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FALL 2011
6 continents, 122 countries - the biggest adult and youth racing class in the world
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AILOR
S
GS
Official publication
of the International
Laser Class Association,
North American Region
US Postal Service:
Please return undeliverables to:
ILCA-NA
2812 Canon Street
San Diego, CA 92106 USA
Canada Post
Publications Mail Agreement #40612608
Please return undeliverables to:
Bleuchip International,
P.O. Box 25542,
London, ON N6C 6B2
Editors
Sherri Campbell & Jerelyn Biehl
ILCA-NA
Officers
Tracy Usher
Chairman
PO Box 370701
Montara, CA 94037
Phone: (650) 340-1129
usher@slac.stanford.edu
Eric Faust
Vice Chairman
821 East 53rd Street
Austin, TX 78751
Phone: (512) 791-8218
ehfaust@gmail.com
FA L L
2 0 11
District Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Vintage Laser: 301 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Getting a Kick - Caffeine & Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Laser Sailing in Uganda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
4.7 & World Masters NA Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-16
2012 Event Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Tips and Technique - Tricks for Your Tiller . . . . . . . . .20
Reaching: The Lost Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Laser World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .center
Regatta Reports
North Americans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
No Coast Championships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
US O’Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Around Shelter Island Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
District Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Membership Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Clay Johnson
Treasurer
26 River Bend Dr.
Toms River, NJ 08753
Phone: 732-330-7281
clayton.e.johnson@gmail.com
Lauralee Symes
Secretary
6901 SE Oaks Park Way, Slip 27
Portland, OR 97202
Phone: (503) 274-2818
llsymes@comcast.net
Evan Lewis
At Large
4 Nursewood Road
Toronto, ON M4E 3R8 Canada
Phone: 416-804-6048
Lewis_racing@hotmail.com
Sherri Campbell
Executive Secretary
2812 Canon Street
San Diego, CA 92106
Phone: (619) 222-0252
Fax: (619) 222-0528
sherri@odmsail.com
www.Laser.org
FALL 2011
6 continents, 122 countries - the biggest adult and youth racing class in the world
Cover: Mike Kalin
took this spectacular shot of
sailors training
beneath the
Golden Gate
Bridge.
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1
22
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7
19
9
20
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24
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16
25
8
17
26
Hawaii
15
14
13
District 1
District 10
District 19
Danielle Dube, 8 Sunnydale Dr,
Glen Haven, NS B3Z 2T8
902-823-2802, danielle_dube947@hotmail.com
Eric Reitinger
7908 Normandy Dr.
Mt Laurel, NJ 08054
er4599@gmail.com
http://d10.laserforum.org
Ken Swetka
27022 Koerber St., St. Claire Shores, MI 48081
248-635-5363
www.d29laser.org
District 11
Steve Dolan
21140 Chancery Ct. Brookfield, WI 53045
262-506-8879. dolan@mcw.edu
http://d20.laserforum.org/
District 2
Philippe Dormoy, 385 Place Desmarest,
Ile Bizard, Quebec, H9C 2G8
514-620-8124
Philippe_dormoy@steris.com
District 3
Robert Koci, 804 Sammon Ave.
Toronto, ON M4C 2E8
416-442-5600 x 3203 rkoci@canadiancontractor.ca
D3 website: www.d3laser.com
District 4
Brigitte Smutny, Sail Manitoba; 409-145 Pacific
Ave. Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2Z6 204-925-5647
sailing@sportmanitoba.ca
www.sailmanitoba.com
District 5
Mark Lammens
510 Cynthia St. Saskatoon, SK S7K 7K7
306-975-0833. sasksail@shaw.ca
www.sasksail.com
District 6
Jon Deutsch
3422 Blithewood Dr., Richmond, VA 23225
804-305-1244, jon@laserdistrict11.org
http://www.laserdistrict11.org
District 12
Christian Koppernaes
weebee@hargray.com
Wrightsville Beach, NC
www.d12.laserforum.org
District 13
Antolin Rivera, PO Box 26674
Tampa, FL 33623
813-837-3013, shipajoy@yahoo.com
www.laser.org/m/_general/d13.asp
District 14
Cal Herman, 7038 Catina St
New Orleans, LA 70124, 504-282-1770
callender.herman@wachoviasec.com
Andy Hunt, 111-2260 W 8th Ave,
Vancouver BC, V6K 2A7
604-733-9663. Hotline: 206-525-5788.
athunt@vcn.bc.ca
www.cycseattle.org/slf
District 15
District 7
District 16
Kim Ferguson, 12 Florida Ave.
Jamestown, RI 02835
Laserd7@gmail.com
Tim Fitzgerald, 2322 Bromfield Circle
Wichita, KS, 67226, 316-650-3636
timfitz@cox.net
District 8
District 17
Ted Cremer, 7 Maple Street
Blue Point, NY 11715.
631-363-8830, tcremer@optonline.net
www.laserd8.tripod.com
John E. Coolidge, Jr., 1113 Hanover St,
Chattanooga, TN 37405, 423-309-1926
JC@Chattprint.com
District 9
John Shockey
614-256-2254
johnrshockey@gmail.com
Chas Williamson, 9 Lagrand Court
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-272-0630. cw26@cornell.edu
6
James Freedman, 8324 Horse Whisperer Ln.
Ft. Worth, TX 76131
james.freedman@aa.com; 214-864-6024
www.cerebus.winsite.com/Laser/districts/d15/
District 20
District 21
Kurt Holtze, 710 Summer St. NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
621-281-1447 kurt@kurtphoto.com
d21@laserforum.org
District 22
Mike Gilbert, 1620 Gerald Ave.
