Starting Sequence

MLP8415

New Member
This weekend I was in a regatta that had 62 boats on the line and a 2 minute starting sequence.

If you were racing with 10; 20; 30; 40; or 50 boats and more...
How long would you like the starting sequence to be?
 
The starting sequence will be outlined in the sailing instructions. It is odd, but then you don't know what kind of pressures the race committee is operating under. The briefing should also carefully explain a sequence like this.

How did it work?
 
yeah my mom does race commitee at alot of regattas and i never realized how much pressure there is because they can have a start sequence going and then their is a huge shift and they have to re set the course and stuff like that. but to ansewer your question i would expect a standard 5 - 4 - 1 sequence.
 
The short sequence is used by frostbite fleets when the object is to bang out a lot of races, and keep the down time to a minimum so you aren't sitting around getting cold.

The 2 min seq works well up to about 40 boats or so. In fleets larger then that, especially in light air, 3 minutes is better IMHO, as it allows you the time needed to get from one end of the other during the sequence if there is a significant shift.

When you have short sequences, you need to pay extra attention to not getting to far away from the middle of the line prior to the start of the sequence so you have all your options open.
 
I've never come across two minute sequence. Is it just a two minute gun followed by a starting gun (two mins later) no "Warning signal"


Ian​
 
Typically the sequence goes
5 short - attention, sequence about to begin
2 long - 2 min
1 long, 3 short - 1:30 left
1 long - 1 min
3 short - 30 secs
2 short - 20 secs
1 short - 10 secs
1 long - start
 
49208 said:
Typically the sequence goes
5 short - attention, sequence about to begin
2 long - 2 min
1 long, 3 short - 1:30 left
1 long - 1 min
3 short - 30 secs
2 short - 20 secs
1 short - 10 secs
1 long - start


The 3 minute sequence is called "Appendix Q" and it's laid out in the RRS Book. I like the 3 minute sequence. For me 5 minutes seems too long. I can't believe we used to have to deal with a 10 minute sequence, "back in the day".
 
It has been my experience in Froistbiting (in CT) events that the race committee tries very hard to get as many races in as possible and therefore uses the 2 minute sequence.
All other regettas that I have attended used the now standard 5 minute sequence.
I was curious if other areas used different sequences?
 
I don't think it matters much. My starting plan has time-specific objectives, but I only need a 2-minute warning (for large fleets; less for smaller fleets) to accomplish a good start. The rest of the time is usually spent in a holding/jockeying pattern.
 
I was in the same regatta in CT. The two minutes sequence is brutal, but I understand the need to keep the fleet active in cold weather. The race committee did an awesome job with that many boats.
 
MLP8415 said:
It has been my experience in Froistbiting (in CT) events that the race committee tries very hard to get as many races in as possible and therefore uses the 2 minute sequence.
All other regettas that I have attended used the now standard 5 minute sequence.
I was curious if other areas used different sequences?


At my club we routinely use a rolling 3 minute sequence during our club races in order to get all 5 fleets off the line. My fleet, E scows, is usually hauling ass past the starting line on our way to our first leeward gate when the last fleet is starting.
 
My frostbite fleet and my summertime fleet (two different clubs) both use RRS Appendix Q starts (3 minute sequence)
 

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