Poole Yacht Club Cruiser Fleet

We race in banded groups (aka ‘Classes’) of similar speed yachts to make each experience on the water, in and out of the Harbour, competitive and exciting.

Cruiser racing is for all boats generally between 18ft to 40ft. Although we do have single handed competitors, crews on a cruiser are generally between 2 to 8 sailors, with races lasting between one and two hours.

Some of our most competitive racing is for one-design boats including our very own R-19 fleet of 20 plus boats – some out a few times each week!

Other Cruisers race under VPRS, a measurement rating system widely used on the south coast and elsewhere, which works in a similar way to the ORC (Offshore Racing Congress) system and generates TCCs similar to IRC.

VPRS: a yacht rating system for everybody

Every year competing yachts need to get a VPRS rating certificate to determine their rating in the form of a Time Correction Coefficient (TCC). Available from Ruth at (https://www.vprs.org). the rating is based on the length, weight, draft, rig size, sail area, and specific characteristics and features.

The rating allows the race officer to decide which Class they should be part of, and the results officer uses the rating (TCC) to calculate corrected finishing times using the well-known Sailwave software. First over the line does not necessarily mean you're the winner!

Note: We encourage participation and boats may race with or without spinnakers: the latter helpful for newcomers and shorthanded crews. However, Class entry is determined by the spinnaker rating. In the absence of a spinnaker, typical measurements of same, or similar, boats shall be applied.

Larger/heavier boats are accommodated in Classes 1 and 1A
Smaller/lighter boats are accommodated in Classes 2 and 3

See Class definitions.