The Laser Sailor Summer 2015 by Jerelyn Biehl

SUMMER 2015

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SUMMER 2015

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

Editors

SUMMER 2015

District Contacts .....................................................................................................6 President’s Report....................................................................................................8 Coaches Corner: Pool Noodle Marks & Drill.................................................10 What Vang Really Does Upwind.......................................................................14 Proper Course Uncovered....................................................................................18 Masters Reports Gulf Coast Masters..................................................................................17 Master North Americans........................................................................26

Sherri Campbell & Jerelyn Biehl ILCA-NA

Guinness World Record........................................................................................21

Ofﬁcers

Laser Worlds Preview - Kingston......................................................................22

Andy Roy Chairman 15 Claudette Court Peterborough, ON K9J 7Y7 Canada 705-750-0189 aroy187740@gmail.com Meka Taulbee Vice Chairman Dunedin, FL USA 727-631-7005 meka@sailﬁt.com Eric Reitinger Treasurer 7908 Normandy Drive Mt Laurel, NJ 08054 609-206-2973 er4599@gmail.com John Long Secretary 4707 Sierra Madre Road Santa Barbara, CA 93110 805-705-1435 jlonginsb@yahoo.com Al Clark Member at Large 337 E 6th North Vancouver, BC V7L1P7 604-988-4799 al.clark@shaw.ca Sherri Campbell Executive Secretary 2812 Canon Street San Diego, CA 92106 USA phone: 619-222-0252 fax: 619-222-0528 sherri@odmsail.com

www.Laser.org

2015 Event Schedule..............................................................................................25 Laser World Insert .........................................................................................center Regatta Reports Flights of Spring......................................................................................23 Gulf Coast Champs.................................................................................24 Midwinters West.....................................................................................28 ACCs..........................................................................................................30 PCCs...........................................................................................................32 Canadian Championships.......................................................................33 District Reports......................................................................................................34 USA/Cuba Youth Exchange.................................................................................42 Why Join the Laser Class?...................................................................................44 Membership Applications....................................................................................45 ® SUMMER 2015 6 continents, 122 countries - the biggest adult and youth racing class in the world

Cover shot: Frank Wen took this great shot of Ellie Shaw Ungar sailing her Radial in the Flights of Spring Regatta in Vancouver.

NEWFOUNDLAND

6 BRITISH COLUMBIA

ALBERTA

SASKATCHEWAN

QUEBEC

MANITOBA

NORTH DAKOTA

VERMONT

MINNESOTA

WISCONSIN

SOUTH DAKOTA

IDAHO

WYOMING

IOWA

ILLINOIS

COLORADO

KANSAS

CALIFORNIA

OKLAHOMA

ARIZONA

MISSOURI

MASSACHUSETTS RHODE ISLAND CONNECTICUT

NEW JERSEY

MARYLAND

NORTH CAROLINA

SOUTH CAROLINA

TEXAS

NEW HAMPSHIRE

VIRGINIA KENTUCKY

NEW MEXICO

7 7

NOVA SCOTIA

DELAWARE WEST VIRGINIA

TENNESSEE

ARKANSAS

LOUISIANA

PENNSYLVANIA

OHIO INDIANA

UTAH

NEBRASKA

NEVADA

NEW 9 YORK

MICHIGAN

MAINE

MONTANA

OREGON

HAWAII

WASHINGTON

NEW BRUNSWICK

ONTARIO

14 ALABAMA MISSISSIPPI

GEORGIA

TIME ZONE

PUERTO RICO AND THE CARIBBEAN

FLORIDA

District 1

District 9

District 18

District 2

District 10

District 19

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

District 3

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

District 4

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

District 5

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

District 6

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

District 7

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

District 8

David Trinder 631-418-5220: laserd8@gmail.com www.LaserD8.org

Peter Bushnell Cazenovia, NY 13035 315-655-4671- peter.bushnell@carrier.utc.com Eric Reitinger 7908 Normandy Dr Mt. Laurel NJ 08054 Er4599@gmail.com http://d10.laserforum.org

District 11

John Shockey 216-386-1920 johnrshockey@gmail.com Ken Swetka 27022 Koerber St., St Claire Shores, MI 48081 248-635-5363 www.d19laser.org

District 20

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

Troy Tolan Springfield, IL Carlyle Sailing Assn. 217-960-2681, troytolan@videoop.ca Facebook: Laserd20

Charles Usher chasusher@comcast.net www.d12laserforum.org

Matthew Thompson D21.sec@gmail.com D21.laserforum.org

District 12

District 13

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

District 14

Britt Drake 805-252-3829 cbdrakelll@yahoo.com

District 15

Forest Atkins 157833@gmail.com 214-686-7035 https://groups.google.com/ forum/?fromgroups#!forum/txLaser/

District 16

District 21

District 22

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

District 23

Geoff Hurwitch Geoffh437@yahoo.com

District 24

Stephen Aguilar 1809 Brier Way, Carmichael, CA sailsteve55@gmail.com 916-968-3554

District 25

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

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 26

SUMMER 2015

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President’s Report The 2015 North American Laser racing scene is now in full swing, and as of this writing many sailors are making preparations for the major events on the calendar. At the CORK site in Kingston, Ontario, it’s shaping up to be an amazing summer of Laser racing, beginning with the Canadian Championships, Men’s Standard Worlds, Masters Worlds, CORK International and the Youth Radial Worlds. I’m confident sailors who have never been to CORK before will be pleased with the venue and the sailing conditions. The line-up for the Standard Worlds is certainly impressive and the competition is going to be incredibly strong. I plan to get out on a power boat for a couple days to watch these guys go at it. Let’s see if a few North American sailors can get into the hunt. America’s Charlie Buckingham now sits 5th in the ISAF Men’s Laser rankings and is a favorite as he’s been in a few medal races (top 10) at recent ISAF events in Europe. This includes a medal race win at Hyeres, France in impressive style. I know I’ve said this before, but there have been some positive developments of late so I’m optimistic the new Mk II Standard sail will very soon be approved by all parties. The sail’s widespread introduction and distribution won’t happen in time for next year’s Olympic sailing in Brazil; however, I believe the plan is to introduce it sooner for Masters and perhaps non-ISAF type open Laser regattas. Ten of us were able to try out the new sail in Cabarete, Dominican Republic in April, and a special thanks goes out to Ari Barshi of the Laser Training Center for letting us race with new sails that he had bought. Ari raced with us using an older (current design) sail, so it was a good way to compare speed. The new sail is superbly designed and it’s obvious it is designed to last. I was not able to notice any pointing or upwind or downwind speed difference sailing against Ari all day in 1017 knot conditions, although I was able to nip him out to win the first ever “official” (?) Mk II Laser regatta (first prize was a cold cerveza!). The sail has properly reinforced tack and clew patches, a tapered sleeve to match the 2-piece mast, a window sized and placed such that you can actually see an opposite tacker coming at you, and three different sized tapered battens inserted into nice Velcro secured pockets. Overall the sail just looks good and generally sets up in the same manner in terms of outhaul and vang tension (it’s difficult to pull on much Cunningham due to the stiff tack patch). The one thing that will be noticeable on a crowded start line in breezy conditions will be the noise. The yarn tempered 4.5 oz. cloth really snaps when the sail is luffing, so it might get loud. I also understand that the new carbon top section may not be too far behind the sail in the approval process, so that will be more good progress.

I hope to see a lot of North American Masters friends in Kingston next month. I know the CORK organizers have some excellent social events planned for the week, including a post-racing beer tent right at the site, so it’s shaping up to be a great one. Have a great summer of Laser sailing.

Me in “Bobby Orr” (#4) – ﬁnally a proper looking sail!

Canuck Scott Collinson riding the rail – not sure if he survived this one – I’m betting not

SUMMER 2015

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Coaches Corner

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

The Pool Noodle Mark BY C-VANE SAILING / RYAN ERIC MINTH The best marks for sail training, if you judge by the international professional coaches and leading ISAF MNA teams, are clearly the Plastimos (seen on right). They do not necessarily require anchor and rode, are very visible for their size, and are very small in footprint in terms of how much coach boat real estate they require when not in the water. They also travel well, especially without the necessary counterweight to have them stand while afloat (just look for rocks or buy lead/ chain at your new venue). I love how I do not have to get wet scooping one out of the water almost elbow-deep or bending over risking the wave off the sponson and onto the sunglasses. But at $250 each and needing eighteen pounds of counter-balance that is probably another $30-$40 for each mark, suddenly they seem less brilliant. After acquiring two, yes indeed, they are the best, but they are not without their drawbacks beyond the economics. The counter-balance area is also water ballasted so if I am impatient the mark floods into the RIB when hauling out, and, like any other mark, are not easy to move on the fly. By that I mean while planing in the RIB, or at least moving hull-speed. Before finding two used ones from a retiring Finn sailor, I sought for an alternative and after a bit of trial and error, I am happy to announce that the Pool Noodle Mark (PNM) is the alternative (left). For many applications, they are superior to even the Plastimo. Seriously, this is the future for professional coaching and sailing programs for boats that are not planing most of the time and for all high school and collegiate programs (i.e. short course, putt putt sailing). Absolute no-brainer in the Opti-world I would imagine. Next door to your super-box hardware/lumber retailer is probably another super-box store that carries pool noodles. Buy the Super Noodle. I bought the last round from the Canadian innovator (disputed) on-line as I needed more than a half dozen and wanted all in orange. Be careful with your color selection as the contrast against your local water and backdrop/shoreline can make Pool Noodle Marks difficult to see while sailing small boats when more than 2/3 of a mile away. Angle of the sun during your normal training days also makes a dramatic difference in visibility. Yellow is awesome when the sun is on the facing side while training, but almost invisible when opposite on the brown waters of Galveston Bay. Choose between orange, yellow, and magenta for sure. I am considering adding one meter of chrome reflective streamer to the top to help visibility from the sides of the course or maybe a large strip of reflective chrome tape. Drill a 3/8” hole at the opposite end of the PVC 90* elbow fitting and affix the chain to the mark with your 3/8” shackle. The shackle will pinch down on the 1/2” PVC pipe but the connection remains amazingly durable. I stopped picking up the marks and dragging from the chain directly as the joint between the PVC and shackle safely moves everything (albeit the short nine feet complete of anchor, rode, and chain for Galveston Bay) at a plane. Fully assembled, a PNM

SUMMER 2015

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will drift without anchor and rode significantly more slowly than a Plastimo while afloat and take up less room in the RIB when not. They are super easy to grab and move at speed or haul out without getting soaked, especially with the small eight pound ‘fat’ mushroom anchors I prefer. To that end, I am becoming more and more of a fan of large loop three-strand splicing to luggage tag attach anchor rode to the marks and anchors (not shown), eliminating the shackles on the anchors, sometimes to the PNM chain, and especially to the bottom of the Plastimos. If your normal training body of water has a consistent depth, be sure to make rodes all equal in length. Here is how to make one, or a half-dozen (recommended): Cut the standard ten foot section of 1/2” PVC pipe ($2.89) in half and weld 1/2” PVC 90* elbow fittings ($0.98) onto one end of each of the five foot sections with the purple primer and glue ($7.89) all in the plumbing section of your hardware supplier. Seriously, this can all be done while still at the store in most cases. On another aisle, purchase 38-40 links of 3/8” galvanized chain ($22) and a nearby 3/8” shackle ($4.98). Believe me, cut the chain to length while at the store. Do not try this at home. Not with a cordless Dremel Tool anyway. There are not too many RIBs that can accommodate numerous marks without overflowing the deck space but here is a shot of nine (9) marks (six PNMs and three Plastimos) in the back of a VSR 5.8C, probably the narrowest of all coach appropriate RIBS! Deploying the marks is also pretty fun when they are stowed correctly. Merely drop the anchor overboard (at any speed) and the mark zips out of the RIB like a WW2 depth charge.

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SUMMER 2015

PRE-START DOWN SPEED BOAT HANDLING DRILL SET (What to do with all of the marks?) There are heaps of known drills that can be greatly enhanced by setting boundaries, deﬁned obstructions, various gates, etc. when one has the options made with a boatload of marks. My two favorites are:

Course Set Up:

Idle in gear abeam of the true wind and drop a PNM every four(4) to six (6) meters apart. Five PNMs or more are best. Any combination of sail up, hold position, back down, and even two tack starting drills may be considered.

