I posed the following question to the fleet listserve after the downwind start in the third race last Tuesday:

What is the strategy for a downwind start. For instance, when do you set your spinnaker, when do you raise the pole?

It sparked quite a discussion…

Jakob:

It really depends on the starting line and which gate you want to round, but assuming the line is reasonably straight and assuming you don’t favor one gate over the other: Come in half speed or so on starboard tack approaching the committee boat.  Certainly not close hauled, but fairly tight.  This gives you all the rights in the world: Leeward to the windward starboard boats and starboard to the port boats.  Put your pole up and time your hoist.  After the hoist you will find yourself still on starboard with rights and you’d want to soak as much as you possibly can while staying clear of boats that got under you.  If you get to execute the hoist right at the boat you may even have room to jibe to port to get clear air, otherwise you’d fight for it with the rest of the gang until it opens up.   Really the big problem with the suggestion above is that there will be 15 other boats with the same intensions and there is only so much room at the boat…

Stevan:

Lessons learned from big boat starts, which are often downwind:  

Use the power of starboard/leeward at the right side of the line.  You can come up under boats to weather and control the”turn-down”.  Have your pole ready to go up, but raising the pole is secondary to getting the kite hoisted.  I hoist as soon as we are turned down and have a reasonable ramp down to the line.  We hoisted at about three seconds before the gun.  Be prepared to immediately jibe for clear air and the left side of the course to come back at the fleet on starboard later.

Or, if the right side is favored, reach behind the fleet on starboard with your pole and kite ready to go, timing it to get above the pin about a boatlength above the line, hoisted and going fast.  Watch for people luffing from below.  A little late to the line is fine.  Be ready to set early and get ready to immediately reach up around the pin to get in the passing lane.  But DON’T get in a continuous luffing match. 

Karl:

It depends a lot on how far the leeward mark is as well.  Part of the excitement last night was because the mark was so close and the breeze up enough that it was very difficult to get any sort of separation in the fleet.

Hans:

I did just what Jakob describes, but I was extra conservative.  normally downwind starts are something you’ll only see in distance racing, where the start is nearly irrelevant to the outcome on the course.  but even in a short race like yesterday, remember that since a late start gives you clear air, there’s not much advantage to timing the start perfectly.     the guys in the back tend to catch up to the guys in the front because their air is clearer.   makes a bigger mess at the leeward mark though…

It seemed to me that Jakob’s strategy looked a lot like a windward mark rounding, but I realized the rules were different. I asked the following question which led to some interesting discussion on rule 18, proper course, and more:

Me:

If I am understanding Jakob, you treat the committee as sort of a windward mark. Approach on starboard and round it. Is that a correct interpretation? Rule 18 wouldn’t apply in that case however. Correct?

Karl:

Correct but if you can lay the committee on close hauled, 18 DOES apply. 
 
Furthermore, until the gun goes off, you have HeadToWind luffing rights (no proper course).
 
Note also that like any start, you want speed to get out ahead and clear.
 
We had considered doing a gybe set around the RC just to get clear air, but the distance and bearing to the gate precluded that strategy.
 
On a leg as short as yesterday’s, starting late DID cost you, as you could never actually pass the wall of boats ahead of you.

Later in the discussion Karl would retract the statement on rule 18, but he raises the critical point. There is no proper course before the start. Normally when approaching the committee boat for an upwind start rule 18 comes into play, or rather doesn’t come into play, when there is no room given to a windward boat trying to squeeze in at the mark (barging). But in the case of the scenario laid out by Jakob, the ”barging” boat is the leeward boat, and has “head to wind luffing rights” as Karl says.

 Here is Dave Perry on proper course before the start:

Notice also that there is no proper course before the starting signal. That is because a proper course is the course sailed to finish as soon as possible. Obviously, you can’t start racing toward the finishing line until you are allowed to start; therefore, there is no proper course until after the starting signal is made.

This gives the leeward boat in this situation a lot of power.

Stevan:

There is no proper course before the starting gun goes off, but windward/leeward still apply and so do the rules about acquiring overlaps.  But if you are reaching in on starboard at the boat, you pretty much are guaranteed to be overlapped with any boat heading toward the mark.

There is no 2 boat length circle at the RC, its not a “mark of the course”.  remember the start mark is at  the other end of the line (and there really isn’t a 2 boat length circle there either that I’ve ever heard applied – anyone???). 

