PanAm Games Sailing

 

In 10 different sailing events at the Pan American Games, women compete against each other in three, men compete against each other in two and five see men and women in direct competition. The variety of boats includes windsurfers, dinghies, catamarans and keelboats. Each event consists of a series of races around a course with points awarded in each race according to finish position.

Brazil has been a sailing powerhouse at the Pan Am Games. With 14 medals, including eight gold, in the last two Games, Brazil will be a strong contender in 2015.

How it works

Each event consists of a series of races around a course with points awarded in each race according to finish position. The final race is called the medal race and counts for double points, which are then added to the sailor’s total score. The sailor with the lowest accumulated points at the end of the preliminary and final races is the winner of the event. 

Terminology

Catamaran
A boat or dinghy with twin hulls.

Centreboard
A moveable fin-shaped protrusion under the hull that prevents a boat from sliding sideways and is used to right a capsized dinghy.

Dinghy
A small sailing boat or rowing boat that has a centreboard.

Keel
A fixed, fin-shaped protrusion on the bottom of the hull made of lead that prevents a boat from sliding sideways and from tipping over. .

Keelboat
A sailing boat with a fixed keel.

Hike out
To lean out from the craft to balance the force of the wind.

Port
The left side of a boat, when looking forward.

Skiff
A lightweight high-performance dinghy.

Starboard
The right side of a boat, when looking forward.

Windsurfer
A lightweight surfboard-like craft with a mast, boom and sail on which the rider stands: also known as a sailboard.

http://www.toronto2015.org/sailing