Pursuit Racing Guide
Introduction
Instead of starting the fleet all at the same time a pursuit race sends boats off at the start at staggered times depending on their Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) rating.
The slower classes are started first then the faster classes and finally the fastest classes.
The race has a set time period which should be either 45 or 60 minutes as determined by the OOD/Race Officer.
A boat's finish place is its position in the fleet at the finish gun.
No handicaps have to be applied after finishing as they have been accounted for through the staggered start.
Course
The OOD/Race Officer should set the race course to be as long as possible to reduce the chance of boats being lapped multiple times during the race.
Starting Sequence
The Race Officer should commence the standard 5,4,1,0 start sequence. Any Optimists should start at this point as in a normal club race. A sound signal should then be given at each relevant subsequent starting point as boats are released. Boats should start at the following intervals depending on race duration:
| Pursuit start times 45 minute race | 2026 |
| -5 | Optimist |
| 0 | RS Tera Sport |
| Topper 4.2 | |
| 2 | Mirror S/H (no spinnaker) |
| 3 | Topper 5.3 |
| RS Tera Pro | |
| Mirror D/H | |
| 4 | Laser Pico (all variants) |
| 5 | RS Feva S (unbattened sail) |
| Fusion Pro | |
| 6 | Topaz Uno |
| Hartley 12 | |
| RS Feva XL (larger mylar race sail) | |
| 7 | ILCA 4 / Laser 4.7 |
| 8 | Wanderer |
| Miracle | |
| 9 | ILCA 6 / Laser Radial |
| 10 | Solo |
| GP14 | |
| Streaker | |
| Enterprise | |
| 11 | ILCA 7 / Laser Standard |
| 420 | |
| Laser Bahia | |
| Laser 3000 | |
| 12 | Supernova |
| National 12 | |
| RS 200 | |
| 13 | Scorpion |
| Laser EPS | |
| 14 | Buzz |
| Phantom |
Please note that not all of these classes will compete in each pursuit race. A sound signal should only be given when relevant to the boat classes competing in the race.
The start of a pursuit race can become confusing for competitors without race watches or who have forgotten their starting time so the Safety Boat should be used to provide guidance to competitors as to which boat classes are starting next. This should be communicated to the Safety Boat by radio.
During Race
The OOD/Race Officer should keep a track of how many laps each boat has completed. This can be useful for determining finishing positions if some boats have been lapped multiple times during the race.
The Safety Boat and OOD/Race Officer should keep a careful track of the position of the lead boat.
Finish
The race finishes when the race duration has elapsed and should be signalled with a sound signal and by raising the shortened course flag.
Finish positions should be based on position on the race course. The safety boat should be used to assist in determining the finishing position of any boats out of sight of the OOD/Race Officer.
All boats should continue sailing the course until they have passed through the gate. If boats stop racing immediately and scatter it is very difficult for the OOD/Race Officer to determine the finish order.
