INTERNATIONAL 505 CLASS 41st WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

RACE FORMAT

The 505 Worlds Course

A very fast and exciting racing dinghy, the 505 revels on a reach, and offers excellent opportunities to pass while reaching at top speed. In recognition of the superb reaching performance, and the excitment of 505 reaching legs, the 505 Worlds Course consists of:

A Complete 505 Worlds Course
(rhumbline, not actual course sailed)

While the boats tend to spread out on the windward legs as they tack upwind, and on the run as they use different gybes and gybe angles, they are often quite close together on the reaching legs. Of particular interest are mark roundings, where boats converge.

The 505 will plane upwind in a moderate breeze, and will plane very fast on the tight reaches. In stronger winds, the 505s may exceed 18 knots on the reaches. Of particular interest are the manouvers and tactics used as 505s approach the gybe mark - where they seek to be inside while still keeping their air clear - and the leeward mark, where they seek to be inside if at all possible.

The Gate Start

The 505 Class has adopted the gate start rather than the line start for starting races. This provides a large fleet with a very fair start, and eliminates almost all general recalls, as false starts are quite rare when using a gate start.

In a gate start, one 505 starts on port tack. As the starting signal is given, a small powerboat following directly astern of the pathfinder drops a floating buoy astern. All other yachts start between the floating buoy, and the stern of the small powerboat. The gate remains open for three to five minutes, allowing the other yachts to start close hauled on starboard, by simply ducking the stern of the small powerboat. 505 Gate starts are very exciting to watch, and are often video taped from the small powerboat!