UK Great Lakes Handicaps

           Welcome to the UK Great Lakes Sailing Handicaps Website 

Latest News:  24th May 2025

The VX Two has been added to the list at an Experimental Number of 922. Experimental numbers are for new or changed classes.  We will review early race results and potentially change these handicaps in the Autumn. Do contact us with views or data on this or any class on our list or needing adding.

This site has a set of dinghy, multihull and inland keelboat handicaps refined over a number of years by the UK Great Lakes Handicap Committee. These handicaps have been found to work well for large flat-water venues where a beat of a half to one kilometre is typical.  They work across a wide range of wind speeds and a wide variety of racing formats.  They have been adopted by several clubs for their racing and used at major summer and winter events across the country.  

Photo:  Tim Olin 

The handicaps are published in the spring once the previous SailJuice Winter Series has ended and the RYA has updated the Portsmouth Numbers.  They are then reviewed in the autumn to add any new or changed classes and are finalised for use in the following SailJuice Winter Series.

The handicaps, the method used to set them, the team doing this work and how you can use and help develop these handicaps can all be accessed from the menu bar at the top of this page. 

"The success and growth of handicap racing depends on having fair handicaps that give the best sailors an equal chance of winning.   I am delighted at the work that the UK Great Lakes team has done over several years to provide this level playing field for the Selden SailJuice Winter Series.  The varied mix of classes and boat configurations in the series top positions is a testament to the success of the team."

Andy Rice, SailJuice Series Sponsor

"The RYA is delighted to see the results that can be achieved by using the Portsmouth Yardstick Scheme to its full potential - adjusting handicaps to provide competitive domestic racing.  The UK Great Lakes handicaps have been assessed using results from inland lakes.  Your club can tailor its handicaps using the PYOnline website to assess the results from your handicap racing - returning your data to the RYA at the same time".

Adam Parry, RYA Technical Manager