THE PRE-START

The pre-start is the most exciting part of the race and is often the hardest to understand. The start is obviously the first place that one of the two teams can get into the lead and so winning the start is of the utmost importance. Who has won the start is also not always immediately obvious. Crossing the start line ahead may be less important than starting on the favoured side of the line, or having the ability to tack and control your position immediately after the gun has fired.

In the 2003 Louis Vuitton Cup, the first boat across the start line won the race 51% of the time. The teams crossed at the same time in 9% of the races, and in 40% of the races, the second boat across the start line went on to win the race.

Which side of the course should be protected
Every race day on the tow out to the course each crew is thinking about the day’s opponents. What happened last time they met, and the specific strengths or weakness of the opposite team will be considered. Will today’s conditions suit us more, is our skipper on fire, is the team tired, have we got the right sails on board? These are questions that the afterguard asks when it formulates a race plan. Then there is the weather. The big question before the start for both boats is which way will the wind shift first after the start gun has fired and so which side of the course should be protected.

Communications blackout
A ten-minute warning gun is fired to bring the racing crew to attention and to give them time to get rid of unwanted sails and equipment and collect the last bits of intelligence from the weather team and coaches before a communications blackout with the rest of the world begins. When the five-minute gun is fired and the crews are under the starters’ orders, no outside assistance is allowed.

To dominate the opposition
With all of the strategic and tactical questions answered, a crew will take its boat downwind into the starting box as the five-minute gun has fired and engage the opponent. For the purposes of identification the boat entering from the right hand end of the line will fly a yellow flag from its stern whereas the boat entering from the left hand end will fly a blue flag. The five-minute countdown to the start gun, often called the pre-start period, is used by both opponents to attempt to dominate the opposition through a series of manoeuvres, set plays and good old-fashioned skill. The pre-start period has two aims, firstly to start well and on the correct side of your opponent and secondly to avoid being penalised whilst trying to force a penalty onto the opponent in the close quarter manoeuvring.

The most sought after skills in an America’s Cup helmsman
Judging the time and distance in the final approach to the start line with the aim of hitting it at full speed as the gun goes is a critical timing moment and represents one of the most sought after skills in an America’s Cup helmsman. Cross too early and a boat must return and start again, losing time to the opposition. Cross too late and the opposition will benefit from this oversight.

Only one of the boats has the left or the right
As the start gun goes the two boats will be seen crossing the start line heading upwind towards the first mark. But a closer look at the pair will reveal that one boat is on the left, while the other has the right side of the race course. They may be close, one might have crossed the line ahead of the other but only one of the boats has the left or the right. As the wind shifts in one direction or the other, the boat on the side of the direction of the wind shift will benefit.

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