FALL 2012 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, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2
Editors
Sherri Campbell & Jerelyn Biehl ILCA-NA
Officers
Lauralee Symes Chairman 6901 SE Oaks Park Way, Slip 27 Portland, OR 97202 Phone: (503) 274-2818 llsymes@comcast.net
Evan Lewis Vice Chairman 4 Nursewood Road Toronto, ON M4E 3R8 Canada Phone: 416-804-6048 Lewis_racing@hotmail.com
FA LL
2012
District Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
President’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Power Food of Olympic Proportions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
NA Olympian Collage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-13
Mounting a Sport Camera on a Laser . . . . . . . . . . .14-15 Regatta Reports
North American Championship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 District 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
US Masters Nationals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2013 Event Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Laser World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .center
District Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Membership Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Clay Johnson Treasurer 26 River Bend Dr. Toms River, NJ 08753 Phone: 732-330-7281 clayton.e.johnson@gmail.com
Jon Deutsch Secretary 3422 Blithewood Dr Richmond, VA 23225 Phone: 804-305-1244 jon@laserdistrict11.org
Christine Neville At Large 2321 Ransom Avenue Oakland, CA 94601 Phone: 917-285-5869 Chrisnev@gmail.com
Sherri Campbell Executive Secretary 2812 Canon Street San Diego, CA 92106 Phone: (619) 222-0252 Fax: (619) 222-0528 sherri@odmsail.com
www.Laser.org
FALL 2012 6 continents, 122 countries - the biggest adult and youth racing class in the world
Cover: Chris Barnard, North American Champion for 2012 in fine form at the Gorge. Photo by Jan Anderson
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Hawaii
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District 1
Danielle Dube, 8 Sunnydale Dr, Glen Haven, NS B3Z 2T8 902-823-2802, danielle_dube947@hotmail.com
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District 2 District 3
Jon Deutsch 3422 Blithewood Dr., Richmond, VA 23225 804-305-1244, jon@laserdistrict11.org http://www.laserdistrict11.org
District 4
Butch Mumma brmumma@gmail.com www.d12.laserforum.org
Philippe Dormoy, 385 Place Desmarest, Ile Bizard, Quebec, H9C 2G8 514-620-8124 Philippe_dormoy@steris.com Nigel Heath 416-417-0193 D3 website: www.d3laser.com Brigitte Smutny, 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@shaw.ca 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 Stow. 28 Starlit Road Tiverton, RI 02878 401-625-5973 Laserd7@gmail.com
District 8
Ted Cremer, 7 Maple Street Blue Point, NY 11715. 631-363-8830, tcremer@optonline.net www.laserd8.tripod.com
District 9
Chas Williamson, 9 Lagrand Court Ithaca, NY 14850 607-272-0630. cw26@cornell.edu
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District 12 District 13
Antolin Rivera, PO Box 26674 Tampa, FL 33623 813-837-3013, shipajoy@yahoo.com www.laser.org/m/_general/d13.asp
District 14
Cal Herman, 7038 Catina St New Orleans, LA 70124, 504-282-1770 callender.herman@wachoviasec.com Forest Atkins 157833@gmail.com 214-686-7035 www.cerebus.winsite.com/Laser/districts/d15/
District 16
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District 11
District 15
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District 10
Eric Reitinger 7908 Normandy Dr. Mt Laurel, NJ 08054 er4599@gmail.com http://d10.laserforum.org
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13 District 19
Ken Swetka 27022 Koerber St., St. Claire Shores, MI 48081 248-635-5363 www.d19laser.org
District 20
Steve Dolan 21140 Chancery Ct. Brookfield, WI 53045 262-506-8879. dolan@mcw.edu http://d20.laserforum.org/
District 21
Kurt Holtze, 710 Summer St. NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 621-281-1447 kurt@kurtphoto.com d21.laserforum.org
District 22
Mike Gilbert, 1620 Gerald Ave. Missoula, MT 59801 406-327-7855, mike@gilbertarch.com
District 23
Nick Ondrejka PO Box 981897, Park City, UT 84098 nick@ondrejka.com, 415-748-6893 www.usdiscovery.com/laser
District 24
Nick Burke nburke@skysail.com www.technicalwizardry.com/d24laser/d24
District 25
Tim Fitzgerald, 2322 Bromfield Circle Wichita, KS, 67226, 316-650-3636 timfitz@cox.net
Jorge Suarez, 7 Covina Ave, Long Beach, CA 90803 562-260-8116. jorgesuarez0@yahoo.com groups.yahoo.com/group/nalaserdistrict25
John E. Coolidge, Jr., 1113 Hanover St, Chattanooga, TN 37405, 423-309-1926 JC@Chattprint.com
Guy Fleming, 44-392 Olina St. #6 Kaneohe, HI 96744-2617 808-955-4405. guynsyd@hawaii.rr.com
District 17 District 18
District 26
John Shockey 614-256-2254 johnrshockey@gmail.com
FALL 2012
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President’s Notes LAURALEE SYMES
Driving into the parking lot at Cascade Locks Marine Park on July 19, I was reminded of why I love Laser sailing. One hundred and seventy Laser sails flapping in the warm Columbia Gorge breeze, boys and girls of all ages pulling on their hiking suits and slapping on sunscreen, the air electric in the minutes leading up to the start of the 2012 Laser North American Championships.
Call me an old fashioned girl, but this was my kind of sailboat racing. Nothing fancy. No yacht club, no bar, no blue blazers, no frills. Parents helping their kids launch off the beach, families tanning and swimming all day while racers did battle on the water, cold beverages waiting on the beach at the end of the day (thanks to regatta sponsor Kona Beer!), hot barbeque, sitting around picnic tables in the park as the sun set across the river, talking and
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New Jersey (61 Lasers at Masters US Nationals), and dozens of other venues throughout the country. And, of course, there was that very big Laser regatta going on over in Weymouth, England. laughing into the night. What a memorable experience! Congratulations to all the competitors (you can read all about it on page??) and kudos to regatta cochairs Jarvis Brecker and Marilyn Hodson, to PRO Mark Townsend, and the army of volunteers who helped make this happen.
This wasn’t just going on in Cascade Locks, Oregon. This was happening all over North America this summer. Hundreds of Laser sailors, families, and volunteers were creating lifetime memories in places like Houston, Texas (88 Lasers at US Nationals), Toronto, Ontario (100 Lasers at Canadian Nationals), Brant Beach,
Is this a great class or what? I am so proud to be a part of it.
OK, I know we have issues. The manufacturers, licensees, and trademark owners seem to have gotten sideways with each other, putting the future of the Laser class up in the air. I know this is a concern to all of our members. As of this writing, I have nothing helpful to report, except that your class officers are working very hard to reach a happy resolution. We could not have a better team on the job than our two former board members, ILCA President Tracy Usher and General Manager Eric Faust. Stay tuned to the ILCA-NA website for updates on the situation.
FALL 2012
www.Laser.org
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A new Power-Food of Olympic proportions EVAN LEWIS MSC. CSCS, CK
In the Summer 2010 issue of TLS, I compiled my own list of Top 10 Power-Foods to help support the nutritional needs of those training hard and looking for a nutritional edge. Since then, a new power-food has emerged that you should be aware of, red beetroot! This root vegetable has many beneficial properties, such as being packed full of anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibre; however the real power lies in a small chemical compound within this vegetable, nitrate (NO3-). This compound is so potent that many Olympic athletes were reported to be drinking beetroot juice leading up to the 2012 Olympics to enhance their performance. Here is why‌
Nitrates are naturally found in many vegetables, especially those with dark colours and leafy greens (e.g. celery, broccoli, spinach, kohlrabi, parsley and red beetroot). Beetroot is the most popular because it has one of the highest concentrations of nitrate and it is moderately high in natural sugars, which make its juice sweet.
When nitrates are consumed in the diet (either as a whole foods or as juices), a small percentage remains in saliva, while the rest is digested. During the digestion process, nitrates (NO3-) are broken down to nitrites (NO2-), which enter into the blood stream. Here oxidation can occur, which converts some nitrites to nitric oxide (NO). Scientists have long been aware of the physiologic effects of nitrates, nitrites and nitric oxide, as each of these compounds can have an effect of gene expression, blood vessel growth, cell division and blood vessel dilation. Only recently have the nitrates contained within vegetables, such as beetroot been shown to have similar effects as their synthetic equivalents.
An early investigation of the effects of six days of 500 mL beetroot juice supplementation was examined during moderate intensity walking, jogging and intense running by Lansley et al. (1). The researchers reported two major findings, (1) participants consuming beetroot juice required 6% less oxygen to perform the same intensity of activi10
ty as the group that was given beetroot juice without nitrates; and (2) the time to fatigue during intense running was longer in the beetroot juice group. Since the researchers compared beetroot juice with and without nitrates, this study confirms that nitrate is the bioactive compound within beetroot/beetroot juice that can enhance athletic performance.
Now the important question is, how do the nitrates from beetroot cause these changes in performance?
In their study, Lansley et al. (1) did not observe any differences in the metabolism of the exercising participant’s during all three intensities of running. As a result we can conclude beetroot nitrates do not change carbohydrate or fat use during exercise. Additionally, there were no changes in muscle mitochondria content. Mitochondria are the power factories in your muscle cells that generate energy. Had their been an increase in their content, the oxygen cost of exercise would have been reduced. Their only other observed change was a decrease is systolic blood pressure by 5 mmHg or 4%. While this adaptation is beneficial for overall health (even in the college aged study participants) this does not explain the observed results.
More recently, the effect of beetroot juice supplementation was tested during cycling at simulated altitude (the oxygen content in the air the participants were breathing was reduced). While the researchers reported similar improvements in exercise capacity at low intensity exercise as Lansley et al. (1), participant’s exercise tolerance during high intensity cycling was the same as at sea level (normal oxygen content) (2). Additionally, researchers analyzed muscle metabolism using MRI technology. This revealed that the rate at which energy was produced within muscle was increased by ~16%. This means, nitrates from beetroot help to increase the efficiency of how your muscles handle oxygen, which in turn allows for more energy to produced from a single oxygen molecule (2).
