Race timing for club racing and regattas

It’s about time.

541Start® brings race timing, automatic handicap calculations and clear, saved results together. Time to leave hard-to-read printouts, missing sheets and manual calculations behind.

See the features

Single or staggered startsClub races and grouped fleet starts in one system.

Built for race officersClear controls and Finish Queue for busy finish lines.

Results you can find againAutomatic PY calculations and a saved race archive.

EXAMPLE SAILING CLUBSunday club race

Get the fleet ready

3 checked in

Find a sailor, sail number or crew

Example race entries
Sail	Class	Check-in
2048	Solo	Checked in
3710	Merlin Rocket	Checked in
22810	Enterprise	Checked in

Ready for the startBring in your entries, check in sailors and organise start groups.

Keep the fleet in view

Race underway

Race elapsed00:46:20.36

Single start
3 boats

Example race times
Sail / class	Status	Elapsed
22810Enterprise	Racing	00:46:20.36
3710Merlin Rocket	Finished	00:40:00.00
2048Solo	Finished	00:45:00.00

Finish QueueCapture the crossing time, then match it to the boat.

Clear results, ready to share

PY calculated

Illustrative PY results: example handicaps and elapsed times
Place	Sail / class	PY adjusted
1	2048Solo · PY 1139	00:39:30.50
2	3710Merlin Rocket · PY 980	00:40:48.98
3	22810Enterprise · PY 1137	00:41:11.42

Kept together in your results archiveReview the result, record corrections and download the files.

PDFCSVSailwave

Illustrative views with example data. Select a tab to explore.

Race days are busy. Race timing should not be the hard part.

Help your race team focus on the fleet, with clear entries, quick finish capture and readable results that stay with the club.

Prepare the fleet before race day

Bring in sailors and boats, prepare event entries and use quick check-in on the day. Find people by helm, crew or sail number.

Keep staggered starts in step

Use start groups for a regatta: the start of one group triggers the next group’s five-minute countdown, with manual controls when needed.

Finish the race, keep the record

Review official results and record the reasons for corrections. Find PDF, CSV and Sailwave downloads together in the race results archive.

Let the system do the PY maths

Calculate PY adjusted times automatically. View the official RYA list, with optional Merlin sail-number adjustments where your club uses them.

Everything you need to run a dinghy race day with confidence

From preparing the fleet and running the start sequence to reviewing results and finding them again next week.

Simple race timing

Start and track boats for an ordinary club race or a larger regatta.

Single-start race mode
5–4–1 and 10–4–1 sequences
Lap and finish timing

Staggered starts made easy

Run grouped starts with a clear view of which fleets have started.

Start groups by class
Automatically chained countdowns
Manual start controls

Finish Queue for busy lines

Capture the finish time first, then identify the boat—helpful when several cross together.

Capture close finishes
Match times to competitors
Live race order

OCS, DNF and DSQ handling

Record race statuses and review the official outcome when decisions change.

OCS recall and clear workflow
Optional OCS penalty marks
DNF and DSQ status handling

Results review and official control

Check raw finish order alongside the official result, with a record of corrections.

Swap finish order
Edit official times
Record reasons for changes

Automatic PY calculations

Produce corrected times using the class handicaps and your club’s applicable adjustments.

Automatic PY adjusted times
Official RYA PY list viewer
Optional Merlin age adjustments

A results archive for your club

Keep completed race results together, ready to revisit and download.

Latest races first
PDF and CSV downloads
Sailwave export

Race saving and recovery

Automatic saving on the race device helps you recover your work after an interruption.

Saved race progress
Restore a saved race
Retain recorded start and finish times

Registration and quick check-in

Prepare event entries and check sailors in quickly when they arrive.

Search helm, crew or sail number
Check-in and withdrawal controls
Add late competitors

Help with your sailor list

We work with your membership export or spreadsheet to prepare sailors and boats.

Assisted import and review
Shared and club boat support
No member email addresses needed

Bring in your race calendar

Build your programme from Google Calendar, a CSV file or manual entries.

Race dates, names and start times
Multiple races on one day
Repeated-import checks

Connect your DutyMan roster

Bring race officer and safety boat duty details into your race setup.

Optional DutyMan connection
Race officer and safety boat duties
Help configuring your club’s connection

It’s about time the paperwork caught up.

Clear finish times. Handicap calculations done for you. Results your club can read, download and find again. 541Start brings the race-day record together, from the first signal to the final result.

Club racing and regattasAutomatic PY calculationsSaved results archivePersonal help getting started

Fits the way your club works

We’ll help you get started, using the information and systems your club already has.

Runs in your browser

Open 541Start in a web browser. During setup, we’ll walk through the device and browser your race team plans to use.

Works with your existing information

Keep your membership system. We help prepare sailors and boats from exports or a spreadsheet, and bring in your race calendar and optional DutyMan details.

Set up with you, for your club

We help with club settings, imports and your first walkthrough. Your three-month trial starts when we hand over your prepared club setup.

How it works

One straightforward workflow, from preparing the race to keeping the result.

Prepare the race

Choose the race, check your sailors and boats, confirm entries and organise any start groups.

Run the start

Choose your sequence and run a single start or chained group starts for your fleets.

Capture the finishes

Use Finish Queue and the live race controls to record boats as they cross the line.

Review, save and share

Check official results and PY adjusted times, then download the race files from your results archive.

541Start. It’s about time.

About timing races—and about making the work around them simpler.

About race timing

541Start takes its name from the familiar 5–4–1 start sequence. Timing is at the heart of the system, from the countdown to the finish line.

About time things were clearer

Readable results, automatic handicap calculations and a saved record make race administration easier for the people giving their time to the club.

About your time, too

A demo and personal help with setup let you explore what works for your club, with someone to guide you through the next steps.

Ready to make more of your race day?

See 541Start in action, ask us about your club and get personal help with setup. We’ll arrange a demo with you and explain the next steps, including pricing, before you decide to proceed.