DRILL #1 Up/Down - On the whiteboard, think right to left slalom with boats moving up and down to leave the marks astern or ahead. Queue sailors to the starboard end of the PNM line and have them back down through the ﬁrst gate, sail up through the next, back down the next … until they run out of gates at which point they return to the boat/starboard end queue. If they tack out while backing down they go back to the queue. Send them off one every half-minute, increasing the timing to accompany the lack of skills to complete one fore and back gate and/or clear themselves from the gates entirely to re-queue and then launch the next sailor. After they get the pattern and boat handling down, alter the drill to have them back down and then sail back up through the same gate, then set up at the next gate to leeward and repeat. DRILL #2 Own Gate - The beauty of heaps of marks is I can set up a gate for each sailor. Each sailor has a gate and begins with the standard ‘hold position at a mark’ drill near the windward end of their assigned gate. As they drift down to the leeward end of their gate, it is their option to back down and reset or two tack re-set up toward the windward end of their gate. Both drills worked very well recently in a mixed ﬂeet (Laser and Radial) and I am thinking about how to incorporate a mystery starting sequence into the drill and onto a beat. Stay tuned for the results in the next Laser Sailor.

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What the vang really does upwind BY ROGER HERBST

Sailing has always had many half true/ half myth beliefs. Take the classic explanation of how an airfoil develops lift: “The curved top surface is longer than the bottom surface, so the air has to go further and faster over the top, and Bernoulli’s principal says the faster moving air creates lower pressure, and develops lift”. If you pointed out to your science teacher that a perfectly symmetric foil (like a centerboard) lifts quite nicely, your classmates probably rolled their eyes and the teacher stopped calling on you. Bernoulli’s principal is, in fact, true, and airplanes do in fact ﬂy, but there’s something lacking in the explanation. So it goes with the Laser vang. Early in our Laser experience, we learned that a two-blocked rig and slack vang is not quite the same as a rig with the same block position and a tensioned vang. Those in the know universally told us that the vang rams the boom forward, forcing bend into the lower mast and therefore improving the sail shape. As our skills increased, we instinctively knew when to give a pull on the vang as the breeze picked up. Rest assured, you have learned well. It’s just the explanation that is lacking. Here’s what the vang really does. Let’s start from the sail’s perspective. The sail only experiences attachments at the clew and along its luff. Changes to the bend of the boom are of no concern to the sail. Neither is mast bend below the gooseneck. The curvature of the mast from the tack to the head of the sail, however, profoundly impacts the sail shape. Here’s where the classic vang explanation falls apart. The mast, from the gooseneck up, cannot tell the difference between vang induced bend and sheet induced bend. In engineering terms, the bending “moment” along every inch of the mast above the boom is identical in both cases.

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SUMMER 2015

So how and why does the vang work? Let’s consider two cases. You can try these with your boat on a dolly. 1. The sheet is slack, and the vang is cranked down hard until the sheet blocks are 4 inches apart. Now push the mast forward. It is loose in the mast step. Take a picture of the mast 2. The Vang is slack, and the sheet is two-blocked. You cannot push the mast forward in the step. In fact, the mast is subject to tremendous, sometimes mast-snapping bending force near the step. Take another picture. Compare the pictures. Here’s what you will see. In each picture, the mast bend is identical from the gooseneck up. IDENTICAL! The sail shape is identical, even the wrinkles. What has changed? In the sheeted picture, the rig is rocked backward because of mast bend near the step. The sheet (and leech) tension bends the entire mast, but the bending forces are especially severe at the step, rocking the entire rig backward by approx. 1.5 degrees, increasing weather helm. With vang-induced bend, the mast bend above the gooseneck (and sail shape) is identical, but the rig is not bending at the step, The head of the sail is 6 inched further forward, and there is four inches of extra room between the sheet blocks for further bending and ﬂattening if needed ! In summary, comparing the vang to a 2 blocked sheet, with the vang you can 1. Create the same sail shape with less helm OR… 2. Super-crank the vang until the sheet blocks touch, bending the mast even more than you could with sheet alone. Or anywhere in between in combination with the sheet. In sailing terms, as the wind builds and helm starts becoming a problem, use the vang ! Moving the rig center of effort forward a few inches makes a big difference. But you already knew that. Now you know why. Note: This article focuses on steady state characteristics of the rig. Dynamic response to gusts and waves, and off-wind trim are different subjects. The seemingly simple Laser vang is very complex animal !

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SUMMER 2015

Masters Report Handicap System Gives Gulf Coast Masters Championship to Hartman Whether it was the scary weather forecast or the location that kept folks away is not known. What is known is that the hardy few that made it to Fort Walton Beach enjoyed two fine days of sailing. Due to the weather threat the course Saturday was set up in the area adjacent to the Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club. Westerly winds coming down the pass made for fun and interesting sailing with rapid velocity changes from 10 to 20 mph and shifts of 10 to 20 degrees. Five races of twenty to thirty minutes were sailed on windward leeward courses. Buzzy Heausler from Davis Island won three, Tim Landt of St Petersburg and David Hartman from Vero Beach each won one. Andy Culver from Jacksonville took ownership of his newly purchased boat and promptly christened it with a crash tack capsize in the first race. Randy Richmond from New Orleans sailed his first Masters event and promises to be the force to get folks in his area converted to Laser sailing (He won the starts on Sunday). Local stalwarts Russell Brown and Britt Drake rounded out the competitors. Shortly after returning to shore, Britt Drake whipped up some Yellow Birds that were thoroughly enjoyed in the Gazebo on the point. What a great location! The party was quickly moved to the porch of the Yacht Club when a line squall appeared. This may have been the remnants of the storm that tragically struck the fleet and boaters on Mobile Bay a little earlier. Some of us made it to Fuddpuckers to enjoy a nice meal and share some friendship. Sunday dawned as a gorgeous day with mild breezes. The RC took us out into the bay and ran two races in 6 to 8mph westerlies to complete the series. Buzzy won the first race going away with Hartman and Brown duking it out for second – Hartman barely ahead in an overlapped finish. The final race saw several position changes as shifts shuffled the fleet on both weather legs. Hartman got the last shift on the final weather leg and had enough lead on Brown to hold him off downwind. Heausler kept getting forced left (he says) and was on the wrong side, going from first to fourth or worst before recovering to third downwind. Final results had Buzzy three points ahead of Hartman, but the dreaded (or beloved) Masters Handicap system put Hartman ahead of Heausler for first overall. Small fleets and lots of races certainly give the older guys an advantage with the current handicap system. Maybe it needs some careful review and possible modification. Thanks to Britt Drake and his group for hosting the regatta!

2015 Masters Calendar Event Great Lakes Masters PCC Masters World Masters US Master Nationals Master ACCs www.Laser.org

Venue Toronto, CAN CGRA, Oregon Kingston, Ontario, CAN St Francis YC, San Francisco, CA Brant Beach, NJ

Dates June 26-27 June 27-28 July 10-18 Aug 14-16 Sept 19-20 17

Rule 17: Proper Course Uncovered BY JUDITH KRIMSKI If you’ve done any amount of sailboat racing you’ve probably heard someone yell “Sail your proper course!” Let’s face it, the Rule 17 proper course restriction can be confusing, especially when sailing downwind and especially in boats like the Laser that are better sailed with a combination of points of sail. Usually mistakes (or yelling) start to happen because the proper course for the right of way boat is usually not the same for the keep clear boat. Understanding the limitations of proper course on each leg is key to making good tactical decisions and enforcing your rights. Rule 17: If a boat clear astern becomes overlapped within two of her hull lengths to leeward of a boat on the same tack, she shall not sail above her proper course while they remain on the same tack and overlapped within that distance, unless by doing so she promptly sails astern of the other boat. This rule does not apply if the overlap begins while the windward boat is required by Rule 13 to keep clear. Deﬁnitions: Clear astern: One boat is clear astern of another when her hull and equipment in normal position are behind a line abeam from the aftermost point of the other boat’s hull and equipment in normal position. Proper course: A course a boat would sail to ﬁnish as soon as possible in the absence of other boats referred to in the rule using the term. A boat has no proper course before her starting signal. Overlap: Boats overlap when neither of them is clear astern. They also overlap when a boat between them overlaps both. These terms always apply to boats on the same tack. They do not apply to boats on opposite tacks unless Rule 18 applies or both boats are sailing more than 90 degrees from the true wind. Clear Astern and Overlapped: Diagram 1: Sailing upwind Boat A is clear ahead of Boat B. Diagram 2: Sailing downwind Boat B is clear ahead of Boat A. Diagram 3: Sailing downwind Boat A is overlapped to windward of Boat B. In the second position Boat A luffs up to break the overlap making B the clear astern vessel. Diagram 4: Sailing downwind Boats A and C are overlapped because Boat B is overlapped with both boats and between them. Breaking Down Rule 17: Who has a rule 17 limitation? The ROW boat that has gained an overlap from astern within two hull lengths of the other boat has a Rule 17 proper course limitation. All boats to windward and within two hull lengths have a Rule 11 keep clear limitation and must stay clear of the ROW boat. 18

SUMMER 2015

Diagram 1: In position one Boat A is clear astern of Boat B. In position two Boat A is overlapped to leeward of Boat B within two hull lengths. As soon as the overlap occurs Boat A is subject to Rule 17 limitations, which in this case allows her to head up to round the mark. Boat B is the keep clear vessel subject to Rule 11. Because Boat A is changing course to round the mark she is also subject to Rule 16.1. Diagram 2: Now there are three boats. Boat A has gained an overlap from astern so is subject to the Rule 17 proper course limitation. Both Boats B and C are within 2 hull lengths of Boat A. They are the keep clear boats subject to Rule 11 and A who is changing course is subject to 16.1. Diagram 3: Boat A has sailed past the mark. It is arguable that according to her proper course limitation she should have headed downwind towards the leeward mark. While there is some leeway here (see proper course deﬁnition) it’s not likely her proper course includes sailing above a beam reach unless the next mark is a reaching mark. Rule 17 at the Start Diagram 4: Boat A has gained a leeward overlap from astern of Boat B. Because it is prior to the starting signal Boat A can luff and Boat B must keep clear. Once the signal sounds Rule 17 turns on. Boat A must go down to her proper, close-hauled course. Rule 17 Downwind What about boats sailing downwind? This is where things might get a bit argumentative but remember the ROW boat that is obligated under Rule 17 can decide (within reason) what her proper course is despite the course keep clear boats might desire. The most obvious proper course is for the ROW boat to sail directly to the mark but many times this isn’t the fastest route, especially in the case of the Laser which sttains more efﬁcient VMG when using a combination of points of sail. The ROW boat can also consider conditions on the www.Laser.org

course such as geography, current, and wind patterns as factors in sailing her proper course. Diagram 5: Sailing downwind Boat A has gained an overlap to windward of Boat B who proceeds to luff up Boat A. In position two Boat A luffs up breaking the overlap putting Boat B clear (see clear astern deďŹ nition). In position three Boat A can now force Boat B to go down to her proper course. Both boats end up gybing with Boat A becoming ROW boat. Diagram 6: In position one Boat A and Boat B are more than two hull lengths away from each other while sailing towards a gate mark to be left to starboard. As the boats converge outside the zone Boat A maneuvers to gain inside overlap, heads Boat B up, breaks the overlap, and gains mark room as she enters the zone. Since the boats converged from more than two hull lengths away Boat A has rights to head up Boat B. Corrections from Rule 18 article: Thanks to the readers who pointed out the Diagram 2 was incorrect. Guilty as charged! Here is the corrected diagram and explanation. Diagram 2, 18.2, 18.4: Boat A on starboard has entered the zone before Boat B so is entitled to mark-room which includes the ability to gybe, but she shall sail no farther from the mark than she needs to sail her proper course (18.4).

SUMMER 2015

Guinness Book of World Records Verifies Suhay One year ago, Robert Suhay sailec 326 nautical miles to break Tania Elias Calles Wolf (MEX) record. The record was verified in December of 2014. NORFOLK, VA, USA -- Robert Suhay, age 51, from Norfolk, Va., father of four boys, has been confirmed by The Guinness Book of World Records as the new Long Distance laser Dinghy World Record holder (male); this summer, Robert Suhay, a designer for The Virginian-Pilot, sailed 283.5 nautical miles – 326.25 miles – in a small boat called a Laser, setting the new world record for the Longest distance sailed unassisted in a Laser dinghy (male), according to the World Record Academy:www.worldrecordacademy. com/.

Photo: This summer, Robert Suhay, a designer for The Virginian-Pilot, sailed 283.5 nautical miles – 326.25 miles – in a small boat called a Laser. Robert Suhay, age 51, father of four boys, has been conﬁrmed by The Book of World Records as the new Long Distance laser Dinghy World Record holder (male). Photo: Robert Suhay

Suhay said he would have been unable to do this without his wife because of her support, from pushing aside fears of sailing’s dangers to acting as her husband’s public relations director. He also credits all of his friends for their support. To this point, he doesn’t even own a boat. He borrows boats and the associated gear. For this particular journey, Suhay also received sponsorship from Magellan, a GPS producer. The existing Guinness World Records’ record was 282 nautical miles, and he went 283. He left Norfolk on June 29 with plans to sail without stopping up the Chesapeake Bay to an island near Baltimore and back. He abandoned the trip on the way back because bad weather was approaching. He worked on the route for three years; the ﬁrst year was a trial run to test equipment. This ended with his falling a bit off course, following his compass home and spending 30 hours on the water. The second year, he made it from Norfolk to Annapolis, Md., in just over 30 hours, but a strong south wind and short food supply ended that trip at the Naval Academy’s home. So in the third year, 2014, Suhay was ready to go the distance from June 29 through July 2.

