The timing of the display of the orange flag is dictated by the SI's. The RRS only mention that the orange flag indicates one end of a starting line. 
If it were up to me, I would not associate the display of an orange flag with any time limit/constraint. In your example, as an RO (unless otherwise limited by the SIs), I would just raise the orange at the beginning of the day and just leave it there. All these constraints included in the SIs around the raising of the orange flag just creates further delays and confusion around race management.

I tend to agree, that's a complication and an additional 5-minute delay in the sequence you could live without. Sometimes you may need that time for larger classes, but it's not a standard with us. Once I am on station the flag goes up. The only time I take the orange flag down is if I need to move elsewhere to fix a gate or pin, since I'm moving off the line. 

The idea of regulating a time for display of the orange flag via the SIs, mostly a minimum of five minutes but can be any time (there is no Rule 5.2 in the RRS), comes from regattas where every boat has a coach or support boat and the orange flag is a signal to remove themselves from the racing area. The wider use of the orange flag as an attention signal similar to the old 10, 5, 4 etc sequence and also that currently used in match racing also tells boats to ready themselves for a start. AP, also N and 1st Sub, being removed with one minute to a Warning Signal is a Rule that gives boats certainty as to what will happen next. Only confusing if one doesn’t know the rules. 

The orange flag was originally introduced to assist competitors in identifying the starting area and the starting vessel, and was displayed as soon as he starting vessel was in the starting area.

The 'orange flags up orange flags down' procedure is a later innovation.

The purpose of the procedure is, when there is back to back racing and large fleets to allow support vessels additional time to finish providing support to their athletes, and get clear of the racing area so as to comply with the usual restrictions on support vessels not being in the racing area when boats are racing.

I don't think the procedure was intended to give competitors additional notice of the forthcoming starting sequence. The old system with a 10 minute warning signal was changed to the present 5 minute signal in the 1995 re-write.

There is a significant difference between the orange flags procedure and the removal of the postponement signal procedure.

Moral:  don't write orange flags up/down into your SI unless you really need to for back to back races and large fleets.

Then use the Foxtrot flag as in Match racing, otherwise you've modified the meaning of the orange flag as understood in RRS:

(No Sound) Orange flag. The staff displaying this flag is one end of the starting line

In my experience, the orange flag being raised is useful in that it reminds competitors and enyone else watching that something will happen soo.  I like to rewrite S 5.2 to be a flag put up at least one minute before the first warning in a sequence, with multiple sounds.  If boats have been cruising around waiting for their start as a fleet finishes, they're put on notice that the staring sequence will be soon. I leave the flag up as I must to define the starting line, until all the starts in the sequence have occurred and longer to the end of the starting window (if there is one) for the last fleet if not all boats in that fleet have started.   It also stays up through APs and such unless I have reason to believe that the AP will be up a long time, e.g. for lack of wind.  Indeed, pulling it down while AP is up effectively says that the AP will be there a while.

If you have only one fleet, the orange flag can be a time waster in the second race of the day, in effect extending the starting sequence, unless you put it up before all the boats have finished the first race.  

Around here, much is made of taking the orange flag down four minutes after the last start in a sequence, to signal that the starting window is closed.  I don't see the point of this unless there is a straggler and it's the last fleet in the sequence of starts - the entire fleet is usually over the starting line within 30 seconds of the start (so who will see the signal?), and in any case there is no requirement to signal the close of the start window, if here is one (must be in the SIs).  If there is more than one fleet in a sequence of starts,, taking the orange flag down to signal the close of the start window for any but he last fleet to start won't work, because the flag is needed to mark one end of the start line for the net fleet.to start.

If you need to tell a straggler that their starting window closed, do the decent thing and send a RIB to tell them! Fair chance if they are 4mins behind they don't know what the orange dropping means.

If you have some start line cock up (let's assume the PRO spills his tea on the recording sheet) you shove AP up. No-one in their right mind wants to be waiting 10 mins to fix the fudged start. Just get the AP down ASAP and get the sequence started 1m later.

We tend to use the 5 minute orange per S5.2 as people were confused when the change to RRS (no sound for orange) came in. Dropping AP then putting orange up one minute later would solve the problem but is not really per definition of ‘warning’.
I tend to leave orange up unless I have a Start/finish line which requires blue finish flag. If separate finish line I use the AP to alert that I am about to start next race(s). ie. leave orange up and fly AP until I am ready for next race.

I'm not one who believes in manipulating the orange flag, which is primarily one end of the starting line.  In my view, put it up before you begin a sequence of starts and leave it up until the start line is no longer needed.   If you plan to use it as a pre-warning for a subsequent sequence of starts, take it down after the competitors have left the starting area and put it up again when they're mostly back and you want to get them to get ready to be ready.  AP goes up or down as needed, independently.

Thanks for all these comments.  It's reassuring that most ROs seem to be taking a pragmatic approach to the use of the orange flag.  

