Starting
Starting is often quoted as 70% (or some other high figure) of the race. Whilst I can not see how you can derive an exact figure, it is certainly very important, especially in a fleet such as Lasers where at the top end there is very little difference in boat speed (everybody is fast!)
Being able to start consistently well is a key skill in today’s regattas as often there are very few discards, perhaps just one from the final series. So being a good starter is essential. If you have not raced for a while it is often worth going and doing some practice regattas before your more important championships so as to get some starting practice.
There are three elements to starting. The first is speed. You need to be able to accelerate as quickly as possible. This means having the rig set up correctly (you should practise sailing upwind first). In the Laser you would have the downhaul and the outhaul set, but leave some of the kicker off until just before the start to make the boat easy to manoeuvre. You need to be able to bear the boat away, sheet in and hike, before bringing the boat up to close hauled at full speed.
The second element is positioning. This is not only positioning yourself at the right end of the line considering the bias, the way you wish to go up the first beat and where your nearest competitors are starting, but also how you position yourself relative to the boats around you. You need a space big enough so you can easily accelerate the boat but not too big so that another boat can get in the gap! If you keep your bow down too low when someone comes underneath you, you could get pushed over the line, but if you sit close hauled someone can slot in very closely underneath you, giving you no room to accelerate into.
Lastly there is timing. How quickly are you drifting down the line is especially important if you are waiting for a gap to appear by the committee boat or if you are getting close to the pin end! Also how much time does it take to accelerate the boat? You do not want to get rolled by the boats around you, but you definitely don’t want to be OCS… so a few practice runs are well worth doing, as the more difficult the conditions the longer it can take to get up to full speed.
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