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Club Starting procedures
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fab100 View Drop Down
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Posts: 1005 		Post Options Post Options   Quote fab100 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Club Starting procedures
    Posted: 04 Feb 14 at 8:20am
It appears Frensham leads the way again.

For decades we've had a programmed start box machine. Tell it how many races and time of first signal and off it goes, sounding horns and lighting lights with no further intervention. As boats cross the finish line, touch a button and it captures their time.

This used to be a custom made thing but a while back was migrated to a PC with the lights running off a serial interface.

Respect to Brian Cushing (RiP) for the original and Bob Castle and Roger Gilbert (yes, the Roger Gilbert) for the latter.

Works perfectly, no confusion possible and human error pretty much eliminated

It even does pursuit races at the click of a button too

Buckets?? I'm flabbergasted
Great book for Club Sailors here
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Feb 14 at 8:03am
Why not just have a great big digital clock rather than once a minute number changes (are they manual or automatic?).


Chew uses three minute intervals, in a similar manner to Time Lords two minute method, for four starts - Handicap, Flying 15, Laser, Solo. I would be concerned that with two minute spacing the Lasers will be sat on the line at the previous start! I also think the Grafham sequence of classes is a bit strange. Why not, for example, start the cats first so they don't have a melee of closely packed slow boats to work their way through? Or last, so they can charge the line without other boats in the way.
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Time Lord View Drop Down
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Posts: 301 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Time Lord Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Feb 14 at 10:51pm
As a ps, I should add that the starting sequence hooter is automatically controlled while the flag hoists are manual but rather feel that most people go on the hooter rather than the flags coming down.
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Time Lord View Drop Down
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Posts: 301 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Time Lord Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Feb 14 at 10:43pm
If the hoot sequence and number displays are not automated, then it cold be a recipe for chaos!

We have a six class start sequence but have binned 541go in favour of simple 4 main warning then 2 min then go. Class flag flies at 2 min intervals with blue peter flown all the way through. Generally works but get occasional blips when a class does not turn out.
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alstorer View Drop Down
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Posts: 2899 		Post Options Post Options   Quote alstorer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Feb 14 at 10:22pm
If you're at a small club, you've (hopefully) got a simple start sequence. Grafham has a five fleet sequence for Sunday racing. Now, I appreciate that having starts at five minute intervals would be interminable. The "old system" used buckets, but mainly just a red one that was up and down in a confusing manner every three minutes, and boards with a numeral pennant and number as "class flags". the new system is:
In the December newsletter we announced a January trial for Sunday racing using number boards 
instead of the “bucket” system used for starting our races. 
For those of you who haven’t raced in January, this is what 
the number boards look like (with one of the “buckets” 
alongside just to show the relative size). The numbers 
change every minute, starting from “0”. When the “5” is 
displayed it’s the start for the Flying 15 fleet, followed by 
the Lasers at “7”, cats at “9”, asymmetrics at “11” and “13” 
for the All-comers fleet.
The trial is working well, so racing committee, supported by Council, has decided to extend the trial 
until at least the end of March, and also to trial it for the first three races of the Wednesday evening 
series.
For racers, all you need to know is:
1.  There’s an orange flag displayed, with multiple hoots, one minute before the sequence starts.
2.  The sequence commences when “0” is displayed with a hoot.
3.  On each subsequent minute the number changes up by one and there’s a hoot.
4.  Each fleet uses the standard 5-4-1-Go start sequence as per the Racing Rules of Sailing.
5.  Starts are at two-minute intervals, rather than the previous three-minute intervals.
6.  The number displayed for your “warning” (i.e. five minute) is “0” for the Flying15s, “2” for the 
Lasers, “4” for the cats etc.
7.  If you’re over the start line at the start, the Race Officer will signal an individual recall (using the 
“X” flag) and you have to dip back across the line, or they’ll signal a general recall (using the 
“First sub” flag) and your fleet will start two minutes after the last start, under a black flag.
8.  Full sailing instructions are available by the signing-on sheets.

Surely there has to be a simpler system for a "compact" five start sequence?
-_
Al
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