How to sail to your handicap rating

Handicap racing is about sailing your boat around the racecourse as efficiently as possible, so let’s explore where and how. Story by Tony Rey for Sailing World:

Recently I raced the American YC Spring Series on a Swan 42 with some childhood friends. This regatta was a three-day event, with a coastal race and windward-leeward races. There were 46 boats of a variety of shapes and sizes, and the format gave me plenty to think about when it comes to the fundamentals of handicap racing.

As with any type of racing, success on the course starts with what we do before we leave the dock. The Swan 42 team is a well-organized program with good leadership and communication. We saw the fruits of that in the week before racing, with emails outlining the boat prep, the sails we would have on board, the weather and conditions we can expect, the relative handicaps in our fleet, and what shoreside activities to plan for. – Full report