Match Race - How The Race Is Raced

How The Race Is Raced

The Match Racing course has a very simple setup in comparison to fleet racing. In match racing you will always have four legs and four only, never less and never more. Two of the legs are upwind, or sailing against the wind, and the other two legs are downwind, or sailing with the wind. In the first leg the boats are tacking against the wind in order to get to the windward mark the fastest without being penalized while also trying to get the other boats penalized. As their boats and crew get to the windward mark they round it leaving it to starboard, or the right side of the boat. As they go around the mark they cannot touch it, and then they go on to the second leg. On the second leg the boats are going downwind, so they hoist their downwind sails(spinnaker) and go for what is called a gate in sailing, once again trying to get to the gate the fastest by gibing away from the other boat for clear wind or gibing toward another boat to take the opponents wind without getting penalized. A gate in is when there are two marks (buoys) and it is the crew’s choice as to which one they will go around once they start the rounding by going between the two marks and finish the rounding with only one mark next to them. When the boats go through the gate they are then on the third leg of the race. The first leg is basically a repeat of the second leg where they beat upwind going towards the windward mark. Once the boats round the windward mark again they are on the fourth and final leg where they race downwind towards the finish in hope of winning.