Hi guys, I would like to hear your advice how to get the good acceleration speed from the start line to 50m and 100m. I am always left behind even if I did online start. There must be something different wrong but I could not find. Not possible to compare with others as I am practicing alone. My starting way is, tiller middle lower angle than beating with full sail set and half hike at mid wind (my weight is 90kg). Then I sheet in and flatten the sail in 50m. In this way, I lost height a lot and speed is same or slightly slower than others. In total, left behind a lot. I hope you can understand what I mean.
acceleration from start in 100m
- Thread starter manatwork
- Start date
For the first 50-100m have your sail a bit fuller than normal as you will be fresh at the start. CLEAR AIR is important. If you get stuck behind someone tack, even just for a little while to get away from the dirty air in the main fleet.
The LaserWorld January 2008 issue has a great article on starts:
http://www.laserinternational.org/laserworld.htm
The LaserWorld January 2008 issue has a great article on starts:
http://www.laserinternational.org/laserworld.htm
I agree, people at our club get obsessed with starting at the favoured end of the line. This means they are all bunched up and in dirty wind with nowhere to go.
I tend to get a good start by keeping away from that lot and concentrating on sailing in clear air away from other boats.
Of course I then usually capsize/drop the tiller/drop the mainsheet/hit a buoy/hit another boat/miss a mark/miss my toes traps/tack too soon/tack too late/have the kicker, cunni,outhaul,traveller,mainsheet, set wrong/forget where the finish is/break something/ somewhere along the course which throws away all that good work, but I'm working on those minor points!
Nicko
I tend to get a good start by keeping away from that lot and concentrating on sailing in clear air away from other boats.
Of course I then usually capsize/drop the tiller/drop the mainsheet/hit a buoy/hit another boat/miss a mark/miss my toes traps/tack too soon/tack too late/have the kicker, cunni,outhaul,traveller,mainsheet, set wrong/forget where the finish is/break something/ somewhere along the course which throws away all that good work, but I'm working on those minor points!
Nicko
jeffers
Active Member
Starting in clear air away from the favoured end will work well in club races where you will have relatively short start lines. On a long start line with a long first beat you will lose a lot more by starting at the wrong than by starting at the right end in dirty air (you can always clear your air by putting in a short tack if you find yourself bogged down).
The new edition of the rules helps those waiting on the start rather than those who are late as well so you should be able to build a small gap to bear down in to and accelerate away.
I always find I get stuck in cub races but i al;ways manage to clear my air quickly by looking round. There are times when i just say stuff it and start in clear wind too (if the beat is square then this can work very well, with a bit of a lucky shift of course).
Practice stopping and accelerating the boat away in a non race situation (get out there with some friends and ideally a powerboat who can whistle you to stop and start). Do a couple of hours of this and your starting will improve no end. It is an exercise I have used on racing courses at my local club.
The new edition of the rules helps those waiting on the start rather than those who are late as well so you should be able to build a small gap to bear down in to and accelerate away.
I always find I get stuck in cub races but i al;ways manage to clear my air quickly by looking round. There are times when i just say stuff it and start in clear wind too (if the beat is square then this can work very well, with a bit of a lucky shift of course).
Practice stopping and accelerating the boat away in a non race situation (get out there with some friends and ideally a powerboat who can whistle you to stop and start). Do a couple of hours of this and your starting will improve no end. It is an exercise I have used on racing courses at my local club.
this is pretty basic, but I tell most people, it's ok to foot off a couple degrees in the first 20-30ms off the start.
If you don't have the best acceleration right at the line, this will allow the boat to get up to top speed quickly. Don't try and pinch at the very start, or someone will get bow out on you, and then it's dirty air city
Also, hike like you have never hiked before if it's windy. Every last bit of weight out! Just getting that bow out and finding a lane is so critical in a big fleet.
If you don't have the best acceleration right at the line, this will allow the boat to get up to top speed quickly. Don't try and pinch at the very start, or someone will get bow out on you, and then it's dirty air city
Also, hike like you have never hiked before if it's windy. Every last bit of weight out! Just getting that bow out and finding a lane is so critical in a big fleet.
Many thanks for your comments. But this weekend I found my problem was not from dirty air of fleet. I asked a member of my club to start at the same time in parallel but in certain distance that will not influence mutually. We repeated 100m dash sailing 4 times and I've lost all 4 times. I was always behind 5 to 7 meters behind him within 100m and the difference always began 20 to 50m after the start and it kept till 100m. If I tried to make flattenning sail earlier, the delay became more. ( wind was 7 to 10 knots, not chopy water). He says he does not adjust kicker at all during first 100m for such moderate wind and concentrates on boat trim. I am confused now.....
As you're a big bloke (like me) then you wont need anywhere near as much kicker as the lighter guys.
I use a 8:1 kicker, and to set it for medium winds i just sheet in until the mainsheet blocks are about 3-4 inches apart, and tension the kicker to that. cunningham right off, outhaul about 5-6 inches from the boom at the cleat. a few seconds before the start, get the boat moving, and sheet block to block. Flat hike, and drive the boat fast through the choppy water. Dont pull kicker any tighter until you're in clear air, because by keeping it loose, you'll have more leech tension, so will be going higher anyway.
For the record, I weigh around 100kg (but just got back in the gym so hoping to lose it all again!)
I use a 8:1 kicker, and to set it for medium winds i just sheet in until the mainsheet blocks are about 3-4 inches apart, and tension the kicker to that. cunningham right off, outhaul about 5-6 inches from the boom at the cleat. a few seconds before the start, get the boat moving, and sheet block to block. Flat hike, and drive the boat fast through the choppy water. Dont pull kicker any tighter until you're in clear air, because by keeping it loose, you'll have more leech tension, so will be going higher anyway.
For the record, I weigh around 100kg (but just got back in the gym so hoping to lose it all again!)