P165 in sailboat race

[tjspiel]

I have not yet participated in a race with my P165, though I am very interested.
I think the main barrier here in Seattle is that all the open-class races I know about are on weekdays and not close to boat ramps. In order to show up for the start, I'd essentially need to take the day off of work to setup my boat, launch it, then motor to the race location. And then the I'd have to skip the after-race social event on the water just to race back to the boat ramp so I'm not tearing down in the dark. Would be very stressful. I think the races are primarily organized for people who can afford marina slips.
That and the other issue Is I really want someone to crew with me on my first time who has racing experience. I am very  nervous about being "That guy" who causes problems because he doesnt know what he's doing on the water.

If you do a little checking around, - local yacht clubs, local Facebook groups, etc I'm guessing it wouldn't be too hard to find regular races in your area where you can just show up and crew on a boat. That way you can get a feel for it before skippering your own boat in a race. Around here, the more informal races are during the week so they're more open (and often happy) to take crew who aren't particularly experienced.

As you've maybe gathered, lots of these clubs are desperate for people to show up on race nights.

[Brian N.]

Straander - probably the best way to learn to race is to crew. Long ago (on a bay far, far away) I was a regular Wednesday night beer can race crew member. Sometimes crew members would switch boats, and skippers might also sail a different boat. Lots of fun, you do learn a lot and don't miss the after party (be prepared for some good natured critique).

[Shesaidno]

Many yacht clubs that sponsor a race will provide a free night or two for a slip, so you can go there the day before and possibly stay the night after the race.  Never hurts to ask, as I have done this before. Don't they have some races on weekends?  In order for me to do this last race, I drove 75 minutes to my boatyard in dry storage, mast up, launched boat off trailer, then motored to the harbor hosting the race, some 8 miles away. After a four hour race, I sailed back the 8 miles, pulled boat out, drove back 8 miles to the yacht club for social and awards, then drove back home 75 miles. It helps that days are longer right now. I would not worry about lack of experience in racing, the main thing is just avoid other boats, even if you have right of way. Most of our local races only have a few boats anyway in each category. I am nearly always single handed so only I know how many mistakes I make!