Even if the overlap is gained from clear astern the leeward boat can luff up to head to wind. As Dick Rose writes for Saling World in Same-Tack Scenarios at the Start, rule 17 doesn’t apply before the start either:

Also, because boats do not have a proper course before the starting signal, Rule 17, which requires a boat not to sail above or below her proper course under certain circumstances, doesn’t apply. 

I’m curious about the distinction of mark vs “mark of the course” as mentioned by Stevan. The commitee boat is a mark, which is why rule 18 doesn’t apply there, since it is a “starting mark surrounded by navigable water” (see Bring Your Own Plate by Dellenbaugh).  The pin is also a starting mark, but is it also a “mark of the course?”

Karl:

Sorry to clarify my mistake about 18.  Rule 18 in its specifics does not apply in that it is “starting mark surrounded by navigable water” and thus there is no 2 BL circle.  OTOH, your “proper course” is to round the mark and windward/leeward applies, so even if you have a slight overlap, the windward boat has to stay clear of you can cannot sail down on you in a way that precludes you from rounding.  
 
Similarly you cannot bear off in a way that obstructs the leeward boat’s luffing rights.

Rich:

So, if we do another downwind start, I wonder if we’ll see 25 j24s trying to get overlaps and luff each other up at the committee boat?

I get the feeling we’ll be seeing more downwind starts…

Karl:

Well the other strategy is to come in with speed, on a reach, roll over the boats that are luffing to get overlaps, bear off and gybe set with speed.  Of you are carrying extra speed, then you pop free on the gybe and are clear to sail your own course.

I may have to try that.

First of all, here was the situation:

Our strategy was to avoid the crowd at the pin. Unfortunately, with Tundra Rose (TR) to leeward of us and the starboard tackers in front of us, we felt boxed in. As we approached the pin layline, TR “helpfully” suggested that we should “make our turn.” We went for it. We tacked under Hot Pursuit and then began the luffing game. As we drifted there the jib backwinded and we tacked.

I sent the email to Joy for 2 reason: I wanted to explain to Hot Pursuit why we were there in the first place, and I wasn’t sure why we tacked and was hoping for some insight.

Here is the response from Bates McKee who was skippering Hot Pursuit:

This was an unfortunate and clearly unintended incident, so not a problem.  The collisions were very low speed because we were at that point stalled on the starting line, nearly head to wind.  We were lined up and ready to sheet in and bear off for the pin-end start, but once Juju tacked to leeward we headed up with an obligation to keep clear up to head to wind.  I believe Juju intended to hang and wait (although from that position were not going to make the pin with enough momentum to round, so an eventual bear off and jibe or circles from hitting the pin seemed inevitable, and an earlier recognition of that inevitability would have avoided the incident).

Having said that, Juju could have remained at or near head to wind if the jib sheet had been entirely released.  The reason the boat tacked was because the jib remained sheeted, and began to back at perhaps 10 degrees off the wind (still on starboard).  A rapid complete jib release would have maintained forward momentum and steerage, avoiding the tack – this is  communication between helmsman and trimmer, and is similar to ‘shooting’ to round a mark when just below layline at the last moment. Ideally at a start this is done with speed and forward momentum already established, (a very late shot when within one boatlength to leeward of a mark to be fetched, helmsman heads up gradually all the way up to near head to wind, simultaneous jib complete release, then once the midpoint of boat is beyond mark hard helm to weather or even skulling to bear off, and stern swings to weather clear).  Once the jib backs (still far from head to wind) the helmsman completely loses steerage and the eventual result is inevitable.  This ‘shooting the mark’ is a good maneuver to practice for all of us.

Regarding the global situation, when approaching on Port and overlapped with Tundra to leeward Juju may have had the right for room to pass astern of the ‘obstruction’ (the starboard tack boats), although limitations apply at a starting mark surrounded by navigable water wherein the correct maneuver is to tack and bear away rather than getting room to pass astern).  See the rule below – this is the basic situation on open water when there is a need to pass astern starboard tack boats – the leeward boat must give room for the windward boat to
pass.  An early hail is prudent, but in any case the obligation is clear, and if Juju was not within two lengths of the starting mark then Tundra needed to give her room if they were overlapped – may have been close to this zone in this case.

It never occured to me to ask for room. Looking back I’m not sure if we were entitled to room under rule 18 since I can’t be sure we were “about to round” the staboard tackers (and how that factors in), nor whether we were within two boat lengths of the pin, but I should have been thinking about that possibility. And I also understand know what it looks like so see a boat setting up perfectly for the pin (HP), and what it’s like to foul that boat. Something I don’t want to repeat any time soon!