Missoula, MT 59801
406-327-7855, mike@gilbertarch.com
District 23
Nick Ondrejka
PO Box 981897, Park City, UT 84098
nick@ondrejka.com, 415-748-6893
www.usdiscovery.com/laser
District 24
David Lapier
408-525-6396, dlapier@cisco.com
www.technicalwizardry.com/d24laser/d24
District 25
Jorge Suarez, 7 Covina Ave,
Long Beach, CA 90803
562-260-8116. jorgesuarez0@yahoo.com
groups.yahoo.com/group/nalaserdistrict25
District 26
Guy Fleming, 44-392 Olina St. #6
Kaneohe, HI 96744-2617
808-955-4405. guynsyd@hawaii.rr.com
District 18
FALL 2011
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Vintage Laser 101
I was recently leafing through the Winter 2010 edition of “The Laser Sailor” when I came across your item calling out to all owners
of vintage Lasers.
Well I’ve got one. Its number is #301. I’m not the original owner of it, I’m the 3rd owner. I do have some background on its history.
When I purchased the boat in the 90s, it came with its original Elvström sails. The number #301 was on the sails, and also imprinted
into the hull of the boat at the front of the boat (under the bow-line) rather than the back of the boat.
I’m still actively sailing the boat, though these days I use a radial sail, and I’ve made some updates to the rigging system. See attached
picture from last weekend.
I still use the original wooden centre board, tiller and rudder.
I’d say the original boats were very well made, and the original
boat builder made use of some standard house-hold items in its construction.
The floation in my boat …appears to just be pieces of foam,
wrapped up in garbage bags.
Also, I found a 2” piece of everyday green garden hose
installed under the plastic brake/guard at the bottom of the slot
where you insert the centre board.
Best Wishes.
Janet Foster
Laser # 301
Lac Deschenes Sailing Club www.ldsc.ca
8
FALL 2011
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9
Getting a Kick – The Effect of Caffeine and Exercise
EVAN LEWIS MSC. CSCS, CK
Caffeine is consumed by millions of people
around the world on a daily basis as part
of different cultural practices. Caffeine is
naturally found in plant seeds and leafs,
most notably coffee bean and tea leaves.
Over the past decade, caffeine has become
incorporated into sports nutrition products such as carbohydrate gels and carbohydrate/electrolyte drinks because of its
effect as a stimulant. As a result, this article
was written to help increase awareness
and education on the effects of caffeine
consumption and exercise (not the use of
heavily caffeinated drinks energy drinks).
Timing of Ingestion
Once consumed, caffeine is rapidly
absorbed and acts to stimulate the central
nervous system by causing the release of
adrenaline, which can lead to feelings of
increased energy, reduced fatigue and
heightened mental alertness.These psychological effects typically occur within 15-30
minutes and last for approximately three
hours, although differences in body size and
tolerance are known to causes individual
differences.
Metabolic Effects
Early research into the effects of caffeine
on muscle metabolism during exercise suggested it can cause muscle to use less carbohydrate during exercise and increase fat
metabolism, which could enhance
endurance (1). To further test this concept, muscle metabolism during cycling was
examined in subjects who were given
9mg/kg of caffeine or a placebo on two
separate days and asked to cycle to
exhaustion (2). Results showed caffeine
caused reduced muscle glycogen (stored
carbohydrates) use during the first 15 minutes of exercise.This glycogen sparing
effect increased participant’s time to
exhaustion; however, an increase in fat
metabolism was not observed. As a byproduct of this research, it has been determined when caffeine is consumed before
exercise, fat metabolism is increased (3).
To determine the level of caffeine consumption that would provide the greatest
effect on performance, trained runners
were given 3, 6 and 9mg/kg of caffeine
before running to exhaustion at 85% maximal oxygen consumption.The low dose of
caffeine did not increase circulating levels
of adrenaline while both the moderate and
high doses did, and only the high does
increased fat metabolism (4). Further
10
research in running,
cycling and rowing has
determined the minimum caffeine intake to
improve endurance and
time to exhaustion
performance is 2mg/kg
while consuming 39mg/kg provides a
more consistent
increase in endurance
performance.
Caffeine and Hydration
A frequently suggested adverse effect of
using caffeine is diuresis, where your body
increases urine output to reduce hydration.
When a matched amount of caffeine in
capsules and coffee were compared to
water for their effect on hydration, no
changes in urine output, sweat rate, plasma
volume or blood electrolytes were
observed (5), which suggests caffeine does
not cause dehydration after consumption.
Differences Between
Caffeine Sources
There is a small body of research suggesting the source of caffeine may cause different responses within the body.When the
effect of isolated caffeine was compared to
coffee and decaffeinated coffee with added
caffeine, individuals who consumed isolated
caffeine increased endurance measured
from exercise time to exhaustion (5).
Furthermore, coffee did not cause the
same increase in adrenaline as caffeine.This
reduced effect of coffee compared to caffeine may result from the numerous other
compounds contained within coffee that
could interact with the caffeine.
When the method of caffeine delivery was
examined in capsules, carbohydrate/electrolyte drinks and gels, no difference in exercise performance or metabolism was observed. However, to maximize
performance over a day of racing any caffeine consumed should be accompanied
with carbohydrates to maintain energy levels.
found to increases the ability to work at a
higher intensity before reaching exhaustion
(5). Additionally, the metabolic effect of
caffeine, which can spare small amounts of
muscle glycogen at the beginning of exercise, could reduce the amount of muscle
glycogen stores that must be replenished
during recovery. Over a multi-day regatta,
this could influence performance, but
results would vary between athletes.
Please send questions and comment to sailstronger@evanlewis.ca.
Evan completed his MSc in Exercise Science at
the University of Toronto and is a founder of
the L2M Performance Group Inc. For more
information and training tips visit
www.evanlewis.ca.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Essig, D., Costill, D., and Van
Handel, P. J. (1980) International
Journal of Sports Medicine 1, 8690.
Spriet, L. L., McLean, D. A., Dyck,
D. J., Hultman, E., Cederblad, G.,
and Graham,T. E. (1992) American
Journal of Physiology Endocrinology
Metabolism 262, E891-E98.
Graham,T. E., Helge, J.W.,
MacLean, D., Kiens, B., and
Richter, E. A. (2000) Journal of
Physiology 529, 837-47.
Graham,T. E., and Spriet, L. (1995)
Journal of Applied Physiology 78,
867-74.
