The Laser Sailor Summer 2014

速 SUMMER 2014 6 continents, 122 countries - the biggest adult and youth racing class in the world

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Official publication of the International Laser Class Association North American Region US Postal Service: Please return undeliverables to: ILCA-NA 2812 Canon Street San Diego, CA 92106 USA Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608 Please return undeliverables to: Bleuchip International PO Box 25542 London, ON N6C 6BC

Editors

Sherri Campbell & Jerelyn Biehl ILCA-NA

Officers Andy Roy Chairman 15 Claudette Court Peterborough, ON K9J 7Y7 Canada 705-750-0189 aroy1@bell.blackberry.net Meka Taulbee Vice Chairman Dunedin, FL USA 727-631-7005 meka@sailfit.com Eric Reitinger Treasurer 7908 Normandy Drive Mt Laurel, NJ 08054 609-206-2973 er4599@gmail.com John Long Secretary 4707 Sierra Madre Road Santa Barbara, CA 93110 805-705-1435 jlonginsb@yahoo.com Al Clark Member at Large 337 E 6th North Vancouver, BC V7L1P7 604-988-4799 al.clark@shaw.ca

SUMMER 2014

District Contacts .....................................................................................................6 Treasurer’s Report ..................................................................................................8 The Laser Regatta Experience............................................................................10 ILCA-NA Membership Promotion....................................................................12 What’s Up With the Layline?..............................................................................14 Coaches Corner: Mike Kalin & Ryan Minth....................................................16 Trailer Tricks...........................................................................................................18 2014 Event Schedule..............................................................................................21 Laser World Insert .........................................................................................center Racing Lasers - Then and Now.--Part 2...........................................................22 Regatta Reports Masters Report........................................................................................24 Midwinters West.....................................................................................26 North American Championship...........................................................28 District Reports.....................................................................................................30 I Need to Develop More Strength!.....................................................................38 Why Join the Laser Class?...................................................................................40 Membership Applications....................................................................................41

® SUMMER 2014 6 continents, 122 countries - the biggest adult and youth racing class in the world

Cover shot: Action from the District 10 Champs - photo by Tom Lord

Sherri Campbell Executive Secretary 2812 Canon Street San Diego, CA 92106 USA phone: 619-222-0252 fax: 619-222-0528 sherri@odmsail.com

www.Laser.org

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District 1

District 9

District 18

District 2

District 10

District 19

Danielle Dube, 8 Sunnydale Dr Glen Haven, NS B3Z 2T8 902-823-2802, danielle_dube947@hotmail.com Philippe Dormoy, 385 Place Desmarest, Ile Bizard, Quebec, H9C 2G8 514-620-8124 Philippe_dormoy@steris.com

District 3

Nigel Heath 416-417-0193; nigel_heath@manulife.com D3 website: www.d3laser.com

District 4

Brigitte Smutney, Sail Manitoba; 409-145 Pacific Ave. Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2Z6 204-925-5647 sailing@sportmanitoba.ca www.sailmanitoba.com

District 5

Mark Lammens 510 Cynthia St. Saskatoon, SK S7K 7K7 306-975-0833, sasksail@sasktel.net www.sasksail.com

District 6

Andy Hunt, 111-2260 W 8th Ave Vancouver BC V6K 2A7 604-733-9663, hotline: 206-525-5788 athunt@vcn.bc.ca www.district6x.ca

District 7

Derek Snow 28 Starlit Road Tiverton RI 02878 401-625-5973 Laserd7@gmail.com

District 8

Lindsay Hewitt & David Trinder 631-692-4798: lymanthorne@aol.com 631-418-5220: dtrinder@gmail.com www.LaserD8.org

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Chas Williamson, 9 Lagrand Court Ithaca, NY 14850 607-272-0630 cw26@cornell.edu

John Shockey 216-386-1920 johnrshockey@gmail.com

Eric Reitinger 7908 Normandy Dr Mt. Laurel NJ 08054 Er4599@gmail.com http://d10.laserforum.org

District 20

Jon Deutsch 3422 Blithewood Dr, Richmond VA 23225 804-305-1244, jon@laserdistrict11.org http://www.laserdistrict11.org

District 21

District 11

District 12

Glenn Walker 6255 Turtle Hall Dr, Wilmington, NC 28409 910-612-5618 gwalker@mindspring.com www.d12laserforum.org

District 13

Michelle Davis laserbrain2@hotmail.com www.laser.org/m/_general/d13.asp

Ken Swetka 27022 Koerber St., St Claire Shores, MI 48081 248-635-5363 www.d19laser.org

Steve Dolan 21140 Chancery Ct. Brookfield, WI 53045 262-506-8879, dolan@mcw.edu Facebook: Laserd20 Matthew Thompson D21.sec@gmail.com D21.laserforum.org

District 22

Kurt Hoehne, 524 N 67th St Seattle, WA 98103 206-335-8776, kurthoehne@gmail.com

District 23

District 14

Geoff Hurwitch Geoffh437@yahoo.com

District 15

Nick Burke nburke@skysail.com http://skysail.com/sailing/d24/

Britt Drake 805-252-3829 cbdrakelll@yahoo.com Forest Atkins 157833@gmail.com 214-686-7035 https://groups.google.com/ forum/?fromgroups#!forum/txLaser/

District 16

Tim Fitzgerald, 2322 Bromfield Circle Wichita KS 67226, 316-650-3636 TIMFITZ875@gmail.com

District 17

District 24

District 25

Jorge Suarez, 7 Covina Ave Long Beach, CA 90803 562-260-8116. jorgesuarez0@yahoo.com Groups.yahoo.com/group/nalaserdistrict25

District 26

Guy Fleming, 44-392 Olina St. #6 Kaneohe, HI 96744-2617 808-955-4405, guynsyd@hawaii.rr.com

John E. Coolidge, Jr., 1113 Hanover St Chattanooga, TN 37405 423-309-1926 jc@chattprint.com

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Treasurer’s Notes

I’m going to pass on this issue’s Message to ExCom member, Eric Reitinger ...... I’ve been a bit focused on writing another article (see Part 2 Laser Racing Then and Now) for this issue that I hope you’ll enjoy. Have a great summer of Laser sailing! - Andy Roy, ILCA-NA Chairman

By Eric Reitinger - ILCA-NA Treasurer

to see their enthusiasm every time they come to an event. The junior turnouts get larger and As I arrived at Surf City for the larger over the years and they see how much Annual Orange Coffee Pot regatta, my first everyone enjoys sailing the Laser, creating regatta of the year, time was spent walking friendships after traveling all over the country/ around and seeing my friends that I haven’t world racing these boats. seen since the previous fall. We got their It’s a great time to be a Laser sailor boats off their trailers or cars and caught up. and here are just a few reasons: The trophy, an Orange Coffee Pot mounted We see sailors coming back to on a base is impressive particularly when you Lasers after years away from the boat. There see all the names on the trophy. This is the was an article written in the previous issue longest continuously running Laser regatta in

by Matt Fisher, a Lightning world champion, the world, with Skip Whyte winning the first on how he decided to come back to the Laser time back in 1972. We were fortunate to see for the Master’s Midwinter circuit and how him back at the event back in 2008 when I much fun he had. We also see people like was able to add my name to the trophy. This John MacCausland, racing his Laser when year’s running included 6 previous champions not racing his Star. While the Laser isn’t the and we welcomed John MacCausland, current primary boat for many, they still take time Star World Champion, back after his 15+ year to race it. Once you sail this boat, you are hiatus from competing here. It always amazes hooked. me (Tillerman recently wrote a blog post We see people like Newt Wattis from about this topic and I’m borrowing the topic Surf City YC, a terrific great grand master, from him) to see people who’ve sailed since (who has chaired the Orange Coffee Pot regatta the early days of the Laser continue to sail the for years), keep that event alive while going boat now and still beat up on the young folks. out in a radial and kicking butt against juniors After running a Masters event myself it’s great at the same time.

We see people like Clay Johnson start back up a Barnegat Bay Spring and Fall series that had Performance cleating been dead for years and get a for Control Lines team together Keeper allows rope to run free and coach them when uncleated. throughout the year. The Cage allows rope to be cleated turnouts have o up to 70 . been great, the sailors want to Positive click when rope is cleated. keep getting 27mm (11/16”) hole centres, easy to retrofit. better and continue to sail R.R.P $27.99 or less, wherever they complete. can.

We Cleat from see Laser an angle. sailors excel in college sailing and recent alums moving on to Olympic campaigns.

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previous regatta format due to low turnouts.

North Americans and Nationals should have great turnouts on the west coast and we should see folks enjoy the end of the summer up in Maine for ACCs. For those who don’t think there are big events around in their area, why not start an event yourself? If you think you can run a major event, look at the calendar and send a proposal to the class office.

As a volunteer group, the Executive Committee does what it can to help promote the class but we are only a few people. We have hard working district secretaries who help spread the word in their areas and then even the sailors themselves taking new people out sailing or just talking it up at their yacht clubs to get more people on the water. Take some time thanking them for all their hard work keeping the local sailing alive and well. You think there’s an event you want the membership to know about, write an article and tell us about it. If there is a technique or new skill you want everyone to know about, write an article and tell us about it. The newsletters are getting better every issue and with your help we can continue making it a must read once it hits your mailbox. This is the biggest one design class in the world for a reason, let’s keep it going strong. You will read in another article I wrote in this newsletter about another attempt your class is trying to spark more interest in the boat at the yacht club/junior level. We also want to find ways to generate more interest at our Annual meetings held at every NA championship and increasing contact with the Executive Committee. The past few years we have had very light turnouts at these meetings. As sailors of this boat, you should be concerned about how the class is run as well as the issues that come up. If you have something you want to ask, let the Executive Committee know and we can discuss it with you. Our email addresses are available on the class website and we are always happy to hear suggestions or concerns. We appreciate your input.

Have a great summer sailing season!

PS: My home club Brant Beach YC is hosting the 2015 Nationals next July, can’t plug them too early…

SUMMER 2014

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The Laser Regatta Experience John Long ILCA-NA Secretary Summer time is here and that means Laser North Americans, Nationals and many of our regional regattas are in full swing. As I look at my calendar I see that I have a regatta just about every other week for the next few months. There is a lot of work that goes into preparing for a summer full of regattas and figuring out the logistics on how to make it all happen.

Will we be driving or flying? Securing a charter can be difficult and needs to be done well in advance for the larger regattas because charter boats can be limited. Towing can be a daunting task especially if going across the country. Hotels reservations need to be booked and airline tickets need to be purchased if flights are required.

And of course don’t forget to sign up for the event.

After all this planning and effort what happens when the weather doesn’t cooperate? Is the day wasted? Not really, we all came to sail but when the weather doesn’t cooperate we find other things to do. I remember being at a Sabot regatta in Southern California with fifty kids ages 8 – 12 and absolutely no wind. What do you do when you have fifty kids ages 8 -12 sitting around with nothing to do? You pair up all the kids and have

an egg tossing contest, of course.

The conditions at this year’s Miami OCR reminded me of that Southern California Sabot regatta. I haven’t seen an egg tossing contest at a Laser regatta yet but the competitors do find things to do when they can’t go on the water. Most will take care of needed boat repairs, go over boat rigging techniques or catch up on what our friends have been up to since the last regatta.

Speaking of repairs, I like to think that I go to these regattas well prepared but it always seems like the one spare part that I didn’t bring is the one that I need. Who’s got a spare clevis pin, ring ding or a mainsheet block?

Or maybe a drill and a rivet gun are needed to repair a boom block or vang tang that came loose. Usually someone has it and is glad to help out a fellow sailor. I remember a time when we were at CORK OCR and my younger son came in for the day with a severely bent upper section. Since we chartered for the event I didn’t have a spare and bought a new one.

I handed the bent upper to one of our Canadian friends because I had no way of getting it back to southern California. I figured they would take it home and flip the collar and use it themselves as a practice spar.

Much to my surprise they returned the upper section seven months

later when we saw them at Laser Midwinters West in Long Beach. The collar had been flipped and it was straight and ready to go.

Each event has its own experiences from which we get new stories and create new memories. Sometimes the sailing is great and sometimes not so much. Most of what we remember from the events isn’t the sailing except for those few times it happened to be blowing 20-25kts with gusts of 30. Most of what we remember is something that happened off the water, who we met or something we forgot to bring. We enjoy going back to places like CORK, Miami, Long Beach, or the Gorge and seeing our friends that we made at the previous regattas. We enjoy meeting new people, making new friends and the camaraderie of our fellow Laser sailors. We also enjoy going out to dinner with friends at a restaurant that might be 2000 miles from home.

For most of us it’s about the entire regatta experience, sailing is just the vehicle that brings us together.

Enjoy your summer of sailing and I hope to see you at the next regatta,

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ILCA-NA Membership Promotion We know it’s not just the sailors that help promote Laser sailing. We are working with the yacht clubs to help get more juniors in sailing programs involved in the Laser class. A group of approximatly 50 yacht clubs have received a package from the Laser class which includes some back issues of the Laser sailor and a letter explaining the benefits of a Laser Class membership. These were sent

out before programs and are great boosters for parents new to the boat or have been sailing for years and don’t know about us. The more the kids and parents are in the loop the more contacts District Secretaries have for events and the exposure to the North American Class. Plus with the newsletter reaching more people, who doesn’t want to see their name in print after a good regatta? Just like other classes we wanted to try a club membership. That way they show their support for the class and offer possibly some space in the newsletter as well as given copies to place around the club for more promotion. It’s a work in progress but we are trying to get the word out to more sailors.

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What’s up with the Layline?

Tips for finding and using the layline to get ahead on the racecourse

By Judith Krimski I decided to spend this past winter helping run race committee for our local frostbiting fleet of Rhodes 19s. The fleet sails Saturdays on Boston Harbor. Did I mention it was the coldest most miserable winter ever? But that’s beside the point.

One day after watching the fleet repeatedly try to find the windward mark layline from many boat lengths away (Can anyone say the definition of insanity?) I expressed my frustration to our PRO. He responded, “Why don’t you write a blog post about it?”

When considering laylines the concept seems so simple; A straight line (or bearing) extending from the next mark to indicate the course a boat should be able to sail on the one tack in order to pass to the windward side of the mark. There is always a port layline and a starboard layline. But when you further consider all the factors in actually finding and successfully sailing the layline things become a bit more complicated.

(sailing extra distance and giving other boats the opportunity to tack in front of or under you) or conditions will cause you to fall to leeward. It’s much better to tack under the layline into the fast lane, sail to within five or less boat lengths (depending on where other boats are) and find a space to tack into.

2. If you are ahead: You want the fleet to follow you so use the K.I.S.S. principle. Stay between the boats behind you and the mark. Take advantage of lifts and headers to build distance but try not to take a flyer because boats on the other side could get a lucky shift and gain leverage on you.

