Timing Into the Hole
Hold a hole to leeward by luffing slowly, then trigger your acceleration so your bow hits the line at full speed exactly on the gun.
A great start is really about timing your acceleration. You sit nearly stopped on starboard, luffing slowly to defend a gap of about two boatlengths to your leeward — that gap is your runway. As the gun approaches you 'trigger': bear away into the hole, sheet in hard, and build to full speed so your bow crosses the line exactly on the gun. A boat parked on your windward hip with no hole of its own can't do this — it has nowhere to accelerate and gets left behind. The whole skill is counting down so your speed peaks at zero, not too early and not too late.
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
- Create and defend a hole to leeward by luffing slowly, because that gap is the runway you accelerate down.
- Count down and trigger so you're at full speed exactly at the gun, because peaking early or late both cost you the front row.
- Don't burn the hole too early, because if you accelerate too soon other boats slide into it and you lose your runway.
- Keep your bow even with or ahead of the windward boat, because that stops them sliding down on top of you and stealing your air.