Racing in the Lagoon and River

Wednesday Evening Racing NOR and SIs are contained in the 2017 Racing Handbook. Below is a brief overview of Wednesday evening racing. This page serves as the Sailing Instructions for Wednesday evening racing. Skippers select boats on a first come basis. Skippers select crew from whatever members are present. All SCOW rules concerning use of boats apply when racing. Skippers must sign their boat out in the log book including the names of their crew and sign the boat back in again after racing.

Rules

The regatta will be governed by the World Sailing Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) 2021-2024. Starting sequence will be a three minute start.

Registration & Sign up

No registration is required for Wednesday evening racing. Wednesdays are open to all SCOW members. You must be a member to race on a SCOW club owned boat. As a rare exception, at the sole discretion of the Racing Director, non-members may be permitted to sail if there is sufficient space. However, such non-members are required to sign the Waiver of Liability in the boat log book prior to boarding a boat.

Schedule

Racing takes place every Wednesday evening at the Washington Sailing Marina. Races are scheduled April through September.  Competitors start to arrive around 4:30 pm and the first race of the evening can be started at any time as soon as enough boats are on the water. The club Flying Scots are available for racing skippers at 4:00 pm.  

Sailing Instructions

This page serves as SIs for Wednesday Races. NOR and SIs for Wednesday Races are also contained in the 2017 Racing Handbook. Sailing instructions are broadcast on VHF Channel 68 just prior to the warning signal for the first race of the evening.

Venue

Races are held in the Washington Sailing Marina lagoon or on the Potomac River, generally between government navigation aids G"7" and G"7A."

Courses to be sailed

Race courses for Wed nights will be "W1" or "W2" depending on wind strength and direction. The standard course for Wed night will be configured as follows. The start/finish line will be between two buoys which will also serve as the leeward "gate" mark. You can round either buoy, but you must pass between them. The windward mark will be a buoy. Races finish downwind between the buoys marking the start/finish line. Piers will not be used as a starting line mark in order to reduce risk of collision due to the large number of boats operating in a small navigable area and the broad range in skill among skippers. Government buoys may be used as marks, however, day marks on pilings or any piling will never be used as a rounding mark for SCOW races. Start sequence is three minute sequence and is run by a boat designated by the racing Director or the Wednesday Evening Race Coordinator or the boat that finished first in the preceding race.

Scoring

Wednesday races are not officially scored.

Further Information

For additional information email the Race Director at Racing@scow.org