What's the Median Wind Direction

The first thing you should do when you arrive at the racecourse is determine the median wind direction. This means that it is always good to arrive early, and be handy with the compass. You're going to need that trusty compass often.

If your One-Design class allows it, I recommend getting a Sailcomp or a TackTick electronic compass. They're not cheap but they make a big difference in a race. One of the advantages is that these compasses have a damper built in so it compensates for the pitch and roll motion of the boat which makes it hard to determine direction within 5 degrees. Look at the leaders in your fleet and you will most likely find them equipped with these types of compasses. Also, some models of these compasses include lift and header information which is a handy graphical aid, if you aren't necessarily adept at memorizing numbers.

Winds are usually not constant. There are typically shifts occurring every few minutes while you stick around the starting line. If the winds shift to one direction and then reverses itself, it is called an oscillating shift. If the local pattern indicates that the wind will slowly back or veer for a period of time, this is referred to as a persistent shift. Sometimes you have a combination of both these shifts and that may be called a "Ratcheting shift".

Now we get to the fortune telling. If you expect that the wind is oscillating, your compass readings of wind direction can be averaged out and that could your median wind direction.

If the winds are shifting persistently, then the future wind direction will back or veer and you will have to "guess" how much it will do so on your first windward leg.

How do you Actually Track Wind Direction?

If you own a big boat and you have a wind indicator, then your instrument will do all the computations for you. For the rest of you sailors without this fancy device, you'll determine wind direction mostly by recording the compass heading on each tack and then the difference divided by two is the wind direction.

You could also go head to wind and figure out your compass heading, but this is probably not as good on your sails. If you followed my advice earlier and got yourself a TackTick Compass, then you will find that it does the computation for you which is great!

Which End of the Line is Favored?

So you now are good at guessing where the wind will come from next. Seriously, this is always the hard part. But based on your median wind direction and where you think the wind will be at the start, you need to check the line position.

Usually, lines aren't square. Thus one side of the line may be closer to windward than the other. Race Committees will often bias a line in a particular way to avoid clumping of boats to one side. For example, it is common practice to favor the pin end by five degrees to keep boats from hanging too close to the committee boat.

If the lines are very long, a few degrees can make a very big difference. For example, if the line is 20 boat lengths long and the wind shifted and one side is closer to the windward mark by 10 degrees, then when comparing two boats at opposite ends of the line, one boat will start with head start equal to 25% of the lateral distance within the line. So at opposite ends, one boat will already be ahead 5 boat lengths at the start!

This is why a tremendous importance is placed on figuring out where you start on the line.

Back to the specifics of accomplishing this. If you know the median wind direction is 100 degrees, and you take a run on the line (from the pin end, heading to the boat end) and line is perfectly square, then the line should be 190 degrees. If it is 180 degrees, this brings the boat end closer to windward and it is favored, if it is 200 degrees, then the pin end must be closer to windward. You then can say which side is favored.

However, knowing which side is favored is just part of the total equation since it does not mean you will start exactly at the favored side. There are other considerations.

Which Side of the Course is Favored?

Wait a minute. Didn't I just say which end of the line is favored? Isn't this the same thing? Sorry to tell you it isn't. Didn't I tell you racing is a difficult sport?

The next part of the equation deals with projecting where the wind will go next. If you've arrived early at the racing area and you've tracked the oscillating shifts, if the wind has gone one way, you could expect it to go back the other way at some on some semi-regular interval (I wish it were this regular...).

If you are expecting a persistent shift, then you already know where you think the new wind will come from.

Anyway, if you think the wind is going to go left, you want to be ahead and to the left in anticipation of this shift, which will be a header compared to your current course. When it actually shifts, the boat closer to the approaching wind will get the shift first and will be able to tack on the header and take the new lifted tack. This is called being "inside of the shift". Thus you want to be as close to where the next header is going to be.

If you read any of the recommended books in this website, particularly "Performance Racing Tactics", you will already know that being on the inside of the shift accounts for the biggest potential gains going upwind so this will be detailed in separate articles. Suffice it to say that knowing where you need to be on the racecourse is part of the starting strategy.

Where Do I Start?

Now that you know the favored side of the line, you will have to balance this with the value of being at the correct side of the course from the expected windshift. Additionally, you have to consider where the other boats are clumping. If one side is heavily favored, it is usually better to start roughly around that area but not exactly. For example, it is very hard to start exactly at the pin end since only one boat will have clear air.

