Summer 2018 Laser Sailor by Jerelyn Biehl

SUMMER 2018

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

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SUMMER 2018

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SUMMER 2018

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

Editors

Sherri Campbell & Jerelyn Biehl ILCA-NA

Ofﬁcers Andy Roy Chairman 15 Claudette Court Peterborough, ON K9J 7Y7 Canada 705-750-0189 aroy187740@gmail.com Meka Taulbee Vice Chairman Dunedin, FL USA 727-631-7005 meka@sailﬁt.com

SUMMER 2018

District Contacts .....................................................................................................6 President’s Report....................................................................................................8 Equipment Update: Hiking Strap options..........................................................10 Guide to Mainsheet Selection.................................................................11 Reports of My Death..............................................................................................12 Regatta Reports Midwinters West.......................................................................................14 No Coast/Inlands .....................................................................................18 No Coast/Inland Masters........................................................................19 Britannia Cup............................................................................................20 District Reports.......................................................................................................21 2018 Event Schedule...............................................................................................25 2019 Event Schedule .............................................................................................29 Why Join the Laser Class?....................................................................................30 Membership Applications.....................................................................................31

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

Cover photo: Taisei Hatter from San Diego pulls off a clean tack in front of a charge of Radials coming into the weather mark at MidWinters West in Santa Barbara. Photo: @SharonGreen/Ultimate Sailing

SUMMER 2018 6 continents, 122 countries - the biggest adult and youth racing class in the world

HAWAII

District 1

Claire Sears 506-650-8821 clairesears1@gmail.com

District 2

District 9

District 18

District 10

District 19

Peter Bushnell Cazenovia, NY 13035 315-655-4671- peter.bushnell@carrier.utc.com

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

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

District 20

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

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

District 21

District 4

District 12

Philippe Dormoy, 385 Place Desmarest, Ile Bizard, Quebec, H9C 2G8 514-808-0753 Pdormoy62@gmail.com

District 3

Shelby Williams Sail Manitoba; 409-145 Pacific Ave. Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2Z6 204-925-5647 sailing-admin@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

District 11

Stanley Hassinger stanley.hassinger@gmail.com www.d12laserforum.org

District 13

James Liebl gamedayparking@yahoo.com www.laser.org/m/_general/d13.asp

District 14 District 15

Griffin Orr Griffin.orr@me.com https://groups.google.com/ forum/?fromgroups#!forum/txLaser/

District 16

Christine Neville Laserd7@gmail.com

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

District 8

District 17

Marguerite Koehler info@dinghyshop.com - 631-264-0005 www.LaserD8.org

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

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

Sean Lennon 920-573-1922 spatricklennon11@gmail.com Facebook: Laserd20 Matthew Thompson D21.sec@gmail.com D21.laserforum.org

District 22

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

District 23

Geoff Hurwitch Geoffh437@yahoo.com

District 24

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

District 25

Jorge Suarez, 5 Covina Ave Long Beach, CA 90803 562-260-8116. jorgesuarez0@yahoo.com Groups.yahoo.com/group/nalaserdistrict25

District 26

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

SUMMER 2018

www.Laser.org

President’s Report BY ANDY ROY The summer racing season is now in full swing. I sailed in my first regatta of the season in early June, which was the Inland Masters at Britannia Yacht Club in Ottawa, Ontario. The club and the core group of Laserites at BYC put on a great event with 36 entries enjoying two days of good racing (albeit light and tricky most of the time) and also superb hospitality. Please see the regatta summary article in this issue, penned by winner, Al Clark). What the group at BYC have done to grow Laser sailing at their club is pretty impressive. In just a few years they’ve built the fleet up to about 25. The most recent addition to their fleet is my brother David, who is back at it after taking a short 40-year break from Laser racing. He’s loving being back in the boat. For their evening club races, the BYC fleet is good at firing off short races in quick succession, not far from shore, and then gathering for post-race refreshments and sailing talk. Pretty simple formula, really. On the international scene, World Sailing has invited interested class associations and equipment manufacturers to tender for the Men’s and Women’s One Person Dinghy Equipment for the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition. “The tender process will review all aspects of the equipment (including suitability for the Olympic Event and its competitors, prices, manufacturing, availability and supply around the world).” WS’ stated objectives are to “reduce the risk of monopolies so that manufacturers do not become complacent, remain price-competitive, produce high-quality equipment, and do not abuse their market positions.” ILCA submitted its proposal in early June for maintaining the Laser as both the Men’s and Women’s One Person Dinghy for 2024. The process included the builders who have submitted confidential addendums to ILCA’s primary document. There are certainly other single handed dinghy classes who are interested in being selected, so it will be interesting to see the final outcome of the review which will be decided by World Sailing in November 2018. We think the Laser has the most to offer and will win selection again, but you never know.

couldn’t believe that, despite numerous boat banging’s at the start and a few windward marks that he saw almost nobody doing penalty turns. There are two areas on the race course where most rule situations and fouls come into play: starts and the windward mark (especially the ﬁrst one mark). I’m just not sure what percentage of sailors understand the rule at the top mark. I urge sailors to Google rule 18.2 to try and understand it a little better. Basically if you’re coming into the mark on port tack within 3 lengths of the mark and there a boat (or several) coming up on the starboard layline, you are seriously in the danger zone. 18.2 was added to take take away more than ever the rights of people tacking in the ‘zone’. At the end of the day most fouls are at marks and the start and most people know they have fouled others, but sadly choose not to do spins. It seems we no longer are very good at being a self-governing sport (is one reason because there are on-the-water judges at larger events?). If you’ve fouled someone, please do your turns is the message. It doesn’t take that long and you’ll feel good about it back on shore after the race. That’s my sermon for this issue. Have a great summer of Laser sailing!

I mentioned earlier that my brother recently sailed in his ﬁrst Laser regatta in about 40 years. He commented to me after the regatta that he

SUMMER 2018

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NO. 1

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Equipment Update Hiking Strap Adjustment Options BY Ryan Minth / C-vane Sailing

Adjustable Hiking Strap Evolution ----“The Goody-Kiss” and “The Griffi” Let me begin by saying that I am not the only Laser coach that will tell you that, “The hiking strap adjustment line is the most important control on your Laser.”, and do it only half-jokingly. With that in mind, I would encourage you to read carefully, and maybe even go back to the referenced article for history. In the Winter 2014 edition of “The Laser Sailor”, former Laser campaigner and current Colie Sails Pro Shop owner Clay Johnson, wrote a terrific article regarding three techniques available allowing your hiking strap to be easily adjusted while sailing. To the right is a screenshot summery of the article illustrating the more complicated but much preferred method, The Mitchell Kiss (below), as well as the simpler locking bowline at the pad eye method, The Goody (aka. Paul Goodison above). To be clear, I have not attended a World Cup event after the ILCA rule change allowing for a floating cleat to be added to a hiking strap line’s system and walk through the boat park casually looking into the cockpits of the pros to inspect how many have added a cleat. But I have also never heard a pro complain about their hiking strap adjustability (unless the provided straps were too long, as Clay discussed years ago the berthed The Goody). To that end, I think that the friction-based systems have distinct advantages over a cleat-based system. Maybe not ones that I could convince an active Master’s sailor over, however … currently no top USA sailors use a cleat. After Clay’s article, I have encouraged EVERY sailor I’ve been coaching to re-rig using The Kiss method where available line would allow (if no line, then The Goody). Sometimes the line would still not have enough friction even in The Kiss method, and I merged the two; “The Goody Kiss”. Basically The Kiss where the adjustable tail passes through the pad eye INSIDE the bowline, Goody style.

load cycle. With respect to Clay and in that same spirit, I call the new method “The Grifﬁ”, after the youth sailor that got it wrong and accidentally made an improvement on The Goody, Grifﬁn Segalla. “A good miss” as one might say. See photo. Personally, I have never been 6’ tall and it seems like the tall guys just pin the strap drum tight, do no adjustments ever, and do not use an adjustable line. At 5’9”, I need to be able to set it, have it stay, and be able to crank it for a windy tight reach or loosen it to ‘off’ for light air by the lee runs. Other than that, make sure with whatever you have, that you are able to hike toes pointed, with your legs very straight (back of knees very close to or on deck), and your strap as tight as possible without your ankles overloaded in pain from over-extension. Anyone can do this on their dolly ashore. Your hiking endurance will increase, and that translates to boat speed. Now go sail faster!

Not too long ago I was coaching a LISOT sailor where I had introduced these methods (including The GoodyKiss) and had the opportunity to coach him again a few months later. While trying to emulate The Goody, I think that he greatly improved upon it accidentally. Instead of using a normal bowline at the starboard pad eye, he used an Australian Bowline (where an overhand is tied to the tail of a line with another overhand as a stopper). I had showed him this knot at the same clinic for his boomvang and outhaul and he adapted it to The Goody. An Australian Bowline tightens under each load cycle increasing friction, holding the hiking strap line/setting in place whether loaded or unloaded. The standard bowline on The Goody only “cleats” when loaded and slightly eases with each load/un-

SUMMER 2018

Your Guide to Mainsheet Selection BY MAX ST-MAURICE – International Sailing Academy Choosing the right mainsheet can often be a decision that can make or break your day of racing. Factors to consider are length, thickness and material. First off, length is important to consider. If you’re unsure, as when buying all lines, buy it a bit longer and cut it down to your taste after a few sails. It’s good to sail with a roll of electrical tape so you can mark where you think you’d want to cut it and try it out during practice. A mainsheet on the short end will mean that on a windy day, if you lose your sheet your sail won’t get too far away from you. However, in by the lee conditions, you may not be able to sheet out far enough. The ideal length seems to be between 42 and 46 feet. The thickness of your mainsheet will affect both the grip you can have on it and the amount of friction as it goes through the blocks (a thicker line will have more friction). What this simply translates to is that in stronger winds, you’ll want a thicker mainsheet for better grip, and since the loads in the sail are higher the increased friction through the blocks are negligible. A common thin mainsheet is 6mm while a thicker, heavier air sheet will be 7mm. Mainsheets come in different styles and materials and it’s important to get a strong and long lasting mainsheet. Constantly sheeting will put a lot of wear on the sheet, and you also need something that’s comfortable to grip and not slippery in your hands. A nice polyester cover is great, and having a strong core such as Dyneema can help prevent stretch and breakage. Note that new mainsheets often come with a protective coating that is very slippery, so it’s good to break it in far ahead of an important event!

