Spring 2020 Laser Sailor

6 continents, 122 countries - the biggest adult and youth racing class in the world Spring 2020

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www.Laser.org

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Official publication of the International Laser Class Association North American Region NEW OFFICE ADDRESS ILCA-NA 2478 West 1st Avenue Vancouver, BC V6K 1G6 Canada

Editors

Sherri Campbell & Jerelyn Biehl ILCA-NA

Officers Andy Roy Chairman 15 Claudette Court Peterborough, ON K9J 7Y7 Canada 647-984-8097 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 778-241-4799 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

The

LaserSailor SPRING 2020

District Contacts ......................................................................................................6 President’s Report.....................................................................................................8 ILCA-NA Office Administrative Changes ........................................................9 TuesdayTips - by Erika Reinke............................................................................10 Builder Update .......................................................................................................16 Regatta Reports

Midwinters East........................................................................................12

Florida Masters - Midwinters................................................................13

California Masters....................................................................................14

Great South Bay Fall Series ..................................................................34 Regatta Previews

ACC Masters..............................................................................................18

US Nationals...............................................................................................20 PCCs............................................................................................................20

No Coast Masters......................................................................................21

US Masters..................................................................................................21

Canadian Masters......................................................................................22

Gulf Coast Champs..................................................................................22

2020 Masters Calendar..........................................................................................15 2020 Event Schedule...............................................................................................19 District Reports.......................................................................................................

SailorCise - Kettlebell Training & Core Workout...........................................36 Why Join the Laser Class?....................................................................................38 Membership Applications.....................................................................................39

6 continents, 122 countries - the biggest adult and youth racing class in the world Spring 2020

Cover photo: Photographer Beau Outteridge captures an Aussie sailor planing downwind.

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District Contacts

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District 1

District 9

District 19

District 2

District 10

District 20

District 3

District 11

District 21

Claire Sears 506-650-8821 clairesears1@gmail.com Philippe Dormoy Ile Bizard, Quebec, H9C 2G8 514-808-0753 Pdormoy62@gmail.com Nigel Heath 416-417-0193 nigel_heath@manulife.com

District 4

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

District 5

Stephen Reichenfeld stephenreich@outlook.com

District 6

Dale Stranaghan West Vancouver BC 604-921-7575 x 231 sailingdirector@wvyc.ca www.district6x.ca

Peter Bushnell Cazenovia, NY 315-655-4671- peter.bushnell@carrier.com Eric Reitinger Mt. Laurel NJ Er4599@gmail.com http://d10.laserforum.org Scott Williamson laserfleet10@gmail.com 703-395-9654 http://www.laserdistrict11.org

District 12

Rob Bowden rbowden707@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

Billy Vogel D19Laser@gmail.com www.d19laser.org Troy Tolan 312-971-0420 ttroytolan@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

Christine Neville Laserd7@gmail.com

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

District 8

District 18

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

District 7

Wyz Mooney geewyz@gmail.com 516-287-0305 www.LaserD8.org

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

Tucker Strasser rtswoodworking@gmail.com

District 26

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President’s Message On behalf of all class members, both past and present, I want to express my sincere appreciation to Sherri Campbell and Jerelyn Biehl for their superb and professional dedication to our class over the past 16 years. Thank you, ladies, you will certainly be missed.

At the same time I am very to pleased to have announced the appointment of our new NA Class Exective Secretary, Isabella Bertold. We selected Isabella over several other very strong applications for the position. Isabella, who hails from Vancouver, has an impressive business education and work experience in the finance sector. Isabella has thrived in competitive, high-stakes environments, including as a World-Cup medalist in the Laser Radial and as a professional road cyclist. Isabella began sailing a Laser Radial at the age of 13 and, although she’s no longer competing on the World Cup ciricuit, she continues to sail the boat today. She told me recently that she can’t wait until she qualifies to race as a master.

Isabella is looking forward to connecting with our District Chairmen and is equally looking forward to connecting with regatta venues organizers (notwithstanind the regatta cancellations due to the virus).

As I write this the global Covid-19 pandemic has begun to significantly impact everyone’s lives. We are in uncharted waters, to say the least, and sailing is certainly well down the list on our minds these days.

I had originally planned to write this report on a flight to Australia on my way to the Laser Masters Worlds.

ILCA and the Geelong organizers had of course, no other choice but to indefinitely postpone the event.

This came at the same time regattas were being postponed or cancelled all over the world.

What does this all mean for the 2020 North American Laser regatta outlook? I know that many regatta hosts have either already cancelled their event or are rescheduling to the fall should the situation substantially improve.

Putting aside the far more important impact of the virus on everyone’s families, jobs and overall economic situation, it is difficult to predict where we’ll be when this year’s sailing season would normally be at its peak. It is unlikely sailing/yacht clubs will even be open for quite some time (I know that some

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have already closed).

Hopefully their gates and boatramps can remain open to members so Laser sailing can still be an option.

Some would naturally say that being out in a sailboat is a safe activity from the virus, as either contracting or spreading the virus should effectively be impossible out on a singlehanded boat; however, one has to ask right now that if a regatta wants to run an event, will volunteers even want to serve on race committees, etc.? Socializing will be disouraged, which of course takes a lot of fun out of a regatta. I am sensing (once again, as of this writing, and this is only my opinion) that sailing schools and formal Laser regattas will not be happening until at the earliest late summer or fall. This means that sailing for a while will likely be limited to small informal groups having informal rabbit-start racing. We are certainly in unprecedented and frightening times.

On the world Laser scene, including updates on new builders, I encourage interested members to regularly follow announcements released on the ILCA website (www.laserinternational.org/). Please also visit the NA class site for updates on regatta regatta rescheduling and cancellations.

In closing, I truly hope that all Laser sailors and their friends and loved ones stay well through these uncertain times.

Introducing - Isabella Bertold We would like to introduce you to Isabella Bertold, the new Executive Secretary for the North American Laser Class Association. Some of you will recognize Isabella’s name from past regatta results, and for those that don’t, read-on to learn more about her.

Isabella grew up dinghy racing in Vancouver, BC and spent the past 16 years on the Canadian National Laser Radial Team. She competed at ISAF Youth Worlds, multiple ILCA World Championships, and is a multiple medalist at World Sailing (ISAF) events. She was also awarded the Canadian Female Sailor of the Year Award multiple times throughout her career.

Isabella is an advocate for gender equality in sport and business, co-founding a women’s professional cycling team and actively mentoring Vancouver based female entrepreneurs.

A finance and entrepreneurship graduate from the Sauder School of Business, Isabella is looking looking forward to continued involvement with the North American Laser Class, only this time off the water.

QUICK Q&A WITH ISABELLA When did you first start sailing Lasers?

The first time I sailed a laser I was 13. Before that I raced Opti’s and I briefly sailed a Europe Dinghy.

What makes the Laser special to you?

I’ve sailed a lot of boats, different types of dinghies and various keelboats but I’m always drawn back to the Laser. I consider it to be one of the purest forms of the sport. In one-design racing the sailor needs to be connected to the boat, the wind, and the ocean. Because of the simplicity of the Laser, that connection needs to be even greater. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it!

You spent the majority of your laser sailing days racing on the World Cup Circuit and pursuing success at the Olympic level. What’s next?

I am counting down the years until I qualify for masters sailing. Until then I’ll race regattas when they suit my schedule.

I’ll always sail and race lasers, I love it way too much to ever “retire”.

What is your favourite on water snack?

Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich (gluten free bread).

Farewell from One Design Management A new era is about to begin for the North American Region. The class administration is transitioning this month after being under our care for the last fifteen years. Jerelyn and I have enjoyed our time with the Class but it is time for us to move on.

As many of you may know, I am an accountant by training so I’ll take this opportunity to play with some numbers. Since we started with administration of the Class in December 2004, we have processed over 31,000 memberships, published 31 issues of The Laser Sailor magazine, provided office and often on-site support for over 225 regattas, organized over 150 monthly executive committee conference calls, and made many, many great friends.

We would like to thank the hard working district secretaries and members of the Executive Committee for their volunteer efforts to help us to do our job. We wish the Class the very best of luck going forward. This is a time of new beginnings in the International Class (ILCA) with plenty of growth potential. Our successor, Isabella Bertold comes to the job with great insight, passion, and enthusiasm for all levels of the Class. We will do all we can to support the transition and set everyone up for success.

www.Laser.org

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Tuesday Tips ILCA-NA is lucky to have permission to run Erika Reineke’s popular Tuesday Tips features for 2020.

Please visit and support Erika through: Instagram: @amerikandreem website: www.erikareinekee.com

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by Erika Reineke

Tuesday Tips

www.Laser.org

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Regatta Reports 2020 Midwinters East Congratulations to Jackson McAliley (Laser 4.7), Chase Carraway (Standard), and Michael Burns (Radial) for their wins at the 2020 Laser Midwinters East Regatta.

Competitors saw a range of conditions over the four day events with strong winds and big seas providing challenging conditions on the middle two days.

While the Standard fleet was unusually small with only 18 competitors due to the timing of the 2020 World Championship, Chase Carraway commanded the group.

The Radial fleet at 84 competitors was large enough to warrant a fleet split to gold and silver after two days of qualification racing. Michael Burns and Nicholas Reeser battled for the win with Burns taking the top spot. Top female competitor was Amaya Escudero finishing 14th overall in the Gold Fleet. The Silver Fleet was won by Preston Weaver.

The largest Laser 4.7 Fleet ever for this regatta turned up at 41 competitors. These sailors have clearly been training hard and were up to the task of the big courses in challenging conditions. Jackson McAliley had a rough race 1 and then never looked back to take the win. The top female sailor was Lauren Russler in 10th place.

Thank you to Clearwater Yacht Club for hosting again this year.

Results 4.7 rig: Top 10 of 41 1. Jackson McAliley 2. Luca Perino E. Sebastian Medina 4. Tommie Grit 5. Paolo Perino 6. Sammy Clark 7. Noah Adler 8. Jake Homberger 9. Tyler Morris 10. Lauren Russler

Above: Radial Sailors on the podium Below: 4.7 winners

Radial: Top 10 of 42 1. Michael Burns 2. Nicolas Reeser 3. Daniel Escudero 4. Matthew Wallace 5. Mateo Di Blasi 6. Guthrie Braun 7. Chapman Petersen 8. Mathieu Dale 9. Rob Hallawell 10. Javier Garcon Full Rig: Top 5 of 18 1. Chase Carraway 2. Richie Gordon 3. Caleb Yoslov 4. Will Foox 5. Gage Schoenheer

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Regatta Reports 2020 Laser Master’s Florida Championship

By Dave Heibert On January 31 sixty-five laser master sailors made the journey to PBSC hoping for an opportunity to win the Jack Swenson Memorial Trophy and wearing the green jacket.

