postponement signals relating to a particular class.
| Flag signal | Number of sound signals when raised | Number of sound signals when lowered | Description | |
| | 1↑ | | Warning Signal. 5 minutes to race start when class flag raised. | |
| | 1 P↑ | | Preparatory signal. 4 minutes to start when P flag raised. Flag P used or if a starting penalty applies I, Z, Black flag or I over Z is used in place of P. | |
| | 1 P↓ | | Preparatory signal. P flag removed 1 minute before start. Flag P used or if a starting penalty applies I, Z, Black flag or I over Z is used in place of P. | |
| | 1↓ | | Start Signal. Race start when class flag removed. | |
| Flag signal | Number of sound signals when raised | Number of sound signals when lowered | Description | |
 | X | | Individual recall. One or more boats did not start correctly and must return and do a proper start. The X flag is displayed until the earliest of the following: all boats over the line early have returned correctly, 4 minutes from the start or until one minute before the next start. (The sound signal is in addition to the start sound signal) | |
 | 1st Sub | | | General recall. All boats are to return and then a new start sequence will begin. Signaled when there are unidentified boats over the line or subject to one of the starting penalties, or there has been an error in the starting procedure. The new warning signal for the recalled class will be made 1 minute after the 1st substitute is removed. (The two sound signals when the first substitute is displayed are in addition to the start sound signal) |
| Flag signal | Number of sound signals when raised | Number of sound signals when lowered | Description | |
 | S | | Shortened Course. When displayed at a rounding mark the finish is between the nearby mark and the mast displaying the S flag. When displayed at a line that boats are required to cross at the end of each lap the finish is that line. When displayed at a gate the finish is between the gate marks. | |
 | C | | Course Change. When displayed at a rounding mark, the position of the next mark has been changed. If the direction to the mark has changed it shall be indicated by displaying the new compass bearing or a green triangular flag (or board) for a change to starboard or a red rectangular flag (or board) for a change to port. If the length of the leg has changed then this shall be signalled by displaying a "-" if the leg will shorter or a "+" if the leg will be longer. Repeated sound signals should be made to draw attention to the signal. | |
| Flag signal | Number of sound signals when raised | Number of sound signals when lowered | Description | |
 | N | | | All races that have started are abandoned. Return to starting area for a new start. The first warning signal will be made 1 minute after N is removed. |
| | N A | | All races are abandoned. No more racing today. | |
| | N H | | All races are abandoned. More information ashore. | |
| Flag signal | Number of sound signals when raised | Number of sound signals when lowered | Description | |
 | L | | When displayed afloat means: Come within hail or follow this boat. When displayed ashore means: A notice to competitors has been posted. | |
 | M | | Indicates a boat or an object displaying this signal replaces a missing mark. Repeated sound signals should be made to draw attention to the signal. | |
 | Y | | All people on board should wear a personal life jacket or personal buoyancy. Indicates a protest if displayed by a competitor during match racing. | |
 | BLUE | When displayed the race committee boat is in position at the finishing line. | ||
 | RED | Displayed by a competitor: Indicates a protest by this competitor in fleet racing. | ||
 | B | |||
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the water, on ice (iceboat) or on land over a chosen course, which is often part of a larger plan of navigation.
A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.
Team racing, also known as team sailing, is a popular form of dinghy racing and yacht racing. Two teams compete in a race, each sailing two to four boats of the same class. The winning team is decided by combining the results of each team's boats. This differs from an inter-club fleet race where boats from three or more clubs compete, with the results of each club's boats combined to determine its overall position.
A jibe (US) or gybe (Britain) is a sailing maneuver whereby a sailing vessel reaching downwind turns its stern through the wind, which then exerts its force from the opposite side of the vessel. Because the mainsail boom can swing across the cockpit quickly, jibes are potentially dangerous to person and rigging compared to tacking. Therefore accidental jibes are to be avoided while the proper technique must be applied so as to control the maneuver. For square-rigged ships, this maneuver is called wearing ship.
Paul Bert Elvstrøm was a Danish yachtsman. He won four Olympic gold medals and twenty world titles in a range of classes including Snipe, Soling, Star, Flying Dutchman, Finn, 505, and 5.5 Metre. For his achievements, Elvstrøm was chosen as "Danish Sportsman of the Century."
