Phase: Start | Owner (6-person): Tactician
Decided before the first gun — the plan is settled with the Helm by the 5-minute warning, not improvised in the lull. The Tactician determines:
- Which end of the line is favoured, and how much — pin or boat end, judged from the line’s angle to the prevailing wind direction and shifts; the margin sets how hard to fight for it.
- Which side of the course to favour on the first beat — layline risks, current, the fleet’s tendencies, and where the shifts are predicted.
- The start plan itself — approach speed, the chosen hole, time-and-distance calls, whether first or second tack protects the plan; and the first few minutes’ calls after the gun before the fleet settles.
Recommendations go to the Helm; Helm signs off — one plan, agreed by both, spoken in short sentences. Bow is told the plan early; he calls the line against it.
Source: 261027 Crew Job Descriptions | Section: Six-Person Crew