Graham,T. E. (2001) Sports
Medicine 31, 785-801.
Caffeine and Sailing
Most of the research that has examined
the effects of caffeine on exercise performance has used exercise bouts between 3090 minutes, which it’s the length of most
Laser races.While much of the research
examining the effects of caffeine demonstrate an increase in total exercise time,
sailboat races are won by whoever finishes
first.That being said, caffeine has also been
FALL 2011
Fall 2011:Spring 05
10/5/2011
1:39 PM
Page 11
Pre-Midwinters
East Regatta
High
High Performance
Performance Clinic
Clinic
Photo: courtesy of www.timwilkes.com
Photo: courtesy of www.timwilkes.com
Clearwater
use)
Clearwater Yacht
Yacht Club
Club 18-20
18-20 February
February 2012
2012 (exclusive
(exclusive use)
COACHES
COACHES
Brendan Casey
Brendan Casey
AUS Sailing Team Member, Two-time Radial World Champion, Mid Winter East Champion,
AUS Sailing Team Member, Two-time Radial World Champion, Mid Winter East Champion,
Australian & North American Laser Champion
Australian & North American Laser Champion
Ryan Eric Minth Two-time Radial World Champion Coach, US Developmental Coach of the Year, Two-time ILCA-NA
Ryan Eric Minth Two-time Radial World Champion Coach, US Developmental Coach of the Year, Two-time ILCA-NA
Grand Prix Radial Champion, Mid Winters East Champion.
Grand Prix Radial Champion, Mid Winters East Champion.
Pre-Midwinters East Regatta
High
High Performance
Performance Radial
Radial Clinic
Clinic
Cost
Cost
$600
$600
10% of proceeds will be donated to local sailing-based charity OLIVIA LIVES whose purpose is to provide more “fun, care free days” for young children and
10% of proceeds will be donated to local sailing-based charity OLIVIA LIVES whose purpose is to provide more “fun, care free days” for young children and
teens affected with cancer. Learn all about Olivia’s life, her passion for sailing, and the organization continuing on in her memory at OliviaLives.com.
teens affected with cancer. Learn all about Olivia’s life, her passion for sailing, and the organization continuing on in her memory at OliviaLives.com.
Sailor/Coach Ratio: Clinic size is strictly limited to twelve or less Radial sailors to achieve 3:1 to 6:1 ratio.
Sailor/Coach Ratio: Clinic size is strictly limited to twelve or less Radial sailors to achieve 3:1 to 6:1 ratio.
• Prepare for the MWE Regatta with two former MWE Champions
• Prepare for the MWE Regatta with two former MWE Champions
• Achieve top speed with highly personalized coaching and observation
• Achieve top speed with highly personalized coaching and observation
• Sharpen race decision making with drills designed for a tight group
• Sharpen race decision making with drills designed for a tight group
• Gain the champion’s perspective on the event’s local conditions
• Gain the champion’s perspective on the event’s local conditions
• Hone your boat handling skills with the latest tips of the top sailors
• Hone your boat handling skills with the latest tips of the top sailors
• 1 to 1 consultation opportunity available at sailor discretion
• 1 to 1 consultation opportunity available at sailor discretion
Should weather conditions allow on day two or three, our intent is to take this select group of sailors
Should weather conditions allow on day two or three, our intent is to take this select group of sailors
on an eight-plus mile downwind speed development run.
on an eight-plus mile downwind speed development run.
• Full Application and Registration Information contact: ryan@c-vane.com
• Full Application and Registration Information contact: ryan@c-vane.com
• On-site Pro Shop and Charter availability by KO Sailing. Contact jamie@kolius-sailing.com.
• On-site Pro Shop and Charter availability by KO Sailing. Contact jamie@kolius-sailing.com.
• Availability remains for Mid Winters Regatta Coaching
• Availability remains for Mid Winters Regatta Coaching
• Availability remains for Mid Winters East & West Regatta Coaching
• Availability remains for Mid Winters East & West Regatta Coaching
Available
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ryan@c-vane.com
Laser Sailing in Uganda
JIM SUNSTRUM
DEARBORN, MICHIGAN
In June while on a medical assignment in Uganda,
I was able to race a Laser on Lake Victoria. Lake
Victoria is the largest freshwater lake in Africa
(only Lake Superior is bigger in the world). The
story actually began in 2009 when I first worked
in Uganda on a project teaching African doctors
modern care of HIV patients.
The USA provides HIV medications to several countries in
Africa, and also sends physicians
like myself to provide training. .
I told myself that the next time
in Uganda, I’d find the local sailing club.
This time I asked around, and a
co-worker put me in touch with
Steve Reynolds, an American scientist stationed in the capital of
Kampala for the past several
years. Steve is active at the
Victoria Nyanza Sailing Club,
which is located about an hour
away from the city. On a hot
Sunday (temperatures always 8590 F year round), Steve drove
me out to the Club.
Some of the outskirts of Kampala are pretty
dusty with tin-roof shops, and at one intersection all traffic patiently waited for an unattended
cow to wander through. The landscape became
much more forested, and suddenly we arrived at
the beautiful, undeveloped shore of Lake
Victoria. The Club has been
there since the 1930’s, and
sits up on a bluff. The Club
recently repainted their old
stucco buildings, and has a
nice commanding view. Since
we were on the Equator, I
was very careful to wear
long sleeve SPF shirt, and lots
of sunscreen.
The club races
Lasers every
Sunday, and I rented one for 50,000
Uganda shillings (~$25.00). And the
boat comes fully rigged, with staff to
help launch. That Sunday was
breezy, with whitecaps and a 1-2
foot chop. We raced 2 long races,
and I did OK with the club boat.
There were a few boats capsizing,
but I was able to remain upright.
