Safety
Safety is absolutely the #1 consideration when out on the water. Please take time to look over the safety requirements for competing in our sanctioned races. They are not there because we enjoy them. They are there to save your life and possibly someone elses!
Waiver & Release of Liability
In-Bay Keelboat Series
Catch all the action from the comfort of your car in the Wharfinger Building parking lot. Bring the kids! The In-Bay Keel Boat series involves four days of sailboat racing throughout the 2023 racing season. Boats tend to be 20 feet and up, with crews of 2 to 5 people. On each race day there are typically two to four races, depending on the wind conditions. All of the races are held in front of the Wharfinger Building and the parking lot is a great place to watch the boats battle for first place. The starting/finishing line is between an anchored committee boat and daymarker #19.
Skippers wishing to participate in the series, or an individual race, must attend the mandatory skipper’s/sign-up meeting. This meeting will be held one hour before the first scheduled race time each day of the series. Course sheets and any special race instructions will be available at that time. Everyone, including non-members, is invited to participate and there is no fee. Skippers will certify on the sign-up sheet that their boat complies with each of the US Sailing uniform minimum safety equipment and training requirements for “Nearshore” racing of monohulls and multihulls. See Safety Above.
Below is the course sheet for all races in the bay, including dinghy races
Whistler Series
Skippers wishing to participate in the series, or an individual race, must attend the mandatory skipper’s/sign-up meeting. This meeting will be held one hour before each scheduled race time. Course sheets and any special race instructions will be available at that time.
The Whistler Series involves three races over the season. The races start and end between the HYC flag pole in front of the club and marker #19. Racers then sail down the bay, navigate the channel and head out to the Whistler Bouy – then back to the club house. At the channel mouth, each skipper makes an assessment of the conditions and has the option to continue out to the Whistler Buoy or to take the alternate in-bay course to Fields Landing.
All HYC racers, venturing out beyond the breakwater, also require more safety equipment and certification of compliance with those requirements. See above under “Coastal Safety” for the checklist. There are additional requirements spelled out in our standing race rules.
Dinghy Series
The Dinghy Series consists of five days of races over the season. Depending upon wind conditions, each race day usually features several races. While some of the race days take place in the bay, we have recently begun hosting one of the series races at Big Lagoon.
Skippers wishing to participate in the series, or an individual race, must attend the mandatory skipper’s/sign-up meeting. This meeting will be held one hour before each scheduled race time. Course sheets and any special race instructions will be available at that time.
Great Bay Series
The Great Bay Race is one of several races that is open to the general public. Courses for the race vary from year to year but generally they begin between the HYC flagpole and marker #19. Racers then head south down the bay and return back to the yacht club for the finish. This is a pursuit race so the slowest boat starts first and every boat has their own start time depending on their handicap. All other things being equal, all boats should finish at the same time, so the first boat to cross the finish line is the true winner.
Sailors interested in racing must attend the skippers meeting one hour before the scheduled race.
Trinidad Race
The Trinidad Race is a two-day event. The first day involves transiting the bar and arriving at Trinidad Harbor. Boats spend the night at a mooring or on the hook. The second day boats race back to the yacht club. Boats are required to comply with US Sailing’s Coastal safety equipment requirements.
Veterans Day Race
The annual Veterans Day Race starts at 1111 hrs on November 11th. The race is open to all US Military Veterans and non-veterans alike. Non-veterans are handicapped by adding an additional ten minutes to their elapsed time. The course is the infamous “Three Bridges Fiasco” which starts and finishes off of the yacht club at daymark #19
The course sheet is below:
