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The Royal Victoria Yacht Club has several one-design
fleets plus PHRF Div 1 (to 162), Div 2 (163 - 192) and Div 3 (193 and
over) keelboat fleets.
Amongst the Club's one-design fleets, there is something
for everyone. The one-design fleets appeal to new sailors because
the learning curve is much faster thanks to having many helpful sailors nearby with
advice, and are also appealing to the expert racer due to the close level racing.
RVYC One-Design Fleets:
 J/80
The J/80s are the latest addition to the RVYC fleet.
Last year, there was just one boat. There are now 4
and 1-2 more expected this summer.
The J/80s are the the Club's "Div 1" type one-design
that rate mid-pack with Div 1 when they race PHRF with a rating of 129.
They appeal to the racer that wants a smaller dry-sail racing boat that
is an exciting sportboat yet easy to sail.
The J/80s are usually raced with a crew of 4. They
are a strict one design with limitations to keep costs down such as
limitations on the number of new sails, no wind instruments, no
excessive bottom fairing, etc.
For more information see the RVYC J/80 fleet website at
http://groups.google.ca/group/rvycj80s or contact the fleet by
email.
 Star
The Stars have been going strong at the Club since the late 90s.
The Star is a 22' keelboat and is the Olympic keelboat class.
The Star requires only 2 sailors, and is generally sailed by crews with
at least one larger sailor. The Star is an exciting, athletic,
technical boat, raced by some of the top sailors in the Northwest
(Seattle & Vancouver). One local sailor competed successfully
at the Olympics in the Star.
There are currently up to 10 Stars racing regularly at the club, with a
dedicated group of competitive sailors.
For more information see Star Fleet District 6.
 Martin
242
The Martin 242 fleet has raced competitively at RVYC since the late
1980s. At one time there were almost 20 boats.
During the late 90s, several 242 owners moved to larger
racer-cruiser boats, but there has been a local resurgence with racers
seeing the 242 as as a popular smaller racing boat that can outperform
the larger boats in light air and provides tremendous "bang for the
buck" with simple maintenance and preparation, and requiring a crew of
only 3-4. The Martin 242 is a strict one design allowing only
minimal additions and modifications to keep the price down and the racing simple.
There are currently 6 Martin 242s active at the Club,
with a huge fleet across the pond in Vancouver (20+ boats out every
Wednesday Night in English Bay), a small active fleet in Nanaimo, and the local
champion out of Sidney. There is great regular inter-club racing
at THRASH (RVic), Cow Bay Regatta, RIPS Race Week, Maple Bay Regatta,
and Thermopylae Regatta (RVic), amongst others.
The Martin 242s are the Club's "Div 2" type of
one-design, racing with the Moore 24s and J/24s when they race PHRF,
with a rating of 168 (165 if using the new large-roach mainsail).
For more information see the
Vancouver Island Fleet 1 website
or contact the fleet by
email.
 Thunderbird
(T-Bird)
The T-Bird fleet is celebrating its 50th anniversary in
2008. Originally a wooden home-built or kit boat, the T-Birds were
then produced in fibreglass.
There are at least 10-15 T-Birds at RVic, with 3-5 out
for regular PHRF racing and up to 10 for special one-design events.
The T-Bird represents a great value for the cost at
$5-10k, and a great way to get into keelboat racing.
The T-Birds are the Club's "Div 3" type of one-design,
racing with the Crown 23s and C&C 25 when racing PHRF, with a rating of
198.
For more information, visit the T-Bird fleet 4 website.
 Cal 20
The Cal 20 is the Club's largest one-design keelboat
fleet with up to 10 boats regularly on the start line and a fleet of 20+
in the area. There were almost 2,000 in total built and there are active one-design
fleets all the way down the West Coast.
The Cal 20 is an easy to sail boat with a crew of 2,
sometimes 3. At only $2-4k, the Cal 20 is a very affordable boat
and easy to find moorage for at RVYC or Oak Bay Marina. The Cal 20
particularly appeals to the older racers as it requires significantly
less physical activity.
The Cal 20s always race one-design. For the
unusual occasion that they race in other fleets, their PHRF rating is
294.
For more information, see the
Cal 20 Fleet 13
(Victoria) website.
 Mini
12
The Mini 12 is a miniature of the 1980s-style 12-metre
America's Cup boats, but only 12' long and sailed by only one person.
The Mini 12 fleet is the largest in the Club with 26 boats sailed by 50
active racers.
The sailor sits down inside the hull, somewhat akin to a
kayak. As such, your ears are only a few inches above the water
level, so it feels like you are going extremely fast. The boat is
steered by foot pedals, and all control lines are led back to the cockpit
right in front of the sailor's chest. Even the spinnaker can be
set within reach of the sitting position. The boat also cannot be
capsized or sink. All in all, the design makes the Mini 12 the
ideal boat for the older sailor but fun for everyone.
The Mini 12s race throughout the winter on Saturdays,
and one evening each week in the summer.
The Club owns 10 of the Mini 12s which are loaned out to
members,
and used Mini 12s can be purchased for $1-2k.
For more information, see the
Mini 12 fleet website.
 Fireball & 470
The Fireball and 470 are the Club's most active
double-handed dinghies. While they often race separately as
one-designs, their speed is very close and so can also often race
together.
The Fireball fleet has been active at the Club
constantly since the late 1970s. Originally built of plywood using
the same techniques as light wood kayaks, they are now also built of
high tech materials including kevlar and epoxy. The Club hosted
the 2006 Fireball World Championship. There are approximately 5-10
Fireballs racing in Cadboro Bay (between RVYC and CBSA), and the fleet
regularly hosts and travels to the fleet in White Rock and the large
fleet in Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton). The level of competition is
high, with several Club members regularly attending the Fireball Worlds
(Thailand, Australia, Switzerland, etc.) and placing in the top 20.
See the national and
BC class association pages for
more information.
The 470 fleet was active in the Club in the 1980s as an
Olympic double-handed boat, with several Club members making successful
Olympic campaigns. The fleet is now seeing a healthy resurgence
with 4-5 470s racing actively. See the
470 North American Class Association
website for more information.
 Laser
& Laser Radial
The Laser fleet has been active at the Club since the
early 1980s. After a short dip in the late 90's / early 00's, the
fleet is once again strong with a large youth fleet and more adults
getting back into the boats.
The Laser is the "full rig" designed for adult sailors,
usually adult males due to weight requirements to be competitive.
The Radial uses the same boat, lower mast and boom, but a different mast
top section and a smaller sail better suited to younger youth sailors,
women, and lighter men.
The Laser is a great all-round boat, simple, affordable,
a blast to sail, and can be raced all the way to the Olympic level.
The Club's Spring Dinghy Championships & Fall Dinghy Championships
regularly have showings of 30+ Lasers and 20+ Laser Radials.
See the North American
Laser Class Association website for more information.
 Other
Youth Dinghy Fleets
The youth racing team also competes in several other
youth-oriented one-design dinghies in addition to the Laser and Radial:
29er
Byte
Laser 4.7
Optimist
420
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