We came in for a nice lunch
brought in by Steve, and I got to
meet many of the locals. They have
a strong registered Laser fleet, and
several of the members had participated in the World Masters in
England last year. Regionally they
enter East African regattas in Tanzania and
Kenya, and 1 member recently travelled down to
Mozambique. The Club has a nice web site
www.sailuganda.com. Check out their web site,
and especially look for the “Training Manual and
Training Presentation”. These have some of the
best quality graphic instructional materials for a
Laser I’ve seen. I believe these have been done
by Reint Bakema, who is their Webmaster and
Bosun.
Lake Victoria carries a parasite in snails called
schistosomiasis (or locally as bilharzia). It was a
bit of a moment of truth to put my feet in the
water, even if for only a few minutes. But the
club members were pretty reasonable about
this, since once a year they take a tablet of medication to treat any possible infection.
We returned to the water for 1 more long race,
and I was pretty worn out by then with the
waves, warm water and intense Equatorial sun.
Next to the Club property, one could see a local
farmer leading his herd of cattle into the lake for
a drink. Fishing boats were being paddled out
for a day of fishing, a big source of food and
income in Uganda. Overall I managed 3rd place
overall out of about 10 Lasers, probably due to
adrenaline. The group came back for beers and
stories. They were selling polo shirts from their
Regatta earlier this year, and I snapped one up.
The Uganda Laser Open this March had 23
entries, and was won by a sailor from Dar es
Salaam,Tanzania.
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12
FALL 2011
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Did you know that Sail Equipment Australia is doing it’s part to protect
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ILCA-NA had loads of sailors at the 4.7 Wor
out
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ommon w
w
te
c
e
e
in
s
wards
m
u
a
e
a
re
e
c
o
tr
be
s had m
ht. At th
as an ex
e
ig
w
m
a
k
ti
tr
e
e
s
e
iend
m
s
w
o
r 6 day
entire
ebook fr
sailors, s
raced fo
ived fac
g for the
e
e
c
in
w
c
re
a
d
I
n
R
,
a
s
.
d
y
days
ende
etime
every da
regatta
as are 2-3
ough som
d
after the
st regatt
e even th
o
s
th
u
n
m
a
o
doing an
e
c
m
c
e
re
b
a
in
a
l
t
s
ally coo
hat they
for abou
w
re
l
d
e
il
n
is
e
a
w
s
it
y
I
;
n
y
pefull
petitors
ceremo
m able to
le who ho
the com
uage, I a
p
g
o
m
n
e
o
p
la
fr
f
t
o
n
ts
fere
t a lot
reques
!
is in a dif
e and me
g careers
re page
great tim
a
our sailin
d
a
in
h
their enti
I
r
,
te
ll
la
ra
e
s
v
a
O
tt
em.
l rega
talk to th
rnationa
other inte
t
a
in
a
g
see a
ackey
Sarah M
Sophie
Nau
ghton
At the
4.7 Wo
r
ld
Champ
San Fr
ionship
ancisc
in
o, I lea
about s
r
n
e
d
a lot
ailing in
a comp
interna
etitive
tional f
le
et. The
was ve
startin
ry aggr
g
essive
boats.
with so
The sail
m
a
ny
ors fro
world m
m arou
ade it a
nd the
u
nique e
that I r
xperie
eally e
nce
njoyed
becaus
, espec
e thank
ia
ll
y
s to the
mittee
race c
we wer
ome able
many g
t
o
sail so
reat ra
ces. I lo
to cont
ok forw
inuing
ard
t
o
sail at
hopefu
this lev
lly at t
e
l,
h
e world
onship
champ
in Arge
intina n
ext yea
r.
Lola Bushnell
Hannah Hughes
In July, I competed in the Laser 4.7 World Championships in my hometown, San Francisco.
For two weeks prior to the regatta, the local team and I practiced with Coach Andy Casey.
Everyone made huge improvements and felt ready to do well, but no one was expecting how
serious the Europeans are about the 4.7 fleet.
I was really nervous since this was my first international regatta. I did terribly on the first
race but then found my groove and got a fifth. I was in 8th after two days, but each day got
harder and I wasn’t prepared for the stress. In addition, I had been practicing for the heavy
wind we get in San Francisco in the summer, but it didn’t hold up. By the end of the regatta
I had dropped to 18th. Although I was disappointed, I was still happy to be the top North
American girl.
I really enjoyed meeting people from all over the world, and being exposed to such a high
level of competition. Next summer, I hope to sail in the Laser Radial Youth Worlds in
What an opportunity for
me to participate in the
4.7 Worlds. I’ve never
experienced extreme currents like in San
Francisco. Of course that
also affected the international sailors as well. It was interesting to
see the different techniques from rigging
to racing. Starting lines were very aggressive. When you throw in a current, the difficulty increases drastically. I plan to practice in my 4.7, go to Orange Bowl, and prepare for the 2012 4.7 Worlds in Buenos
Aires, Argentina.
Australia. Iím going to work hard to be really prepared for my next world championship!
Graham Harney
Brendan
Shan
ahan
This sum
mer I had
the oppor
CAN 199991
sail at 4.7
it
tunity to
Worlds in
ldís and I knew
or
W
st
fir
y
m
San Fran
This was
w
a
an
di
s
cisco. It
my first
Cana
time sail
good! When my
ing in San
was going to be
F
r
e
a
an
n
pl
c
e
is
th
c
of
o Bay and
I looked out
hopefully
teammates and
my last.
it won’t b
n
Sa
T
he condit
le
ho
e
w
e
th
w
sa
d
ions were
an
w
windo
le
n
te
g
hi
w
in
v
in
e
g
d
r
.
y
re
J
ve
c
u
s
h
co
a
t
lwhen I th
below us
ought I fig
Francisco Bay
out they w
ured it
a hard five
o
d
u
ha
ld
e
w
ll
c
te
h
d
a
nge.
caps we coul
What was
ts
great abo
d of us. The star
ea
ah
ng
ci
ra
of
ut this ev
days
the Inter
my
ent was
national c
nging but also
le
al
ch
t
o
os
m
m
e
petition.
