Racing handicaps

We use a handicap system to make racing more even for sailors of all skills and all types of boats.

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For the Summer, Autumn and Winter pursuit race series we use Portsmouth yardsticks to adjust the start time of the boat type. This is based on the performance of that boat type as submitted by clubs all over the UK. Faster boats will start later so that in theory, if sailed perfectly, all the boats would end the race together.

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For the Spring series we also add a personal handicap based upon your position in previous races which means that regular sailors of any skill have the chance to do well.

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We also run some handicap races where all boats start in 2 groups - fast and slow boats, and the final position is adjusted by the handicap at the end.

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Most races are nominally 80 minutes, but we also run a few double length ones during the year.

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