Yacht racing

James Michie) "Yacht" is referred to as deriving from either Norwegian ("jagt"), Middle Low German ("jaght") or from the Dutch word jacht, which means "a swift light vessel of war, commerce or pleasure.

The sporting element in the word lies in the derivation of jaght from the root jaghen, which means to hunt, chase or pursue….

In 1661 John Evelyn recorded a competition between Katherine and Anne, two large royal sailing vessels both of English design, "…the wager 100-1; the race from Greenwich to Gravesend and back.

[4] Much like today, this obsession with sailing close to the wind with speed and efficiency fueled the racing community.

[5] The Yacht Racing Association was founded in 1875 by Prince Batthyany-Strattman, Captain J. W. Hughes, and Mr. Dixon Kemp.

Not ruled or regulated by measurement criteria as today, it is the second-place finisher was Aurora, "and but for the fact that time allowance had been waived for the race she would have been the winner by a handsome margin.

Longer yachts are inherently faster than shorter ones; therefore, in the interests of fairness, in the 1820s a “primitive system of time allowance was introduced on the Solent.”[12] Larger yachts were handicapped; but owners with the biggest vessels had a problem with the allowance system, for they preferred that crossing the finish line first, much as in foot and horse races, should suffice to win the contest.

Ratings systems rely upon some formulaic analysis of usually very specific yacht-design parameters such as length, sail area, displacement, and hull shape.

After its descendant, the mathematically complex International Offshore Rule (IOR) of the 1970s, contributed to much decreased seaworthiness (and even speed), the simpler Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF)[13] system was adopted.

The PHRF uses only proven performance characteristics, especially theoretical sailing speed, as a means to allow dissimilar yachts—typically crewed by friends and families at clubs rather than by professional crews—to race together.

[15] Many countries organise their own handicap systems which do not take into account the size, weight, or sail area of the yacht, but performance is measured on the basis of previous race results.

[16] One-design racing was invented by Thomas (Ben) Middleton in 1886 in Killiney Bay close to Dublin City, Republic of Ireland.

The Vic-Maui Yacht Race runs from Victoria, Canada to Lahaina, Hawaii — a distance of 2,308 nautical miles ((4,274 km)).

The Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac) starts off Point Fermin (San Pedro, near Los Angeles) and ends off Diamond Head Lighthouse in Honolulu — a distance of around 2,225 nautical miles (2,560 mi; 4,121 km).

The race covers approximately 600 miles starting at Cowes on the Isle of Wight, rounding Fastnet rock on the southern coast of Ireland, and finishing at Cherbourg, France.

The race parallels the cycling event and takes place along France's three coasts: English Channel, Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean.

This Australian race runs from Sydney, New South Wales to Hobart, Tasmania — a distance of over 682 nautical miles (1,263 km; 785 mi).

The race runs over 300 miles, from Chicago to Mackinac Island on the northern tip of the lower peninsula of Michigan.

Originally, the Ostar was the main race for offshore sailors, but has meanwhile lost its status to the Route du Rhum.