Racing

Our Wednesday evening racing gets us ready for days like this.

As the American Sailing Association states, Racing is a great way to accelerate the learning curve. It mandates all of the lessons into a short amount of time, with the power of consequence as a motivating factor. On a normal round the buoy race sailors are forced to make sail changes, tack, assess the conditions and maximize performance every step of the way. Some don’t care for the pressure it can bring about, but a few sailboat races is great for learning the ropes quickly

We race our Express 30, Vivace.

Starting in April, PSA members race weekly in the Pirates Cove Race Club Wednesday night series. During the fall, members race in the Frostbite series on Sunday afternoons until mid-November.  

A weekly email invites members to crew on a space available basis in the Pirates Cove Race Club series. Although we try to be competitive, the real goal is having fun and building skills. The Pirates Cove races are our training ground for more serious participation in various races on the Bay:

• Governor’s Cup overnight race from Annapolis to Saint Marys City
• Naval Academy Sailing Squadron–Annapolis to Oxford
• Tred Avon Yacht Club Hammond Memorial–Oxford to Poplar Island
• Herrington Harbour Sailing Association’s Women’s Regatta–Herring Bay
• West River Sailing Club Poplar Island–Galesville to Poplar Island and back

During the winter, we conduct an annual Racing Rules of Sailing Seminar to keep our racers sharp on tactics and rules.  All members receive an invitation to this seminar.

Only skippers qualified as racing skippers under the club Policies and Procedures are authorized to skipper boats during racing. 

Vivace takes non-spin, 3rd place in Pirates Cove Race Club 2022 fall series,

Vivace finished first-in-class during the storm-tossed 2017 Governor’s Cup overnight race from Annapolis to St. Mary’s City.