Best starts for records

The essentials

On a record you choose the start time yourself, and a few hours of difference can be worth a day at the finish. The Best starts for records page routes the record for a start every two hours over the next four days.

How to read it:

• choose the record, then “All options” or “No options”: each start is routed both ways, and the best window is not always the same;
• the box “Best start in the latest run” gives the start time to keep, the duration and the arrival;
• the table “Expected duration by start time and weather run” has one row per start time and one column per GFS run, the latest on the left;
• from green (shortest duration) to red (longest).

The start table of a record

Going further

• Reading along a row. A row that stays green run after run is a reliable window. A start that changes color at each run depends on a weather system that is still poorly forecast.
• "?". It marks a routing that did not finish; “doubtful routing” marks a result that departs too much from its neighbours to be credible.
• Latest run list. “Latest run: starts from the fastest to the slowest” gives the duration, the arrival and the gap with the best start.
• Limits. The routings are made with the boat shown at the top of the page, full energy at the start. Beyond five to seven days the GFS forecast becomes uncertain: for a long record the first days matter more than the end of the course in the choice.
• In the app. For a delayed start in the app, see the FAQ question.