Thanks all for your comments Tim, We signal individual recall with horn and flag X from Signal boat. We also fly X from all line boats until all racers are clear (or four minutes). The best courtesy is hailing from all four line boats with powered loud hailers. We begin at two minutes hailing groups that flag I is up and the one-minute is about to commence. From one minute on we hail individuals that they are over so they can begin exoneration. Ray, having three line segments that are not perfectly straight, sagged in the middle, does not make the ends closer to the first mark. With a 1000′ start line and a 3000′ first leg set upwind from the middle of the line actually makes the middle much closer to the first mark. The mid-line boats are treated just like the end boats, as marks. Yes someone could start just to the left of one, then tack to port but, they better tack back before hitting the wave of starboard boats. Regarding running races as fair as possible, I rarely try to do this. Instead, I try to make the races as fun as possible. That includes making them very fair in championships but perfection is not possible as sailboat racing is such an imperfect sport. In college championships I try to time the starts with wind shifts that come down from the windward mark but in minor regattas I let wacky shifty starts go unless the fleet is laying the windward mark. Just last month I sent an 90 boat Opti fleet around a large island because it was fun to sail down a scenic river and finish right in front of the club. The best kid still won and all (nearly all, a few capsized) finished with huge smiles. Ken Legler
Four Boat Staring Line
Interesting Article Thankyou. Question: How did you manage signalling individual recalls, by each section of line, so flag & sound signal on each starboard end boat? and if you had, had to what was the general recall plan? Any chance of seeing you sailing instructions and procedures/instructions to starting personnel. Thanks Tim
multiple starting boats
How fair is it to have 13 to 17 foot long inflatable boats in the middle of the starting line. I assume they are considered legal obstructions and cannot be touched by a racing vessel. Do they not create large holes in the middle of the starting line w/ 7 feet of the dinghy infront of the line and 10 feet of the boat behind the starting line. It seems to me that three boats will have the best starts when timming the transoms of an inflatable with the starting signal. And do the holes / gaps encourage some to tack immediatly on port or worse start on port? I see the advantage of this line set up if you were trying to start 2 or 3 seperate flights at the same time, granted the kids have to know which starting line would be theirs and not start in somebody elses flight / starting line. I also question the fairness of having the intermidiate boats sag back 3 feet so they can see the entire line- This makes the courese technically longer for the middle starting boats. As race comitte our primary concern is to provide the most fairest race course possible. The secondary concern is to try to provide as many races as possible. If the number of races is so important, then the PRO should reduce the number of legs or the distance of the race course to accomodate more starts. Starts are made so critical that the outcome of races depends more on the clean and clear start over the tactical decission made on the water during the race. I would prefer to place the emphasis on sailing decissions during the race, rather than a start, to win a race. Racers are supposed to “sight” the line to a fixed object on shore to establish a third point of reference for the starting line, not have an intermidiate mark(s) in the starting line. I honestly believe the intermidiate startig boats on the starting line create an unfair advantage for certain boats in the starting sequence. Now the question of what is fair comes up up again between general recalls i.e. toooo many starts taking too much time or giving more boats an “earned” advantage. What I do like is the extra sets of eyes to call over early’s, i.e allowing more boats (a higher %)to be individually recalled in lieu of an instant general recall.