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October 2012 55

Reports of My Death…. Paraphrasing Mark Twain, “the reports of our death are greatly exaggerated.” I’m talking about the Laser Class, no question we AIN’T dead. Far from it. The only question is how we get YOU involved in the fun of Laser sailing. Here’s some numbers…

150 plus boats at the 2018 Midwinters East. 140 plus boats at the 2018 Atlantic Coast Champs. 86 boats at the 2018 Laser Florida Masters (age 35 plus)

Week.

91 boats at the last (December 2017) Laser District 13 (basically Florida) Championships.

Lasers, still big, fun ﬂeets. Simple, cheap, and worldwide. From weeknight club series to world class level as competitive as you want to be

Add up those numbers and here’s the sum…one of the cheapest classes to get in, still a fun boat to sail, and plenty of racing opportunities. Somewhere near you (especially in Florida), there’s a Laser ﬂeet that wants you to join the fun, no matter your age (or gender). There’s been all sorts of publicity recently about “newer, faster, better” single-handed dinghies. I have no doubt the new designs are good. But they also cost ten grand (give or take) and they don’t have the long-standing class and racing the Laser does. And yeah, reaching on a Laser will still put a gigantic smile on your face! Got $2500 (maybe less) and want to have some fun? Laser reaches have always been, and will always be, FUN! I have no doubt the foiling boats are fun. The Moth and the Waszp look like a blast. But, they also look like a hassle to rig and I’m not sure too many folks have the time to ﬁgure out how to sail them. And yeah, I’m not afraid, for me or my boat, to sail my Laser when it’s blowing 20 plus.

296 boats at the 2018 Princess Sofia Trophy. Of the classes there, Lasers (men) and Laser Radials (women) were more than 100 boats (about 50%) bigger than the next biggest combined men’s and women’s fleet. Including that just for a little international flavor 2500 bucks…that’s what you can get a “decent” used Laser for. Granted, if you’re trying to win the Worlds, you’re going to spend more, but $2.5K (maybe even lots less) can get you a decent, competitive boat for fleet racing.

15 minutes to rig and be on the water. 1 person, no crew hassles.

Seriously.

Just go sailing.

Age 12 to 80 plus…those are the ages of folks RACING

If you’re looking to easily go sailing in big ﬂeets, the Laser Class is happening. Come join us. Yes, some of the ﬂeet numbers above are combined Laser Standard, Laser Radial, and Laser 4.7. Yep, Laser numbers for the ages of (22 or so to 45 or so) are way down. But, the only way to cure that (and the rest of sailing) is to have one more number:

Lasers. And not just racing, racing competitively.

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SUMMER 2018

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Regatta Reports

Midwinters West Santa Barbara YC

March 23-25, 2018 BY JORGE SUAREZ AND IAN ELLIOT PHOTOS BY @SHARON ULTIMATE SAILING

GREEN/

Just a couple of months before the scheduled start of the Laser Midwinter’s West Championships, Santa Barbara and neighboring communities were hit with devastating fires and deadly mud slides, a harsh reminder of the power of the natural world we live in. Additional storms threatened the freeways and waterways just a week before the Laser MidWinters West Regatta. This did not stop Laser Sailors from Canada, Mexico, and the United States to compete! The hard rains stopped the day before the regatta and opened three days of sunny, cool sailing in all kinds of wind strengths and directions! Ian Elliot of Royal Victoria Yacht Club, (who over the years I have never seen frown!) wrote the following race report. A must read!: Laser Midwinters West is over and it was a great event with a wide range of wind conditions and super fun craziness. I have never done better than 3rd at a Laser Midwinters West, but this is my third 3rd place finish at this regatta: hat trick! Day 1 - Had some light and sketchy wind in Pacific Ocean chop then choppy swell, then just swell. Race 1 was weird and I had some difficult making it around the second windward mark but a light thermal came in later on and we had some good racing. Day 2 - Started looking like a weak thermal, but it built and built until people were saying it was 30 knots. The race committee said they didn’t measure any gusts above 22 knots but I would be surprised 14

if it didn’t hit 25knots, it was unbelievable. On the upwind, I had my Cunningham cranked on as hard as I could and my vang almost maxed out to be able to bear off on the wave crests. The last race was really spectacular with 8-foot waves: chop on top of swell flying by the seat of your pants on the downwind and getting smashed around on the upwind. I had a wave break on me and stop me dead. I had to sheet out 5 feet to accelerate again. I found another breaking wave on the downwind and almost fell down the front of it, very difficult not to stuff the bow at times - so fun, so fast! Day 3 - Started off looking like a continuation of day 2 with us all sweating in the parking lot and then freezing on the water in more big wind. We had some big puffs come through, but more sailors in our full rig fleet were able to keep it together and push the front for the fleet. The first race was a solid blast in big waves. The second race had some strange lulls in between the big puffs. I was leading the race coming into the dogleg with Kevin Taugher and Paul Didham on my tail and then John Owen a little behind. John tacked right at the mark to split with the three of us and I thought to myself that this was a reasonable gamble with the wind being a bit strange, but I didn’t SUMMER 2018

want to protect against him and lose Kevin and Paul, so I stuck with the two of them and then tacked in a bit early for the finish line to keep my options open. Kevin later told me that he hit he finish line layline because he thought there was better wind out there. John tacked on the other layline and creamed us making up dozens of boat lengths to finish first. No worries right? That was the gamble, stick with the fleet. Well it turns out ‘keeping my options open’ was not as sound as hitting the layline for wind. I sailed into a 4 knots super lull with a 70 degree shift. I was still tuned for 15 knots and I stopped dead in the swell, trying to re-orient to the different localized wind direction. Kevin and Paul swooped in still in 15 knots from the old direction and I drifted slowly over the line in 4th. That seemed weird but it was only the beginning. Over the next half hour or so the wind went from 230 degrees to 170 to 140 to 40 and as far as due North before settling in to about 20 degrees. Whatever, right? Dying breezes are strange. But no - it built again to 15 or so knots and immediately we had 3 foot chop moving downwind and 6 foot swell moving upwind: smash, smash, smash through the chop down the swell

www.Laser.org

then stall, bear off, power, power through the chop up the swell, then smash and blast again down the swell. So strange. The race committee miraculously got our starts off before the time limit with an incredibly skewed line (no complaints, we got to race) but Paul Didham and I started successfully on port! I hit a couple of shifts and made it to the top mark comfortably in 1st place. On the ﬁrst downwind John Owen closed the gap sailing well with wind ﬁlling in from behind, then he passed me on the upwind, but I still had a chance to get him on the last three legs if I nailed the bear away... ... ifs. I bore away right into a capsize and suddenly I realized that the only potential scenario where I could lose my 3rd place in the regatta was about to happen: John spacing me with Paul. I franticly righted my boat as Paul Didham closed the gap. He rounded me and the mark as I regained control and I worked my butt off to

stay ahead of him in the bizarre conditions. Somehow, I pulled it off and sailed to a 2nd place, my best finish of the regattas. At the end of the regatta we worked out that John actually needed to double-space me, so the finish wasn’t quite so dramatic, but I thought it was at the time and I had told John too so the drama was real for the two of us! Great to have racing come right down to the line. The last race was also the difference between Paul Didham and Joseph Hou, but it was tough for Joseph because he was 25 to 50 pounds lighter than the others in the top of the fleet he really sailed amazingly to overcome his size disadvantage. Congrats to Paul who won, Joseph who only ended up in second because of a last minute heavy wind race in the knick of time, congrats to John for winning the last day of racing with two bullets and congratulations to everyone who came out and raced well or had a blast surviving some very challenging conditions! Back to me….. 15

Barbara YC volunteers herded all the dollies and made sure we all entered and exited the launch ramp safely. SBYC hosted a Mexican dinner with a ukelele reggae band on Saturday night, which made you feel welcome and relaxed at the end of a long day of sailing. By the way, if you have never been to SBYC, please make a point to visit. The view is spectacular from its full restaurant and bar since it is right on the beach in one the most beautiful locations in the world! (I imagined wedding proposals!). Congratulations to Paul Didham, Standard Champ, and Marcus Huttenen, Radial Champ, for their MWW victories! Ian’s description of the 180 degree shift on the last day caught some sailors with their pants down! With Here are the top five finisher in each class: the cut-off time looming after the massive shift, some sailors (me included), figured that the race committee could not possibly shift the whole trapezoid course in Standard MBYC 16 time! But they did! It was a crowning climax to the (1) Paul Didham event as the last race determined the Standard MWW (2) Joseph Hou NHYC/ABYC 17 Champion! Thanks to Mark Townsend – PRO, and (3) Ian Elliot RVYC 29 SBYC Race Director Brad Schaupeter for three days (4) John Owen RVYC 31 and nine races of very good racing in challenging (5) Kevin Taugher ABYC 43 conditions Hats off to Craig Scheiblauer, the Event Chair, and Radial his staff of volunteers who transformed the Santa MBYC/DSYC/GCYSA 32 Barbara Harbor into Laser Race Central where there (1) Marcus Huttenen SYC 40 measurement, storage, trailer parking, and RC meetings! (2) Owen Timms SFYC/West Coast Sailing 43 They provided nutritious and needed morning breakfast (3) Caleb Yoslov MBYC 49 every day and, yes, breakfast burritos, pizza, and (4) Diego Escobar 52 hotdogs were involved and eaten heartily! Santa (5) Matthew Wallace LYC/AYC