The Guinness World Records’ record for the longest single-handed distance sailed in a dinghy by a male is 283.5 nautical miles (525.04 km, 326.24 miles) achieved by Robert Suhay (USA) in Maryland, USA, on 2 July 2014. Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the longest single-handed unassisted journey in a dinghy by a female is 282.78 nm (523.7 km; 325.41 miles) and was achieved by Tania Elias Calles Wolf (Mexico) who sailed from Los Cabos Baja California Sur to Bahia de Banderas, Mexico, between 28 February and 3 March 2010. He could not have done it without the support of Magellan GPS data and the US Coast Guard›s MidAtlantic Division, The Sand Paper reported. www.Laser.org

Laser World Championships in Kingston Over 600 sailors representing 61 countries are set to race on the fresh waters of Lake Ontario in Kingston, Canada this summer. CORK Kingston is hosting the Laser Standard Men’s World Championship (June 29-July 8), the Laser Masters’ World Championships (July 10-18), and the Laser Radial Youth World Championships (August 14-20). The 2015 Laser Standard Men’s will undoubtedly be an exciting and highly competitive championship taking place over ten days at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour. This World Championship will host 160 competitors representing 61 Nations. This event draws Olympic contenders striving to qualify their country for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. The racing will be intense, and according to Kingston’s Canadian Sailing Team Athlete, Robert Davis, “all the world’s best Laser sailors will be looking to put in a top performance.” The Laser Masters’ World Championships will see several competitors who also competed in the 1980 Kingston Laser World Championships. That event saw an incredible 350 entries. At the 2015 Master Worlds 260 competitors aged 35+ representing 30 Nations will compete for six days on the Kingston waters. Andy Roy, who was 22 when he sailed the 1980 Worlds, and is set to race the 2015 Masters’ Worlds states “I have great memories of that 1980 Championships, where a large number of future Olympic medalists and America’s Cup sailors competed, so it’s just fantastic to see the Worlds coming back to ‘K-town’ 35 years later.” Almost 200 Youth Sailors representing 37 Nations plan to make their mark on the international sailing scene at the Laser Radial Youth World Championships this summer. According to Sail Canada’s Executive Director Paddy Boyd, “the Laser Radial Youth World Championships will provide excellent competition for the world’s best young sailors.” The 2015 season offers even more Laser racing in Kingston, with several open entry events in addition to the three Worlds. The Canadian Championships is being hosted June 20-21, CORK International (U19) August 10-13 and CORK OCR August 14-19. The season rounds out with the District 3 Championships as part of the CORK Fall Regatta September 19-20. Since 1969, CORK has hosted over 30 World Championships and the 1976 Sailing Olympic Games. Kingston offers the best fresh-water sailing in the world, excellent wind and wave conditions, and is a short distance from shore to the race courses. In 2015, expect action packed racing from sailors around the world! For more information: http://kingstonlaserworlds2015.com/ & www.cork.org Photos by Luka Bartulovic

SUMMER 2015

Flights of Spring BY ANDY HUNT District 6 Secretary The first regatta on the racing schedule of the Jericho Sailing Centre is the Flights of Spring Regatta. This regatta was held on April 18 and 19. You could not have asked for better weather. It was about 15 degrees on Saturday and about the same on Sunday. The winds matched the temperatures with the wind on Saturday clocking in the 12 – 15 knot range. The winds started out slightly less on Sunday but ended up slightly more (17 knots). The race committee, led by yours truly, ran 4 races each day for a total of 8 races. The courses were a combination of single and double windward leewards. Due to the recent oil spill in English Bay, the courses were set south of the anchored freighters which meant that the sailors all went to the left side of the course. Interestingly enough, the Standard fleet started at the pin end of the starting line while the Radial Fleet started at the committee boat end. Seven out of the eight standard sailors came from the Jericho Sailing Centre while the other sailor came from the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. Five of the standard sailors will be going to the Laser Master Worlds in July. The Radial Fleet had 9 boats with eight of the sailors residing in the lower mainland. The lone visiting sailor was Ellie Ungar who belongs to both the Seattle Yacht Club and the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club but resides in Seattle. Jorge L Yanez del Castillo won the Standard Fleet while the master in more ways than one, Al Clark, dominated the Radial Fleet with nothing but first place finishes. The Radial Fleet had three sailors who are also going to the Laser Master Worlds. The top three Standard Sailors: Jorge L Yanez del Castillo JSCA 12 Andriy Kanyuka JSCA 15 Peter Woytkowiak JSCA 21 Top three Radial sailors: Al Clark RVYC Marcia Macdonald JSCA Ellie Ungar RVYC/SYC

www.Laser.org

7 17 22

2015 Laser Gulf Coast Championship BY MICHAEL F GUERRIERO

The 2015 Laser Gulf Coast Championship was held by Texas Corinthian Yacht Club May 2 & 3. Mark Foster acted at the Principal Race Officer and Chris Luppens Chief Judge. Fifty four sailors from all over the country participated in the event. Early teams arrived on Friday for a light air practice day and reconnecting with friends. Racing Saturday was postponed in the morning waiting for the afternoon sea breeze and the first warning signal was fired after lunch. Four races followed in 8-10 knots of breeze for the fleets of four 4.7s, thirty three Radials and seventeen Lasers. The breeze arrived early Sunday and the fleet headed out for a 10:30am first warning signal. Four races followed in 8-12 knots. Christophe Chaumont placed first in the 4.7 fleet, Scott Rasmussen dominated the Radial Fleet with 11 points and Greg Martinez took first in the Laser Fleet with 9 points. All in all a great weekend of sailing.

2015 Laser Gulf Coast Championship Texas Corinthian Yacht Club | May 0203, 2015 [View in Media Format] [View With Divisions]

Laser 4.7 (4 boats) (top)

Series Standing 8 races scored Information is final. Regatta results last updated: Sunday, May 03, 2015 1:09:50 PM CDT Click on race number to view detailed race information.

Sail Skipper

Division

Yacht Club

178885 Christophe Chaumont

FWBC

155648 Caleb Shi

RCYC/CSC

204114 Bryan Trammell 177159 Sydney Calk

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

TotalPos 10 1 13 2 3 3 16 3 4 [5/DNS] 28 4

[3]

TCYC

[3]

RCYC

Laser Radial (33 boats) (top)

Series Standing 8 races scored Information is final.

Regatta results last updated: Sunday, May 03, 2015 1:06:25 PM CDT Click on race number to view detailed race information.

Sail Skipper

Yacht Club

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

204424 Scott Rasmussen

Division

Lauderdale Yacht Club

176997 Nic Baird

St Petersburg Yacht Club

197044 Carly Broussard

Ocean Reef Yacht Club

208578 Gage Wilson

LYC / ESC

174289 Caden Scheiblauer

Santa Barbara Yacht Club

203630 Sophia Sole

Texas Corinthian Yacht

[18]

[13]

10 6

[34/BFD] [34/BFD]

[21]

8 6

[34/BFD]

Total Pos 11 1 29 2 35 3 48 4 59T 5 59T 6

Club 204411 Jack Gower

Edison Sailing Center

64 7 69 8 73T 9 73T 10 76 11 81 12

196848 Charlotte Rose

Houston Yacht Club

[17]

206067 Jack Hogan

California Yacht Club

[28]

204109 Ricky Welch

LBYC

[18]

173229 Conner Correll

Lauderdale Yacht Club

[24]

206097 Chase Burwell

Team FOR Carlouel Yacht

[23]

[21]

[22]

97T 15

[34/BFD]

97T 16 100 17 109 18

Club 200123 Kelly Cole

OCBC

206090 Alexandra Mares

Houston Yacht Club/Austin

85 13 92 14

Yacht Club 18769 Madeleine Butcher

Texas Corinthian Yacht Club

187697 Lenox Butcher

Texas Corinthian Yacht Club

207144 Chase Carraway

LYC/CYCNC

[34/BFD]

204103 Tomas Samitier

Lakewood Yacht Club/Club

[23]

Universitario Buenos Aires 199144 Haddon Hughes

[34/DNS]

34/DNS

195888 Julia Sheaffer

Texas Corinthian Yacht Lakewood Yacht Club

[28]

34/DNS 34/DNS 12

206615 Brandon Cassard

GBL / LCYC

[29]

206098 Spencer LeGrande

GBL/HYC/AYC

[30]

204110 Macey Mccann

gcysa

178885 Kiera O'Reardon

Lakewood Yacht Club

204104 JORGE SAMITIER

Seabrook Sailing Club/ Club

113T 19

Club

[34/BFD]

34/BFD

[34/BFD]

[30]

113T 20 127 21 129T 22 129T 23 152 24 153 25

Universitario de Buenos Aires

155317 RICHMOND KEELING

Houston Yacht Club

206096 Peter Vaseliades

CCYC

[27]

151911 Carson Shields

Lakewood Yacht Club

[30]

[29]

198012 Emily Stokes

CCYC

[28]

161116 Katy Hannan

Rush Creek Yacht Club

[30]

154 26 157 27 159 28 172 29 181 30

SUMMER 2015

2015 Schedule Regatta

Standard

Radial

Laser 4.7

Masters

World Championship

Kingston, Ontario Canada June 29-July 8

Youth:Kingston, Ontario

Aug 14-19

Medemblik, NED Aug 6-14

Kingston, Ontario, CAN July 10-18

NA Championship

SAIL NC Manteo, NC July 30-Aug 2

Carolina YC Charleston, SC May 22-24

CORK Kingston, ON June 20-21

US Championships

Brant Beach YC Brant Beach, NJ July 21-24

St. Francis YC San Francisco August 14-16

CORK

Kingston, ON www.cork.org August 15-19

Kingston, ON www.cork.org August 10-13

Midwinters East

Clearwater, FL www.clwyc.org Feb 18-22

USSC Martin County Jensen Beach, FL Feb 7-9

Midwinters West

California YC Marina del Rey, CA March 27-29

Rolex Miami OCR

Miami, FL (men only) www.ussailing.org January 24-31

Miami, FL (women only) www.ussailing.org January 24-31

Atlantic Coast Championships

25 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 2

Fishing Bay Yacht Club Deltaville, VA May 16-17

Brant Beach YC Brant Beach, NJ Sept 19-20

Pacific Coast Championships

Royal Vancouver YC Vancouver, BC June 19-21

Colombia GRA Cascade Locks, OR June 27-28

Gulf Coast Championships 25 GP Pts

Texas Corinthian YC Kemah, TX May 2-3

Ft. Walton YC Ft. Walton Beach, FL April 25-26

No Coast Championships

District 17

Ashbridges Bay YC Toronto, ON June 26-27

ISAF Grade 1

40 GP pts. ISAF Grade 1

Canadian Championships

30 GP pts. ISAF Grade 2

30 GP Pts, ISAF Grade 2

30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 1

ISAF Grade 1

25 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 2

Jerico Sailing Center Vancouver, BC July 31-Aug 3

25 GP Pts

Great Lakes Championships 25 GP Pts

www.Laser.org

Laser Masters North American Championship BY ROBERT KEY

Sixty two Laser masters from at least seven countries gathered in Charleston, SC to battle it out for the Laser Master North American Championship. Conditions were simply outstanding for the three day event, which was hosted by the Carolina Yacht Club. Ernesto Rodriguez sailed a sparkling series, easily taking the top honors in the full rig class while old pro Peter Seidenberg demonstrated once again that age is no barrier, taking home top honors in the radial class. Racing began Friday with a ten to fifteen knot northerly breeze that fizzled to low single digits as the direction shifted to the east. Fortunately adept RC work by PROs Tommy Harken and Harvey McCormack saved the race. Dave Chapin was able to figure it out, winning the full rig class while GGM Jacques Kerrest took line honors in the Radial fleet. The breeze subsequently settled down directionally and built to a most pleasant 8 – 14 knots for race two, continuing to climb into the upper teens for race 3. Rodriguez showed his winning form, taking a bullet in race 2 and a 4th in race three. Seidenberg turned an 18th in Race 1 into a 1st and a 5th in the radials. In what would prove to be a continuing discussion over the course of the regatta, tides played a significant tactical role. Charleston Harbor has been described as a toilet bowl at times, but thankfully the fleet mainly dealt with a flood tide, which is a bit easier to cypher than an ebb. But subtleties remained with multiple tide lines and water shades raising eyebrows. Saturday proved to be an absolutely spectacular sailing day, with the Race Committee recording 18-22 knots consistently with an occasional gust into the mid 20’s. Local favorite and long time laser expert, David Loring, showed his time in the Moth class hasn’t diminshed his Laser talent as he crossed the line first in full rigs in Race 1, but the rest of the day was the Rodriguez show with a series of first places. Peter Vasella combined a consistent set of races with a first on Friday to end the day in second place. The Radial fleet passed the honors around a bit more with Mike Schmidt taking two firsts while Nigel Heath followed up on a first in Race two the previous day with another first in Race 5. Not to be denied, Seidenberg took a first in Race six to leave the fleet in a hot contest going into the last day. Sunday was more of the same weather wise. With only three races remaining to be sailed, the fleet was anxious to get them in before the tide turned from a favorable flood to an ebb running against the wind. As it was, the Charleston Harbor chop was a short nasty 1-2 feet that placed a great premium on boat handling and conditioning. Rodriguez stumbled in Race 8 with a 7th, but that proved to be his toss for the series and he concluded with a one and a two in the last races. Peter Vasella regretfully had to depart to make the Indy 500, which left the door open for Ari Barshi to sneak into second place with a 2-8-5, just one point ahead of Charlie Buckingham who wrapped a third. Nigel Heath was on fire in the radials with a 2-1-1, while Seidenberg hung on with an 8-5-2. In the end, Seidenburg proved age and wisdom trumps youth as he used his GGM handicap well to take honors for the series. Mike Schmidt finished third. Margaret Podlich notched top female in the radials. The Carolina Yacht Club had its southern manners on full display all weekend with all the beer the old folks could swill, a fabulous buffet dinner Saturday night and a hamburger cookout Sunday after the races. Special thanks to Regatta Chair Jerry Callahan and Martine Zurinskas who was unable to attend due to a conflict, but who provided amazing support on the advance preparation.

