Why are there still teams that think they will get some kind of great advantage by waiting until the last possible second to come up to the start line? Give me a break folks. It is no wonder some Starters get pretty pissy by the end of a regatta because these teams think they are so smart that they will hang back and then out of shear frustration the starter will let them coast up to the line and they'll get a running start. Funny, most teams I've witnessed pulling this stunt usually don't even finish top 3 in their heat. If a team is intentionally holding way back off the line and making no effort to move up to the line after no more than 2 calls by the starter they should be disqualified, no questions asked.

Seems like you lost to a team that did that

It actually does work sometimes, which is why teams still do it. And they don't penalize this enough, which is why teams don't stop.

It's frustrating as a competitor because you're thinking "Just DQ the jackass already!" but they only get warning after warning, and no TP or DQ.

You just have to keep your head, and trust your own cox to keep your boat ready.

Yeah, agreed. Guess it does still work which is why some teams still do it.

So,

ATTN: All starting line officials
I agree with above, DQ or TP is good enough.

Only this way will intentional delaying stop as we've all been out there on the line waiting... getting soaked or getting baked.

Sometimes when their is a big headwind or tailwind it may be hard to hear the starter.
However, there is no excuse in calm conditions.
The starter should also give penalties for crews that take a stroke just after they've been asked to hold the boat - hmmmm....the back six or four quickly take one short momentum pull.

best starter was the one at CNC

Huntsville was great in terms of race starts. The starter let the teams (at least in the pouring rain) come up to the start line themselves - no directions, except 'come to the start'. When everyone was close to where they should be she did a bit of jockeying and started the races. Admittedly, racing conditions were not great ... all that rain, but she did a great job.
I wish more regattas could run so well.
Good job Huntsville.

Forward momentum is bettr then backwards momentum regardless of how little it helps. What do you mean most of the races I've winessed? Most regatta you can't see the start unless you're on the line. Perhaps you keep your damn eyes in the boat and shut up and paddle.

While we're talking of the start, what pisses me off is when the starter tells a team to back it down, or bring up their boat, and the cox or the drummer tells their team to do nothing.

Our team had to endure long alignment delays because the offending team didn't react at all causing all other boats to be out of alignment.

If you're a steer, DO your job: STEER. I see experienced and noob steer both act like they know exactly what they're doing. The race will not start until everyone is LINED UP.

Jeez, I'm heading over to Rawdon DBF this Sat. if one of you jackass cox is trying this sh!t again, I'll "discuss" it with you after the race.

n00bs make me laugh

Its funny how everyone on here posts as if they are perfect angels! Remember that when you point a finger at someone, four at pointed straight back at you!!

Get a grip!!

which teams don't do this? Oh yeah...the ones who lose.

I've seen this both work and backfire - i.e. the starter waits til they drift over and then the team is back paddling when they hit the line at the start.

It definetly used to be the case that it would work more often than not. As starter quality has improved you don't see this working too much anymore, and certainly not at sport regattas. Not really a good strategy any more.

if starters did start while they were backpaddling, that would be great. maybe that would get them too stop.