After 3 days of blue water ocean racing David Hiebert(standard) and Rob Hallawell(radial) win the Green Jacket.

This year’s winter series became an international competition with six countries being represented USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Spain, and Dominican Republic.

Day1 of racing offered perfect blue water conditions with plenty of sunshine, 12-15 knots of breeze and moderate seas for surfing. After 3 races with one mile legs against the current all competitors slept well Friday night. Standard rig top proved to be a tight group with Dave Chapin and Peter Shope leading the way. Rob Hallawell was leading the radial class with three bullets.

Day2 proved to be a bit challenging as a front approached with light winds and isolated thunderstorms forecasted. The first race was abandoned on leg 4 after the wind shut off 70 minutes into the race with the leaders 100 yards from the finish line. I could hear Dave Chapin saying a few nice words under his breath as he was leading the race. The second race started and completed under similar conditions, light and shifty with Gord Welsh coming out on top in the full rig and Rob Hallawell in the radial.

Day3 another great day to be on the water.

Temperature dropped Results Standard 1 David Hiebert 2 Dave Chapin 3 Ari Barshi 4 Ian Elliott 5 Gord Welsh Radial 1 Rob Hallawell 2 Paul Clifford 3 Mike Schmidt 4 Sean Guinness 5 Jean-Yvette Fillion www.Laser.org

a bit to high 50’s plenty of sunshine and winds 5-12 out of the west.

Because of the westerly direction the top mark was 100 yards off the beach in 10 ft of water with waves crashing just beyond.

This made for great spectator watching from the shoreline and may have distracted a few sailors observing the sun bathers. The race track proved to be a bit challenging with 30 degree shifts and 10 knot velocity changes. Hiebert/Hallawell managed to close out the day with double bullets for the overall win.

PBSC did a tremendous job hosting 2020 Florida Masters Championship. We all know it takes many volunteers to make it all work.

Quincy Bruckerhoff stepped up to the plate and handled all the shore operations. David Oswald and Fred DeNapoli managed all offshore operations flawlessly.

All the volunteers pulled together and hosted a very successful regatta, and from all the competitors we say thank you.

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Regatta Reports 2020 California Master’s

By David Leuck Mission Bay Yacht Club hosted the California Laser Masters Regatta February 22nd and 23rd. The regatta was held the weekend after SCYA Midwinters with ocean practice days and a clinic between the regattas.

Two weekends of racing with sailing opportunities midweek proved to be a big hit with sailors looking to escape colder climates. We are planning to add even more mid-week racing opportunities for 2021!

The tail end of a front rolled through Saturday morning causing the start to be delayed by an hour to avoid the remnants of thunder storms. Thirty boats lined up in 8 to 12 knots and oscillating breeze. The top boats found a clear lane off the start and were able to tack on shifts. It was tough to make the middle work but often the boats playing shifts on the left and right side of the course would come together within a boat length of each other at the top mark. This strategy seemed to work for most of the regatta. The down winds were a blast surfing open ocean swells that Southern California is famous for! We had two races on Saturday before the wind shut down. A flawless race committee pulled off four races on Sunday to allow for a drop race. The conditions on Sunday were a touch lighter but also a bit warmer with a spray top providing plenty of warmth. West Coast sailing in Portland Oregon 14

provided a keg of beer Saturday afternoon that was well received!

Tony Martin from JSCA in Vancouver sailed a solid regatta to take the win over Dave Leuck from MBYC. Tim Murphy from JSCA also sailed well to round out the top three. Full results are available at www. mbyc.org Mission Bay Yacht Club has every intention of growing the California Masters by running the event in conjunction with the SCYA Midwinters and providing more mid-week racing opportunities. This midwinter miniseries held in idyllic sailing conditions in the world class tourist destination of San Diego should be irresistible to Laser Masters Sailors from all over North America! We look forward to seeing you at next year’s event.

2020 Master’s Calendar Event NA Masters US Masters CAN Masters Great Lakes Masters Florida Masters Masters MWE Gulf Coast Masters ACCs PCCs NE Masters CA Masters Inland Masters Buzzards Bay Masters Chesapeake Bay Masters

Venue Santa Cruz YC New Bedford YC Brittania YC Chicago Corinthian YC Palm Beach SC USSSC Texas Corinthian YC Sail Newport Alameda CSC Wickford YC Mission Bay YC Gimli YC New Bedford YC Fishing Bay YC

City Santa Cruz, CA Dartmouth, MA Ottawa, ON Chicago, IL Palm Beach, FL Jensen Beach, FL Kemah, Texas Newport, RI Alameda, CA Wickford, RI Mission Bay, CA Gimli, Manitoba Dartmouth, MA Deltavilla, VA

Date Aug 14-16 Aug 7-9 Aug 21-23 July 11-12 Jan 31-Feb 2 Feb 4-7 Oct 3-4 May 30-31 June 27-28 Sept 12-13 Feb 22-23 July 31-Aug 2 Aug 7-9 Oct 17-18

WWW.USONEDESIGN.COM

71% of the Earth is covered by water, make it your playground.

www.Laser.org

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Builder Update Status on New Class Builder Process As almost all members will be aware, in response to World Sailing’s introduction of its Olympic Equipment Policy (OEP) all Olympic classes are now required to enter a process to satisfy the FRAND (Fair Reasonable And Non Discriminatory) requirements of the policy.

This required that we establish a process to identify and appoint suitable new builders, while recognizing the need to absolutely maintain the strict one-design nature of the class that has been a key to our success over the last 50 years. ILCA’s procedure for approving new builders, which was agreed with World Sailing and which is subject to ongoing oversight by the European Commission, is attached to this document.

This process had to address a number of issues, including the need for the class to move away from its traditional Laser trademarks, because these were not made available to new builders on a worldwide basis by the holders of those trademarks.

ILCA has now made good progress with the new builder process after some unanticipated delays as noted below. Shortly after World Sailing confirmed the class for the single-handed events in 2024 at their meeting in September 2019, ILCA proceeded to invite worldwide applications, requesting anyone interested in becoming a class builder to register with ILCA. These initial applications were then assessed against a published list of criteria. All initial applications received by ILCA were reviewed.

Some applications were deemed suitable as submitted to proceed to the detailed application stage. Others either required more information before a decision could be made or were deemed inadequate and rejected.

Formal applications were then received from selected builder applicants and these were reviewed by a committee which consisted of two ILCA representatives, one independent boatbuilding expert and a representative from World Sailing. The outcome of these assessments 16

is that to date 7 new builders have been offered the opportunity to move forward to become class builders. The list of these 7 was published on the ILCA website on 24th January 2020 (see: http:// www.laserinternational.org/blog/2020/01/24/ ilca- announces-list-of-new-builder-applicants/).

Concurrently with the process of identifying new builders ILCA have been commissioning new hull and deck moulds manufactured from master moulds owned by ILCA and held by a company in Europe. As in the past, to protect the one design nature of the class all builders will only be permitted to manufacture boats from moulds obtained from ILCA and made from the certified master mould. Production of moulds is not a quick process. ILCA was not in a position to fully commit to mould production until our Olympic status was fully confirmed in September so availability of moulds for new builders has been one constraint on new builders commencing production. It will be some months until all builders will have enough moulds to meet the anticipated level of full production required.

As of this writing, new moulds are now in the possession of three European companies vying to become approved as new builders. They are then required to complete their tooling and construct 10 trial boats to satisfy ILCA technical staff that they can construct boats in full compliance with the class manual. Only after these 10 boats are signed off by ILCA will they be able to commence commercial production. We envisage that they will also require additional moulds for full commercial production and, as noted above, mould production will continue as quickly as possible to meet this demand. Moulds will be shipped to the balance of the new builders around the world as they become available.

Once the new builders have fully signed the commercial contracts they will immediately be able to commence purchase and selling of sails and equipment from the currently approved ILCA suppliers. They will be able to decide their

Builder Update own sales mechanisms, direct sales, dealer sales, internet sales etc. There is no geographic or sales method limitation in the new builder contracts.

Of course, the same applies to the two currently approved builders -- PSA and PSJ also will have no geographic or sales method limitation on their contracts either.

We also note that to comply with the World Sailing OEP and European Commission rules, ILCA is committed to undertaking a similar process to identify and approve new sail and equipment suppliers. This process will get underway as soon as we have the resources available, which we now expect to be mid-2020.

It is therefore our expectation that we will see new builders placing orders for sails and other class legal equipment in the next month. Sale of hulls and complete boats will take longer due to the technical approval process, so unfortunately, we expect it to be months rather than weeks before we see new boats available for purchase from the new builders. However, once they do have commercial production underway sailors can look forward to a fully competitive marketplace where they will be able to select suppliers on any criteria they choose; price, service, availability etc.

So, in summary, after some unexpected delays for which we can only apologize, the class is now poised to see new builders in the market worldwide. Initially, parts and equipment should be available from new builders and then as soon as they successfully complete the rigorous trial build requirements, they will be able to sell new boats to sailors around the world.

All boats, regardless of who builds them, will be built off identical moulds to identical specifications and we expect no performance difference between boats from different manufacturers. Part of the World Sailing Olympic approval process was a requirement for tighter tolerances to be introduced for some features of the boat and these new, tighter tolerances are included in the new contracts, which should ensure that all new boats are even more consistent than ever before. ILCA will be adding additional technical staff to oversee this process and ensure ongoing compliance with the strict one- design standards of the class.

www.Laser.org

Photo below: Lake Tahoe, home of the Laser Pacific Coast Champs 2020. Photo by Gerard Sheridan

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Regatta Previews ATLANTIC COAST MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP May 30-31

After a mild winter in New England, Sail Newport looks forward to kicking off the 2020 season with the Laser Masters Atlantic Coast Championship.