SUMMER 2015

Laser Full (Top Ten Finishers) - Photos by John Melnick Sail

Skipper

Total

W/ Masters Handicap

207143

ernesto rodriguez [Master]

[7]

187944

Ari Barshi [Master]

[9]

187317

Charles Buckingham [Master]

[15]

172075

david loring [Apprentice]

[19]

173988

Jorge Abreu [Grand Master]

[29]

178164

Hernan Peralta [Apprentice]

[38/ DSQ]

195469

Dave Chapin [Grand Master]

[22]

192585

Paul Scullion [Apprentice]

[16]

109

193281

Mike Matan [Master]

[25]

114

205472

lawrence mcgrath [Master]

[19]

114

Pos

Laser Radial (Top Ten Finishers) Sail

Skipper

189811

Peter Seidenberg [Great Grand Master]

200133

W/ Masters Handicap

[18]

Nigel Heath [Master]

[6]

121384

Mike Schmidt [Grand Master]

[7]

205519

Jean-Yves Fillion [Grand Master]

[10]

208095

Lindsay Hewitt [Great Grand Master]

[17]

174236

Jacques Kerrest [Great Grand Master]

[14]

199916

David Hartman [Great Grand Master]

[26/ OCS]

208831

Rob Hodson [Grand Master]

[19]

174013

Richard Roberts [Grand Master]

[13]

152939

HAL GILREATH [Master]

[16]

www.Laser.org

Total

Pos

CYC Hosts the 2015 Laser Midwinters West Regatta BY STEVE EDWARDS

California Yacht Club was honored to once again host the important Laser Midwinters West on March 2629. This year’s gathering featured 27 Laser Standards and 51 Laser Radials. CYC Sail Committee Chair Sue Service charted this regatta’s path to success by recruiting a trio of chairs who had worked and sailed together in the past: Marylyn Hoenemeyer, Denise George, and JoAnn Meepos. They quickly accepted, on the condition that S/C Tom O’Conor would serve as Principal Race Officer and that S/C Bill Stump would act as Chief Judge. With this top-notch leadership in place, the regatta was in good hands. As a special initiative and with the help and encouragement of Sue Herrschaft, the regatta organizers pledged their commitment to Sailors for the Sea’s Clean Regattas Program. Regatta volunteers encouraged participants to minimize the impact they have on the shores, seas, and harbor areas – to “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” Disposable water bottles were discouraged in favor of refillable containers. Food packaging was minimized. Paperless management was encouraged. Reusable dinnerware reduced plastic trash. By deploying eight containers for recyclable trash, the chairs estimate they diverted at least 840 gallons of refuse from landfills. Countless additional gallons of waste were eliminated by reducing and reusing materials. The Regatta Chairs were mindful of California’s most precious resource at the moment – water – and discouraged excessive boat wash-downs by manning the hoses during the retrieval process. Attendance was broad. Numerous boats from Santa Monica Bay, San Diego, Dana Point, Long Beach, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco were expected. Seattle Yacht Club sent five boats and the Canadians sent 16 boats, representing clubs from Manitoba to British Columbia. Both teams spent the week preceding the regatta in southern California to escape their weather and to get familiar with our local sailing conditions. Eleven competitors raced under the CYC burgee, including some of the youngest sailors: Maia Dastur and Ryan Janov, who were competing in their first major Laser event; and the most seasoned: S/C David Collins,who was the only Great Grand Master registered. Regattas of this size require many volunteers. CYCWA women handled three registration days; a Race Committee of close to 30 people managed the complex trapezoid course; a team of six US Sailing certified judges monitored the competitors for rules violations; and a cadre of volunteers worked in the yard, distributing snack packs, monitoring the water stations, and launching and retrieving boats. We had help from outside CYC, too, none more welcome than Dan Clarkson from Seattle Yacht Club who appeared in the boatyard Friday morning and announced, “I’m from Seattle and I have 10 experienced adults who will do whatever you need.” This regatta is significant in multiple ways. It is first and foremost a prestigious three-day competition. Additionally, results for races on Saturday and Sunday are scored separately for juniors as a fourth component of the Ullman and Frost Perpetual Trophy Series. Because this is the final event of the Ullman/Frost Series, the regatta’s awards ceremony included weekend and overall results for Ullman/Frost and overall results for Laser Midwinters West. Further, the regatta entrants are categorized by age, with recognition going to Juniors, Open, Masters, Grand Masters, and Great Grand Masters. Laser sailors have a reputation for favoring “good races,” not just lots of races. They want races to reveal the best sailors, not the luckiest. The Guidelines for Laser Championship Regattas establishes requirements for race committees: wind speed of 3.0 knots or greater blowing consistently across the course throughout the race. Friday’s early conditions failed to meet those standards. Before any races began, the Race Committee waited through variable light winds that wandered from 340 degrees to 210 degrees. Three races were scheduled for Friday. One race began but was abandoned by PRO O’Conor when winds died as racers approached the windward

SUMMER 2015

mark. After three hours of patience, winds finally built to levels that allowed a single race to be completed Friday. On Saturday, light winds continued, but good judgment calls by the PRO allowed two races to be completed. Sunday brought slightly stronger breezes and sizeable rolling swells. Two races were scheduled, and conditions permitted a third to be run. Machinery can be as fickle as the wind. In the midst of one race, a lone Laser left the course and limped to the Owen Churchill to borrow a screwdriver – his tiller had come loose from its rudder. S/C Bill Moore and his Piccolo served as the finish line boat for the first two days, but a fuel line malfunctioned; fortunately S/C Bill Petersen and Storm were ready and willing to fill in without delay. Competitiveness of the sailors was evident at every start. Although the PRO used the P flag in the first starting sequence each day, the competitors’ aggressiveness made the use of the I flag and, in the case of the Radials, the Z flag necessary before the fleets were off. Lasers are considered an “egalitarian” class because smaller sailors can succeed. Where Star boats, for example, favor sailors who weigh 185 pounds or more, Laser Standards can be skippered by lighter people, and Laser Radials (with smaller sails) are suitable for even smaller skippers.This permits better competition for juniors, adults, women, and men. Like the Laser regatta’s weather guidelines, these qualities allow the best sailor, not the heaviest sailor, to prevail, and the 2015 regatta results reflect that quality. Women represented 29% of Laser Radial racers and captured 23% of the top 10 finishes, 27% of top 5 finishes, and the first place podium position. Following the final racing on Sunday, Commodore Rick Turner handed out beautiful wooden plaques with Laser half hulls at the awards ceremony on the front lawn. With two top finishes on the last day, Max Gallant of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club captured first place in the Laser Standard class. Fellow Canadian and Olympic hopeful Isabella Bertold sailed a consistently strong regatta to dominate the Laser Radial class. CYC racers were led by Cooper Weitz, who was sixth among 27 Laser Standards and first in the Ullman/Frost Series, and Jessica McJones, who raced to 11th place among 51 Laser Radials, and was the top female competitor after Bertold. Awards ceremonies are fine, but the success of a regatta can better be measured by walking the boatyard or quizzing people in the food line: “Did you have fun?” Alex Brown, from “tiny” Comox Bay Sailing Club on the northeastern side of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, smiled: “Yes. It’s warmer. And the beef jerky is great.” Kieran Horsburgh of Royal Victoria Yacht Club applauded the “best-ever launching and [recovery].” Ian Elliott of Royal Victoria Yacht Club and Edmonton, Alberta, “loved how Sunday’s big swells created fascinating changes in apparent wind.” Debra Papageorge, a rather new member of CYC, reported that her first experience on race committee exceeded her hopes for learning and meeting new friends. Nick Kaschak, San Diego Yacht Club’s Juniors Sailing head coach, paid our Club the ultimate compliment: “This 2015 regatta has set a precedent for years to come.” CYC congratulates the winners and all the participants and thanks the many volunteers who assisted with this prestigious event. Reprinted from Cal Yacht Club’s Breeze magazine. Photos by Yumio Dornberg and Pam Spriggs.

www.Laser.org

ACCs – Reitinger & Hanna Take Top Honors BY JON DEUTSCH

The 2015 Laser Atlantic Coast Championship tested competitors both mentally and physically with long courses over shifty winds and current. Eric Reitinger (Brant Beach YC) had consistent finishes near the top nabbed him the Standard Championship while Fishing Bay Yacht Club’s Alexander Hanna put up all top 3 finishes to win the Radial division. Saturday’s racing saw the sailors racing out in the Chesapeake Bay where the currents of the Rappahannock River and the Piankatank river all converge. Winds started in the low double digits and the first race had most of the fleet racing for nearly an hour and a half. By the time the standards started the second race- the wind eased, the current built and they sailed a shortened 3 leg race in 5-6 while the radials were postponed at the starting line. By early afternoon the breeze came back for 2 more races. Eric Reitinger, Jon Deutsch (FBYC), Dan Herlihy (FBYC) and John MacCausland (CRYC) all won races in the Standard Fleet. Alexander Hanna and Carrson Pearce won races in the Radial Fleet. The long day on the water was rewarded by an awesome Alain Vincey dinner followed by raffling some APS and Dynamic Dollies gift certificates and merchandise. Sunday’s early start allowed both fleets to get in one more race in a dying breeze. Charlie Brewer (Hampton YC) won that race in the Standard fleet while Gage Wilson (LYC/CYC-NC) won the Radial Fleet. Finishing 2nd in the radial fleet in that race was Boyd Bragg (FBYC) sailing his first ever Laser regatta. Congratulations to all of the winners and thanks to all of those who travelled from near and far to sail with us. Also thanks to Mike Waters, Rick Kline and all of the folks helping run the races and to Brad Squires and Alain Vincey for the breakfast and dinners. Standard 1. Eric Reitinger (Brant Beach Yacht Club) 2. John MacCausland (Cooper River Yacht Club) 3. Bob Tan (Severn Sailing Association) 4. Charlie Brewer (Hampton Yacht Club) 5. Mike Russom Radial 1. Alexander Hanna (Fishing Bay Yacht Club/ Hampton Yacht Club) 2. Carrson Pearce (Surf City Yacht Club) 3. Gage Wilson (LYC/ESC) 4. Leo Boucher (Severn Sailing Association) 5. Corinne Peters [1st Radial Woman] (Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron)

SUMMER 2015

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Paciﬁc Coast Championships 2015 BY ANDY HUNT

