Yachts & Yachting — March 2018

1 Know when to bail

If you have a gut feeling that your start

is going horribly wrong, get out while

you can! “You usually know with 30

seconds to go. It’s that scenario when

you know you’ve lost your gap or you’re

struggling to make the pin end – and

you start hoping and praying that you

might get away with it. That is the

time to bail out and re-line up and not

have a disastrous start. Do something

about it. If you know it’s not going to

be a great start, a massive gain is to be

pro-active; accept it and get out of there.

Don’t sit there waiting for a miracle.”

As Helena explains, it’s easier to

preventabadstartthanrecoverfrom

one after the gun goes, when “you

haven’tevenbotheredlookingatthe

compass because you’re far too busy

just trying to find a lane of clear air

where oxygen masks aren’t coming

out of the sky, and about halfway up

the beat, you’ve missed all the shifts”.

2 Rules, rules, rules

A big part of starting self-belief is

knowing your rights and responsibilities.

Helena says that fundamental rules to

understand include those relating to:

Windward-leeward; room to keep

clear, which comes up frequently

People drifting backwards,

becauseifyou’resailingbackwards

you don’t have any rights

Being aware of how your overlap

wasestablishedbecausethatthen

We talk to Paralympic gold medallistHelena Lucasto get five sure-fire

waystobuildconfidencesoyougetafrontrowflyereverytime

CONFIDENCE

affectswhathappensoncethestart

gun goes in terms of luffing rights

Port-starboard, that’s a given!

3 Black flag opportunity

A black flag start is guaranteed to make a

fleet ‘line-shy’, so if you are confident in

your transits: “Don’t be a sheep. Everyone

will be quite cautious, and actually that’s

a chance to get a really cracking start.

There’ll be line sag (where the fleet hangs

back) and so starting in the middle could

be a really good opportunity to get a

jump on the rest of the fleet around you.”

4 Still nervous?

Forthosewhofindstartingdaunting,

Helena recommends choosing the

starboard end, since at the pin end,

FEATURE STARTS

TOM GRUITT

March 2018 Yachts & Yachting 47