Start Line Technique

[Don Guillette]

If you're a cruiser this thread may not be of much interest to you but remember any time there are two boats going in the same direction you're racing whether you know it or not. If you're not racing I guarantee you the other guy is!!

I never did race my boat because my wife had every convenience know to women on the boat. In fact, when I sold the boat the waterline come up 3"!!! What I often did to see how my sail trim stacked up against the racers was to line up 500 yards or so off the starting line and take off on the first leg when they did. If you're a cruiser, who might want to try racing, you might want to try my little game to see how you stack up.

Races are not won before the start gun but many races are lost because of the lack of a pre start game plan. Probably 80% of the racers don't bother determing the favored end of the start line and that is a big mistake because the race committee rarely sets the mark square to the wind and if the wind is over 8 to 10 knots all they want to do is get the marks in the water. You can use that to your advantage.

Here's how I proceed and there are probably other metods. Tactically, you want to start at the end that is the fartest upwind. It is the SET OF THE LINE RELATIVE TO THE WIND that determines the favored end. The location of the marks has nothing to do with the favored end.

Page 2 to follow - my wife is pestering to do a chore that, according to her, can't wait!!

 

[Alan]

Ah yes, the eternal 'honeydo' list!

...to start with you need to find the direction of the start line. Start by sailing way past the pin. Then sail back and line up the pin with the white flag on the "C" boat. Record this reading. Now head up slowly till the boat goes head to wind by the windex. Read this heading. Subtract the two readings to determine the favored end. If the angle is less than 90 degrees the boat end is favored. If it's greater than 90 degrees the pin end is favored. The longer the start line the greater the advantage. I have been in races starting on port tack and having a couple boat lengths advantage right out of the box.
Now you want to sail to the side of the course with the greater wind strength. Reading the wind on the water ahead is a key in picking out the incoming puffs. Make an effort to be on the lifted side of the puff or be prepared to tack over.

 

[cal24]

I agree... Always have a start plan, but also be resilient when things don't go according to plan. The other "good" boats will also have figured out the favored end. Monday night, we headed to the pin end of the line at full speed when a competitor came up from leeward and cut off our access to the line. Instead of barging (which will not win you any friends), we did a full 360 and started behind the fleet.

After the start, with nothing to loose, we tacked away from the fleet, found better wind, and placed 2nd in our class. Our best finish so far!

 

[Don Guillette]

OK, now I'm back. Here's my method and probably others have theirs.

As soon as the pin is set sail the starting line from pin end to committee end and record the compass course. Also estimate the length of the line. Now subtract the wind direction from the compass course. If the result is LESS than 90 degrees, you're headed toward the favored end. If the result is GREATER than 90 degrees, you're sailing away from the favored end.

What does that mean? Here's an example. Assume the start line is 320 degrees and the wind direction is 230 degrees. In this example the line is square. If the wind direction is 240 degrees then the committee side is favored by 10 degrees. If the wind direction is 220 degrees then the pin side is favored by 10 degrees. Keep checking the wind direction as you sail around waiting for the race to start so you can make last minute changes and stay within 45 seconds of the starting line.

The following happened during a Catalina 30 National event in Long Beach. The pin end of the 600' starting line was favored by 20 degrees with a persistent lift. I couldn't believe it and kept checking and rechecking the numbers. The skipper told me my numbers had to be off because everyone was gathered at the committee boat end. What that ment was the pin end advantage was about 10 boat lengths and by using the pin end and proceeding on port tack to take advantage of the lift we had a 300' lead. Additionally, we were all alone as the other boats were fighting for position at the committee end. We hit the line at full speed and never looked back. We won that race easily.

Anyway, if you spend the bucks for a race fee you may as well complete the first step in any race and that is to check the line. You may have another method such as just pointing your bow into to wind to check the line but no matter what method you use always check the set of the line to determine the favored end. You just might stumble on a poorly set line as we did in Long beach.

 

[Don Guillette]

Alan's method is exactly what I'm talking about. Wouldn't you just hate to see him, Joe from San Diego or RichH show up at the start line. You would just know it's going to another long day with a lot of work to keep up with them.

