Just another quick survey. What does your club using for its starting sequence for normal club racing.

Does it use 5min 4min 1 min or 6 min 3 min go?

Single or multiple fleet starts?

Shore based or committee boat start?

Flags or a light system for starting?

We use

6,3,go

Multiple fleets

Shore

Flags

6, 3 go

multiple fleets

flags

shore based

 6 min 3 min

multiple fleet starts (solo, h/cap, cat, cadet)

Shore based

Flags

Single or multiple fleet starts? Single for the summer, multiple for the busier winter series

Shore based or committee boat start? - Usually shore based (but we've recently got access to a committee boat)

Flags or a light system for starting?  - Flags

Multiple fleet starts

Usually shore based, sometimes committee boat start

We use hinged 'flag boards' for starting. Really ingenious:

folded together they display nothing,

with the lower board folded out 90 deg. at the 5 min the class flag shows,

180 deg at the 4 and class and 'P' flags show,

back to 90 at the 1 min,

then up for go, simultaneously dropping the neighbouring lower board 90 deg for the next class start. One guy does the lot. If we had an exterior hooter switch he could run the start singlehanded (some people seem to do so already - must have long arms!)

5,3,1 go

seperate start

5 fleets using 541 that is a lot of flag changes for the RO and also a long sequence. How often does the RO get it wrong?

Also why do you not like 6,3 go. A lot of clubs use this as it is easier for the RO and racers to follow? 

5 min 4min 1 min (with a bell at 10 mins)

Single start

Shore based

Flags

The Medway Yacht Club uses the 5-4-1-go time sequence as described in the Racing Rules of Sailing. Because we do not have a regular race officer and because flags are difficult to see when used for shore based starts we use 150W security lamps controlled by a computer to make the sound and visual signals so that all the race officer needs to do is click a button if he wants to order a postponement, individual recall, general recall etc. with automatic re-scheduling. The system can also log the finishing times and print out the results as soon as the race ends.

5,4,1,Go

Race 1 = all-in novice. Race 2 = Fast, Laser, Slow. Race 3 = All-in

Shore for signals, Boat for line

Lights

5,4,1,go makes it much easier to sync your watch or even busk it if your watch goes blank on the way to the line (like last night).

we use 5,4,1 go from a little dory with flags all operated by the race officer.

we only have one start per race as we only get 7or8 or boats.

5,4,1 Go

Flags with sounder

From a committee boat.

For Club racing then it's a mass handicap start (505's in with 4.7's and an increasingly larger number of Flying Fifteens).  When we have an external event then they have their own start (5,4,1 go) followed by a handicap start

Hi everyone,

My club changed from 6 - 3 - 0, to 5 - 4 - 1 - 0 shortly after the rules changed in 2001.  We use flags with an Autohoot horn system (which is great).  For club racing, there is just one start as we only have 'handicap racing'. If we host open meetings, then there are separate starts for each fleet, as normal.  Usually, for club racing, we use shore based starts with transits, as most members, who are on Race Officer duty, for club racing, are just too lazy to launch a committee boat, even though there are two readily available.

It's a shame because it makes such a difference having a decent first beat to spread out the fleet, instead of a one sided beat, fetch, reach or run to the first mark, which usually happens and boats often raft up at the first mark. 

Open meeting starts are usually on the water using a committee boat and a course mark with flags and horns.

One thing that has always puzzled me was why things changed.  I can understand the 'unofficial' change by many clubs in the 80's and 90's from 10 - 5 - 0 to 6 - 3 - 0 as the former was unnecessarily too long, particularly for dinghies, small cats and keelboats.  So what was the logic behind the change to 5 - 4 - 1 - 0?  I have always wondered as I never had a problem with 6 - 3 - 0.  As a Race Officer, I  found it easier to use 6 - 3 - 0 than 5 - 4 - 1 - 0, when there are multiple starts and/or General Recalls.  Does anyone know why the ISAF introduced the change to the present 5 - 4 - 1 - 0 system in 2001?

Ian   (Yorkshire Dales S.C.)

Grafham uses 6-3-0 as we have 5 fleets to get going.

IMO 5-4-1-0 is for people who don't know how to use their watch. 

The 5-4-1-go time sequence is intended mainly for open meetings which usually have committee boat starts. Because of the large numbers of boats and the absence of transit marks it is often necessary to have general recalls, and penalty starts are then used to make boats respect the line. Postponements are also common, so race specific warning signals are needed. The standard time sequence gives plenty of time for boats to position themselves on the correct side of the line so as to avoid a penalty. Shore based starting lines are often used for normal club racing because they require less effort. There are usually transit marks too, so general recalls and penalty starts are seldom required. The main reason for using the 5-4-1-go time sequence for shore based starts is to maintain compatibility with committee boat starts and the Racing Rules of Sailing. Lamps are much better than flags for shore based starts because they provide excellent contrast against the dark cluttered background. It is also relatively easy to switch them on and off automatically. A wide repertoire of signals can be sent from a single lamp using Morse code which is much easier to remember than flags, and timing is very precise if the signals are generated by computer.  The MYC has been using this system for cruiser and fast dinghy handicap racing for several years.

Shore based or committee boat start?

Flags or a light system for starting?

We use 5,4,1,Go

Mixed fleet start: Fast h/cap (+ cats) & Med h/cap

5-4-1 is the world recognised standard. I cannot see any reason for using any other unless races are very short - in which case the team racing 3-2-1 could be used.. The 1 minute gun is important as this is when I,Z or Black flag rules kick in. The 5 minute gun can be changed, However I believe that increasingly clubs favour using a pre-warning signal at 10 minutes before the start for the first start in a series.

For our dinghy regatta we use 5-4-1 with at least a minute between the start of one fleet and the warning signal of the next - gives every one a chance to breath, and check flags.

Individual and geneal recall flags are on poles, usually displayed by the RO or his assistant

Gordon

The problem I see with an indefinite gap (at least a minute) between starts is that racers will be uncertain when to expect their 5.

With a continuous series of starts, I use the 1 minute of the preceding  fleet to count me down to starting my watch on their start/our 5-min.

We use a 1 minute (or multiples of 1 minute if something goes wrong) simply because our committee boat team is usually inexperienced. We never have to manipulate 2 flags at the same time (X and 1st Sub are on poles), we have a minute to note OCS and other dettails, check that we are ready with the correct class flag etc. It also means that the line closes for the proceeding fleet 1 minute before the 1 minute gun!

If we had a regular committee boat team we may well do things differently. The competitors do not mind - they are even happy with the practice of not having a defined start order. For regattas we use a separate finish boat and start the classes as soon as they are finished the previous race. We are always in a hurry because we have only a 4 to5 hour tide windw to get racing in. On regatta weekends we manage 3 races per day.

Gordon