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The STARTS program from North U July 15, 2009....
Before the start, the 4 things.
1. Favored end
2. Get a range on the line.
3. Time the line.
4. Check for current. Remember #4, you may not always sail on Lake Eustis

Pin end of line. If the line is square will give you clear air and everyone else sails in dirty air.
Best end if you want to go left.
Hard to hit it just right and if you are late it is a hard bail out.

Boat end . You can tack to go right or with a wind shift any time or charge to left side.
A late start here not so bad as you can tack out for clear air if needed.
Easy to get scraped off on the RC boat by leeward ROW.

Mid line. Not as crowded and therefore safer.
Mid line sage will help you.
Hard to judge just where the line is. Now you need the range.


Vanderbilt start. Broad reach out and close reach in to start at full speed. Historic interest only.

Reach out and back. And start on Starboard.

Half speed start. Sail out to 30 seconds spot and be there at 60 seconds. Sail back at half speed.

Luffing dinghy start. Small light boats like Lasers sit luffing about a boat length behind the line till the last seconds before the start.

Port tack the fleet. Occasionally catch the fleet at the boat end with a big left shift and start at the pin and cross fleet on port tack.

Port tack start. Sail down the line on port tack and tack into a gap you find between starboard luffing boats.

Delayed port tack. Hang out just below mid line and watch wind shifts. If left you will be first to pin end..

Elstrom start. Hang back below luffing boats at boat end so it there is a left shift in wind you can cross there sterns and get to pin end.

Stay in "starting box" , not up wind or down wind of starting line, but stay alert to running into each other. Most collisions happen here before the start. In light wind, really stay close.

STARTING SIGNALS
Blue flag to indicated the RC boat
Red flag to indicate the "line" position sighted from RC boat.

Repeated sound signal calling attention to timed signals.

Warning signal with class flag (LESC Laser uses a white flag with P on it for Portsmouth)

Preparatory signal–International P– blue flag with white square center. Racing rules start.
Around the ends Yellow flag with black circle
20% penalty Z flag -four different colored triangles meeting in middle.
Black flag= over the line and automatic DSQ
These last three flags used with large aggressive fleets to control the starts.

One minute Preparatory flag and penalty flags come down. Class flag remains up

Start =Class flag comes down and next class flag goes up..

Recall Two horns and white flag with vertical cross= individual recall.
Two horns and triangle blue edges and yellow center = general recall.

Postponement Red and white vertically striped pennant.

Cancellation Black and white checkered flag.

Be sure to read the Sailing instructions and understand them and the course board on RC boat before your start. Easy to forget this if you have been long time racer and think you known it all.

With the five minute stating sequence, Warning is 5 minutes to start. Preparatory is four minutes till start with the penalty flags if any. Then 3 minutes with no signal. At one minute the prep signal and penalty flags come down and only the class flag is up. At the start the class flag comes down and the next class flag goes up. (This is their warning signal.) And Individual recall or general recall flags with two horns.

The Laser (Portsmouth fleet) at LESC uses a 3 minute sequence with two flags. (Aren’t you glad.) Course is called out from the RC and passed along from sailors. Multiple toots means signal soon. Three long toots is three minutes warning signal with class flag (white with black P for Portsmouth). At two minutes two long toots and International P flag (Blue with white square center) Preparatory signal and rules begin. At one minute the Preparatory flag comes down with one long toot. Start with one long toot and class flag comes down. So far we have had only one start. If we have three or more 420 we will consider a separate start –maybe.

The high school sailing group use the sound starting system so that watches are not necessary. (Still useful)
3 long toots = 3 minutes (Warning)
2 long toots = 2 minutes ( Preparatory)
1 long and 3 short = 1 minute 30 seconds
1 long = 1 minute
3 short = 30 seconds
2 short = 20 seconds
1 short = 10 seconds
1 short = 5 seconds
1 short = 4 seconds
1 short = 3 seconds
1 short = 2 seconds
1 short = 1 second
1 long = 0 (Start)
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