Mid-Line Start & The Sag
On a long line the middle boats can't see the ends and hang back — sit on the real line with a transit and you burst out ahead of the sag with clear air both sides.
On a long start line the boats in the middle can't line up against either end, so they play it safe and hang back — the line bows downward into a shallow U called the 'mid-line sag'. If you have sighted a transit (lining up both ends against an object on the shore) you know exactly where the real line is, so you can sit right on it while everyone around you sags back. On the gun you accelerate out a length or two ahead of the pack with clean air to your left and right. The middle is a great choice when the wind is oscillating and neither end is strongly favoured — just don't be early, because in the middle you can't easily slow down or bail out.
Opens the animation on the boat-length grid — run it well, then brief it from the same picture. Free, no account needed.
What to call out
- Sight a transit by lining up both ends against a shore object, because that is the only way to know where the real line is from the middle.
- Hold your position on the real line while others sag back, because that single boatlength is free distance on the gun.
- Pick the middle when the wind is oscillating and no end is strongly favoured, because it keeps clear air on both sides.
- Time your acceleration to reach the line exactly at the gun, because being early in a crowded middle is dangerous — you can't bail out.