Thinking about this objectively, all athletes are constantly training to improve
their efficiency, whether it is mechanical or metabolic efficiency. Research shows that nitrates in beetroot can drastically improve your metabolic efficiency, which can give you the edge to train harder and perform better. Also, when was the last time you heard a food could give you a 6% boost in endurance and a 16% improvement in energy production?! No wonder beetroot is a Power-Food of Olympic proportion. As a note of caution, nitrates that are naturally found in fruits and vegetables are beneficial for your health and performance; however, nitrites (e.g. sodium nitrite) are often added to foods as a preservative and colour enhancer in meats. This compound is dangerous for your health and has been linked to gastrointestinal cancer. In an effort to appeal to customers, many meat producers will list celery extract or powder as an ingredient on products as a natural preservative. It is important to know that celery is high in nitrates and in the presence of salt and meat proteins, this natural nitrate rapidly converts to nitrites.
Evan is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, Department of Nutritional Sciences and is a founder of the L2M Performance Group Inc. Please send questions and comments to evan@l2mperformance.com For more information and training tips follow @L2MPerformance or visit www.l2mperformance.com
Lansley, K., P. Winyard, J. Fulford, A. Vanhatalo, S. Bailey, J. Blackwell, F. DiMenna, M. Gilchrist, N. Benjamin, and A. Jones. Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of walking and running: a placebo-controlled study. Journal of Applied Physiology. 110:591-600, 2011.
Vanhatalo, A., J. Fulford, S.J. Bailey, J. Blackwell, P. Winyard, and A. Jones. Dietary nitrate reduces muscle metabolic perturbation and improves exercise tolerance in hypoxia. Journal of Physiology. 589:5517-5528, 2011.
FALL 2012
Airprene ¾ Hiking Pants Sea-HP004
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Airprene ¾ Waist Lock Pants XXL
• Super Stretch Perforated Neoprene • Non-flex fibreglass battens • Adjustable shoulder straps • 6mm seamless small diamond seat • V style leg design • Tatex knee pads ¾ pants The ideal hiker for Summer conditions. The soft breathable perforated neoprene allows water to penetrate and cool the body. Wear with LP001.
Sea-HP006
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• Super Stretch Perforated Neoprene • Velcro waist lock • Elastic back support • Generous cut to suit many body shapes • Non flex fiberglass battens • 6mm seamless small diamond seat • V style leg design. • Tatex knee pads If a little extra support would make hiking more comfortable then these are the hikers to choose. The elasticized back has a wide covering band which can be pulled in and Velcro locked to give support. You can quickly adjust to suit the level of support you want and to customize the fit and feel around the waist and back.
Long John Convertible 5mm Sea-HP015
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Ultra Warm Long Sleeve Top XXL
• 5mm Super stretch neoprene • Blind stitched with liquid glue seam construction • Adjustable shoulder straps • Upper body panels use Metalite reflective glue and Thermospan inner lining for comfort and warmth, preventing wind chill • Spandex binding around arms and neck • Glide skin on calf to prevent water intake and stop pant riding up the leg • 6mm seamless reinforced seat in high tenacity, abrasion resistant Supratex • V style leg design • full length • Tatex knee pads This suit is highly recommended combining a Long John wetsuit and removable batten system in one product.
Sea-W003
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• 2.5mm Ultra Warm neoprene • Water repellent outer skin • Super stretch neoprene • Metalite reflective core for added warmth • Thermospan inner lining keeps you dry against the skin • Keeps you comfortable and warm • Long torso length • Flatlock stitching • 50 + UV protection The technically advanced fabric in this top will keep you comfortable sailing in colder weather. The four layer fabric has a water repellent nylon outer skin, bonded to super stretch neoprene with a Metalite reflective core and inner layer of Thermospan to keep the body warm and dry.
Phone: +61 7 55 312 353 Fax: +61 7 55 915 610 Email: sailequipment@bigpond.com
Shop Online www.sailequipment.com.au
Photo Collage of our NA Olympians in Weymouth:
Congratulations to Danielle Dube, David Wright,
, Rob Crane and Paige Railey
all photos courtesy of onedition
Mounting a Sport Camera on a Laser JON DEUTSCH & KYLE MARTIN
Cameras
GoPro Hero2 http://gopro.com SailPro: http://sailprocameras.com Contour: http://contour.com Drift: http://driftinnovation.com
Sport cameras are a relatively new breed of cameras that are compact, waterproof, durable and can be easily mounted on all kinds of surfaces. This makes them great for boats and sailing and especially the Laser. The footage from these cameras is great as a training aid, as a keepsake of your sailing and as a way to share sailing with friends and family - just don’t bore them with 20 minutes of you sailing upwind with nothing happening. Not only do most of these cameras do video, but they can General Tips also be used for time lapse photography Always put a lanyard on the camera in case it gets snagged or dislodged either to watch the whole series, or just to from the mount, rare, but better safe than sorry. pick key photos of maneuvers , scenery or If using a GoPro camera, ‘anti-fog’ inserts are a must when sailing in sunny technique. conditions Always start the day with a full battery and at least a 16GB SD card to capDisclaimer: While great for training and ture up to 3-4 hours of continuous sailing pleasure sailing, cameras are not legal equipment for racing on a Laser. Rain-x keeps water spots down on the lens - check with the manufacturer before doing this There are several different brands of cameras on the market each with their own strengths, weaknesses, price points, features etc. Kyle and I both use the GoPro Hero2 cameras, but any of these cameras could be mounted in the shots below.
Bow Pro: Easy to set and forget, sees a great scene into the boat and all of the activity in the cockpit Con: Often submerged leaving wet spots on lens, risk of snagging others mainsheet Tip: Use a tripod mount on the bow eye for the most secure attachment. How-to Video: http://bit.ly/bowmount
Mast Facing Forward Tip: For best results, angle slightly off center to port. This ‘looks’ ahead around a mark or down the line on a start. Pro: Shows boats ahead of you Con: Boring video if you are in front How-to: http://bit.ly/mastmount
Side Mast Facing Aft Tip: To mount use a roll-cage mount with extra long screws Pro: Similar scene as the bow, but from a higher elevation. Con: Only works upwind
Masthead Pro: Wide view shows boats around and position in cockpit Con: Unsteady in waves, weight aloft
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FALL 2012
Mid-Mast Pro: Closer view of cockpit than masthead Con: Good video one tack, ok video other tack How-to Video: http://bit.ly/midmastmount
Side of Boat Tip: Use a suction mount on the smooth hull surface. Pro: Interesting angles Con: more likely to be underwater, greater risk of getting banged against something
Chest Pro: Great shots of hand-over-hand activity in the cockpit, putting the viewer in your seat Con: easy to obstruct the view with hands or bang camera with tiller extension and hiking out shows all sky
Head Pro: Nice point-of-view shots Con: Scene changes fast as the wearer quickly looks around the boat to sail
Boom Facing Starboard Tip: Wrist mount fits boom perfectly Pro: Unobstructed rear view downwind Con: Completely obstructed view on port tack by sail
End of Boom Facing Forward Tip: Use roll cage mount Pro: Shows sailor in cockpit and what’s ahead when sailing upwind
Stern Facing Forward Pro: Shows sailor plus what’s ahead Con: Slight risk of snagging your mainsheet Pro: Shows sailor in cockpit and what’s ahead when sailing upwind
Jon Deutsch Races Lasers, PHRF boats and anything else he can find to race and usually has a video camera running. Check out his channel at: http://youtube.com/user/jondeustsch5
Kyle Martin Races Lasers and makes a variety of tips and tricks videos on how to make the most of GoPro Cameras. Check out his tips on his channel at http://youtube.com/user/kylemartin101 Other YouTubers posting Laser footage: laserinternational, ClaySails, DCSSInstructors, Districttwelvelaser, ericjpetersen1, GRSALaser, jondeusch5, kylemartin101, laserd8, LaserPerformance, LaserTrainingCenter, lightningfleet192, nalsalam, paigesailor, prsalaser, robsuhay, rwbeigel, SailProCameras, sdalin27, syelland100, ussailing2, wjsymes, xdlaser, zorgetbetty, 5FishBoy5, raffak1, GreatDaneLaser, pgihockey13, sailingshack, lasertouring, jonemmettsailing, eshedsailing
www.Laser.org
North Americans - The Gorge Delivers BILL SYMES
The Columbia Gorge Racing Association race committee had their work cut out for them on Thursday getting away starts for 173 registered boats, the largest fleet of boats ever hosted by the CGRA. The 104 competitors in the Laser Radial were split into two start groups. 16 boats started in the 4.7 and 53 in the Standard Rig. Under partly sunny skies, a warm but unstable breeze built over the course of the afternoon to 15 knots. Three races were sailed on Thursday.
For those sailors who hadn’t previously raced on the Columbia River, it was a day of getting used to the current and fluky breeze. Even Chris Barnard, College Sailor of the Year, who sits in first place after Day 1, tried to take things easy.
“I wanted to have a conservative day and avoid any big mistakes,” Barnard said, “I knew with the upwind current a lot of the gains would be made on the downwind legs, so I made sure I was in the race at the first weather mark and made my gains from there. I was conservative on the beats and pretty aggressive on the downwinds. That’s what worked well for me.”
With racing at the top of the fleet extremely close, Derick Vranizan was happy with his second place result.
“It was a tricky day so I’m fine with it second is not a bad place to be after one day. I definitely put premium on getting a good start and then just really being heads out of the boat. It was less of a speed day and more of an awareness thing, making sure you were on the right spot at the right time. The first race was definitely our windiest race and from there it kind of died off - it was almost hard to go downwind at the end of the last race.”
Sitting right up there at the top of the pack in fifth overall after day 1 is Scott Ferguson, who has just a few years on Barnard and Vranizan, admits that the Laser is a very physical boat to race.
“I’m moving a bit slowly this morning!” Ferguson said. “It’s been a while (last August for the Master Worlds) since I have raced these boats. I had two good starts and first beats which got me into the top five. The last race of the day I started near the pin, tacked and crossed the fleet. I rounded in first, but was eventually passed by the
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young fast guys. Not too much wind, a bit shifty and puffy helps me I think. It will be hard for me to maintain this level of physical intensity for the next three days, but I will give it a whirl!”
Day 2 In the Radial fleet, Canadian Isabella Bertold sits in first after a stellar day taking a 3rd and three bullets. The Canadian National Sailing Team member just missed out on making the London Olympics due to an injury so decided to take a break and do something different…like another sailing regatta. She said she’s having a great time in the Gorge racing against the younger group competing.
