Get Race Ready
Sunday Afternoons – 8 Nov to 13 Dec 12.30 – 16.30
Ready to take the next step from learning to sail to joining in Club racing?
DBYC's new Get Race Ready program is a six-week supported introduction to sailing on the race course.
Led by our DBYC instructors, sailors will develop their boat-handling skills, learn the fundamentals of racing and, importantly, begin participating in DBYC's normal Sunday afternoon Club racing with support from our instructors and Race Management team.
The aim isn't to turn you into a champion racer in six weeks. It's to give you the knowledge and confidence to get onto the start line, understand what is happening around you, sail the course and enjoy racing with the rest of the Club.
Youth sailors, Green Fleet sailors and adults are all welcome. The program is open to DBYC members only.
What we'll cover
Over the six weeks sailors will learn and practise:
- preparing for a Club race and understanding the race course;
- DBYC start procedures, flags and sound signals;
- positioning and timing a start;
- improving tacking, gybing, sail trim and boat speed;
- sailing efficiently upwind and downwind;
- laylines and mark rounding;
- the essential Racing Rules of Sailing;
- port/starboard and windward/leeward situations;
- clean air, lifts and knocks and some simple racing tactics;
- what happens when you make a mistake or break a rule;
- finishing, retiring and communicating with Race Management; and
- how to participate confidently in normal DBYC Club racing.
How each Sunday works
Each session will generally include a short shoreside briefing, some targeted on-water coaching and drills, followed by the opportunity to participate in the day's DBYC Club racing with instructor support.
We'll finish with a short debrief to talk about what happened on the water and what we can learn from it.
As the program progresses, sailors will be encouraged to become increasingly independent, with the goal of completing the final sessions as confident participants in the normal Club fleet.
Who is it for?
Get Race Ready is designed for members who can already sail independently but are new to racing or haven't yet felt confident joining Club racing.
It is suitable for:
Youth / Green Fleet sailors moving on from Tackers or other learn-to-sail programs; and
Adult members who can sail but would like some guidance and support before joining the Club racing fleet.
You don't need previous racing experience.
Participants should be comfortable rigging their boat, launching and returning to shore and sailing independently around a basic course in suitable conditions.
The goal
By the end of the program, we want every participant to be able to say:
"I know how a DBYC race works, I can get myself onto the start line and around the course, and I'm comfortable joining Club racing."