The 2015 Pacific Coast Laser and Laser Radial Championships were held at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club on June 19 – 21. 2015. Competitors came from California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and one competitor was from Colorado. Both the Laser Standard Rigs and the Laser Radial Rigs sailed on the same course although the Laser Radials had a different windward mark than the Laser Standards. As per the Notice of Race, the Race Committee ran four races on Friday, June 19. The first race had standard English Bay conditions when it is sunny in Vancouver with one exception. The wind came from the west but there was an ebb tide. This meant that hitting the beach (left) did not always pay off. During the second race, the wind shifted to the north and both windward marks had to be changed. Once the tide started to flood, going left became the way to go. Wind speed varied but never went over 10 knots. The top three Standard sailors after Friday were: Max Gallant (RVICYC), Steven Leuck (Mission Bay YC) and Richard Didham (RYC). There were 22 Standard Rig Sailors registered. The top 5 Laser Radial sailors were: Graham Harney (RVANYC), Lucas Pierce (Santa Barbara YC), Marcia Macdonald (RVANYC), Lindsey Baab (StFYC/SFYC) and Jessica McJones (California YC/SFYC/StFYC). There were 35 Laser Radials registered. On Saturday, June 20, the Race Committee moved the course further north (among the freighters) to offset the tendency to go left. The tide was ebbing most of the day so that going right did not hurt a sailor. The RC ran three races as per the Notice of Race. Overall conditions were the same as Friday (sunny with a more westerly wind). The wind was slightly higher as well, about 10 – 12 knots with some gusts of 15. The start of the first race had to be delayed because the starting line pin sank and had to be replaced. All three races went pretty smoothly and having seven races in total meant that a sailor could now throw-out a bad race. In the Standard Rigs, Max Gallant continued to lead the fleet with Steven Leuck in second place and Lawson Willard (SFYC) in third place. Max is beginning to run away with the lead since he has scored nothing but firsts and seconds along with an OCS which was thrown out. In the Radial Fleet, Graham Harney continued to lead and has consistently had scores in the top four positions along with throwing out a fifth place finish. Lucas Pierce was in second place, Talia Toland (RVANYC/SYC) was in third place, Marcia Macdonald was in fourth place and Hanne Weaver (RVANYC/SYC) was in fifth place. The last day of racing (June 21) saw the most wind. The thermal kicked

in and the westerly winds were about 20 – 22 knots with a high of 25 knots recorded in a gust. Three races were run as per the Notice of Race. The tide was ebbing all the time during the races which meant that unlike the previous two days, going left paid off for the sailors. Max Gallant continued his dominance by winning all three races. Out of the ten races sailed, Max scored first in seven of them and had a second place finish in the other two. He had to throw out an OCS. In the Radial Fleet, Fillah Karim (RVANYC) found the heavy wind to his liking and scored first in all three races. The high wind meant that some of the lighter Radial sailors chose discretion and decided not to sail. The on water aspect of the regatta went over fairly well as the RC achieved their goal of about 40 minutes per race, the marks were moved when necessary and over earlies were kept to a minimum. Some sailors thought that the wait to start races was a little long but you are never going to please everyone. However, there was some grumbling amongst the sailors about the entry fee and lack of value. One dinner and no t-shirts, snacks or draw prizes for a fee of $160.00 CAN. Results: Standard Rigs (top five): Max Gallant, RVICYC, 11.00; Jorge L Yanez Del Castillo, JSCA, 38.00; Stephen Bourdow, Santa Cruz YC, 47.00; Steven Leuck, Mission Bay YC, 49.00; Adam Didomizio, Sail Sand Point, 57.00. Laser Radial (top five): Graham Harney, RVANYC, 22.00; Lindsey Baab, StFYC/SFYC, 45.00; Caden Schieblauer, Santa Barbara YC, 57.00; Talia Toland, RVANYC/SYC, 60.00; John Owen, RVICYC, 62.00. In addition, awards were given to top junior in each fleet and top master in each fleet. Congratulations to Steven Leuck (top junior, Standards), Caden Schieblauer (top junior, Radials), Jorge L Yanez Del Castillo (top master, Standards) and Marcia Macdonald (top master, Radials). Full results are on the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club’s website (www.royalvan.com) under sailing and Pacific Coast Laser Championships.

Photos by Doug Weitz

SUMMER 2015

Canadian Championships 2015 Bowskill & Maegli Take Honors

The 2015 Laser Canadian Championships at CORK in Kingston, Canada hosted 108 competitors representing 17 Nations. The second and final day of the Laser Canadian Championships had a short postponement onshore while sailors waited for the fog to lift. Once the weather had cleared, 6-8 knots filled in from the South/ South West. Each fleet of sailors were able to finish two races today to complete the series. The Laser Standard fleet was very competitive, with many international competitors also competing in this event in preparation for the Laser World Championship. Cy Thompson representing the US Virgin Islands was able to have a clean start and lead the fleet through race 1. Thompson was followed by Jonasz Stelmaszyk representing Poland in 2nd, and Juan Ignacio Maegli representing Guatemala in 3rd. The second race was lead and won by Guatemalan sailor Maegli , followed by Canadian Sailing Team’s Tom Ramshaw, and Great Britain’s Nick Thompson. The Laser fleet finished the day with Guatemalas Maegli 1st overall, followed by Great Britain’s Nick Thompson in 2nd, and Canada’s Tom Ramshaw in 3rd. The Radial fleet had a slow start with multiple general recalls, followed by a black flag start. Canadian Sailing Team member Brenda Bowskill placed 3rd in the first race, behind Ontario Sailing Team’s Matti Muru and Quebec Sailing Team’s Coralie Vittecoq. Bowskill was able to beat out the other competitors in the last race, putting herself in first overall. Matti Muru was close behind finishing second in both the race and overall. Quebec Sailing Team’s Justin Vittecoq remained consistently in the top

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ten, placing 4th and 8th in the two races to ﬁnish third overall. This upcoming week will be pre-event training for the Laser Standard Men’s World Championships (June 29- July 8) and the Laser Masters’ World Championships (July 10-18). For a full summer regatta schedule see: http://www.cork.org/2015-eventschedule/ Don’t forget to follow us on facebook and twitter @CORKKingston! For results: http://www.cork.org/2015-results/ Photos by Luka Bartulovic

District Reports District 3 Nigel Heath Ontario, CAN We are so busy training for the Masters Worlds right now that we will have to keep this message short or we may not be able to hold that hiking position for long on those long upwinds in Kingston harbour. For all my out of town friends and ﬁrst time Kingston sailors, when the wind is from the SW be sure to bang the right corner as hard as possible....haha! Looking forward to returning to my hometown playing ﬁeld. Good luck to all!!

District 4 Brigitte Smutney Manitoba & NW Ontario, CAN Summer is here! After an early start on the water in Manitoba, and a visit to our neighbor province Saskatchewan for the Regina short course regatta in May, our regatta season is in full swing. We are offering laser regattas every weekend in June. Racing Camps are scheduled in July and August at Pelican YC, Victoria Beach YC, RLWYC and Gimli YC. This year’s District 4 regatta will be held at the Homecoming and 50th anniversary regatta on July 5 at the Gimli YC. As always we welcome sailors from other districts. Contact Brigitte at sailing@ sportmanitoba.ca

District 6 Andy Hunt Vancouver, BC The first regatta of the BC Sailing / Helly Hansen Circuit was the Kitten Cup Regatta. Sailors in each of the classes are awarded points based on the number of sailors who register for each event. For the Kitten Cup, there were 20 Laser Standards, 40 Laser Radials and 2 Laser 4.7s. The weather on Saturday was, again, perfect. Nice mild temperatures and the westerly winds increasing as the day went along. The winds started out at 5-9 knots and topped out at about 13 knots. The downside was that sailors just headed to the beach in each of the four races. Sunday, however, was a completely different animal. Cloudy, rain and sunny were the order of the day. Also, the winds came from the North East at first and then started to shift all over the place. Unlike Saturday, the Race Committee had to move the windward mark a couple of times on Sunday. This cause some sailors, myself included, to miss the new mark and head for the old mark before realizing the mistake too late. However, the RC did signal a change of course so the onus was on the sailors to notice the new mark. The key for good results on Saturday was getting a good, clean start, The key on Sunday was staying in phase with the shifts and noticing where the new pressure was coming from, something I failed to do. The Race Committee ran four races each day. The Race Committee also moved the course to a different area of English By on Sunday from where it was set up on Saturday. The top five Laser standard sailors were: Max Gallant, RVICYC, 21.00; Reece Myerscough, RVICY, 25.00; Tony Martin, JSCA, 30.00; Ian Elliott, RVICYC/ CTC, 30.00; Graham Harney, RVANYC, 33.00. The top eight Laser Radial sailors were: Alexander Fritz, RVANYC, 12.00; Natalia Montemayor, RVANYC, 20.00; John Owen, RVICYC, 35.00; Alex Brown, CBSC, 37.00; Hanne Weaver, RVANCY/SYC, 40.00; Marcia Macdonald, RVANYC, 53.00; Ellie Shaw Ungar, RVANYC/SYC, 61.00. Of note: Tony is one of the local sailors who are going to the 2015 Laser Master Worlds. Congratulations on keeping up with the youngsters. The second regatta of the BC Sailing Circuit was the Spring Dinghy Championships which are hosted by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. This year, the regatta was held on May 2 and 3 at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. This regatta was more mental than physical in that sailors had to

watch where the wind was coming from and stay in pressure. The wind, for what it is worth, came from the south both days and, as mentioned, was shifty. There were five races on Saturday and four races on Sunday. The top five Laser Standard sailors were: Max Gallant, RVICYC, 15.00; Reid Cannon, RVICYC, 20.00; Reece Myerscough, RVICYC, 27.00; Robert Britten, RVICYC, 37.00; Kieran Horsburgh, RVICY, 39.00. The top five Laser Radial sailors were: Natalia Montemayor, RVANYC, 19.00; Maura Dewey, RVICYC, 22.00; John Owen, RVICY, 30.00; Alexander Fritz, RVANYC, 32.00; Jack Reider, WVYC, 36.00. The third regatta on the BC Sailing / Helly Hansen Circuit was held in the BC Interior. This regatta was called the Springtime Regatta and it was hosted by the Central Okanagon Sailing Association on May 16 and 17, 2015. This regatta usually has little representation from both the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and the Royal Victoria Yacht Club which is not a bad thing. Most of the sailors came from either the HSC / NSST or the Rocky Point Sailing Association. This regatta also had some Laser 4.7s (3) show up. There were 3 races over the two days. There were also Laser Radials (16) and Laser Standards (10). The top three Laser Radials were: Jack Rieder, NSST, 3.00; Musa Fortin, RPSA, 9,00; Ryan Roberts, RPSA, 9,00. The top three Laser Standards were: Adam Sorenson, RVICYC, 4.00; Robert Torok Szasz, HSC, 7.00; Austin Stewart, HSC, 8.00. The three Laser 4.7s were: Alizon Littleton, COSA, 5.00; Garrett Read, HSC, 6.00; Mackenzie Littleton, COSA, 7.00. On June 6 and 7, the Jericho Sailing Centre hosted it’s annual Jericho Classic Regatta. The number of Lasers (5) and Laser Radials (9) were not great, especially for the Laser Standards. As a sailor based out of the JSCA, I would like to see more sailors come to the Jericho Classic Regatta in 2016. The Race Committee ran 5 races each day in moderate westerly winds. Congratulations to Natalia Montemayor for winning the overall Jericho Classic trophy. Natalia had 9 points over the seven races she scored (there were two throw-out races). The top three Laser Radials were: Natalia Montemayor, RVANYC, 9.00; Benjie McMaster, RVANYC, 16.00; Peter Woytkowiak, JSCA, 21.00. The top three Laser Standards were: Jorge L Yanez Del Castillo, JSCA, 8.00; Graham Brown, RVANYC, 10.00; Andriy Kanyuka, JSCA, 31.00. If you don’t want to compete in any of the major regattas, please consider racing (if there are any in your local area) in the weekly (either midweek or on weekends) round the buoys racing. This is

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District 7 Derek Stow Tiverton, RI After a winter in which New England experienced its most extreme winter weather month ever recorded, it was a special pleasure for many of us to enjoy some superb days of spring and early summer sailing. However some District 7 sailors were saddened to discover this spring that their Lasers - left out in the accumulating snow all winter - had been crushed by the weight of snow, in some cases causing irreparable damage to the hulls. Looking on the bright side it was a great excuse to buy a new - or newer - boat. The first regatta on the 2015 D7 regatta summer calendar was the Peter Milnes Regatta in Newport on April 26. Peter Shope started the season in dominant form, winning by a clear 20 points over his nearest rival 1. Peter Shope 2. Dan Neri 3. Steve Kirkpatrick 4. Scott Milnes 5. Mark Bear Christine Neville was first woman in 9th place overall. Nineteen sailors entered the May Madness Regatta at Quannapowitt YC on May 9. Everyone sailed every race and enjoyed ten good races: five in the morning with light, shifty winds; five in the afternoon with a strong southerly sea breeze. Everyone was tired and hungry at the end of the day, and filled up on traditional “Laser Regatta” Chili. 1. Peter Seidenberg 2. Bill Brangiforte 3. David Frazier 4. Stu Nickerson 5. Michael McCaffrey Cedar Point YC in Westport CT held their Spring Laser Regatta on May 9. The nineteen sailors were treated to hiking conditions for the first two races, with the breeze moderating thereafter. There was quite a bit of fog, which sometimes made finding marks difficult. The easterly breeze, with interesting marginal surfing conditions made for big gains (or losses) on the runs. Marek Zaleski in first place was consistently solid, with especially good downwind pace and confidence. It’s great to see that there are some talented juniors coming up in the fleet: witness Giovanni Ronco in 4th, and Ritchie Gordon’s two 2nd-place finishes. According to Marc Jacobi they are both “annoyingly fast, smart and relentless.” 1. Marek Zaleski 2. Marc Jacobi 3. Britt Hughes 4. Giovanni Ronco 5. Stephen Fisk

4. Joe Bekeley 5. Peter Follansbee Conditions were absolutely perfect for the Massapoag YC Small Boat Regatta on May 30 with sunny skies, 80-degree temperature and a southwesterly breeze in the mid-teens gusting well into the twenties. There were numerous capsizes as the gusts swept down the lake which only added to the fun. The eight Laser sailors shared the course with eighteen Sunfishes and three RS Aeros. Dwight Escalera was a master of the conditions and took overall honors in the Laser fleet. 1. Dwight Escalera 2. John Eckart 3. Judith Krimski 4. Nat Cook 5. Tom Dugan The first two day regatta on the District 7 schedule was the Wickford Regatta on June 6-7. Once again Peter Shope was unbeatable. Joe Berkeley summed it up best… “Once you’ve seen Shope sail in breeze with the vang in one hand and the tiller in the other going upwind, hiking like a demon, it’s impossible to imagine him doing anything else. He just doesn’t seem like the sort to mow the lawn or shop for groceries or arrange a collection of Hummel figurines upon the mantle. He is a pure talent, an absolute, as connected to the Laser as Bird was to the basketball.”