It’s great that everyone wants to be a rugged individualist but what sailors want is consistency. They want to see racing run the same way at every venue. The racing ought to be about picking shifts and going fast, not about trying to understand a different version of race signals at every regatta. Displaying orange for five minutes before the Warning, removing AP one minute before the Warning, removing the orange four minutes after the start, whether rules or not, are good standard practices. Being someone who ‘knows better’ as RO wins no friends in the fleet.  

M.Hutton, I have a lot of respect for consistency. But, as a racer, what I appreciate the most, is racing. For me, witnessing the RC wasting 5 minutes to raise a flag advising me that a race is about to start is a waste of my precious time. I know a race will start. That is why I'm bobbing out there on my fiberglass hull. Removing the AP 1 minute before a warning is aprt of the RRS. Timing of the orange flag is not part of the RRS. ROs need to use the orange flag more for it's intended use, which is signaling the end of a start line. No more, no less. 

Another aspect of the "orange flag up" is that, for boats with GPS start boxes, it signals when the line is set so that competitors can ping the ends of the line.

I'm not fond of that - but it's what the competitors want.  A starting line can go "stale" very quickly in a shifty breeze.

Unless I'm mistaken they can only ping the line "officially" from 4minutes as that's the last time the pin can be moved?

Technically, yes. But you're not being "customer friendly" by moving the line ends after they've pinged it.  Do you really want a lot of boats pinging the pin end <4 minutes to the start? Especially with boats with T-bulbs (Melges 24) that have more than a fair chance of hooking the line on the pin when they ping it?

In reality, boats will base their starting strategy on when they shoot the line (go head to wind) whenever they do it.  I've had lines that are clearly pin favored (at the time of the start) with a crush of boats at the signal vessel end - when there's no other reason than the signal boat was favored when they tested the line.

In my view, we shouldn't try to make more of the orange flag than it is. 
- Primarily, it's one end of the start line, so it has to be there by the prep flag and stay there until the start is no longer in use.
- S 5.2 makes putting it up a pre-warning warning signal, indicating the imminent, in fve minutes, beginning of a sequence.

Apropos those race management functions, it's entirely reasonable to tune the pre-warning warning in S 5.2 to the racers' needs, and in fact they often don't feel a need for a five minute wait before the warning. 

Beyond those two functions, it's Race Management hubris to go further.  The end of the start window, if there is one, can't be consistently signalled by pulling the flag down - you can't pull it down every time if more than one fleet is starting in a sequence, because it's one end of the start line, so the function invented by ROs has to go. 
Similarly, the four minute take down wait is  RM performative vanity:  in most cases, the fleet has already started four minutes later, so what is the point of waiting that long?   

In my view, consistency demands that the orange flag be up to warn that a start is imminent - SIs can set the amount of time before the warning signal, in light of the competitors' preferences.  The flag should be taken down when it is no longer needed as a start line marker.  This could be soon after the last start of the sequence, or whenever the starting window closes, if there is a competitor who might be affected.  Consistency shouldn't require that it be taken down at an arbitrary time, to signal something no rule requires.

People need to remember that the 4 minute starting window is nowhere in the RRS  or even Appendix S.  RRS 29.1, which people think it comes from, only binds the RC, to display an individual recall flag for four minutes.  It isn't even inconceivable that a boat coming back 5 minutes after the start would be starting properly.

I think here-in lies part of the problem. Big boat racing and little boat racing trying to follow the same principles.

23kts of wind, optimist race. The fleet are all present. The marks are in place. The safety fleet are in place.  But the wind has shifted 20 degrees. We can get the pin moved. And get on with it. Or we can make 8 year olds sit and wait an extra 5 minutes in a tin bath tub in conditions plenty of adults wouldn't set sail in so that we can drop orange move the line ends and restart the orange stuff...  

...customer focused?

Very normal in my world to tweak a line up to 4m with an adjustment of RC anchor length or the pin being moved.  

There’s no need to drop the orange when resetting the pin. Once the orange is up you can reset the pin, before the Prep signal, and display and remove the AP. 

I completely agree. I was adredsin the concept that:

To me orange is simply saying the start will be somewhere around here. "You've sailed to the right committee boat" that sort of thing! And yes it's this boat and not the other boat moored 200m away that is going to be finish boat.

I use the orange flag all the time as a starting vessel. In SI's 5 minutes before the warning for the first race, thereafter 1 minute before the warning signal for subsequent races. As soon as the race is started we take it down, as very often we will be hoisting the blue flag as a finishing boat. Once the fleet is finished blue flag down. Orange hoisted when we are ready, one minute later warning signal hoisted and so on. The fleet know exactly what you are doing. KISS principal

Maybe it's useful to take a look at the Race Management Manual.  This appears to establish the Orange Flag Up/Down procedure as a standard for all racing.  I think this is regrettable:  Nick Hutton has explained its use for large fleets and repeated starts.  IMHO it should be confined to those circumstances, but so be it.

M.1.1 RRS 26 Starting System
This system is defined as follows (example below: two classes (A and B) to be started successively at five minute intervals):

Race Committees are encouraged to adopt this system in order to be consistent all round the world for the benefit of sailors competing in different regattas

An independent sequence for each class is becoming increasingly common. The reason is to increase separation between classes or groups or to adjust the bearing or length of the starting line, depending, for example, on relative speeds of each class/group.

