Welcome to the UK Great Lakes Sailing Handicaps Website
Latest News: October 2023
The Great Lakes Handicaps for 2023-24 winter events have been finalised. See the Handicaps tab for the current lists - published as a CSV ratings file as well as in PDF and XLSX format. Latest additions are the Devoti D-Zero Black and the Norfolk Punt Hardchine. Do Contact us with any suggestions for classes that we should add now or include in our next review due March 2024.
This site has a set of dinghy, multihull and inland keelboat handicaps refined over a number of years by the 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 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 fair racing. The 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