In the last 2 summers, Sail Newport has played host to the 2018 I-420 World Championship, the 2018 and 2019 USODA New England Championships and the 2019 C420 National Championship. Dinghy racing is part of our blood in Newport, and with strong support from our die-hard laser sailors of the infamous local fleet 413, we look forward to hosting a wonderful laser event with friends old and new. We expect this year’s fleet to surpass 50 boats with some extremely talented local sailors already planning their victory speech as we speak!

For those who haven’t visited our facilities in the last two years, Sail Newport now has a new home on Newport Harbor in our beautiful 3 story facility with showers, new offices, meeting rooms for our jury and plenty of deck space to relax and enjoy some food and a beverage after a long day of racing on Narragansett Bay. Please visit https://phlotilla.com/#/ eventview/sUgoQ0e7nAHPTuuMmxhJ for regatta information including Notice of Race and registration which are now posted.

Historic downtown Newport offers a wide range of great dining, live music, bars and entertainment. With so much to do, it’s an excellent town to bring your family for the weekend as well! Housing and dining options can be found at DiscoverNewport.org. We also recommend local AirBnB options which many families have chosen in recent years with close proximity to Sail Newport. We hope you’re all 18

staying safe during this time and we look forward to seeing so many of you at Sail Newport in May. Please contact Regatta Director Matt Duggan (Matt.Duggan@sailnewport.org) with any questions.

Arrive at your next regatta in style with a Dynamic Dolly-Trailer Combo System!

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2020 Schedule Regatta

Standard

Radial

Laser 4.7

Masters

Melbourne, AUS Feb 9-16 U21: Malcesine, ITA July 26-Aug 2

Women & Men: Melbourne, AUS Feb 21-28 Youth: Dziwnow, POL, Aug

Arco, ITA July 16-24

Geelong, AUS Mar 19-28

St Francis YC San Francisco, CA

St Francis YC San Francisco, CA

St Francis YC San Francisco, CA

west coast

CORK Kingston, ON July 3-5

CORK Kingston, ON July 3-5

CORK Kingston, ON July 3-5

US Championships

Norfolk YC Norfolk, VA June 12-14

Norfolk YC Norfolk, VA June 12-14

Norfolk YC Norfolk, VA June 12-14

New Bedford YC South Dartmouth, MA August 7-9

CORK

Kingston, ON www.cork.org August 14-18

Kingston, ON www.cork.org August 14-18

Kingston, ON www.cork.org August 10-14

na

Midwinters East

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

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

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

USSCMC Jensen Beach, FL Feb 4-7

Midwinters West 30 GP points

Alamitos Bay YC Long Beach, CA March 20-22

Alamitos Bay YC Long Beach, CA March 20-22

Alamitos Bay YC Long Beach, CA March 20-22

na

Atlantic Coast Championships

D1

D1

D1

Sail Newport Newport, RI May 30-31

Pacific Coast Championships

Tahoe YC Tahoe City, CA July 25-26

Tahoe YC Tahoe City, CA July 25-26

Tahoe YC Tahoe City, CA July 25-26

Alameda CSC Alameda, CA June 27-28

Gulf Coast Championships

Texas Corinthian YC Kemah, TX Oct 3-4

Texas Corinthian YC Kemah, TX Oct 3-4

Texas Corinthian YC Kemah, TX Oct 3-4

No Coast Championships

Crescent Sail YC Grosse Pointe Farms, MI July 31-Aug 2

Crescent Sail YC Grosse Pointe Farms, MI July 31-Aug 2

Crescent Sail YC Grosse Pointe Farms, MI July 31-Aug 2

Great Lakes Championships

Rochester YC Rochester, NY Sept 12-13

Rochester YC Rochester, NY Sept 12-13

Rochester YC Rochester, NY Sept 12-13

World Championship

22-30

NA Championship 40 GP points

Canadian Championships 30 GP points

30 GP points

30 GP points

30 GP points

July 15-19

July 15-19

July 15-19

25 GP points

25 GP points

25 GP points

25 GP points

25 GP points

www.Laser.org

Britannia YC Ottawa, ON August 21-23

Chicago Corinthian YC Chicago, IL July 11-12

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Regatta Previews US NATIONAL LASER CHAMPIONSHIP June 12-14

Big Blue Sailing Academy at Old Dominion University is hopeful that the 2020 Laser Nationals are still a go on June 12-14! At this time we are planning on running the event; should anything change we will alert everyone as soon as possible. Located at the Old Dominion University Sailing Center, Big Blue Sailing Academy (BBSA) is home to several learn to sail camps as well as an elite youth Radial team. BBSA is run by ODU Head Coach Mitch Brindley and has hosted several major events in the last few years, including 2015 ICSA Singlehanded Nationals, 2017 USODA Nationals, 2018 ICSA Dinghy Nationals and 2019 C420 Mid Atlantics.

Centrally located in Norfolk, VA, it is easy to get here from just about anywhere. A day’s drive from New England, or Florida, and an international airport make this venue accessible for all. The racing area is planned for Hampton Roads Harbor by Middleground Lighthouse. With temperatures in the mid 80s and historical wind between 10-14 knots SSW, we are a true open water venue. The water will be warm, and with an easy ramp launch and parking lot boat park, getting on the water is a breeze.

Norfolk has endless options for the family off the water. The beach is a quick 20 minute drive from the venue, downtown has a plethora of shops and restaurants, Nauticus and the Battleship Wisconsin, and for those looking to get outside, Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens are a 45 minute drive away.

Registration fee includes 3 days of racing, Saturday dinner, and giveaway bag. There are plenty of hotels and AirBnbs in the area for housing. Please see our registration page on Regatta Network https://www. regattanetwork.com/event/19957 for more information and contact info.

PACIFIC COAST CHAMPIONSHIP July 24-26 Hello Laser Sailors, The Tahoe Yacht Club cordially invites you to participate in the 2020 Laser Pacific Coast Championships to be held July 24-26. This event is open to all Laser Standards, Radials and 4.7’s.

Lake Tahoe is one of the most pristine and picturesque sailing venues in the world. Imagine how good the crystal clear and clean waters will feel beneath the snow-capped peaks. Our typical breeze of 8-14 knots kicks up in the afternoon. Your entry fee includes three days of racing, several social events, regatta dinner and event souvenirs. Afternoon racing means that you get to play for the first half of the day. Hiking, biking, stand up paddle boarding, and more is all part of the fun. This is a family-friendly venue with lots of activities for all.

The Tahoe Yacht Club is located in Tahoe City on the northwest shore of Lake Tahoe. There are plenty of nearby affordable hotels, motels, VRBO/AirBnB and campground opportunities. The boats launch from the Lake Forest Boat Ramp located about 2 miles from the clubhouse. Our gorgeous clubhouse has a fabulous view of Lake Tahoe, the mountains and overlooks the Tahoe City Marina. During the event, all boats can be stored on the grassy lawn at Pomin Field next to the launch site.

THIS IS A NOT TO BE MISSED EVENT! We look forward to seeing you here.

Go to www.TahoeYC.com to view the Notice of Race and to register.

For specific information contact: Regatta Chair - Lynn Mullen, LMULLEN52@HOTMAIL.COM Clubhouse General Manager - Andrew gm@TahoeYC.com

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Regatta Previews NO COAST MASTERS LASER CHAMPIONSHIP July 31-Aug 2 Sail West in conjunction with The Laser No Coast Masters Championships will be held August 1-3, 2020 at The Gimli Yacht Club. Gimli Yacht Club has a long history of hosting major sailing events, including The Pan Am Games in 1967 and 1999, The World Boardsailing Championships in 1994, as well as many Canadian and North American Laser Championships. Gimli Yacht Club is situated a short one-hour drive north of Winnipeg and is situated on the 11th largest fresh water lake in the world, extending close to 500 km in length.

The event will be held in conjunction with The Icelandic Festival. The Gimli area is home to the largest Icelandic settlement outside of Iceland and is very proud of their Icelandic heritage. It will be on full display over the weekend of the regatta. We anticipate 90 competitors from Canada, USA and Europe will make their way to Gimli for this highly competitive event, 40 - 50 of which will be Masters Sailors.

In advance of the regatta, there will be a three day racing clinic July 29-31, with special guest coaches Angelo Tabernero Cortes and Judith Krimski Angelo will be coaching the advanced race group and Judith the intermediate race group Angelo is a highly sought after international Laser coach from Barcelona, Spain . Angelo’s credentials are impressive. He’s been coaching Laser sailors worldwide for the past 15 years. He also coaches with the Spanish Sailing Federation, coaching the youth national team.

Judith is from the Boston area and has made a name for herself in Cabarete, Dominican Republic, where she has been a mainstay coach at the Cabarete Sailing Centre for the past several years. Judith has focused her coaching with Masters Laser sailors, although has spent much of her time coaching youth sailors as well.

Judith connects well with Masters sailors, because she truly understands the struggles Master Laser sailors experience when they didn’t sail as youths. She is a great teacher and her style resonates well with newer and intermediate Laser sailors.

US MASTERS NATIONAL LASER CHAMPIONSHIP Aug 7-9 New Bedford Yacht Club, South Dartmouth, MA For almost as long as our class has existed, North American laser sailors have circled on the calendar the first weekend in August as the dates for the epic Buzzards Bay Regatta (BBR). Famous for the legendary Buzzards Bay sea breeze, open water sailing conditions, outstanding race management and warm shore-side hospitality at the host New Bedford Yacht Club (NBYC), the BBR has been a “must-do” 3-day event for one-design sailors, and laser sailors in particular. In the past few years, the event for lasers was transformed into the Buzzards Bay Laser Masters Championship, and is widely regarded by the competitors as the best regatta of the summer — Easy launching, great sailing conditions, responsive and quality race management, and a welcoming yacht club that truly appreciates the Masters sailors. We are very excited that this year, this event comprises the U.S. Laser Masters Championship.

For more information: http://www.buzzardsbayregatta.com NOR/registration – Stay tuned to ILCA.org Housing options will be available when registration goes live.