4-boat start line
Thanks all for the comments. For Steve P., the line was not from A to D but from A to B, B to C, and C to D; as diagrammed in the sailing instructions, which you do not have. Sorry about that confusion. Essentially there were three starting lines. As spotter on Signal boat, I only sighted to B. However, with so many “all clears” I was able to take pictures instead. Connie B., I’d love to run Orange Bowl some day with I-420s, club 420s, Lasers, Radials, and 4.7’s all using the same course. No generals, no delays, just lots of races. Until then, they should reduce drop races from two to one, which would reduce OCS’s and general recalls. This past year (including Optis) they had 346 OCS’s, 23 BFD’s and I wonder how many general recalls. Ken
General Recalls and Black Flags by Ken Legler
We were on the water during the recent Opti New Englands and were very impressed by the efficiency of the starting line. The races went off like clockwork. It was amazing. We also liked the 4 flites instead of multiple flites with two colors for each start. They did not have to wait at the starting line for the second color to show up for the next start (this happens when you have 6-8 flights and keep switching the pairings for each race (blue vs pink and then yellow vs green and grey vs purple for race 1 and then blue vs yellow, etc. for race two). The way Kenny did it, Race 1 had four starts, gray, green, yello and purple. Race 2 the same. That night, the computers did a new split keeping the fleets balanced with the rock stars in different flites. The next day had the same four starts for each race. They got off 4 races each day. It was the most efficient Opti racing we have every seen…and we have seen more than our share between Orange Bowl and our time in the Class (My husband Rick was Opti Class President for several years and has been to several European, South American and World championships).
4 Boats
Hi Great article, good ideas, maybe this should be the new standard. Sounds also like it would be well to train race committes, or have them train themselves, as much as other sports train their officials.
Black Flag article
I really like your article and agree with most of the sentiments, especially the reason fo r using ‘I’ flag. I am, however, concern by teh contradictory comments: “…we dropped both start boats “B” and “C”… back about three feet.” and ” … the race committee had not one or two, but six sets of eyes watching different parts of the line, one spotter on each end and two spotters in the middle boats looking both ways.”. If B and C aren’t on the line (and in the photo it is more like 3 yards (metres) than feet) then they can’t cal OCS. If I was starting on that line and having sighted the line, knew that B&C were behind, I would start just in front of them. Behind the line but in front of the observers. they would probably call me over when I’m not. That would never stand up with the Jury by the RC’s own admission that the line observers were behind the line.
The Four-Boat Starting Line, Or How to Eliminate General Recalls and Black Flags by Ken Legler, NRO
The Four-Boat Starting Line
Or How to Eliminate General Recalls and Black Flags by Ken Legler, NRO
Long before there was a Black Flag rule I had the honor and challenge to PRO the 470 class World Championship with 75 boats. Former Olympian Gardner Cox came along one day as an on-board observer. So I asked him “What to you do if you set square lines and too many boats keep starting over early?”
“My son, at some point you have to start sending them home.”
I didn’t want to do that. Every entry in that event traveled a long way, some from halfway around the planet. We were using a mid-line boat and discovered two tricks that solved the problem. By dropping the mid-line boat back just two to four feet, competitors arriving in the front row could see two flags lined up and stopped moving forward. They could see the line! They also knew they would be caught if they went any further because we used the one-minute, round-the-ends-rule.
For the last two Optimist New England championships as PRO I employed a four-boat line. In 2009 we had a strong ebb tide and many boats over. We racked up as many as two dozen OCS’s per race on the ebb but none on the flood. However, there were no general recalls and no black flags. All 36 starts went right on schedule and no boat with a good start ever had a do-over because of all the other boats breaking a rule (RRS 29.1 and definition of Start). In 2010 with a gentle flood tide for most of the time there were only 12 OCS’s recorded in 44 starts. Some 30 starts were “All clear!”
Using four line boats properly and flag I for prep signal virtually eliminates recall problems. In these Opti regattas we dropped both start boats “B” and “C” (Signal boat was “A” and Port-line was “D”) back about three feet. Once again when competitors first arrived on the line they knew to go no further because they could see the line flags lining up. More important the race committee had not one or two, but six sets of eyes watching different parts of the line, one spotter on each end and two spotters in the middle boats looking both ways. Almost every start had three feet of line sag.