SUMMER 2018

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No Coast Regatta BY BRIG NORTH Our event of the year is now concluded and it was a success! It was a usual Spring-like day in Dallas on Saturday with the fan switched on and Sunday was a weather casualty. But six races were held and folks got to enjoy challenging conditions on Saturday followed by some great food. Twenty three boats entered the event with folks from Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Houston, Newark, and Buffalo joining our gang. Ages of the sailors ranged from 19 to 67. It was very heartening to see sailors in their 20s and 30s join in with the more “mature” types on hand. Great fun to meet people from around the area who share a love for our little boats. Saturday’s forecast called for bright sun, temps in the low 90s, and wind from the south at 15 to 25 knots. The weather gods delivered on all counts! Mixed in were some substantial puffs that could deliver a knock out punch whether going to weather or downwind. Wind was streaky, patchy, and at times shifty. Bob Gough, our PRO, did his usual masterful job of setting square, fair courses with help from our great volunteers manning several mark boats. Around 10 am the fleet set out to the race course to get started, feeling out the conditions. With the first gun it was quite apparent that one of the young men from Houston, Andres Boccalandro, was going to be tough to beat. He had the whole package -- speed, boat handling, and tactical ability. But, he had not sailed The Rock before, and it took him a few races to get going. In the meantime, a local sailor Alex, who in usual fashion appeared just in the nick of time to get rigged up, showed he was going to be a force in the heavy going, motoring through the fleet to win the first race!! Doug P was second, and Andres was fourth as he was caught on the wrong side of a big rightie. Another local, Chris B had equipment issues all day, but none worse than having his top section shear off and rip his brand new sail in the first race, as well as breaking a tiller extension! But there’s no quit in Chris, and he got to work getting a sail and extension to use in the afternoon. Doug P won the next two races which saw some incredible planning conditions when the big puffs rolled through. One had to be on their game to weather these puffs going downwind. There were a few “Brown Badge of Courage” awards meted out by the lake with White Rock mud atop several masts after the skippers capsized some puffs that could only be described as “withering.” We broke for lunch after three races and tried to get some energy back in our bodies. Folks ate their choice of sub from Jersey Mike’s Lake Highlands, chatted, and drank water during the

break. Lots and lots of water! The wind machine was still on when we went out for the next group of races. By this time, Andres had figured out the shifts and put the hammer down. One observer noted Andres was flatter than the rest, and he was much more stable in handling the puffs going to weather. I saw him sheet out a bit at times, but it was mostly in response to waves as opposed to puffs. He kept that boat on the perfect edge, and it was a joy to behold. Another Local, Eric R, who we all know is a strong sailor, put his best foot forward and battled Andres in race five. I didn’t witness it myself, but I heard it was quite the back and forth tussle. Andres pulled a bit of a lead by the end of the race, and Eric took to ensuring he got second. At the end of the sixth race, Bob sent the fleet in. It was obvious the wind was taking its toll on the fleet. Awaiting them was delicious food, including brisket, mac and cheese, green beans, and coleslaw. It was quite the spread, and lots of food disappeared! The forecast for Sunday called for a 10% chance for rain, but very light, shifty wind. As the sailors arrived at the club to partake of the breakfast tacos and coffee, they were greeted by dark skies that looked downright threatening. That wasn’t in the forecast! Turns out there was a massive storm cell stretching from San Antonio to Denton, containing a lot of rain and lightning. As it was obvious we wouldn’t get our remaining races in, Bob called it an event at 11. Awards were given to 10th, and there were a few special prizes given, too. Jim H. got an award for “First Big Event,” and Chris B won the “Best Excuses” award for having a personal black cloud over his head on Saturday. Interesting that the age of the sailors were bracketed by first place sailor Andres (19) and second place sailor Doug (67). That’s quite a spread and part of what makes our class so great! Thanks to the Corinthian Sailing Club for putting on such a well run event!

SUMMER 2018

No Coast Masters June 9-10 BY AL CLARK I was invited to Britannia Yacht Club (where I grew up sailing) by my old friend and teenage training partner Bill Fuller for the Inland Masters Regatta June 9-10. Seemed like a good idea (apparently life is short) so off I went arriving in Ottawa on June 5th in time to do the Wednesday evening races, a tradition at the club for many years . Bill had an extra boat so all I needed was my tiller, lines and a sail and I was on the water racing. Next was the Britannia Cup on Friday night , (this is a great idea), everyone entering put $25 in the pot and we raced six heats from 4 pm to 7 then in for some dinner and a beer . The winner got 60% of the cash descending down the ranks. Basically a Friday night dash for cash prior to the regatta, brilliant. So far all the racing had been light to moderate with some nice shifty lake sailing and a current that had to be considered. Early in the week there were some clouds but as the weekend approached the sun came out and stayed. The morning of the Championships we were scheduled to start at 11.30 and many of us after the skippers meeting headed out in an offshore (easterly) breeze. That died out and swung around to the North West and we got four racers off that day. The ďŹ rst and fourth race had very little wind at the start so it was key to see where the next puff was coming down the lake, most of us got it wrong at least once. Consistency was very tough and scrambling back into races seems the only way to keep the score card low. With just under 40 boats we had a very competitive group and it was a pleasure to be back racing with all the sailors from near and far. We had some hiking conditions on Saturday mid-day so the lightweights could prove we have decent speed as it picked up. We headed in for the day at 4.30 and were treated to a classic old school (cook your own steak) bar b q. Sunday we had again an offshore breeze and raced two heats until it died out. We were on shore by lunch time and had a excellent prize giving and most loaded their trailers and got a early start on the drive home.

Laser Results - top 5 of 36 1. Allan Clark GM 2. Andy Roy GM 3. John Brooman M 4. Bruce Clifford GM 5. Joe van Rossem GGM

I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sailed since my heart attack in February so it seemed I was hungry to race well and was fortunate to win the event. Many thanks to all the sailors, race organizers and especially to Bill Fuller for convincing me it was worth coming back out to Britannia for the week. I think the Britannia Cup could be an annual deal.

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BRITANNIA CUP BY ANDREW FRASER It was a double header of action from June 8th to 10th at Britannia Yacht Club in Ottawa. The organizing committee worked tirelessly to host the one-evening Britannia Cup and two-day Inland Championships thinking that putting on good events will help to secure the 2020 Canadian Masters. The combined events were a great draw pulling sailors from Ontario, Quebec, BC, Vermont, NH, New Brunswick and Wisconsin. The Britannia Cup saw xx boats compete over six short races for a chance to drink beer from the treasured cup. The moderate shifty evening breeze produced tight racing with Al Clarke dominating with four bullets. Ray Davies and Andrew Fraser rounded out the top three with only one point separating them. The evening was capped off with sponsored craft beer, live music, blue blazers and a beautiful sunset. Racing intensiďŹ ed on Saturday with the start of the Inland Masters Champs. Lac Duschenes produced variable conditions which had competitors hiking at times and cramped in their boats at others. Six longer races were run with consistency being a key element to success as the wind gods frequently changed their minds. 2017 World champ and runner up, Al Clarke and Andy Roy showed the 38 competitors their tricks taking 1st and 2nd. Local boy John Brooman ďŹ nished strong on Sunday rounding out the top three. Competitors were again treated to live music at the club, more beer dock-side and a steak BBQ. A big thanks to those who organized the events, took in billets and volunteered to make sure everything went off without a hitch.

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SUMMER 2018

District 2 Philippe Dormoy Quebec, Canada Bonjour everyone, D2 district is having a new life! A couple of new Laser members and the desire to be more on the water from the sailors makes it happening. We now have Thursday night practice racing with 3 short races and 3 minutes starts sequence, no winners, but coaching from the more experience sailors on the water. Then Pizza and debrieﬁngs at the club. Participations is growing from the 1st night we expect to be 10-12 sailors every time. We had our district regatta June 16th and 17th. This is the second year of this open event and we had 33 participants, an increase of 14 boats over the 1st edition. This regatta is also called Ian Bruce Memorial regatta as a tribute to him.

The regatta has been a real success not only for the number of participants but also for the following reasons: We had great weather -Seven (7) races were done: 4 in light wind (5 to 10 Knots) and 3 in medium wind (12 to 15 knots). -The mix of young sailors and masters is showing to be very interesting and the results are showing that. The competition was intense and at races very disputed. There was a great camaraderie spirit between young and older sailors -A keg of cold beer, every day, being served at the sailboat parking lot while derigging and talking about the race -The committee was very efﬁcient and did the right calls at many occasion (course changes and races delayed). -Saturday night lobster/steak dinner had 220 people all together and it was really fun and good, with great weather and company. -The yacht club hospitality is 1st class. -Helly Hensen provided very nice gift to the different winners Results are posted on this site: http:// gnsracing.com/ The overall winner was master Andrew Frazer who sailed really well in all conditions! Second place young gun Philippe Pasquin and third master Duncan Whitrow We think that we will to have more participants (masters) next year by not picking father day for the regatta. Future looks very promising for our district, there is a good spirit and energy about sailing Laser.

www.Laser.org

I want to thanks everyone for that.. Good and hard sailing.

