by Thunkd
Pick up a boat. Wait until the last turn of the round before you play it. You'll be start player in the next round and get first pick of all the juicy stuff that just came out. It's hard for her to stop this. If she plays one boat, you'll still be able to play your boat on the last round and end up on top of her. In order for her to avoid it, she'll have to play two boats.In the next round you can fight over boats. There are only so many that come out in a round. If you grab at least one, then she is in a tough spot. Does she take the lead early, in which case you can wait until the last turn and get choice pick in the next round... or does she leave you as start player the entire round?
If you can grab all the boats in a round, you're golden. You completely control start player. You can probably play enough to make it difficult for her to grab it back next round.
Ignoring the boats altogether seems like a foolhardy plan.
Instead of saying "Start player is too strong" it might be more appropriate to say "Misplaying boats is not strong".