Yachting - Competitive Sailing

Competitive Sailing

The invention of sailing is prehistoric, but the racing of sailing boats is believed to have started in the Netherlands some time in the 17th century. Soon, in England, custom-built racing "yachts" began to emerge. In 1851, a challenge by the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes to the American yacht America. The race took place in the Solent. The America won the race and took the trophy, the America's Cup, beck to the U.S where, held by the New York Yacht Club it remained until 1983. The Cup was then lost to the Royal Perth Yacht Club of Australia, which entered the Australia II into the contest. Meanwhile, yacht racing continued to evolve, with the development of recognised classes of racing yachts, from small dinghies up to huge maxi yachts.

Although there are many different types of racing vessels, they can generally be separated into the larger yachts, which are larger and contain facilities for extended voyages, and smaller harbour racing craft such as dinghies and skiffs. Smaller boats are not generally referred to as yachts, although all recreational boats (as opposed to commercial or military vessels) are yachts. These days, yacht racing and dinghy racing are common participant sports around the developed world, particularly where favorable wind conditions and access to reasonably sized bodies of water are available. Most yachting is conducted in salt water, but smaller craft can be—and are—raced on lakes and even large rivers.

Dinghy races are conducted on sheltered water on smaller craft with crews of between one and three people. The common arrangement for racing boats is the sloop, a boat with one mast. Some dinghies have only one triangular sail, but most have two configured as a sloop; some dingies and almost all larger racing boats carry a spinnaker, a large, bulging sail designed for sailing "with the wind." Most races are conducted between vessels of identical design ("one design" racing). In these races, with identical equipment the sailors best able to make use of the ambient conditions win.

Dinghy designs vary from small, stable, and slow craft for novice sailors to lightweight, high-speed designs that are very difficult for even experienced crews to sail safely and effectively. Australia's 18-foot skiff class are the fastest monohull dinghies, reaching speeds of up to 40 kilometres per hour (25 miles per hour) even in relatively light winds. Sailing has a reputation for being a boring spectator sport, but skiff racing can be very exciting, particularly in unpredictable conditions where crews struggle to keep their boats upright. Various multi-hull racing classes are even faster. Various one-design dinghy classes are raced at the Summer Olympic Games.

Larger yachts are also raced on harbours, but the most prestigious yacht races are point-to-point long distance races on the open ocean. Bad weather makes even finishing such races a considerable test of equipment and willpower, and from time to time boats and sailors are lost at sea. The longest such events are "round-the-world" races which can take months to complete, but better-known are events such as the Fastnet race in the United Kingdom and the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race along the east coast of Australia. Large races are usually organized with a first-past-the-post trophy (called "line honours") and under a handicap system that adjusts finishing times for the relative speeds of the boats' design, theoretically offering each entrant an equal chance.