If the delay is short no signal is needed: competitors are ready to start and do not need an extra warning. However, if there is to be a long delay (e.g., 10 minutes) the Orange starting line flag(s) should be removed with no sound signal and be displayed again when the Race Committee is ready for a new sequence.. The extra time between displaying the Orange starting line flag(s) gives, allows competitors to be ready for their warning signal. This practice shall be stated in the Sailing Instructions. The wording is included in Appendix L under “Schedule of Races”. The interval between the displaying of the Orange starting line flag(s) and the displaying of the Warning Signal is not less than 5 minutes.

Some examples of situations the Course Race Officer could consider to delay subsequent starts are: changing weather conditions or if the first class already started is expected to be close to the starting line or if any other circumstance is about to affect the fairness of the succeeding start.

The orange starting line flag(s) is used to alert boats that the staring line is set and a race is about to start. If it is used for a scheduled start it should be displayed 10 minutes before the scheduled starting time (scheduled warning signal time -5)

If either AP or N is displayed, the orange starting line flag(s) should be displayed 5 minutes before the warning signal. The AP or N should be removed 1 minute before the warning signal, according to RRS Race Signals.

At the end of a starting sequence, the orange flag should be removed 4 min after the last start of the series, together with X if any.

Between starts of the same series, it is recommended to wait for at least 5 minutes between the start and the next warning signal. This allows time for the fleets to clearly separate and means that the warning signal will be displayed after the X (if any) is removed, avoiding confusion to the sailors.

If, for any reason, there is a long delay between same series starts, AP should be displayed and the orange starting line flag(s) removed

The Preparatory signal consists of just one flag and one sound signal, i.e. the P flag, however, if one of the Starting penalties outlined in RRS 30 shall apply for that start, the respective flag signal to indicate the relevant penalty (flag I for 'round-the-ends', flag Z for a percentage penalty, flags I + Z for both, flag U for the “soft Black Flag” or Black flag for the Black flag rule) replaces flag P. Only one flag has to be displayed, meaning a Preparatory with or without a specified starting penalty to be in force.

That might be out of some manual, but it is by no means a Rule 26 Starting Sequence... https://www.racingrulesofsailing.org/rules?part_id=111

Craig, it's from the World Sailing Race Management Manual and demonstrates two races back to back using RRS26. 

Unless it’s brand new I have never used or seen this sequence in the US or abroad . It does not follow signals outlined in RRS. You would have to write that all out in the SIs which is fine. 

Craig,

The Orange Flag Up/Down sequence has been around for a long time.  I think the sequence was first published in the Race Management Manual in 2013.  The Appendix L wording was introduced in the 2005 RRS.

Its switched on by a SI.

Appendix L

6.4 To alert boats that a race or sequence of races will begin soon, the orange starting
line flag will be displayed with one sound at least five minutes before a warning
signal is made.

As I've said previously, I think it should only be used for large fleets and multiple starts.

I'm far from persuaded that boats need extra time to get ready before a starting sequence.  We got rid of that in the 1995 rewrite.

Craig why would you need to write it out? Writing it out commits you to follow it to the letter.

If you use the standard SSIs you can do whatever you like with Orange (obviously it needs to be up with the Prep Flag as an absolute minimum). The fact that you choose to display it 5minutes before a warning signal doesn't have to be written in the rules does it?  Which perhaps lets you deliver the best customer experience - 

Warning if a start when necessary and being able to crack on with it when clearly everyone and everything is ready to get going and perhaps the conditions might be better not to wait.

If you have t specified the times in SIs and the aren't in the RRS then no-one can protest.

Correct it’s not part of the sequence. It’s an indication that the RC is on station and ready to start. Which is how I use it. Appendix L isn’t part of the rules or even in print in my copy of the rules. It’s a guide and has all manner of items that may or may not make sense for your event.  

As I said earlier, it is simply demonstrating two starts using 5, 4, 1, Go, with an orange flag five minutes before the first start’s warning signal. Nothing new and nothing different. It’s not expressed very well but much the RM Manual is like that! 

Calum Polwart

Said Created: Yesterday 23:45

If you're talking about the Standard Sailing Instructions in Appendix S, then no you can't do whatever you like.

RRS S5.2 states

5.2 To alert boats that a race or sequence of races will begin soon, the orange starting line flag will be displayed with one sound at least five minutes before a warning signal is made.

Hard wiring Orange Flag Up/Down into the SSI for simple small races is an unfortunate feature of Appendix S.

By the way, RRS SI5.2 is missing on this site.
https://www.racingrulesofsailing.org/rules?part_id=90

The World Sailing Version has it:
https://d7qh6ksdplczd.cloudfront.net/sailing/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/10102248/2021-2024-RRS-with-Chgs-and-Corrns-v1to-4_-Jan-1-2023.pdf

or sailing.org and sign in.

Yeah, I double checked before my post and hence said it wasnt in. I usually use the world Sailing version, but thought my recollection of orange must have been from the SSI..