3. If you are behind: Look to sail in clear lanes. Time and again I see boats cross behind other boats sailing towards the mark, then tack to follow. You don’t gain anything with that maneuver. Instead use the rule, “Cross when you can, Don’t let them cross.” This means you would lee bow or tack under other boats. You gain some leverage when a header hits you first. Remember: The key is to get a decent rounding with clear air.

4. Conditions: If you are sailing in flat water, when steering becomes much more sensitive, you can afford to pinch and take advantage of changes in velocity or wind direction. Therefore you may be able to cheat the layline a bit. But in big wind and waves pinching is not only slow but you will have greater leeway. Keep the focus on sailing fast towards the mark.

Common Questions: Q. How do I know when I’m on the layline?

R. On either tack look over your back shoulder. If you can see the mark you are most likely on the layline.

Factors affecting laylines: 1. Wind shifts 2. Current 3. Wind blown swell—height and direction 4. Disturbed air from other boats 5. Your vessel’s leeway (side slippage) Layline tactics: Taking all the factors above into account it follows that you would choose your layline carefully.

1. Consider timing and distance: Finding the layline from far away is a failing proposition. You’ll most likely overstand

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Q. How close do I need to sail towards the mark before I find the layline?

S. That depends on the size of the course, wind shifts, sea state, current, and where competitors positioned. That said when in doubt closer to the zone or inside the zone if you have room is optimal.

Q. What should I do if I come in on port tack and there are starboard tackers on the layline?

R. When you approach the mark from port tack it’s imperative to think ahead especially if you have competitors on starboard to maneuver around. Definitely avoid being “that guy” who comes in on the PTL and tries to sneak in between starboard tackers and the mark. I recommend staying outside the zone so you either have the option to tack to leeward of starboard tackers (there’s a chance they’ll have overstood so there will be room for you to sneak in) or duck those on starboard, sail a bit further and then tack to starboard.

SUMMER 2014

DO’s and DON’TS: DON’T look for the layline too far out.

DO sail below the layline in the fast lane and plan out your mark rounding.

DON”T make last minute decisions about where to go.

DO look ahead so you can make a good tactical rounding.

DON’T get stuck in a pack of boats pinwheeling around the mark.

DO overstand to avoid bad air and contact with other boats.

Q. What if I get to the mark below the layline. Can I luff up to round it?

R. Yes. If you have some speed and you think you can make it you can luff up because your proper course is to round the mark (in this case even if you come from astern gaining the overlap outside the zone). That said this is a chancy maneuver. It’s important to take into account the conditions (is there current? Lots of boats trying to round?) so you can make a successful rounding. Also remember if you luff up to round and hit the mark you’ll need to do a penalty turn.

The period when you are approaching the windward mark, or any mark, is one of the most important moments to get your head out of the boat.

Take time to look around, assess the conditions and positions of your competitors so you can formulate a solid tactical plan. Be proactive, not reactive and you’ll start to build your tactical sensibility.

Questions or comments? Email me at Judith@caribwind.com.

I’m also excited to announce that I’ll be coaching this winter at the Laser Training Center, Cabarete, Domincan Republic. Come visit us and take a clinic.

Happy Lasering!

Q. What can I do to prevent port tackers from tacking under me.

R. First of all don’t try to find the layline too far out. You will most likely overstand and give port tackers an opportunity to tack in front of you. You can dissuade pesky port tackers with a preventative hail, “Don’t Tack!”

Q. What if I’m sandwiched between two boats while rounding the mark. The leeward boat luffs up to round the mark but because I have a boat above me I can’t get out of his way fast enough to avoid contact. The leeward boat protests me. Do I need to do a penalty turn?

R. Not necessarily. Here are the rules that apply to this situation: Rule 11: Same tack, overlapped Rule 16: Changing course Rule 17: Same tack, proper course So while the inside boat’s proper course is to luff up to round the mark, they are changing course so need to give you room to keep clear. As you change course the boat to windward needs to give you room to keep clear and so it goes. If you are protested you need to pass that protest up the chain. In this case Rule 21: Exoneration, may apply.

www.Laser.org

15

Coaches Corner

We’ve asked a few of our top North American coaches to share some of their favorite drills with us. If you have a drill to share, send it to the ILCA-NA office for publication.

Upwind Sprint Drill

by Mike Kalin

--works best with 1-3 boats and with or without a coach. This is a great drill to build fitness and stay motivated.

Objective: develop the strength needed in all muscle groups to sustain “sprint mode” off the starting line and eventually maintain that level of effort for an entire 15 minute beat. The challenge with doing “fitness” beats (ie. sailing upwind for a long time) is that inevitably (after 2 minutes or so), your form starts to suffer (shoulders in, butt droops, arms in and not extended, head in). The only way to build strength and endurance in your legs and core is to treat a portion of your training like a gym workout. The idea is that you build up your sprint mode into a very intense 1 minute sprint, then spend 30 seconds resting (coming in from a hiked position, and re-positioning your boat relative to your training partners). During this 1 minute, you will develop strength in all your key hiking muscles, as well as explosive strength -- something you don’t get when doing an “endurance” session of continual upwind sailing. By keeping it short, you won’t reach a lactate threshold (that deep burn), and your muscles will build to support your body while extended (and not crouching in from lactic acid pain buildup).

How much: try three 1 minute sprints on starboard, followed by three 1 minute sprints on port, (about 9 minutes of solid work) then break for 3 minutes for water (at this point you can complain about how much your buddy loves to pinch). During the tack to port, a natural re-shuffle will occur (leeward boat will now be windward etc.). You should be diligent about switching roles to make it challenging (the most challenging and most beneficial spot(s) is to be sandwiched with boats on either side. Consider the above routine of 9 minutes to be one set -- go for three sets! Each time out, try and add another 5 seconds -- without sacrificing form or intensity -- as those are the primary objectives!

Variations: Try alternating upwind modes for each sprint. For sprint 1, go normal mode; sprint 2, go pinch mode (block-to-block mainsheet, looser vang, deeper outhaul, shoulders forward); sprint 3, go “Slingsby mode” (mainsheet out 1-2 feet, tight vang, tighter outhaul, shoulders back, boat planing).

Photos by David Schack

Set up: Line up boats bow even with tight spacing (about 1 boat length) on a close reach/close haul with boats going 2/3 speed (i.e. moving, but not yet full speed). Coach gives 5 second countdown, during which sailors sheet in and go ballistic! For one minute, each sailor gives everything they’ve got, sparing nothing. Toes pointed, knees close to the gunwale, shoulders down, hands high, and aggressive upper body torques. For one minute, this sprint mode should be explosive and driven by that same intensity you feel when Tom Slingsby is threatening to roll you from your windward side and Robert Scheidt is just underneath you. You can’t afford to give up one inch! After one minute, come in from hiking but keep the boats going 2/3 speed; all boats should efficiently get bow even over the next 30 seconds of rest (keep in mind, it’s a very short break -- similar to walking to a new station in a circuit training workout -- not the time to whine about how you think your training partner pinches too much). After this quick re-balance, the 5 second countdown begins.

16

SUMMER 2014

Pick Your Side - Win Your Side

by Ryan Minth When I joined the US Sailing Development Team as coach with Brett Davis in 2010, one of their go to drills was “Win Your Side”, a valuable drill where a sailor remains focused on beating the boats around them and leading them back toward the center to consolidate with the fleet from the other side of the course at the top of the beat. It reinforces the general strategy of managing a beat by: First 20%, levering out. Next 60%, playing (hopefully winning) your side.

Last 20%, consolidating your position with the fleet. When you win your side of the race track, you are normally in fairly good shape with the fleet at worst, and you could be leading! Not many successful beats come from crossing rhumb line back and forth.

When I realized that few sailors, particularly developing youth, make the required effort to develop a race plan (sail upwind above the line, stand up to view the beat, check the line for bias, inspect for current, etc.) adjusting this drill around the starting sequence allowed me to increase the focus from beating surrounding boats to also develop a strategy and execute on that plan. When sailors have a bad first beat during a race, it is often difficult to determine if the strategy was faulty or merely the execution. The altered drill, “Pick Your Side / Win Your Side” can help identify areas of weakness and help develop good racing habits.

I rarely run any practice races ever, but “Pick Your Side / Win Your Side” can bring focus on good pre-race habits and first beat management in a racing environment.

The basis of the drill is set up around a standard windward/ leeward course, where the beat is six to twelve minutes (mostly depending upon fleet size). A dividing mark in the middle of the line divides the fleet going right with the left. Start on the boat end tells me your want the right and starting on the pin half of the line says you are going left.

At least a five minute starting sequence is used. At times, we will sound a “line set” horn five minutes ahead of the sequence to simulate some of the larger championship events, allowing more time to evaluate the line, beat, conditions, current and develop a strategy. Shortly after calling the start from the pin end, especially if I am limited

www.Laser.org

Coaches Corner

with the four marks, I will idle up the beat from the pin up rhumb line, separating the boat end starters and sending them out right. When I get about fifteen to twenty percent away

from the top mark, I will stop the RIB and allow the fleets from each side to cross and converge with the other boats, consolidating their position. If I have a few more marks, I may drop a wide gate that is closed to separate the sides and maybe another short of the windward mark indicating the ‘consolidate’ zone (last 20%) of the beat. These marks allow me to change my angle of view on the course and the position of the sailors relative to each other.

Coaches may challenge (torture) the fleet with altering line bias with a favored side. For example, set a pin favored line ahead of a right favored track, much like a good PRO will do to spread the fleet across the line. This was recently seen at our North American Championships at Alamtios Bay Yacht Club this past June, where boats off the favored pin where not able to get across the fleet on port and ever make it to the right for the predicted shift of a few races.

Bad plan (liked the left) or poor execution (did not take a duck to get to the right or a bad start and no port lanes)?

It is always easy to find a good lane going the wrong way.

A bad start, getting tacked on or lee bowed, should not change your race plan entirely. Too many times I hear a young sailor tell me something like “I wanted to < do something >, but some stupid idiot < did something >, and I had to < do the opposite of what I wanted >!” To which I say, “You let an idiot take you off your plan? Who is the bigger idiot?”

A successful first beat is 80% of the race. Pick Your Side / Win Your Side covers just that.

17

Trailer Tricks

by Nick Burke Shoreline Fleet Captain Roger Herbst suggests that since Lasers have the Fundamental Rule guaranteeing performance differences are the sailor not the boat, we find an outlet for mechanical creativity with our trailers. Here’s a view around District 24 of some things people have done.

Roger has attached his spare tire to the front of his trailer. See picture 1. Roger says the picture is self-explanatory except note the angle iron reinforcing the wood crosspiece He says be sure to use a locknut on the end of the bolt ! Remember to bring along wrenches that fit the bolt and locknut.

When car topping, you need to attach the bow to the front of the car. To make this faster and more secure, see pictures 2 and 3.

The straps just fold down out of the way when not in use.

Roger has had his bottom cover modified to make loading on a trailer faster: “You know the load-up drill….

Position the cover more or less over the support rails and bow support. Heft the boat onto the trailer as the cover falls out of position. Then lift each corner of the boat and wrestle the cover back into position. There’s a better way. Pictures 4 and 5 show a bottom cover cut out to slip over the rails and bow support.

Just load the boat, slide up the cover, and done.

Sooner or later, the boat will chafe through these spots anyway ! Be sure to reinforce the cutouts. I use Shelter-Rite tape from Saiirite or vinyl coated polyester from Seattle Fabrics.

It’s strong and will not tear or fray, but any heavy material

18

will do. On my old boat, I used iron on patch material and it worked fine for many years.

Adding some flags is a way to make your Nautical America trailer more visible to people that lack situational awareness. This approach could be applied to other types of trailers as well. This is Mark Halman’s work. As you can see from pictures 6 and 7, there is a base tube into which you fit a tube with a flag. The base tubes are made from 1.25” schedule 40 PVC pipe and are attached using the two existing bolts on the trailer. The flag staffs are 1” schedule 40 and are fit into the base tubes after the boat is on the trailer.

Another thing you can to raise the visibility of your trailer is have your local sail maker sew SOLAS grade reflective tape across the transom of your top and bottom covers. Tape like this really lights up in car headlights and should make your trailer visible to the most distracted of night-time drivers. See picture 8.

And a final word of advice from Roger: “I’d like to relay some words of wisdom I recently heard: “Check the tie downs twice before leaving the lot. Then after the first mile, 10 miles, and every hundred miles” Once or twice I’ve been surprised and relieved at how well gravity alone kept my boat on a trailer. I now follow my friend’s advice. Be safe. Have fun !”

SUMMER 2014

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SUMMER 2014

2014 Schedule Regatta World Championship ISAF Grade 1

Laser SR: Santander, ESP Sept 8-Sept 21 JR: Douernenez, FRA Aug 16-23

Radial

Laser 4.7

Masters

Karatsu, JPN Aug 8-15

Hyeres, FRA Oct 3-12

Women’s: Douernenez, FRA Aug 21-23

Mens: Gdynia, POL July 19-25

Youth:Gdynia, POL July 26-Aug 3

CGRA Cascade Locks, OR July 11-13

NA Championship

40 GP pts. ISAF Grade 1

Alamitos Bay YC June 12-15 www.abyc.org

Alamitos Bay YC June 12-15 www.abyc.org

Alamitos Bay YC June 12-15 www.abyc.org

Canadian Championships

Royal Vancouver YC Vancouver, BC July 25-27

Royal Vancouver YC Vancouver, BC July 25-27

Royal Vancouver YC Vancouver, BC July 25-27

Etobicoke YC Toronto, ON June 25-27

US Championships

St Francis YC San Francisco, CA July 31-Aug 3

St Francis YC San Francisco, CA July 31-Aug 3

St Francis YC San Francisco, CA July 31-Aug 3

Rochester YC Rochester, NY Sept 11-14

CORK

Kingston, ON www.cork.org August 16-20

Kingston, ON www.cork.org August 16-20

Kingston, ON www.cork.org August 11-14

na

Midwinters East

Clearwater, FL www.clwyc.org Feb 20-23

Clearwater, FL www.clwyc.org Feb 20-23

Clearwater, FL www.clwyc.org Feb 20-22

Sarasota SS Sarasota, FL Feb 14-16

Midwinters West

Richmond YC Richmond, CA March 28-30

Richmond YC Richmond, CA March 28-30

Richmond YC Richmond, CA March 28-30

na

Rolex Miami OCR

Miami, FL (men only) www.ussailing.org January 25-Feb 1

Miami, FL (women only) www.ussailing.org January 25-Feb 1

na

na

Atlantic Coast Championships

25 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 2

Sail Maine Portland, ME Aug 30-31

Sail Maine Portland, ME Aug 30-31

Sail Maine Portland, ME Aug 30-31

Fishing Bay Yacht Club Deltaville, VA October 18-19

Pacific Coast Championships

Santa Barbara YC Santa Barbara, CA June 27-29

Santa Barbara YC Santa Barbara, CA June 27-29

Santa Barbara YC Santa Barbara, CA June 27-29

Gulf Coast Championships

Ft Walton YC Ft Walton Beach, FL June 21-22

Ft Walton YC Ft Walton Beach, FL June 21-22

Ft Walton YC Ft Walton Beach, FL June 21-22

Ft. Walton YC Ft. Walton Beach, FL May 17-18

No Coast Championships

Dillon Yacht Club Dillon, CO Aug 2-3

Dillon Yacht Club Dillon, CO Aug 2-3

Dillon Yacht Club Dillon, CO Aug 2-3

na

Great Lakes Championships

Vermillion, BC Vermillion, OH July 19-20

Vermillion, BC Vermillion, OH July 19-20

Vermillion, BC Vermillion, OH July 19-20

Thunder Bay YC Thunder Bay, ON July 12-13

30 GP pts. ISAF Grade 2 30 GP Pts, ISAF Grade 2

30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 1

30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 1

30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 1

ISAF Grade 1

25 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 2

25 GP Pts

25 GP Pts

25 GP Pts

www.Laser.org

Jericho Sailing Centre Vancouver, BC July 18-20

21

Racing Lasers -- Then and Now - Part 2

by Andy Roy

the waves; however, our turns may not have been In the previous TLS issue I outlined quite as pronounced and some of the differences I’ve noticed perfected to the degree top with the Laser from when the boat sailors can manoeuver the was first launched in the early 70’s. boat today. As I mentioned I mainly focused on changes to the in Part One, we were not boat, parts, sail, spars and rigging. I able to supervang like also discussed the challenges sailors sailors can do now due faced when trying to make sail control to the strengthened boom adjustments, especially in breezy and vang purchase system. conditions. In this article I’ll discuss This means that in big my views on how the game itself has breeze sailors can really evolved, including changes to clothing, work the mainsheet upwind sailing techniques, race courses and and effectively use the regattas. sheet as a traveller and Heading out from Kingston Olympic Harbour for a 1980 Worlds race.