But the biggest lesson for me was that we should be looking for the jib to back well before going head to wind and to have it fully released if and when it does. 

I’m very thankful to Joy and Bates for taking the time to answer my questions. The willingness of the better teams to help out the novices is outstanding. Hopefully it will help us get off the back of the fleet and shorten the races so that Hot Pursuit can get more races in!

To the extent that a Section C rule conflicts with a rule in Section A
or B, the Section C rule takes precedence.

18 ROUNDING AND PASSING MARKS AND OBSTRUCTIONS
In rule 18, room is room for an inside boat to round or pass between an outside boat and a mark or obstruction, including room to tack or gybe when either is a normal part of the manoeuvre.

18.1 When This Rule Applies
Rule 18 applies when boats are about to round or pass a mark they are required to leave on the same side, or an obstruction on the same side, until they have passed it. However, it does not apply (a) at a starting mark surrounded by navigable water or at its anchor line from the time the boats are approaching them to start until they have passed them

Last Tuesday we got schooled downwind. We actually beat a group of pretty fast boats to the windward mark, and were hanging tough after the set. But inevitably we got rolled and left for dead.

Just in time, there is a good article by Tony Rey on the Sailing World website focusing on downwind strategy and boatspeed in light air. Here are Tony’s 7 Light-air Tips:

1. When in doubt, heat it up slightly to keep the speed.
2. Keep the spinnaker pole tip lower than you think.
3. Communicate to the helmsman about the pressure in the sheet.
4. Keep the crew weight low and forward (dogs down in the house).
5. Keep it snug (foreguy, topping lift, and just enough backstay to keep the rig stable).
6. Trim both sails equally (don’t ignore the mainsail!)
7. Stay focused at the end of the run to ensure your rounding sets you up well for first few minutes of the beat.

Full article here.

 The key to starting is getting one that can help you execute your game plan. The best way to end up where you want to be on the line is to back it all up a couple of steps. If you know you want to be at the middle of the line at go, you know you want to be on your final approach to starboard of the boat at a 1:30, and if you know that you also know that you want to be on port in the middle of the line at 2:30. I like to tell my crew how many maneuvers we have left as it becomes apparent. We have a bow guy calling lengths to the line. We have the trimmer listening to the helmsman who only says, trim, slow, or racing…we have one person dedicated to the time and another looking back for scoopers. Our time guy is our radio guy after the start.

Now it was a waiting game. Main in Genoa out the boat can stop and lose very little distance to leeward. 15…10,9,8, genoa in main out, get the boat rolling, now point slightly below the pin, 4,3, genoa in main on slight luff to clear the pin and we are off, Klatt on our windward quarter, all clear, off to the races we go.

Full article: http://www.northsailsod.com/class/j24/j24_whatsnew.html#55

A Polish coach once said to me in typically blunt fashion: “when two boats cross tacks on the race course, you must know that one of you is right and the other one is an idiot. As you cross the other boat, think to yourself: ‘Which one am I?’”

Article: “Turning Point – America’s Cup Match – Race 3″ by Ian Ainslie

1. Crew chemistry is key. Everyone on the team should help organize the program and schedule.
2. Sail at maximum crew weight.
3. Keep the big picture always in mind. Avoid clusters of boats, get off the line with clear air, and avoid the big mistakes.
4. No protests!
5. Update the boat with the best equipment possible. Mast, boom, lines, compass, deck gear included. Work with an experienced company (such as Hall!) to ensure things are class legal.
6. Sail and practice regularly.
7. Be prepared going into the regatta. Set a schedule with the crew well in advance. For worlds especially, arrive early, get through the measurement quickly and spend a couple days with a low-key practice schedule before the regatta starts.
8. Buy new sails for a big event.
9. Thank the people who help you along the way. Our sponsors Hall Spars & Rigging and Samson Ropes made the event possible for us.

Full interview: Jens Hookansen, 2004 J/24 World Champion

We came through the gap between the leeward mark and the two boats and drifted a bit due to the course being above close hauled. As soon as we could we tacked and completed our rounding. We neither hit the mark nor the other boats, but one of them did call a foul on us.

