What sort of racing goes on in the UK?

Club racing

Inshore Racing at a local level in the UK is organised by sailing clubs. Many clubs have evening race series (sometimes called twilight or even beer can racing) in the summer for cruiser / racers and this is often very social racing. The more serious racing is normally at weekends, such as the Warsash Spring series, where racing is provided to all and many local clubs will come together. The best way to get involved will be to join a club and meet the members. Keelboat owners are very often looking for crew and many are only too pleased to teach you all they know – they may even buy you a drink too!

Regattas

The highlight of most clubs’ calendar is often an annual regatta. Big regattas such as Cowes Week (Cowes Combined Clubs) or Scottish Series (Clyde Cruising Club) can attract a large number of visiting sailors and cater for sailors of all levels from professional to first timers. Whilst some might be chasing the silverware, for many more competitors these weeks are their summer break and the party atmosphere is their target. Every regatta has its own style so do some research on previous years, talk to the clubs and pick a regatta suited to what you want.

Championships

One Design National, European or World Championships are normally run by the class associations. For the IRC classes the Championships are run by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC). At these events the racing is the top priority and they often have best race management teams and the most competitive sailing - but don’t be afraid to take part as there is always a range of abilities and there is no better way to learn than by racing against the best!

Handicap racing (rating systems)

Many people like handicap racing which enables boats of all types to race against each other with a time correction factor to equalise their performance. Handicap rules are never perfect but for many people that is the attraction as in theory every boat should have its own favoured conditions / points of sail. This can lead to different race winners and a little more jeopardy in the results. It can also lead to some owners investing a lot of money to optimise their own rating / chances of winning. The two most popular rating systems in the UK are NHC (National Handicap for Cruisers) and IRC (International Rating Certificate).

RYA YTC

The RYA YTC powered by the RORC Rating Office is a free rating system to promote participation in racing cruiser-racing. The system was taken on by the RYA in 2022 after a decade of it being run in the south west by its creators (SWYTC) with the objective to provide a simple rating assessment so that skippers of any skill level may feel encouraged to race their boats in one off races, club series or even port regattas. Follow this link for a webinar on the RYA YTC system.

IRC

IRC, managed by RORC, is the principle rating system for cruiser/racers and racing boats in the UK. If you are new to IRC we suggest you take a read of their website starting here - What is IRC? - Rating for keelboats of all size and shapes

Top tips for getting involved in inshore racing in the UK