District 5 Mark Lammens Saskatchewan

Icebreaker at Calgary YC on June 2/3, Laser, Mike Hooper 1st, Evan Mah 2nd, Isaac Bussin 3rd, Radial, Lesley Reichenfeld 1st, Rob Mahood 2nd, Kate Easton 3rd. In the 4.7 Robbie Simpson 1st, Homer Riva Cambrin 2nd, and Rebekka Patterson 3rd. Rob Mahood and I used to race Lasers against each other in District 2 back in 1979-1980, just the other day, 38 years ago. Back then Lasers had 3.2 ounce sail cloth sails, really bad ropes, and many hull colours. Mountain Madness at Blackstrap had LP Gagnon 1st, Connor Boyle 2nd, and Andre Gagnon 3rd. In Radial Casey McMohon 1st, Jake Watters 2nd, and Casey Watters 3rd.

District Reports

Laser Radial sailors could use the FOS to practice/ train for the KC. However, the weather (sailing?) gods decided to grace the FOS with better weather than the KC. The FOS had sunny weather and westerly winds of about 8 – 12 knots. The Race Committee (for better or worse) did not have to change the marks and start/finish pins all weekend. There were 6 Laser Standards with 5 of them sailing in clubs on the south side of English Bay. Thanks to Matthew Stranaghan (WVYC) for showing up and racing in the FOS. In the Laser Radial fleet, there were 14 sailors with 9 of them sailing in the local clubs. I would like to thank the WVYC Laser / Radial team for showing up in full force. Also, RVANYC Laser Coach, Kyle Martin, convinced 4 members of his team to show up for the FOS. The Race Committee ran 4 races on Saturday and 5 races on Sunday for a total of 9 races which meant that all sailors go to throw out one race. In the Standard Fleet, Tony Martin (JSCA) was first with 14 points. Close behind in second place with 15 points was Andriy Kanuka (JSCA/VSC). Matthew Stranaghan

District 6 Andy Hunt Vancouver Greetings to all District 6 sailors, volunteers and coaches. Regular weekend racing and training have been on-going for several clubs in District 6. Speaking of training, the West Vancouver Yacht Club has hired Jorge L Yanez to be the coach of the WVYC Laser Race Team. Jorge was a competitive sailor in his native Cuba and is making a difference with the WVYC team. Way to go, Jorge. The ﬁrst regatta to write about was the Flights of Spring Regatta. The FOS was hosted by the Jericho

Laser Fleet and was held at the Jericho Sailing Centre on April 21 and 22. The regatta was planned to be a week before the Kitten Cup Regatta (more about that regatta later) so that the local Laser and

(WVYC) was in third place with 18 points. Cameron Pierce (JSCA / UBCSC) was in fourth place with 32 points. Fifth place belonged to Tim Murphy (JSCA) with 45 points. Joey Kristiansen (RVANYC) was 6th with 48 points. In the Laser Radial Fleet, Peter Woytkowiak (JSCA) was ﬁrst with 8 points. Peter dominated by winning 8 of the 9 races. He threw out a fourth place ﬁnish. Second place went to Jacek Susk (JSCA) who had 24 points. Third place went to Alex Cherniavskii (WVYC) who was close behind Jacek with 25 points. Fourth place went to Marcia Macdonald (JSCA) who had 34 points. Fifth place went to Bob Ennenberg (JSCA/LSC) who had 35 points. 6th place to 14 place went to: Dylan Tredger (JSCA/UBCSC), Jack Yeung (WVYC), Ethyn Ko (RVANYC). Matthew Austin RVANYC), Josh Dean (NSST/RPSA), Finn Bohan (RVANYC), an unknown sailor, Logan Higgins (RVANYC) and Deirdre Webster (JSCA/DSC). Points ranged from 45 to 103. Some of the sailors were tired (but in a good way)

after the racing was over on Saturday. For contrast, the weather for the Kitten Cup was cloudy (with the occasional shower) and light easterlies. The weather, however, did not deter the 9 Laser Standards that showed up nor the 29 Laser Radials. The Kitten Cup was also the ﬁrst regatta of the BC Sailing Circuit which was one reason why there was such a good turnout of Laser Radials. However, the weather was such that the Race Committee only ran 5 races over the two days. The top ten Radial sailors were: Annie Haegar (LBYC), 6.00; Maura Dewey (RVICYC), 7.00; Kit Stohl (SYC), 13.00; Analucia Clarkson (SYC), 13.00; Alex Cherniavskii (WVYC), 17.00; Peter Woytkowiak, JSCA, 35.00; Trevor Davis (RVICYC), 35.00; Sammy Farkas (SYC/BYC), 36.00; Marcia Macdonald (JSCA), 39.00; Josh Dean (NSST/RPSA), 40.00. In the Laser Standards, the top 5 sailors were: Alec Coleman (WVYC); 4.00; Tony Martin, JSCA, 13.00; Austin Stewart, HSC, 14.00;Tim Murphy, JSCA, 15.00; Andriy Kanyuka, JSCA/VSC, 15.00. The lone Laser 4.7 sailor was Deirdre Webster (JSCA/DSC). The next regatta was the Spring Dinghy Championships. The SDC are hosted by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club on the ﬁrst weekend of May. It is also the second regatta of the BC Sailing Circuit. Only three Laser Standards

showed up along with fourteen Laser Radials. In the Laser Standards, local sailor John Owen dominated by winning 7 of the 8 races. Second place went to Greg Slakov (sisc) who had 14 points. Third place went to Matthew Stranaghan (WVYC) who also had 16 points. Greg’s first place finish was the difference in the tie. In the Laser Radial Fleet, local sailors and lower mainland sailors made up about half the fleet each. Five of the Laser Radial sailors were members of the North Shore Sailing Team. NSST member Alex Cherniavskii won the division with 16 points. Here are the rest of the results: Alex Cherniavskii, WVYC, 16.00; Luke Vincent, RVICYC, 23.00; Ethyn Ko, RVANYC, 31.00; Josh Dean, NSST, 33.00; Makeena Shepard, RVICYC, 34.00; Trevor Davis, RVICYC, 34.00; Bob Ennenberg, JSCA, 46.00; Benjamin Daniel, RVICYC,46.00; Ben Humer, NSST/HSC, 48.00; Jack Yeung, NSST/WVYC, 66.00; Mait Davis, WVYC/NSST, 67.00; Matthew Austin, RVANYC, 78.00; Owen Cruickshank, CBSC, 84.00; Juila Hirschbold, RVICYC, 94.00. The Race Committee ran 8 races over the two days. On May 19 and 20 (which is a long holiday) weekend in District 6, the Central Okanagan Sailing Association (COSA) ran its Springtime Regatta. This regatta is also part of the BC Sailing Circuit. For the second year in a row, the BC Laser Master Championships were part of the Springtime Regatta. Going strictly by the

published results, it looks like there were 10 Laser Radial sailors, 7 Laser Masters and two open sailors in the Standard rigs and also (rare in District 6) 4 Laser 4.7s. The Master sailors were separated by category (Apprentice, Master, Grand Master, Great Grand Master) but were NOT assigned handicap points. The final results indicate that an apprentice sailor won boat-on-boat and the next two sailors were open sailors. The Standard Rigs had nine races while the Radials had seven races and the Laser 4.7s had thirteen races. Results: (Standard): Maciej Mamon (Apprentice), 18.00; Austin Stewart (open).20.00; Ian Hern, (open), 21.00; Stephen Reichenfeld (Grand Master), 29.00; Art Buitenwerf (Grand Master), 34.00; Trevor Owen (Great Grand Master), 44.00; Lesley Reichenfeld (Grand Master), 53.00; Brian Vermey (Grand Master), 54.00; John Drayton (Grand Master), 65.00. I would like to thank the Calgary sailors who made the trip to the Okanagan for the regatta. Most of the Laser Radial sailors were from COSA with one sailor from the North Okanagan Sailing Association (NOSA) and two sailors from the Rocky Point Sailing Association (RPSA). Results: Josh Dean (RPSA), 6.00; Zane Halperin (COSA), 12.00; Alizon Littleton (COSA), 23.00; Cole Appleton (COSA), 26.00; Katherine Littleton (COSA), 30.00; Allen Blustein (RPSA), 32.00; Miitchel Ryan (NOSA), 37.00; Mackenzie Littleton (COSA), 41.00; Sam Bekkering (COSA), 45.00; Mason Mintz (COSA), 60.00. The four Laser 4.7 sailors were: Ian Wright (COSA), Ryan Rubadeau (COSA), Gabriella Littleton (COSA0 and Jordan Muller (NSST). Ian had 15 points, Ryan had 24 points, Gabriella had 30 points and Jordan had 48 points. For those sailors who were at the back of the fleet, just remember not everyone can be first and if you keep at it, the results will come. The next regatta

