Course Diagrams
World Sailing uses a system of assigning symbols to courses (course signals) comprising combinations of letters and a single digit. The letters occur in four groups: course type, finish type, course modifer. At most one letter occurs per group and the groups have a specific order. The digit always occurs last and specifies the number of beats required to sail the course.
Course designations
Course type
L | windward/leeward course with a leeward finish |
M | windward / leeward with a leeward finish with starboard mark roundings (commonly used for match racing) |
W | windward/leeward course with a windward finish |
I | inner loop trapezoid |
O | outer loop trapezoid |
T | triangular course with start and finish in the middle of the beat |
X | any other course |
Finish type
R | course with a reaching finish after a port mark rounding |
G | course with a reaching finish after a starboard mark rounding |
S | slalom finish |
L | leeward finish (used for triangular courses only) |
W | windward finish (used for triangular courses only) |
Course modifier
A | course with an offset mark at the windward end |
Thus an LRA2 course would be a windward/leeward course with a reaching finish and an offset mark at the windward end with two windward legs. However, different courses may have exactly the same designation. For instance, an L course might have a gate or a single leeward mark. Another way of saying this is that many course features lie outside of the course symbol system. This is generally a good thing as it means that a race committee can use a small set of course letters and competitors do
not have to remember many fine distinctions in course designations.
These conventions cover only some generally used courses. Specific courses arise for several reasons, for instance, unusual race format types, class rules and local conditions. For instance, the Optimist class has a particular trapezoid course designated IOD.
© (2023) Robert Woodbury.
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Courses used at CORK
Name |
|
Course Designator | Course Description | Download |
CORK Kiteboard |
|
X | A kiteboard course. | |
CORK LAH |
|
LAR | A windward leeward coursse with an offset mark and a reaching finish. | |
CORK L FINISH GATE |
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L | A windward leeward course with a gate and a direct finish from the last mark. | |
CORK LH |
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LR | A windward leeward course with a reaching finish from the port gate mark. | |
COURSE CORK OPTI GREEN |
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G | A course for the Optimist Green fleet. | |
COURSE CORK OPTI TEAM |
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OT | A course for Optimist team racing. Very similar to a general team racing course. | |
COURSE CORK TH |
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TR | A triangle course with a variant finish. | |
COURSE CORK WASZP |
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X | A CORK course for the WASZP class. | |
COURSE CORK YOUTH TRAPEZOID |
|
IO | A general trapezoid course specifiying both inner and outer loops. |
Windward Leeward Courses
Name |
|
Course Designator | Course Description | Download |
COURSE L
|
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L | A basic windward leeward course. | |
COURSE L
|
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L | A windward leeward course with a separate finish line. | |
COURSE L
|
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L | A windward leeward course with a gate. | |
COURSE L
|
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L | A windward leeward course with the start and finish line mid-course. It can be difficult to record finishes with large fleets and multiple starts. | |
COURSE L (MOST SIMPLE) |
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L | The simplest possible windward leeward course. Suitable for club races with few starts. | |
COURSE W |
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A | A windward leeward course with a windward finish. |
Winward Leeward Courses with an Offset Mark
Name |
|
Course Designator | Course Description | Download |
COURSE LA |
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LA | A windward leeward course with an offset mark. | |
COURSE LA GATE |
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LA | A windward leeward course with an offset mark and a gate. | |
COURSE WA GATE |
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WA | A windward leeward course with an offset mark a windward finish. |
Windward Leeward Course Marks to Starboard
Name |
|
Course Designator | Course Description | Download |
COURSE M |
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M | A windward leeward course with starboard mark roundings. Often used for match racing. |
Team Racing Courses
Name |
|
Course Designator | Course Description | Download |
COURSE OPTI TEAM 1 |
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OT | An alternative course for Optimist team racing. | |
COURSE OPTI TEAM 2 |
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OT | An alternative course for Optimist team racing. | |
COURSE OPTI TEAM 3 |
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OT | An alternative course for Optimist team racing. |
Trapezoid Courses
Name |
|
Course Designator | Course Description | Download |
COURSE I |
|
I | A generic inner trapezoid course. | |
COURSE ILCA |
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IO | The ILCA trapezoid course specifiying both inner and outer loops. | |
COURSE ILCA I |
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I | The standard ILCA class inner trapezoid. | |
COURSE ILCA O |
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O | The standard ILCA class outer trapezoid. | |
COURSE IO |
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IO | A generic trapezoid course for both inner and outer loops. | |
COURSE O |
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O | A generic outer trapezoid course. |
Triangle Courses
Name |
|
Course Designator | Course Description | Download |
COURSE TL |
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TL | A triangle course with leeward finish. | |
COURSE TW |
|
TW | A triangle course with windward finish. |
Boat Specific Courses
Name |
|
Course Designator | Course Description | Download |
COURSE FORMULA KITE 1 |
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X | A course for kiteboards. | |
COURSE FORMULA KITE 2 |
|
X | A course for kiteboards. | |
COURSE IOD |
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IOD | The Optimist class trapezoid course. | |
COURSE IQFOIL DOWNWIND SLALOM |
|
TP1 | A slalom course for foiling sailboards. | |
COURSE MOTH |
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L | A course for Moths. Note windward gate and wide gates. | |
COURSE SAILBOARD SLALOM |
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SL | A sailboard slalom course. | |
COURSE WASZP |
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T | A course specifically for the WASZP class. | |
COURSE WASZP CHAMPIONSHIP |
|
C | The WASZP championship course. |