US it’s ha
were th
cpi
u
In
yo
n
the
he
r
W
d
to get lar
of the day.
ge compe
4.7 fleets
favourite part
e
lin
t
ti
ar
ti
st
e
ve
, so racin
ats all on on
g with 60
g
ture 60 or so bo
r
e
b
d
a
o
t.
an
a
b
ts
eb
The sailo
was
rs were f
over by a 3knot
Australia
rom Euro
getting pushed
ll
te
n
ca
p
u
a
e,
yo
n
d
d,
New Zeala
s of win
nd; some
remembe
at least 20knot
o
to
tle
lit
o
a
f
d
r
us
each othe
to be edge
r from ou
how easy it was
days. It w
r Opti
g made
fla
k
a
s
ac
bl
g
e
r
Th
e
.
at to rac
e against
far into the open
such tale
e
nted sailo
which meant th
s
ce
an
ar
pe
ap
rs.
frequent
St. Fran
y the
cis Yacht
a tough job to sa
Club was
committee had
to
k
ee
all of us.
w
e
so nice
tir
en
e
th
d
in
They wor
w
od
go
d
ha
e
W
ked hard
t.
leas
m
a
an
k
as
to
e us feel
w
welcome
cis Yacht Club
d
and the St Fran
.
I
r
s
le
e
gatta lea
ft the
friend
rning a lo
ade lots of new
t that wil
ideal venue. I m
at
m
n
ai
e
ag
l help
a
ng
s
ei
I transitio
ards to se
n to the r
which I look forw
adial.
.
future regattas
14
could see the La
eight countries
boat with the ot
quick practice s
from the high tw
Golden Gate; co
ing.
The first day
aged better tha
ebb current. The
in the afternoon
strong flood and
south shore for
viewing deck of
tern of heavy to
On shore the
chore, as over a
The excited jost
the Europeans f
the world; some
great to talk wit
one spoke Engli
I eventually e
I expected to be
ward mark roun
This was a once
at Worlds, and s
Haley Kardek
When I arrived at the Saint Francis Yacht Club on Tuesday
what to expect. I knew that it was an international regatta
sailors in the world and by that meant it was going to be co
was right, it was hard, but I ended up taking away from it a
tially thought.
The first day was full of glances out of the corner of you
were arriving, guessing games with the few people you did
guy or girl over there was from, and a couple of shy smiles
your way to grab a spare part. The second or third day tho
hear laughter and small bursts of conversation coming fro
we all got changed for a day in the San Francisco Bay, and
al letters clustered together as we waited for the next sta
By the end of the regatta I could safely say that my phone’
include my newly made sailing friends from around the wo
Sailing in an international fleet not only had its benefits
more diverse and challenging group of sailors to sail again
also opened up many opportunities to make friends with p
world that you could be sailing with the rest of your life. L
glad I am to have sailed Worlds and met all the people I did
shores of Tasmania to the not so far away state of Texas,
next international regatta comes I hope to be there sailing
FALL
2011 opportunity.
that I now have met thanks to this
wonderful
rlds--here ís what they had to say....
Maeve White
Jonathan Cannard
Laser 4.7 Youth Worlds all started with an extensive
application process. And if filling out an application
and sending it to the International Laser Class wasnít
nerve racking enough, then began the waiting period.
There were a few months of waiting and hoping,
checking the Worlds website everyday, until the invitation email finally came.
A few short months later, after many days of Gorge
practice sails, I was walking through the front doors
of the St. Francis Yacht Club on the San Francisco
city front. Looking out at the grassy field outside, I
asers of one-hundred and ten boys and fifty girls from twenty
who would be competing along side me. Later I launched my
ther members of the Northwest team and we sailed out for a
sail on the brutally windy San Francisco Bay. Winds ranged
wenty-knot range near Alcatraz to the low teens under the
onditions I would have to cope with for the next six days of rac-
of racing was tough as I adjusted to the conditions, but I manan many in the strong winds and large waves created by the
e next day the boys sailed in the morning while the girls raced
n, and conditions changed drastically. The current was a
d the wind was painfully light, forcing the fleet towards the
current relief, sometimes racing only a few meters from the
f the yacht club. The next four days of racing followed this pato light wind, testing everyoneís abilities.
challenges didnít end. Launching our boats was always a
a hundred boys swarmed the single launching dock in a rush.
tling and purposeful jamming of dolly wheels in order to keep
from taking our places in line let me meet sailors from around
ething I have never experienced in my regatta history. It was
th people who shared my passion for sailing and almost everyish, making it easy to talk with people from anywhere.
ended up forty-second out of fifty-six in my fleet, about where
e. My best finish was seventeenth after a second place windnding, a much higher single race finish than I ever expected.
e in a lifetime experience, being able to represent my country
something to be cherished forever.
Jack Toland
After competin
g at the recent
Championship
Laser 4.7 Wor
I came away w
ld
San Francisco Bay was a
ith many sign
internationals
ificant lesson
competition.
s on
great venue for the 2011 4.7
The biggest ch
during a world
ange that occu
championship
rs
World Championship, not only
is the commun
starts and mar
ication. Durin
k roundings it
g
because of the cosmopolitan
is
much harder
competitors
to tell if othe
understand th
r
atmosphere of the Bay City
e racing rules
do. Often you
in the same w
ha
ve
ay you
to give a little
but because of the Bay’s
more then in
national compe
regional and
titions to prev
diverse and challenging sailent being pinw
into a tight la
heeled or jam
ne
du
rin
med
g roundings. Be
ing conditions. St Francis
ing my third La
was also an ex
se
tr
r
em
ev
el
en
y
Yacht Club hosted a 4.7
t it
big learning cu
rve on the freq
control change
uency of
s and boat se
fleet of 51 sailors in the
tu
p
fo
r
heavy air. Curr
going into mor
ently I am
e competitive
girl's fleet and 112 sailors in
29er racing an
upcoming mon
d my plans fo
ths include tr
r the
the boy's fleet ---all from
aveling to Vict
Dinghy Champi
oria, BC for th
onship and Lo
e
Fall
over different 20 counng Beach, CA
regatta. Afte
for the Turkey
r that we are
Da
y
tries. The international
planning on at
in Florida.
tending Orange
Bowl
girls generally had several
years of experience in the 4.7 and were highly
talented and competitive. In fact, as a 5 year Opti sailor and 2 year 420 sailor but
fairly new to lasers---I felt a bit intimidated by the fleet at first. However, I welcomed the
challenge, and the camaraderie among the US sailors and the girls fleet as a whole set
Corinthian environment. I was impressed with the strong Norwegian team, and found it
interesting that the Norwegian philosophy is to groom 4.7 talent directly from Optis, and
to stay in the 4.7 fleet for an extended time, before moving on to laser radials. Their
national team has sailed all over the world before competing in San Francisco. Aside
from the impressive sailors from overseas, the strong San Francisco tides greatly affected strategy , and further made this a challenging event.
