Sailing Courses

The World Championships are being held at the start of summer and weather conditions are likely to be conducive to exciting racing with strong wind and favourable waves. The "Fremantle Doctor", as it is known to locals, will set in most afternoons- a sea breeze that cools Perth after the heat of a summer's day.

Perth is renowned as one of the windiest cities in the world, so expect fast-paced, adrenaline pumping racing on the courses.

Racing will be held on five off-shore courses and in the inner Fremantle Harbour.  Spectators will have good vantage points on land to watch the Women's Match Racing on the Inner Harbour Course and the Medal Races on Centre Course, where the start and finish lines will be close inshore on Bather's Bay.

Centre Course:

Tucked into Bathers Bay and the centre of the action, this course will be used for all of the Medal races – except the Women’s Match Racing.
Course is right next to the Challenger and Fishing Boat harbour entrances and surrounded by premium vantage points for spectators. It is ideal for use in the “Fremantle Doctor” south west sea breeze with the starting line tucked up under South Mole.
This course will be used only for windward-leeward courses and may include a slalom for the RS:X boards.

Harbour Course:

Located on the commercial Fremantle Harbour, 2.2kms from the boat park harbour entrance, this course area will be restricted solely to the Women’s Match Racing event.
Being set in the commercial port of Perth and Fremantle, use of this course is restricted ONLY for the times and dates set aside for the Women’s Match Racing. No pre-event training is permitted on this course.
At the mouth of the Swan River that winds its way inland to Perth and beyond, the sheltered water of the port has negligible chop but can have a tide running up and down the harbour making some challenging lay line calls when the winds are light and tides are strong. The warehouses that line the harbour wharves and the Maritime Museum near the south west corner make for some challenging wind shifts when downwind of the buildings.  
The maximum distance across the harbour of only 400m in a SE/NW direction will mean quite a number of laps for some wind directions

Leighton Course:

This course area is located to the north of Fremantle Harbour, about 4.5kms from the boat park harbour entrance and set close to the northern beach off Leighton. The course is not as sheltered from the ocean swells and has deeper water than the course areas to the south, so expect more spectacular surfing conditions when the Fremantle Doctor is well established.
This course area can be used for trapezoid or windward-leeward course configurations with windward leg lengths up to 1.5nm.
The course will be set close to the shore where possible.

Parmelia Course:

Set to the west of Centre Course, Parmelia is about 3.5km west of the boat park harbour entrance and well clear of any land. It has a fairly consistent chop across the course area which builds during the building sea breeze. If the breeze blows from the north-west, which is unusual in December, a decent swell comes through this course.
Parmelia can be used for trapezoid or windward-leeward course configurations with windward leg lengths up to 1.2nm.

Success Course:

Set to the south west about 4.5km from the entrance to the boat park harbour and well clear of any land, this course is well protected from swells from the south west sea-breeze by the islands and reefs to the west. It has a fairly consistent chop across the course area which builds during the sea breeze.
This course area can be used for trapezoid or windward- leeward course configurations with windward leg lengths up to 1.2nm.

Owen Course:

The most southerly course set about 5.3kms to the south of the boat park harbour entrance.  This course area is tucked in between Fish Rocks (to the North) to Woodman Point to the south and close to the beach off Coogee. The course is sheltered from the ocean swells from the south and west breeze directions by a chain of islands and reefs to the west and Woodman Point to the South.
This course area can be used for trapezoid or windward leeward course configurations with windward leg lengths up to 1.5nm.