“They’re all very fast and it’s been lots of fun. Out on the water I’m just trying to stay loose - it was quite gusty and it was important to start at the favored end of the line. The downwinds were really hard. You had to be patient and wait for something to come to you and not panic because if you panic, you’re going to lose some boats. The downwind breeze was isolated so you had to get it first and close the gap.”
Sitting right on Isabella’s tail is Malcolm Lamphere from the Lake Geneva Yacht Club. The 16-year old from Chicago is hoping for a top three finish in the regatta. “It’s going great. It’s good to have a lot of breeze as the past regattas I’ve been to have been pretty light.”
Lamphere says staying in the current upwind and staying out it of downwind has been working for him.
Day 2 in the 4.7 fleet saw lead changes in the top five, with Parker Hughes moving into third and exchanging places with Jake Cullen. Tied for first is Ford McCann, from the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club and Patrick Shanahan from the St Petersburg Yacht Club. Daniel Kendrick moved into fifth.
“Today went okay but I had a couple of problems with my third and fourth starts and just getting off the line was kind of trouble,” McCann said. “Everyone was just training down the line. I sail on Galveston Bay and not used to the current here which is pretty tricky - it helps on upwinds but no so much on downwinds.”
Just 12-years old, it’s McCann’s first North Americans and his goal is simple - first place.
It’s also 15-year old Shanahan’s first NAs in the Laser and he’s having a great time.
“I love the wind here. I did pretty well today except for on the downwinds I’d just lose it. I’d be winning some races and Ford would just pass me. I think it’s the current I keep forgetting about it and go just a little farther then he gets inside and the current just takes me. I’d like to win but I don’t know - Ford’s sailing great too.” Day 3
Four races were sailed on Saturday on Day 3 of the Laser North Americans, under warm sunny skies and a breeze that built to a steady 21 knots. Sailing families suntanned and swam in the Columbia River with a great view to the racecourse as 170+ Lasers whipped around a challenging course.
The leaders in each fleet have consolidated their positions and look good going into the final on Sunday. Scoring two bullets and two second places again today with a 13 point lead, 21-year old Chris Barnard, from Newport Beach, Calif., finally had a big smile on his face after racing today, very satisfied with his first place but knows there’s still more racing. (You have to catch him after racing to chat to him as he’s just too focused on racing to talk in the mornings, at least that’s what his buddies told me).
“I’m definitely pleased tactically and strategy-wise playing the first beats, staying conservative and making sure I’m in the race. Downwind I’m staying aggressive and using my speed to make my gains, I’m hiking hard and just keep working hard. We’ve still got a few more races left and so I’m just sailing as hard as I can,” Barnard said.
Robert Davis has been plugging away in third over the past few days, chasing Derick Vranizan who in second has an eight point lead over the Canadian. Said Davis, “I’ve had a pretty tough time. It was pretty windy today and there were some pretty decent puffs especially downwind. Chris and Derick are really providing some competition, especially downwind. I’d be happier if I was challenging them more. Chris has a pretty big jump on both of us now - the top two from this regatta get world spots for Oman next year so Derick’s more important to me right now.”
In the Radial fleet, Malcom Lamphere will
FALL 2012
be a little disappointed with his result today finishing with 16 points, just 1 point behind Isabella Bertold who sits in first, as he was really hoping to be sitting that first spot. Lamphere threw out his first two races where he placed 10th and 12th, faring better with a second and first in the last two races of the day. Veteran Al Clark, 52, who coaches the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club team, sits in third in this competitive fleet. He says the kids keep him young … and obviously quick.
“It’s been good sailing,” Clark (another who is not particularly chatty in the mornings as he’s focused on getting out to the course!) said. “The current where we’re sailing brings in a whole different aspect to it because there’s an area where there’s a lot of current over on the Washington side. That makes it very tricky. Plus, you have a very big starting line with the current bringing everyone up so it’s very tough racing. It’s very hard to be consistent - no one’s winning all these races today, that’s for sure. I was just happy to get anywhere near the front because there was so many possible pitfalls at the start - missing the current etc. The first two races today were in quite light air though and the second two were better. It’s nice racing in the fresh water and it’s a beautiful place to sail - I love sailing here.”
It’s extremely tight at the top of the 4.7 fleet, with the top four mixing it up by a just a point. Patrick Shanahan finished the day with 16 points just one point ahead of nemesis Ford McCann, while Daniel Kendrick and Parker Hughes are tied for third with 42 points, making for a big lead for the top two in this fleet.
International Laser Class President Tracy Usher, also racing the regatta is impressed with the way in which the regatta has been managed. “It’s going really well and with 170+ boats, it’s well organized. CGRA are certainly turning races around. There’s not a lot of waiting in between races.”
He’s also been impressed with the high level of competition.
“With the Olympics being settled and the representatives chosen, there is a tendency this regatta this year to see a step down in the level so there are probably three guys who aren’t here who could be in the standard rig fleet who would be at the top and a few women who aren’t here but after that, I
think it’s still a good quality fleet. I think the guys sailing in the standard and I am sure some of the women are going to do the next Olympics so it’s a good chance to see them in action.” Day 4
With a race or two to spare, Chris Barnard skipped the last of three races sailed on the final day of the Laser North Americans hosted by the Columbia Gorge Racing Association at Cascade Locks, Oregon. After sailing an almost faultless regatta this week, the 21-year old College Sailor of the Year was relieved to get off the water knowing that he’d taken the championship title with 12 points to spare. Conditions today were good for racing, cooler with a breeze up to 23 knots.
“It feels really good,” Barnard said. “Today was really tough for me because I woke up with really bad stomach cramps this morning so it was a real mental and physical battle to get myself out there and challenge myself to come through on top with a race or two to spare. It was hard for me to hike and keep pushing through but it’s a good feeling to have won.”
Barnard put some serious work in earlier this year knowing that this event would be his peak regatta of the summer. “It was a struggle over in Europe,” he said, “I went over there to get fitter and better, and it definitely paid off to win this event.”
Barnard will go home to California to do some coaching over the rest of summer and looks forward to the next event in Kingston, Ontario (Canada). “I’ll be seeing a lot of the same guys there, but definitely for the next few weeks I’ll be resting the body.”
Derick Vranizan took second place with 35 points, and in third was Robert Davis with 43 points. Vranizan acknowledged the competition was tough, “Chris sailed an excellent regatta. It wasn’t typical Gorge conditions for most of the week unfortunately. We didn’t have the big wind until today but I had fun, it was a good event, really well run. CGRA did a great job, as always. I love coming down here so I’m looking forward to the next one.”
While a win would have been nice for 25year old Vranizan, he recognized that he needs more time in the boat, “I haven’t
been in the boat much in the last six months as I’ve been taking care of more real world priorities, so more training would have helped. Otherwise it’s just small stuff really. When it comes to start sailing again, it’ll be full on!”
12-year old Ford McCann said he was “worn” when he got off the water after he won his fleet, finishing with 17 points. He certainly worked for his victory, putting on a great performance to take first in the 4.7. “I hiked really hard and focused on getting to where the current would lift you up the course. Patrick (Shanahan) was great competition also.”
Shanahan finished second with 27 points, and Parker Hughes was third with 49 points.
Racing was closest in the Radial fleet, with Isabella Bertold finishing in first with 28 points, Al Clark in second with 31 points (the 52-year old won 2 races and scored a 4th today), while Mateo Vargus finished in third with 38 points.
Jacques Kerrest (Potomac River Sailing Assocation), a Laser master who wouldn’t divulge his age other than to say he was old enough to be on Medicare - rumor is that he was the oldest sailor participating - thoroughly enjoyed the event, “Racing was wonderful, good wind, sunny much of the time. The competition was fantastic. The wind and current make this a challenging place to sail. But also, the competition; these are the best Laser sailors in North America.” Final Top Five Laser Standard:
Chris Barnard 23 pts Derick Vranizan 35 pts Robert Davis 43 pts Alexander Heinzemann 50 pts Eric Bowers 55 pts Final Top Five Laser 4.7: Ford McCann 17 pts Patrick Shanahan 27 pts Parker Hughes 49 pts Daniel Kendrick63 pts Nate Clemett 65 pts
Final Top Five Laser Radial: Isabella Bertold 28 pts Al Clark 31 pts Mateo Vargas 38 pts Malcolm Lampheree 39 pts
Christine Neville 65 pts
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District 25 Championships STEVEN SMITH
Over the Labor Day weekend, Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) in Long Beach CA hosted their Labor Day Holiday Regatta. In conjunction with this event, Laser and Laser Radial racers competed for the 2012 International Laser Class AssociationNorth American Region District 25 (Southern California and Southern Nevada) Championship. Contributing to a good turnout of 32 Lasers and 40 Laser Radials, the Southern California Youth Yacht Racing Association used the Labor Day Regatta as the first of four events in their popular, Ullman/Frost Series for youth sailors.
Race day one found racers arriving in bright warm sunshine with all wondering if the usual Long Beach sea breeze would develop. We sailed to the traditional ABYC race course, shared with Cal 20’s Finns and a Portsmouth Handicap fleet, inside the Long Beach Harbor Breakwater in a breeze building to Force Four by the warning signal for the first Laser start. The ABYC Race Committee (RC) sent Lasers and Radials on a combination of twice around windward-leeward as well as triangle courses to complete four races in quick succession. The triangle courses were a welcome change to this racer and even Vann Wilson happily proclaimed, “wow, Old School” when the RC posted a triangle windwardleeward course for the Lasers. The reaches did provide fast, wet opportunities to catch some of the wind generated waves. At the end of the day in the Laser Fleet, Peter Shope from Sail Newport held the low score followed closely by ABYC’s Kevin Taugher and Vann Wilson, who was tied with Kieran Chung from Newport Harbor YC. 2011 District 25 Champion, Oliver Toole from Santa Barbara YC held the fifth place spot. In the Radial fleet, 2011 District 25 Champion, 18
Christine Neville, hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area had a clean sweep with four bullets on opening day. Filling in the top five were; Cooper Weitz from ABYC & CYC, Lola Bushnell from St. Francis & San Francisco YC’s (St.FYC/SFYC), Christopher Weis from Del Rey YC and Lindsey Babb from (St.FYC/SFYC).
Following racing, competitors and guests could enjoy dinner and refreshments on the ABYC patio as well as a slightly out of season but ever so fun, Mardi Gras party, complete with accessories and exotic Brazilian dancers.
Day two looked to be a carbon copy of day one conditions; however, the breeze did not develop until race number two, when Force Four breezes filled in for the remainder of the day. Three more races were run with no muss no fuss, despite one General Recall for the Radial fleet.
As elder (Laser Grand Master) member of the Radial fleet in this regatta and writer of this piece, I want to make some observations about my fellow competitors. The District 25 Championship combined with the Ullman/Frost Series draws a large contingent of youth sailors. These youngsters were great competitors on the water and from all I could see, seemed to enjoy each other’s company both on and off the water. I even noticed several times where porttackers were waved across by starboard-tackers. I will also mention the eventual regatta winner, Christine Neville -recently profiled in Latitude 38 magazine- was always happy to offer advice to her fellow racers, even mentoring a young lady as they sailed out to the race course on Sunday. I’ll happily race with this group of racers again. “See you at Turkey Day!”
Sunday. She was followed by Cooper Weitz, Lola Bushnell, Christopher Weis, and slipping into fifth place, Simone Staff from CYC. The remaining top ten in order were; Lindsey Babb (St.FYC/SFYC), Kyle Larsen (SFYC/SYC), Will LaDow from San Diego YC (SDYC), James Trotter (SDYC) and Ryan Hopps from Mission Bay YC. In the Laser Fleet, Vann Wilson prevailed by three points over Oliver Toole. Peter Shope was third, followed by Kieran Chung and Stephen Long from Santa Barbara & Cabrillo Beach YC’s, making up the top five. Rounding out the top ten were; Michael Bradley from ABYC & LBYC, Rodion Mazin (ABYC), Richard Didham (SDYC), Peter Drasnin from California YC, and keeping it in the family, Oliver’s Dad, Pat Toole. The Labor Day Regatta also offered Laser & Radial racing in Alamitos Bay. The ABYC Laser Fleet proposed this option in hopes of attracting sailors who would rather race in the more sheltered waters of the Bay. We did have two full rig and three Radials race in the Bay this year and hope we’ll see more participation here in the future.
A big Thank You is due the ABYC Lido Fleet for putting on a great event! This group of volunteers managed to conduct high quality racing on four race courses; hosting 38 F18’s on an ocean course, Lasers, etc. inside the breakwater, Kite boards (a first) just off the Belmont Shore Beach and Lido’s, Sabots and more Lasers inside Alamitos Bay…quite a feat…well done! We also wish to thank our intrepid and patient scoring PRO, Jim Morford!
As mentioned, Christine was the class of the Radial fleet, discarding a mere eighth place in the light air first race FALL 2012
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US Master Nationals ERIC REITINGER
Brant Beach Yacht Club hosted the Laser Masters Nationals September 14-16. This event is for Laser sailors 35 and older. Sailors are split into different 4 age groups (35-44, 45-54, 55-64,65+) and race people in their age group and overall results have handicapped scores (oldest age group gets same score as finish, next group gets 1 point extra and so on). While many of the competitors are from the Mid-Atlantic area, some traveled from Florida, South Carolina, Texas, California, Canada and the Dominican Republic. This was the first event of this type in the area in over a decade. 58 full rigs and 24 radials raced in this event.
Day one started off with a postponement on land due to lack of wind. After a 2 hour postponement sailors were greeted with a light southerly that gradually built through the afternoon; speed ranged between 5 to 10 miles per hour. 3 races were run in each fleet taking about 45 minutes each. Seven leg trapezoids were run which tested the sailors with all the major points of sail. In the full rig fleet of 58, Had Brick from Island Heights Yacht Club sailed the most consistent winning the day by a point over Andy
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Roy. In the radial fleet of 25, James Libel from Florida finished day one with two seconds and a first, Peter Seidenburg from Sail Newport second and Bill Vickers from Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis in third. Day two had sailors arrive to a cool windy morning with the anemometer at the club showing a steady 20mph breeze. As the sailors started sailing the wind was slowly dying throughout the day. The wind was very shifty ranging from 20 degrees and the puffs could range from 8mph and then gust up to 18mph. Five races were com-
plete over the day offering the sailors some great conditions. They were treated to pizza and drinks off the water as a chance to unwind. Marc Jacobi from Cedar Point Yacht Club in CT took over the lead with Mark Bear from New Bedford Yacht Club in Massachusetts in second and Andy Roy in third. In the radial fleet, James Libel continued dominance of the fleet, Peter Seidenburg in second and Mike Schmidt from Magothy River Sailing Association in third.
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US Masters Nationals ble. Also thanks to our sponsors, Moorhouse MacCausland Sailing, Colie Sails, APS and Harken for helping out with giveaways some trophies and Saturday night’s keg.
Local results of sailors from LBI:
Don Hahl (Brant Beach Yacht Club) 21st
Jim Niciolini (Brant Beach Yacht Club) 23rd
Chris Catania (Brant Beach Yacht Club) 57th
Chris Duncan (Brant Beach Yacht Club) 55th
Rich Warren (Surf City Yacht Club) 38th
Day three sailors arrived to glass on the water. After a 3 hour postponement sailors were treated to a great southerly blowing 10-12mph. The fun challenge was in the middle of the second race when the westerly won as the dominant breeze, causing the race committee to make some changes to the course, keep the sailors on their toes. Marc Jacobi stayed in the front of the fleet to solidify his lead to win the regatta. Ari Barshi from the Dominican Republic fought his way to second and Mark Bear third. The radial fleet results stayed the same from the previous day, James Libel first, Peter Seidenburg second and Mike Schmidt third.
Sailors were treated to full breakfasts consisting of eggs, sausage, bacon, hash brown potatoes, fruit, bagels, French toast, yogurt, cereal, and oatmeal over the three days. On the water fruit, water and granola bars were provided between races. Friday dinner was a wonderful roast beef dinner with salad, make your own baked potato bar and cake; Saturday they were treated to pizza as a great snack after a long day of racing.
www.Laser.org
Steve Warren (Surf City Yacht Club) 26th
Newt Wattis (Surf City Yacht Club) 33rd
Many thanks to all the member vol- Chris Williams (Brant Beach Yacht Club) 42nd unteers at Brant Beach Yacht Club Bill Mergenthaler (Surf City Yacht Club) 20th who helped make this event possi-
Photos courtesy of Beth Reitinger
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& Radial Sail
G
30 YEARS
RS
ATIN
AI
S
The origin of the Laser
BR
LO
CE
LE
O F S E R VIC
IN
G
We are Canada’s largest LaserPerformance Dealer 901 Oxford Street, Toronto ON info@foghmarine.com
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Photo of David Wright, Canada`s 2012 Olympic Representative. Proudly supported by Fogh Marine.
FALL 2012
Regatta
Laser
World Championship
Sr: Al Musannah, Oman
NA Championship
CORK July 24-28 www.cork.org
ISAF Grade 1
40 GP pts. ISAF Grade 1
Other North American Championships Canadian Championships
30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 2
US Championships 30 GP Pts, ISAF Grade 2
CORK
30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 1
2013 Schedule
Radial
Women's:Rizhao, China
Laser 4.7
Masters
Sept 28-Oct 7
Balatonfured, HUN July 6-13
Al Musannah, Oman Nov 28-Dec 7
CORK July 24-28 www.cork.org
CORK July 24-28 www.cork.org
New York YC Newport, RI Oct 18-20
ISAF Grade 1
na
na
St. Margaret’s Bay SC St. Margaret’s Bay, NS July 19-21
St. Margaret’s Bay SC St. Margaret’s Bay, NS July 19-21
St. Margaret’s Bay SC St. Margaret’s Bay, NS July 19-21
Beaconsfield YC Beaconsfield, QC June 14-16
Kingston, ON
Kingston, ON
Kingston, ON
Nov 14-Nov 23 Jr: Balatonfured, HUN July 14-21
Standard Youth
Northeast District 7 or 9 www.cork.org
August 18-22
Mens:
Dun Laoghaire, IRLAug 30-Sept 6 Youth:Al Musannah, Oman,Dec27-Jan 3
Women’s
Northeast District 7 or 9 www.cork.org
August 18-22
Northeast District 7 or 9 www.cork.org
August 15-18
Cabrillo Beach YC San Pedro, CA June 14-16
na
Midwinters East
Clearwater, FL
Clearwater, FL
Clearwater, FL www.clwyc.org
District 13
Midwinters West
California YC Marina del Rey, CA March 22-24
California YC Marina del Rey, CA March 22-24
California YC Marina del Rey, CA March 22-24
na
www.ussailing.org
na
na
Little Egg Harbor YC Beach Haven, NJ June 8-9
Little Egg Harbor YC Beach Haven, NJ June 8-9
Little Egg Harbor YC Beach Haven, NJ June 8-9
District 24
District 24
District 24
Gulfport YC Gulfport, MS TBD
Gulfport YC Gulfport, MS TBD
Gulfport YC Gulfport, MS TBD
Ft. Walton YC Ft. Walton Beach, FL TBD May
District 23
District 23
District 23
TBD
District 19
District 19
District 19
TBD
30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 1
30 GP Pts., ISAF Grade 2
Rolex Miami OCR ISAF Grade 1
Atlantic Coast Championships
25 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 2
Pacific Coast Championships
25 GP Pts., ISAF Grade 2
Gulf Coast Championships 25 GP Pts
No Coast Championships 25 GP Pts
Great Lakes Championships 25 GP Pts.
www.Laser.org
www.clwyc.org
Feb 21-24
www.clwyc.org
Feb 21-24
Miami, FL (men only) Miami, FL (women only) www.ussailing.org
January 27-Feb 2
January 27-Feb 2
Feb 21-24
TBD
23
District Reports District 2, Quebec, Canada Philippe Dormoy Bonjour everyone,
Summer has been good for us in District 2 (Quebec): Hot and windy most of the time
The Montreal training camp was held late May, as usual, with 11 participants. The wind was good for two days of excellent coaching from our 2011 Canadian and US Masters champion, Robert Koci. Great drills, great participation with a few young sailors from the Quebec sailing team. Our district Summer races had very few participants but the D2 Championship, held at the Beaconsfield Yacht Club on Lake St.Louis had 17 sailors with a few new young sailors with excellent sailing skills that brought the competition at a very nice level. It is looking good for the coming years. We also saw the comeback of some masters who were away from sailing for a few years and are now back into Laser sailing and competition. Great to see and again very encouraging for the district There were only races on the Saturday for the championship, Sunday had no wind. Five races were help in a 5 to 10 knot variable Breeze. Results are published in this edition.