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SUMMER 2018

that I will mention is the Jericho Classic Regatta. This regatta was held at the Jericho Sailing Centre on June 2 and 3. There were 6 Laser Standards and 9 Laser Radials. As is the norm for the majority of District 6 Regattas, there were no Laser 4.7s. The weather gods threw up a variety of conditions which challenged the sailorss, especially on June 3 when an easterly wind made an appearance. That said, the Race Committee ran a variety of races and managed to get in 9 races over the two days. The current was also a factor. Results (Standards): Matthew Stanaghan (WVYC), 15.00; Tony Martin (JSCA), 18.00; Peter Woytkowiak (JSCA) 20, 00; Liam Quinlan (JSCA), 27.00; Joey Kristiansen (RVANYC), 41.00; Tim Murphy (JSCA), 42.00. I would also like to thank the WVYC coach Jorge Yanez and the RVAN coach Kyle Martin for helping out on the water. The final regatta report is for a relatively unknown regatta that was hosted in the Victoria suburb of Esquimalt. The Canadian Forces Sailing Association hosted the regatta on June 16 and 17. Besides a few local sailors, sailors also came from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club and the Comox Bay Sailing Club. There were 5 Laser Standards and 6 Laser Radials. The results seem to indicate that the Race Committee ran 4 races on Saturday and 4 races on Sunday, Adam Sorensen was first in the Laser Standards with 10 points. Hugh Jervis was second with 21 points. Third place went to Ian Elliott who had 22 points. Dylan Jones was fourth with 26 points and Efren Valdez was fifth with 34 points. In the Laser Radial Fleet, Maura Dewey won 7 or the eight races to secure first place with 7 points. Trevor Davis was second with 18 points. Phil Gaze was third with 24 points. Luke Vincent was fourth with 26 points. Rachel Anderson was fifth with 30 points and Tristan Martel was sixth with 31 points. Finally, I would like to congratulate Al Clark for returning to his home waters in Ontario and winning the Inland Masters Championships. Quite an accomplishment for a sailor who recently had some heart problems. Al, you da man. Photos by Kyle Martin

District 7 Scott Pakenham Chris Bollinger Christine Neville New England Happy Spring New England!!!!! The rain has been soaking us good, with summer around the corner lets get those micro yachts ready for the waters!! The District 7 website notice board is up and running again at http://laserdistrict7.blogspot.com/ check the calendar for some awesome events. As of writing the season has kicked off with the following regattas a 39 boat strong ﬂeet at Fleet 413’s Pete Milnes Regatta. They have the best Fleet Captains!!! And the Massapoag multiclass regatta where past D-7 Secretary Judith Krimski strutted her stuff fresh from a winter laser sailing in Cabarete. I am sure the conditions were almost identical.

www.Laser.org

Just this past weekend was the Wickford Regatta, where every year it seems the Laser class, in both radial and full rigs, holds the title for the largest fleets!!! 36, yes 36 Full rig and Radial sailors from as far away as Miami and East Greenwich!! Youngster Griffin Sisk of NYC took advantage of Newport Laser Fleet 413’s Fleet Boats program for a 9th in the radial fleet!!!!. The Full rig fleet was won by Vir Menon and the Radials by Matthew Wallace, tough victories that were challenged by Shope, Ferguson, Neri, Vessella, Neville, Seidenburg, and Sakai. It was a family affair as the race courses were shared by sibling and parent, James and Erin Jacob, and Lynne and Jonathan Shore, Intergenerational competition and it’s not Festivus!!!!!!! Thanks to Skip Whyte and his crew, they definitely know how to run a regatta. If you’re a Master check out The BBR- Buzzards Bay Regatta- August 3rd-5th Sailing out of New Bedford Yacht Club this popular event is back for Masters only. P/C Don Hahl and his Brant Beach Yacht Club hopes your ready for a road trip in August, positioned as a Pre-Worlds tune up the US Nationals are scheduled for the 23rd to the 26th, the Jersey Shore in summer, someone should film that!! September 22 and 23 has the New England Masters Championships hosted for the 4th year by the Wickford Yacht Club excellent RC work and beautiful sailing in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay. For down and dirty all-purpose mixed fleet racing

there is no better kickoff for the Summer than The Newport Regatta, the home turf of Fleet 413, new home to the Tonight Show’s Jay Leno, and summer hangout for Dr. Doogie Houser, yup Neil Patrick Harris. Come for the sailing, stay for the mansions and lobster, this multiclass regatta has been known for its feeding of hungry sailors with a long buffet! Another excellent multiday regatta is at Hyannis Yacht Club, Laser ﬂeet Captain Peter Hallimier always delivers with great wind and fantastic courses. Single day events can also be found on the D-7 website, Sachems Head Yacht club is trying to grow their entry list for their June 30th Invitational regatta, already a dozen sailors have registered with JY15 Legend Cutter Smith looking to take home some silver!!! If you’re looking for a reason to head to New Bedford Massachusetts and honor a great man, look no further than the John Bentley Regatta on June 30th. The Brain child of a brain doctor this event was founded to honor John Bentley a legend in Laser Masters racing and an outstanding personality in the New Bedford Yacht Club. It is sailed on beautiful Buzzards Bay where there is no bad

direction of the wind. Looking for an awesome event, try The Archipelago Rally, a fun family pursuit start race that has been won by a Laser almost as many times as it has been won by Lars Guck!! Last Laser win? 2016Dan and Karen Neri, Oh Yeah double handed!!! The tacks and gybes were a sight to see! Find it on Facebook, usually held in October/November. If your traveling, bring your Laser, contact ﬂeet captains and see where their members are sailing, it’s a great way to meet new friends and an even better way to ﬁnd epic locations. Newport’s 3rd Beach comes to mind, as does a long downwind from Pt. Judith RI to Jamestown. As a proud owner, sailor and racer since 1989 (137062) I have met the greatest people and had fantastic experiences aboard this original “Weekender”. Keep Smiling and keep sailing!! Photos provided by Jeff Stevens

District 8 Lindsay Hewitt New York District 8 started the spring season in April with the Spring Fling at Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club. Thanks to David Kruse who arranged the event and to Eric Johnson who ran a really great event in very shifty conditions. Chris Poole took ﬁrst place with Andrew Roosevelt and Matt Doherty ﬁnishing second and third. The next two events were held by the South Bay Watersports Association. Thanks to Marguerite Kohler and to Jim Kohler for their great organization and hospitality. Then it was off to Southhampton for three more regattas. Thanks to Kent Rydberg and his team of volunteers. I am pleased to announce that Marguerite Kohler will be taking over as Secretary of District 8. She and her family have been staunch supporters of the Laser Class and the District. I know we are in good hands. Please continue to check the D8 website LaserD8. org run by our incredible webmaster Bob Terry. The website has videos and current news. Happy summer to all. Below is the remaining schedule for the summer season: July 4: NBIBCLRA; East End Laser @ Bud Rogers August 11-12: District 8 Grand Prix @ Sayville YC August 18: Ward Bell @ Hempstead Harbour Club August 24-26: US Masters @ Brant Beach Labor Day: Bud Rogers – TBA September 15: Sebago Cup @ Jamaica Bay

District 9 Peter Bushnell Upstate New York We’ve completed three regattas in district 9 at the time of this report. Ithaca YC hosted its annual Wine Keg regatta on Sunday May 27 with 10 sailors. Unfortunately, winds were very light and the ﬁrst race actually started in a fog. Only two races were sailed. Charles Williamson once again demonstrated his exceptional skill in light air with the win. Top 5 Results: 1) Chas Williamson, 2) Ray Cudney, 3) Peter Bushnell, 4) Tom King, 5) Peter Gould. Thanks very much to David Filiberto for hosting and running the races. Strong winds prevailed for at the Saratoga Lake Sailing Club on Saturday, June 2. We had fourteen boats and 15-20mph out of the north. Thanks very much to Alan Miller and Barbara Brown for their

service in race operations. And, thanks to all at SSC for making this such a nice event. Top 5 results: 1) Mark Swanson, 2) Ray Cudney, 3) Brad Dunn, 4)

James Nicol, 5) Mike Kitner. First radial was David Burtis, 2nd radial was James Synon, 3rd radial and 1st junior was Ethan Murnal. Newport YC held its annual Laser regatta on Irondequoit Bay on Saturday, June 16. The ﬁrst race was held in a shifty west. Four more races were then run with a perfect 8-10mph north lake thermal breeze. Thanks to Kenny Fourspring and John Boettcher for hosting, and thanks to Bill Topping for his excellent support as PRO. Eight boats sailed with the following top 5 results: 1) Peter Bushnell, 2) Ray Cudney, 3) Charles Williamson, 4) Kenny Fourspring, 5) Steve Leach. Top master was John Boettcher. Photo by Bob Shanebrook.