 

[Todd Smith]

There is another, less mathematical method. Sail next to the pin, on the side away from the committe boat. Luff head to wind and look towards the committe boat. If the committe boat is ahead of the beam, the boat is upwind and favored. If the committe boat is abeam, then the line is square. And if the committe boat is behind the beam, then the pin is favored.

We had a Thursday night race a few weeks ago where the pin was greatly favored. Only one other boat noticed and we won easily.

 

[RobertLangdirect]

Doesn't the direction and distance to the mark matter? If the mark is far away but on the pin side of the course, it may not matter as much, but as you draw the mark closer and closer to the oin, it matters more than probably anything else. In an extreme for this example, have a 300 foot start line with the turning mark 50 feet from the pin end. It seems that no matter what the wind direction, the pin end is favored.

Did I miss something? Where I can have the start and turning mark on a paper chart, I draw a radius through from the mark to the pin and swing an arc. If the pin only is within the arc, that is the shorter distance. After that, the questions become those of being on starboard at the line, knowing where the tack point is, and regardless of the previous track on the GPS, where is the ground relative to my keel?

 

[Todd Smith]

Doesn't the direction and distance to the mark matter? If the mark is far away but on the pin side of the course, it may not matter as much, but as you draw the mark closer and closer to the oin, it matters more than probably anything else. In an extreme for this example, have a 300 foot start line with the turning mark 50 feet from the pin end. It seems that no matter what the wind direction, the pin end is favored.

Did I miss something?
...

Yes, you missed something. Because you will be tacking back and forth, the total distance sailed will be the same, no matter where the first mark is.

Unless you can sail directly toward the mark without tacking, this works out. A few minutes with a ruler and graph paper can easily show this.

Todd

 

[Don Guillette]

Robert: I hope some race committee folks (and Alan) can chime in here but in the context of your question and to answer your question, direction and distance to the mark doesn't matter (with distance it's not exactly - see later). The set of the line is relative to the WIND and that set is what determines the favored end. The distance to the mark doesn't have anything to do with it. The race committee object is to set the line square to the wind to eliminate any advantage. Unfortunately, that rarely happens. Additionally, even if they do set it square to the wind, the wind direction is always changing.

Honestly, I've only been on about 5 race committee mark setting boats. I was along for ballast and was not the shot caller. Of those 5 times, once it was blowing 12 to 15 knots and the plan was to merely get the pin in the water. We had no idea whether it was square to the wind as we eyeballed the committee boat and that was it. On the other 4 times I can't remember any discussions regarding the line being square to the wind. Maybe it was discussed and I just missed it while we were bobbing around in a Boston Whaler.

Assume the race committee pin setters got it right when they set the line. The skippers job is to check to see if the wind direction changed in the meantime and to take off on the favored side. The favored end would be closer to the mark but in most cases it is feet we're dealing with and not a 1/2 mile advantage.

Alan and race committee folks - please help me out here as I may have missed something in my explanation.

 

[Todd Smith]

Robert, here is a really simple ASCII art to try and illustrate what I was saying, it is best in a fixed width font.

Oh well, that didn't work well.

 

[Alan]

To put things in perspective consider the course as the rungs of a ladder. The rungs are ALWAYS perpendicular to the wind direction. As the wind shifts so do the rungs. The higher on the ladder rung the further ahead. If the wind is coming in to the start line from 10 degrees to the right that puts the C boat at the favored end. If it shifts 20 degrees left that makes the pin end favored by 10 degrees. Hitting the start line at the correct oscillation time of the wind is critical to being on the favored end.

 

[Don Guillette]

There has to be some mates out there that have been on a race committee pin setting boat - what was your method for setting the pin?

Once, and only once, was I on the main committee boat and my job was the signal flags. No one on the boat explained the flags, like I was suppossed to know as if I was born with this knowledge. Anyway, the race was delayed slightly, which they blamed on me, and they never asked me back again. No problem, I didn't much like most of them anyway. Later, I was conducting sail trim seminars and the race committe came to me and asked if I could tell them why more cruisers don't get into racing as they wanted to increase their fleet. I told them I had no idea. Actually, I could write a book on the subject!!