Again we had the benefit of hindsight in the form of gps tracks. In the following animation we are the blue boat and the boat that called foul on us is the green boat. I’ve left another (yellow) boat in the animation to help indicate the leeward mark location, which is an educated guess. The red circle is roughly the two boat length circle (16 meters). What this animation shows is that we were not entitled to room:

[kml_flashembed movie="wp-content/uploads/2007/06/rounding.swf" height="460" width="460" play="false" /]

In this situation rule 18.2 applies:

18.2 Giving Room; Keeping Clear
(c) NOT OVERLAPPED AT THE ZONE
If a boat was clear ahead at the time she reached the two-length zone, the boat clear astern shall thereafter keep clear. If the boat clear astern becomes overlapped outside the other boat, she shall also give the inside boat room. If the boat clear astern becomes overlapped inside the other boat, she is not entitled to room. If the
boat that was clear ahead passes head to wind, rule 18.2(c) no longer applies and remains inapplicable.

So it’s pretty obvious that we rounded inside of the other boats but were not entitled to room. Here is what Dave Perry has to say about inside rounding when not entitled to room, taken from Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing (p.174). He first poses the question and then follows with his answer:

“Now I understand when I can and cannot be entitled to ‘room,’ but what if an outside boat leaves enough space between her and the mark; is it a foul to sneak in there?”

Absolutely not, as long as you don’t hit the mark or the outside boat or force the outside boat to change course to avoid hitting you. US SAILING Appeal 5 is clear: “When a boat voluntarily or unintentionally makes room available to another boat that, under the rules, has no right to that room and makes no claim to it, that other boat may take advantage, at her own risk, of the room so given. In that case, she breaks no rule.”

From the other drivers comments it seems that the room was left to us voluntarily:

We were inside of irrational, and they owed us room, we were about to turn into the mark and round, thus effectively shutting the door on you, but your hail and the speed you were carrying into the mark prevented me from turning, in other words, I didn’t turn in order to avoid hitting you, or having you hit me.

Kevin should have hailed you, “You have no rights, don’t go in there”and then I should have turned as I was planning on doing.

I was pretty close to the mark, and we probably would have collided had I turned.

If the other driver had wanted to shut the door on us, not only was he entitled to, but he wouldn’t have had to give us room to keep clear.

18.2 Giving Room; Keeping Clear
(d) CHANGING COURSE TO ROUND OR PASS
When after the starting signal rule 18 applies between two boats
and the right-of-way boat is changing course to round or pass a
mark, rule 16 does not apply between her and the other boat.

Rule 16 states:

16 CHANGING COURSE
16.1 When a right-of-way boat changes course, she shall give the other boat room to keep clear.

According to Dave Dellenbaugh in Speed and Smarts (No. 92, p.16), rule 18.2(d) is the only exception to rule 16 (Changing Course):

Shutting the door
Two boats on port tack approach a leeward mark. When Boat A enters the two-length zone, she is clear ahead of Boat B, so B must keep clear during the rounding. However, if A swings wide, B may try to sneak between A and the mark. A’s typical response is to turn sharply to ‘close the door.’ But if rule 16 applied, A would be very limited in her ability to do this. Rule 18.2d makes it clear that A is not limited in this way.

So in this leeward mark rounding, the outside boat had rights to steer any course she desired, and we needed to keep clear. She didn’t even need to give us room to keep clear. The burden was on us to get out of the way. Under rule 14, the other boat needed to avoid contact with us, but only to a point:

14 AVOIDING CONTACT
A boat shall avoid contact with another boat if reasonably possible. However, a right-of-way boat or one entitled to room
(a) need not act to avoid contact until it is clear that the other boat is not keeping clear or giving room, and
(b) shall not be penalized under this rule unless there is contact that causes damage or injury.

Under rule 14(b), the other boat would not have been penalized unless there was damage or injury. A question remains. Can there have been a foul if there was no contact? This should be obvious but I wanted to track down the rule that applied specifically to this question. The answer is yes, of course. The burdened boat is required to “keep clear”, which is distinct from “avoid contact.” ISAF case 88 states that “A boat may avoid contact and yet fail to keep clear.” Case 88 involves a rule 10 protest but applies in this case as well:

Rule 10 required P to ‘keep clear’ of S. ‘Keep clear’ means something more than ‘avoid contact’; otherwise the rule would contain those or similar words. Therefore, the fact that the boats did not collide does not necessarily establish that P kept clear.

So there you have it. A collision and subsequent protest were avoided due to the good graces of the other boat. If the stakes had been higher we most certainly would have been protested, and in the end we had no right to stick our nose in there. We can chalk it up to a learning experience, motivation to hit the books and study up on rule 18, and in the end, another installment of “time on the water.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Generals

Probably spelled with a “J” in place of the G to stay in the J24 theme. 

We are the Washington Generals to the fleet’s Harlem Globetrotters