(or no-shows) so that each sailor counts 4 of the 6 Fogh Gold Cup events. First place in the Laser fleet is Konrad Davy, the winner of the Radial fleet is master sailor Paul Muldoon and the top junior sailor in the Radial fleet is Matty Maru. Each of these sailors wins a new sail courtesy of Morten at Fogh Marine….many thanks to Fogh Marine!! In second place in the Laser fleet was Sam Fuller, and third was Nigel Heath. In the Radial fleet second place was Matt Maru (new sail) and third was Anton Tsyhanok. Second and third place finishers win gift certificates to Fogh Marine, which can be picked up at Fogh. CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners!!
Joe Van Rossem of D3 chatting with Laser designer Bruce Kirby in his home in Connecticut. Joe says: “Bruce, here’s what I would have done differently 42 years ago when you were designing the Laser”. Bruce replies: “Joe, there’s the front door, use it….”
Next year, the 2013 Canadian masters will be held at the same spot: Beaconsfield Yacht club. The dates are June 14th, 15th and 16th. We are looking for a lobster night on Saturday.
The Beaconsfield Yacht Club is a very nice place and they are used to organize large events like this one. The club has a nice sailing tradition double with a very relax atmosphere.
This season we had numerous new sailors in the Laser fleet, particularly masters sailors at the Water Rats. We ran several clinics to help with skills development this summer and will do more of this in the future. It is great to see sailors that started the season at the back of the fleet move up to mid-fleet, and mid-fleet guys move up to the front of the fleet.
http://www.byc.qc.ca/eng/index.html
Some great people and sailors committed to be there: Peter Seidenberg, Andy Roy, Robert Koci among others. We hope to see you there. Have a wonderful Fall and good sailing
District 3 Ontario, Canada Nigel Heath
Another season of Laser racing in D3 land has come to a close, and what a busy summer it has been. D3 sailors are fortunate enough to have racing events almost every weekend through the spring, summer and into the fall season. We hope to have similarly busy schedule lined up for next year. Highlights of the year include the Canadian Championships at Etobicoke Yacht Club, CORK in Kingston and for me personally the Ontario Masters Championships at Sturgeon Lake and Sarnia Sailfest. Several of these events had as many volunteers helping run the regatta as there were sailors attending the events, which makes for great hospitality and fun off the water as well as on the water. We want to announce the winners the District 3 Fogh Gold Cup series. We drop the two worst regatta results
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David Elliott had a successful eye operation, so successful he is continuing his Laser sailing, great to see him on the course. Go super Dave. The next Masters Bumper sticker should be “NO EXCUSE’S, NO COMPLAINING, NO DIVASMASTERS SAILING” At the National Youths, David Cormack finished 5th overall, very close to a top 3 or better.
For 2013, with the busy schedule and the Canada Games in Quebec, the season is very full. The plan is to have Sail West at an existing quality event, Prairie Wind with quality Race Officers and on-water Jury. The nice thing about having an event of this nature with experienced on water jury is that we all learn and understand what fair legal sailing is before we go the Canada Games.
We also want to congratulate D3’s own David Wright on his Olympic performance in Weymouth in a tough fleet under less than favourable conditions. His Olympic campaign was truly awe-inspiring and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to spend some time training with David as he prepared for the event. Its great that the top laser sailor in North America lives here in Toronto.
The Yacht club is 20 minutes from Montreal. Lake St.Louis is a large lake with good wind in Spring and NO WEED. There is plenty of accommodation close to the club.
Canada at the Paralympics in London 2012. They won a medal at the 2012 test event in Weymouth and finished 10th at the Paralympics. Finn Griggs finished 4th at Sail West, Kristi VanGunst was 4th female, 8th overall.
With Lake Ontario being so warm, hopefully we will still be sailing by the time you read this. BTW everyone is welcome to come and race at the Water Rats for the remaining fall Sunday series. Racing starts at 1pm with 4-6 races. Sail it flat
District 5 Saskatoon, Canada Mark Lammens
Ian Elliott was the laser to beat in 2012. Winner of the Prairie Wind, Wabamun, the SK Championships and a 2nd at the Districts. Isaac Bussin won the Districts. In the grey hairs, Phil Paxton won the District 5 and SK championships. Finn Griggs is Top Radial in the Dick Degner series. Lewis Oteruelo top Master and of course, Ian Elliot with his wins plus the AB championship is a 2-time winner of the Dick Degner series. At the Western Masters it was Bill Plaxton, Doug Bell and Lewis Oteruelo on correction. Other results by D-5 include Logan Campbell, winner of the first race at Sail West in Vancouver, 6th overall; Campbell represented
District 7 New England, USA Derek Stow
It has been a very active summer in District 7 with over 20 Laser events in all 6 new England states sailed since my last report.
But before reporting on these regattas I would like to recognize some very special achievements by sailors from our region. We were all excited to watch the sailing at the Olympics in England in July and August, and especially to follow the exploits of the three Laser Class District 7 members on the US Olympic sailing team, Rob Crane of Connecticut (Laser), Trevor Moor of Vermont (49er) and Stu McNay of Boston (470). Scott Ferguson and Peter Shope from Newport Fleet 413 were first and second at the Laser Masters North Americans at Richmond Yacht Club on San Francisco Bay in July. Scott and Peter also turned in excellent performances (for a couple of old guys) at the open North Americans in the Columbia Gorge in July, with Scott in 7th and Peter in 15th. Congratulations also to Ian Ikeda, a recent graduate of Duxbury High School, who was 14th at the Laser North Americans, and nearer to home also won both the Hyannis Regatta and the Buzzards Bay Regatta. And Peter Seidenberg returned to the land of his birth and scored an impressive second place in the Laser Radial Fleet at the German Laser Masters this summer. The first regatta on the District 7 schedule in June was the Massapoag YC Regatta in Sharon, MA on Saturday June 16. The morning treated the 11 sailors who participated to a shifty NE wind from 12-15 knots. Racing was tight with many crossings upwind and full-on planing downwind. The afternoon breeze moderated somewhat but the challenges of small lake sailing remained. Eight races were run for the day and the fleet enjoyed a delicious barbecue after racing. Results 1. David Gilman 2. Eric Aker 3. Gary Werden 4. Judith Krimski 5. Derek Stow (who at first rudely refused to accept his award because he didn’t believe he could be 5th after wimping out of a few races whining that he had a bad back.)
FALL 2012
The Lake Sunapee Regatta was also held on June 16 in Sunapee NH. The 18 sailors had to wait until 1:30pm for wind and then racing started in a breeze of about 5 knots, with huge oscillations and plenty of holes. The wind built over the afternoon and by 3:00pm it exceeded 12 knots. A hotdog/hamburger BBQ was followed by prize giving during which local sailor, Nat Cook, was congratulated to his 35th birthday and officially welcomed, by Dave Frazier, to the Masters division. Results 1. Peter Follansbee 2. Peter Seidenberg 3. Phil King 4. Jim DaSilva 5. Mark Nowakowski
Most of Saturday’s Lake Sunapee sailors headed north on Sunday for the annual Mascoma Spring Regatta, and were glad they did! They were treated to a full day of excellent wind, a 10-12 kt southeasterly for the most part, just about “as good as it gets” on Mascoma Lake. Racing was tight and competitive, with 7 of 8 races being won by a different sailor, and in the end Jim DaSilva triumphed, with Hank Thorburn and Dave Frazier 5 points back in a tie for second place. Back on shore, after all the pots of chili were emptied and refreshments consumed, various awards were presented – including another special “congratulations! you’re finally a Master” presentation to Nat Cook. We Masters sailors love to see new “kids” in our categoryThe Saltmarsh Trophy Regatta was held at New Bedford Community Boating on June 23/24 and this was also the US Sailing Area A Single-handed Championship Semifinals. On Saturday, six races were completed, starting in breezes of 6-9 knots and finishing the sixth race gusting into the low 20s. The winds weren’t as cooperative on Sunday; three starts were attempted but all were abandoned in the ridiculously shifty condition. Congratulations to Peter Follansbee and Quinn Howes for winning the mens and ladies division respectively .
The first regatta in the 2012 Maine Laser Championship Series, the Striper Cup, was held in Georgetown, ME on June 23. This event was almost postponed due to a forecast for rain, thunderstorms and no wind, but with some travelers coming from as far away as Florida, Connecticut and New Hampshire the organizers threw caution to the lack of wind and went for it. Thanks to the dogged perseverance of Race Committee Peter Clapp, six races were cobbled together from a very light and very inconsistent cross cove breeze out of the ESE. Results 1. Sally Sharp 2. Hank Thorburn 3. Mark Gaffney 4. Tom Jamieson 5. Syd Sewall
The 2012 Newport Regatta was one of the major sailing events in the region with over 700 sailors from 17 states sailing 259 boats in 20 classes in 181 races over 3 days. The Lasers and Laser Radials sailed on Saturday and Sunday July 14/15, with about a dozen boats in each fleet. Laser Results 1. Mike Matan 2. Dan Nickerson 3. Peter Follansbee 4. Phil King 5. Dan Neri
Laser Radial Results 1. Sky Adams 2. Rachel Bryer 3. Tyler Fleig 4. Norbert Mongeon 5. Christine Persson
www.Laser.org
On Saturday July 21, Stone Horse YC in Harwichport MA held their annual Laser Regatta. There was a great turnout with 37 full rigs and 7 Radials. Laser Results 1. Mark Bear 2. Matt Evans 3. Peter Follansbee 4. Jeff Morgan 5. Dyfrig Mon Laser Radial Results 1. Anoush Longerstaey 2. Oriane Longerstaey 3. Geoff Hogan 4. Molly Haley 5. Julie Webster
This year’s Lipton Cup, hosted by the Squantum Yacht Club on Quincy Bay MA on July 21-22, featured two days of beautiful weather and winds from 8-12 knots. Nine Laser standards, ten Radials and three 4.7s competed on WL courses with seven races run. Bill Brangiforte, not content with winning most of the local Sunfish regattas, ran away with first place in the Laser fleet, taking six bullets. Gary Werden from Sharon and Judith Krimski of Quincy tied for second with Gary— who had one bullet—edging out Judith who finished with four 2nd place finishes. The first three in the Radial fleet were Chris Dsida, Peter Girard and Kenneth Allen. And Molly Cormican won the 4.7s. The Hyannis Regatta was very well attended this year with 30 Full Rigs and 40 Radials. I have a shrewd suspicion that is those superb breakfasts at the Hyannis YC that attract so many sailors to this event! Laser Results 1. Ian Ikeda 2. Jake Rizika 3. James Harvey 4. Peter Seidenberg 5. James Jacob Laser Radial Results 1. Roger Dorr 2. Jack McGuire 3. Nathan Fields 4. Tyler Fleig 5. Bryce Andreasen
The Buzzard’s Bay Regatta on August 3-5 was also the Laser District 7 Championship this year. We enjoyed classic Buzzard’s Bay sailing conditions on all thee days and the folk from Beverley YC did a superb job for us on and off the water. In the Full Rigs the first three were Ian Ikeda, Dave Armitage and Colin Kennedy. Apprentice Master Dave Armitage gave young Ian a good battle though and was leading the regatta until the last day. In the Radials the top three were Malcolm Lamphere, Gary Prieto and Andrew Puopolo. Congratulations to all the winners. The Vermont Laser Open / Chiott Trophy was held at Mallet’s Bay Boat Club in Colchester VT on August 1112. Dave Frazier (who must be put more miles on his truck traveling to regattas than anyone else in the district) went up to Vermont for the weekend, and added to his portfolio, edging out Dave Powlison by 1 point. I hear that everyone appreciated being able to rig their boats on a nicely cut lawn and to sail in the fresh waters of Lake Champlain!
