TallBuoy
Member
Maybe thats why you had a big gap ..... nobody else wanted to be there!
Racing wisdom - the race start
- Thread starter Birdseye
- Start date
Maybe thats why you had a big gap ..... nobody else wanted to be there!
Racecruiser
Member
Birdseye - tricky making a good start and it's always the bit that makes my heart rate rise! You're right to reject sailing along the line as those coming from beneath will force you up and over or you'll bear away behind them perhaps on the edge of control and going too fast if it's breezy.
As others have said it's about judging time and distance and creating/protecting space. One or two swerves into wind can slow the boat and protect space if you are in danger of being early then bear away onto course with enough time left so you hit the line in clear wind and at speed. Easy to say - harder to do.
Some say if you aren't over the line sometimes you are not trying hard enough. If you are over and hemmed in, the best way to quickly get back is to dump the sheets letting other boats go - you'll probably still be ahead of the boats that have hung back!
Then of course there are reaching and running starts .....
As others have said it's about judging time and distance and creating/protecting space. One or two swerves into wind can slow the boat and protect space if you are in danger of being early then bear away onto course with enough time left so you hit the line in clear wind and at speed. Easy to say - harder to do.
Some say if you aren't over the line sometimes you are not trying hard enough. If you are over and hemmed in, the best way to quickly get back is to dump the sheets letting other boats go - you'll probably still be ahead of the boats that have hung back!
Then of course there are reaching and running starts .....
Javelin
Well-known member
I had another little trick in 12knts or below that won a few starts if I was early on the committee boat.
Removed the rudder stops so the blade would go beyond 90 deg, couple that with mainsheet man dumping the traveller and foredeck man backing the jib by grabbing the clew all in unison. (took a bit of practice)
We could stop or at least slow down very fast a couple of boat lengths short of the line leaving no room above.
Worked like a dream for while.
Removed the rudder stops so the blade would go beyond 90 deg, couple that with mainsheet man dumping the traveller and foredeck man backing the jib by grabbing the clew all in unison. (took a bit of practice)
We could stop or at least slow down very fast a couple of boat lengths short of the line leaving no room above.
Worked like a dream for while.
Judders
Active member
In truth, I kind of knew that at the time. Two boats came with us, the National Champion and the series runaway leader, so we were in good company at least.
My point, however, is that for all I and others have said above, it doesn't always come off.
Birdseye
Well-known member
As Kerenza mentioned I was race officer again yesterday - boat out of the water for some maintenance. Its always interesting because the RO operates from a club balcony on the sea front and so has a very good view not only of the start but of the rest of the race when the course is, as it was yesterday, fairly short and inshore. And the one thing that strikes me every time that I do the job is how important the start is to the end result.
I regularly see boats cross the line 30 sec after the start time when the final rankings are often just a few seconds apart. Sure you see some other howlers at turning marks and with coloured sail hoists and drops but by far the biggest influence on individual results in our fleet is the start.
I regularly see boats cross the line 30 sec after the start time when the final rankings are often just a few seconds apart. Sure you see some other howlers at turning marks and with coloured sail hoists and drops but by far the biggest influence on individual results in our fleet is the start.
lw395
Well-known member
I think that may be somewhat outside the rules......
mrming
Well-known member
I used to be a pretty handy starter back in my dinghy racing days. Recently I've been a bit rusty, but this season it's started to come back to me and I've had a good start more often than not.
I don't find the "practice run" technique useful myself.
Where we sail, conditions can change quickly and the chances are there will be either more or less breeze when you do your actual run in than there was on your practice run.
This is what I do:
Check the bias on the start line. Which end is closer to the windward mark?
Asess the wind and tide. Do I need to avoid tide by starting at one particular end and getting in the shallows early? Is there obviously more breeze on one side of the course? Which is more important? More wind or less tide? This often overrides any concern of bias in the line.
Watch the Class 1 start which comes before us. Not everyone has this luxury, and things could have changed before our start, but if conditions are settled it can tell you which side of the course is favoured.
Once class 1 are clear, get in the area I want to be in and hang around there like a bad smell, tacking and gybing quickly or sometimes just sitting head to wind. I rarely start mid line because of the difficulty in judging line sag mentioned by previous posters. It's much easier to get right on the line if you're at an end. I always make sure I lurk up / down tide of the chosen end if there's any sort of tide running.
5) With 2 mins to go start thinking about moving in for an approach. If I'm starting at the boat end I like to get slightly to windward of a good line for the committee boat and put the brakes on, slowly moving in.
With a minute to go I'll have the sails in just enough to keep way on. If I'm starting at the boat I'll be weaving around a bit, making sure I squeeze out any bargers.
With 30 seconds to go it's power on and head for the line, dumping as necessary to control speed with the bowman calling the distance.
