MC Classes/Trophy Divisions, Scoring Programs and Sailing Instructions
(Last updated:

MC Classes/Trophy Divisions

On March 13, 1999, on April 5, 2003, on Aug 19, 2004, and on Jun ??, 2007 the Board clarified the following age/trophy divisions for use in MC regattas (age on first day of scheduled racing).

  • Youth (Y) - less than 21 years
  • Open (U50 or blank) - Male sailor between 21 and 49 inclusive
  • Woman (W) - no age designated
  • Master (M) - 50 to 59 years
  • Grand Master (GM) - 60 to 69 years
  • Mega Master (MM) - 70 to 79 years
  • Old Salt (OS) 80 years or older
    NOTE: With the exception of the Masters Regatta, for which an OS trophy has been donated, OS sailors compete with the MM's for trophy purposes.

MCSA Sailing Instructions and Host Guidelines
(Download from the Members Only => Regatta Mgmt. section.)
The MCSA Sailing Instructions (SI) are available in PDF and Word format. The MCSA Host Guidelines are in PDF format. We encourage you to use and adapt these SIs and guidelines for your own regattas. By having identical, or very similar, SIs for all regattas we 'level the playing field' and improve the overall consistency and quality of MC racing around the country.

Scoring Programs

MC Score (Auto)
(Download this program from the Members Only => Regatta Mgmt. section.)
Mark Tesar of Clear Lake YC, IA, handled the scoring for the 2000 MC Nationals and did a fantastic job. I've used some of his techniques to make this Excel template available for general use. It has been used at all recent sanctioned events. The program performs automatic tie-breaking according to the latest rules. It is compatible for use with Excel 97 - 2010.

At most regattas, the burden on the score keeper is to correctly enter each of the finishing positions without missing or duplicating any positions and making sure to break all ties, while anxious participants and regatta organizers are breathing down your back. This version is for you!

This version

  • handles up to 10 races, with or without a throw out;
  • has separate race entry sheets to record results for a race as supplied by the race committee; program maps these to the correct fields on the results sheet;
  • uses validation routines to check entered data for duplicate entries and wrong entries; i.e., numbers not on the original list of sail numbers and scores outside allowed boundaries;
  • contains a fully automatic tie-breaking procedure that correctly handles the test cases described in version 4.0 of US Sailing's "Guidance on Scoring under Appendix A" document;
  • handles up to 100 skippers (but can be easily extended);
  • can map to all current MC fleets via a look-up table for ease in associating fleet numbers to yacht clubs, and
  • uses the standard Low Point point scoring system.
A 'Help' file is included. Again, thanks to Mark Tesar for laying the original groundwork for this version.

Great Ideas to Try in Your Fleet

The September 1999 issue of Sailing World mentioned "The Fleet 55 Starting System". Here is an expanded description supplied by Peter Van Kampen that details the key elements that made their sailing club a success story. They were:

  1. Strong leadership, especially Rod Nystul, the commodore for several years, who is very enthusiastic.
  2. Well-organized social events (3) throughout the summer months.
  3. Fun Races during the season that race around the islands and through some narrow channels rather than around the buoys, and
  4. A unique starting system that accomplishes the goals of competitive club sailing.
    The Fleet 55 Starting System has helped achieve these results:
    • new members joining every year, some just for the social events
    • members staying with the club for a very long time
    • sailing members, sailing most of the races
    • all sailors improving every season

The full story is in this Fleet 55 MC Handicap System (Word97 formatted) document.

Suggestions for improvements, errors, etc.

Please notify the Secretary of any improvements, errors, or comments.