Why flag I? It’s not about the penalty or threat of penalty having to sail all the way to an end if caught. It’s about the ability of the race committee to write down any boat they see from one-minute on, rather than trying to take a mental photograph at the gun. With flag I, a boat cannot dip back into the crowd, leaving the RC guessing if they dipped back far enough with other boats blocking their view. Instead the RC clears only those boats that comply with the requirements of RRS 30.1. To soften the round-the-end penalty, we allow boats to exonerate by going around either end OR, around either middle boat as if it were the port end boat. Yes, we need to include a diagram in the sailing instructions as it can be confusing upon first read.
It is my firm belief that general recalls are very unfair. Of course letting a number of boats go that were over but unidentified is also unfair. General recalls are also a huge waste of time. Let’s say boats A, B, and C make awesome starts but boats C-J are over and only a few can be indentified. Two guns, first repeater, do-over start. Now the Black Flag comes out. On the next start A, B, and C are over but C-J make great starts. A-C are told to stop racing but C-J are fully exonerated. What happened to the great starts by A-C at the scheduled time and where is the penalty for C-J starting illegally the first time? See the inequity?
Many sailors and race committees alike are resigned to this problem and believe the Black Flag is the only way big fleets can be started. Having run 50,00 races (literally, I made a rough count) and never having used the black flag, I can tell you the Black Flag is not only unnecessary but actually promotes general recalls.
What? The Black Flag promotes general recalls? How?
The Black Flag threat means “Don’t worry about the first start with flag P, it will likely be a general recall, but once we have a general or two, we’re going to get serious and use the Black Flag.” With that in mind competitors will push the front row, forcing general recalls until the Black Flag comes out. On the other hand, if competitors know the race committee has multiple spotters and can nab any sail or bow number they see from one-minute on with flag I (not Z, the RC can’t tell who has cleared with Z and you still have another general) they are far less likely to lead the front row forward.
This method has been a hard sell for me. Here’s what I often hear as a compromise: “Okay, I like your reasoning for using flag I but let’s go with flag P on the first start and see what happens.” This is admitting to at least the possibility of a general recall and the fleet will understand this and push forward with the knowledge that they will likely be exonerated for free until the threat level increases to its highest point.
“Three or four line-boats sounds great but it won’t work for us because (pick one) A. There’s current here, B. We don’t have enough experienced line spotters, or C. We’ve never done it before.” This last excuse is the same I hear at my 420 clinics when I let kids know we’re going to use trapeze and spinnaker at the same time. At some point you have to go outside of your immediate comfort zone and try something new. With a little practice it can be done when it counts.
Practice is key. The Premiere Racing race committee at Key West Race Week runs through practice starts and mark sets on the day before the first race every year. Without this two hour practice, this race committee would not be world class, certainly not on the first day. For smaller regattas this practice can be done in the one hour, perhaps on the morning of the first race if volunteers cannot appear the prior afternoon. Each line boat should have a laundry basket with 200 feet of extra anchor rode and a counter weight on a ten foot tether to depress the anchor rode to prevent tripping centerboards. US Sailing trained Level I Instructors (with basic small motorboat skills) make great line boat operators. All they need is good ground tackle, a radio or loud hailer, and a script.
Some sailors like the Black Flag. Why? Because it eliminates some of their competition before the race even starts regardless of entry fee or distance traveled. What a shame.
Laser 2010 US Nationals Final Results
2010 Melges 24 World Championship Final Results
Lorenzo Bressani & Uka Uka Racing Win 2010 Marinepool Melges 24 World Championship, Oyvind Peder Jahre & Storm Capital Sail Racing Win Corinthian World Title
Despite the willingness of both the competitors and the Race Committee to do everything possible to complete the final two races of the 2010 Marinepool Melges 24 World Championship in Tallin, Estonia, the wind refused to make an appearance on the final day. After a patient wait of several hours, the one painfully light airs […]
FULL RESULTS: http://worlds2010.fi/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/fin_res_race10.html
Buzzards Bay Regatta Results 2010
Final Results for the BBR 2010, this year at Beverly Yacht Club, Marion, MA:
http://www.buzzardsbayregatta.com/2010results/index.php