Team Racing

Team Racing at Spinnaker

Spinnaker Sailing Club is one of the best-known clubs in the UK for hosting and running team racing events. We have our own fleet of six matched Firefly dinghies for adult and youth team racing and a fleet of four Fevas for Junior Team Racing.

Team Racing matches two teams normally of three boats each against each other. The aim of the race is to ensure your team wins the race either by speed or by slowing the opposition down to allow your team mate(s) to overtake. It can also be sailed with two boats on each team with the team with the last boat losing.

Why do team racing?

Team Racing emphasises tactical skill, boat handling and knowledge of the racing rules and can be fast and exciting to watch. Races tend to be short and sharp lasting 15 minutes or less and there may be more than 100 races sailed in a day in a team racing event.

It is the standard form of competition for Universities and many schools because it requires only six evenly matched boats which means boats do not need to be trailed to events. At Spinnaker we are pleased to have Southampton University, Solent University, Bournemouth University, Canford School and Winchester College as affiliated members. Team Racing Open events and events for Universities and the British Schools Dinghy Racing Association are run at Spinnaker each year.

Spinnaker also runs its own random pairs team racing open meeting each year. If you have a Firefly and a crew, you turn up on the day and race each race with a randomly chosen team mate and randomly chosen opposition. In 2018 we were proud to have two of the British Olympic Team from Rio competing.

Last updated 09:42 on 20 December 2023