How it all works
Competitive sailing is coordinated across the UK by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), and internationally by the World Sailing organisation.
World Sailing produces a set of rules for use in racing; the RYA makes adjustments, called "prescriptions", to apply in the UK; and individual clubs, like HLSTC, add further detail and/or local adjustments, in the form of "Sailing Instructions".
World Sailing resources
World Sailing publishes the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) on the rules section of its website, updating them every four years. The latest version covers the years 2025-2028.
The Rules section also includes an explanation of changes since the previous issue, in a "study version", and a "Case Book", giving an insight into the way that the rules are interpreted in difficult or complicated situations.
RYA resources
The RYA also provides a comprehensive set of documents. Apart from the link to the World Sailing site, for the rules themselves, the RYA includes its own case books, with more examples of interpretation, and an excellent guide to the application of the rules. You can also find the RYA "prescriptions", which are mainly about formalities, and need not concern us in our club racing.
You can download any of these documents for your own use, but we can't show them here, for copyright reasons.
HLSTC Racing Rules Guide
The official documents are all worth getting to grips with, once you get into serious racing, but they are fairly bulky, and not necessarily presented in the best sequence for learning. To start with, you may find it easier to use our own Guide to the Racing Rules, HERE. This aims to take you through the rules in a logical sequence, building up from the most basic principles. Take care though: it's intended as a learning guide; not as an authority. In the interests of simplicity, it's bound to gloss over some details, and if a real dispute arises, you need to consult the real rules.
Sailing Instructions
HLSTC's Club Racing is fairly informal, and we don't go in for strict registration and entry procedures. But we do follow the Racing Rules, subject to a few adjustments for local conditions. Check out the details in our Sailing Instructions HERE.
Race Officer Guide
Races don't just run themselves, and we all need to take our turn at Race Officer duty.
If you haven't done it before, you may be wondering where to start, but it's actually not too difficult: it's best if you can start out by teaming up with someone who knows the ropes, and then, when you understand how all of the steps work, have a try at reversing the roles. When you're ready to go it alone (you're never really alone - there are always people around to help and advise) all you need is something to remind you of the steps you have to follow. That's where the Race Officer Guide comes in. And you can dig down into more detail if you need it.