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Dinghy racing comes under the auspices of the International Sailing Federation. [1]
Organisations such as the Royal Yachting Association (UK) and Canadian Yachting Association (Canada) organise and regulate the sport at a national level. [2] [3]
Sailing dinghies compete on an international, national, state, association, club and class basis, using the ISAF International Racing Rules of Sailing, which are revised every four years.
While many dinghies are single handed (one person only) such as the Laser, many are double handed such as the 470, 5O5 , Heron, Tasar or NS14 and some have more than two sailors. Some classes allow children to sail double handed until a particular age and then require them to compete single handed. Some double handed boats are ideal for an adult and child like the Heron, while some such as the Tasar have weight restrictions which ensure they are sailed competitively by two adults or near adults.
Sailing dinghies can be one-design, with virtually no difference between boats and strict rules controlling construction, or development classes like the International Moth which has gone from a wide-hulled scow, to a thin-hulled skiff and now to a hydrofoil-based design. Many people prefer one-design as it mean the competition is more about sailing ability than about who can afford the newest innovation, although the weight of the boat, and sail age and quality, also come into it even in one-design. The people with most chance of winning a regatta often have new sails if not new boats.
Most races and regattas are organised based on a class of dinghy, and within the class there may be several divisions such as Masters (older sailors), Ladies and Juniors.
Races involving mixed fleets (different classes of boat, different ages, weights and abilities of sailors) can be organised on a handicap basis. The most commonly used handicapping system is the Portsmouth yardstick, which assigns a different rating to each class of boat in a mixed fleet and (at least in theory) gives every boat an equal chance of winning. Handicaps can also be personal (sometimes called a back-calculated yardstick ), taking into account the results of the sailor over past races, so an inexperienced person who sails significantly better than previously over a season or regatta can win on handicap.
Because of the use of handicap events, sailors of any age can be competitive. In the Concord & Ryde Sailing Club in SydneyThis is about the city of Sydney in Australia. For other meanings, see Sydney (disambiguation), or Sidney. Sydney Opera House Sydney is the capital city of the Australian state of New South Wales and Australia's largest and oldest city, founded in 1788., New South WalesNew South Wales NSW is Australia's most populous and oldest state, located in the southeast, north of Victoria. It was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland. During the 19th century large areas were successively separate AustraliaAustralia is the sixth-largest country in the world (geographically), the only one to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia. Australia includes the island of Tasmania, which is an Australian State. Its neighbouring count the youngest crew is 5, the youngest skipper is 10 and the oldest crew is 73 and the oldest skipper is 72.