Best DB start procedure I know of was a race in the US.
Each lane had it's own 5m long floating dock placed PARALLEL to the lane (5 lanes total). The boats came into position and the paddlers on the dock side just held on. No fatigue on the crew. A marking on each dock which was aligned earlier was then lined up with the front seat of each boat. Then, the boats were pushed away from the dock with PVC poles into their lanes at the same time all perfectly lined up and the start was immediately called before the boats could drift out of alignment. No boats had any forward or backwards movement at the start.
It would be nice to see something as effective here. But, like someone said above, the perpendicular starting dock is a hell of a lot better than a free floating start.
That's something new to me. I guess I need more exposure to overseas races. Thanks for the info, amdragon.
And wassuprai, I understand what you mean about it being one of the better starts available right now. Actually, it doesn't really affect me that much. Believe me, I've been through quite a few horrible start line ups, especially at the recent MR500 with the floating starts. It's just that there were many occasions where the starter called when the rowers were making adjustments, resulting in less than ideal takeoffs. And I know how frustrated the rowers feel when that happens, which is why I do hope there will be improvements made in this aspect.
