Our club in CT recently obtained a starting timer attached to a set of air
horns. It has options for 3-minute dinghy starts, five-minute starts, and
repeated starts at five minute intervals for different divisions. It
automatically sounds off at the correct intervals, and with the two horns aimed
P&S from the RC boat, seems to be heard well enough so far. Will try to find
out where they got it. It works pretty well and frees up the RC crew to focus
on hoisting/dousing signals instead of sticking their fingers in their ears to
avoid the gun blasts. Finishes still have to be taken manually. Even if you
had a UPC stripe on each contestant and a scanner on the RC boat, it would be
difficult to get the results down right each time, what with overlaps and funny
finishing angles. Guns, horns, or whistles at the finish depend (at our
club) on that day's Chief Race Officer and what he or she's used to. .