Top 5 in each fleet were… Full Rig 1. Peter Shope 2. Steve Kirkpatrick 3. Peter Follansbee 4. Mark Bear 5. Dan Neri Radials 1. Christine Neville 2. John Kirkpatrick 3. Carly Broussard 4. Peter Seidenberg 5. Jean-Yves Fillion On May 13 twenty one sailors competed in the second regatta of the Maine State Laser Championship hosted by Portland Yacht Club. The winds were strong, gusty, and quite shifty leading to potentially big gains and loses on each leg. The race committee boat clocked a period of steady winds around 23kts but the water remained flat thanks to the winds blowing off shore and moving between North-Northwest and West during the afternoon. The conditions were perfect for seven windward leeward races and allowing for one throwout on Saturday. Peter Follansbee managed to keep his boat together and finish in the top three until a broken boom vang in race 6 dropped that finish to 9th but his overall

Great Bay YC in New Hampshire held their spring Laser regatta on May 10. According to Peter Seidenberg all sixteen sailors enjoyed the light airs and dealing with the shifts and puffs and holes in warm and sunny weather, or at least Peter Seidenberg did. 1. Peter Shope 2. Christine Neville 3. Peter Seidenberg

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performance allowed him to sit out the final race and still take the top spot for the regatta. Jamie Carter, from Maine, stuck out the conditions to finish in second just 4 points behind Follansbee and 5 points ahead of Josh Saltmarsh, from Maine who was third. Rounding out the top five were Dwight Escalera in 4th and Stu Nickerson in 5th. Thanks to Chris Morin for the regatta report. Congratulations to two outstanding District 7 sailors who have had success traveling to regattas outside the district. Peter Seidenberg won the North American Laser Masters Radial Championship at the Carolina Yacht Club in Charleston in May. And on the weekend of June 13/14 Marc Jacobi won the District 10 Full Rig Championship which was sailed at the Manasquan River YC in New Jersey. The rest of the year’s district 7 regatta schedule can be found at www.laserdistrict7.com. Please feel free to contact me about any district matters at laserd7@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

District 8 David Trinder New York coast District 8 has racing events most weekends this summer. Go to www.laserd8.org to see the full schedule. Bud Roger is anticipating 40 plus Laser Sailors this July 4th for Sailing on Noyak Bay Nyack YC and the Hudson Valley Clubs have experienced a surge in Laser sailing. Last year’s 4th of July Firecracker Regatta had nearly 30 racers and they expect more this year. The District 8 Grand Prix will be July 18 and 19 at Sayville Yacht Club. See you all on the water!

District 9 Peter Bushnell Upstate New York

Ithaca YC Wine Keg Regatta, May 23, 2015 - report by Chas Williamson. We were met with sunshine but very little wind, mostly North-Easterly, so the regatta depended on ﬁnding the zephyrs around the course. Father and son teams Joe and Luke Miller; Chas and Chippy Williamson, were on the water. Luke had brought some great lads with him from Buffalo, Mark Stuhlmiller (no relation to the Millers!) and David Krystof. Interestingly it paid to start near the pin end of the line, and Chas took advantage of this on his own, getting to mark one in the lead. He was overtaken by Chippy on the long run to the lee mark, but on the upwind to the ﬁnish, he just grasped the lead again on the line. Skylar Mungar sailed into 3rd followed by Dave Filibuster,

and Luke. Race two followed the same pattern as race one, namely again an advantage to start at the left end of the line, and look for wind. Chas led around the mark followed by Mark, and the sons Chippy and Luke, fighting it out in zephyr city. The wind started to rotate 360 after the second race and it was obvious no more racing was possible. Thanks to Chris Rogers for PRO, and the complete Studier family, and Keith, and Clare, and Christen & Joe for organizing the food. We had a beautiful feast and awards in sunshine, and……more zephyrs! Results: (1) Chas Williamson, (2) Chippy Williamson, (3) Mark Stuhlmiller, (4) Luke Miller, (5) David Filiberto, (6) Skylar Munger, (7) Steve Leach, (8) David Krystof, (9) Joe Miller, (10) Tom French, (11) Liz Clark. Willow Bank YC Laser Regatta, May 30, 2015 report by Peter Bushnell. Excellent racing conditions with Sunshine and 10-15mph south breeze with 14 competitors. Thanks to Carl Boller, race chairman for setting up a series of really nice WL race courses and good starting lines. Sam Webster (Cornell Sailing Team) sailed brilliantly, despite a couple of capsizes, to win the regatta. Kirk Reynolds and Wes Britton were close 2nd and 3rd, each just a point behind, respectively. Junior sailor Jessica Lietz (Radial) from Rochester YC was very speedy with a bullet in the second race, finishing 4th overall. Peter Britton (Dad) was 1st in race 4. Very pleased to have the Cooperstown sailors join us. Welcome Drew Porter! Results from five races with one throw out: (1) Sam Webster, (2) Kirk Reynolds, (3) Wes Briton, (4) Jessica Lietz, radial, Jr, (5) Lee Davis, (6) Peter Bushnell, (7) Drew Porter, (8) Peter Britton, (9) Paul Martellock, (10) Ian Marshall, radial, Jr, (11) Joe Miller, (12) Kurt Offer, (13) Matt McDowell, (14) Tom French. Saratoga YC Laser Derby, June 6, 2015 - report by David Burtis. Thirteen Laser Sailors attended from all over NY State, including Cooperstown, Ithaca, Potsdam, and even as far as Rochester. Upon arrival, all were in great spirits as the sun was breaking out and white caps were breaking out on the water! The winds, although not super shifty, were out of the northeast at mostly in the upper teens with sustained gusts over 20 mph and the waves built during the course of the day. Physical conditioning paid off. No one escaped capsizing, but the order of finish closely matched the number of capsizes. There were several DNFs, including Peter Hudson, who was knocked out of contention when his mast snapped in half during the first race. Doug Kaukeinen aced the regatta with 3 firsts. Scott Meyer was also rock solid with 3 seconds. James Nicol was consistently near the front. The rest of the pack pretty much struggled to one degree or another with the gusts and the waves. Results from the three races sailed: (1) Doug Kaukeinen, (2) Scott Meyer, (3) James Nicol, (4) Drew Porter, (5) Mike Kitner, (6) Chas Williamson, (7) Piotr Czajkowski, (8), Allan Miller, (9) Kira Munger, (10) David Burtis, (11) Tom French, (12) Mark Holtzman, (13) Peter Hudson. Photo of Tom French at the Saratoga Laser Derby.

District 10 Eric Reitinger New Jersey Er4599@gmail.com Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ LaserDistrict10 Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaserDistrict10 Marsh Creek was our ﬁrst event of the

spring circuit. A light breeze came over the lake with a great turnout of 16 boats. Over the 6 races it no person had one more than one race. Top 3: Dave Breder Had Brick Mike Rabbetts

Shrewsbury hosted their regatta with the largest turnout in years. A combination of radials and full rigs brought 22 boats to the club to sail in what turned out to be a cooler foggy day. The visibility was good enough to see the course for 2 out of the 3 races. However the third race had us trying to find anything resembling a mark or RC boat making the conditions challenging. Though we had dense fog there were no safety issues at all. We waited shortly on the water then went into the club to eat lunch and hope the fog would lift. Sadly the fog never cooperated so we completed the event with 3 races. Top 3: Eric Reitinger John MacCausland Robbie Gearon Top Radial: Carrson Pearce Monmouth sadly had a small turnout for their regatta. They have always put on a great event so consider the fall event if you aren’t a master. 1) Had Brick, 8 points 2) Larry Nociolo, 9 points 3) David Watts, 13 points 4) Phil Angelo, 15 points Eleven boats turned out for Shore Acres Yacht Club’s third annual Plank Regatta on Saturday, May 23rd, and sailors came from as far away as Philadelphia. Six races were sailed on the Green Island course with Brendan Hogan as race committee chair and a good time was had by all. We had every imaginable sailing condition as the wind started from the northwest, died, then the sea breeze filled in from the east and southeast. It was hot, it was cold, it was puffy, it was steady, it was light, it was heavy, it was glassy, and it was choppy. At lunch you were sunbathing in your boat, an hour later you were death rolling on a plane! Competition was tight, but the winners of the day were Peter Hurley, Dave Magno, and Had Brick who took first, second, and third in the Laser Standards; and Mike Ehnot and Thomas Quinn who took first and second in the Laser Radials. The overall winner of the day was Peter Hurley of Mantoloking Yacht Club, who is our new reigning Plank Champion, and whose name is immortalized on our Plank Trophy, made from all that is left of our clubhouse destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. The Plank Regatta has helped bring our club back together after the storm, and SAYC thanks everyone who turned out. We look forward to seeing you all

SUMMER 2015

again next year when our new clubhouse should be built! Moving forward, SAYC plans to hold the Plank Regatta every Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend. The only question now is, are you Plank worthy? Laser Standards: 1) Peter Hurley 2)Dave Magno 3) Had Brick 4)Dave Breder 5) Kieren Sweeney 6) Brendan Gilman 7) Brian Harris 8) Philip Angello 9) Faye Flam Laser Radials: 1) Mike Ehnot 2) Thomas Quinn The Orange Coffee Pot at Surf City. We introduced a new trophy for the radials this year with you guessed it, another Orange Coffee Pot! Trophies were you guessed it, Orange Coffee Mugs! 16 full rigs and 13 radials made the trip where we have seen great conditions over the last few years. After the fog lifted we had 15mph and ﬁnally got up to 20 with gusts. 7 races were run tiring all of us out but thankfully we had a great breakfast to start us off and plenty of food after to appease our appetites. Clay Johnson becomes an 8 time winner of the event and went up against some sailors who haven’t been back to the regatta in some time, like Kyle Rogachenko and Peter Hurley. Carsson Pearce became the ﬁrst recipient of the Radial Orange Coffee Pot Trophy. After sailing in the O’Day Championship at Manasquan two years ago, I’ve wanted to host the Districts there. This year was the year. 18 full rigs made the trip to sail out in the ocean for two days. First day there was a great breeze of 12 or so mph and got everyone ready for the day. Sadly the wind started dying and shifting around but we were still able to get 4 races. Sunday had the threat of a delay didn’t stop the sailors from getting out to the course early and have the racing start on time and have the wind lock in providing 3 great races. Marc Jacobi sailed the most consistently out of the group winning the D10 Championship with Eric Reitinger and Mike Hecky third. Only one person was able to win more than one race throughout the weekend which shows how close the racing was.

7/18-19 Deep Creek Invitational 7/26 FBYC Summer Regatta 8/1-2 VA Governors Cup WRYC 8/8-9 FBYC Annual One Design 8/8-9 Annual Oxford Regatta 8/29-30 Crab Claw Regatta 9/26 Hard Rock Laser Masters 10/17-18 Chesapeake Masters

PRSA Hosted the Capital City Regatta - too much wind Saturday cancelled racing for that day and the sailors were back on Sunday for some light and shifty racing in the cove. Len Guenther(PRSA/FBYC) came out on top after 6 races followed by James Jacob (PRSA/SSA) and Nabeel Alsalam (PRSA). SSA held the Sunshine Open Regatta that doubled as our District championship - see the full writeup elsewhere in The Laser Sailor. Corsica River Yacht Club held their spring regatta - 5 boats attended. 8702 won the day followed by 6910 and 7392. FBYC hosted the Laser Atlantic Coast Championship - see the regatta report for the details there.

