I'm a bit of a novice to racing but I try and learn something from every event. Thats why the Port Philip cup yesterday was so good as I competed in 3 different races and there was lots to think about.

One of these is the importance of getting a good start. Every race at PPC was a beach start behind a line about 2 meters from the waters edge. You had to pick up your board and carry it to the water. This was the first challenge. The handle is in the middle of the board so as soon as I broke into a sprint the front half of the board would get windage and want to swing sideways.

I tried holding the nose of the board in one of the races but this was awkward and made it difficult to accelerate off the mark. It looks like one of LSDs ideas would work well though. Handles mounted in the nose. Was this a specific innovation for racing and how did it work? I noticed you guys all got a great start.

In the recent Dr race, Scott McKercher was paddling one of the new starboard 12'6" race boards. I noticed his board had 2 handles on each rail similar to one of the surf life saving paddle boards. He had his leg rope attached to one of these handles.