Eric Reitinger District 10 New Jersey

Er4599@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/ groups/1384665518239646/ Shrewsbury’s Spring Laser Regatta went off without a hitch. There was a ﬂeet of 7 boats. The wind stayed in the 8-10 mph range for the most part and changed 180 degrees just before the races started. By the end of the 5th race it was gone. Good timing and execution by Georgi Munger the PRO helped us make the most of the wind. A newer up and coming Jr. sailor Patrick Modin (SSYC) held his own showing a good eye for the wind and control of his boat as raced against the more seasoned sailors. He will be one to keep an eye on.... Now Larry Nociolo from Monmouth strutted his stuff as he ended with a total score of 6 after 1 drop on 5 races. Keeping him on his toes was Robert Gruskos (SSYC) who ended with a total score of 7 after 1 drop. Jesse Stevenson (SSYC) rounded out the top 3 spots with a total score of 8. In the masters category. Larry Nociolo was 1st followed by Phil Arnheiter (SSYC) in 2nd with Gary DePice (SSYC) in 3rd. The food was good and everyone won a prize. Many thanks to Robin Arnheiter for handling the food, registration and prizes assisted by Eileen Saporta. Also thanks to Georgi Munger the PRO. Monmouth hosted their annual spring event. Even with the threat of rain and thunderstorms, it held off and gave the 11 sailors 7 great races. It was tight but Larry Nociolo won by a point over Chris Henkel. The Orange Coffee Pot, the longest running Laser regatta in the world was held at Surf City. There were 9 boats in light conditions. Four races were held and Andrew Puopolo won the event with Carrter Pearce on second and CJ Araujo in third. Shore Acres hosted the Full Rig District 10 Championships for the ﬁrst time in recent memory. Saturday doubled as the Plank Regatta so there were a few who raced just Saturday. The wind started

off out of the Northeast at about 10-12mph. It was very slowly moving to the right over the 5 long windward/leeward courses (at least mile plus legs). Matt Goetting was the winner of the day and therefore, the winner of the Plank! Sailors were treated to a Surf Taco catered dinner and a live band. The next day we were treated to slightly windier conditions out of the same direction. Courses were a bit shorter but offered great racing and less boat trafﬁc. Peter Hurley dominated the day with three ﬁrsts to defend his District 10 Championship title. Huge thanks to Shore Acres for putting on a great event! It was a shame their club wasn’t competed in time but it’s well on its way to being completed this year! The Plank moves back to Memorial Day Weekend next year. We then move into the summer with many of the junior events but then bring the adult events back in the fall. June 23-24 Jr. JOs @ Brant Beach YC June 28 Jr. Feed the Need @ Pine Beach YC July 6 Jr. Powder Puff @ Metedeconk YC July 12 Jr. Iron Man @ Shore Acres YC July 27 Jr. Beachwood Blast @ Beachwood YC July 23-24 Jr. JOs @ Island Heights YC August 3 Jr. Summer Sailing Classic @ Ocean Gate YC August 20th District 10 (Radial/4.7) @ Lavalette YC August 24-26 Laser Master’s Nationals @ Brant Beach YC October 13th Laser Fall Regatta @ Marsh Creek SC October 20 Fall Regatta @ Monmouth Boat Club

District 13 James Liebl Florida YOU, and I mean YOU, are the luckiest person alive! Why are you so lucky? Well, because ﬁrst, you sail Lasers! You can’t get luckier than that. And second, since I apparently can’t read a calendar and missed the deadline for the winter post and the Russians apparently hacked email for the spring post, you’re getting a triple dose of D13 updates in this one issue. Shazam, baby, we’ve had lots and lots and lots happening since the last PUBLISHED article (damn calendar, damn Russians), so relax and take it all in. What? You didn’t read my last dispatch in the Fall Laser Sailor? Unbelievable. That article was worthy of a Pulitzer, so go back and ﬁnd the Fall Laser Sailor and read my article! I’ll wait. Alright, since I know many of you are Generation Z’s and don’t even realize there are articles in the Laser Sailor because you only know online stuff, I’ll go ahead and post my last article to the District 13 webpage. I say that with love to my Generation Z friends. Especially since you guys are super fast! What? You didn’t know District 13 had a webpage? Yes, we do. Here’s the link. http://www.laserdistrict13.com/ You can also get to the D13 webpage by clicking through to it from the Laser.org site. If you don’t see truckloads of content on the D13 page, blame yourself. Don’t blame me there, Holmes. Anyone with a good idea, thought, pix, video, regatta results, or whatever can and should post it to the webpage. Got it? Good! Now get to producing some content and then contact me so I can help you post it.

Speaking of super fast Generation Z’s, check out the results from the D13 Champs held December 2 & 3 at the US Sailing Center Martin County. By the way, “Generation Z” is the generation born after the Millenials A HUGE thanks to the US Sailing Center Martin County for hosting the Championships! Laser District 13 Championships (December) Laser 4.7 (Top 3 of 16) Guthrie Braun Brandon Geller Liam Dorsey Laser Radial (Top 3 of 43) Lillian Myers Chase Carraway Matthew Wallace Laser Standard (Top 3 of 32) Gage Wilson Ernesto Rodriguez Leo Boucher The young folks weren’t the only ones in the top 10 at Districts. Look at the “murderer’s row” of speed demons that are millenials, Gen X and maybe a Boomer or two in the top 10 of the Standard and Radial results. That’s a point to remember, the Laser is a boat for ALL ages. That said, for more youth speed, St. Petersburg Yacht Club hosted the 4.7 National Championship right after Thanksgiving. Check out some of our D13 folks did: Laser 4.7 U.S. Nationals (Top 3 of 31) (November) Brandon Geller Chris Purcell Cameron Delgado Keeping with the National level events, were you “digging the heavy air “ at the Atlantic Coast Champs at Lauderdale Yacht Club in midJanuary? Awesome ﬁrst reaches on Sunday, perfect angle to the waves to just send it! If you sailed those reaches that day, that’s all the proof you need about the “LUCKIEST person alive.” If you haven’t raced in the breeze at Lauderdale, you simply have to do it. It’s epic. If you have raced in the breeze at Lauderdale, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Either way, you’ll have a chance to do it in 2019 when Lauderdale hosts the US CHAMPS in January 2019 (over the MLK weekend). The ACC results are posted in the last issue, so I won’t repeat them here. Just prior to the ACC’s we had the Open Orange Bowl and Youth Orange Bowl regattas December 27-30 in Miami. That’s right, there are two separate regattas, one for the Generation Z’s and one for those who aren’t Generation Z (or got shut out of the Youth Orange Bowl when it hits the registration max). Mark these events on your calendars for 2018. The absolute best way to spend a couple of days between Xmas and New Year’s is to go sailing during the day in Miami and to go enjoy the social part of Miami during the evening. At the risk of beating you over the head, keep in mind the OPEN Orange Bowl is just that, OPEN to all. So, all you college sailors, college coaches, northerners, masters, whatever, come on down and sail. Spend that holiday gift money on a New Year’s Miami extravaganza. By the way, this past Open Orange Bowl may have been the most “international” regatta I’ve sailed in all year. India, Scotland, and Puerto Rico aren’t something you see everyday on sails, unless of course you live in India, Scotland, or Puerto Rico.

SUMMER 2018

2018 Schedule Regatta

Standard

Radial

Laser 4.7

Masters

Aarhus, DEN July 30-Aug 12 U21: Gdynia, POL July 1-8

Aarhus, DEN Women: July 30-Aug 12 Kiel GER Youth: Aug 18-25 Men: June 18-25

Gdynia, POL July 9-17

Dun Laoghaire, IRL Sept 7-15

Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Long Beach, CA July 12-15

St Francis Yacht Club San Francisco, CA July 20-22

St Margaret Sailing Club Glen Haven, NS July 20-22

US Championships

Houston Yacht Club La Porte, TX June 30-July 3

Brant Beach YC Brant Beach, NJ Aug 24-26

CORK

Kingston, ON www.cork.org August 18-21

Kingston, ON www.cork.org August 14-17

Midwinters East

Clearwater, FL www.clwyc.org Feb 22-25

USSCMC Jensen Beach, FL Feb 6-9

Midwinters West

Santa Barbara Yacht Club Santa Barbara, CA March 23-25

Miami OCR

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

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

Atlantic Coast Championships

Lauderdale YC Ft Lauderdale, FL Jan 13-15

Pacific Coast Championships

CGRA Cascade Locks, OR Aug 3-5

Benicia YC Benicia, CA July 28-29

Gulf Coast Championships

St Pete YC St Petersburg, FL March 30-April 1

Florida Yacht Club Jacksonville, FL November 3-4

No Coast Championships

Corinthian SC Dallas, TX May 19-20

Britannia YC Ottawa, ON June 9-10

Great Lakes Championships

Royal Hamilton YC Hamilton, ON Sept 8-9

Delavan YC Delavan, WI Sept 29-30

World Championship

NA Championship 40 GP points

Canadian Championships 30 GP points

30 GP points

25 GP points

www.Laser.org

CORK Kingston, ON July 6-8

Fishing Bay YC Deltaville, VA Oct 13-14

People from around the World get how nice Miami is for the New Year! OPEN Orange Bowl Regatta, Coconut Grove Sailing Club (December) Laser Standard (Top 3 of 16) Pedro Fernandez Ernesto Rodriguez Vir Menon Laser Radial Alexander Birukoff Kevin Merten Greg McGauley And just after the ACC’s, we had Master Week! Again, since the full results were listed before, I won’t list them here, but needless to say I saw lots of D13 names listed, Dave Chapin, Dave Hiebert, Dave Hillmyer, (invasion of the “Dave’s” apparently), Brian Gilcher, Juan Gaitan, Bill McKenzie, Loren Hoffman, Robert Camp, Buzzy Heausler, Ernesto Rodriquez in the Standard Rig and Dave Hartman, Hal Gilreath, Monica Wilson, Robert Bryant, Bob Voeller, Christina Perrson in the Radial rig. While the Masters were tuning up for their week, Lauderdale Yacht Club was running the venerable Boomerang Regatta. Looks live everyone there was Generation Z. Boomerang Regatta, Lauderdale Yacht Club (January) Laser Radial (Top 10 of 18) Chapman Petersen Matthew Wallace James Paul Laser 4.7 Chris Purcell Giulio Zunino Marina Gellen The Radial and 4.7 young turks were also at it at the River Romp Regatta in Ft. Myers on October 21 & 22 too: Edison Sailing Center River Romp (October) Laser 4.7 Daniel Ofarril Liam Dorsey Humbero Porrata Laser Radial Brett Putnam Colin Dorsey Joey Meagher If the River Romp had good weather, the Coconut Grove Sailing Club didn’t for the Halloween Howler October 28 & 29. Despite Mother Nature’s “cyclonic activity,” potential Tropical Storm, 20 knots of breeze and constant rain, they raced anyway: Perfect Laser days! Halloween Howler Regatta, Coconut Grove Sailing Club (October) Daniel Ofarril Chris Purcell Humberto Porrata As mentioned earlier, the Laser is for ALL ages, so it wasn’t’ just the latest generation that had fun in the latter part of 2017 and into 2018, everyone got in on the action. From about age 10 to 80 (maybe 85?), we had all measure of events. Off the top of my head, here are some of the ones I remember:

Melbourne Yacht Club Fall Dinghy Regatta, Melbourne Yacht Club (October) Dave Chapin Peter Hansen Ernesto Rodriguez Gulf Coast Masters Results, US Sailing Center Martin County (November) Ernesto Rodriguez Dave Chapin Peter Vessella Round Key Biscayne Results, Key Biscayne Yacht Club (D13 Class members shown) (November) Alexander Birukoff Roberto Laub Steve Schwartz Steve Martin Regatta, Youth Sailing Foundation of IRC (Vero Beach) (March) Courtney Voehl Brian Gilcher Dave Hartman Gulf Coast Championships, St. Pete Yacht Club (March) Laser 4.7 (Top 3) Spencer Layman Amaya Escudero Ethan Danielson Laser Standard (Top 3) Leo Bucher Ernesto Rodriguez Peter Hurley Laser Radial (Top 3) Connor Nelson Hallie Schiffman Carter Pearce Sarasota Sailfest, Sarasota Sailing Squadron (April) Laser Radial (Top 3 of 14) Nicholas Reeser Will Murray Santiago Dillon Laser 4.7 (Top 3 of 12) Emma Shakespeare Guthrie Braun Ethan Danelson Melbourne Spring Regatta, Melbourne Yacht Club (April) Dave Hartman Peter Hansen Monica Wilson Hugh Elliott Regatta, Davis Island Yacht Club (May) The following, slightly edited, regatta report graciously provided by Buzzy Heausler: With a tough day of no wind followed by rain, DIYC managed to squeeze in three races before the weather turned quite wet and rainy. Big thanks to volunteers Susie Crump, Steve Young, Pat Crump and a few others on the mark boats. Laser Standard Buzzy Heausler Bob Camp Laser Radial Brett Putnam Brandon Geller I know what you may be thinking, “why didn’t James mention me?” Well, ﬁrst, it’s because space is limited in the Laser Sailor so I can’t put the full

results for each regatta in these articles. If you want to see the full results, you can find them on the internet. While I’m happy to give you instructions on finding the full results, I doubt it’s necessary in today’s internet age. For events where I’ve listed just a few selected names, you may not be listed because I was scanning results quickly and missed your name. One thing that will help me to catch your name is to introduce yourself to me when you see my handsome, smiling face. Say something along the lines of, “”you know what would make this Class more fun,” or whatever else you want to talk about when you see me in the boat park. Oh yeah, grab my dolly for me as you’re coming to talk to me. We had a several other events around the District as well, but there either included somewhere else in this mag OR I don’t have them. The moral of that is to make sure you send me results to any events you have. A couple of things that jumped out at me about these regattas. First, as I mentioned before, we’ve got a wide range of ages and abilities sailing. Super! Next, we’ve got Clubs that are willing to run races for us. Let’s make sure we let those clubs and those incredibly gracious volunteers know how much we appreciate them. Third, we’ve got some strong registration numbers, nearly 100 boats across the 3 fleets at the D13 Champs, for instance. That’s the good news. But there is some bad news too. While we have a number of great younger folks (under the age of 22), we’re seeing a drop off in participation after that age. We’re also not seeing growth in the Standard Laser fleet. So, here are some very specific things we can all do: Go Sailing! That may be the easiest request ever, right? On the serious side, I realize how hard going sailing can be for those of us with life responsibilities. But I’m serious, it’s up to all of us to get on our Lasers and go sailing. If people see Lasers sailing, they’ll come sailing too. Paraphrasing Newton, “a Class in motion remains in motion, a Class with no motion stays with no motion.” Get out on your boat, even if it’s just reaching around in your bathing suit on a 15 knot day! That’s one of the strengths of the Laser, still simple and easy to sail. Even if you’re not racing, planing around from reach to reach is still a ball! Invite People Into the Laser. We might have the easiest Class ever to get into. Plenty of decent, local level competitive boats out there for relatively cheap ($3000 or so, maybe less). Checked out craigslist lately? You can find anything, and I mean ANYTHING, you want on craigslist, including decent, cheap Lasers. No crew. Easy to sail, but also a boat where the top skill level keeps getting raised. And a great Class Association. Just to be clear, when I say “ANYTHING” on craigslist, I mean anything like an old wooden Laser rudder from the mid 1970’s, not the “anything” you were thinking of. Get you mind out of the gutter. With Summer here, let’s get more fun folks involved in the D13 Laser Class. Got it? Good, now get to sailing and tell/help somebody else to go sailing! And speaking of going sailing, if you’re looking for opportunities in the Summer and Fall, check them all out on the calendar on the Laser.org site. Remember, we want to post all events where Lasers can race on the Laser.org calendar so we all know about them. See the calendar on the Laser website. If you want to make the search a little easier, click

SUMMER 2018

the “search” tab near the top of the calendar page and then click the box that says “District 13.” That will limit the search to the events in our sunny corner of the World. If you’re having an event, anything from the Midwinters to weekday evening beer/soda can races, get them posted to the Laser.org calendar. That way, ANYONE who wants to come sailing knows they can come to your event. If you need a hand posting the event, let me know and I’ll help. And speaking of the calendar, start planning now for all the stuff coming up in the Fall and Winter…Gulf Coast Masters in Jacksonville, District 13 Champs in St. Pete, OPEN Orange Bowl in Miami, Orange Bowl in Miami, US Champs in Lauderdale, Masters Week, and Midwinters East. And that’s just the major ones! Okay, now that I’ve seen the stuff available on craigslist, I gotta get going. See you on the line or in the line up,

District 15 Grifﬁn Orr Texas Spring has moved onto summer in Texas which means we have many regattas to report in on! We started the spring at one of the districts most scenic venues, Lake Travis. The Austin Yacht Club and the one and only Fred Schroth put on a stellar regatta completing 8 challenging races over the weekend. For those of you who do not know the “Fred” course, each race was laid out as follows: Windwardleeward-windward-reach/reach-windward-leewardwindward. This is a course that tests a Sailors skill on all points of sail as well as his/her endurance over a long course. Winning the regatta was the masterful Dave Chaplin with an impressive 11 points! Next we move onto the Corinthian Sailing Clubs second regatta of the year, the 2018 No Coast Championships!! The event consisted of champagne laser conditions on Saturday followed by a stormy Sunday with no races. See the complete writeup of the event in this edition of the Laser Sailor written by Brig North. Coming up early this summer we have two very exciting events in the District. Foster the Seabrook Summer Solstice Regatta is June 23rd and 24th at the Seabrook Sailing Club. Father following weekend is the 2018 Laser Nationals Regatta at Houston Yacht Club, just up the road about 2 miles!! Be sure to practice up at Seabrook before Nationals! See you all on the water and stay tuned to some exciting events this fall!

already 15 boats registered! Both NOR are now on the PYC web page under Racers’ Events with the direct link here: http://mspyc.com/portage-yacht-club/sailing/racing/racersevents/ Schedule Aug 25 Lake Lansing Annual - Lansing Sailing Club, Haslett, MI Sep 22 - No Sweat Regatta – Portage Yacht Club, Pinckney, MI Oct 6-7 - D19 Districts / Pumkinhead – Reeds Lake, Grand Rapids Yacht Club, MI That’s all for now from D19 (Michigan)! As always check www.D19Laser.org, www.Laser.org, or www. facebook.com/D19Laser for even more schedules, reports, and photos!

District 20 Sean Lennon WI, IL Hello Laser Sailors, Summer has begun for us in District 20. With the weather warming up, we hope that many of you can travel to any number of our events in the district this summer: Schedule: June 29: Skill Building Clinic for Midwest Junior Olympic Festival

June 30 - July 1: US Sailing Upper Midwest Junior Olympic Festival - Laser Radial July 14 - 15: Hobelman Regatta at Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club July 16: Skill Building Clinic for Area K Junior Championship July 17 - 19: US Sailing Area K Junior Championships hosted by Sail Sheboygan - Laser Radial July 22: Ephraim Yacht Club Laser Regatta August 4: Milwaukee Bay One-Design Regatta District 20 September 1 - 2: District 20 Grand Prix Event at Milwaukee Yacht Club September 15 - 16: Red Flannels Regatta and District 20 Championship at Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club September 29 - 30: Laser Masters Great Lakes Championship at Delavan Lake Yacht Club October 13 - 14: Carlyle Sailing Association Fall Regatta From Troy Tolan: Carlyle Sailing Association has made some major investments in the Junior Sailing Program with the purchase of a new floating dock, a Zodiac RIB boat and new sails for the fleet of boats. But what I am really excited about is the number of Lasers that parents have been purchasing for their sons and daughters. Our fleet is growing and as the Juniors increase their racing skills, we plan on traveling to regattas in the near future.

