Club Race Management

Notice of Race

The Notice of Race is the formal statement of the rules and conditions under which racing takes place. The Notice of Race may differ between series so a new version is published shortly before each series begins. Links to the Notice of Race for the current series can be found on the signing on pages.

Sailing Instructions

The Sailing Instructions detail the arrangements to be adopted for conducting races. Racing at Grafham broadly follows the provisions of the Racing Rules of Sailing but with some amendments to reflect local conditions. The published Sailing Instructions detail these differences, for example, in the starting and finishing procedures we employ.  As the Sailing Instructions for Club Racing may differ between series, the instructions that apply to the current series are published shortly before that series begins. Links to the Sailing Instructions for the current series can be found on the signing on pages.

Racing Marks

Club racing uses a combination of fixed marks and ‘special’ marks that are laid on the day in locations that optimise racing. Special marks are sometimes large inflatable (yellow or orange) buoys but may also be small Dan buoys, which carry a coloured flag. Click on the map below to show the location of the fixed club marks. You may download here a printer-friendly version of the same map.

Finishing Procedures (excepting Pursuit Races)

Finishing procedures are common to all Club racing (with the exception of pursuit races). The finish of races takes place, following a signal from the Race Committee to shorten course (Flag “S” displayed from the Committee Boat. The procedures are summarised here and are detailed in the relevant Sailing Instructions.

Club Race Management Hints and Tips

A handy guide for race management teams to running club racing.

Racing Handicaps

GWSC has adopted the Great Lakes Handicapping System in Club series racing. These handicaps are applied to all fleets that are racing in a handicap series. Currently the Lasers and Solos race as a fleet on Sundays and the Flying Fifteens extract their own Fleet results from the series. All racing within the Wednesday evening series is based on handicap.