Talking about air, that is the next big consideration. Particularly in light winds, it is critical that whichever side you pick, you do not get gassed by boats around you. If you are moving slowly or not moving at all, then you will lose even when at the favored end. In light winds, looking for clear air and patches of wind actually override the desire to start at a favored end.

To help in planning, it is probably good to divide up a line into thirds: left, middle and right. These will be the general areas where you will attempt to start in, given the requirement of clear air.

Since you may know what the favored side of the course is, it may be important to also make that part of your positioning plan. If you expect the wind to go right, then you may need to tack immediately after starting on starboard tack. This would put a premium on starting at the committee boat end since you can tack immediately into clear air.

Weighing the Costs and Benefits

Starting will often require compromises. The above discussion illustrates the many factors one needs to think of just to determine where to start. You will just need to pick the side that has the best benefit at the least cost. It is not uncommon for top sailors to minimize risks by starting in the middle.

Now you know where to start. Now comes the most stressful part of yacht racing and that is the actual starting sequence itself.

Looking at other Racers

A lot can be gleaned from watching other classes that start before you. Assuming that you believe that most racers have done the same homework as you did, it will pay to see which side of the line they start at, particularly the leaders. This is also a good cross check to see if you did your math correctly.

You can also notice if there is a windshift that has changed the favored side. If boats are lined up bow to bow, then the boat end is favored. If the boats are lined up bow to stern, then the pin end is favored.

Know Where the Line Is

This may be an obvious point to the inexperienced, but in reality, you cannot start correctly on a line if you don't know where the line is. The start line is invisible. A pin on the left and a flag on the committee boat on the right. But when you are in between the line, it's pretty hard to figure out. To make it worse, when you're with forty other boats and they are blocking your view of the pin or the flag, you could get into trouble.

This is where it is important to get a line sight. Take an object or point in land beyond the pin or boat and line it up with the start line. Make sure it is something you can see without looking at the line. When you cross that same object in your sights, then you know you have passed the line.

Another important piece of information is to know where the laylines are to the ends. Sometimes, you'll make the mistake of determining the starboard layline by guesswork and then end up missing the mark and having to jibe around to make it to the start line. Go close hauled on the line so you know where you are in relation to the layline.

It will also be to your advantage to time the line, i.e. clock how long it takes to go from one end of the line to another. This technique can be integrated into all the other prestart maneuvers.

Keeping Clear Air

An important element of your starting tactics is to start in such a way that you maintain clear air. To accomplish this, you will need to be clear of boats to leeward or ahead. Similarly, you need to be ahead of boats to windward.

Note in the above picture that the blue boat to leeward generates a large area of disturbed air from backwind. This has a significant effect on boats to windward and behind or boats that are even. The cyan boat to windward is not a problem unless it is a boat length ahead of the red boat. Thus, in this illustration, you would need to worry about the leeward boat earlier on. For this reason, one of the tactics used in racing is to create space to leeward. You do this by finding an area in the line where the leeward is clear of boats in close proximity, then you luff the boat to windward. If done right before the start, you can then use the space to leeward to accelerate and go to close hauled in clear air.

Killing Time

Another aspect of starting tactics is to start at the right time. Starting early will result in a penalty, which you definitely want to avoid.

The way to kill time while near the line is the same technique used to luff the boat to windward. Go almost head to wind until the boat practically stops. Make sure sails are eased. It is important not to be at zero speed when performing this maneuver since you will not be able to position the boat once you lose headway.

Repeat this maneuver as often as necessary to kill some seconds. Because you need to have a little headway to perform this, you will not be successful at stopping right at the line so it is best to perform this killing time technique at about two boat lengths to the line.

Note that this type of slowing technique is not something that a large boat can do but is applicable to light displacement keelboats and dinghies.

Another consideration is the strength of the wind. Luffing the boat to windward is an effective technique for both tactical control and killing of time. However, this is not a useful ploy in light winds. It may also be heard to lose headway in strong winds particularly if the big waves will quickly stop the boat.

Knowing Where the Line Is

During the final seconds of the starting sequence, it will be important to know exactly where the line is. So the crew should be telling the skipper the exact distance, in boat lengths, to the line. This is why it is critical to do a line sight.

Experienced crew can even go to the extent of telling the skipper the number of seconds to the line. This helps tremendously in the tactical approaches since the boat that accelerates at the exact time will have its bow ahead of the other boats and thus will be guaranteed to have clear air. All other boats behind will be gassed.