Why does the first boat to finish sometimes lose?

Handicap racing scores corrected time, not elapsed time. A smaller, lower-rated boat that sails well for its rating can beat a much faster boat that finished well ahead of it.

What does DNC mean on a results sheet?

Did not come to the starting area — a boat that did not start and was not recorded on the water. Like other non-finish codes it scores worse than last place, which is why it hits a series total hard.

Regatta results & reports

The practical guide to results sheets: scoring, discards, corrected time, and why standings move after racing ends.

Most searches for regatta results end at a results sheet that is hard to read. Codes, discards and corrected times all change the story. This page explains how the numbers work so a results page becomes useful instead of confusing — and points to where official results live.

This is an orientation guide. We do not republish results, standings or dates — use the official sources below for the current record.

What people are looking for

Finding the results for a named regatta or series
Understanding scoring codes like DNF, DNC, DSQ and RDG
Working out how discards affect the standings
Converting elapsed time to corrected time under handicap

How it works

Low point scoring is the default
A boat scores its finishing position as points, and the lowest total wins. Penalty codes score worse than the number of entries, which is why one bad code can be decisive.
Discards reshape the series
Longer series drop each boat's worst races. The published standings already include discards, so adding raw finishes by hand will not match.
Corrected time decides handicap racing
Elapsed time is multiplied or adjusted by the boat's rating. Two boats finishing an hour apart can be seconds apart corrected.
Provisional means provisional
Results are provisional until the protest time limit passes. Scoring inquiries and redress hearings routinely change the top of a leaderboard.

Official sources

Where the record actually lives. Start here rather than with aggregated coverage.

World Sailing — Racing Rules
The racing rules and appendices that define scoring and penalties.
RORC Rating Office (IRC)
How IRC ratings and corrected time work.
Offshore Racing Congress (ORC)
ORC rating system documentation and scoring options.

Results FAQs

Why does the first boat to finish sometimes lose?: Handicap racing scores corrected time, not elapsed time. A smaller, lower-rated boat that sails well for its rating can beat a much faster boat that finished well ahead of it.
What does DNC mean on a results sheet?: Did not come to the starting area — a boat that did not start and was not recorded on the water. Like other non-finish codes it scores worse than last place, which is why it hits a series total hard.