While racing is fun, it is not the only element of the Club's overall program. The essence of racing is to learn more about the capabilities and limits of your boat and your crew, as well as providing you with a means of measuring improvement in your own performance. All HRSC members are committed to providing assistance to new members in getting the best performance from their boats and crews. We all had to start somewhere, so don't let any lack of racing experience be a deterrent. Most importantly, we are committed to increasing your enjoyment of sailing.

The Hawkesbury River Sailing Club hold an Aquatic License to conduct yacht racing in an area of the lower Hawkesbury River just south of Brooklyn, later referred to as the "course area", on the days specified in the Club Calendar. In keeping with the conditions of that licence, the HRSC hold a Public Liability Insurance Policy to protect against third party claims. However this policy does not cover participants in racing events conducted by the HRSC. Therefore, all participants would need to make their own arrangements regarding insurance cover for personal loss or injury if they so desire. All boats participating in racing conducted by the HRSC must show evidence of adequate insurance cover at registration time. Boats are usually launched from the public boat ramp at Parsley Bay, Brooklyn and the use of this ramp is free. After launching, boats meet on the first beach around the southern point of Parsley Bay for lunch and a "briefing" before a "start" at around 1pm.

The race program runs from September to April and consists of 10 heats of "round the buoys racing" with performances being measured using "yardstick/CBH" and a "club handicap system". The adjusted scratch or "yardstick/CBH" system allows an individual boat's performance to be measured against other boats in a mixed class fleet. While the "club handicap system" allows an individual skipper's performance to be rated against other skippers in the Club. There are two trophies awarded at the end of the season, with the Hawkesbury River Cup going to winner of the handicap series and the Champions Trophy going to the winner of the yardstick series.

The Course Area is the area of the Lower Hawkesbury River bounded in the North by Dangar Island and in the South by the entrance to Cowan Creek and a line between Juno Point to Little Pittwater Bay. An approximate triangular course is set in this area and the course is usually a triangle, windward & return followed by a second triangle. The average time taken to complete the course is 2 hours depending on tide and wind conditions.

Finish times are recorded by the Officer of the Day, and the results published on the Club's web site later that evening.