The Come Boating! Regatta, the third event in the Maine Laser Championship Series, was held Saturday, August 18th on Belfast Harbor, ME. A dismal weather forecast of 0-5 mph out of the SE kept the numbers down. But the weather forecast was wrong; in reality the wind was 0-5
mph out of the W! Three windward leeward races were completed before the wind shut down completely. By the time the boats were towed back to the dock, the skies cleared and sea breeze kicked in from the SE at a lovely 10 mph!!! The event was won by Hank Thornburn of Harpswell, ME. followed by last years champion David Frazier of Danby, CT and local Colin Gowland in third. Joseph Giblin of Marblehead, MA was the 1st Radial. Niantic Bay YC hosted its inaugural Laser Regatta on August 25 with a very respectable 24 boats. Steady SE winds prevailed all day which allowed for six great races. I hear that the Race Committee was superb and that on the shore no need went unmet. Who could ask for more? Seth Cooley took 1st, Dave Frazier placed 2nd and Niantic’s Bryan Lilley was 3rd. Jamie Rice was 4th and Niantic’s Chris Vann placed 5th. In true Laser spirit, the ages ranged from 12 to 64. Mark your calendars. Fleet Captain Ken Shlugler promises that next year’s regatta will be even bigger and better. Thanks to everyone who sailed in the district this summer, and a special word of thanks to all the people - fleet captains, regatta organizers, race committees, and all the other volunteers - who worked so hard to put on so many fine regattas for us . I wasn’t able to attend as many regattas as I had hoped in this my first summer as District Secretary, partly on account of an injury early in the season, but I do hope to visit many more of the fleets and clubs in the district next year. And a final thank you to all of the people who sent me material to help me write this report. Details of upcoming regattas are always on the schedule on the District 7 Website at www.laserdistrict7.com. There is also a District 7 blog at http://laserd7.wordpress.com and a Laser District 7 Facebook page which is handy for keeping folk informed of upcoming events, items for sale etc. You can contact me about any district matters at laserd7@gmail.com.
District 10 New Jersey, USA Eric Reitinger
District 10 had a busy summer schedule this summer. Most of the adults switched over to their other boats and the juniors ramped up their schedules. On Long Beach Island, each club hosted a Wednesday interclubs for Radials, 420s, Optis and Sunfish. Turn outs were always great with 27 different Radials and 14 different 4.7s. BBYRA which is the Toms River area and upper Barnegat Bay, hosted a major junior regatta for the region in July as well as hosted many one day regattas all over the area and interclub series. The US Sailing Junior Olympics event for the area was held at Island Heights Yacht Club where we saw 66 Radials and 18 4.7s. A few of our sailors did travel to various events such as CORK, NAs, Nationals, US Sailing Youth Champs and US Sailing Jr Singlehanded Champs (wasn’t in Lasers but we won’t hold it against them). Surf City hosted their annual regatta with a junior and senior division at different times in late summer. Their junior regatta was a single day with 3 4.7s and 3 radials. Oliva Gugliemini from Brant Beach won the radials and Scot Meggitt from Surf City winning the 4.7s.
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District Reports
The senior regatta offered some close racing and a wide variety of conditions for the 6 full rigs and 3 radials. Day one offered winds out of the south at 15-20 mph. While some of the other fleets went in due to being in more open water conditions, we were fortunate to be close to shore and have some relief. 4 races were run the first day. The second day was a much cooler day out of the north with the winds much lighter. Towards the end of the day the wind then almost came off the ocean but 3 races were run. Eric Reitinger from Brant Beach won the full rigs with Mike Hecky from Riverton second and Jim Niciolini from Brant Beach in third. Newt Wattis won the radial fleet.
Brant Beach hosted the Laser Master’s Nationals as well. Read up on it in this issue of the Laser Sailor. 25 District 10 sailors sailed in the event! The fall brings us a few regattas including the resurgence of the fall series at Toms River. Frostbite season will start this winter at one of three locations, Cooper River, Monmouth and Marsh Creek so the Laser sailing will be available throughout the fall and winter. Don’t put those boats away!
District 12 Carolinas, Georgia, USA Butch Mumma
It has been a good year for District 12. We averaged 30 boats for the four regattas we have had so far in our series championship. Our final regatta will be sailed at Columbia Sailing Club in October and the top 4 boats in contention for the overall D-12 champion are all within three points of each other. The juniors have had their own battle going with the top four boats only being separated by four points. Check out the District 12 website for a list of all the winners, or the following issue of The Laser Sailor.
District 15 Texas, USA Forest Atkins
It’s funny how this sort of thing can “get outta hand”. If someone asked me 8 years ago about my being in this position I’d have thought they were crazy. But as a comparatively new master Laser-er I realize what I’ve been missing for so many decades. Let me start by saying thanks to the Texas-D15 for the vote of confidence in having me represent you...... I mean y’all. Mostly thanks to my predecessor James Freedman for holding the fort these past years and the guidance in getting me started. The same goes for coach and mentor Bruce Moore and the gang in the Dallas Laser Fleet at White Rock Lake. I’ve recently begun to develop-improve my contacts with the Austin and Gulf coast folks and look forward sailing, planning, organizing and most importantly working toward increasing the number of those involved in Laser sailing-racing across the district at all levels. The later being something of a “prime directive” for me. I hope to share the success our Fleet at Corinthian Sailing Club has experienced in bringing more folks to Laser sailing -racing. More on that in future reports. I’ve travelled to more Laser events in the last couple years and doing the D15 rep thing affords me even greater reason to do so now. I’ve recently returned from the AYC centerboard event that was also our D15 circuit stop #X. I was hopeful for the forecasted 12-15 that might have
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kept some of the Labor day party boats off the lake. We were actually met with 5-12 and lumpy conditions. With 15 boats-sailors, Doug Peckover ruled the roost followed by Claude Wells in second and James McTurk third. Fred Schroth , Norm Grail, Alanna Strong Martin Van wolfwinkle, Sebastien Dubois and yours truly rounds out the top ten in that order. Upcoming events in D15 include Fort Worth Boat club Sept 22, Arlington Laserpalozza (non-circuit) Oct 67 and Wurstfest at Lale Canyon Nov. 2-4. Watch our district google group site for announcements ..... https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/t xlaser
tides included slack while racing. The Friday racing began in slack with a building flood. By Sunday, it was ebb going to slack. There was usually enough chop to make downwind sailing fun. Scott Ferguson won the Standard fleet, followed by Peter Shope and then Vann Wilson. The Radial fleet was witness to pretty much a horizon job each race by Allan Clark. Walt Spevak and David Lapier were 2nd & 3rd
respectively. Complete results here: http://tinyurl.com/9zjxghm
thanks see ya on the water
District 24 Nor Cal, USA Nick Burke
Weeknight Series Summer has come an end in district 24. Which means we still sail on weekends but the weeknight series are over. Here was the schedule: Mondays on Lake Tahoe, Wednesdays on Shoreline Lake in Mountain View, Thursdays on Lake Washington in Sacramento, Thursdays on SF bay at Treasure Island, and Fridays on the Pacific Ocean at Santa Cruz. Can we get another fleet to start a Tues night series next summer ? Summer Series & Events
There are at least three more regattas before the local midwinters start. NOOD, Vice-Commodore’s Cup, Fall Dinghy. Search the laser.org calendar for Sept-Dec in district 24. Please let us know about any omissions. There is one more event in Svendsen’s Grand Prix. As of this writing, Tracy Usher is 4 points ahead of Drake Jensen and Emilio Castelli. How will things work out at Fall Dinghy ? Scoreboard is here: http://tinyurl.com/8lgmw5t Midwinters Series
The Richmond YC small boat midwinters are the first Sunday of the month, from Dec-Mar. In the past RYC has invited adults to short course racing with the advanced juniors on the other Sundays of the month.