Again and later on, after persistent pestering from some of the members on the committee because the race fleet was dwindling, I decided to give my opinion. I told them they make things too complicated and they don't explain things in plain English. They provide info through a fire hose, all at once. I suggested practice races with an experienced racer on board. We developed a great plan. You know how long it lasted - two weeks!! They then went back to their old ways of complaining about the newbies and talking way over the newbies heads. Folks have to remember where they came from and what it was like when they were learning. Sadly, a lot of mates don't.

Got any stories as to what it was like when you first got into racing and maybe why you promptly got out of racing?

 

[Joe]

Regarding the favored end..... I keep it simple.. when you sail up to the line, perpendicular, the flag will point to it.

That said, battling for position at the favored end of the starting line can often lead to disaster for those with limited experience.... The very main priority... no matter where you start is to have clean air... and room to turn if need be. It is often preferable to shoot for a middle of the line start with clear air so you can be at max speed when the gun goes off. Unless there is a HUGE advantage at the favored end, having your boat at max speed in clear air will benefit way more than being in a gaggle of geese screaming for position near the committee boat just to gain a few yards to windward.

 

[shemandr]

Joe and I are simpatico.
The object of the start is to get on the first leg with boat speed in clear air and on time. Being the first boat over at the favored end is good but not if it comes at the expense of being in a traffic jam with dirty air.
We also have to consider what the fleet is. In dingy's and one design winning the start is very important. In PHRF fleets, often when acceleration is suspect, getting moving is more important.

 

[Todd Smith]

I have been pin boat only a couple of times. Mostly we tried to drop the anchor when the committee boat called that the pin was square. You can adjust the RC boat a bit upwind or downwind by changing the anchor line. Big shifts need to send the pin boat to move the pin's anchor. It's all about how dedicated the RC is to set a good line.

Joe and shemandr seem to have the same idea that I like, be near the favored end, but just outside of the dog fight. Clear air and up to speed are the key in heavy, slow to accelerate boats.

Don, I started racing the easy, low stress way. On someone else's boat !!! I still race that way. Over the years I have absorbed a pretty good understanding of the rules, tactics and boat handling. There is a lot of information to learn if you just jump in on your own.

 

[Alan]

I have only once used the Vanderbilt start with success. It was so successful we won our division easily. Early on I realized that every skipper was working the pin(favored) for position. Rather than get tangled up in that mess I opted for a Vanderbilt start in the middle of the line. True it has its drawbacks but if it works (which it did) it can be a great success. The basic plan is to sail away on a timed run from the line on a port tack broad reach on the reciprocal of your starboard tack closehauled course. You then tack or jibe, and return to the place from which you departed hitting the start line on the gun at full speed. You must allow 45 seconds for the jibe and accelerating back to speed.
There are many flaws in this plan but if executed correctly with some luck it can be wonderful.

 

[Don Guillette]

Alan: The skipper I sailed with at the Catalina30 National Regatta's (Max Munger) used your technique every time and the worst we ever finished on the dates I sailed with him was second. A friend of mine with the C30 fleet in San Diego used it every time also. I don't think he ever came in 2nd - he just about won every race.

 

[Winkfish]

Folks have to remember where they came from and what it was like when they were learning. Sadly, a lot of mates don't.

Don, you need to come on our club's committee boat. The flags are in pockets marked with the letter they represent, and often the person running the show just asks for the color. They also have an ice chest filled with beer, and sometimes wine, compliments of the yacht club.

 

[Stu Jackson]

In addition to checking the line as discussed, one way to "know" is to watch the wind waves. This always works when it's breezy out, like it usually is here in San Francisco, not so much where the winds are flukey. It's pretty easy to "see" the wind direction on the water.

The other most important thing is timing. The suggested 45 second idea is very, very good. Sometimes we went up to a minute, but the longer you're away from the line, the more chance for error on your return.

 

[Don Guillette]

Winkfish: Now that's my kind of a committee boat - nothing like a few "tinney's" after the boats go off and we're waiting for them to come back.