If I'm going for the pin end it's much more difficult to keep clear air and so I'll be attempting to charge in at full speed to make sure I have a chance of getting my nose in front and getting clear air. At the boat end you have clear air and our little boat accelerates quick so I tend to not worry about speeding in to the line quite so much. Either way the number one thing is clear air. If you do end up in dirty air, look for a way out - tack and duck boats if necessary to achieve it. Sometimes there isn't a way out, but often there is and you just have to be willing to take a short term hit to take it and get moving.
Yesterday I got a great start at the boat end and then proceeded to have a terrible first beat, throwing away the advantage I gained. C'est la vie.
I don't find the "practice run" technique useful myself.
Where we sail, conditions can change quickly and the chances are there will be either more or less breeze when you do your actual run in than there was on your practice run.
This is what I do:
Check the bias on the start line. Which end is closer to the windward mark?
Asess the wind and tide. Do I need to avoid tide by starting at one particular end and getting in the shallows early? Is there obviously more breeze on one side of the course? Which is more important? More wind or less tide? This often overrides any concern of bias in the line.
Watch the Class 1 start which comes before us. Not everyone has this luxury, and things could have changed before our start, but if conditions are settled it can tell you which side of the course is favoured.
Once class 1 are clear, get in the area I want to be in and hang around there like a bad smell, tacking and gybing quickly or sometimes just sitting head to wind. I rarely start mid line because of the difficulty in judging line sag mentioned by previous posters. It's much easier to get right on the line if you're at an end. I always make sure I lurk up / down tide of the chosen end if there's any sort of tide running.
5) With 2 mins to go start thinking about moving in for an approach. If I'm starting at the boat end I like to get slightly to windward of a good line for the committee boat and put the brakes on, slowly moving in.
With a minute to go I'll have the sails in just enough to keep way on. If I'm starting at the boat I'll be weaving around a bit, making sure I squeeze out any bargers.
With 30 seconds to go it's power on and head for the line, dumping as necessary to control speed with the bowman calling the distance.
If I'm going for the pin end it's much more difficult to keep clear air and so I'll be attempting to charge in at full speed to make sure I have a chance of getting my nose in front and getting clear air. At the boat end you have clear air and our little boat accelerates quick so I tend to not worry about speeding in to the line quite so much. Either way the number one thing is clear air. If you do end up in dirty air, look for a way out - tack and duck boats if necessary to achieve it. Sometimes there isn't a way out, but often there is and you just have to be willing to take a short term hit to take it and get moving.
Yesterday I got a great start at the boat end and then proceeded to have a terrible first beat, throwing away the advantage I gained. C'est la vie.
Boo2
Well-known member
Sorry, what rule ? Sunrunner had the rudder stops removed (or maybe they were just not working) when I took possession (they're fixed now) and it was very useful for tight manouvers in marinas etc. I'd want them in place if I was going offshore though to save risking breaking the rudder.
Boo2
lw395
Well-known member
I think that using the rudder as a brake in this way is banned by the same rule that bans using it as a scull?
I might be wrong on this.
Apologies for being a bit terse on this point, I was multitasking.....
I might be wrong on this.
Apologies for being a bit terse on this point, I was multitasking.....
Quandary
Well-known member
I reckon half of the boats in some fleets do not even know where the line is, depending on the position of other boats to tell them instead of getting clear transits and working out the timing for the run in. Geography is everything, once you have got it it leaves you free to look for the space where you want it. Of course if you rehearse your approach more than once your biggest rival will know what you plan to do.
flaming
Well-known member
Rule 42.3 (f) says
So on that level you're in the clear I think. If of course your boat was a one design and you took the rudder stops off, or if you did it to a boat rated under IRC and didn't inform them, then that could still put you on a bit of a sticky wicket I think.
lw395
Well-known member
Apologies, it looks like I'm out of date, or perhaps just um,, err,, wrong!
Javelin
Well-known member
Not one design and even on the old rule I didn't contravene "repeatedly moving her helm"
We had loads of tricks we used on the first beat but mainly we made sure we knew the tides we'd encounter on the course.
Using tides on the start line is vital also, so much so we'd sometimes opt for the wrong end of the line with regards to wind but good for tide and also sometimes sea state.
We had loads of tricks we used on the first beat but mainly we made sure we knew the tides we'd encounter on the course.
Using tides on the start line is vital also, so much so we'd sometimes opt for the wrong end of the line with regards to wind but good for tide and also sometimes sea state.
flaming
Well-known member
Did you inform the rating authority (whoever that may have been) that you had altered your boat from it's design?
KINGFISHER 8
Well-known member
Never mind manoeuvres, always go straight at 'em. (Nelson)