Team Sailing
What is team sailing? FROM
THE ISAF WEBSITE
The recognised
format for the Team Racing World Championship involves racing in two handed
dinghies, three a side. The boats are provided by the organisers
to ensure that they are evenly matched, and should be of a type that can be
sailed effectively without there being a premium on strength or an optimum
weight.
The two teams of three race to try and
achieve a winning combination of places - the lowest score wins. The scoring
system is usually: 1st place - 1 point 2nd place - 2 points 3rd place - 3
points and so on.
A team that scores ten or less is therefore
the winner, so that 2,3,4 beats 1,5,6 - being first past the post does not
guarantee glory!
If a team is lying say 1,4,6 the leading boat
will go back and try to help his team-mates through to 2,3,5 or better. How
does he do this?
The team racer has two main weapons.
Firstly, he can position his boat between the wind and his opponent, thus
blanketing his sails and slowing him down. Secondly, he can use the
right-of-way rules to his advantage, approaching his opponents in such a way
that his adversary has to change course or incur a penalty. Both these weapons
are deployed even before the start when the manoeuvres
begin, much as in Match racing, but with six boats rather than two performing
an intricate and aggressive dance.
To maintain order, and keep everyone out of
the protest room, the racing is followed by umpires in a small inflatable. If
protested against, a competitor can accept his punishment and complete a 360deg
turn or he can wait for the umpires to give a decision which may result in a
green flag for 'no penalty' or a 720deg turn if the protest is upheld.
Everything happens very quickly and there is no better school for tactical
decision making and understanding of the rules.
History of Team Sailing FROM THE ISAF WEBSITE
Rival sailing clubs have probably been
sending teams to race each other from the earliest days of recreational
sailing. The first major international event started in 1921 with the first of
the British-American Cup series sailed in Six metre
yachts, four a side; in 1933 the International 14's began multi-nation series
that continues to this day. In the 1940's and 1950's the growth of the
one-design dinghy classes helped team racing to spread as an affordable and
entertaining way to enjoy sailing.
If the popularity of team racing at club
level faltered it remained the bedrock of collegiate sailing with very
competitive university circuits in most of the world's leading sailing nations.
Former students continued to sail together independently or under Club burgees
and many armed services teams also became supporters of local events and
national championships such as the Hinmon Trophy in
In 1994 West Kirby Sailing Club made a
successful application to the IYRU to run a first team racing World
Championship in 1995. WKSC has been the home of the Wilson Trophy, latterly the
British Open Championship, since 1949, earning itself the title of the
Wimbledon of Team Racing, and had pioneered innovations such as on the water
umpiring and the use of colour coded boats and sails.
The event lived up to expectations and provided a vital catalyst for the
acceptance of Team Racing as the third recognised
discipline of sailing alongside Fleet and Match racing.