Santa Cruz YC has a Laser regatta the 2nd Sunday of the month in Nov. & Dec. Stay tuned to the D24 email list and the laser.org calendar for updates. Please let us know about any omissions. Masters North Americans
July 27-29. Richmond YC. Sailed on Berkeley Circle. The weather cooperated at this event. There was a solid breeze most of the time. Wind instruments along the edges of the potential racing area recorded the following: Pt Blunt, which typically records the highest readings on the Bay, had steady 30s by the end of the day on Friday and Sunday, and gusting that high on Saturday; Treasure Island & Berkeley Marina recorded steady 20s for most of the time; Pt. Potrero Reach, at the end of the outer breakwater at the RYC harbor, recorded mid to upper teens all three afternoons. The race courses were located on the southern side of the Circle, to be solidly in the westerly flow measured by these instruments, and out of Angel Island’s wind shadow. Occasionally, it went light. But overall, there was a lot of hiking. The
There are pictures available here: http://tinyurl.com/9cew9h8 Jen Edney took some in water and on water photos. Those are here: http://tinyurl.com/9l2xpko There is video from this event on YouTube. Thanks to Roger Herbst, Shoreline Fleet Captain, for facilitating the publishing of this content. Type “2012 Laser Masters North Americans” into YouTube’s search box and you will find it. Here is a link: http://tinyurl.com/9jlwcv9 Downwind/reach finishes were used for the all races of the day except the last one. The last race would include an extra beat. This left participants in position for an exciting and boisterous reach back to the club, where it was sunny and warm. The PRO, Del Olsen, and his team ran good length races without long delays between them. Thanks to Laser sailors Chris Boome and Christine Neville, who were on the start boat with Del providing a Laser perspective on Friday and Sunday respectively. Chris thought the fleet was up to the long last race, and he was just about right. Also thanks to Vickie Gilmour for on the water judging. The club staff and volunteers also contributed a great deal to a smooth and uneventful regatta. Thanks all around. Thanks to Scott Ferguson, on Sunday morning regatta participants were treated to a behind the scenes tour of Pier 80 in San Francisco, which is Team Oracle’s America’s Cup base. Scott is on the design team for the wing sail and arranged this. This is a picture of the fleet and RC volunteers in front of the winning boat from the 2010 America’s Cup: Godzilla. Small boat racers in front of a boat from the opposite extreme.
Masters Pacific Coast Champs
Aug 11-12 Stockson Sailing Club. Sailed on San Joaquin River. Report by Chris Boome: 19 Northern California laser sailors were hosted by Stockton Sailing Club August 11 and 12th. Under the direction of Race Committee Chairman, Phil Hendrix,
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Bob Doscher (Regatta Chairman), Chris Hachman (PRO), Ray Lopez(still working on a title to describe Ray, but he was always there helping) and so many others at the Stockton Sailing Club pulled out all the stops to make the weekend so special for the sailors.
Tracy Usher was the winner on the water and took home the Don Trask Perpetual Trophy (again!) as winner of the Laser Masters Pacific Coast Championship but the real winners were all the participants who got to experience the tremendous hospitality from the Stockton Sailing Club.
Besides running perfect races, with great starting lines, optimum length races etc, they really rolled out the red carpet for the Laser sailors and made us feel like we owned the place. They ran 9 races for us, they fed us several times a day, provided all the water we needed on the course (which was a LOT‚thank you Adam Collins!) and just kept asking us what could they do to help make things better.
To top it all off, they went overboard on the DeWitt Tshirts and trophies, and if all that wasn’t enough, Ray and Bonnie Lopez donated bottles of their new Bonita Ranch Garlic Olive Oil that they produce on their ranch.
On the race course the podium was dominated by Tracy Usher who won four of the nine races and never finished worse than fourth. Despite Tracy always seeming to come out on top, the races were extremely close with several position changes from the leeward gate to the finish line.
Several of the other sailors sailed extremely well, especially Tom Burden who would have finished second, but he was too young so he was victim to the Laser Masters scoring system and ended up Third overall. Tom won 2 of the 9 races and really sailed well.
Chris Boome was hanging around the leaders much of the time but mainly relied on his God given advantage of making it to the Great Grand Master division and that extra 1 point per race advantage over Tracy and Tom to squeak into second place overall only 1 point ahead of Tom.
John Barrere who had 2 second place finishes would have won the Great Grand Master division if it were not for a “senior moment” leeward gate rounding involving Emilio Castelli, Richard Leland and Steve Kraft that allowed Boome to wiggle into 4th place from 7th at the leeward gate.
On Saturday’s last race Toshi Takayangi from the Shoreline Laser fleet sailed a brilliant last leg to nip Tracy at the finish line.
Amelio Castelli from Santa Rosa sailing club must’ve slept well in his camper van because he won the first race on Sunday with David Wiley close behind and Jacques Kerrest picking up one of his 2 third place finishes for the weekend.
Although Tracy Usher won four races, those was not the only victories for the Usher family In race seven, Christie was close to the leading pack at the windward mark and sailed a great downwind leg to round the leeward gate with a five boat length lead. She sailed a great last leg and finished first to the cheers of the other competitors and the race committee Saturday night we were treated to a great tri-tip and chicken barbecue by
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chef Chris Dakin and his helpers and on Sunday morning all the competitors were presented with a gourmet breakfast that was prepared by Tom Lueck and his helpers that would’ve made Rachael Ray jealous.
The most improved sailor was definitely Jim Selmi who was upgrading his 1970’s Laser gear over the weekend and negotiated a deal Sunday morning to buy one of Tracy’s old sail. On Sunday Jim went out and improved his average placing by five boats. I think he’s hooked on Lasers now! Results & pictures: http://tinyurl.com/8wvaby8 US Jr. Singlehanded Champs and US Youth Singlehanded Champs Report from Denise Larsen: The two singlehanded qualifiers from our district, Kyle and Lola, had a great time at the US Jr Single Handed Champs even though it wasn’t sailed in Laser Radials. In fact for their weight, roughly 130 pounds, they really excelled in the high winds on the Bytes. The 20 area qualifiers from around the US came to SFYC to compete in the three day regatta. They stayed with host families and had no outside coaching. Lola’s family was a host family and hosted the gals. For some really great YouTube videos see links below and there are more at the US sailing website. It was a very competitive group and quite windy, Kyle placed 5th and Lola 7th. Congratulations! Day 1, US Jr Singlehanded champs, under 19 years: http://tinyurl.com/8s8u35j
Here is a video from that event: The laser part starts around 3:33 minutes, See Kyle at 5:06 minutes working around mark: http://tinyurl.com/8pedgl4 Next up for the kids is the labor day regatta down at ABYC. Lola, Lindsey, Kyle, Lawson, Will D., Francesca are all on board to go to that. They have the High School Cressy Eliminations coming up in September also at ABYC. High Sierra Regatta
July 7-8, Fresno YC. Sailed on Huntington Lake, Sierra National Forest. Elevation 7000 feet. Jay Golison of District 25 ran away with this event, getting 3 firsts in 3 races in a 20 boat Standard fleet. C’mon District 24 ! Let’s take this back next year J Shannon Mcclish won the 4.7 fleet and Annie Rossi won the Radial fleet. One thing to note in the standings is Tom Burden, 7th place in the Standard fleet, the following weekend took 3 firsts in the U20 fleet. Another case of a Laser sailor crushing a different one design fleet.
Day 2, US Jr Singlehanded champs, under 19 years: http://tinyurl.com/974kxtx The US Sailing Youth Champs, for under 20 years old, was held at the Gorge 4 days after the Jr Champs. So the kids had a day off to wash gear, load boats, then the next day drive up to the Gorge with a day of sightseeing in between. Kyle, Lola, and Lindsey qualified in Laser Radials for this regatta. Domenic Bove qualified for Standard rig. The kids were all dropped off at the venue Tuesday morning and all the kids at the regatta stayed together in cabins at a camp 40 minutes away in Sandy. The wind was fierce. The practice day yielded many broken parts, including Lola’s lower section. Luckily West Coast Sailing was there with parts. The first two days had whistling breeze and the last day it dies and races were cut short. The competition in the radial fleet was fierce with Mitchell Kiss, Erica
Reineke, and Malcolm Lamphere taking the first 3 spots. Our radial kids struggled with the heavy wind and had their best day on the light wind day with Lindsey getting the only top ten of our radial group in the only race that day. The winners all had 30-35 pounds on our radial kids so seems we need to beef them up a bit :) Final scores for radial Lola 19th, Lindsey 20th and Kyle 22nd. Not bad for their first time qualifying for this event and hope to see them go for it again next year! Final score for Domenic in full rig 8th place! Congratulations!
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District Reports From Roger Herbst:
As for the weather, It was generally beautiful, perhaps a tiny bit lighter than average at the bottom of the lake, but a light breeze held all the way to the top mark. The whole fleet hugged the left shore going upwind, as usual, before scattering by the dam, so the middle and right were untested. Downwind, I think the left paid a little. Results: http://tinyurl.com/8stxtmh Redwood Regatta
Sept 1-2. Humboldt YC. Sailed on Big Lagoon, Humboldt Lagoons State Park. Sea level. Bruce Braly sends this report: Once again the site of our annual Labor Day Redwood Regatta, Big Lagoon, threw its usual curve our way. Big Lagoon is located on the North Coast about forty miles north of Eureka, California. It is a natural lagoon separated and closed of from the Pacific by a long sand spite. This year we experienced ultra light winds from the west with a low fog bank on Sunday. Saturday the wind was the same but with sunshine. I think we had a high pressure sitting on top of us and the resulting wind was from a very weak thermal that develops upon the lagoon and flows in land up a shallow valley. What seemed to be happening was that off the line the wind was from the left big time, but as you worked your way upwind you eventually would get a northerly shift coming from the right for about the last quarter of the beat. The trick
was to really try to stay in the freshest air but not sail the great circle route by ending up on the port lay line and have to eat a long port header to get across. Therefore one had to try to get across to the starboard lay line in anticipation of a starboard lift in to the mark. That is how it worked out, but all I was really trying to do the whole time was sail for the new wind and avoid holes. Come join us next year! Jim Christopher sends the results:
1. Bruce Braly Humboldt YC 6pts 2. Tim Sullivan 9pts
3. Jim Christopher Humboldt YC 10pts 4. Joe Denton Tahoe SC 13pts
5. David Wylie Stockton SCl 19pts
6. Mike Eichwald Whiskeytown SC 24pts 7. Mark Warwick RogueYC 24pts
8. Garret Coonrod Humboldt YC 25pts
9. Jay Harland Rogue YC 30pts
10. John Spilman Rogue Y C 37pts
11. John Bradley Humboldt Y C 42pts Mrs Joe Denton said it was a nice family affair, like the Kip Lar Rieu Tahoe Laser champs, with camping and bbq’ing and kids. Kip Lar Rieu Tahoe Fleet Champs
Sept 8-9. Tahoe YC. Sailed on Stampede Reservoir, Tahoe National Forest. Elevation 6000’ feet. This was the first year Tahoe YC has tried a two day event. They are hoping more people will be tempted to make the drive with the longer format. I enjoyed this event a great deal and plan on returning next year.
