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Getting Off the Starting Line - Part 2, Accelerating Your Boat

This article is written with Laser and other small sailboats in mind. In part one of this article series we talked
about the four pieces of information that are important to know before each start. Knowing the favored end, line
sight, current effect and the length of the line all help you figure where you might want to start and where the line
is. But, once you have decided where on the line to start, how do you actually accelerate off the line
successfully?

We have all heard the goal at the start is to hit the line with full speed at the gun, and that the result of a
successful start is clear air with the ability to tack after one or two minutes of sailing. The other thing that we
often hear is to create room to leeward as we approach the start line so we have a “hole” to accelerate into.
Both of these are correct but both of these statements need to be a bit more specific.

First of all the goal at the start is to hit the line with full speed at the gun sailing close hauled. To put it
simply, if you are still sheeting in when the gun goes off you are late for the start of the race! Think about a boat
that is to leeward of you that accelerates and then sheets in and is sailing close hauled at the gun. If you are still
sheeting in after the gun you are burning your leeward sailing area and simultaneously losing upwind distance.
The chance of you sliding into the hip of the leeward boat and then being back winded is quite large. Similarly,
think about a boat to windward of you hitting the line close hauled and you are still sheeting in after the gun.
While you are burning leeward sailing area and losing upwind distance the windward boat's free leeward sailing
area is growing. This windward boat could “put his bow down” at anytime, blanket your wind and roll you. Has
this ever happened to you? I know that it has to me! Being closed hauled at the gun after accelerating fully is
the secret that all great starters know. The question is: how do we do this?

This brings us to creating room to leeward. Being a bit more specific, we need to create room to leeward at
the correct time. There is no use in creating and protecting a leeward sailing area with more than 30 seconds
to go. Have you ever had a nice hole to leeward 30 or 40 seconds to go only to have someone take it? You
might even lose your hole with 10 to 20 seconds to go, but the chances are much less. On a crowded starting
line think about creating room to leeward between 20 and 15 seconds to go. The ideal scenario might go
something like this: from 15-10 seconds to go your bow goes up and forces the windward boat up, 10-5 seconds
you pull your tiller and sheet your sail for a tight reach, 5-0 seconds you accelerate your boat and sheet in to
close hauled crossing the line just as the gun goes off. Of course this timing is never exact and will change
depending on wind strength and how tightly the fleet is pressing the line. But, generally on a crowded line, try to
hold your bow even with the boats around you and create your room to leeward fairly late in the sequence.
Obviously, if the fleet is small or there is a large starting line there might be tons of room to accelerate and hit the
line close hauled. Every start is different.

What is the easiest way for you to create room to leeward? Have excellent slow speed boat handling skills.
Being able to control your boat slowly is paramount to holding windward boats up and then steering your boat to
an acceptable angle to accelerate. From big wind and waves to no air and current you must be able hold your
boat's position. Some things you should be able to do are repeatedly steer and sheet aggressively to either
keep your bow pointed close to the wind direction or bear away onto a reach, back wind the sail to stop or
backup, raise your centerboard to slide sideways and tacking your boat without moving upwind significantly.
Some tips to remember are to sit in the cockpit in a normal position close to the front. Keep the boat flat unless
you want to bear away (heel to windward) or head up (heel to leeward). Make sure your your cunningham and
outhaul are set for the upwind conditions. Apply enough vang to match the luff curve in the sail. This is called
the base vang position and is approximately when the boom is perpendicular to the mast. This gives the sail
some shape but not enough leech tension to force the boat into the wind in a gust. In breezy conditions consider
pulling the vang hard just before you begin to accelerate. This depowers the sail and makes it easier to sheet in.
Also, make sure your control lines are on the starboard deck and ready to go. I see a lot of slowness off the line
because sailors are not 100% focused on speed through the water. They spend too much time looking at their
sail and cleaning up lines only to realize too late there are faster boats to leeward and to windward. Focus on
speed and keep your eyes forward on the sailing water closely ahead. After your lane is secure then make sail
adjustments.

There is often a major problem I see when sailors get “washed out the back” and end up in the second or third
row. As you approach the line and you are holding up the windward boats make sure you do it from a
controlling position. Make sure your bow is even or ahead of the windward boat(s) that you are holding up to
create your leeward hole. Bow even or ahead is a controlling position. There are two problems if your bow is
behind the boat to windward and you attempt to head up and create leeward room. First, the windward boat is
less likely to respond or will respond slowly. Second, when you bare away onto a reach it is easy for the
windward boat to do the same and blanket you. Another issue from not keeping your bow even or ahead as you
approach the line is that you will be unable to to see the starting markers or spot your line sight. Additionally,
there may be boats further up or down the line that are even more ahead than the immediate boats next to you.
You have to look up and down the line and if necessary position yourself against boats that are 5 or 10 or more
boats up or down the line.

One final thought is the concept of winners and losers. The tighter the group approaching the line is the more it
becomes a win lose situation. You have to recognize this situation and if there is no bailing out of it there is only
great slow speed handling, aggressiveness and making certain your boat is moving when it is time to accelerate
(or first to move at the gun if the group is parked on line). These types of starts are common and often
unavoidable so you have to be ready to be aggressive.

Starting well often is a not the easiest thing to do. But it can be done! By practicing your slow speed handling
and racing often you can become an excellent starter.

Good luck and good sailing!

Kurt

Kurt Taulbee is a 3 time US SAILING TEAM member in the Laser Class and US SAILING Level 2 Certified
Coach. He can be reached at 727-631-7025 or kurt@sailfit.com.

