The Anniversary Series runs as the first race on the third Sunday of the month from April to October and is a handicap series. The first Anniversary Series race of 2013 will be Sunday, 21st April and we are are trialling a new format this season.
As usual, the standard Sunday morning class starts are replaced by handicap starts with the whole fleet split into two starts. Previously we have had Fast and Slow handicap starts, but for 2013 these will be replaced by Gold and a Silver starts. The Gold start will be for all sailors with a personal handicap band of 0, 1 or 2. The Silver start will be for all sailors with a personal handicap 3, 4 or 5. Personal handicap bands are posted on the Sailing Noticeboard and can also be found here.
The aim of this new format is to try and make racing more accessible, by grouping sailors of similar ability together. The hope is that race starts and mark roundings will be a little less intimidating in the Silver fleet as people will have a similar level of boat handling skills and knowledge of the racing rules. Since the Anniversary series is still scored as a handicap race, the start should make no difference to how well you do, but should hopefully make the race more enjoyable and encourage less experienced sailors into racing.
Class results from the Anniversary Series races are extracted for the Sunday Class Series.