Overall, this was a particularly memorable regatta for me. I learned a great deal on
sailing a 4.7 in large waves and how to manage with a strong flooding and ebbing current.
Beyond the benefits and lessons learned on my personal sailing skills, I observed that
international sailors are generally much more aggressive with their body movements,
such as working their body to torque the boat over
Jack M
waves, and strong hiking. Competing in this event
arshal
l
not only improved my skills but also inspired me to The 4.7 Wor
ld
s turne
great
d
o
r
ut to b
take on other challenges in the laser class. Going
egatta
ea
and a g
ence.
r
e
a
T
t expe
he rac
forward I would love to sail on the international
riing wa
tive, w
s very
ith sail
compe
level again to help improve my sailing ability and of
ors fro
tithe w
m vario
us par
learn from other countries sailing styles and tac- the R orld dropping
t
s
down f
adial, o
rom
r comin
tics.
tries w
g fro
ith str
m cou
ong 4.7
nfinishe
fleets
s were
. The
v
e
r
y tight
the bo
ys flee
and on
t was s
ce
and sil
plit int
ver, th
y July 26th, I had no idea
o gold
e
f
ir
s
g
t and la
old fle
Sailing in the 4.7 Worlds at St. Francis Yacht Club was an incredible experience of a lifetime. In
et wer
st boa
a with all the best 4.7 laser
e finis
t in
matte
addition to meeting the people on Team USA, I also met many sailors from other countries. One
hing w
r
of min
ompetitive; and in the end I
ithin a
utes, m
exiting
night, our small team of 8 sailors invited the entire Norwegian team to join us for a home-cooked
aking f
racing
a lot more than I had inior very
. The c
pasta dinner. At this dinner, all the sailors sat on a rooftop deck. We were able to discuss our cul- chall
onditio
enging
ns wer
both p
tures and talk about sailing in fjords in Norway. At the time of the dinner, the tragedy in Norway me
e
hysica
ntally,
lly and
with li
ur eyes at the people who
was only 3 days old. The Norwegian sailors and their families really appreciated our gesture of
ghter w
mornin
inds in
g build
d know about where that
reaching out to them in the spirit of good will. I discovered that Norwegian teenagers have pretthe
ing up
winds
to stro
typica
ty much the same interests as American teenagers. Also, I met a sailor from India, named
nger
s as you passed by them on
l
o
f
S
the aft
an Fra
Rufus, and we talked about his sailing experience in Bombay. Meeting sailors from other counernoon
ncisco
ough, you could start to
s, and
in
strong
of cou
tries reminds me that sailing is a shared human experience that transcends geography, policurren
rse,
om the girl’s bathroom as
t
t
h
r
r
oughou
egatta
tics, age, and language.
. StFY
t the
d see jumbles of our nationC was
place
The sailing was very competitive and I was able to improve my starts, upwind tactics, and
a phen
t
o
sail ou
omena
arting sequence to begin.
t of, an
downwind sailing throughout the event. I experienced the ripping ebb and flood of San
l
tors co
d any s
uld sta
pecta’s contact list had grown to
n
Francisco Bay and learned how to deal with 5 knots of current pushing boats over the line. I the
d out o
club an
n the p
d be rig
orch o
orld.
went into the event thinking that I would easily be able to place in the top 20 of the fleet
f
course
ht next
.
to the
It
given that all of my training has been in a Laser Radial and this was a 4.7 event. That notion
was re
on the water as you got a
ally ne
into th
at to w
e yach
was quickly dismissed when I discovered that other countries had sent their 160-170lb
t club
nst and learn from, but it
alk
racing
after a
sailors to this event. Being heavier was a tremendous advantage. I modified my goal to
and se
day a
people from all over the
e
t
h
e whole
strive to make the Gold Fleet division of the championship series after 3 days of qualify- starting on
girls f
ly abou
Looking back, I realize how
leet
t 200 y
ing races. I missed that goal by 3 places. In the end, I finished 2nd in the Silver Fleet divi- Persona
a
ll
rds aw
y
,
I
was a
d, from the Southern
ay.
with m
sion. I learned about the benefit of setting high goals but also how to re-set new benchbit dis
y resu
appoin
lts, bu
and I know that when the
t
e
marks as situations change. I am thankful to have had this experience early in my sailing a wh
d
t
the reg
ole wa
atta as
s a hug
g against all my friends
career and I hope that everyone has a chance to sail in San Francisco Bay at least once
e succ
ess.
www.Laser.orgin their life.
William Livernois
North
North American
American Masters
Masters Rock
Rock in
i
Standard
Standard
Apprentice
Apprentice
Ben
Ben
Richardson-USA
Richardson-USA
1st
1st
Kevin
Kevin
Taugher-USA
Taugher-USA
3rd
3rd
Standard
Standard
Master
Master
Scott
Scott
Ferguson
Ferguson
-USA
-USA 3rd
3rd
Grand
Grand
Master
Master
Standard
Standard
Peter
Peter
Vessella-USA
Vessella-USA
2nd
2nd
Radial
Radial
Master
Master
AlAl
Clark-CAN
Clark-CAN
1st
1st
Radial
Radial
Grand
Grand
Master
Master
Bill
Bill
Symes-USA
Symes-USA
1st
1st
Bruce
Bruce
Martinson-USA
Martinson-USA
2nd
2nd
Radial
Radial
Great
Great
Grand
Grand
Master
Master
Peter
Peter
Seidenberg-USA
Seidenberg-USA
2nd
2nd
Ben
BenRichardson
Richardson
MyMy
fleet
fleet
sailed
sailed
inin
the
the
ebb
ebb
throughout
throughout
the
the
event
event
except
except
for
for
the
the
last
last
couple
couple
ofof
races
races
inin
the
the
flood
flood
and
and
it it
was
was
amazing
amazing
how
how
disorientdisorienting
ing
that
that
switch
switch
was.
was.