THE ALUMINUM TRAILER LIKE NO OTHER

District 19 Ken Swetka Michigan Michigan is thawed and sailing season is in full swing. When the weather gets good we don’t waste any time and get sailing! D19 Districts October 6-7 This year we are going to Grand Rapids for Districts. It will be hosted by Grand Rapids Yacht Club on Reeds Lake (grandrapidsyachtclub.org). Anyone familiar with that area and has a taste for beer knows it is loaded with great brewery’s! It also some very good sailors with a growing Laser ﬂeet. We look forward to some crisp Fall sailing. Summer Series at Portage Yacht Club This year Portage Yacht Club is hosting a Tuesday night invitational Laser series with dates of 6/127/17, inclusive, to be conducted in parallel to their usual Tuesday racing. As of 5/31/2018 there were

www.Laser.org

UNIVERSAL DOLLY FULLY ADJUSTABLE

EXTENDED RETRACTED

Canfield, OH • Toll Free 1-800-282-5042 www.trailex.com

We just ﬁnished our week long Junior Sail Camp and had 8 Lasers registered. It was a good group of past sail camp participants, and it was good to work with sailors that have racing experience. My current focus with the junior sailors is on developing good boat handling skills and have them become increasingly comfortable with the boat. This father’s day weekend I will be conducting a Laser Clinic with topics ranging from boat rigging to onthe-water sailing techniques. I look forward to another successful CSA Fall Laser Regatta and expect an increase in the number of junior entries due to the new boat acquisitions. Hope to see you there! Troy Tolan, Junior Sailing Executive Director, CSA. From Sean Lennon: The Milwaukee Bay ﬂeet has begun their year with a bang; we have increased youth participation and interest. In fact, it’s hard to convince these racers to even consider sailing any boat, other than a laser! We are looking forward to hosting both the Milwaukee Bay One Design on August 4th and the Grand Prix event for our district in September. Hoping to see many of you for these events. To have events posted in the new district newsletter and in future Laser Sailors please send info to spatricklennon11@gmail.com or post to the District 20 Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/groups/ laserd20.

District 22 Kurt Hoehne WA, OR, ID, MT As usual, there’s a full schedule of activity on the Columbia River Gorge this year including the Laser Pacific Coast Championships, August 3-5. The International Sailing Academy will be back in the Gorge this summer offering world-class training opportunities in July to North American sailors in the premiere heavy air venue. Leading the ISA coaching team this year is 13-time Laser Masters World Champion and Olympic sailing coach Brett Beyer from Sydney, Australia. In addition to offering three training camps (one youth and two all-ages), ISA coaches will be available for regatta coaching at the Wind Youth Regatta, July 21-22, and the PCCs. Check out cgra.org for more details. Not a lot to report from Western Washington part of District 22. We’re looking at a big District Championship in Seattle this fall, combining the highly active junior scene with the adults. This should build a foundation for Laser sailing to move forward. There remains Thursday night Corinthian YC racing off Shilshole, and a very active casual group participating in the Monday racing at Sail Sand Point on Lake Washington. The Seattle Laser Fleet has two nice loaner boats which are being well used. There’s chatter about developing a Laser 4.7 fleet as well to give an excellent option the throngs of young sailors aging (or sizing) out of the Optis regionally. If anyone has any experience developing a 4.7 program, or insight as to where to find spars etc, please email me at kurthoehne@gmail.com.

District 23 Geoff Hurwitch AZ, UT, WY, CO, NM The Rocky Mountain area has begun their season in earnest with regattas happening in Colorado and Utah. The Hornblower Regatta was held May 19-20 at Cherry Creek in Denver and was won by Carlos

Abisambra with a nearly perfect score in a dedicated seven boat fleet. Events in the mountains continue soon with the Aspen Open July 14-15, the Dillon Open August 3-5, the Colorado Laser Championship August 11-12 at Grand Lake, the Governor’s Cup back at Cherry Creek September 8-9 and the season wraps up with the Park City Sailing Association Fall Regatta September 29-30. The Spring Dinghy weekly series is underway with the Denver Sailing Association, having started in late May. The Park City Sailing Association is enjoying another wave of growth with a lot of new faces, new boat acquisitions and charters for people who don’t have boats. The first two nights of racing so far have yielded fifteen and eighteen boats respectively. They are looking forward to over twenty boats racing in the weekly Tuesday Night Laser series during the peak part of the Summer.

District 24 Stephen Aguilar NorCal Hello from District 24th. What a great season we’ve been having out here in California. Plenty of regattas with great participation. One of the goals that I had when I took over as district secretary was to see more participation in the lake events. I have to say that The lake events are now getting as many sailors as the bay Events. We have three exciting events coming up in the month of July. The laser heavy weather Slalom and the laser masters North Americans at the St. Francis yacht club on the famous city front. The laser masters Pacific coast championships at Benicia yacht club. We all know what to expect at the city front strong breeze big waves and challenging conditions. Benicia is a unknown venue. I’ve had the pleasure of Sailing there and I believe it’s one of the most challenging places in the bay area to sail. It’s where the two major rivers in California the Sacramento and the San Joaquin meet the bay. The wind from the bay funneled through the Carquinez Straits Through Benicia on its way to the valley. The famous delta breeze. So come on out to district 24 and sail this summer in these exciting events. Below are a couple regatta reports. Monterey Laser Championships The Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club hosted their annual club Laser Championship on May 12. 15 boats turned out for a beautiful day on Monterey Bay. The forecast for Santa Cruz and the Bay Area was for winds up to 30 knots, but the situation farther south in Monterey was more uncertain. It turned out winds were mostly moderate, around 8-10 knots from the north. After 6 short races, the wind died and filled in stronger (probably up to 20 knots) from the south--in Monterey, that›s a gusty offshore breeze. The race committee quickly re-set the course and got off a final (7th) race. In the standard fleet (7 boats) Lance edged out Marcel by a point. In the radial fleet Laird edged out Toshi, in part because he found the correct windward mark on the first race (there was a bit of confusion about there being a separate mark for the radial fleet). Top three finishers received awards of nice bottles of wine--

red for the standard fleet and white for the radials. A good time was had by all, and the hospitality of the MPYC was much appreciated. Scores: Standard (7 boats) 1. Lance Kim 2. Marcel Sloane 3. David Lapier Radial (8 boats) 1. Laird Henkel 2. Toshi Takayanagi 3. Robbie O’Brien Submitted by Laird Henkel Go for the Gold regatta We had another fun regatta at Scotts Flat Lake: “Go for the Gold Regatta” over the last weekend :) Clean water and beautiful weather. The wind was a bit light side, but at least our butts were on the deck for most of the time, and there was period in first day when we needed full hiking. The challenge was shifty wind, which sometimes ceased down for a while until the next wind filled in. There were cases when some sailers were leading by good amount, but this created opportunity the rest of the fleet caught up with them, essentially resetting the race! In addition to the good boat speed and course selection, patience and risk management were needed to do well. Submitted by Toshi Sadly I have to report the passing of Jim Christopher. He was a fierce competitor, a encyclopedia of the information and a friend. Jim was always willing to help and he will be missed by all that he touched.

District 25 Jorge Suarez SoCal In District 25, there is so much Laser Sailing all year long and especially when it begins to warm up! The weather is not the only encouraging force, so is the competition! Laser Midwinters West was held last March24-25 at Santa Barbara Yacht Club. They did a great job in combining tough sailing with a true beach feel to Laser sailing! Check out Ian Elliot’s report in this issue of the Laser Sailor. Also, Laser North American Championship will be held on July 12-15 at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, CA. This event is also the country qualiﬁer for the 2019 Pan American Games, so, there will be more to report in the next issue! Thank you for your patience!

SUMMER 2018

2019 Schedule Please contact the ILCA-NA ofďŹ ce if interested in hosting an event below: Regatta World Championship

NA Championship

Standard TBD

Brant Beach YC

Radial Women: TBD Youth: TBD Men: TBD Brant Beach YC

Laser 4.7

Masters

TBD

Brant Beach YC

40 GP points

Brant Beach, NJ July 18-21

Canadian Championships

District 6

US Championships

Lauderdale YC Ft Lauderdale, FL Jan 11-14

CORK

Kingston, ON www.cork.org August 16-21

Kingston, ON www.cork.org August 11-15

Midwinters East 30 GP points

Clearwater, FL www.clwyc.org Feb 21-24

USSCMC Jensen Beach, FL Mar 12-15

Midwinters West

TBD

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

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

Atlantic Coast Championships

District 10

Pacific Coast Championships

District 6

Gulf Coast Championships

District 14

No Coast Championships

TBD

Great Lakes Championships

District 20

District 6

30 GP points

Miami OCR

25 GP points

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!



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.



$10.11 of your dues goes to the International Class where they use the money to pay their staff to make sure world level events get scheduled, ensuring all the boats are the same by inspecting the builders to make sure they are complying with the Laser Construction Manual, keep track of rules changes proposed by members, interfacing with ISAF on various levels, including keeping both the Laser Standard and Laser Radial as Olympic equipment, etc.

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



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



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



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

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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 2000 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!

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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? 

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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.

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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.

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Your membership makes you eligible for the 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.

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To gain the beneﬁts of membership outlined above.

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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 2018

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 - $50 for one year or $95 for 2 years • Junior - $45 (Member may not turn 18 during term of membership), or $85 for 2 years (Member may not turn 18 during term of membership) • International - $60 (any member not living in the US or Canada), one year only

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

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

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

www.Laser.org

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED 2812 Canon Street, San Diego, CA 92106 2812 Canon Street, San Diego, CA 92106

Summer 18

SPRING 18

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE

PRESORTED PAID STANDARD San Dimas, CA U.S. POSTAGE Permit No. 410

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San Dimas, CA Permit No. 410