To tempt your accompanying persons: https://www.visitpadanaram.com/ Tune up at The John Bentley Regatta @NBYC, June 27, 2020, a 1-day open laser event.

www.Laser.org

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Regatta Previews CANADIAN MASTERS LASER CHAMPIONSHIP Aug 21-23 Britannia Yacht Club, Ottawa, ON For those who have not been, Lac Duschenes on the Ottawa River supports a vibrant sailing community and is home to one of North America’s largest active Masters fleets at the Britannia Yacht Club. Just ask Laser greats like Andy Roy, Al Clarke, Bill Fuller, Sally Sharp and Ray Davies.

‘We come for the stiff competition and good breeze, but most of all; we come for the great hospitality and party.’

BYC is excited to be hosting this year’s Canadian Masters Championships from Friday Aug 21st to Sunday the 23rd. Here is some of what you can expect; dinners and breakfast included, 2 nights with live music watching the sun set over the river, pre-regatta clinic (for those interested), coaching, post-race libations to help in derigging, some billeting and a great time. Rumor has it that Peter Seidenberg already has this on his calendar.

If you have not been to Ottawa in the summer, you will not be disappointed. Festivals, historic sites, craft breweries, cycling trails, galleries and museums are all around.

The Notice of Race, registration details and regatta information will be posted on the BYC website at www.byc. ca. The NOR will get posted to the NA ILCA site as well.

For more information, please reach out to canadianlasermasters2020@byc.ca See you soon.

GULF COAST LASER CHAMPIONSHIP Oct 3-4 Texas Corinthian Yacht Club Kemah, TX TCYC is looking forward to hosting all Laser sailors at our club in October. It is an excellent time to sail in Texas! We promise easy launching and short sail out to the racecourse, Texas hospitality at our club and fun for all. There are plenty of accommodation options nearby including Days Inn, Holiday Inn and Springhill Suites.

Bring the family, we are located 15 minutes from NASA and 5 minutes from the Kemah Boardwalk.

Regatta: Three fleets are planned – Laser Standard, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7. Each fleet must have a minimum of 5 entries.

Racing Area: Galveston Bay NOR: stay tuned Questions: Regatta Chair – Malinda Crain mrcrain@gmail.com

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District Reports District 5 Stephen Reichenfeld Alberta/Saskatchewan

The ice is still thick on our local waters but no doubt spring will arrive and we will once again be able to set sail. A number of our D5 Masters group have been on the water through the winter in areas ranging from Portugal to Dominican Republic to Florida and California. (Insert MBYC photo) There were 3 - D5 Masters attending the World Masters in Geelong, Australia but the event was cancelled at the last minute leaving Lesley and Glynis in Australia with no Worlds regatta to attend, and Richard Q. cancelling on the way to the airport as the news became increasingly dire.

Time will tell how it will all play out, we are certainly in interesting times. At the time of writing your author is sequestered in Australia where at least Sunday racing continues in Sydney Harbour.

Meanwhile … On the Canadian Prairies the upcoming season is scheduled to start in May with 3 consecutive Alberta Sailing sponsored Youth and Masters race training camps hosted at: Camp 1/ CYC May 9-10, Camp 2/ EYC May 16-18 and Camp 3/ CYC/GSC May 23-24.

Provided at no additional charge for the coaching by Alberta Sailing, over the years these training sessions have proven to be a great opportunity to learn new skills and get tuned up for the season. Sailors can go to info@ albertasailing.com for details. Saskatchewan sailors can check with sasksail.com for local activity. Come and join in! (Insert photo of recreational Laser sailor) In the midst of all the current challenges sailing in Alberta D5 still has much to celebrate and is getting national recognition! The grassroots is where our future Laser and other sailors will come from and for 2019 Sail Canada made the following awards.

William Abbott Sr. Sail Training Program of the Year – Glenmore Sailing School (GSS), Calgary Instructor of the Year – Braden Gray (GSS) Volunteer of the Year – Nollind van Bryce (insert photo of awards) We may sail on ponds by comparison to many but our ripples are carrying far! Congratulations to all the award recipients. Well deserved recognition. A complete list can be found at Sail Canada, https://www.sailing.ca/the-2019sail-canada-award-recipients-are/ I hope to see you on the water soon!

Cheers, Stephen R. Keep Calm and Sail On.

www.Laser.org

District 7 Christine Neville/Scott Pakenham/ Christopher “Nephew” Bollengier New England Welcome to history in the making! Wow what is going on? Companies giving away their business, selfquarantines, overloaded hospitals, and the market hitting 20-year lows. Well at least our passion will thrive, after all if your told to keep 6 feet away from another person where better to do this than in a Laser/ILCA Dingy. Singlehanded sailing is one of the earliest forms of Social Distancing and you don’t need a Class 40 or IMOCA to do it on!

The Fallout- Cedar Point Frostbiting has canceled until further notice, the Marblehead Laser fleet has also been suspended while in the early stages, Bristol Yacht Club just finished their series, Newport? Currently we are sneaking in under the radar, with a starting line made larger we are able to supply the required 6-foot rule and everyone gets a front row start!! Well at least for the first couple weeks of this situation.

Newport’s Fleet 413 is all about numbers this season so far, we have had 20 racing days with 6 races each, 120 races in the season, at least a dozen recalled starts just this past Sunday alone and 5 weeks still to go. That’s a lot of horns blasting in the harbor! Our resident PRO Moose McClintock has a new job, University Of Rhode Island Sailing team coach! With his new assignment we have some goods and some bads. The goods….More sailors, this season our youth brigade has grown exponentially: URI has supplied Parker Colantuono, Zach Champney, Meghan Haviland, Aiden Naughton, Will McKiege, Ben Rosenberg, AJ Kozaritz and his brother Nick, Coast Guard has sent Gage Schoenherr and Richie Gordon, Conner Nelson and Gabe Hannon from Brown University, Aili Moffett has been a long time 413 member but now we get to put a Conn College next to her name, Northeastern students Adrian Van Der Wal and Ted Bjerregaard know the Newport harbor well as they are locals, just like Stanford University’s John Kirkpatrick, and U of South Florida student Marina Barzaghi, Seattle resident and Roger Williams Sophomore Grant Gridley has made great use of the 413 fleet boats for this and last season. Not wanting to wait for University time to be challenged our fleet has been blessed with future greatness in the likes of Olin GuckBarrington High School, Abbey Grandon- Rocky Hill High School, Tyler Bergendahl from Stonington Connecticut, and Evan Spaulding of MSMHS. The future is bright with these kids, the bad came when college season started as we sent our best wishes for Moose and his crew when he went on partial 413 retirement to coach this team to victories. As of this writing, Moose is back and plans on running top notch racing in Newport.

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District Reports Come and sail, just maintain your radius for healthy living!

Major regattas that haven’t been canceled have been Florida Masters Championships that had Connecticut resident and Marblehead Native Rob Halliwell sailing fast to win the Green jacket for the Radial fleet. While Peter Shope just didn’t have it for the Florida boys which held him to 5th place. The week later he had his revenge at the Masters Midwinters in Jensen Beach, Peter the Great won with a cushion of 19 points after handicap rules were applied (sorry Gord!!). Other New England sailors to see the sun: Mark Bear, Will Donaldson, Scott Pakenham, Peter Seidenberg, and Dave Penfield (yup that one) look for future laser specific training articles from his wife and my old summer camp nurse!

Laser/ILCA Midwinters East had some Patriots fans in the mix, Abby Grandon (413) and Tyler Bergendahl (413/ MudRatz) worked their best in the 4.7 fleet, watch out for these 2 in upcoming years.

Speaking of Newport here is what they have in store, Masters ACC May 30 and 31, an awesome location just before the summer rush. Get over 35 and get here for some excellent races. The second show is on July 11 and 12 our boat will be the smallest vessel but if history holds, the largest fleet for the Newport Regatta. One of the original multiclass regattas, the Laser has boasted record participation and has routinely won the Dr Robin Wallace Trophy for the best performance in the regatta. The third event is a new one, The Newport Dingy Regatta, on August 29 and 30 Sail Newport will host their new dingy event.

Custom made to keep the small boats racing while the keel boats are making lunches in their galley’s. 505’s, F18’s, Thistles and VX One’s made up the multicrew boats and the Laser/ILCA Full Rig, Radial Rig and 4.7 rigs are the only singlehanded invitee. Cap your stellar season with this one!

Masters sailing will have the above ACC’s in Newport, The Nationals during the Buzzards Bay Regatta at New Bedford Yacht Club in August 7, 8, and 9, and the New England Championship once again in Wickford Rhode Island in the Fall.

Keep posted to our web page for District 7 racing every weekend this spring and summer.

Some great races to hit and our beginning schedule • April 26: Pete Milne’s Regatta, Newport, RI • May 2: Connecticut River Leukemia Cup, Essex, CT • May 17: Cedar Point Spring Regatta, Westport, CT • May 30: Massapoag YC Regatta, Sharon, MA • June 6-7: Wickford Regatta, Wickford, RI • June 27: John Bentley Regatta, New Bedford, MA • July 11-12: Newport Regatta, Newport, RI • July 23-26: Marblehead NOOD, Marblehead, MA

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July 25-26: Lipton Cup Regatta, Quincy, MA • July 26: Sachem’s Head YC Regatta, Guilford, CT • July 31-Aug 2 : Hyannis Regatta, Hyannis, MA--District 7 Champs • August 7-9: Buzzards Bay Regatta, New Bedford, MA • August 29-30: Newport Dingy Regatta, Sail Newport RI • October 3-4: Fontelieu One Design Regatta, Westport, CT See More at laserdistrict7.blogspot.com Keep your fingers crossed for Zim Sailing of Bristol Rhode Island to gain approval and licensing to Build ILCA Dingys’ here in New England. Bringing back a steady USA/North American boat and parts supply would be great support for our athletes and fleets.

Up to the minute news had been delivered by telephone just today, regattas are suffering, Australian Masters Champs were cut in half and the 2020 Masters worlds will not happen. Intercollegiate sailing has been canceled with no true indicator as to who was 2019/20’s fastest schools. High School sailing is following a week to week assessment for when they can resume their season.

With reduced organized events please don’t forget there is always a ton of fun to be had in just getting out on the water hopping on a plane and riding the waves.

Sail Fast, have fun and wash your hands.