We
We
tended
tended
toto
start
start
earlier
earlier
inin
the
the
day
day
soso
overall
overall
only
only
raced
raced
inin
about
about
12-20
12-20
knots.
knots.
I worked
I worked
pretprettyty
hard
hard
toto
prepare
prepare
after
after
spreading
spreading
myself
myself
too
too
thin
thin
across
across
too
too
many
many
other
other
classes
classes
inin
2010
2010
(my
(my
first
first
year
year
ofof
eligibility)
eligibility)
and
and
finishing
finishing
5th.
5th.I also
I also
kind
kind
ofof
blew
blew
the
the
Slalom
Slalom
aa
few
few
days
days
before
before
the
the
Worlds,
Worlds,
soso
that
that
got
got
me
me
even
even
more
more
motivated
motivated
toto
win.
win.The
The
first
first
half
half
ofof
the
the
regatta
regatta
went
went
realreallyly
well
well
asas
I was
I was
aa
little
little
bitbit
faster
faster
upwind
upwind
and
and
aa
lotlot
faster
faster
downwind
downwind
than
than
my
my
main
main
competicompetifirst
tors.
tors.I guess
I guess
I was
I was
aa
bitbit
too
too
excited
excited
the
the
first
atat
race
race
after
after
the
the
lay
lay
day
day
and
and
Orlando
Orlando
and
and
I hit
I hit
the
the
last
last
markmarkinstead
instead
ofof
settling
settling
for
for
aa
2nd,
2nd,
oror
I I
protesting
protesting
(which
(which
I probably
I probably
would
would
have
have
won)
won)
did
did
aa
720
720
and
and
aa
capsize
capsize
and
and
came
came
inin
6th.
6th.I didI didn'tn't
have
have
quite
quite
the
the
same
same
speed
speed
edge
edge
inin
the
the
secsecwas
windier,
but
setond
half,
even
though
it it
was
windier,
but
setond
half,
even
though
tled
tled
down
down
and
and
got
got
through.
through.It It
was
was
aa
bitbit
anticlianticlimactic
win
with
race
(one
less
point
mactic
toto
win
with
aa
race
toto
gogo
(one
less
point
after
ten
races
and
I would
have
won
with
two
after
ten
races
and
I would
have
won
with
two
toto
go),
go),
but
but
once
once
people
people
started
started
congratulating
congratulating
me
me
it it
started
started
toto
sink
sink
in.in.I love
I love
the
the
Master's
Master's
scene
everyone
just
really
nice
and
there
scene
asas
everyone
isis
just
really
nice
and
there
have
great
timeit's
it's
pretty
pretty
refreshing!
refreshing!
toto
have
aa
great
time-
1616
Peter
PeterVessella
Vessella
Immediately
Immediately
after
after
the
the
conclusion
conclusion
ofof
the
the
2010
2010
Master
Master
Worlds
Worlds
inin
England,
England,
my
my
anticipation
anticipation
grew
grew
for
for
the
the
2011
2011
worlds
worlds
inin
San
San
Francisco,
Francisco,
especially
especially
since
since
they
they
would
would
bebe
held
held
atat
my
my
club
club
and
and
onon
my
my
home
home
court.
court.
NoNo
traveling,
traveling,
nono
hotels,
hotels,
and
and
best
best
ofof
all,
all,
my
my
wife’s
wife’s
home
home
cooking
cooking
every
every
night.
night.
Finishing
Finishing
2nd
2nd
last
last
year
year
motivated
motivated
me
me
toto
preprepare
pare
myself
myself
physically
physically
for
for
the
the
usual
usual
windy
windy
SFSF
conditions
conditions
and
and
hopefully
hopefully
win.
win.
Last
Last
year’s
year’s
winner,
winner,
Wolfgang
Wolfgang
Gerz,
Gerz,
from
from
bebe
aa
Germay
Germay
was
was
entered
entered
and
and
certainly
certainly
would
would
factor,
factor,
especially
especially
since
since
hehe
showed
showed
upup
three
three
weeks
weeks
early
early
toto
practice.
practice.
But,
But,
asas
usual,
usual,
inin
aa
world
world
caliber
caliber
event,
event,
there
there
always
always
seems
seems
toto
bebe
other,
other,
really
really
fast
fast
sailors
sailors
that
that
you
you
have
have
never
never
raced
raced
against
against
before.
before.
And
And
this
this
year
year
that
that
was
was
Colin
Colin
Dibb
Dibb
from
from
Australia.
Australia.
Although
it it
was
close
throughout
the
regatta,
Although
was
close
throughout
the
regatta,
hishis
super
fast
downwind
and
reaching
speed
super
fast
downwind
and
reaching
speed
proved
proved
toto
bebe
unbeatable
unbeatable
atat
the
the
end.
end.
HeHe
isis
aa
great
great
sailor
and
gentlemen.
sailor
and
gentlemen.
SFSF
lived
lived
upup
toto
it’s
it’s
billing;
billing;
windy,
windy,
cold,
cold,
lots
lots
ofof
And
Francis
put
great
show.
current.
And
StSt
Francis
put
onon
aa
great
show.
current.
truly
memorable
worlds.
I’m
still
sore,
AA
truly
memorable
worlds.
I’m
still
aa
bitbit
sore,
but
looking
forward
Brisbane.
but
looking
forward
toto
Brisbane.