Clothing sail “bow down”. With our Aigle boots, gym shorts, cut-off sweater, heavy “hoodie” underneath and “Memosail” stopwatch. Note the outhaul and vang adjustment lines comparatively loose vang Let’s start with the improvements hanging down. (Photo credits – Elaine Taylor, N. Ireland) in clothing. Typical race wear in tension we had to keep the the earlier days, starting at the feet, sheet in tighter and “feather” deck of a ferry). We all got a laugh but, consisted typically of either nothing, the boat by sailing closer to the wind to wouldn’t you know it, he was blistering sneakers or decent dinghy boots and I try to keep it flat. I also think we tended fast and proceeded to win the first race! liked the Aigle boots (now supplied by Quite a few guys wore weight jackets, and to heel the boat to leeward too much when Neil Pryde), which are still the favourite sailing upwind in lighter air, as there is no usually the water bottle type (one on your of many sailors. Many of us wore shorts doubt that flat is fast. upper back, one on your chest), as you – just plain gym shorts – even in windy For the first couple decades of Laser were allowed to wear about 9 kg / 20 lbs conditions as long as the water was warm. racing the fleet generally policed itself for of clothing (soaking wet after a 1 minute We were kind of proud of how the back rocking, pumping and ooching. If you felt drain on a hanger). I didn’t like weight of our thighs toughened up as the season that a competitor close by was working jackets as I knew they couldn’t be good progressed. I remember when strap-on things a bit too hard, you might ask for my back and I also felt I could move hiking pads started to just come onto the another sailor nearby what they thought around in the boat much better without scene, and we would actually chirp guys one. At many larger Laser championships, and, if in agreement, one of you would who used them: “C’mon, you wimp, be shout out “cool it, dude!” This seemed to random (or selected by the jury) weighing a man and tough it out!” What were we work reasonably well, although of course of a sailor’s clothing when they hit the thinking!? Our tough guy attitude was illegal movements were more prevalent shore was commonplace. Thankfully the pretty foolish, as we now know how compared to what we see with on-theISAF (then called IYRU) banned weight comfortable and effective good hiking water judged racing of today. I recall at jackets in 1994, but not before many pants are. We tended to wear multiple the Laser Worlds there were on the water sailors damaged their spines, including sweatshirts with the sleeves cut-off, judges; however, the jury had to formally most Finn sailors to some degree where typically a spray jacket if it was breezy, protest the sailor and the whistle-flag-do the class rules allowed sailors to wear an and a standard farmer john wetsuit if it your turns penalty was still a few years absurd 20 kg (44 lbs) of weight. was colder. The best life jackets were away. At the 1982 Laser Worlds American Technique changes either the Musto air pocket type or a Mark Brink was protested in the last race Sailors hiked pretty darn hard in the early Danish made Compass model. But there by the jury for illegal movements on a decades, but not as hard as the top sailors were some funny clothing choices back light air reach. I was right behind him on of today who can seemingly go fully in the day. Some guys wore keelboat foul the leg and felt he was sailing fairly, so “planked out” for a full beat and pretty weather gear, such as chest highs or bulky I witnessed for him. He ended up saving well all race. This of course is a result of one-piece suits. Best Laser clothing story his race and regatta and finished 5th. Onthe Olympic pursuit (which I’ll touch on the-water judging is not a perfect system, I can recall was from the 1976 Canadian later). I think most of us set up a looser but it seems to be the best option. I’d like Youth Champs. A buddy, Rob Routliffe, hiking strap then, as the technique used to see a change for windy conditions, say was late getting to his boat on the first day by many today of using a tighter strap can at 20+ knots, and let the jury save their (I can’t imagine why), and he had forgot only be done effectively with hiking pants fuel and enable Laser sailors to focus on his sailing gear. He managed to show up and excellent conditioning. Some sailors trying to keep their boats upright on the on the race course just in time, but was today think that “S” turning downwind is runs without worrying about a rocking wearing jeans, sneakers and he sailed over a relatively new technique, and that early penalty. In the 2010 Laser Masters Worlds to a guy in a motorboat and has to borrow Laser sailors “lit up a smoke” and headed in England fellow Canuck, Al Clark, was an old “keyhole” life jacket (the bulky straight downwind on the runs. Well, we flagged on a 25 knot run! He had no type you see strapped to the overhead definitely were S-turning and working

22

SUMMER 2014

chance of pulling off a 720, pull off a single digit and naturally he dumped race finish at a major right away, got separated regatta. This is a from his boat and had to drop noticeable change from out of the race. I couldn’t when I campaigned believe he had been flagged, a Laser. Even though as my only thought on that the fastest guys would leg was to not dump, and usually end up in the rocking (intentionally) was top positions at the unthinkable, but also would end of a regatta, the have been ineffective. weekend warriors were Radial Rig competitive and could The Laser radial was still a easily pop in a good couple decades away back race or even a bullet. when I started sailing a Laser.

This very rarely The Radial (and the 4.7) has happens these days. enabled youths, women and Another big difference lighter guys to more fairly between then and now enjoy Laser racing. It’s too Rounding windward mark at the 1980 Worlds trailing a Brazilian wearing a is the post-race shore bad the Radial wasn’t around water bottle weight jacket. Note also the sponsored mark from Rothmans (a scene. Since becoming back then, as more of item Olympic it seems that cigarette company!) two in that previous sentence the top guys generally have proven to be good additions to large would have added to the fun disappear pretty quickly fleet courses throughout sailing. We also we had at regattas. after putting their boat away. They either finished most races with a full windward Race Courses head off for a debriefing with their coach, Major regattas in the earlier days typically leg, and the change to a shorter beat or a they’re working the lactic acid out with a reach to the finish in most Laser regattas used much longer courses and legs to the bike ride or stretching, or they’re hopping has been an improvement for sailors and point where you often couldn’t see the into an ice bath. The only thing we needed the race committees alike. weather mark from the start line. I just ice for was for the blender or cooler!

Coach boats didn’t really exist, even at the Après racing was one of the best parts realized that nowadays you don’t hear an Laser Worlds. We just didn’t seem to need expression that was frequently used back of Laser racing. Many sailors arrived at them, and many now feel there are far too then of someone “banging the corner”. a regatta in a tricked out van, and after Courses are too short now to really “take a many at larger regattas. I think coaches de-rigging we would head to the circle should all be together on one or two larger of vans, someone would pop in maybe a flyer” and the most you can do now is go boats, and that’s how it was done when “hard right” or “work the left”. Olympic Pink Floyd tape, we’d crack open a few I coached the Canadian team at a few style courses with two long reaches and cool beverages and tell lies about the day’s Women’s World Championships back in a gybe mark were standard fare. If you racing. Fortunately this still is the case at were leading rounding the windward mark the 80’s (I know what you’re thinking. most Masters regattas (except for the vans Yes, it was a tough job). But if coaches you often had to guess on the location and Pink Floyd). (Now that I think of it, have to be in RHIBS I don’t believe they of the gybe mark. The reaches could get I might write a Part 3 that covers regatta should be allowed to be in contact with a pretty boring in light air and would often, van road trip stories; however, the names sailor once the first warning of the day is if you found yourself back a little, present may have to be changed to protect the signalled, and this would be fairer to the a tactical decision of sailing either a high innocent). many sailors who can’t afford a coach. road with the pack or going low early So there you have it. Although there have Fun Factor to try to pick off large clumps of boats been many changes, most good, some Ok, now on to the reason most of us race at the mark. In windy races the gybe debatably not so good, the one thing I in the first place -- fun! I don’t think mark, something I miss with W-L or trap don’t believe has or will change is the the higher end Laser sailors of today courses, always got your blood pumping relatively low cost, highly competitive and have quite as much fun as we did in and was the subject of many good stories large fleet singlehanded racing that the back on shore. In the final race of the 1981 our day, on and off the water. I’m not Laser provides, requiring a premium on blaming them as I fully understand that Canadian Nats it was just howling, and as fitness, boat handling, wave playing and total dedication is required to be on the I screamed towards the gybe mark I saw tactical skills. The best sailors in the world Olympic bandwagon. The effects of being who are sought after for Americas Cup and that it was a debris field of overturned an Olympic class has been a big increase Lasers and guys trying to swim to their other grand prix helmsman and tactician in fitness levels, good nutrition, coaching boat. After weaving through a few positions are often former Laser sailors bobbing heads and somehow surviving the and a fairly significant speed and boat (Coutts, Ainslie, Slingsby, Goodison, and handling difference between the full and gybe I think I went from about 12th to 3rd. many others). Yes, there really is no other part timers. Unless one is sailing on a near class that comes close to offering sailors We didn’t have the windward offset mark full time basis with funding and a coach, or leeward gates, which in addition to of both genders and almost all ages around unfortunately it’s pretty difficult to even the shorter courses/more races per day, the globe what the Laser delivers.

www.Laser.org

23

Masters Report

by Bill Symes

Summer 2015 is shaping up as a blockbuster racing smorgasbord for North American Laser masters.

The action kicks off June 25-27 with Masters Canadian Nationals in Toronto, then heads west for Masters North Americans in the Columbia River Gorge July 11-13. Big wind, big waves, big fun! The west coast tour then moves north to Vancouver, BC, for Masters PCCs July 18-20, followed by open Canadian Nationals July 25-27. Then it’s back down the coast to San Francisco for open US Nationals July 31-Aug. 3 or, alternatively, take a right turn and head to Edmonton, AB, for the Western Canadian Masters Champs Aug. 2-3.

Midwestern masters not making the western trek can find action closer to home at the Masters Great Lakes Champs, July 12-13, in Thunder Bay, ON. Whew!

Deltaville, VA, for the Atlantic Coast Championship Oct. 18-19.

Hope to see you all at one or more of these events. Hope we all survive!

Southeast Masters Report (by David Hartman) The 2015 Florida Masters Week schedule is set. First leg will be the Masters Midwinters East at USSCMC, Jensen Beach, Feb. 7-9, followed by a lay day, then on Feb 11-12 we’ll sail Midweek Madness, also at Jensen Beach to reduce travel time and give folks more opportunity to enjoy the area. Friday will be the travel day

to Palm Beach Sailing Club for the Florida Masters, Feb 14-15, where we will all be seeking the coveted “Dirty Old Man of the Sea” trophy and Green Jacket. Steps have been taken to upgrade the race management at Palm Beach to maximize the ocean sailing, which is what we all look forward to.

For those with plenty of time on their hands who want to get away from the northern tundra, there is the Grizzled road warriors will have a open Orange Bowl Regatta hosted few weeks to catch their breath and

by Coconut Grove Sailing Club, nurse their wounds before hitting Dec 27-30, which now includes a the water again in Rochester, NY, Masters Division that sails with the for Masters US Nationals Sept. 11open competitors (over 18). Also, 14, followed the next weekend by Lauderdale Yacht the New England Club has scheduled Masters Champs their Lauderdale in Osterville, MA. Olympic Class That will leave Regatta for January just enough time 18 -20 which may to dry out the give some added sailing boots before Your Source for Laser Rentals in California incentive to spend hopping the plane some more time 2014 Schedule of Events to Hyeres, France, Memorial Day Regatta – Long Beach (NA’s warm-up) in Florida’s warm for the Laser North American Championship – Long Beach SOLD OUT sunshine. Of course, Pacific Coast Championship – Santa Barbara (just 12 days after NA’s!)

Masters World there is also the Leiter Cup - US Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship – Mission Bay Championship, Miami OCR/World US National Championship – San Francisco Oct. 3-11 (60+ NA Cup the last week of masters signed up Come for NA’s stay for the PCC’s Call for long term rental and team discounts January. for Worlds as of Rentals available for any event in California this writing!). In L a s e r h u lls a n d s p a rs n e w f o r 2 0 1 4 . R e s e rv e y o u r c h a rt e r t o d a y ! case you have any fuel left in the tank after Worlds, you can head down to

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24

SUMMER 2014

DR. STRANGELASER OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING ABOUT RACK SPACES AND LOVE MY TRAILER Matthew Thompson, D21 secretary

Without getting into the details, our club has gotten to the point where we’ve had some space issues. I am sure many of you are running into the same thing with the obvious value of waterfront. After years of storing my boats at the club, I’m now getting used to keeping mine rolling. It’s different. I need systems, I need a few more minutes, but in the long run – it’s better for the sport.

BUT THEY’LL SEE THE BIG PICTURE?!?!

1. BUT IT’S AWKWARD TO LIFT? It weighs less than your fully grown child/significant other/probably your groceries. The boat was designed to be car-topped. Seriously. The million dollar doodle, the boat recreated over 200,000 units, was meant to be on your roof. Enjoy the freedom that comes with that. Plus you have to meet your fleet members to get it down. Socialize. Trailers are cheap on craigslist. You don’t need something fancy.

2. BUT WHERE WILL I STORE IT AT HOME? The Laser is beautifully equipped for being stored lifted, stacked, leaned, left literally anywhere. Find a friend to share a trailer with if you have to.

A member in our fleet has somewhere upwards of 12 boats. I would gather he’s got an equal number of odd places to store them. My neighbors now ask, “Where you headed this weekend?” I’m proud of that.

