Sailing/Yachting is an Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad. With the exception of 1904 and the canceled 1916 Summer Olympics, sailing has always been included on the Olympic schedule. The sailing program of 1976 consisted of six sailing classes (disciplines). For each class, seven races were scheduled from 19 July 1976 to 27 July 1976 off the coast of Kingston, Ontario, on Lake Ontario. The sailing was done on the triangular-type Olympic courses.

The Tempest is a trailerable, one-design racing sailboat that was designed by British naval architect Ian Proctor and first built in 1965.