5 Tips Winning In Bareboats

How to win in a charter fleet

- Neil Harvey

Don’t be fooled by the lack of spinnakers – bareboat racing is no soft option. Neil ‘Harv’Harvey and his regular racing partner, Mike Cannon, have done plenty of serious racing in their time, not least on the tempestuous 1979 Fastnet Race, but these days they choose to race in the bareboat division and frequently take the top trophies at Caribbean regattas including St Maarten and Antigua Sailing Week.

What Harvey loves about bareboat racing is that it’s about as even a competition as you’re going to find. With nowhere to hide behind the vagaries of a handicap rating system or design developments, the bareboat fleets put an emphasis back on good old sailing skills: front-row starting, clean boat handling, solid bat speed, and smart race strategy. Here he shares five top tips for success in the bareboat class.

1 PREP THE BOAT

Clean the bottom, especially the leading edge of the keel and rudder. Make sure to check the very bottom of the keel bulb; most are cast iron and in the warm waters of the Caribbean barnacles and even oysters will grow there!