3. BUT I’M BUSY? That’s what life is. Personally that’s why I sail. Excuses are a dime a dozen these days. Once your boat is stored somewhere you’ve got it out of sight: it’s a death sentence, like shipping Stevie off to stay with Grandma. When your boat is on a trailer you’ve got to consider it. You will sail more. You will get better. Fun will follow.

4. BUT I ONLY SAIL AT ONE VENUE? Get out of your bubble! We all dream of travelling, learning a new language, trying exotic foods. Do it with your Laser. When was the last time you explored the rest of your country? Incidentally the USA isn’t as homogenous as you’d believe. I drove from MN to Midwinters in FL this year. Make an excuse for some fun, even if it’s at the club on the other side of town.

5. BUT MY GAS MILEAGE? I had a ’98 Corolla that I used to car-top my Laser on. It was longer than the car. Know what? I lost three MPG and made approximately 30 more friends. I’d say that’s a fair exchange.

6. BUT IT’S EXPENSIVE? So is Netflix, your surgically attached iPhone, eating out, and everything else in your life. Free housing is easy to come by in this fleet, the only additional expense is gas. Get a big cooler, share food, travel as a team. House together, rent an AirBnB house, or get out your tent. Your co-workers will be impressed.

6. BUT LASER SAILING IS INTENSE, I WON’T HAVE FUN AT THAT EVENT? Since when was sailing about winning everything? Everyone should be having fun at a regatta/race night/practice regardless of skill. Sometimes we set expectations and don’t reach them, sometimes that doesn’t feel great. Sailing is incredible because I can go sail against the best. Maybe they’ll be a leg ahead, but at one point you’ll have that moment. One glorious moment, where you round a mark in first, make that perfect start, save that near capsize. Suddenly all that intensity melts away.

And then I’m left with the reason I sail, the reason I chose not to pursue a “real” career, the reason I spend every day at the lake. Don’t miss that moment because a trailer or boat storage or anything else in life feels difficult.

If General Ripper were a sailor, he’d say “Permanent storage spaces are the most monstrously conceived and dangerous leadbelly plot we have ever had to face.”

And then Buck would respond, “Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines.”

Trailer. I mean a trailer.

Combine the Hydrophobic Thermo Skin Fleece with the Neoprene Ultrawarm to be AMAZINGLY WARM! www.sailequipment.com.au www.Laser.org

25

Laser Midwinters West at Richmond Yacht Club

By John Long Fifty two Radials and thirty two Lasers competed for three days in tricky spring like conditions on the SF Bay for the 2014 Laser Midwinters West. A storm front moving through the area made things interesting for sailors and required careful course management by race committee. On the first day of racing, race committee worked diligently to keep up with the shifty wind conditions. After a couple of on the water postponements and general recalls in the Radial fleet, three races were scored in light to moderate winds. Day two started with a lengthy onshore postponement due to lack of wind, poor visibility and rainy skies. Anxious sailors were sent out after conditions improved.

Lasers: Max Gallant, Richard Didham, Ian Elliot, Greg Martinez, Derick Vranizan, Matt Long (top youth sailor)

Radials: Lola Bushnell, Lawson Willard, Scott Rasmussen, Christopher Weis, Claire Dennis

One light air race completed and they were done for the day.

Sunday, the final day, proved to be the best day of racing.

With plenty of breeze, 10 – 15 knots, and mostly sunny skies the sailors got to experience conditions more in line with what the SF Bay area is known for.

Over the three day event race committee was able to maintain focus and provided some excellent racing in the trying conditions. A total of seven were scored and both fleets had final race showdowns for the top places. Congratulations to Derick Vranizan who was able to break the tie with Greg Martinez with a first place finish in the last race. In the Radials it was a battle between bay area Claire Dennis and Southern California native Christopher Weis. Claire Dennis eventually prevailed, besting Chris in a throw out tiebreaker.

Radials top 5 of 52 Sail

Skipper

Yacht Club

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Total

Pos

182841

Claire Dennis

St. Francis Yacht Club/ SFYC

[6]

3

3

4

2

3

1

16T

1

181828

Christopher Weis

Del Rey Yacht Club

3

[8]

2

3

3

2

3

16T

2

4

204424

Scott Rasmussen

Lauderdale YC

2

5

[13]

1

5

204478

Graham Harney

Royal Vancouver Yacht club

1

2

1

12

4

190468

Lawson Willard

San Francisco YC/St Francis YC

5

4

4

Yacht Club

1

2

3

[11]

[17]

10

5

2

19

3

5

25

4

4

32

5

Full Rig top 5 of 32

26

Sail

Skipper

4

5

6

7

Total

Pos 1

197265

Frederick Vranizan

Seattle Yacht Club

[7]

2

1

1

1

2

1

8

188149

Greg Martinez

Texas Corinthian yacht club

1

1

2

[4]

2

1

2

9

195601

Ian Elliott

RVicYC &Calgary Yacht Club

[12]

5

6

2

8

6

3

30T

187393

Richard Didham

San Diego Yacht Club

6

4

4

[15]

4

5

7

30T

4

206171

Max Gallant

Royal Victoria Yacht Club

9

3

7

[34/ OCS]

3

4

5

31

5

3

SUMMER 2014

1

www.rightontrailer.com

www.Laser.org

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2014 Laser North American Championship an

By Steve Smith The 2014 Laser North American Championships were scheduled for June at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) in Long Beach CA. The 2014 U.S. SAILING (USSA) Singlehanded Championship was also scheduled at ABYC later this summer as well. Early in the year ABYC and the Laser Class were approached by USSA with a proposal to conduct the USSA Singlehanded Championship in conjunction with the Laser NA’s. Turns out USSA was finding the Singlehanded Championship and Area qualifying ladder events around the country, were no longer attracting a caliber of women and men racers to this stand-alone event. Knowing the Laser NA’s would attract top tier Laser and Laser Radial racers, USSA asked to be part of the NA’s.

Following a flurry of phone conversations and e-mail messages, we meshed the two events and set about planning our regatta.

A nice benefit of this collaboration was major sponsorship from Gill® who generously provided all the competitor souvenir t-shirts and water bottles at no cost to the organizers, along with Hobie® Polarized who provided two pair of sunglasses which we raffled off at the competitor’s dinner. Additionally each sailor received a copy of David Dellenbaugh’s Speed and Smarts newsletter in their welcome pack.

David also donated a one year on-line subscription to his newsletter which we raffled off. Laser racer Philip Thompson

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gave us one of his slick Hike Pro hiking benches for our raffle and ABYC member Jennifer Golison gave us five Sea Bags of Maine tote bags made from recycled sails for the raffle.

Racers and coaches began arriving with multi-boat trailers early in the week.

ABYC soon took on an International flavor with flags flying from the seawall representing racers from 14 countries.

Competitor check-in began on Wednesday with Laser Executive Secretary, Sherri Campbell verifying each sail had correct numbers and National letters. In the meantime sailors were required to move their boats to the beach adjacent to the ABYC boatyard, where we launched and recovered for the rest of the regatta.

A Practice Race was scheduled for noon on Thursday in the original Notice of Race; however, a number of coaches and

competitors advised against this as a Practice Race followed by three additional regular races would make for a long day on the water. The Practice Race was cancelled and a good thing too as Thursday presented racers with the most challenging conditions of the regatta.

The race area was set in the ocean a mile or two south of Seal Beach and as we sailed to the course, the breeze was already well above ten kts with a building confused sea state. The breeze continued to build reaching 19 kts as the day progressed. The conditions pressed even the top tier racers and numerous racers headed for the showers after one or two races. Packy Davis from the San Francisco Bay Area said, “It wasn’t the wind, just the pounding”. This sentiment was repeated by Race Committee officials who reported having difficulty just

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nd U.S. SAILING Singlehanded Championship holding on and writing down sail numbers at the finish line.

In the 72 boat Laser fleet after three races, Bruno Fontes from Brazil was the leader followed by Charles Buckingham from Newport Harbor YC, Tom Ramshaw from Stony Lake YC in Canada, with Cy Thompson from St. Thomas YC and Andrew Lewis from the Trinidad & Tobago Sailing Assn. tied for fifth, but Erik Bowers from the U.S.A. did take first place in the last race of a challenging day.

The 102 boat Radial fleet was split into two flights for the first two days of racing.

Luke Miller from Lauderdale YC and Pedro L. Fernandez Gamboa dominated their respective fleets in Thursday’s blustery conditions with three straight wins each in their respective flights.

Wind conditions moderated to the 8-13 kt range for day two and three of the championship and once six races were completed everyone could discard their worst score. Going into the last day, Charles Buckingham had taken over the lead from Bruno Fontes, but the final outcome would depend on Sunday’s races. The Radial fleet was split for the final two days into Gold and Silver fleets with racers earing the lowest scores in the first two days advancing to the Gold fleet. Paige Railey from the St. Francis YC enjoyed a comfortable lead going into the final day of racing over Jack Marshall from the FAST Sailing Foundation and Luke Miller who suffered a DNC with a breakdown in race nine. There must be something to the FAST Sailing Foundation as members Henry Marshall scored bullets

www.Laser.org

in races seven and eight, and William Marshall scored seconds in races two and three.

We did have a nine boat Laser 4.7 fleet and after eleven races Gage Wilson from the Edison Sailing Center won the regatta followed by Macey McCann from the Texas Corinthian YC and Gage Schoenherr from Sailfit/Clearwater Sailing Center.

Twelve races were scheduled for the championship and the Laser fleet almost pulled off a twelfth race Sunday before the 3:00PM cutoff for further racing.

Light winds on Sunday meant the races took longer to complete, so the Lasers were lined up for a twelfth start just before three and

would have completed the race had there not been a General Recall, meaning they missed the cutoff time for a restart by mere minutes. Chris Barnard took first in the last two races, but could not overcome Charles and Bruno.

Matheus Dellangelo from ICSC in Brazil was fourth, Cy Thompson was fifth. In the Radial Gold fleet, Paige was first, followed by; Jack Marshall, Luke Miller, Claire Dennis from St. Francis & San Francisco YC and Pedro L. Fernandez Gamboa.

For the U.S. SAILING Singlehanded Championship, Charles Buckingham won the George O’Day Trophy as highest placing male in Lasers and Paige Railey won the Helen Wills Hanley Trophy as highest placing female in Laser Radials.

For complete results, race coverage and photos, go to: http://www.abyc.org/event. cfm?id=1917 Photos here from Scott Barnard & Stephanie Gwinn.

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District Reports District 3 Ontario Nigel Heath The sailing season got off to a slow start this year in Ontario given that the water was still solid in many locations through April. Lake Ontario and Lake Huron water temperatures are about 4C-5C cooler than the average in recent years, while Lake Erie has already warmed up to the average. And water levels are definitely higher than in past years, given all the snow pack run-off.

Once again District 3 has a summer full of sailing regattas across the region, so hope to see you out there on the race course. But speaking of racing, our sailing theme this year at the Water Rats is to do LESS racing and to become better sailors as a result.

What the?….. has Nigel lost his mind? (Not yet but that may be coming.) For years we have just raced and raced and raced around the course with 4-6 races per night. This was ok, but the unanswered question was: were we progressing as Laser sailors and actually improving our technique or just repeating the same old bad habits. We concluded the latter and we also concluded that we weren’t providing an optimal environment to develop sailors in the middle and the back of the fleet who were newer to the Laser.

Reflecting upon this, we decided we needed to take a two pronged approach to kick start training for all levels of sailor. Firstly we introduced regular evening training at the Water Rats with a focus on skills development that replaced doing numerous laps around a race course. Then for more advanced Masters sailors that have their eye on the Laser Masters World Championships in Kingston in 2015, we structured a training/coaching program with Thomas Fogh from Ontario Sailing. Essentially, we rejuvenated the Ontario Master Sailing Team.

Thomas has coached the Ontario Sailing Team in the past and has a lot of experience in different boats. So we are hoping to develop the club level sailor and the international level sailor at the same time.

The Heinz Gebauer Spring War was recently held at the Water Rats. Congratulation to: 1st Daniel Berry, 2nd Ray Davies, 3rd Nigel Heath. Picture below shows regatta chair Richard Roberts presenting

Daniel Berry with the Heinz Gebauer trophy.

A quick reminder that the Fogh Gold Cup series winners will take home a new Laser sail, the Radial winner wins a new Radial sail and the top female wins a new Radial sail courtesy of Fogh Marine. See d3laser.com for all the events and details. Good luck to all.

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District 5 Saskatoon, CAN Mark Lammens 20 races 2 days and a very good mix in conditions.

LP Gagnon continues his winning ways from the September Westerns by finishing in the top 3 in 17 races, but only 3 wins. Payton Byrns won 6 races for 2nd and Lewis O’ the Spanish speed demon won 7 races including the Driftwood trophy for winning the first race.

In the Radial Colin Krawchuk from MB is first, including a first, beating the full rigs, (breeze was up and right was good), Heather Boyle is 2nd and Bill Dawson, is 3rd. Bill is obviously learning about racing on the autobahn from MB super coach B Smutny. In the 16 and under category Andre Gagnon is 1st, Anthony Clark 2nd and Kayden Polacheck 3rd. Molly Ingenmey is 2nd female, Molly had basically brand new everything but the top section.

Guess what happened?

The other reminder was to always consider holding onto something if things break, (top section, hiking strap, break in boat handling) consider the mainsheet instead of the tiller extension, tiller breaks, rope not so much. Then you can pull yourself to the boat for self-rescue.

Special thanks to Olympic and Canadian Sailing Team meteorologist Doug Charko, Doug gave a little update on what to expect on the water, very informative. He was right, it got windy and as Colin took from the talk, watch the right.

Doug lives in Regina but was the weather guy with Prada, the Italian boat at 2 America’s cups as well as the CAN Sailing Team in China and the USA Sailing Team in London. He also just came back from Russia working with the Canadian team, specifically the downhill and cross country skiers. He was fully accredited team expert, so he has all of the nice clothes.

Also a Thank you to Brigitte Smutny and Shelby Williams for their assistance in the RC Boat. 20 races means 20 starts and many boats crossing the finish line. Shelby just finished her clinic training in Halifax and is on the fast track to be a Comp. Dev. coach. Good luck Shelby.

District 6 British Colombia Andy Hunt Greetings to all District 6 Laser, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 sailors.

The 2014 racing/sailing season for District 6 is now fully underway. Local evening and weekend racing has been going on since late April / early May. For those of you who don’t like formal regattas, casual club racing is an excellent way to see if you like informal racing.

For the more serious sailor, I will report on some of the usual local regattas. There were two regattas in April. two regattas in May (there might have been a third but I can’t find any information / results for the regatta) and one in June. The two April regattas were on English Bay and are usually back to back.