The lake, which is a few miles north of I80 exit 194, near Truckee CA, is at an elevation of roughly 6000 feet. Besides the earthen dam, the launching ramp is the only visible man-made structure. The lake is surrounded by mountains and trees. The Tahoe fleet reserves a large group campsite close by. It is a family friendly event with camping, BBQ’ing and kids. The day time highs were in the 90s out of the shade of trees, and night time lows were in the 40s with clear star-filled skies. On shore, the breeze can be hot in the sun out of the shade. On the water, the warm puffs feel great with the cool water. I wore only a rashguard under my flotation both days, which was a little cold by the end of the day. There are volunteer inspectors attempting to prevent invasive species contaminating the reservoir. There were 10 races, 6 on Sat and 4 on Sun, with two throwouts. There was a weather mark, leeward mark, and a restricted start-finish between them. 9 races were once-arounds and 1 race a twice-around. The oncearounds would take 20-30 minutes. The race committee faced a challenge of anchoring boats and marks in 120’ of water or so. They did a great job, and got races off quickly. There was very little waiting time between races. Other than the first race of the day, the Standard and Radial fleets rarely were at the start-finish line at the same time. They rarely crossed courses on the water too. There were no other classes racing. Just Lasers. Really nice to have the course to ourselves. One of many positive aspects of this event. There were some motorboats on the lake, but they chose to stay out of where we raced. Powerboat chop was not a factor, and I may only have seen it once. Wind waves were small compared to chop on the central SF bay, and not too much for someone comfortable at Shoreline or Treasure Island.
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This is the only event the Tahoe fleet sails on Stampede Reservoir, so they are hesitant about making strong claims of local knowledge. A common pattern is for breeze from the eastern end of the lake in the morning, with breezes from the westerly end of the lake filling in as the day heats up. They say they typically get 10-15 knots when the westerly flow is established, which is one reason they choose this place at this time of year. This year was the windiest in recent recall. Both days there were times I was as fully hiked as I can get. The wind strengths were above that which the Tahoe fleet races in most of the time. The wind strength would not have been uncomfortable for people used to sailing on the central SF bay. So leaving some wiggle room the steady breeze level peaked at Force 4 on Sat and solid Force 5 by the end of racing on Sunday. Both days had puffs noticeably above those averages. I’d welcome follow-up differences of opinions on that along with anything and everything else. On Saturday, the RC waited roughly 2 hours for a good westerly flow to establish itself. The fleet hung out on shore in the parking lot boatyard. After the 1st race, the average breeze backed off a bit for the next few races, though still with strong puffs coming through, but the steady breeze level picked up to continuous full-hike territory again for the last races. On Sunday, with an earlier 11am scheduled start to get people home early, the RC only delayed 30 mins because the forecast for stronger wind was accurate and the westerly established itself sooner. The actual puffs probably didn’t reach the predicted 30 knots, but they were solid mid 20s and significantly stronger than the steady level of breeze. It was plenty exciting. There was some excellent flat water planing downwind when you caught a puff. The last beat of the last race, all four leaders capsized going to weather due to huge puffs. There were big shifts, and strong geographic shifts. One race about 30 secs off the start line with everyone pretty much still lined up on starboard, there was a big left shift, everyone tacks over and now it looks like a fetch to the mark for everyone. That happened several times, sometimes holding most of the way to the mark and sometimes shifting back much sooner. People seemed to think that on average the left side at the top of the beat was the place to be. Banging the left corner was dangerous though, as it could get light in there. I didn’t see anyone bang the right corner and come in strong. I went up the middle and middle right sometimes, and came into the weather mark with or as one of the leaders. On the 2nd beat of the once-around course, from the leeward mark to the finish line, taking a long port tack into the shore and starboard tack back at the finish line was a pretty reliable gain, except when there was more a lot more pressure in the middle. Shifts could be highly localized. At the last start, the port end of the line got a huge header the starboard end did not get. The port end boats tacked and crossed a few boatlengths behind the boats on the starboard end of the line, less then 15 secs off the line. In the Standard fleet, at the end of the first day, Team Pullen (Buff sailed some of the races on Sat) had established themselves as the regatta leader. 2nd place after day 1 seemed a toss-up as some people had had some good and bad races, and some people had been consistently near the top but not breaking through. Seemed like it could be any of half-a-dozen sailors. On Sunday, Joe Denton and myself started showing more boatspeed than the fleet in the strong breeze. I didn’t sail in the Radial fleet. Please feel free to add comments on that here: http://tinyurl.com/9z398qs A number of sailors were really only at home in the 5-15 knot range. One sailor was competing with broken ribs, which wasn’t working too well in the above average breeze. There were some equipment problems, including use of “old” rigging. So there was some attrition over the course of the regatta. Some people were able to finish all the races and got to expand their envelope a little. There were some things about the the 6000 foot altitude and mountain environment that were different from the coastal one I normally live in. The usual 1.0L of fluids on the water was not enough. 1.5L probably would have been. The sun was stronger, it was easier to get burned. I didn’t notice any “thinner air” affecting boat performance while sailing.
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District Reports District 26 Hawaii, USA Scott Melander
There were several regattas in District 26 in August and September. On August 11 and 12 Kaneohe Yacht Club hosted two laser races in great windy conditions. On Saturday PRO Dylan Ale with Mark and Kai Andrade as crew ran 5 windward leeward races. Race results for the nine sailors were: 1. Guy Fleming 2. Kukii Falahee 3. Grant Christopher 4. Charlie Field 5. Scott Melander 6. Colby Curtis 7. Nolan Laramore 8. Alicia Ward 9. Michael Miller On Sunday PRO Dylan has his 420 crew Rinchen Harrison as assistant ran another five races. Results were: 1. Guy Fleming 2. Grant Christopher 3. Charlie Field 4. Nolan Laramore 5. Kukii Falahee 6. Colby Curtis 7. Alicia Ward 8. Michael Miller The Hawaii Yacht Racing Association Single Handed State Championships were held Sep 11 and 12 in Kaneohe with a fleet numbering in the mid 20s. PRO Jesse Andrews ran five races on Saturday and three races on Sunday. With Kai Andrade as crew the fleet enjoyed great square courses with 7 windward-leewards and one triangle when it got really windy. Sunday was breezy with puffs in the high teens. It was very shifty on Sunday as well with some boats capsizing to windward on the beat. The US representative to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, John Myrdal, sailed a great series with seven bullets. Charlie Buckingham from Maui placed 2nd with Guy Fleming in 3rd. Placing 1st in Laser B for the 2nd year in a row was Kukii Falahee. It was a very enjoyable regatta with the talented fleet, definitely the most competitive of the year. The pizza and Mountain Dew were gone quickly after the race. The next races will be in October in Waikiki.
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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 the membership), or $65 for 2 years (Member may not turn 18 during the membership) Family, 1 year - $40 for the primary members and $25 for each additional member Family, 2 years - $75 for the primary members and $45 for each additional member
Name on card:
International - $50 (any member not living in the US or Canada), one year only Amount enclosed __________________US$
CC billing zip code: _____________
Please provide family members names, DOB, boat type and sail number on an additional sheet of paper.
_______________________________ CC #: Visa_____ MC ______
_______________________________ Exp. date:___________________
Please make checks payable to ILCA of NA. Thank you for joining the Laser Class. 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: ____
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FALL 2012
District 22 Championships
Aug 18-19, Flat head Lake, Montana
Upper left: D22 sailors Right: N. Flathead YC below: Caleb Gillam, 4.7 Champ. lower left: downtime middle left: Jim Christopher middle: Ian Elliott, District 22 Champion. Photos courtesy of Susie Pegel
www.Laser.org
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GRP Rudder and Daggerboard $485.00 $475.00
Deck Covers and Hull Covers by APS Now in stock!
Lightweight and durable Great choice for any dinghy sailor
Class Legal Racing Sail By North $565.00
Br1 Dinghy by Musto
Wear what Olympians wear Maximum traction Long zipper for easy entry with built in neoprene flap to protect from zipper chafe
Spray Top: $145.00 Trousers: $129.00
SeaHiker GripX3 Boot by Sperry
Stay warm this fall with great baselayers A must under foulies to keep you dry and comfortable
$80.00
Fast wicking Excellent insulation
Capilene 3 by Patagonia Starting at:
$49.00
$234.95
The best tiller we’ve found Carbon fiber with a matte finish
Black Diamond Tiller By Acme $210.00
Fully battened for hiking support Soft and breathable even in warm weather Suspenders make sure they stay up
Airprene 3/4 Hikers by SEA $189.00
The World Leader in Outfitting Performance Sailors.
Like a r e s a ur L Sail Yo o with APS Pr
Only the Best
From our premium covers and blade bags to our Pro rigging upgrades - APS has the gear to get you sailing your Laser like a Pro.
How Do We Know?
We work hard to bring you the best Pro rigging options for your Laser because we use them too! On staff we have active Laser sailors that work hard keeping up with class rule changes and testing out new ideas to bring you the best Laser rigging available. Have questions? Give us a call!
Pro Outhaul Kit by APS
Class Legal Pro Daggerboard Downhaul Kit by APS $37.
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Tired of your board popping up? We’ve got the solution! Easy on/off attachment Video online for more information
Pro Mainsheets Starting from $29.44
Excel Fusion
Starting at $40.73
APS designed using new Harken T18s for the ultimate in lightweight control line systems
Pro Cunningham by APS $48.95
No more wasting your time making your own handle each day Easy to grip rubber handle that works with Pro Cunningham
Dinghy Sheet
Rooster
Pro Cunningham Control Handle by APS $21.25
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
2812 Canon Street, San Diego, CA 92106 2812 Canon Street, San Diego, CA 92106
2812 Canon Street, San Diego, CA 92106 2812 Canon Street, San Diego, CA 92106
We’re here to make sure you have
fun.
When it all comes together, there’s nothing like it. But when somethings. not right, it can be a drag. For the past 15 years, Tackle Shack has been the South’s major supporter and dealer for Laser Class Sailing. We’re here to make sure you get what you need, when you need it - at the best price. New & Used Lasers *Expert Service* Parts & Accessories*Wetsuits, Dry suits & Wet wear *PFD’s *Thule Car Racks*Custom Trailers* Hard to find items...everything for the Laser Sailor. If we don’t have it you don’t need it! We charter Laser’s for all Florida events. call us at 727-546-5080 or 1-800537-6099 or stop by the store at 7801 66th Street N., Pinellas Park, FL 33781 Plus check out our web page www.tshack.com
San Dimas, CA Permit No. 410
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
San Dimas, CA Permit No. 410