All About Sailing Rules Both for Professionals and Beginners

Yachting sport or sailing is a kind of active water sports, in which athletes compete using special equipment that is placed on yachts. The given sport is the most popular in those countries where there are suitable geographical conditions. It appeared in the Netherlands in the 16th century, which can be proved by the fact that the Dutch word “jaght” denotes chasing, and it was firstly used in 1599. Thus, this article is going to present the most useful information on the basics of the given kind of sport.

General Principles

Sailing is originally a water kind of sport where athletes control either special boats or appropriate sporting items (for example, it refers to boats) that move thanks to the power of the wind. As for the boats, they are known as yachts. At present, however, it is possible to do sailing not only in the water at summers but also on the ice at winters. As for winter competitions, the sporting items mentioned above are placed either on skates or skis. These constructions are known as bookers. Moreover, it is also possible to find the competitions of wheeled (beach) yachts that take place on solid ground.

Thanks to the special construction of yachts, aerodynamic shape of their canvas, and peculiarities of sailing equipment, yachts can move both with the wind and at an angle to it. When it comes to modern yachts, this angle can be acute in relation to the wind direction. These peculiarities denote that yachts can move even against the wind by making curves at appropriate moments.

Competition Format

Sailing competitions are based on a speed performance only – a victory is given to an athlete or a group of athletes who manage to be the first to cross the finish line. They involve mass-starts where all the athletes simultaneously begin to participate in an event. At the same time, it is not a rule that they should stay immobile. They are free to move, and the only limitation is that they should not cross the starting line between two starting floaters prematurely. Following the command “Start”, the participants of an event may cross the starting line and overcome a distance to reach the finish.

The competing distance marked with a few floaters that should be overcome in a particular order by bending round them from a particular side (the right side and movement direction should be stated by governing officials). A victory is given to an athlete or a group of athletes who manage reach the finish before others previously overcoming all the floaters in the right order and from the right side. In some cases, however, a handicapping system is applied. It supposes that different yachts, depending on their speed characteristics, are given certain odds. That is why appropriate formulas should be used to identify winners of handicap races.

Race Difficulty

Sailing is not that straightforward kind of sport where everything depends on how fast a boat or board can swim. To tell the truth, it is based on many other significant elements that are represented by various power and directions of streams and wind. These phenomena can be quite different at various stages of a race, which should influence athletes’ strategies and performance. Besides, the speed that is shown by a particular boat depends on an angle between this boat and wind direction. That is why these competitions involve speed, abilities to see, predict, and properly use streams and wind. In addition to that, it is necessary to know how to build the right route to overcome a distance.

Yacht Classification

Usually, sailing competitions take place involving yachts of the same construction. These events can consist of either one or several races. In the second case, a group of joint races is known as a regatta. In this case, yachts earn an appropriate number of points after every race according to the finishing order of the participants. Thus, an overall victory is given to an athlete or a crew that manage to earn the highest number of points on the basis of all the races comprising a regatta.

As a rule, there is a precise construction and strictly stipulated rules that govern a process of building a yacht. These rules are known as the rules of the class. As a result, all the yachts that are built according to the same rules represent the same class.

Nevertheless, every yacht class can include those boats that are a bit different from one another. For example, the yachts can differ because some of them can allow to change the rake of a mast, aerodynamic shape of the canvas, angle between the canvas and the yacht/wind, rake of a yacht, and many others. In addition to that, various yachts can have the canvas made of different materials. Thus, a yacht speed depends greatly on its technical characteristics as well as the abilities and skills of the crew members. Here, it is necessary to pay attention to the weight and height of separate crew members. Furthermore, it is necessary to pay attention to external conditions, including peculiarities of water, weather, wind, and others.

When it comes to building large yachts, it becomes difficult and almost impossible to make them meet the same requirements. That is why if a large boat is going to participate in a regatta, officials should measure some of its parameters to insert them in an appropriate formula. It is used to identify some odds that will help to find out the precise finishing time. Thus, this principle is applied in handicapping sailing.

Equipment

It is clear that this kind of sport implies a specific set of equipment that should be used by all participants of sailing events, and it will be described further.

1. Suit. If an event is short, and it takes place at hot summer, athletes may wear short pants and a T-shirt. If a regatta implies that crews will have to overcome long distances across open waters, it is better to wear waterproof suits that will protect athletes from wind, rain, and saltwater. It is reasonable to wear that uniform that is made of breathing fabrics. To avoid a greenhouse effect, it is reasonable to wear polypropylene underwear, while polartec and fleece clothes taken on over the uniform will help make a competition warmer.
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2. Shoes. The situation is the same as that with the suit. Thus, canvas sneakers can be suitable for short events, while special deck shoes are required for long swims. These shoes have a few advantages, including the fact that they are water proof and solid, while their flat soles are not sliding over boat surface. If it is going to rain, rubber boots of a white color should be used.
3. Gloves. They should be made of artificial leather with Kevlar implantations. The fingers should be “short”, while palms should be strengthened to contribute to safer performance. Warmer items are required if an event takes place in cold weather.
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4. Shockproof sunglasses.

International Competitions

At present, there are many sailing international events, and the most popular of them are as follows:

1. The Olympic Games.
2. America’s Cup. It is one of the oldest sailing competitions in the world. Representatives of two countries (a winner of the previous event and a candidate) compete in this event.
3. Volvo Ocean Race. It is a team, round-the-world regatta, in which boats of a particular class only may participate.
4. Vendee Globe. It is an individual regatta, in which it is forbidden to make stops or accept the assistance from others.
5. Velux 5 Oceans. It is a round-the-world regatta among individual yachts.
6. The Tall Ships Races Baltic. It is one of the largest regattas in the world. Only those boats that are longer than 9.14 meters are allowed to participate in it. In addition to that, specific requirements are applied to the crews. They may include individuals that are only 15-25 years old.