Since Easter fell on the third weekend of April for 2014, the Flights of Spring Regatta was scheduled for April 12 and 13. Wether the earlier date had something to do with it, I don’t know but there was a very low turnout for Laser Standards (3) and Laser Radials (6). Ellie Shaw Unger (Radial) was the only sailor (in both Standard and Radial) that was not a local sailor. Eight races were run over the two days, the three Standard sailors (in order of third to

first) were: Kyle Gerrard (RVANYC), Chris Cowan (RVANYC Race Team Coach) and Andriy Kanuka (VC). In the Radial Fleet, first place went to Grand Master Peter Woytkowiak (JSCA) while second place went to Jake Cullen (RVANYC) and third place went to Ellie Shaw Unger (SYC/RVANYC). The remaining three sailors were: Jacek Suski (JSCA) (4), Connor Black (RVANYC) (5) and Brianna Tsui (RVANYC) (6). By contrast, the Kitten Cup (hosted by the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club) had better wind and more competitors (in both fleets). The Kitten Cup is also the first regatta of the BC Sailing Circuit and the North West Youth Racing Circuit. All of the other regattas that make up the NWYRC are in District 22 so I won’t be reporting on any more of their regattas. The Kitten Cup also had competitors from outside the BC lower mainland. In fact, the top three Standard sailors were all from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. The Kitten Cup was on April 26 and 27. There were a total of 14 Laser Standards and 22 Laser Radials. The Standard Fleet had 9 races while the Radial Fleet had 8 races. The top three sailors in the Standard Fleet were: Bob Britten, (Grand Master), Reece Myerscouth, (youth) and Max Gallant (youth). The top three Radial sailors were: Alexander Fritz (RVANYC), Maura Dewey (RVICYX) and Graham Harney. (RVANYC) A week later, the Royal Victoria Yacht Club hosted the Spring Dinghy Championships. Very light winds were the norm for the regatta (3 races on Saturday, none on Sunday). There was one Laser 4.7 (Matthew Stanaghan from Gibson Yacht Club) and 17 Laser Standards and Laser Radials. Top five Standard sailors were: Bob Britten (again), Max Gallant, Dominic Fritz (RVANYC). Aiden Kotster (RVICYX) and Adrian Vlasic (RVANYC). Top five Radial sailors were: John Owen (RVICYC) Jake Cullen (RVANYC), Graham Harney (RVANYC), Alexander Fritz (RVANYC) and Fillah Karim (RVANYC). The Central Okanagan Sailing Association (COSA) held its annual Springtime Regatta on May 17 and 18, 2014. This is the third regatta of the BC Circuit (the second was the Spring Dinghy Championships). Most of the sailors were from the Rocky Point Sailing Association. The Royal Vancouver Yacht Club did not send its usual contingent of sailors. That said, there were 11 Laser Standards and 13 Laser Radials. I have no idea what the conditions were like on Okanagan Lake. The top three Laser Standard sailors were: Fillah Karin (RVANYC). Adrian Vlasic (RVANYC) and Nick Smith (RVICYC). The top three Radial sailors were: John Owen (RVICYC), Evan Robson (RPSA) and Jayden Potter (RPSA).

The lone regatta (so far) in June was the Jericho Classic Regatta. This regatta had the best wind of all of the regattas that I have mentioned. The winds were in the range of 8 - 12 knots on both days. The regatta was held on May 31 and June 1 at the Jericho Sailing Centre. There were 6 Laser Standards and 7 Laser Radials. Eight out of the thirteen boats came from the Jericho Sailing Centre. Top three Standards were: Sascha Smutny (JSCA), Alex Shepard (RVANYC) and Jorge Yanez (JSCA). Top three Radials were: Hanne Weaver (SYC/RVANYC), Peter Woytkowiak (JSCA) and Ellie Shaw Unger (SYC/RVANYC). Congratulations to those District 6 sailors who went down to California for the 2014 North American Laser, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 Championships. The sailors were: Frederick Vranizan, SYC/RVYC, 10 Laser Standard; Ricardo Montemayor, RVANYC, 14 Laser Standard; Max Gallant, RVICYC, 26 Laser Standard’ Dominic Fritz, RVANYC, 39 Laser Standard; Nick

SUMMER 2014

Smith, RVICYC, 45 Laser Standard; Alexander Shepard, RVANYC, 48 Laser Standard and Adam Sorensen, RVICYC, 56 Laser Standard. In the Radial Gold Fleet, Graham Harney (RVANYC) was 13th; Hanne Weaver (SYC/RVANYC) was 30th; Natalia Montemayor (RVANYC) was 33rd and Ellie Shaw Unger (SYC/RVANYC) was 51st. In the Laser Radial Silver Fleet, Miranda MacGillvray (RVANYC) was 7th. In the Laser 4.7 Fleet, Matthew Stanaghan (Gibson Yacht Club) was 9th.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments.

District 7 Tiverton, RI Derek Stow In New England our long, cold, snowy winter was followed by a long, cool, rainy spring. But it didn’t deter our hardy Laser sailors who showed up for an active schedule of early season regattas.

The first regatta on the 2014 summer calendar was the Peter Milnes Regatta in Newport on April 27 (or maybe it was really the last event on the winter calendar for the Newport frostbite fleet?) 32 sailors competed in the regatta with the usual suspects taking the top 5 places.

1. Peter Shope 2. Scott Ferguson 3. Steve Kirkpatrick 4. Dan Neri 5. Mark Bear Christine Neville was first woman in 6th place overall.

In what seems to be a general trend at many District 7 Regattas these days, of the 21 sailors who showed up for the May Madness Regatta at Quannapowitt YC in Wakefield MA on May 10, all except one were masters - and the exception was under 18. So it was decided to score the regatta using the masters handicap system. The winds were from SW 10 to NW 15, shifty, and gusty. Peter Follansbee didn’t need any handicap adjustments to win the regatta.

1. Peter Follansbee GM 2. Stu Nickerson GGM 3. James Jacob GM 4. Peter Seidenberg GGM 5. David Frazier GGM Hank Thorburn was first Master and Nat Cook was first Apprentice Master. Stephen Young won the Under 18 category.

Cedar Point YC in Westport CT held their Spring Laser Regatta on May 11. 24 sailors enjoyed breezes from W to NNW and 6 to 16 knots.

The first 5 in the 16 boat Full Rig fleet were...

1. Britt Hughes 2. Tom Lawton 3. Sam Barron-Fox 4. Philip Swanton 5. Tim Millhiser And in the 8 boat Radial fleet the top 3 were 1. Sarah Hatsell 2. Jean-Yves Fillion 3. Jim Vos The Striper Cup, the first event in the 2014 Maine Laser Series was held in Georgetown, ME on May 24. 10 sailors battled it out in light cross-cove breezes over 6 races. Ed Rowe of Portland finished first with 11 points, followed closely by Fred Boursier of Thomaston at 12 and then Mark Gaffney of Hope with 18.

On May 31, 12 sailors enjoyed the 7th Annual Laser

www.Laser.org

Regatta at Massapoag YC in Sharon MA. Lake Massapoag served up some sprightly lake winds winds from the E and NE at with slam dunk headers and capsizes for some. The top 5 sailors were…

1. Joe Berkeley 2. John Eckart 3. Eric Aker 4. Matt Russell 5. Brandon Dickerman Judith Krimski was first woman in 6th place overall.

That same weekend was also a “double-header” in New Hampshire with two one-day regattas. At the NH Seacoast Regatta at the Great Bay YC on Saturday May 31 there were 18 boats sailing 7 races in E-SE winds of 5-10 knots. 1st was Peter Shope, 2nd was Christine Neville, and 3rd was Peter Follansbee. Then on Sunday June 1 at the Lake Mascoma Regatta there were 8 boats who sailed 4 races in a NE breeze of 2-8 knots. 1st was Peter Seidenberg and 2nd was Nat Cook.

The first two day regatta on the District 7 schedule was the Wickford Regatta on June 7-8. (Wickford is famous as being the only location on American soil where an individual was hanged, drawn and quartered for treason. Not many people know that.)

The date of the regatta was moved from May to June this year which did seem to achieve the aim of attracting more youth sailors by avoiding the conflict with high school sailing events. 19 full rig Lasers and 11 Radials competed on what seemed like the first warm sunny weekend of the summer. Of course the downside of that was that the sailors did have to wait for the sea breeze both days, but when it came it was quite steady from the south, blowing 5-12 knots on Saturday for 4 races and 4-8 knots on Sunday for 3 races.

three males and two females, all enjoying close competitive racing. And there was a 61 year age spread between the first and third place sailors. How many other sports appeal to all ages and both genders so successfully?

The rest of the year’s district 7 regatta schedule can be found at www.laserdistrict7.com.

Please feel free to contact me about any district matters at laserd7@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

District 8 NY David Trinder and Lindsay Hewitt The summer season started with a whimper as the wind refused to play ball, but since the DInghy Shop series started in early May, it has been a series of excellent weekends of racing. So far at least 8 boats have been on the start line with this last weekend having 14. Winners have been different each weekend with Mike Matan, David Trinder, Matt Doherty and Lindsay Hewitt each taking honors. The racing has been close and we have seen sailors of all levels participate. There is no doubt that laser sailing on D8 is still strong and we are working hard to build the weekly turnout to +20. The www.laserd8.org web site shows the full season’s schedule and is also updated weekly with results. Narrasketuk Yacht Club has also been holding informal Sunday racing and the turnout of both experienced and less experienced sailors to these races has been very encouraging.

Special thanks to everyone at the Dinghy Shop, our

Mark Bear sailed a superb regatta to win the full rig fleet and 15-yearold Carly Broussard from Kentucky won the Radials. Top 5 in each fleet were…

Full Rig 1. Mark Bear 2. Dan Neri 3. Peter Shope 4. Peter Follansbee 5. Marcus Edegran Radials 1. Carly Broussard 2. John Kirkpatrick 3. Peter Seidenberg 4. Ted Bjerregaard 5. Christine Neville Just seeing those five names at the top of the Radial fleet gives me great confidence in the current and future health of Laser sailing as a lifelong sport. The current Great Grandmaster World Champion (Peter), a US Sailing Development Team Member (Christine) and three teenagers,

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new sponsor, and Narrasketuk Yacht Club for their hard work providing the Saturday and Sunday series this spring. We look forward to a great summer series highlighted by the D8 Grand Prix and District Championship at Sayville Yacht Club on July 19th and 20th.

District 9 NY Chas Williamson Welcome to 2014, Sailors in D9! This season we have had four regattas so far, with a mix of gusty breezy and light conditions, and all of them fluky. Our four main regattas have been Ithaca YC, Willowbank YC (Cazenovia), Saratoga Lake SC, Newport YC (Rochester).

Finally we are in the heart of Summer, and after a bitterly cold sluggish winter.

ITHACA YC - 24 May 2014 We had a day of sunshine and light winds.

Chris Wilson was irresistibly fast, and won 4 out of the 5 races, followed by Luke Miller who was comfortably in second. Third and rounding out the College sailors taking part, was Chippy Williamson. Boathandling in the very light winds was key and the younger sailors were ready! We were exceedingly lucky to have a great race committee, comprising Chris Rogers, Steve Little, Keith Rice and their team. The top 6 sailors were: 1. Chris Wilson; 2. Luke Miller; 3. Chippy Williamson; 4. Chas Williamson; 5. Joe Miller; 6. Mark Stuhlmiller.

Thanks for coming, Mark, and for setting up a new Laser fleet at Buffalo!

WILLOWBANK YC - 31 May 2014 We were met with a moderate sometimes strong breeze, with super-shifty autotack conditions; wind shifts suddenly appearing with little warning. Willowbank put on a great regatta.

Thanks to the Webster family for allowing me to come aboard their motorboat for several of the races. Luke won 4 races, sailing beautifully, to beat Mark Sertl, from Rochester YC. Local sailor Sam Webster got a string of 4th places to finish third. Ray Cudney of the home club sailed really well, and had a very close battle with Luke in race 4. Bobby Bryant was also present from Rochester, sailing fast.

Bobby and Mark are sailing more regattas this year in readiness for their running of the US Masters championships in September at RYC. Chippy Williamson was astoundingly slow off

the wind, generally overtaken by the whole fleet whenever a downwind leg got underway.

During the fifth and final race, he discovered he had no stern plug. After the racing it took around 15 minutes to empty the water from his hull - waterlogged hulls are not fast! It was great to see Allan Miller making the trek from Saratoga. The final placings were: 1.

Luke Miller; 2. Mark Sertl; 3. Sam Webster; 4. Ray Cudney; 5. Bobby Bryant; 6. Chippy Williamson; 7. Allan Miller; 8. Dave Filiberto; 9. Alex Marshall; 10. Joe Miller; 11. David Burtis; 12. Chas Williamson (Retired).

SARATOGA LAKE SC - DERBY REGATTA - 7 June 2014.

The annual Saratoga Derby Laser regatta was held on Saturday June 7, run by Allan Miller.

The forecast was for lightish winds, but conditions were zephyr-like. We floated in the sunshine for 2 hours, and were finally rewarded with a light but manageable race. Chippy Williamson had a great pin end start, and led at every mark, followed by Chas Williamson and Allan Miller. At the finish, Mike Kitner crossed the line third, followed by Ray Cudney. Race two was launched again after a further delay, giving us a close reach to the first mark, as the wind shifted within 30 seconds of the start.

Chas Williamson led around the race course, but Chippy caught up to second at the finish, followed by Al Miller. Thanks go to Saratoga and especially the committee and Al Miller and the photographer who supplied framed pictures of the racing as charming awards. The places were: 1. Chas Williamson; 2. Chippy Wlliamson; 3. Michael Kitner; 4. Allan Miller; 5. James Nicol; 6. Kurt Ofer; 7. David Burtis; 8. Bill Hamilton; 9. Ray Cudney; 10. Bob Posson; 11. Tom French.

NEWPORT YC (Rochester, NY) - 14 June 2014 Sailors experienced a gusty moderate breeze, with a lot of Westerly in it. Since Irondequoit bay lies north-south this meant huge shifts, sometimes with a pair of boats heading in the same direction but on different tacks ! The competition was strong, due the presence of a number of very fast legendary sailors; Mark Sertl, Dan Fien, Bobby Bryant, Doug Kaukeinen, and Richie Wait (Welcome back Richie!) sprinkled in amongst speedy College sailors. Doug won three races, and took the

regatta comfortably from Chris Wilson. Dan Fien started slowly but picked up speed during the afternoon, finishing with a beautiful race win. Fourth placed Mark Sertl sailed fast but had to count a big score in race one. Rounding out the top five was Chippy Williamson just pipping Richie. Thanks go to Kenny Fourspring and his committee for running a great regatta! Final places were: 1. Doug Kaukeinen; 2. Chris Wilson; 3. Dan Fien; 4.

Mark Sertl; 5. Chippy Williamson; 6. Richie Wait; 7. Bobby Bryant; 8. Chas Williamson; 9. Steve Leach; 10. Bill Wilson; 11. Kenny Fourspring; 12. Landy Atkinson; 13. Kurt Ofer; 14. Tom French.

