The Sailing Instructions for the 2007 Angostura Tobago Sailing Week, May 13 – 18, have just been posted and what a change from last year. In 2007 the racing class will face the starting gun eleven (11) times in four days, the racer/cruiser class will do eight (8) starts in four days.

The logistics of this can only mean the incorporation of a separate Start and Finish Line for all the classes. This way a class can be started on its next race as soon as all boats in that class have finished the previous race.
The courses have also been moved even further North of the race area that was used in 2006.

It is interesting to do a comparison with the number of races sailed in each Tobago regatta over the last couple of years. In 2005 the racing class did six (6) races, in 2006 they did eight (8) races, in 2007 they will do eleven (11) races (if all goes according to plan). This is almost double the number of races in two years. The Racer/Cruiser class will also get their fair share by sailing eight (8) races this year they shall double the number of races that they completed in 2006.

The shift towards multiple short races versus few longer races is fueled by the concept that mark roundings and starts provide more value for money for the racing sailor, rather than spending hours in the ocean racing against a clock rather than your competitors. Shorter races keep the fleet closer together and puts a premium on least number of errors committed.

However it turns out, the real winners will be those with the stamina and resilience to stay focused over the four days. The quality of the racing, racer-cruiser and cruising fleets is so deep that any mistake will cost you several places from the podium. And as has been shown so many times in the past, in Tobago it is consistency that pays dividends at the end.

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