Winning in the Club Handicap Fleet

This article is not about winning individual races but is geared towards getting your hands on a series trophy at the annual prizegiving dinner.

Before the season even starts it pays to sit down with your crew and pencil in dates when individuals will and will not be available. If you need 4 crew members to sail your boat, then a pool of about 10 will be needed if you want to race most weekends.

Next you need to calculate how many races you need to complete in each series without having to count a DNC ( Did Not Compete ) in your final tally. Depending upon the scoring system used a DNC will usually count as being worse than if you had finished last with every boat in the series taking part, ie 10 boats in the series, DNC = 11th place. As the series progresses you should also keep a check on the number of races actually sailed as a cancelled race may reduce the number of discards allowed or it may mean that you need to sail an extra race.

If your, or your crews', time is severely limited it is much better to do most races in one series than only half in two series. Even if you finish last in each race, provided you have no DNCs in your overall tally, it is quite feasible to finish in the top three overall.

Whilst actually racing it is very easy to get involved with other boats - this I usually a big mistake. You need to look at the bigger picture and consider what is going on around the rest of the course. You are basically racing the clock and your aim should be to cross the finishing line as quickly as possible. If you are being overtaken by a faster boat then don't try and slow him down as you will slow yourself down and only benefit those boats slower than yourself.

Since boats are basically racing against the clock, which starts ticking when the gun goes, if you are 30 seconds late crossing the start line not only do have 'dirty wind' but you have to make up that lost time. Last season saw several races where a matter of a few seconds separated several places after handicap - consider where you can save time as a few seconds here and there soon mount up. However, don't be greedy as it is very easy to lose more than you gained by touching a buoy or trawling your spinnaker.

Another mistake is to follow the leader, check the course as you go out of the harbour then check again just after the 5 minute prepartary signal - the Race Officer can change the course at any time up to this time. Just because the lead boat is miles ahead, don't assume that they are sailing the correct course ! If you are sailing a slow boat and are at the back of the fleet, don't give up - you might be winning!

Alan Holmes