District 10 NJ, PA Eric Reitinger Thanks to Glen Dickson for a few write-ups of the spring events 33rd Annual Philadelphia Laser Championship Marsh Creek Sailing Club Downingtown, PA April 12, 2014 Sunny skies and crazy breeze greeted the 14 competitors who made thetrip to Marsh Creek for their annual spring regatta, which traditionally opens the District 10 season. With the air temperature in the 70s but the water hovering around 50 degrees, a pretty solid inversion was in place over the lake, making it tough for the gradient breeze to break through and establish any sort of consistent flow across the course.

Nonetheless, the veteran RC team from Marsh Creek Sailing Club managed to get in six races in winds that kept shifting from SE to NW, and everywhere in between. While the course configuration pretty much stayed the same, three races were completed with the windward mark set off the eastern shore of the lake, and three were held with the windward mark off the western shore. The velocity was equally spotty with breezes ranging from 0-12 knots but mostly in the 1-5 knot range and huge puffs randomly filling on either side of the course.

Staying consistent in such challenging conditions was obviously difficult to say the least. Glen Dickson of Bay Head YC started off hot with two bullets, but then cooled off dramatically and posted several high numbers. Jim Knab of Cooper River YC rallied from some early stumbles and put together several

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SUMMER 2014

top-three finishes to close the day, while clubmate Faye Flam was the only competitor to avoid major trouble and never finished worse than sixth. In the end, Dickson took advantage of the drop (getting rid of a 12th) and did just enough in the last race to edge Knab by a point, 16 to 17, while Knab beat Flam (the first woman) on a tiebreaker for second. Tony Iacono of the host club was fourth with 21 points and the first Great-Grand Master. All received great prizes of APS gift certificates and bottles of wine (always appreciated).

Many thanks go to Marsh Creek Commodore Dave Cliffel and his team for putting together a fun event, including great breakfast and post-race spreads.

Make sure to mark your calendar for Marsh Creek’s fall regatta, to be held Oct. 18. Shrewsbury held their Annual regatta in May with a small group. Mike Hecky taking the 5 race series with Dave Magno second and Had Brick third. Mike Ehrot won the 3 boat Radial fleet.

Monmouth Spring Laser Regatta Monmouth Boat Club Red Bank, NJ May 17, 2014 Monmouth’s annual spring Laser event featured beautiful weather, with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s, and a very tricky westerly breeze that made for some challenging racing on the Navesink River. Under the able RC work of Laser Fleet 9 captain Dave Watts and his daughter Julia, nine boats enjoyed (or suffered through, depending on your point of view) six windward-leeward twice-around races with breeze ranging from 1 to 12 knots and shifting regularly through 80 degrees. Had Brick of Island Heights YC was the big winner, showing his veteran savvy by avoiding trouble and never placing out of the top three.

Glen Dickson of Bay Head YC won the first race, sailed in about 4 to 6 knots, wire-to-wire with Brick second and Jim Knab of Cooper River YC third. Brick took the next race, with Mike Hecky of Riverton YC second and Larry Nociolo of the host club third. Brick also won race three, edging Dickson and Dan Vought of Monmouth. Hecky would then heat up in a major way and win the next three races, which saw some of the most up-and-down conditions of the day. But with Brick dropping a third from Race 5 and Hecky counting a fourth due to a capsize in Race 2, it wasn’t enough. Brick took the regatta with 8 points to Hecky’s 9, with Dickson leading the “B fleet” in third with 16 points. Nociolo was fourth with 18 points and Vought fifth with 21 points. Kara Licara of the host club was the first woman (and Radial) in 8th.

Many thanks go to Dave and Julia Watts for working hard to conduct fair racing in such shifty breeze, as they constantly adjusted the marks and starting line throughout the day in an effort to square up the course. (It wasn’t easy. Brick noted that his compass showed the breeze moving from 220 to 300 degrees on one beat. Since he was on starboard, he didn’t tack.) They also provided a great breakfast and postrace lunch spread, along with the requisite beverages, and some very classy embroidered backpacks for prizes. For advance notice, Dave wants everyone to know that Monmouth’s Fall Regatta will be Sept. 20.

Try to make the trip to Red Bank and support one of the country’s oldest Laser fleets.—Glen Dickson Well you wanted wind, the Orange Coffee Pot delivered. Winds started off around 20-25mph and stayed between 15-20mph for the rest of the day. 7

www.Laser.org

races through the day tired out the sailors but also provided some close racing between many of the sailors. 16 fulls and 13 radials arrived to race for the day. Clay Johnson won the fulls and Andy Widmeier won the radials. Thanks again to SCYC and Newt Wattis for hosting us. Consider adding this regatta to your calendar next year, we keep getting previous winners (6 this year) and the racing is always fun. District 10 full rig champs were held at a combination of Greater Wildwood YC and Corinthian YC of Cape May. Racing was done in the ocean just off the coast of Wildwood. Breeze was up day one with 15-20mph winds with shifty and puffy conditions. Almost every one of the 18 boats capsized at least once. 5 races were sailed day one with Mike Russom leading and his father Dennis in second. Luckily the following day the conditions died down a little and a different direction and 3 races were completed. Despite Eric Reitinger and Matt Goetting’s late charge, Mike and Dennis still held the 1-2 and Matt moved up to third.

Congratulations to Mike on winning his first D10 championship! We also had a few travelers making the trip. 2 Old Dominion sailors made the trip up as a break from summer semester and one from Kingston YC in Ontario. NJ’s ocean sailing reputation is starting to get out of the district. Look for future events to be hosted in the ocean this year and the upcoming years. You can see from the pictures taken

by Tom Lord how windy it was and even some of the carnage.

Iron Man Jr Regatta @ Shore Acres YC July 10th Powder Puff Jr Regatta @ Metedeconk YC July 11th Beachwood Blowout Jr Regatta @ Beachwood YC July 18th Atlantic City Race Week July 19th (*OCEAN*) Jr. Olympics @ Island Heights July 21-22 Jr. Summer Classic @ Ocean Gate YC August 1st D10 Radials and 4.7 Championship @ Brant Beach August 16-17th SCYC Annual September 6th Shore Acres Laser Regatta September 13th Monmouth Fall Regatta September 20th Radial and 4.7 Mid-Atlantics @ Little Egg Harbor YC October 11-12 Marsh Creek Fall Laser Regatta October 18th District 11 VA, MD, DE Jon Deutsch Our season is well underway and a number of spring summer regattas have already been sailed - look for results in the fall edition of the Laser Sailor. For the second half of the summer we have Racing at SSA July 12 & 20 Deep Creek July 19-20 Corsica Annual July 26-27 Ware River August 2-3 FBYC Annual August 9-10 Oxford Regatta August 9-10 District 11 Championship August 23-24 West River Annual August 30-31 Our District Championship in August will be at Tred Avon Yacht Club on Maryland’s eastern shore. Look for the NOR and registration on our website.

SSA Held their Sunshine Open Regatta in May with ideal conditions for a spring regatta. Thirty four boats were registered, 23 standard rigs and 11 radial rigs. Although conditions were light to nothing on the way out to the course the first day, the wind soon filled in to the forecasted 12-15 knots out of the northwest. The sun was shining but the water temperatures were still cool enough to warrant spray

tops and even a dry suit or two.

Competition was fierce in the standard fleet on Saturday with four points separating 1st and 3rd place after four races. At the end of the first day John MacCausland was leading the standard fleet with Mike Russom, Jonathan Phillips and Luke Shingledecker close behind. Kim Couranz led the radial fleet with Susan Taylor and Dorian Haldeman in second and third. On the way back to the dock both fleets were treated to 20+ knots with gusts exceeding 30. Timing is everything.

Saturday evening the sailors enjoyed drinks and dinner on the deck overlooking the Naval Academy, Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay. The Unified Jazz Ensemble provided cool jazz on the upper deck to round out a great evening.

Sunday turned out just as beautiful with bright sunny skies and breeze in the low to mid-teens. The race committee got in three more races on Sunday for the standard fleet and two for the radials before the wind turned shifty and began to die. Final results did not change much from Saturday. In the standard fleet John MacCausland finished in first with 11 points through 6 races scored, Mike Russom was second with 15 points and Jonathan Phillips was third with 19 points. In the radial fleet Kim Couranz was first with 7 points through 5 races scored, Susan Taylor was second with 10 points and Dorian Haldeman was third with 15 points. - Steven D Cofer Look for more results in the fall and our complete schedule can be found online at www.laserdistrict11. org District 12 NC, SC, GA Glenn Walker Our series is off to a great start, with 17 races split between two regattas there is no shortage of competitors looking at the title of District 12 Champion. Our District Championship series has been producing quality sportsmanship minded champions for 36 years and our perpetual trophy is something all of sailors want hanging on their wall or their club’s wall for the next year. As it stands now Wrightsville beach sailor Martin Willard and Hilton Head’s Peter Gamble are tied for 1st with each one having scored a 2nd and a 3rd. However, with 4 regattas left to go and only three regattas needed to win the coveted trophy, it is anybody’s guess as to who will be crowned District 12’s next champion.

Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club hosted the District’s first regatta of the year May 3rd-4th. 24 competitors made their way through shifty conditions and strong current on Saturday which produced 5 races and 2 standout competitors John Potter and Peter Gamble, both former D12 Champions. One point separated them at the end of the day. Over in the radial fleet the top two were tight with a two point gap at the end of day with Will Mont holding the lead. Sunday saw slightly less breeze and 22 competitors on the line.

Mr. Gamble came back to tie things up in the 1st race of the day but it was short lived as Mr. Potter took back the lead in races 2 and 3 of the day and finishing with a 2nd and two bullets (1st). Will Mont and close rival Walter Gnann (BYSC) went toe to toe and this time Mr. Gnann came out on top to win the regatta.

Savannah Yacht Club hosted our second regatta. Friday John Porter hosted the annual Friday Junior Clinic for kids and adults alike for radial and 4.7 sailors. Saturday started off a little scary with a random out of nowhere lightning bolt hitting

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in the marsh not a 100yrds away from the nearest competitors, to say the least the fleet that had left the dock promptly headed back. After a brief delay the fleet headed out and the breeze filled in. Working the current and the edges was the name of the game as the RC positioned the course across the intersection of two rivers and the ICW. Local sailor and Tufts University sailor Rolfe Glover gave the fleet of 21 a lesson or multiple lessons as he finished the day with four 1st and a 2nd. Sunday conditions picked up and it turned into a full on vang sheeting cunningham on kinda day, the stuff Mr. Willard (CYC-NC) relishes.

He lead the day with three 1st and one 2nd while Mr. Glover finished no worse than 3rd and went on to handedly win the regatta, his first D12 championship win! In the radial fleet Walter Gnann lead wire to wire in all five races on Saturday and finished no worse than 2nd on Sunday to win the radial division.

As for the 4.7 fleet Collin Porter (SYC) lead the juniors around course in every race, wow!

D12’s next regattas are as follows: Charleston S.C., CYC-SC July 26-27 Wrightsville Beach N.C., CYC-NC August 2nd-3rd GRAND PRIX Mooresville NC, LNYC September 27th-28th Columbia SC, CSC October 4th-5th www.d12.laserforum.org for more info and results.

District 13 Florida Michelle Davis Things quiet down a lot in the summer in Florida compared to all the big regattas during the winter months. There are several local series going on to keep us entertained throughout the hot season when the seabreezes are dependable but we do have to dodge the thunderstorms.

LaserFleet Miami is hosting racing the last Sunday of every month on Biscayne Bay, in cooperation with USSC Miami and SailMiami. Upcoming dates are June 29, July 27, Aug 31, Sept 28, Oct 26 and Nov 30. First start 1300. More info: Roberto Porter at rportersordo@yahoo.com The Melbourne YC hosts Small Boat Sundays all summer long for Lasers and Sunfish, every other Sunday. More info: Dave Hartman at rolltack@ comcast.net The Treasure Coast series will resume in July at USSC Martin Co. Monthly racing on the Indian River. First two : July 12 and Aug 9. More info: Alan Jenkinson at alan@ussmc.org The Suncoast series is monthly between May and November; rotating between various locations in the Sarasota and Tampa/St. Pete area. More info: Buzzy Heausler at info@RCFlag.com This summer a few D13’ers are on the road doing some pretty major events. Erika Reineke is the sole American in the Gold fleet at the Radial European Champs in Split, Croatia, while a whole swarm of folks are at Long Beach for the North Americans.

Luke Muller was leading the Radial fleet with Paige Railey a close second at this writing. Good luck to all!

For more information check the D13 website or email Michelle at laserbrain2@hotmail.com.

District 19 Michigan Ken Swetka Michigan’s long winter has made for a late start for Lasering. The D19 Championships are the weekend following the deadline for this article. They will be in Harbor Springs. They did such a fine job last year

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and volunteered to do it again!

2014 Regattas/Events (if you see ?? it means it is not confirmed) June 15 UofM Spring Regatta - Michigan SC June 21-22 D19 Grand Prix Championships July 27?? Leland Laser Regatta - Leland YC August 16 Lake Lansing Annual - Lansing SC Sept 14 UofM Fall Regatta - Michigan SC Sept 13-14 Spring Lake Fall Regatta - Spring Lake YC Sept 27? No Sweat Regatta - Portage Yacht Club Sept 27? GTYC Fall Regatta - Traverse City Oct 4 Frosty Mug Regatta - Irish Laser Fleet, Little Traverse Bay, Harbor Springs Oct 12?

Pumpkin Head Regatta - Grand Rapids YC That’s all for now from D19 (Michigan)! As always check www.D19Laser.org for more reports and photos!

hopefully tempting and encouraging those of us that were looking to new sailing areas!

Our first regatta is in the books thanks to Ryan Drake and the entire White Bear Yacht Club. Your club and members are fantastic! Unstable weather didn’t stop 16 boats from showing to the opening event. Sailors had to wait on shore until lunch, but were able to sail hard after the cells had cleared to complete 7 hard fought races. While patterns emerged, the course was a minefield and boat speed alone was not enough to make the podium. Very excited to see the large collegiate turn out for this event, seeing a group with such an age span mesh so well is very encouraging.

Instead of a brains vs. brawn match it came down to a good mix of both last weekend!

Results:

District 20 WI, IL Steve Dolan dolan@mcw.edu https://www.facebook.com/groups/laserd20/ Long winter, cold spring and many of us are now just getting started. Weeknight sailing is underway at Milwaukee, Pewaukee, LaCrosse and Chicago Corinthian. Great to be back out out the water!

Below is the 2014 Regatta Schedule. We have lost a few of our early spring perennial events. Please get out and support those listed so that we may be invited back in future years. Also, please welcome Troy Tolan who has joined forces with Dave Abbott to develop/reinvigorate our D20 Facebook page https:// www.facebook.com/groups/laserd20/ Go there to join and see what’s happening in D20. This site will replace our defunct D20 web page on laserforum. org. Our listserv on Topica.com is still active but I hear it is difficult for new members to join. Please start communicating through our Facebook page instead. Many thanks to Rick Strilky for once again organizing a June D20 Laser clinic complete with high profile coaches and one on one feedback. With these at hand I am running out of excuses why I keep bring up the rear. That’s all I got. First regatta in the land of D20 is a month away. Stay fit, sail fast, see you out on the water.