Photos by Sparky Malarkey’s father Joe •

District 8 Elizabeth Mooney Rhode Island

The winter sailing series at Seawanhaka Yacht Club in Oyster Bay has seen some strange weather this year. Most Sundays have favored the light-air sailors and taxed the race committee with winds hovering between 4-6 knots. To date, however, we have managed to run 77 races and usually have an about 12 sailors who are willing to brave the cold and challenging conditions. We are approaching the end of the winter season but want to encourage all

District Reports Laser sailors to come sail in the D8 Spring Fling which is being held on Saturday, April 6, 2019.

10oo hours registration; 1100 competitors’ meeting; 1200 first gun. For further registration information, contact the chair of Winter Sailing, David Kruse at WinterSailing@Seawanhaka.org. For additional D8 events, go to the D8 website, http://www.laserd8. org/. We are in the process of updating the D8 2019 schedule; if you have events you would like to add, please email wyz mooney at geewyz@gmail.com.

District 10 Eric Reitinger New Jersey

Er4599@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ groups/1384665518239646/ We did have a few folks travel down to Midwinters East and Master’s Midwinters. Monmouth did have a solid frostbite series with at least 57 races and at least 27 different sailors over the series.

This is the latest District calendar of events. They can change due to our ever-changing health situation. As always please check your emails from me as well as the Facebook group for updates.

District 9 Peter Bushnell Upstate New York Plans are now in place for the 2020 sailing season, including the Great Lakes Championship which will be held at the Rochester YC on Sept 12-13. Note that the schedule is a bit different from past years with some new events. The D9 Grand Prix will be held at Willow Bank YC as a one-day on August 22. Thanks to everyone involved in planning and hosting this year! Check out the ILCA-NA D9 website for details and postings in the event of a change in plans. Looking forward to seeing you on the water ~~~/)/)~/)~~ LASER DISTRICT 9 – 2020 – REGATTA PLAN May 24 (Sunday), Ithaca YC, Wine Keg Regatta May 30, Saratoga Sailing Club, Saratoga Derby June 6, Seneca YC, Thistle/Laser regatta ** to be confirmed ** July 11-12, Centrals on Sodus, Sodus Bay Jr Sailing Association July 18, Thousand Island Park Yacht Club July 25, Seneca YC, Doug Wisor Regatta Aug 1-2, Junior Olympics, RYC, Rochester Aug 8, Newport YC, Rochester Aug 22, D9 Grand Prix / Death Roll Regatta, Willow Bank YC Sept 6 (Sunday), Northern Lake George YC, 50/50 Laser Regatta Sept 12-13, Great Lakes Championship, Rochester YC Sept 19, Otsego Sailing Club, Glimmerglass Regatta Oct 11 (Sunday), Henderson Harbor YC

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TBD Marsh Creek Spring 3/29, 4/5, 4/19, 4/26 – Toms River Spring Series 5/9 - Shrewsbury Spring 5/16 - Monmouth Spring 5/23 Plank Regatta @ Shore Acres 5/30-31 Orange Coffee Pot and District 10 Championships @ Surf City YC 7/1 - Jr. Commodores Regatta @ Surf City YC 7/2 - Feed the Need Jr Regatta @ Pine Beach YC 7/9 - Iron Man Jr Regatta @ Shore Acres 7/10 - Powder Puff Jr Regatta @ Metedeconk 7/18-8/6 Every Thursday Atlantic Highlands Thursday Night Series 7/20-21 - Jr Olympics @ Island Heights YC 7/24 - Beachwood Blast @ Beachwood YC 8/2 - Summer Sailing Classic Jr Regatta @ Ocean Gate 8/16 - MAYRA Laser Championships @ Corinthian Yacht Club of Cape May 8/30 - Laser Regatta @ Lake Naomi 9/26-27 Laser Master’s Regatta @ Brant Beach 10/10 - Marsh Creek Fall TBD - Monmouth Fall

District 11 Scott Williamson Virginia/Maryland The 2019-2020 Frostbite Season kept us active on the Chesapeake Bay. In Annapolis at Severn Sailing Association, 72 sailors registered for Series 1 (November 17 thru January 19) and 54 sailors registered for Series 2 (January 28 thru March 15). Great breeze marked the first series and moderate to light winds characterized the second.

This winter was so mild that many of our Sunday races were blessed with sunshine and often felt like late Fall or early Spring – never really Winter.

Congratulations to our victors in each series:

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District Reports Charles Anderson (Series 1 Champion – Laser) Ted Morgan (Series 1 Champion – Laser Radial) Charles Anderson (Series 2 Champion – Laser) David Petty (Series 2 Champion – Laser Radial) Here are some photos from Ted Morgan while he was on RC Duty, day 5 of Series 2.

Tight start in 5 kt breeze in Annapolis Harbor.

Dorian Haldeman on a beautiful run on the sun.

We ended each race day with some drinks and a fire-pit to recap the fun. On our 7th race day of Series 2, we were

treated to some drone coverage and video interviews

by Carlos Linares (a.k.a Zeno Dux). You can see sailor interviews and some of the races on YouTube by searching zenodux s2d7.

Looking ahead, we are preparing for the Spring Regattas in our area.

3/21-22, Capital City Laser Regatta @ PRSA 4/18-19, Spring Series @ SSA 5/2-3, Sunshine Open @ SSA Registration details are online at LaserDistrict11.wordpress. com. Hope to see you there!

District 12 Rob Bowden Carolinas, Georgia I’d like to start off with a little blurb regarding my take on the “state” of our class. THE ILCA. If anyone wants to understand my position just check out my posts on Sailing

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Anarchy. I post under “RobbieB”. I’m also on The Laser Forum as “RobB”.

The world is full of change. Change MUST happen to support growth. Nothing falls apart faster or in a more permanent way than sitting on idle hands. Beginning about a year ago from this writing our class leadership, (who I happen to know several of on a decent enough level) carefully and deliberately began measures to ensure the successful future of the boat we all know and love so well. First, on a builder sustainability level (after years of being falsely placated with an unchanging dialogue) and second from a standpoint of remaining in the Olympics.

They proposed changes in July which ILCA class members overwhelmingly voted “YES” for which allowed for the class to drop the “Laser” branding and look for additional builders. Since that time, they have been working tirelessly to move forward with the process of getting our new insignia, “ILCA” going as well as the process of procuring new builders. All the while dealing with the, (what I perceive to be) noise and useless distractions presented by a few disgruntled members and the ramblings/unpredictable moves of the now ex-monopolistic builder, (who all the while has had multiple chances to be reinstated as a builder, but refused to accept the necessary terms required to do so).

I’ve been in the work force for 30+ years. I’ve worked for large $20 Billion+ Global companies and small $1 million-dollar local mom & pop shops. The one thing I’ve learned in my profession is “Sales cures all ales”, is 1st and Keeping your customers happy is 2nd. So, what does all of this mean to us, the ground level Laser sailors?

Don’t get distracted by the noise! Seriously, “Keep calm and sail on.” Stoke the grass roots level ILCA fire! Keep up the attendance level in your district! Help people find boats. Help them find parts. Help them join the ILCA! Do whatever you need to do to keep them on the water and most of all…HAVING FUN, (we are our own customers.

Let’s keep ourselves happy!)! Trust me, (from a guy who has survived buyouts, work force reductions, a new boss every 6 months, marital status changes..ok, TMI.) as long as we focus on what’s directly in front of us all will be well! Let the folks who make the big bucks, (kidding) worry about the big issues and trust they know exactly what they are doing. There’s a light at the end of this tunnel and it’s beginning to get brighter! Spring is about to, er, a, sprung! Let’s get out there and make it happen!

Now, let’s talk about what ILCA is REALLY all about!

D12 is off to a fantastic start for 2020! Multiple area fleets are having frostbite series for the first time in years. Others who started a few years ago are seeing growth. I, as the Laser “match maker” have been plenty busy sourcing used boat deals for people wanting to get themselves theirs kids or both into the fun!

We officially kicked off our 2020 season during the weekend of February 22-23 with two Advanced/

District Reports

Intermediate coached clinics. Both Radial and Full rigs had their own coach. The clinic happened in Charleston and was hosted by one of the area’s most prominent YC’s. (so prominent we’re not allowed to tag them in pics or tell you who they are or we’d have to kill you…I guess).

Charleston local Lucas Sawin coached the 13-boat radial clinic and 2016/2020 Peruvian Olympic Laser sailor Stefano Peschiera was able to take time from his busy schedule to let 16 full rig sailors in on some of his secrets.

It was an intense/packed two days with some folks driving as far as 6 hours to attend. While it was cold there was enough breeze that we could sail, but not too much to make wind chill a big factor. Each water session was followed by on shore debriefs with video of sailors from the day.

Saturday night we enjoyed a great time at local dive Salty Mike’s.

The sailors left the clinic asking for more! D12 plans to do at least one more clinic in 2020, but from lessons learned we’ll back down the numbers on each clinic to 8 sailors per coach. 13-16 is just too many for one person to keep up with. While it made the clinic very affordable it significantly reduced the one on one attention coaches were able to give.

Lucas and Stefano did excellent jobs for us! Big thanks to both of you and good luck Stefano! Let’s keep our fingers crossed this Coronavirus goes away soon and the Olympics proceed as planned!

The second big event in D12 was our first Regatta of the season. For the first time ever D12 held an event at Lake Lanier Sailing Club outside of Atlanta, GA, (some newly acquired D12 territory). Martine Rawlings Zurinskas did a FANTASTIC job of promoting this event via social media and even direct mailers!

The event was attended by 19 full rig sailors and 12 radial sailors. 30+ boats folks! Not bad for a first shot at a new venue and our first event of 2020!

Martine followed her amazing pre-regatta work with fantastic hosting at LLSC. We were treated to your basic regatta breakfast fare on Saturday then an amazing, one of everything, dinner Saturday night with beer and choice of wine to drink and then, (not over yet) a fantastic pancake and sausage breakfast Sunday morning! After 2 nights of camping in low 30’s temps the bulky, warm food was MUCH welcomed. Like she said, “I can’t control what

www.Laser.org

happens with the weather, but I can make sure y’all have a GREAT time on shore.” Well done Martine and many thanks!

RC did an exceptional job of getting in 6 races with your typical inland post front lake conditions. With the exception of the last leg of R3 on Saturday ALL races were sailed on square courses and set at nice lengths. Following Saturdays sailing the scores were tight. 1st and 2nd were separated by 1 pt. 4th through 9th were separated by just 3 pts with 2 ties mixed in!