SSA’s spring series was treated to 2 great days of sailing. There were 22 boats and the weather gods smiled with some nice weather. Congrats to Ted Morgan in the Standard Fleet and Sarah Alexander in the Radial Fleet for winning the day. Close behind in the Standard Fleet were Mike Waters and Mike Parramore and in the Radial Fleet, Tyler Mowry and Margaret Podlich. In June FBYC hosted a 10-boat Spring Regatta that included competitors from North Carolina and Florida. Five races were sailed in a moderate and tactically challenging breeze. CNU student Austin Powers (FBYC) win the day followed by Brad Squires (FBYC) and Jon Deutsch (FBYC). D11 sailors have also hit the road this spring sailing in the Masters North American Championship Regatta - Standard: 11 Jonathan Phillips (SSA), 14 Len Guenther (FBYC/PRSA), 28 Jerry Smith (SSA), 29 Michael Parramore (SSA), 30 Rich Parolski.

50 years of performance rope holding

June 20-21 JO’s @ Brant Beach YC July 2 Feed the Need Jr. Regatta @ Pine Beach YC July 3 SCYC Jr Commodores Regatta July 9 Iron Man Jr Boys Regatta @ Shore Acres YC July 10 Powder Puff Jr Girls Regatta @ Metedeconk YC July 13 US Sailing Jr. Single Area C Qualiﬁers @ LEHYC July 17 Beachwood Jr Regatta July 20-21 JOs @ Island Heights YC July 21-24 Laser Nationals & US Sailing Singlehanded Championships @ Brant Beach YC Aug 1 Cooper River Annual Regatta Aug 7 Summer Sailing Classic Jr Regatta @ Ocean Gate YC Aug 8 AC Race Week August 15-16 D10 Radial and 4.7 Championships @ Corinthian YC of Cape May September 12-13 Annual Regatta @ SCYC Sept 19-20 Laser Master’s ACCs @ Brant Beach YC October 3 Philadelphia Cup @ Independence Seaport Museum October 17 Marsh Creek Fall Regatta

District 11 Jon Deutsch VA, MD, DE Our season is well underway and a number of great regattas have been sailed this Spring. Weeknight racing is underway at SSA and Summer regattas are coming up. Highlights include:

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Radial: 3 Mike Schmidt (MRSC), 6 Jacques Kerrest (SSA), 16 Margaret Podlich (SSA). And to the District 10 Championship - 6 Jonathan Phillips (SSA), 7 Jacques Kerrest (SSA), 12 Jon Deutsch (FBYC). It still felt a bit like frostbiting – but make no mistake – it’s spring and Severn Sailing Association held their Sunshine Open that doubled as the District 11 Championship. 28 Standards and 16 Radials set out to do 4 races in cloudy conditions with temperatures in the 60s. Many sailors elected to wear their drysuits. The forecast for Saturday was pretty dim – but with the RC out on the water seeing it fill in – the sailors were sent out pretty much on time where they would have 6-10 knots throughout the day. Winning races on the first day in the standard fleet were Luke Shingledecker, Kevin Shockey (2) and John Shockey. The Radial fleet was tightly matched with Kim Couranz and Mike Schmidt trading races. Saturday evening the sailors were treated to great meal and most hung around until the band shut the place down later in the evening. Sunday morning the weather was a bit better with mostly sunny skies, a little warmer temperatures than Saturday and winds in the 8-11 range. Racing was postponed a bit while Saturday’s scores were straightened out and 2 more races were sailed. Congratulations to Luke Shingledecker winning his second Standard District Championship in a row. And congratulations to Mike Schmidt on winning his first Radial District Championship – Mike is the first sailor to have won both the Standard and Radial District Championship. Stay up to date by signing up for our email list, or following D11 on Facebook or Twitter (@ laserdistrict11). Get all of the info at http://www. laserdistrict11.org

third. Complete scores can be found on Regatta Networks: Results Archive. The next two regattas are big water events sailed in the Charleston Harbor and in the ocean off of Wrightsville Beach. The final two regattas are on lakes which are wonderful venues with easy launching, beautiful post race gathering spots and great camping. Remaining D12 schedule 2015: Carolina Yacht Club-SC July 25-26 Carolina Yacht Club-NC August 1-2 Lake Norman Yacht Club September 26-27 Columbia Sailing Club October 3-4 The overall District Championships are determined by the best three finishes in any of the six district regattas. We have certainly enjoyed sailors from other Districts racing in our first two regattas and “raising the bar”. Cheers to Mike Matan and Robert Burke! Come join the fun in D12 this year! Follow us on our website: http://d12.laserforum.org.

District 12 Charlie Usher NC, SC, GA

District 13 Championship is set for December 5 and 6, 2015 in (actually off of) Miami. This will be the District Championships for Lasers, Radials, and 4.7’s. We’re planning on sailing it in the Ocean just south of the Port of Miami, so it should be a “different” Miami experience. Think awesome waves for surﬁng on crystal clear water. Beautiful conditions for outstanding racing. We’ll be launching from the Historic Virginia Key Beach Park, so it’s about a 7 minute sail to the racing area. Watch the Laser.org website for the soon to be posted NOR and registration info. MIAMI LAST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH SERIES Miami Sunday Series-Amazingly, it started with Roberto Porter’s idea and grew after sitting around the sailing center picnic table with a couple of beers. Roberto pointed out that we all owned Lasers and, since we all love sailing them, we should create more chances to sail them. So, we did just that. We started the “Last Sunday of the Month Laser Series” in 2014 and have continued it this year. Here’s how it works-we get together the last Sunday of every month (except for December and January), have a quick competitors’ meeting on the launch ramp, then go race as many races as we can for about 2-3 hours, and ﬁnally come back to shore to socialize. This series is all about sailing Lasers without any hassles. If we can’t scrounge up an RC boat, no sweat, we just set a couple of marks and run the races ourselves. Although we did have one Sunday where a fellow volunteered to RC and actually set a complete trapezoid course for us! We’ve had 17 boats participate so far this year. The remaining dates this year are July 26, August 30, September 27, October 26, and November 22. So, if you’re living in South Florida (or just in the neighborhood on those dates), meet us on the ramp at the US Sailing Center in Miami at 11:00 a.m. Hope to see you!

District 13 James Liebl/Michelle Davis Florida

District 19 Ken Swetka Michigan

District 13 Champs-mark your calendars, the 2015

By the time you read this the D19 District hosted by

Mike Matan leads the District 12 Full Rigs after the first two regattas at the Savannah Yacht Club and Beaufort Yacht & Sailing Club. Fifteen races were sailed in these two river regattas in all wind conditions with the extra chess piece of managing the tides. The racing was close in both venues with ten different race winners! Peter Gamble won in Savannah with Charlie Usher in second and Mike Matan in third. Robert Burke won the Grand Prix event in Beaufort with Mike Matan in second, John Potter in third and Martin Willard in fourth. The top Female was Jane Burke and the top Junior was Drummond Koppernaes. The top Great Grand Master was Finn Hassing who lead the regatta after the first two races. The Radial Fleet has also had very tight racing at the top. In Savannah, Collin Potter won the last race and beat Will Gladden by two points. In Beaufort, Walter Gnann won the tie breaker over Thomas Smith. The top Female in Beaufort was Sally Key who finished

SUMMER 2015

the Irish Laser Fleet in Harbor Springs, MI will be complete. So far no other regatta reports have come in but Summer has really just begun. 2015 Regattas/Events (if you see ?? it means it is not conﬁrmed) June 20-21 D19 Grand Prix Championships - Irish Laser Fleet July 27?? Leland Laser Regatta - Leland Yacht Club August 22 Lake Lansing Annual - Lansing Sailing Club Sept 13?? UofM Fall Regatta - Michigan Sailing Club - Baseline Lake, Sept 12-13?? Spring Lake Fall Regatta - Spring Lake Yacht Club Sept 26 No Sweat Regatta - Portage Yacht Club Sept 26?? GTYC Fall Regatta - Traverse City Oct 3 Frosty Mug Regatta - Irish Laser Fleet, Little Traverse Bay, Harbor Springs Oct 11?? Pumpkin Head Regatta - Grand Rapids Yacht Club That’s all for now from D19 (Michigan)! As always check www.D19Laser.org or www.facebook.com/ D19Laser for even more schedules, more reports, and photos!

District 20 Troy Tolan IL & WI The first regatta of the year was the Vlad Kobal Memorial at Belmont Harbor, Chicago, May 9-10. Those who attended were: Andrew Aronson, Robert Christie, Chris Manick, J.P.Mull, Roman Plutenko, Mitch Polgar, Dave Poquette, Russell Schulz and Paul Wurtzebach. Only one race was completed with Roman and Andrew finishing. The winds blowing 20-25 mph proved to be difficult for Chicago’s finest sailors. The regatta was canceled. Back in my Senior year of college, I remember sailing Lasers at IBYC, Springfield, Illinois for their fall regatta. I had only been racing for a couple years, so the 20 plus winds left me watching from the shore. I can still see the images of two powerhouses, (Mark Chapin, IBYC and Adrian, Chicago) sailing triangle courses with rooster tails coming off the back of the rudder. This regatta was held annually for more than a decade. Over the past few years, Island Bay has regained strength in the number of boats and the quality of their racing. I know that for a month before this event, there were boats out practicing weekdays and weekends. One evening during the week, they had eight boats tuning and pushing each other to prepare to meet the challenge of out-of-town boats. The IBYC junior program has produced Laser and Radial sailors who have advanced from the Opti class. I believe the Laser is the perfect boat to advance the young sailors and am continuing to promote this class. This year as secretary, I placed IBYC back on the schedule of Laser events by making it a District Champs/Grand Prix. They made the event a fun and memorable one. The regatta chairman was led by the now Grand Master of D20, Jeff Evans. Lou Dixon was in charge of scoring and Tim Dixon was in charge of awards plus deluxe accommodations aboard “Fame.” IBYC Sailing Foundation picked up the tab for sailors 18 and under for this event. I believe that shows a commitment to helping promote our young sailors. As registration got underway, strict adherence to rules for the regatta caused some friction, but we

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got through it with a total of 21 participants. Juniors comprised the Radial fleet and a number of Laser full rigs. Once registered, we all headed to our boats in a hurry anxious to get started. Postponement was necessary as a number of pop-up lightning storms rolled through dumping large quantities of rain. Once clear skies appeared, we headed out for a day that only resulted in one race with a wind of about 20 mph. Roman Plutenko (Chicago) was in command from the start with Dave Chapin (past Springfield resident, now Orlando FL), close behind. Then a powerful local, Tim Dixon, and his brother, Lou Dixon, finished next. Rounding out the top five was Todd Merrill (St. Louis) sailing for his local guys from Creve Coeur Sailing Association. In the Radials, Cameron Douglas finished first followed by Porter Peterson and Jonathan Schwartz. Reagan, Molly and Kolton did not finish. One thing I noticed when looking at Molly and Kolton’s rigging was that it was the old style outhaul. Our juniors need a fair shot at adjusting outhaul and downhaul like others who have updated rigs. All the fleets in our district need to address this issue and solve it somehow. Just before the second gun for the Radials, the race committee flew the N flag to get the fleet in before another potential pop-up storm developed while on the water. Day two provided the opportunity with 14 mph winds to finish 4 races consisting of a windward leeward 2 laps finishing downwind. Results can be viewed on Regatta Network and congratulations to the age group winners who received gift certificates from our sponsor, Annapolis Performance Sailing: Jeff Evans (IBYC) - 4th Place Laser & Grand Master; Tom Londrigan (IBYC) - 3rd Place Laser & Master; Roman Plutenko (LMSF) - 1st Place Laser & Apprentice. The next step will be to secure a date at IBYC for an annual event to be held for the next decade or so! Look to the Facebook Events section for the next regatta on the D20 schedule. Until we race again—

District 22 Kurt Hoehne Oregon, Washington

with a mirror pond shore postponement, but turned into a ﬂattened sails 15 knot thigh-burner 1st race. The rest of the day settled to 8 to 10 out of the West. Bellingham Bay put on her Sunday best. There were 12 radials and 12 full rigs. The radial class had a battle going between the legend from Vancouver, Al Clark, and the young Padawan from Gig Harbor, Hanne Weaver. Hanne took home the bragging rights, the trophy, and the gift certiﬁcate from West Coast Saling. Racing in the full rig was very tight between Vancouver’s Jorge Yanez and Seattle’s Adam Dimodizio. Adam won by one point over all. Next up in Bellingham is the mighty Dale Jepsen One Design Regatta, on September 19th and 20th. Save the date!”

