A random leg course race, also known as a 'fixed course race' or a 'point-to-point race', is a type of sailing race where the race course may require beating, reaching, and running, and where the rounding marks may be chosen by the race committee without considering the actual wind direction or weather conditions.PHRF ratings and race courses Class rules and bylaws, Performance handicap racing fleet of Southern California, November 2009 This contrasts with the more common windward-leeward courses, also known as 'buoy races' or, more colloquially, 'sausage races' that are set dead upwind or dead downwind with no reaching legs.
Compared to the windward-leeward courses, random leg courses tend to be over longer distances,John Alonso Sailboat Racing -- Just the basics Slideshare, p. 22, Accessed Aug 9, 2013 involve a larger number of factors that need to be considered, and require the use of more sailing manoeuvres and a greater variety of skills—fetching and reaching, in addition to beating and running, calculating the true wind angle for each leg, the best sail combination for each point of sail, the fastest route to the next mark, whether the boat will be slower or faster than the main competition on a particular leg, how to take advantage of that differential, etc.,RG MEXORC -- All out, all week Latitude 38, Vol 394, April 2010, p. 121Stuart Streuli Bring Back the Random Leg! Sailingworld, March 31, 2011, Accessed Aug 9, 2013 making random leg races more versatile than windward-leeward races.Random leg vs cruisers Yacht Racer's Resource Center, November 2011, Accessed Aug 9, 2013
See also Points of sail Glossary of nautical terms (disambiguation)
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