Sunday people had their winter “dust” shaken off and it was a little “livelier” on the course with at least one general recall and a few OCS’s. People were not leaving much on the table with mark rounding’s and crossing’s which led to a few animated on the water discussions, (and some turns-yes, me included) as well as thoughtful post-race discussions. It was nice that no one had to visit “the room” and all matters were settled both on and in off the water discussions.

Pressure ruled the course both days. If you were in it, you were in it! If not, you could become a spectator pretty quickly. I found course “vision” to be key. You had to keep your head out of the boat to identify where the pressure was coming from and get to it. Sometimes you could use it to gain, sometimes you could use it to get back in the game. One thing for sure was when you missed it you were set back. Sunday races spread the results out a bit and like all events consistency ruled.

Here are the results: Full Rig

Radial 1. Robert Burke 1. Will Rucker 2. Stanley Hassinger 2. Tavia Smith 3. Marten Kendrick 3. Addison Jones 4. Robert Key 4. Ashton Loring 5. Jason Rucker 5. Parker Thran 6. Robert Bowden 6. Garner Mobley 7. Marcus Moehlman 7. Alex Bagnoni 8. Eli Putnam 8. Kate Zurinkas 9. Marian Evatt - top female 9. John Rhodes 10. Taz Coffey 10. Kaitlyn Bagnoni 11. William Gilden-Old Fart 11. Murphy Olson 12. TJ O’Brien 12. Nancy Rhodes 13. Craig Scheiblauer 14. Steve Jones 15. Dan Bagnoni 16. Clay Mobley 17. Scott Olson 18. Jaime Espinosa 19. Tony Stanley Next event for D12 will be May 30/31 with our annual pilgrimage to Savannah, GA and SYC. The club recently had a BIG multi-million-dollar face lift and offers, what I refer to as, “5 Star facilities”. The pool and cabana area,

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District Reports (along with attentive service) is amazing for the family to hang out while sailors are on the water. This event was featured in the 2019 Summer Edition of The Laser Sailor from a Jr Sailor perspective. Charlie Usher has hosted this event since the waters began to recede and Noah unloaded the Ark. Charlies brother, Gifford, has run RC for every one of them. Only “locals” can pull out 6 fair races at this tricky venue where “bump tacks” through a 20-yard-wide swath of the marsh grass can often be the weather leg “play” for current avoidance, (tip- bring an extra dagger board…). Seriously, it’s a true test of all your skills and true to Martine’s creed Charlie always makes sure your time off the water is a big reason to come back. I think D12 must like to party or something…..

After that D12 will return to CSC-NC on Kerr Lake, (located on the NC/VA border North on I-85) June 27-28th.

Last year D12 descended on this event for the first time ever, (another trend from a growing district- new venues!) with 25 full rig boats. The Raleigh area fleet really put on the dog with this one! The venue provided banner undeveloped lake sailing and the throwback tent camping is the new Hyatt with D12 but much less expensive! Last year’s Saturday Fried Chicken and Bar-B-Que was so good it made you wanna slap your Momma! They are promising a repeat, (at least on the dinner and camping) in 2020.

Check it out on our D12 website which has enjoyed a much-needed face lift and actual updates thanks to Raleigh fleet Rah-Rah guy Devon McKim! The camping details are there, and you need to book your spot ASAP! Like I said camping is the new Hyatt, but apparently for more than just D12 Laser sailors because state campgrounds book well in advance these days!

From there we’ll move on to our July 25-26th event at CYCSC, (Carolina Yacht Club in Charleston, SC). This venue provides classic coastal sea breeze sailing in Charleston Harbor. RC is always top notch and the Saturday evening regatta party is NOT to be missed! Live band, Open bar and a massive Seafood buffet spread, (that never runs out).

No doubt you’ll get your return on your registration fee at the buffet alone! There’s also plenty of tasty food for those who prefer land-based food sources.

Our summer sailing concludes with our Grand Prix event, (this is always our Grand Prix event) on August 1-2nd at CYC-NY, Carolina Yacht Club- North Carolina and the famed Wrightsville Beach venue! The clubhouse is beach front on one of the most coveted residential beach fronts in the USA! It’s a perfect place for family members to spend their day watching the racing from their beach towel or lounge chair, (and is also a stop in the 2021 Worrell 1000). If anyone gets thirsty just head up to the club house for a beverage and/or some food. This is also home of Chase Carroway. We dubbed this event the “Chase, Chase Classic” last year and if he’s back it will probably be more of the same, but hey, how often do you get to share a course

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with some top NA talent in the class? We love it!

We’ll round out the 2020 season with two more inland events. One at LNYC, (outside of Charlotte, NC) and our grand finale at CSC-SC, (Columbia, SC) The Midlands where D12 descended on the poor club in 2019 with 50 boats and pushed them to their highest event attendance in its 60 year history! Yes- another camping venue and party that’s worth the trip regardless what happens with the wind!

I’ll save the details for those two in the next ILCA Sailor edition! Happy 2020 everyone!

People in attached Clinic pic from left to right Graham Crosby, Manning Unger, Maison Baird, Jason Rucker, Devin McKim, Clay Mobley, Bill Gilden, Robert Key, Stanley Hassinger, Will Rucker, Rob Bowden, Stefano Peschiera, Charlie Usher, Kate Zurinskas, Nancy Rhodes, Kate Bagnoni, Martin Willard, Glen Walker, JT Hughes, Dan Bagnoni, Ashley Byrd, Ashton Loring, John Rhodes, Alex Bagnoni, Garner Mobley, Parker Thran, Murphy Olsen, John Fragakis, Lucas Sawin, Finn Hassing, Elizabeth Frankenberg, Ryan Sullivan, Dean Karrigan.

(Anyone notice all the parents and their kids?)

District 13 James Liebl Florida The Jensen Beach crew has got IT figured out! Those cats are sailing a couple of times a week, most of it on WEEKDAYS. Good on ‘em! Wake up, check the forecast, if forecast is good group text your amigos/amigas, and then get sailing with the folks. Now, that’s how to have fun.

They were sailing so much that got jealous. This past January and February, I looked at my phone with envy each time the Jensen crew group text was going off. Here I am headed off to work and the Jensen crew is group texting their sailing plans for the day. Nothing inspires jealousy like reading, “forecast says breeze will be 15 at 1 pm, I’m rigging at 12:30, who is in?” on my phone while no less than seven people are screaming at me about the garbage truck on fire in the middle of Biscayne Boulevard. Where would I rather be, Laser sailing with friends or the garbage truck inferno?

So let’s all take a lesson from the Jensen crew and get sailing! Here are upcoming events in District 13: 3/28

Coconut Grove SC Local Fleet Racing (Miami)

3/28

BBYRA Series Race Day (Miami)

3/28-3/29

Sarasota Youth Junior Olympics (Sarasota) YOUTH ONLY

4/4

BBYRA Series Race Day (Miami)

4/11-4/12

Blue Marlin Jewelry Key Biscayne YC Spring Regatta

4/18

BBYRA Series Race Day (Miami)

4/18-4/19

Melbourne Yacht Club Spring Regatta (Melbourne)

4/25

Coconut Grove Sailing Club Local Fleet Racing (Miami)

5/2

BBYRA Series Race Day (Miami)

District Reports 5/9-5/10

Blue Marlin Jewelry Key Biscayne YC Spring Regatta (Miami)

4

Patrick Wachholz

5/23

Coconut Grove SC GOOMBAY Regatta (Miami)

5

Chad Coberly

6/7

BBYRA Series Race Day (Miami)

6

Augie Diaz

6/13

BBYRA Series Race Day (Miami)

7

Hal Gilreath

8

James Liebl

9

Alexander Birukoff

10

Steve Schwartz

A few thoughts on some of these events-first, Coconut Grove Sailing Club in Miami has launched a new series of short course racing. Generally, they get as many races as they can in the space of about 2.5 hours on the water. The best part is they do a video of the day and post it to the CGSC website so you can see your starts, mark roundings, etc. You don’t need to be a CGSC member to participate.

There is a social gathering immediately after the racing at CGSC. Second, if you haven’t done the Blue Marlin Jewelry Key Biscayne Yacht Club series yet, you got to do it. They always get a good size fleet of competitive sailors (see results of two events below).

They’ve also attracted a good bit of sponsorship. In addition to the title sponsor of Blue Marlin Jewelry (https://www.bluemarlinjewelry. com/) Performance Sailcraft Australia (PSA) and Extreme Sailing Performance (http:// www.extremesailingperformance.com/) are contributing sponsors as well.

Speaking of events, by the way, the 2020 ILCA District 13 Champs will be 11/13 and 11/14 at St. Pete Yacht Club.

Put that in your calendar now.

And start getting ready! The D13 champs are the toughest Districts in the World.

Yeah, yeah, you’re angry at me because I didn’t list your regatta. Well, don’t be angry at me, be angry at yourself.

