Sailing


Background
Sailing has been an Olympic sport since 1912.  Currently there are 11 Olympic classes with both single-handed and double-handed boats.

Athlete Development
To excel in sailing several skills are needed.  First, athletes need to be able to read the wind, waves, and current along with wind changes, gusts, lulls, and direction shifts.  A smart sailor can react to use these changes to their advantage.  Next, athletes need to be fit and strong.  Sailing, especially on a windy day, requires a high level of strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance.  Finally, there is a moving chess match going on, where crews position themselves strategically in relation to the other boats in the fleet to find the fastest path around the racetrack.

Competition at the Games
The divisions included in the BC Summer Games are Optimist Dinghy (which is a small pram used worldwide for young sailors to learn racing), Laser Radial and Laser Classes, and the two person 420 Dinghy.  Athletes will compete in two age categories, Optimist (under 15) and Youth (under 19).

How to Watch Sailing
Sailing competitions are referred to as “regattas”, just like rowing.  A regatta consists of several races over multiple days.  Depending on the length of the regatta, there can be anywhere from 5 to 15 or 20 scheduled races with two or more races per day depending on the wind.  Points are awarded for each race sailed with one point for first place, two points for second, and so on.  Typically a competitors’ worst score is deleted, with the winner being the crew with the lowest total score.

The sailing race itself is started on an imagined start line that is between an anchored race committee boat and a mark or buoy.  Flags are raised, along with horns or sound signals that notify the sailors how much time before the start.  Boats that start early, or false start, are signalled to return to the start line and re-start, putting them in the trailing position to begin the race.  Next, the fleet races around a series of marks.  The first mark is called “the windward mark” and boats must sail directly into the wind to get there.  Normally the course is windward (against the wind), then leeward (with the wind) with two laps.

For more info on Sailing, contact the BC Sailing Association at www.bcsailing.bc.ca or (604) 333-3628.