Club Racing
Club racing takes place all year round, with up to 30 boats taking part. Race officers and safety cover are provided by members on a duty rota. Our large and friendly fleets are hugely supportive to anyone, regardless of age or skill level and we encourage everyone to get involved!
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Click here for Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions
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There are five fleets at Maidenhead Sailing Club. Learn more about boats and classes here
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If you need to hire a boat for racing, the club boats can be booked in this link
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Sunday Morning Racing
We race every Sunday, all year round. The race start time is 10:30. Most people are rigged up and ready to launch by 10:00.
There are two races; one pursuit race for all classes, followed by fleet races for each of our five fleets, each lasting 30-45 minutes. On the first Sunday of the month this is changed to three handicap races with all classes sailing together and each race lasting 30 minutes.
In a pursuit race boats are given different start times depending on their speed according to a handicap system called the Portsmouth Yardstick. The start times for each boat can be viewed here.
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In a handicap race, all boats start together on a 3 minute sequence, and their finish times are adjusted after the race using the handicap system.
Our Fleets
At Maidenhead we have Albacore, Laser Standard, Solo, Laser Radial, and Menagerie fleets, starting in sequence in that order. The Menagerie fleet includes Toppers, British Moths, Enterprises, Phantoms and RS Aeros and many of our strongest sailors.
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Thursday Evening Racing
We race every Thursday evening from April to October.
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In 2022 we kicked off a very successful personal handicap that allowed everyone to compete against each other rather than the boats handicap. We intend to run a similar program in 2023.
Our Spring Thursday Night Race Series will run on personal handicaps as a pursuit race. Starting slightly earlier at 18:50 we have a 40x countdown at 30 seconds to zero and a 30 minute race from that point.
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Our Summer Thursday night series will revert back to our handicap racing. The race start is at 19:00, with a single 45 minute handicap race for all classes, and a 3 minute start sequence.
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This is a much more casual series than our Sunday racing, and is perfect for sailors who are new to racing as the wind is usually lighter.
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Club boats are available for 1 hour rental to take part at minimal rates.
Open Meetings
Open events welcome sailors from outside the club to take part in class fleet racing. They include events for Albacores, British Moths, Lasers and Solos. Some of our open events form part of class regional or national series.
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MSC Open Meeting Sailing Instructions can be accessed on this link
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2023 Open Meetings
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Sunday 16th April 2023 - Albacore Open
Sunday 14th May 2023 - Solo Open
Sunday 14th May 2023 - British Moth
Later in 2023 - Laser / Laser Radial Open
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We are also planning an Under 21/Y&J Laser event.
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