Dinghy racing is a competitive sport using dinghies, which are small boats which may be rowboats, have an outboard motor, or be sailing dinghies. Dinghy racing has affected aspects of the modern sailing dinghy, including hull design, sail materials and sailplan, and techniques such as planing and trapezing.
A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a reach to downwind. Spinnakers are constructed of lightweight fabric, usually nylon, and are often brightly colored. They may be designed to perform best as either a reaching or a running spinnaker, by the shaping of the panels and seams. They are attached at only three points and said to be flown.
A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a centreboard trunk (UK) or centerboard case (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised to operate in shallow waters, to move the centre of lateral resistance, to reduce drag when the full area of the centreboard is not needed, or when removing the boat from the water, as when trailering. A centreboard which consists of solely a pivoting metal plate is called a centerplate. A daggerboard is similar but slides vertically rather than pivoting.
Planing is the mode of operation for a waterborne craft in which its weight is predominantly supported by hydrodynamic lift, rather than hydrostatic lift (buoyancy).
A Bermuda rig, Bermudian rig, or Marconi rig is a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats. This configuration was developed in Bermuda in the 1600s; the term Marconi, a reference to the inventor of the radio, Guglielmo Marconi, became associated with this configuration in the early 1900s because the wires that stabilize the mast of a Bermuda rig reminded observers of the wires on early radio masts.
Tacking or coming about is a sailing maneuver by which a sailing craft, whose next destination is into the wind, turns its bow toward and through the wind so that the direction from which the wind blows changes from one side of the boat to the other, allowing progress in the desired direction. Sailing vessels are unable to sail higher than a certain angle towards the wind, so "beating to windward" in a zig-zag fashion with a series of tacking maneuvers, allows a vessel to sail towards a destination that is closer to the wind that the vessel can sail directly.
The Olympic triangle is a sailing course used in racing dinghies, particularly at major regattas like State, National and World Titles and was used at the Olympics.
Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other. The aim is to cancel out the inherent advantages and disadvantages of each class of boats, so that results reflect crew skill rather than equipment superiority.
In sailing, the trapeze is a wire that comes from a point high on the mast, usually where the shrouds are fixed, to a hook on the crew member's harness at approximately waist level. The position when extended on the trapeze is outside the hull, braced against it with the soles of the feet, facing the masthead, and clipped on by a hook on the trapeze harness. This gives the crew member more leverage to keep the boat flat by allowing the crew member's centre of gravity to balance the force of the wind in the sails.
A sailing hydrofoil, hydrofoil sailboat, or hydrosail is a sailboat with wing-like foils mounted under the hull. As the craft increases its speed the hydrofoils lift the hull up and out of the water, greatly reducing wetted area, resulting in decreased drag and increased speed. A sailing hydrofoil can achieve speeds exceeding double and in some cases triple the wind speed.
The Penguin is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Philip Rhodes in 1933 as a one design racer for frostbite racing on the US east coast and first built in 1939.
The 34th America's Cup was a series of yacht races held in San Francisco Bay on September 2013. The series was contested between the defender Oracle Team USA representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and the challenger Emirates Team New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Oracle Team USA defended the America's Cup by a score of 9 to 8 after winning eight consecutive races from Race 12 onwards, with Team New Zealand blowing a 8 to 1 lead. Team New Zealand won the right to challenge for the Cup by previously winning the 2013 Louis Vuitton Cup. The 34th America's Cup's race schedule was the longest ever, in terms of number of days and number of races, and the first since the 25th America's Cup to feature both teams in a match point situation. In addition for the first time since 1995, the format of the schedule changed so that the winner emerged from the best of 17 races.
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 following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to sailing:
The lug sail, or lugsail, is a fore-and-aft, four-cornered sail that is suspended from a spar, called a yard. When raised, the sail area overlaps the mast. For "standing lug" rigs, the sail may remain on the same side of the mast on both the port and starboard tacks. For "dipping lug" rigs, the sail is lowered partially or totally to be brought around to the leeward side of the mast in order to optimize the efficiency of the sail on both tacks.
