by Dave Acree

At the start of a race is the time where wind turbulence is the greatest. Before the ding of the starting bell, boats are circling around looking for a good starting position. All this circling of boats, cause a bunch wind shadows, and turbulence in the wind and water. When this happens, conditions are hard to sail in.
Many times I have seen and have been caught in this turbulence mess. Take a look at boats D and E in the diagram below. Both of these two boats are starting after the pack and are experiencing the wind turbulence from the five leading boats. With all of the backwind it will be difficult for boats D and E to get any good wind to start with.

The turbulence condition is even worse in light air. If light wind is the conditions of the day and you are caught in the back of the pack at the start, the odds are not in your favor. If you are the light green boat or the blue boat, you too are sailing in the backwind of the lead boats. If winds are again light, don't expect any good wind coming your way. Even boats A and B may not be in the best possible air.

In a tightly packed group of boats as the above example shows, boats A and B may be feeling some effect of disturbed wind. Because wind backs up to windward, this causes the wind to be disturbed thus effecting the sailing efficiency of these two boats. The only time in a tightly packed group of boats when turbulence is not too much of a problem is when the wind is strong and steady. When this occurs, most of the time boats can get enough wind to keep their speed up until the pack spreads out.

The only boat that has clear air is boat C. In the example, boat C is on port tack and is clear away from the starboard boats. If the wind stays steady or a lift occurs for boat C, then boat C will gain water toward the windward mark over the other boats.

The solution to this problem is not getting caught in a tightly packed group at the start. Look for a clear spot at the windward part of the start line, or if possible go on a port tack start. Above all else, keep you speed up, all the turning and tacking before the start eats up a boat's speed. It is better to be behind the leading boats with your boat at full speed at the start than trying to fight for position and end up in the disturbed air of the lead boats. The only thing you can do then is bob in the water, and wait for the wind to correct itself, and you can get underway.