Remember what your mom said about pointing fingers at people? -“when you point your finger at someone, there are three fingers pointed back at you.” Your mom was right, the fingers are pointed back at you because you didn’t list your regatta on the calendar at laser.org. If you list your event on the calendar at laser.org (make sure you check the District 13 box), I will know about your regatta and get it listed in this very publication. The laser.org calendar can be found at http://www.laser.org/index.php?option=com_ wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=192 Moving on from blame to credit, here’s a shout out to some folks that deserve credit for their performance: 2019 Coconut Grove Sailing Club OPEN Orange Bowl Coconut Grove Sailing Club OPEN Orange Bowl 1

Leo Boucher

2

Dave Chapin

3

Darius Mienville

www.Laser.org

Blue Marlin Jewelry Key Biscayne YC, January Spring Series Regatta Blue Marlin Jewelry KBYC Spring Series Regatta #1 Laser Standard 1

Marcello Correa

2

Gabriel Porzecanski

3

Andres Perdicares

Laser Radial 1

Nicholas Reeser

2

Julian Van Den Driesche

3

Alex Gonzalez

4

Marina Geilen

5

Humberto Porrata

6

Dorje Hopkins

7

Manuel Cadarso

8

Sofia Segalia

9

William Wardlaw

10

Parker

11

Francis Hawley

12

Daniel

13

Sammy Clark

Laser 4.7 1

Jackson McAlley

2

Spencer Dominguez

3

Tyler Morris

4

Connor Kellett

5

Tyler Bergendahl

6

Lauren Russier

7

Tommy McCormick

8

Martin Barrera

9

Max Van Den Driesche

10

Connor Brandon

11

Daniel Oliveira

12

Benjamin Reeser

13

Alessandro Gregori

14

Paola Alvarez

15

Lucia Gil

16

Cole Crep

17

Aden Weinberg

18

Taedore

Blue Marlin Jewelry Key Biscayne YC, February Spring Series Regatta #2 Blue Marlin Jewelry KBYC Spring Series Regatta #2

29

District Reports Laser Standard 1

Alex Gonzalez

2

Dorje Hopkins

Laser Radial 1

Nicholas Reeser

2

Michael Burns

3

Humberto Porrata

4

Marrina Geilen

5

Manuel Cadarso

6

Julian Van Den Driesche

7

Sofia Segalia

8

Trenton Shaw

9

Chris Purcell

10

Parker

11

Will Wardlaw

12

Daniel

13

Franciso Aguerrebere

Laser 4.7 1

Tyler Morris

2

Tommy McCormick

3

Connor Kellett

4

Tyler Bergendahl

5

Martin Barrera

6

Benjamin Reeser

7

Max Van Den Driesche

8

Daniel Oliveira

9

Alessandro Gregori

10

Paola Alvarez

11

Sammy Clark

12

Edwin Stollman

13

Conner Brandon

14

Aden Weinberg

15

Isabella Kellet

16

Cole Crep

Keeping with credit given where credit is due, I noticed a couple of D13 sailors on (or just off) the podium at a couple of the “national events.” Check it out: YOUTH Orange Bowl Nicholas Reeser won the Radials! Guthrie Braun 3rd! Nice job in big, uber-competitive fleet.

Jackson McAliley in 2nd and Cort Snyder in 3rd for the 4.7.

And I can’t help but notice the D13 sailors all up and down in the top 20 in all three (Standard, Radial, 4.7) fleets.

Kudos to you guys.

Master Midwinters Peter Vessella in 3rd, Rob Hallawell in 4th, Dave Chapin in 5th in the Standard rig.

Monica Wilson (top female) in the Radial.

Jack Swenson Florida Masters (the race for the green jacket) Dave Hiebert won! Dave Chapin in 2nd in the Standard rig.

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And, of course, one more major shout out to the Paige Railey for selection as the 2020 US Olympic Representative in the Radial Class! I can only say, “impressive.”

Before you get angry at me again about not listing your result here, go check with your mom again. She’s going to let you know that the reason your results aren’t listed here is because you didn’t send me the results of your event.

If you send them to me (gamedayparking@yahoo.com), I’ll put them in the ILCA District write up in this very publication. If you don’t send them to me, you’ll get what you got here-nothing!

And since we’re rotating around to spring, longer days, summer and, crossing fingers, therefore more local, grassroots fleet sailing (after all, the local grassroots is really the strength of the ubiquitous ILCA/Laser), two requests. First, if you’re part of a fleet doing a spring/ summer twilight series, get the series posted on the calendar at laser.org. Again, remember to check the “District 13” box. Posting the series to the laser.org calendar will let people know about your series, which could lead to more boats coming out!

Second, please send me your contact info if you’re running a local fleet. I occasionally have folks say, “I’m an ILCA/ Laser sailor moving to X town in Florida, what other ILCA/ Lasers are sailing there.” It’d be great to have the best contact for them to get in touch with.

Alright now, let me follow the Jensen crew lead and go get on my boat. See you on the line or in the lineup.

Distict 15 Griffin Orr Texas Texas sailing had an early start to the year with the holding of the fourth annual Rock the Ice Regatta held at the

Corinthian Sailing Club at the end of January. Conditions were mild, with temperatures in the 60’s both days and a wide variety of winds testing each sailor’s skill. We had 18 competitors participating, including 4 radial sailors. This is the first time we have had radials at this event and are looking forward to continued attendance in the future.

Saturday, the excellent race committee headed by Red Dog Jones was able to hold 5 exciting races. The morning was light with winds ranging from 5-12 knots out of the south.

As competitors ate delicious chili to warm up, the wind continued to build and was blowing a strong 15-20 by the time they hit the water again. Three more races were held in

District Reports truly EPIC conditions as the wind continued to build before hitting a high of 30 knots at the end of the day. By the time sunlight was dwindling, about 1/3 of the competitors had headed in. (Mostly after going for an involuntary swim in the frigid 45-degree water). Everyone was then treated to some more food to once again warm up, tell stories of the day, and mentally prepare for the next.

Sunday, the wind was forecasted to switch from south to north right around the first gun, so prospects on morning racing were slim. Thankfully, we were blessed by the weather gods and the switch occurred early, allowing us to start on-time. The wind was quite the opposite from Saturday with a range of 5-10 knots and shifts (opportunities) abound. Griffin Orr had a very strong day, as starting at the pin and playing the left led him to win all three of the day’s races.

Final Results: 1st: Griffin Orr, 2nd: Alex Horne, 3rd: Alex Schwinn 1st Radial: Aubin Hattendorf 1st Master: Craig Berleme Looking forward to the rest of the Spring, we first have the always amazing Austin Easter Regatta the weekend of April 11th and then the Seabrook Summer Solstice the weekend of June 27th. Can’t wait to see everyone on the water especially as weekly racing programs ramp up at our local fleets.

District 19 Billy Vogel Michigan Spring Update After a relatively short and mild winter, things are looking great here in Michigan as we get back into the swing of things. Lake St. Clair did not freeze over, meaning some early frostbiting is beginning for the most adventurous sailors. As for those waiting for the warmer weather, it is just around the corner. We are looking forward to the eventful season and getting on the water!

No Coast Championships Jul 31 – Aug 2 This summer, this fantastic regatta will be at Crescent Sail Yacht Club on Lake St Clair. Located just North of Detroit, Crescent is right on Lake St Clair so the racing area is usually in front of the club. With good winds and open waters, this event will be a great addition to your Summer 2020 regatta plans.

Tuesday’s at Portage Yacht Club This series was again well attended with about 10 boats each week. Keep it up!

Full results: http://ms-pyc.com/portage-yacht-club/sailing/ racing/current-scores/small-boat-silver-series/ No Sweat – Portage Lake Sep 21 This annual regatta brought in 24 boats! Congratulations to the top 3 finishers, Chad Coberly. Rick Lyons, and Steve Varnum.

Full results: http://ms-pyc.com/portage-yacht-club/sailing/ racing/current-scores/2019-no-sweat-regatta/ Lake Lansing Annual Regatta Aug 24

www.Laser.org

Twenty four boats came to this annual event which is usually D19’s largest. This year there were 22 boats that sailed 7 races. Top 3 finishers were EJ O’Mara, Craig Pearson, and Chad Coberly.

From the Lansing Sailing Club FB Page (results image there too) : Thanks to all the Laser racers from near and far who came to make a great day of racing, our generous sponsor Avon Sailboats for the wonderful donations, to our Race Committee handling the shifty and changing conditions on the Lake, to all our members and families who arranged the “famous” post regatta cookout!

D19 Upcoming Regattas Jul 31 – Aug 2 No Coast Championships – Crescent Sail YC 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! We hope to see you all at the No Coast Champs!

District 20 Sean Lennon Wisconsin, Illinois Hello Laser Sailors, I am writing this article with great hope for the future of our district. I am excited about sailing and the upcoming season. Below you will find a list of the confirmed regattas and dates.

Island Bay Laser Regatta: Island Bay Yacht Club - June ?

Great Lakes Masters Championship: Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club - June ?

Hobelman Regatta: Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club: July 5th Ephraim Yacht Club Laser Regatta: Ephraim Yacht Club - July 18-19 District 20 Laser 4.7 Championship and Grand Prix: Lake Forest - Middle of July Milwaukee Bay One-Design: Milwaukee Yacht Club August 1-2 District 20 Championship and Grand Prix: Oshkosh Yacht Club - August 22-23 Red Flannels Regatta: Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club September ?

CSA Fall Regatta: Carlyle Sailing Association - October 17-18 Fall Classic: Oshkosh Yacht Club - October 24 Oshkosh Yacht Club Laser Fleet: In Oshkosh, we are very excited about the upcoming season. In the past year we have seen great growth in the Laser fleet. We have seen great sailors move into the fleet from our impressive X-Boat fleet. Our young sailors are now beginning to travel to Laser Radial events across the country. Laser fleet member and present Oshkosh Yacht Club Commodore posted great finishes at last year’s district championship and we are ready for an epic season.

If you are in the area feel to contact us through https://

31

District Reports oshkoshyachtclub.org/contact-us. You can also contact me at spatricklennon.com.

We are very excited to be hosting the Laser Standard and Laser Radial District Championship and Grand Prix event in Oshkosh. This event will take place on August 22-23.

Come to Oshkosh. Be a part of the history. The racing will be epic. We are all looking forward to seeing you on the water.

Carlyle Laser Fleet: The Carlyle Laser Fleet continues to grow! Most of the participation is from older juniors/students who have been steadily acquiring used boats--building the fleet. Those who have owned their boats for 2 years or more are upgrading or purchasing newer boats.

This year our junior Spring sessions begin April 25 with 6 consecutive Saturday sessions. CSA implemented new club membership management software using Wild Apricot and all our learning courses are online using CANVAS. I highly recommend clubs consider these platforms. Feel free to contact me if you are looking for ways to improve your programs thru online!

We always begin sessions in the classroom with the education modules of CANVAS online learning platform.

They include US Sailing REACH (STEM) modules and a specific Laser education course for the older students.

CANVAS is a great way to keep the curricula uniform and available for any of our instructors to follow the course modules as we progress throughout the sailing season.

Club racing on Sunday is also available to anyone and is organized each week by a different club fleet throughout the season.

June 7-12 is our Junior Sail Camp which offers the most active and in-depth Laser training. This year will be my 4th as the Laser instructor. I expect many of the previous year’s students will return and continue to build on their skills. It’s a wonderful thing to see each progress in their own way!

Our Harbor Mice program in the Summer is 6 Saturday/ Sunday sessions and is the most active time at the club.

Although we spend a lot of time on the STEM learning, we allow the students to have fun and time to build long lasting relationships with one another. Also, on days with no wind or too much wind, we spend time learning how to work on boats and do upgrades.