P7 MenuMagic dwt Control Layer -Do Not Alter



		Coaches Corner Getting Off the Starting Line - Part 2, Accelerating Your Boat This article is written with Laser and other small sailboats in mind. In part one of this article series we talked about the four pieces of information that are important to know before each start. Knowing the favored end, line sight, current effect and the length of the line all help you figure where you might want to start and where the line is. But, once you have decided where on the line to start, how do you actually accelerate off the line successfully? We have all heard the goal at the start is to hit the line with full speed at the gun, and that the result of a successful start is clear air with the ability to tack after one or two minutes of sailing. The other thing that we often hear is to create room to leeward as we approach the start line so we have a “hole” to accelerate into. Both of these are correct but both of these statements need to be a bit more specific. First of all the goal at the start is to hit the line with full speed at the gun sailing close hauled. To put it simply, if you are still sheeting in when the gun goes off you are late for the start of the race! Think about a boat that is to leeward of you that accelerates and then sheets in and is sailing close hauled at the gun. If you are still sheeting in after the gun you are burning your leeward sailing area and simultaneously losing upwind distance. The chance of you sliding into the hip of the leeward boat and then being back winded is quite large. Similarly, think about a boat to windward of you hitting the line close hauled and you are still sheeting in after the gun. While you are burning leeward sailing area and losing upwind distance the windward boat's free leeward sailing area is growing. This windward boat could “put his bow down” at anytime, blanket your wind and roll you. Has this ever happened to you? I know that it has to me! Being closed hauled at the gun after accelerating fully is the secret that all great starters know. The question is: how do we do this? This brings us to creating room to leeward. Being a bit more specific, we need to create room to leeward at the correct time. There is no use in creating and protecting a leeward sailing area with more than 30 seconds to go. Have you ever had a nice hole to leeward 30 or 40 seconds to go only to have someone take it? You might even lose your hole with 10 to 20 seconds to go, but the chances are much less. On a crowded starting line think about creating room to leeward between 20 and 15 seconds to go. The ideal scenario might go something like this: from 15-10 seconds to go your bow goes up and forces the windward boat up, 10-5 seconds you pull your tiller and sheet your sail for a tight reach, 5-0 seconds you accelerate your boat and sheet in to close hauled crossing the line just as the gun goes off. Of course this timing is never exact and will change depending on wind strength and how tightly the fleet is pressing the line. But, generally on a crowded line, try to hold your bow even with the boats around you and create your room to leeward fairly late in the sequence. Obviously, if the fleet is small or there is a large starting line there might be tons of room to accelerate and hit the line close hauled. Every start is different. What is the easiest way for you to create room to leeward? Have excellent slow speed boat handling skills. Being able to control your boat slowly is paramount to holding windward boats up and then steering your boat to an acceptable angle to accelerate. From big wind and waves to no air and current you must be able hold your boat's position. Some things you should be able to do are repeatedly steer and sheet aggressively to either keep your bow pointed close to the wind direction or bear away onto a reach, back wind the sail to stop or backup, raise your centerboard to slide sideways and tacking your boat without moving upwind significantly. Some tips to remember are to sit in the cockpit in a normal position close to the front. Keep the boat flat unless you want to bear away (heel to windward) or head up (heel to leeward). Make sure your your cunningham and outhaul are set for the upwind conditions. Apply enough vang to match the luff curve in the sail. This is called the base vang position and is approximately when the boom is perpendicular to the mast. This gives the sail some shape but not enough leech tension to force the boat into the wind in a gust. In breezy conditions consider pulling the vang hard just before you begin to accelerate. This depowers the sail and makes it easier to sheet in. Also, make sure your control lines are on the starboard deck and ready to go. I see a lot of slowness off the line because sailors are not 100% focused on speed through the water. They spend too much time looking at their sail and cleaning up lines only to realize too late there are faster boats to leeward and to windward. Focus on speed and keep your eyes forward on the sailing water closely ahead. After your lane is secure then make sail adjustments. There is often a major problem I see when sailors get “washed out the back” and end up in the second or third row. As you approach the line and you are holding up the windward boats make sure you do it from a controlling position. Make sure your bow is even or ahead of the windward boat(s) that you are holding up to create your leeward hole. Bow even or ahead is a controlling position. There are two problems if your bow is behind the boat to windward and you attempt to head up and create leeward room. First, the windward boat is less likely to respond or will respond slowly. Second, when you bare away onto a reach it is easy for the windward boat to do the same and blanket you. Another issue from not keeping your bow even or ahead as you approach the line is that you will be unable to to see the starting markers or spot your line sight. Additionally, there may be boats further up or down the line that are even more ahead than the immediate boats next to you. You have to look up and down the line and if necessary position yourself against boats that are 5 or 10 or more boats up or down the line. One final thought is the concept of winners and losers. The tighter the group approaching the line is the more it becomes a win lose situation. You have to recognize this situation and if there is no bailing out of it there is only great slow speed handling, aggressiveness and making certain your boat is moving when it is time to accelerate (or first to move at the gun if the group is parked on line). These types of starts are common and often unavoidable so you have to be ready to be aggressive. Starting well often is a not the easiest thing to do. But it can be done! By practicing your slow speed handling and racing often you can become an excellent starter. Good luck and good sailing! Kurt Kurt Taulbee is a 3 time US SAILING TEAM member in the Laser Class and US SAILING Level 2 Certified Coach. He can be reached at 727-631-7025 or kurt@sailfit.com.
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Coaches Corner

Getting Off the Starting Line - Part 2, Accelerating Your Boat