Buoy Racing Program

The Jib & Main Fleet

This fleet sails under working sails: no Genoa bigger than 155% and no spinnaker or gennaker. Many husband/wife teams and families compete in this Division in a little more laid-back style versus the Spinnaker Fleet. The Jib & Main Fleet offers three Divisions and a couple of other "extras" as well.

Level Handicap Division

This is a new concept at Carlyle Lake especially well suited to new or casual racers. Rather than a PHRF handicap rating that equalizes boats, this Division uses a sort of handicap seen in amateur golf or bowling - it equalizes everything. The expected outcome of each race is a tie among all the boats no matter the skill levels of the crews or the condition of the boats. Periodically, a new handicap is computed for each boat & crew to take account of her recent performance. An individual race is a toss of the dice, but crews that are consistently improving can expect to do very well in a series no matter their absolute level of performance. Absolute braggin' rights come with a scratch handicap - just like in golf or bowling. Of course, the scratch handicap implies a high degree of consistency! We think that this Division will be lots of fun, and look forward to its development.

Racecourses

The Spinnaker Fleet generally sails the tactically-challenging Windward/Leeward style of racecourse. Other courses may be occasionally chosen for a change of pace. The JAM Fleet will sail either a Triangle racecourse, or for a change of pace, a Distance racecourse. The buoy racecourses will be 4 - 6 miles long, and ideally take about an hour for the middle boat to finish. Distance racecourses will generally be about 15 miles. The Spinnaker Fleet may sail three races on a given date, but the JAM Fleet will never sail more than two races.

Series

There are four series offered, running May through October. The "seasonal" series are three series of four racing days each, called (surprisingly enough) Spring, Summer, and Fall. There is a fourth series for the JAM Fleet called the Once-a-Month series. This series consists of the races held on the first day of racing in each month: six dates in all. Perfect for those who want to race, but don't want to commit to twelve race dates during the Summer.

Availability

Note: each Series and Division is offered by the Club, but may be canceled if an insufficient number of skippers register. It is important to register early in the season to ensure that the program you want is actually run.