How to get into sailboat racing.

If you have not sailed at all yet, start with learning to sail. This page is for people who can sail, or are learning, and want to try a race.

Beer can racing

"Beer can" racing is the sailing world's name for casual weeknight evening races. The sailing magazine Latitude 38 describes it as racing where fun comes first, and notes that many new sailors try racing for the first time this way. A former Latitude 38 race editor, Rob Moore, wrote the original "Beer Can Ten Commandments," which urge everyone to keep evening races relaxed.

Two documented examples show what these series look like:

• Richmond Yacht Club, California. Its Wednesday evening series is open to non-members through online registration. Results are talked over at the club afterward but not recorded (per a Latitude 38 article from April 2025).
• Dillon Yacht Club, Colorado. Its series had no entry forms or fees, a single start, and a short rule list: stay on your boat, no protests, carry a radio, be courteous. Racers and cruisers sailed in one mixed fleet. The club's commodore reported in 2019 that the series grew from 9 boats to a peak of 24 and brought in five new members. That growth figure comes from the club's own report only.

These are two clubs' formats, not a standard. Ask the club running a series what it expects.

Finding a ride: crew lists

Crew lists connect sailors who want to race with boats that need crew. Latitude 38 runs a free online Crew List that matches sailors looking for rides with skippers who need crew, and it has held crew-list parties. (The article describing it dates from 2010, so details may have changed.) The magazine says it is always recruiting crew because many first-time beer can racers do not return.

Community sailing centers

US Sailing runs an accreditation program that recognizes centers meeting its standards for safety, teaching, staff quality and public access. It is open to year-round or seasonal, youth or adult programs, and yacht-club-affiliated programs that are open to the public and hold 501(c)(3) status can apply. Accredited centers appear on US Sailing's "Where to Sail" map and must renew every year, including submitting SafeSport reporting data.

Racing a handicap boat

If you join a keelboat that races in a handicap fleet, it will need a rating certificate. US Sailing advises checking an event's Notice of Race to confirm which local fleet's PHRF certificate it requires, since PHRF certificates are issued fleet by fleet. See handicap systems.

The youth pathway in the United States

US Sailing's youth pathway runs through Learn to Sail programs, Junior Big Boat sailing, USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festivals, national youth championships and the Olympic Development Program, which is part of its Project Pipeline. In a 2016 article US Sailing said its festivals and championships run more than 35 youth regattas a year, and that coaches at Junior Championship Series events must hold Small Boat Level 3 certification.

US Sailing's 2026 youth championships include:

• US Youth Match Racing Championship
• US Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship and Singlehanded Championship
• US Youth Triplehanded Championship
• US Youth Championship

US Sailing's Reach initiative uses sailing to teach STEM skills at sailing centers, youth centers, yacht clubs and middle schools.

The Optimist

The Optimist is a dinghy for young sailors. It was designed in 1947 by Clark Mills in Florida and is 2.31 m long. A 2012 article noted that the International Sailing Federation approved it exclusively for sailors under 16. The same article put participation at about 150,000 young sailors in more than 110 countries, but that is an older, single-source figure and we found no current number.

High school and college

US high school sailing is governed by the Interscholastic Sailing Association (ISSA), which US Sailing says has more than 500 programs in seven districts.

College sailing is governed by the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA), which covers the United States and parts of Canada. The two bodies give different sizes: ICSA says it has more than 230 active colleges, while US Sailing says nearly 200 member colleges. ICSA dates informal college sailing to the 1890s and organized racing to 1928. Most college racing is in single-handed and double-handed dinghies, and ICSA holds national championships in Open Dinghy, Match Race, Single Handed, Women's Dinghy, Team Race and Women's Team Race.

Outside the United States

The RYA points newcomers toward racing through dinghy racing or recognized junior and youth classes, with separate guidance for getting into keelboat racing, and runs a youth route through the British Sailing Pathway and RYA youth and junior championships. In Canada, the CANSail program's sailor levels include Spinnaker, Trapeze and Foiling stages beyond the core CANSail 1 to 6. See governing bodies for each national authority.