May 3-4 Vlad Memorial Regatta Chicago Yacht Club, Belmont July 12-13 Great Lakes Masters, Thunder Bay, Ontario July 26-27 Hobelman/D20 Champs, Chi Corinthian YC Aug 8-9 Racine Laser Regatta, Racine YC Aug 23-24 Verve Inshore Chicago YC Belmont Aug 30 End of Summer Regatta North Shore YC Sept 6-7 Milwaukee Bay One Design, Milwaukee YC Sept 13 Titletown Regatta Windjamers SC Sept 12-13 US Masters Champs, Rochester YC Sept 20-21 Border Challenge, LaCrosse SC Sept 27-28 Jimmy Talbot Chicago YC Belmont Oct 11-12 Oktoberfest, Nagawicka Yacht Club District 21 Dakotas, MN, IA, NB Matthew Thompson District 21 has finally unfrozen, though Lake Superior was still pushing icebergs in June.

Fortunately those of us in the Minneapolis metro got to skip “spring” season and get right into summer.

Temps have been gorgeous but the water is high.

Locally we’re setting 100 year high water marks...

1st Matthew Thompson 15 points 2nd Bruce Martinson 18 points 3rd Mark Dunsworth 23 points 4th Eddie Cox 24 points 5th Tim Siemers 35 points 6th Mike Schmid 36 points 7th Will Crary 40 points 8th Martin Bonsager 41 points 9th Kurt Taken-Holtze 43 points 10th Anders Ekholm 47 points 11th John Weiss 55 points 12th Allison Prange 63 points 13th Ryan Drake 64 points 14th Bill Siemers 74 points 15th Matthew Carlson 77 points 16th Rachel Drake 91 points Twin Cities Laser Association weeknight racing has gotten huge again with local sailing center staff and students back on the scene. 24 boats for a weeknight start! Very fun, hopefully we can spread the wealth to our other locations and use this energy to build up our regatta fleets! This coming weekend (June 14/15th) is our District Championship at Gull Lake Yacht Club. GLYC is an amazing club and we’re very excited to be back. They set the standard for Laser events - camping/housing options, great lunches, beautiful facility, and a super supportive membership. We’re looking at 25 boats right now, crossing my fingers for 30! Current registration is showing travelers from as far as Montana and Illinois. Don’t miss this one Upcoming events include Lake Calhoun in July, a Grand Prix event at DSSA in Duluth during August, and hopefully another event in September. A number

SUMMER 2014

of our membership are looking out of district and adding your events to our calendars. Hopefully you can do the same and make one of ours work! Come see some real freshwater!

As always, the best place to find D21 info is via our facebook page or by going to our website http:// d21laser.wordpress.com/ District 22 WA, MT, WY, ID Kurt Hoehne District 22 is enjoying a great year.

Monday evening for racing at the Willamette Sailing Club. Former US Youth Champ John Sturman has been beating up the 20+ strong fleet, winning both the winter and spring series and jumping out to a comfortable lead in the first few weeks of summer racing. Runner-up in both winter and spring series was Bill Symes, followed by Tim Mulvaney (winter) and John Purdy (spring). Sturman, Symes, and Purdy are among the team of mentors offering racing clinics this summer to help new fleet members get up to speed. Weekly Laser racing at WSC continues through October. Find out more at www. willamettesailingclub.com.

The onset of summer marks the migration of northwest Laser sailors out to the Columbia River Gorge to get their annual fix of YEE-HAH! sailing conditions. First up is the WIND Youth Laser Clinic July 1-4 with celebrity coach Javier “Rulo” Borojovich. Rulo will stick around to share speed secrets with the older generation at the Gorge Laser Performance Clinic July 6-9, providing a good warm-up for the 2014 Laser Masters North American Championships July 11-13. Laser sailors who haven’t yet had their fill of ripping around the river will get another chance at CGRA’s annual CGOD Regatta August 2-3. For more info about events in the Gorge, check out www.cgra.org.

District 23 CO, UT, AZ, NM Geoff Hurwitch

The new Can-Am Fort Peck Lake Laser Regatta on August 15-17 will be this year’s District Championship. Hopefully this will spark some more activity on that end of the district, which is a full two-day drive from western edge of the district.

The Columbia Gorge Racing Association has once again put together a July of fun with the Gorge Laser Performance Clinic, Blowout and Master NAs back to back to back. It promises to be an epic year of competition.

The Seattle Laser Fleet continues its quest to get butts into boats. A free monthly program with Tasar World Champion Anthony Boscolo coaching from a RIB has attracted some serious competitors, while four fleet members held a clinic at the Sail Sand Point community sailing center for 20 sailors ranging from beginning adults to skilled juniors. Rigging, basic racing and Q&A were covered shoreside, then after a barbecue lunch the entire fleet hit the water just in time for the wind to kick up to a perfect 8-12 knots.

D22 South Oregon Bill Symes Ah, summer! Portland area Laser sailors are emerging from hibernation and turning out every

www.Laser.org

District 23 is pleased to be hosting the 2014 No Coasts yet again but this time in a different venue, at the Lake Dillon Yacht Club in Dillon, Colorado. Well known for its amazing backdrop, excellent camping and great winds, the Dillon YC is looking forward to hosting the combined No Coasts and District 23 Championships this year. More information and registration will be available at http://www.dillonyachtclub.com/ Meanwhile the Park City Sailing Association continues to see growth within its Laser fleet. The initial sailing night on June 3rd saw eighteen Lasers turn up, a new group record for first night turn-out. To see more about the growth of the Park City Sailing Association go to their website at www.sailpc.org District 24 NorCal Nick Burke Norcals April 12-13, Santa Cruz YC Emilio Castelli in the standard fleet and Jon Andron in the radial fleet put their names on the long list of people who’ve won the Norcals over the last 41 years. That list is here: http://tinyurl.com/nt4ua5d It has some gaps so please help fill them in. It is worth pointing out that Chris Boome won the first Norcals and also won the 2010 Elvstom-Zellerbach in the radial fleet. That’s an impressively long Laser career. Chris was also 3rd at the first Laser Worlds.

There were 5 races on Saturday and 4 on Sunday.

The iWindSurf instruments show on Saturday a south-westerly starting around 5 knots and building to 10 gusting a bit. On Sunday they show a westerly built all day, starting around 5 knots and peaking at steady 20 by 4pm.

There were 8 standards and 5 radials entered. That’s a very low turnout for this fine event. The weekend prior to Norcals many juniors spent 5 days at the CISA clinic at ABYC. There were only 2 Lasers at Big Dinghy which conflicted. Did a lot of people go

to the boat show ? It isn’t clear why there was a low turnout this year.

Here’s what Emilio had to say: Saturday was light building to 10 at most; Sunday we might have seen 15 in the last race. Jon seemed to always be on the correct side of the shifts and was often in front or very close to the full rigs at the windward mark. I would say Saturday (5 races) was left the first two races and then right. Sunday I would say the opposite; right the first two races, then left. No big swells though you could get some nice rides downwind occasionally. Nice weather but we do need to get more boats on the line.

Elvstrøm-Zellerbach May 3-4, St Francis YC Claire Dennis won the 16 radial fleet and Charlie Buckingham won a tie-breaker with Tracy Usher to win the standard fleet. There were 16 radials entered and 13 standards. This was the 40th time the Elvstrom trophy was contested. The list of winners is here: http://tinyurl.com/ofq6che The trend in attendance at the Elvstrom-Zellerbach has been rising over the last decade but this was a down year. See Figure 1 or http://tinyurl.com/ pdkpqne Monterey Fleet Championship May 10, Monterey Peninsula YC Here is a report from Angela Yates: I was on the race committee boat, but my photos aren’t too good due to having to hold on to prevent from falling over the side! The boat was definitely bobbing around like a cork at the mercy of the wind, waves and swell!!

Here is what I remember us recording... On the race committee boat was Jack, Laurette and myself.

There were two rescue/mark-laying boats. Three full rigs turned up: Tracy Usher, David Lapier and Nick Roche. Two radials turned up: Toshi Takayanagi and Laird Henkel. There were four races.

The first race started at 12.03. Swell was recorded as 4 to 6 feet, waves 3 to 5 feet and winds 16 to 20 mph with strong gusts (there was no wind recorder on the boat so the race committee boat and the two rescue boats agreed upon the wind speed). Tracy came first, closely followed by David, then Toshi and Laird.

Can’t remember the time of the second race I’m afraid - I think 12.33. Swell, waves and winds were the same. Laird retired before the start of this race which was surprising because he had a massive grin at the end of the first race. He looked like he was really enjoying himself. Tracy came first again, then David and Toshi.

I can’t remember the time of the third race, but the numbers had dwindled to only three at this point Tracy, David and Toshi. The wind was beginning to pick up and the ‘guestimate’ was now 18 to 23 mph.

Tracy finished first and David finished second. Toshi was unable to finish this race because his traveller broke.

At this point, the race committee (who were still being tossed around on the boat) were thinking about finishing for the day, but the OOD (race officer of the day - not sure what it is called over here), decided to let Tracy and David have one more race. They flew round because the wind had picked up even more.

Tracy came first and David second.

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There was definitely a lot of surfing the waves that day and I think everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Laird said he’s glad Tracy convinced him to get out there, if only for one race.

Of course the sea otters were chilling and laying on their backs, scratching their bellies, cracking crabs and wondering what all the fuss was about. There was a massive raft of sea lions at the breakwater as well, barking away.

When we were in the clubhouse after, the wind really picked up and nearly blew a couple of the other dinghies over (not sure what type they were two man ones though).

Whiskeytown Regatta May 24-25, Whiskeytown Sailing Club This was the 50th time this regatta was held at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, elevation 1200’. This was the largest Laser fleet in the last 3 years, with 11 standards and 0 radials. That was 1 more than the 10 Banshees. But 1 less than the biggest fleet, Moore 24.

There were 6 races ending up with 1st place Emilio Castelli, 2nd Richard Leland and 3rd Tim Sullivan of Rogue YC, which is about 20 miles east of Ashland, Emilio moves into 1st place in Sven’s GP standings.

Richard enters the standings in the top 10 after this event. Bruce Braly and Jim Christopher also enter in the top half of the standings: http://svendsens-grand-prix.myfleet.org Here’s what Emilio had to say about it: The first day we started with a dying westerly. The westerly died in the first “beat” and then filled in from the east so the first beat became a run and the run a beat. Funny thing, even though the light breeze seemed pretty well established, it was still full of holes and shifts.

We sailed the next two races in very light and shifty stuff which I gather is the norm in Whiskeytown.

First and second race the left paid; third race it was right but it also had to do with the way the course was laid out. The next morning the westerly was still up at the 10:30 start and it was strong enough to let me put my fat bottom over the side and hike. The wind stayed from the west all day and decreased but we still had enough to hike a bit even in the last race.

Had fun but I thought I was going to die of an heat stroke on Saturday...I actually drank from the lake as I had finished my water...

Go for the Gold Regatta June 7-8, Gold Country YC The High Sierra Regatta on Huntington Lake in the Sierra National Forest, elevation 7000’, is probably the most popular event on the lake circuit. It was cancelled this year due to low water levels associated with the drought. Scotts Flat Lake (aren’t they all flat ?) in Tahoe National Forest, elevation 3100’, had enough water to run the Go for the Gold Regatta so it was substituted on this year’s Svendsen’s Grand Prix. Go for the Gold will probably be added to next year’s GP as well to tilt things slightly more towards lake events.

Here is a report from Buff Wendt: The Go for the Gold regatta got off to a good start on Saturday with full albeit light wind across the entire course. Richard Leland displayed his lake sailing talent, hitting the shifts up the middle of the course and taking a large lead early. As he essentially walked away from the fleet downwind there was some good natured ribbing coming from Emilio Castelli and Chris Boome calling out from behind “Richard we are coming to get you…..” Mike Rohde

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was the closest to trying to close the gap but it was never a question that Leland would run away with the first race. “It was nice having a consistent wind, because usually I would have been concerned that one good gust from behind would take me from hero to zero.” mused Leland. Ultimately the top five finishers were Leland, Rohde, Jim Christopher, Buff Wendt and Chris Boome.

Race two brought even steadier and increasing wind allowing everyone in the fleet to be fully hiked out, which was certainly a treat at Scott’s Flat. Emilio Castelli quickly figured out that the right had a favored shift along the shore and although he didn’t immediately look that favored going up the long beat, a nice knock at the top of the course allowed him to tack to the mark with a significant lead over Leland and David Suder who were next around the mark. On the downwind leg, Leland and Suder duked it out with Suder taking Leland up allowing Wendt who sailed a lower course to slip by and take second.

Leland finished third with Suder and Boome behind him.

The third race continued to have the same breeze as the second and Emilio continued his same strategy of going right and being the first to the windward mark.

Wendt tried to give him a run for his money on the triangle course, but could never quite catch up. The two were close enough to talk about Jim Christopher coming straight down the course unfortunately having a great race, but having missed the jibe mark.

With the temperatures in the high 90’s and everyone more than a bit sunbaked, Jim decided he had already done his triangle and was on his way to the finish. It was unfortunate because the withdrawal would play into Christopher’s results later. Top five finishes were Castelli, Wendt, Boome, Rick Raduziner and Leland.

The final race for the day saw a massive shift to the right. At this point in the regatta it became clear why this was the friendliest and happiest race committee most people had ever seen. They don’t change any course marks or the line. Ever. They operate on a “it is what it is” philosophy and are wildly amused by whatever happens as the wind rotates in a 360. So we all tried to start on a reach at the committee boat. Chaos ensued and we had our first recall of the day. After the second try, we figured out the reaching start and were off in much lighter and flukier winds. Jim Christopher after the last race was out for redemption and quickly took out Castelli going downwind after the jibe mark. Mike Rohde was third with Leland and Boome following.

Sunday the typical conditions for Scott’s Flat had returned and we set off in extremely light and fluky winds. The first two races were extremely long, hot and at times with no wind at all. We had a downwind start and were even sent on the triangle course. There were two good quotes that summed the exquisite pain of sailing in these conditions: Castelli upon seeing the triangle course announced “Oh I see this is going to be one of those races.” Then Mike Rohde commented as Raduziner called for room on him and Wendt as they spent ten minutes drifting by the windward mark, “It’s irrelevant, there are going to be at least five more restarts before this is done.”

Ultimately Castelli and Boome won those two races.

Christopher unfortunately had a breakdown which caused him to drop back to 11th and forced him to use the 13th from his withdrawal as his throw out.

The race committee had indicated that we were going to go in when the wind filled and they decided to send the lasers on one last race. After baking in the sun and drifting for so long this race was a relief and a great way to end the regatta. The right once again

paid, but this time Christopher, again, won the race with Wendt and Castelli finishing neck and neck behind him.

