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

Finish type

Course modifier

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

Windward Leeward Courses

Winward Leeward Courses with an Offset Mark

Windward Leeward Course Marks to Starboard

Name		Course Designator	Course Description	Download
COURSE M		M	A windward leeward course with starboard mark roundings. Often used for match racing.	–With mark roundings –Without mark roundings

Team Racing Courses

Trapezoid Courses

Triangle Courses

Boat Specific Courses