Changing the game at the start

From one who was once skeptical of technology creeping into race starts: There’s an acceptance that the benefits are real. Mike Ingham takes a look at starting systems that are changing the game.

Spotting the starting line by eye is a practice that has remained unchanged for generations. For small fleets, a simple look down the line works well, but as the line gets stretched out to accommodate a big fleet, calling the line by sight is an impossible task for even the most seasoned and eagle-eyed spotter. And bigger fleets are usually more aggressive, which compounds the problem. General recalls are no fun, unless you like starting practice, and black flags are real buzz killers.

Rumor has it that the black flag was invented on the fly with a skull and crossbones flag back in the day out of a race committee’s frustration at a J/24 Midwinters in Miami. I once sailed a world championship that had 14 black-flag starts in 10 races, and besides the significant time squandered, I found the results to be unfair, with the regatta ultimately decided by who was best at staying hidden. – Full report