Castelli with 11 points was the clearly dominant sailor of the weekend followed by Leland with 19 points, Boome with 21 and Wendt with 22 for the regatta trophies.The Gold Country Yacht Club had fabulous food, people and regatta. They were extremely friendly and welcoming, so in spite of the drifting I’m sure many of us would come again as it was overall a very fun weekend with a great group of people sailing. Finally, the big discussion of the weekend was about Jim Christopher’s 80th birthday next spring. We want to have a birthday regatta, (on a lake of course!) to celebrate our dear friend and the fact that we all want to grow up to be just like him, a great sailor and impressive person both on and off the water. Years ago in master’s laser sailing the category for 75 years and older was “Olympian”.

I don’t know if that was eliminated by the IOC but we think this category needs to be revived. Emilio voted for “bad ass” as that is how everyone at the table viewed Jim and anyone sailing a laser over 75.

Dynamo and Yoda were also considered. I think we really need to reinstate this category with some name that exemplifies our most senior of senior sailors and to celebrate that Jim, at 79, is a serious threat, even in wind in his laser.

District 26 Hawaii Guy Fleming The Laser District 26 Championships were hosted by the Hawaii Yacht Club on May 10 with 14 boats on the line. The North American Laser Class breaks up the continent into districts and Hawaii is #26. Seven races were held in very challenging conditions for the Race Committee and the fleet. In the first race the wind was coming from the south at about 6-8 knots and was steady. The third race the wind dropped to 2 knots on a double windward/leeward course which tried the fleets patience and will. The wind started to veer and by the fifth race it was 12-14 knots with big chop from the west. There was a huge shift at the start with most of the fleet over early in race 5 and it made for some new race leaders. The wind backed off some to 10-12 knots for the last two races.

Sailing very well were Dylan DiMarchi, Nolan Laramore, and Zach Kaan all with very low point totals. A new laser master, Michael Bacon, came out to race and we welcome him to the fleet. As always the pizza and Mountain Dew were especially delicious. Thanks to Charles Barclay and Marty Loo for the race committee work. The results were: 1Dylan Dimarchi 2 Nolan Laramore 3. Zach Kaan 4 Scott Melander 5 Charlie Field 6 Grant Christopher 7 Michael Bacon 8 Guy Fleming 9 Matthew Butler 10Mason Comerford 11 Leah Ford 12 Manny Bacon 13Trent Chismar 14Nicholas Tortora

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I NEED TO DEVELOP MORE STRENGTH!

By Dr. Chris Herrera DPT CSCS & Peter Krystoff CSCS Over the past 8 years working with US Sailing we have had around 10 training camps at the Olympic Training centers in Colorado Springs and Chula Vista along with our new Miami Training Center. During these camps we spend 3-5 days working on everything from exercise testing, workout development, and exercise concepts and creation. When reflecting on these camps the best and most useful information we get comes from the interviews, presentations, and question & answer sessions with the coaches and athletes. This gives us direct feedback on how to adjust and make the workout programs better and more specific to each boat class and athlete individually. Over this time I have worked with a lot of youth lasers on the US developmental team and past and current Olympic laser Athletes. When analyzing the athletes programs with them every one of them gives the same feedback: “ I need to develop more strength”. My follow up question is always: “Where?” And the answer from every athlete is: “ EVERYWHERE” Focusing on major muscle group development with multi-joint exercises develops strength. These exercises must be completed with 3-5 sets, 6-8 repetitions, and rest periods between 2-3 minutes. By stacking exercises (combining non-complementary muscles groups) into one group, you will be able to get the most out of your lift in the least amount of time. This will also help make the strength program more sailing specific by working on a combination of movement patterns that work together while sailing.

In order to do this I break down every section of our resistance program and have developed a strength circuit for each. It is important to understand each section and what the main conceptual focus for each is in order to get the most out of it. The five sections are: 1.

Dynamic Warm-up 2.

Movement Lift 3.

Main Lift 4.

Auxiliary Lift 5.

Sports Specific (SSP)/Reinforcement Each Section is detailed below with example workout circuits Dynamic Warm-Up ACTIVE DYNAMIC WARMUP REST WORK Research supports that if you increase your internal JUMPING JACKS 0 3X10 temperature from its normal state, power output increases.

SEAL JACKS 0 3X10 A dynamic warm-up is used to not only increase internal BODY WEIGHT SQUATS 5s 3X10 temperature but also to prepare the muscles for the workout IN AND OUT SQUATS 0 2X10 ahead. You want to actively stretch and activate the muscle WIDE OUT SQUATS 5s 2X10 groups that are going to be focused on throughout the workout.

For a full body strength workout it is important to attach each HIGH KNEES 0 2 x 10 yards major muscle group with multi-joint movement patterns.

BUTT KICKS 0 2 x 10 yards A-SKIPS

5s

2 x 10 yards

WALKING LUNGES FORWARDS

0

2 x 10 yards

WALKING LUNGES BACKWARDS

5s

2 x 10 yards

OVER UNDER HURDLES (LATERAL)

0

2 x 10 yards

LATERAL LOW LUNGES

5S

2 x 10 yards

IRON CROSS

0

1x10

SCORPIONS

0

1x10

DB V RAISES

0

1x10

SHOULDER COMBO

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DB T SHRUGS

0

1x10

DB BENT OVER V RAISES

0

1x10

DB BENT OVER W RAISES

0

1x10

PUSH UPS

0

1X15

PULL UPS

0

1X8

*COMPLETE EACH GROUP SET AND REPS BEFORE MOVING ON TO NEXT WARMUP GROUP. THIS WARMUP WILL TAKE 12 MINUTES.

Movement Lift The movement lift is done at the beginning of the lift because it is used as a corrective exercise block. These lifts correct musculoskeletal imbalances that could possibly lead to injury and inflexibility that would hinder performance. The movement lifts are muscle activating and are also used as a warm-up to better prepare the body to perform the high MOVEMENT LIFT

REST

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

SET 4

SET 5

POWER CLEANS

20 s

6 reps

6 reps

4 reps

4 reps

4 reps

DB SQUAT JUMPS

3 min

6 reps

6 reps

6 reps

4 reps

4 reps

HIGH BOX JUMPS

20 s

6 reps

6 reps

4 reps

4 reps

4 reps

FRONT SQUAT

3 min

6 reps

6 reps

6 reps

4 reps

4 reps

SUMMER 2014

intensity and compound main lift. *COMPLETE EACH GROUP SET AND REPS BEFORE MOVING ON TO NEXT WARMUP GROUP

Main Lift The main lift is a group of compound exercises that are the most complex and activate the most muscle fibers.

These exercises are usually multi-joint movements. Prime movers are the target muscle groups in these lifts and often recruit stabilizers for added stability around the joints. These exercises are usually the most difficult and require the most energy, which is why they are at the beginning of the training session. *COMPLETE EACH GROUP SET AND REPS BEFORE MOVING ON TO NEXT WARMUP GROUP *ADD WEIGHT TO PULL UPS IF YOU CAN DO MORE THAN PRESCRIBED REPS

MAIN LIFT

REST

PUSH PRESS

0

6 reps 6 reps 4 reps 4 reps

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

SET 4

INCLINE DB PRESS

0

6 reps 6 reps 6 reps 4 reps

ROPE FACE PULL

3 min

6 reps 6 reps 6 reps 4 reps

PULL UPS

0

8 reps 6 reps 6 reps 6 reps

S. ARM SEATED ROW

0

6 reps 6 reps 6 reps 6 reps

S. LEG SUSPENSION SQUATS

3 min

6 reps 6 reps 6 reps 6 reps

Auxiliary Lift The auxiliary is a lift that is not as energy consuming as the main lift. Therefore, these lifts follow the main lift in the exercise program. Since smaller muscle groups are the focus, the intensity, or resistance, is not as high as the main lift. The focus is to gain stability across joints by working stabilizers that assist prime movers through various athletic movements. These lifts can be unilateral or asymmetrical exercises that work trunk AUXILIARY LIFT REST SET 1 SET 2 SET 3 SET 4 stability and connectivity. The exercises in this block can usually be done as a circuit because DB STEP UP W/PRESS 0 6 reps 6 reps 4 reps 4 reps different muscle groups are being used and MB ANTERIOR SLAMS 0 6 reps 6 reps 6 reps 6 reps activated with every lift and therefore a rest PLANK LATERAL LEG KICKS 3 min 30 s E 30 s E 30 s E 30 s E interval is unnecessary. *COMPLETE EACH GROUP SET AND REPS BEFORE MOVING ON TO NEXT WARMUP GROUP

LATERAL DB SWINGS

0

6 reps

6 reps

6 reps

6 reps

Z-BAR SKULL CRUSHERS ON PB

0

6 reps

6 reps

6 reps

6 reps

MB PULL OVERS

3 min

6 reps

6 reps

6 reps

6 reps

SSP/Reinforcement The SSP/Reinforcement is a block dedicated to functional flexibility and range of motion exercises. These exercises act as a cool down to prevent blood pooling and lowering heart rate that was maintained throughout the workout. Flexibility must be maintained or improved to be fully functional in in your specific sport. *COMPLETE EACH GROUP SET AND REPS BEFORE MOVING ON TO NEXT WARMUP GROUP

SSP/REINFORCEMENT

REST

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

HIP CIRCUIT

0

8 reps E

8 reps E

8 reps E

S LEG HIP BRIDGES

1 min

8 reps

8 reps

8 reps

CABLE SHOULDER ER

0

8 reps

8 reps

8 reps

WALL CHEST STRECH

1 min

30 s E

30 s E

30 s E

The combination of all 5 of these sections makes a rounded full body strength workout. They should be completed in the order given while being very precise with the work-to-rest ratio (how much time you rest between sets). This program is a great way to build the base strength needed to sail a Laser strong!

www.Laser.org

39

Why Join the Laser Class?

What are some of the benefits of a strong class association? 

A strong class association means lots of boats to race against, near you and around the world!



A strong class association with lots of racing attracts the world’s best sailors - giving you the best racing possible!

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A strong class association means major events scheduled at the best sailing locations and moving all over the North American Region - there will always be a big event near you!



points when sailing in major events, ranking you against your fellow competitors and making you eligible for end of the season prizes, like new sails, carbon tillers, etc.

You get direct benefit by joining the Laser Class!

What does the class association do with your membership dues? 

The first $14.00 of your membership dues go to pay the North American staff who work incredibly hard to: make sure our North American events get scheduled every year and that these events follow the high standards of the Laser Class, to publish our quarterly newsletter, etc. Importantly, that money also makes sure that if you ever have a question you can simply pick up the phone, or send an email, and a knowledgeable person will answer you right away.



Depending on exchange rates, the next $9.00 of your dues goes to the International Class where they use the money to pay their staff to make sure world level events get scheduled, ensuring all the boats are the same by inspecting the builders to make sure they are complying with the Laser Construction Manual, keep track of rules changes proposed by members, interfacing with ISAF on various levels, including keeping both the Laser Standard and Laser Radial as Olympic equipment, etc.

You receive the annual Laser Class Handbook with the current class rules, interpretations of those rules, class constitution, guidelines for events, useful information for keeping your boat in good shape, contact information for your district, etc.



A little over $7.00 goes to the quarterly assembling, printing and mailing of The Laser Sailor to you for the year.



Around $5.00 goes to support and promotion, ranging from direct support of the districts and regattas to the website.



You receive the International Class Association’s quarterly publication “Laser World” which gives a roundup of international events sailed around the world, as well as information from the international office.





You receive the North American Association’s quarterly publication “The Laser Sailor” which is loaded with regatta reports, technique articles, fitness and nutrition tips, sailor profiles, reports from each of the North American Region’s 26 Districts and much, much more. In addition, the magazine also contains advertising from Laser dealers selling Laser specific gear and aimed entirely at Laser sailors - if you are looking for something for your boat you will see it advertised here!

Most of the remaining $5.00 goes to all the things it takes to running an organization of 2400 members, from Executive Secretary travel costs, to federal income taxes all the way to mundane office expenses.

Your membership dues are used to keep the Laser Standard, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 as THE singlehanded dinghy to sail and race in North America and throughout the world!



A strong class association means solid class rules making all boats as identical as possible - you are competing against other sailors, not their pocket books!



A strong class association means lots of people looking to buy boats keeping the resale value of your boat high.



A strong class association keeps an eye towards the future and works with the builders to make improvements where needed while preserving as well as possible the competitiveness of older boats.

To be strong, a class association needs the support of its sailors!

What are some of the direct benefits of membership? 

Why should you join the Laser Class? 

To enable the Laser Class to remain a strong class association and continue to make the Laser the pre-eminent singlehanded dinghy of our time.

You will have access to the class website at www.laser. org containing all the latest news as well as the up to date calendar of events, complete with maps to show you how to find the events. And you can also find archived copies of The Laser Sailor as well as useful articles on how to sail your boat faster.



To gain the benefits of membership outlined above.



To protect your investment in your boat, making sure that if the time comes to sell then you can be certain that the high demand driven by a strong class will enable you to get the best price for your boat.



Your membership makes you eligible to sail in any of the 50+ major Laser Class regattas scheduled every year throughout the North American Region, including open, masters’, youth and women’s events.

The International Laser Class Association, North American Region is what it is today because of the support of its members.

Keep that tradition alive, join or renew your membership TODAY!



Your membership makes you eligible for the LaserPeformance/ILCA-NA Grand Prix where you earn



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SUMMER 2014

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Name_______________________________________________________ Address_____________________________________________________ City ___________________State / Prov. _____Zip / postal code ________ Phone ____________________ E-mail____________________________ Sail # ______________DOB (month/day/year) _____________Sex ______ Boat usually sailed _____Laser ______Radial _____Laser 4.7 Current Membership Fees All amounts are in US dollars. (Canadian checks must be in US dollars.)

• Regular - $40 for one year or $75 for 2 years • Junior - $35 (Member may not turn 18 during term of membership), or $65 for 2 years (Member may not turn 18 during term of membership) • Family, one year - $40 for the primary members and $25 for each additional member • Family, two years - $75 for the primary members and $45 for each additional member Please provide family members names, DOB, boat type and sail number on an additional sheet of paper.

• International - $50 (any member not living in the US or Canada), one year only

Amount enclosed __________________US$ Please make checks payable to ILCA of NA or provide credit card information as shown below. Thank you for joining the Laser Class.

Credit Card payment by Visa, Mastercard or AMEX (Sorry – no Discover)

Name on credit card: ________________________________________________________ Credit card number: ________________________________________________________ Exp. date: _________ Credit card billing zip/postal code _________ Security code____ NOTE: Occasionally we make our mailing list available to our advertisers. If you do not want your name included on these lists, please check here: _________

RETURN THIS FORM TO: ILCA OF NA 2812 CANON STREET SAN DIEGO, CA 92106

www.Laser.org

41

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by Musto

Spray Top: $130.00 Trousers: $125.00

Black Diamond Tiller By Acme $210.00

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SUMMER 2014

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