At press time, the Columbia River Gorge activity was heating up. The famed performance clinic is scheduled for June 23-26, followed by the Maser PCCs on the following weekend. In July the youth will step forward, with a clinic the 6-9 and the WIND regatta the 11-12. The 18-mile white-knuckle downwind Gorge Blowout has been moved to August 15. Photos by Jan Anderson

District 23 Geoff Hurwitch UT, CO, NM, AZ

The District 22 Championship came off without a hitch June 13-14 in Bellingham. Most encouraging was the number of young sailors out there, and the even split between Radials and Standards. Here’s the report from race organizer (and competitor!) Mike Poulos: “Those who came from as far away as Oregon and British Columbia for the District 22 Championships were treated to a feast of great racing, beautiful weather, abundant wind, and fantastic people. The race committee banged off 6 races Saturday, and another 3 on Sunday. Saturday produced some consistent 8 to 10 knot breeze, which ﬁnally picked up to hiking at the end of the day. Sunday started

The summer season has begun for District 23 with good weather following Spring rains which helped to fill up the reservoirs to a higher level than last year. The Park City Sailing Association has had two nights of racing so far this season with 14 and 12 boats on the line for the first two nights, which are records for the early races with the cold water. The PCSA fleet continues to build with new faces and some returning sailors. The District 23 Championships will be held in conjunction with the Park City Sailing Association Fall Regatta on September 19-20.

District 24 Stephen Aguilar NorCal Elvstrom/Zellerbach District 24 championships St. Francis YC May 2-3, 2015

San Francisco Bay and the city front has to be one of the most challenging places to sail. This year was no exception. For our District 24 championship we had a big wind good waves and stiff competition. 13 standards and 15 radials sailed this events. In the standard class Tracy Usher Took top honors and in the radial class Jack Barton took top honors. Standard class 1. Tracy Usher 2. Rodion Mazin 3. Charlie Buckingham Radial class 1. Jack Barton 2. Andrew Holdworth 3. Walt Spevak Whiskeytown Regatta May 23-24, 2015 10 boats sailed this event. Throughout this event the north coast mob was in control. Saturday the winds were very light and shifty Sunday there was no wind and no sailing was done. Bruce Braly took top honors 1. Bruce Braly 2. Jim Christopher 3.Richard Leland Go for the Gold Scott’s Flat Lake June 6 -7, 2015 Nine boat sailed this event in the beautiful gold country of Northern California. Again the Northcoast mob came and dominated. With Jim Christopher taking top honors. 1. Jim Christopher 2. Bruce Braly 3. Richard Leland Master sailors remember August 14-16 The St. Francis YC will be hosting the 2015 Laser Masters US Championships. August in San Francisco will deﬁnitely be a month to be remembered. See you there Big Dinghy Richmond YC April 11-12, 2015 13 Lasers sailed this event. 11 Standards and 2 Radial. In the Standard class Emilio Castelli won the day with his ability to see the shifts coming on the light and shifty afternoon. In the Radials Kurt Wessels came out on top. Standard class. 1. Emilio Castelli 2. David Lapier 3. Nick Cave Radials 1. Kurt Wessels 2. Stephen Aguilar

Camellia Cup Folsom Lake YC April 24-25, 2015 Four Lasers participated in this event. The weather was hot in the wind was very light with occasional thermals. 1. Stephen Aguilar 2. Ben Seward 3. Nick Cave Laser NorcCals Santa Cruz YC April 26-27, 2015 7 Standards and 13 Radials participated in this event. This is one of the longest running regattas in the United States. Santa Cruz proved to be challenging. Saturday the wind was in the upper 20s and the waves were large. Sunday the wind disappeared but when the wind left, mother nature treated us to a visit by a whale with her calf swimming through our fleet. Santa Cruz Standard class 1.Stephen Bourdow 2. Tracy Usher 3. Michael Levy. Radial class 1. Andrew Holdsworth 2. David Lepier 3. Mark Halman Submitted by Nick Cave 2015 was the 20th running of the Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club’s Laser regatta, and the 20th time that Jack Allen has officiated as PRO. Sailors were greeted with cloudy skies and light breezes this year, with a promise of sun breaking out later in the afternoon. The regatta attracted seven standard rig and three radial competitors this year, a little down on previous years, due in part to the very busy District 24 regatta schedule this year. The first of six races got underway just after noon in 4-6 knots of breeze under the watchful eye of the local seal population. The standard rig fleet was dominated by Oakland legend Mark Halman, who showed the fleet how it’s done in the lighter conditions, managing four wins from the six races. Hot on his heels was Tracy Usher and Mike Bishop who both secured wins to finish second and third respectively. Laird Henkel dominated the radial division with five wins. A big thanks to the race committee for running a great regatta, and for the after-racing hospitality.

District 25 SoCal Jorge A. Suarez Spring is always a busy time for Laser

Sailors in D25 with high school, college, open, and Masters events; with the exclamation point put on by the on-going presence of the US Sailing Team Sperry training throughout D25! Nevertheless, the spring regattas are not only prestigious on their own, (see Midwinters West report by Steve Edwards in this issue), but are also great preparatory events for national and international regattas held on the West Coast this summer! These include the Masters US Champs in St. Francis YC August 14-16, the Pacific Coast Champs June 19-21 at the Royal Vancouver YC, and Masters PCC’s at the Columbia River Gorge - Cascade Locks, OR on June 27-28. Back to back events were held at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club with their annual Memorial Day Regatta on May 23-24 and their Olympic Classes Regatta on May 30-31. The usual Long Beach, westerly was, unfortunately, not so usual! Everyone was tested on their light air skills! 12 Standards and 16 Radials sailed the Memorial Day event. Here are the top four finishers: Standard: 1. Richard Didham - SDYC 2. Vann Wilson – ABYC 3. Rodion Mazin – ABYC 4. Chuck Tripp – ABYC Radial: 1. Paul Didham – SDYC 2. Lucas Pierce – SBYC 3. Caden Scheiblauer – SBYC 4. Max Mayol - BCYC During the Olympic Classes Regatta a week later, the wind was light for six consecutive races with only one race with any sort of hiking to be had at all! The sailing circle also moved outside the Long Beach Breakwater, which kept everyone guessing on the shifts and trying to dance on waves and chop! Here are the top four finishers: Standard: 1. Richard Didham – SDYC 2. Matthew Long – SBYC 3. Vann Wilson – ABYC 4. Rodion Mazin – ABYC Radial: 1. Henry Marshall 2. Max Mayol – BCYC 3. Lucas Pierce –SBYC 4. Caden Scheiblauer - SBYC Thanks to ABYC for hosting great regattas and for hosting US Sailing Olympic Development Team! I invite all of you to attend D25 Champs at ABYC’s Labor Day Regatta on August 29-30, 2015

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Cuba/US Youth Sailing Exchange

The St. Petersburg Yacht Club, Storm Trysail Club, Cuba Sailing Federation, and National Sailing Hall of Fame have inaugurated a U.S. Cuba Youth Sailing Exchange. Junior sailors from St. Petersburg Yacht Club (St. Petersburg , FL) were in Cuba to sail with Cuban junior sailors on June 20-21.

“This exchange will help develop strong ties between our sailors and our countries,” said Raidel Calero Disotuar, President of the Cuba Sailing Federation. “It has been a unique and rich experience for junior sailors from Cuba and the United States.” The two days of sailing were held at the Cuba Sailing Federation Sailing Facility with support from the Hemingway Yacht Club. It was the ﬁrst time Americans have sailed is Cuba on Optimists and Lasers, and not since 1959 had Americans sailed there on Snipes. “The youth exchange of young sailors from the USA and Cuba have arrived like a breath of happiness and optimism. This will foster the reestablishment of historic relations and friendship between Cuba and the USA,” said Commodore Jose Miguel Diaz Escrich of the Hemingway Yacht Club. Included in the weekend’s program was a Safety at Sea workshop conducted by the Storm Trysail Cub which included a screening of a portion of the Morning 42

Light film. A group of Cuban junior sailors will travel to St. Petersburg Yacht Club this year to further the exchange. “We have worked for 5 years to get to this exciting program underway,” said former Commodore Tito Vargas of St. Petersburg Yacht Club. “This sailing exchange will foster new friendships and open up new opportunities for young sailors from the both United States and Cuba.” Press Release to Scuttlebutt I had the opportunity to accompany this exchange as one of the adults and because I have known the Cuban sailors, coach & Federation President through the Int. Snipe Class. Lee Tawney (Sailing Hall of Fame) had been trying to coordinate this event for the past 5 years and it finally came to culmination with a 4-day trip in June. Six St. Petersburg YC youth sailors traveled, representing Opti, Radial, Laser, 420 & some Snipe experienced sailors. The Cuban Federation had 2 Optimists, 5 Radial/Standard Lasers, 1 Hobie 16 and 3 Snipes. On the first day, each boat was sent out with 1 Cuban sailor and 1 US sailor. Extras were in a coach boat to rotate in/out during SUMMER 2015

the day. A short course was set up just outside the sailing complex in the Atlantic. Starts and windward/ leeward courses were held with sailors rotating between races. Morning conditions were light and increased as the sea breeze kicked in, with everyone coming ashore around noon. After sailing on day 1 all the sailors came back to the hotel where the US delegation was staying to have lunch & a pool party. Dinner was held later in a local government run restaurant. Day 2 found the sailors interacting more and back on the water for more sailing. Following the days racing, a Safety at Sea seminar was held with a short play of the Disney movie “Morning Light” which the Cubans had not seen nor heard prior. After the seminar all participants jumped on a bus for a tour of Old Havana, ending up in one of Hemingway’s favorite haunts, El Bogedita del Medio, where speechs, presentations & emails were exchanged before everyone headed home. On the ﬁnal day, 3 classic convertible US cars were chartered for another tour of Havana and the ability to go to different places (where the bus could not previously go...) This “people to people” exchange was fabulous - cultures were mixed, new countries were visited but more importantly, new friendships were made. Someone asked, “how do they communicate in the boat if they don’t speak the same language” - the reply was “en el barco, el idioma es el mismo” - “in a boat, the language is the same” - which truly was evident as people were smiling and sailing together in harmony. We hope to have some of the sailors visit St. Petersburg YC or to send more sailors down for an exchange. --Jerelyn Biehl Note: the Cuban sailors are scraping by with marginal equipment. A container is being prepared to ship as a gift to the Cuban sailors this fall. If you are interested in donating any of your gear, please contact Jerelyn at the Laser ofﬁce for details (jerelyn@odmsail. com). Most of the US kids donated their PDFs to the Cuban sailors before leaving as well as donating a Opti sail. www.Laser.org

Why Join the Laser Class? What are some of the benefits of a strong class association? 

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



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

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



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

You get direct beneﬁt by joining the Laser Class!

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

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



$9.72 of your dues goes to the International Class where they use the money to pay their staff to make sure world level events get scheduled, ensuring all the boats are the same by inspecting the builders to make sure they are complying with the Laser Construction Manual, keep track of rules changes proposed by members, interfacing with ISAF on various levels, including keeping both the Laser Standard and Laser Radial as Olympic equipment, etc.

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

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

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

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

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

Most of the remaining dues go toward all the things it takes to running an organization of 2400 members, from Executive Secretary travel costs, to federal income taxes all the way to mundane ofﬁce expenses. Your membership dues are used to keep the Laser Standard, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 as THE singlehanded dinghy to sail and race in North America and throughout the world!



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

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

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

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

What are some of the direct benefits of membership? 



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



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



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

Why should you join the Laser Class? 

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



To gain the beneﬁts of membership outlined above.



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

The International Laser Class Association, North American Region is what it is today because of the support of its members. Keep that tradition alive, join or renew your membership TODAY!

SUMMER 2015

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Name_______________________________________________________ Address_____________________________________________________ City ___________________State / Prov. _____Zip / postal code ________ Phone ____________________ E-mail____________________________ Sail # ______________DOB (month/day/year) _____________Sex ______ Boat usually sailed _____Laser ______Radial _____Laser 4.7 Current Membership Fees All amounts are in US dollars. (Canadian checks must be in US dollars.) • Regular - $45 for one year or $85 for 2 years • Junior - $40 (Member may not turn 18 during term of membership), or $75 for 2 years (Member may not turn 18 during term of membership) • International - $55 (any member not living in the US or Canada), one year only

Amount enclosed __________________US$ Please make checks payable to ILCA of NA or provide credit card information as shown below. Thank you for joining the Laser Class. Credit Card payment by Visa, Mastercard or AMEX (Sorry – no Discover)

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

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

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The Boat Whisperer Carbon Tiller with Titanium Plate & Carbon Tiller Extensions by Raptor $236.50 $126.50

DVD Set by Rooster

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APS Laser Pro Blade Bags by APS $159.95

The BEST Laser Deck and Bottom Covers by APS

$234.95 each

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