Course
and General Rules - Match race is a duel between
two boats
Match race
The basic game of match race sailing consist
of a race between only two boats, each with
the objective of crossing the finishing line
before her opponent while complying with the
racing rules.
The second place is last place. You don't get
extra points by having a large margin of victory,
so a leading boat must focus their strategy
in a rather defensive fashion.
Interestingly, the America's Cup started out
in the more prevalent fleet racing format, with
many boats on the race course. But in the late
1800's the Cup switched over to a two-boat match
race - and it has remained that way ever since.
Course
The race course was 18,5 nautical miles
(or the equivalent of 34 kilometres) and consisted
of three laps of a windward-leeward type course
with startboard roundings. In 2007, regattas
will be shortened in order to last from 1h30
to 2h maximum.
The boats begin from the starting line between
two marks laid at right angles to the wind's
direction and sail upwind to the first mark
to be rounded to the starboard (right side).
The spinnakers are set, and the duel continues
downwind to the second mark that is laid in
close proximity to the starting line 100-meters
further up the course.
The boats round the marks 2-3 times (?) before
the winner crosses the Finish line.
During the last Cup, there was an upper and
a lower windspeed for the start of 19 and 7
kts respectively and an upper wind-speed during
the race of 23 kts.
In 2007, regattas will be run whatever the weather
conditions.
General Rules
There are three basic right-of-way
rules :
-
When the wind comes across
the sides of the boats in opposite direction,
the boat with the wind on the left (port) side
gives way to the boat with the wind on the right
(starboard) side ;
-
When the wind comes across
the same side of the boats and there is no overlapping,
the boat behind (astern) must keep clear ;
-
When the wind comes across
the same side of the boats and there is overlapping,
the boat on the leeward (downwind) side of the
other has the right-of-way.
The introduction of the on-water
umpires in 1992 who can assess immediate penalties
has meant that the race really is settled on
the water.
When assessed -- by a system of flags -- most
penalties require the infringing team to perform
a 360-degree penalty turn before the finish
prior to the finish line.
If either competitor feels that an infringement
has occurred they will conspicuously display
a yellow and red striped flag (the "y" flag).
The umpires then make a decision
on the incident as they saw it. There are four
possible outcomes (Each sailing boat is identified
by either a yellow or a blue flag) :
If one of the
boats has fouled, the umpires, relative to the
colour of the boat that has fouled, will fly
either a yellow or a blue flag
;
If there is deemed
to have been no foul committed, a green flag
is flown ;
If a rule is deliberately
or seriously violated, a red or a black flack
(only used together
with either the blue or yellow flag)
is flown.
>
The red flag indicates that the crew
flying the blue or the yellow flag has
violated a rule and must be penalised
immediately,
>
The black flag indicates that the crew
flying the blue or the yellow flag is
disqualified.
This creates a new game within a game.
If the lead boat owes a penalty turn, they try
to speed away and build enough of a margin to
pay off their penalty turn and still retain
the lead…this often occurs at the finish line.
For the boat behind (or for one with a very
slim lead) they work hard to close the race,
and then to draw a foul on their opponent which
offsets their penalty so that neither boat owes
a turn.
Strategy
The Start
The start Match racing actually begins
ten minutes before the starting gun with a warning
shot fired by the Race Committee Boat (flying
a blue RC flag) ten minutes prior to the official
start of the race. Another shot is fired at
five minutes prior.
The two boats (each flying either a blue or
yellow flag) enter the start area from opposite
ends of the starting line four minutes prior
to the actual start. During the next four minutes,
the boats will engage in a furious pre-start
battle, in which each will try to gain an advantage
over the other.
The goal is to make the other boat cross the
starting line early, which is a penalty, or
to start legally ahead of the other boat. As
a competitor, the goal in the pre-start is,
first and foremost, to have an advantage on
your opponent at the starting gun.
Therefore, the first "coming together" of the
boats is usually followed by one boat chasing
the tail of the other, in a circular movement
until one boat is dominant and is able to chase
or force the other away from the start line,
trying to block his return and make him start
late.
The time and distance judgement of the helmsman
comes into play as the start gun is fired. Arrive
too early and one risks being over the start
line before the gun goes and having to lose
valuable distance by having to come back and
start correctly. Arrive too late or badly influenced
by the other boat and a similar disadvantage
prevails.
Because teams have practiced enough to know
how to avoid the big match racing mistakes,
most starts are not won or lost so clearly -
with both boats crossing the line at virtually
the same time.
In these starts, the winner and loser are not
so patently obvious. The "winner of the start"
is then not determined until several minutes
up the race course when one side of the course
receives the benefit of better wind conditions.
Windward leg
On the course the boats commence an upwind
battle. Skippers and tacticians will have a
race strategy for after the start. Work of collecting
data about meteorology and local conditions
will help them decide which side of the upwind
leg is favoured relative to the phasing of the
wind shifts and which side will give maximum
speed and tactical advantage.
If the right side of the course is the preferred
side before the pre start, the helmsman will
try to "win the right" by positioning himself
on the other boats right hand side. This will
allow him to tack off freely to the right while
the boat to the left will not be able to tack
onto port in front of the starboard boat without
infringing.
Later on during the race itself, decisions about
which side of the course to protect change but
the yacht which crosses the starting line in
favoured position has a decided advantage because
it can hinder the other boat by "covering" it.
The leading boat tries to interrupt the airflow
over his competitor's sails by staying between
the competitor and the wind. The trailing yacht
will counter by tacking (altering course from
one tack to the other) to break free of the
turbulent airflow and to gain clear wind. This
usually results in a "tacking duel" between
the contestants.
Once a boat gains control and the lead, it can
be extremely difficult to get past them. Lead
changes were very rare in the 2000 Louis Vuitton
Cup - occurring in less than 10% of the races.
The approach to the mark is a key time for all
on board if it is a close race and at the bottom
mark the same overlap rules apply and the action
intensifies as crews drop the spinnaker and
prepare the boat for the next leg while the
skipper jostles for position.
Downing Run
On the downwind run, the trailing boat
has the advantage because it is in a position
to "cover" the leader and slow it down by blocking
the wind from the leader's sails.
To escape, the lead boat may gibe away, creating
high drama onboard and spectacular sailing as
each crew swings spinnakers from side to side.
Match race
