On The Line

[Ducati]

We have an upwind start and there are 15 boats in our fleet to deal with. I hear the horn and have 5 minutes to cross the line. With all of the confusion on our own boat along with the issue of collision avoidance what are some basics as to getting to the line "on-time"?

They didn't teach me this stuff at my sailing school so I'm looking for some help.

Thanks

 

[Maine Sail]

We have an upwind start and there are 15 boats in our fleet to deal with. I hear the horn and have 5 minutes to cross the line. With all of the confusion on our own boat along with the issue of collision avoidance what are some basics as to getting to the line "on-time"?

They didn't teach me this stuff at my sailing school so I'm looking for some help.

Thanks

Get a stop watch and plan your tacks and crossing the line ahead of time based on wind and the first mark. Assign someone to the stop watch or timer to hit it at exactly the time the flag goes up or the gun goes off depending upon how your race committee does it, usually a gun for 5 min.

We use the ST-60 Speed's built in timer as it has a 5 min countdown built in. Everyone in the cockpit can see it and we all argue when we should tack so we cross the line at the exact right time. Sometimes we nail it perfectly, sometimes we totally blow it.... What ever you do DON'T barge!! I have seen enough fiberglass splinters from barging to last a lifetime...

 

[DougM]

15 boats is not a huge line. Up until the five minute gun you should be checking wind direction and oscillation. tis rare that a race committee is able to set up a truly neutral starting line and one end will be favored. Much of the time, the starboard end of the line and a starboard end start is the best bet. Of course everybody else wants to be there too. The boats in the middle of the line generally sag back a bit.

The trick is to know how long it takes your boat to get going and how many seconds it will take to get to the line without being over early. Dinghy racers can luff at the line and sheet in to go because they accelerate relatively quickly. Keelboats are a different animal. They take longer to get up to speed.

If you can't control the windward end, look for a hole further down the line. Boats toward the windward end will be trying to luff each other up, and that can result in a gap opening that you can slip through. You have to have the confidence to be aggressive within the rules and avoiding damage to your boat and your fellow skippers'.

As you build confidence in yourself and your boat you will find that you will be among the first over the line rather than being in the second or third row and blanketed.

 

[JoyRide28]

The start is the most important part of the race. Get a good start and you have a good chance of placing well. Get a poor start and you can usually forget about placing in the top third of the fleet. So how do you get a good start? Here are some tricks I've learned.
1) Make sure that your timer is accurate and in synch with the committee's timer. I find it nearly impossible to hit the five minute timer exactly when the committee hits theirs, therefore I let 5 seconds run off my timer (so it is set to 4:55) so that when I hear the horn (see the flag) I can count 1000-1, 1000-2, etc and then hit start. No matter what I'm doing when the horn goes off I can always hit start within 5 seconds...
2) Try to figure out who are the more aggressive racers and watch them closely. Try not to let them force you commit a foul in the prestart, and try to gain as much advantage as you can. Often being out of synch with everyone else's back and forth is helpful, but not always. Every start is different!
3) In consistent wind, at about two minutes, I sail on port tack, beam-ish reach for one minute, then tack back to starboard and head for the line. I figure, one minute out, one minute back...
4) In flukey wind, or very light wind it is usually better to hang closer to the line. Terrible to get caught 10-15 boat lengths away, dead in the water, when the horn goes off...

 

[Freedom77]

I always use what is called a Vanderbilt start. Begin at the windward end of the start line and take a hard port tack away from the windward end of the line, usually a bouy or flag. Set your watch for five minutes. Sail sheeted in for 2 minutes 15 seconds on port tack. This will get you away from the pack milling about the line. Quickly come about on a hard starboard tack, which takes about 30 seconds, two minutes and 15 seconds later you should be at the windward mark and ready to start. While other boats are luffing about you will hit the line at full speed, closer to the wind, sheeted in on a starboard tack with right of way over any port tack boats trying to pass through the line. Watch out for bargers trying to push you into the windward bouy. If your higher on the wind you have the right of way. Don't be afriad to yell Starboard. Somnetimes this will intimidate them. If you have the right of way and they don't fall off you can protest and run up the red flag. Find a bouy somewhere and try it. It Woiks, nyuk, nyuk. It has always worked for me for forty years and I have a box of trophies gathering dust in the man cave to prove it. Fair winds and full sails...

Speaking of 15 boats on the line. Try the Newport/Ensenada race sometime. 600 boats crammed into a narrow funnel. Holy Moly!!

 

[Tim R.]

Maine Sail has it right but I can add to his advice by saying I got a lot better at starts by being in command and not listening to what the crew says I should do. Sometimes we messed up but I eventually figured it out and started nailing the start. Start by committee does not work. You need to see where all the other boats are and communicate to the crew what you want to do. Unfortunately every start is different so you will have different things to deal with at each race. But then again, this is what makes it fun.

Also, having the scratch boat that could usually pass the others was an advantage at the start.

 

[Paul356]

My version of the above. Find a spot on the line about 1/3 of the way from comtee boat to pin. Be there at 2:00. Head 45 degrees downwind on port tack (toward comtee boat end of line) on a broad reach for 45 sec; come up to a beat, head back to the line on stbd tack, luff/reach as necessary to avoid crossing early and avoid crowds, hit the line on stbd tack at 0:00, full speed, away from the pin crowd. do some practice and adjust times as necessary to account for differences in times beating back to line, coming about at the end of the broad reach, etc. The absolute main things for a good start are 1) hit the line at speed and 2) if at all possible in clear air. Those are much more important in my opinion than hitting the line at the favored end. 15 is not a large fleet; stay away from the crowds and those who are trying to luff others up.