The Fall sessions begin August 15 for 7 Saturday sessions and is very similar to the Spring sessions.

Then we roll into the Fall Laser clinics which are scheduled just before the 2020 Carlyle Fall Laser Regatta, October 17-18. Information about this event will be publicized on the D20 Facebook Group site and on Regatta Network for official docs. and registration. CSA is a fun relaxed place to sail/race and I hope others have the opportunity to join us! Troy Tolan, 312-971-0420 Laser Fleet Captain - Carlyle

32

Sailing Association In closing, this will be my final article as District 20 Secretary. It has been a privilege to serve the ILCA community in Wisconsin and Illinois for the last four years.

I am looking forward to sailing my boat and getting my 2-year-old excited about sailing. I taught him how to trim a mainsheet and hike-out last year and I think this year we will be looking at being more aggressive at the starting line.

Your new District 20 Secretaries will be Troy Tolan and Peter Wood. They are great sailors and advocates for our class and district. The district is in great hands.

Have a great season and see you on the water.

District 22 Kurt Hoehne Northwest

District 22 is coming out of winter eager to get sailing, viruses notwithstanding.

The one event in the Northwest winter was the Seattle Laser Fleet’s Frigid Digit Regatta. Mark Ross reports: “The 47th annual Seattle Laser Fleet FRIGID DIGIT REGATTA in Seattle started the 2020 regatta season at the end of January in fine form. Light and variable wind on Saturday and heavy winds on Sunday gave everyone an opportunity to excel in their favored wind. As always, the sailors that could handle both finished in top spots.

Charles Fulmer won the Full Rig category and penned his name on the Frigid Digit Perpetual Trophy awarded to the top Full Rig sailor.

Jay Leon finished a strong second, just 2 points behind Charles, and Eric Anderson a solid third. Annie Buelt took first among Radials and Alex Zaputil in the 4.7. Many of us “suffered” frigid digits, but no frostbite reported as temperatures

District Reports in the high 40’s were plenty comfortable given the time of year.”

Check the Columbia River Gorge web site for updates to their schedule of regattas and clinics, and the Seattle Laser Fleet’s Facebook page and web site for updates.

Remember, social distancing is automatic while sailing a Laser.

District 23 Geoff Hurwitch Arizona, Utah, Colorado The snow is beginning to thaw in the D23 region, and the early closure of many ski areas has put many D23 sailors’ thoughts to sailing. The Denver Sailing Association begins their season in April with their Thaw out series while the Park City Sailing Association begins their Tuesday Night Series on June 2nd. In the meantime, the Park City Sailing Association is hoping to transform their US Sailing PRO training weekend on April 4-5 to an online format in order to proceed as planned and Tiller & Kites in the Phoenix area is hosting a North U on April 18th. Preparations continue as planned throughout the mountainous D23 region and luckily, they have time until the season is upon them.

District 25 Tucker Strasser SoCal rtswoodworking@gmail.com Super Bowl Charity Regatta January 25 at Santa Monica Windjammers YC had great racing conditions again this year. In first place was Rudy Pomianek and in second was Andrew Yao. Arizona YC hosted the yearly Birthday Regatta and Leukemia Cup Feb 7-9 with Arizona winter sailing at its finest, blue skies, sunny warm days, and light to moderate winds made for lots of great racing. After 9 races Barry McCartin in first place, Scott Sharples in second and Paul Miachika in third.

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boats from Canada and 1 from the Virgin Islands. It is exciting to see the growth of the 4.7 this year. There is a lot of talk around the Junior programs about getting this rig for their programs. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus the event has been postponed and the future date will be announced.

At this time, we are not promoting future events in this article due to the uncertainty, but we will be sending out emails as we get dates confirmed. If you have an event, results, photo’s, questions, comments, other info please send it to me so we can get the word out. Or if know someone that wants to be added to our District 25 email distribution list please contact me.

In Master racing Mission Bay YC hosted the California Masters Feb 20-21. Another great weekend and great hospitality with 32 boats racing. After 7 races Full rig, Tony Martin first place, Dave Leuck in second and Tim Murphy in third. Radial fleet, Lesley Reichenfeld in first place.

Laser Midwinters West was set for a great turnout with 22 full rig, 73 Radial and 15 4.7 This included 25 www.Laser.org

33

Great South Bay Fall Series The Dinghy Shop has been hosting Laser racing at it’s home at the South Bay Sailing Center on the Great South Bay in Amityville for over 20 years. The series attracts sailors of all ages and skill levels. This was a great year for the Laser series. Our race committee, Ryan Fitzsimmons, ran a record forty-three races throughout the six-week series. The scores were close every weekend with several sailors winning the day. Sailing veteran, Paul Priebe, of Centerport Yacht Club, took first place. He managed to edge out Nora O’Donnell, of Sayville Yacht Club out by two points. The series concluded with a family style lunch and awards ceremony. Thanks to all our regatta sponsors: Gill, Ronstan, and Harken as well as the staff that make this event possible. Like us on Facebook or send us your email for update and future race announcements.

1st Place: Paul Priebe 2nd Place: Nora O’Donnell 3rd Place: Sean Murphy 4th Place: Jasper Waldman 5th Place: Rich Cunningham 6th Place: Stephen Gallo 7th Place: Macklin Fluehr 8th Place: Ben Cripton 9th Place: Dan Rapelje 10th Place: Bob Terry 11th Place: Frank Seckler 12th Place: Alan Kriegstein

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Book your week in Laser paradise today!

hola@casatiburรณn.com www.Laser.org

35

SailorCise Kettlebell Training and Kettlebell Core Workout Rachel and Matt Goetting Sailorcise LLC Are you looking for a new way to step up your laser fitness training? Have you ever used a kettlebell in your workouts?

Kettlebell training is a great tool to help step up your laser sailing fitness training.

This simple fitness tool is an excellent addition to your fitness training but does require some time to master the moves.

Learn about the benefits of kettlebell training, what not to do, and an excellent kettlebell core workout to enhance your laser sailing on the water.

Benefits of Kettlebell Training:

1. It’s an excellent workout: Kettlebell workouts are an excellent workout for enhancing your overall strength, balance, and power, which are all essential for laser sailing. They are also great for burning lots of calories in a short amount of time.

2. It improves your forearm and grip strength: With the thicker handle and design of the kettlebell, this training tool helps to develop greater grip and forearm strength. Grip and forearm strength are essential for laser sailing and will help you to sail longer and stronger out on the water.

3. It improves cardio: Looking to improve your cardio, add kettlebells to your workout! When swinging kettlebells, you will see your heart rate come up quickly. This tool helps to get both your cardio and strength workout in at the same time. Improving your cardio will help with those quick maneuvers in your laser that get your heart rate up, helping you sail faster out on the water.

4. It’s a functional workout: The kettlebells design gives you a great functional workout. A functional workout means it helps to replicate the moves you encounter in sports and daily activities. This helps not only to improve your sports performance but help strengthen muscles for everyday living. The laser is a very physical boat, so doing a

36

functional workout will help strengthen each muscle, therefore, improving your on the water performance.

What Not To Do:

1. Going heavy too quickly: You first always want to master the movement before adding weight. If you have improper form while doing the moves, you are more likely to get injured. Start with little to no weight until you master the proper form for the kettlebell workout.

2. Using only your upper body: Kettlebell workouts are not just upper body, but full-body movements.

Make sure you engage your lower body during the kettlebell workout as well.

3. Giving up quality for quantity: In any workout, you always want to strive for quality over quantity.

Kettlebell workouts are no different, completing ten reps in perfect form is always better than completing 20 reps in poor form. Always go for quality rather than quantity to avoid injury.

4. Swinging too fast: You always want to make sure you are in control of the weight. If you are swinging the kettlebell too quickly, your form will suffer, and it can lead to injury. Slowing down your moves will help to increase your stability strength.

Now that you know the benefits of the kettlebell and what not to do, what workout should you do? Laser sailing, as we said, is a very physical boat requiring a lot of hiking. So how can you hike longer and stronger?

By having a strong core! Using a kettlebell will help to challenge your core to help build strength, balance, and stability for your laser sailing and daily living. Check out the kettlebell core workout below and subscribe to Sailorcise YouTube channel to check out the moves for this workout. You can find the workout on YouTube using this link: https://youtu.be/ cKbdppCSkMs

SailorCise Kettlebell Core Workout: -Warm up with Dynamic Stretching (5 minutes) The Workout: Kettlebell Swings – 20 reps Kettlebell Sit Up with Twist – 20 reps Kettlebell Kneeling Halos – 10 clockwise 10 counterclockwise Kettlebell Plank with Pull Through – 20 reps Rest 30 seconds Repeat 3x Kettlebell Windmills – 15 reps each side Kettlebell Overhead Sit Up – 15 reps Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlifts – 15 reps each side Kettlebell Russian Twist – 30 reps Rest 30 seconds Repeat 3x Kettlebell Overhead Lunges – 12 reps each side Kettlebell Seated Figure-Eight – 30 seconds Kettlebell Deadlifts – 20 reps Kettlebell Side Bends – 15 reps each side Rest 30 seconds Repeat 3x -Cool Down with Foam Rolling and Static Stretching (5-10 minutes)

www.Laser.org

37

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

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!

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!

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

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

 A strong class association keeps an eye towards the future and

works with the builders to make improvements where needed while preserving as well as possible the competitiveness of older boats.

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

What are some of the direct benefits of membership?  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.  You receive the International Class Association’s quarterly publication “Laser World” which gives a roundup of international events sailed around the world, as well as information from the international office.  You receive the North American Association’s quarterly publication “The Laser Sailor” which is loaded with regatta reports, technique articles, fitness and nutrition tips, sailor profiles, reports from each of the North American Region’s 26 Districts and much, much more. In addition, the magazine also contains advertising from Laser dealers selling Laser specific gear and aimed entirely at Laser sailors - if you are looking for something for your boat you will see it advertised here!  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 ILCA-NA Grand Prix where you earn  points when sailing in major events, ranking you against

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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.  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.  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!

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!

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

North America

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 2478 West 1st Avenue Vancouver, BC V6K 1G6 Canada

www.Laser.org

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North America

Spring 2020

2478 West 1st Avenue Vancouver, BC V6K 1G6 Canada