We currently have regular races for the following classes:

• Laser
• Enterprise
• Fast handicap (eg Graduate, Comet)
• Slow handicap (eg Topper, Mirror)
• Optimist

Toppers are the fastest boats in the Slow handicap fleet. Apart from the club Mirrors and Toppers, the handicap fleets include any suitable dinghies up to 14ft that members bring to the club and want to race (see list of main classes currently used at the club). Longer dinghies may be sailed at the club but not raced, although we do race our sailing cruisers, see opposite.

There are several types of races, some separate for each class listed above, others where all classes race together, sometimes with individual prizes for each class. There are also pursuit races, where the slower class boats start first and then each faster class in turn up to the fastest. The result of the race depends on whether the faster boats can pass the slower boats in the set time available. For full list of races, see programme.

Classes are reviewed each year and, if the number of boats from a class participating in racing make a change appropriate, then the change is made. For example, if more Mirrors started racing regularly that they could race as a class on their own rather than as part of the Slow handicap fleet.

Junior club dinghy racing

 

There's junior racing in Optimists most Saturdays during the season. These sessions usually include some training before the race.

There are also junior races as part of the regular Sunday programme during most of the season. Any boat normally permitted to race at the club may be entered, but participants must be under 18 years old. Either the young helms:

• have separate races starting 5 minutes after the adult ones, or
• take part in the same race as adults, but with separate junior prizes.

Young members also take part in adult races, either competing on equal terms, or crewing for adults in two-person dinghies or in cruiser races.

Lastly young members compete in opens and inter-club events, such as the Cambs Youth Sailing League, see pink panel in right-hand column.

There are three main trophy races for cruisers each year. Strictly they are all time trials rather than races, as each boat starts separately and their times over the course are corrected by a handicap, according the type of boat, to calculate the results. The races are:

a multi-lap race on the dinghy course between the club and Bottisham Lock
a long race from just downstream of Ely into Norfolk (usually nowadays we turn round at Ten Mile Bank and finish back at Brandon Creek, but often in the past we raced on to Denver Sluice, near Downham Market)
a race from Dimmock's Cote to Ely and back - we turn at the first bridge in Ely to avoid having to lower our masts.

There are also:

• sometimes informal cruiser races organized among the cruiser members
• sometimes a non-racing long weekend cruiser event
• an Open Weekend for Sailfish cruisers, see below.

Open meetings and inter-club racing There are various types of open meetings and events for teams and members of local clubs or of class associations. Open meetings at the CSC The open meetings vary from year to year, but recently we have held events for: Mirrors British Moths (the Cam Coffee Pot Trophy) Optimists Comets Sailfish sailing cruisers (Sailfish Open Weekend). The Cam and Granta Cups The Cam and Granta Cups are controlled by the Cam SC, but the races are open to members of a number of local sailing clubs. They sometimes take place at the Cam SC and sometimes at other local clubs. The Cambs Youth Sailing League Our junior members take part in the Cambs Youth Sailing League, and won the team prize in 1996, the League's inaugural year. Altogether our juniors have won it in 9 out of the 12 years of the League's existence and, in the three years when they didn't win, have come second to Hunts Sailing Club! There are CYSL races at the CSC and other local clubs.

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