Bill
BillSymes
Symes
Nobody
Nobody
was
was
more
more
surprise
surpris
Worlds
than
m
Worlds
than
me.
me.
InIn
this,
this,
my
the
worlds,
I figured
the
the
worlds,
I figured
the
pr
main
goal
was
see
old
main
goal
was
toto
see
old
fr
take
full
advantage
StF
take
full
advantage
ofof
St.
did!).
Success
the
race
did!).
Success
onon
the
race
ant,
bonus.
ant,
bonus.
bette
retrospect,
I was
InIn
retrospect,
I was
better
diet
regime,
I did
rem
oror
diet
regime,
I did
remem
ters
world
champion
Mar
ters
world
champion
Mark
much
you
can
and
line
much
asas
you
can
and
line
u
Masters
Worlds,
I logg
toto
Masters
Worlds,
I logge
two
weeks
very
fast
two
weeks
byby
aa
very
fast
g
Ville
Roberts
Australia,
f
Australia,
Ville
Roberts
fro
Masters).
Standard
We
g
Standard
Masters).
We
got
FALL
FALL
2011
2011
in
n San
San Francisco
Francisco Master
Master Worlds
Worlds
AlAlClark
Clark
Photo:l-r:
Photo:l-r:
Scott
Scott
Leith
Leith
(NZL),
(NZL),
Al Al
Clark
Clark
(CAN),
(CAN), I arrived
I arrived
toto
San
San
Fran
Fran
early
early
onon
July
July
Colin
Colin
Dibb
Dibb
(AUS),
(AUS),
Diane
Diane 24th
24th
toto
coach
coach
the
the
4.7
4.7
worlds
worlds
, so
, so
I I
Sissingh
Sissingh
(AUS),
(AUS),
Ben
Ben
had
had
a 10
a 10
day
day
stretch
stretch
toto
watch
watch
the
the
Richardson
Richardson
(USA),
(USA),
sailors
sailors
and
and
observe
observe
the
the
local
local
condicondiLesley
Lesley
Reichenfeld
Reichenfeld
tions.
tions.
ByBy
the
the
time
time
the
the
regatta
regatta
got
got
(USA),
(USA),
Anould
Anould
Hummel
Hummel
underway
underway
I felt
I felt
quite
quite
relaxed
relaxed
and
and
(NED),
(NED),
Buff
Buff
Wendt
Wendt
comfortable
comfortable
with
with
the
the
strategies
strategies
(USA),
(USA),
Keith
Keith
Wilkins
Wilkins
for
for
the
the
different
differentcurrent
current
possibilipossibili(GBR)
(GBR)
Bill
Bill
Symes
Symes
(USA).
(USA).
Photo
Photo
courtesy
courtesy ties.
ties.
We
We
were
were
the
the
2pm
2pm
start
start
each
each
day
day
(often
(often
later)
later)soso
it it
ofof
LauraLee
LauraLee
Symes.
Symes.
was
was
predicted
predicted
wewe
would
would
have
have
the
the
strongest
strongest
breeze
breeze
(we
(we
ed
sed
atat
my
my
performance
performance
atat
2011
2011
Laser
Laser
Masters
Masters
thth
my
year
Grand
Master
and
8th
trip
y 1010
year
asas
aa
Grand
Master
and
8th
trip
toto
prospects
for
podium
finish
were
slim.
Our
rospects
for
aa
podium
finish
were
slim.
Our
friends,
enjoy
the
San
Francisco
ambiance,
and
riends,
enjoy
the
San
Francisco
ambiance,
and
t.
Francis
YC’s
legendary
hospitality
(which
we
Francis
YC’s
legendary
hospitality
(which
we
e
course
was
unexpected,
though
very
pleascourse
was
anan
unexpected,
though
very
pleas-
prepared
than
I thought.
Though
I failed
utterly
any
kind
fitness
rer
prepared
than
I thought.
Though
I failed
utterly
atat
any
kind
ofof
fitness
member
good
piece
advice
I got
few
years
ago
from
multiple
masmber a a
good
piece
ofof
advice
I got
aa
few
years
ago
from
multiple
masBethwaite:
spend
the
last
few
weeks
before
the
regatta
sailing
krk
Bethwaite:
spend
the
last
few
weeks
before
the
regatta
sailing
asas
e
against
the
fastest
guys
you
can
find.
the
two
months
leading
upup
against
the
fastest
guys
you
can
find.
InIn
the
two
months
leading
upup
ged
days
the
Gorge
and
was
very
fortunate
joined
the
last
ed
2020
days
inin
the
Gorge
and
was
very
fortunate
toto
bebe
joined
the
last
sailors,
including
Mark
and
Luke
Parker
t group
master
from
group
ofof
master
sailors,
including
Mark
and
Luke
Parker
from
from
Florida
and
Otto
Strandvig
from
Denmark
(who
finished
5th
om Florida
and
Otto
Strandvig
from
Denmark
(who
finished
5th
inin
got
some
coaching
assistance
from
Steve
Bourdow
and
Sean
Kelly,
t some
coaching
assistance
from
Steve
Bourdow
and
Sean
Kelly,
aa
couple
Laser
geniuses.
the
time
I got
San
couple
ofof
Laser
geniuses.
ByBy
the
time
I got
toto
San
Francisco,
I was
pretty
comfortable
sailing
next
fast
Francisco,
I was
pretty
comfortable
sailing
next
toto
fast
guys
big
wind
and
big
waves,
especially
downwind.The
The
guys
inin
big
wind
and
big
waves,
especially
downwind.
switch
radial
was
last
minute
decision.
I weighed
the
switch
toto
radial
was
aa
last
minute
decision.
I weighed
the
pros
(not
having
suffer
through
six
days
the
Bay
pros
(not
having
toto
suffer
through
six
days
onon
the
Bay
inin
aa
full
rig,
parking
area
closer
the
showers
and
bar)
against
full
rig,
parking
area
closer
toto
the
showers
and
bar)
against
the
cons
(I’ve
never
sailed
radial
before)
and
decided
the
cons
(I’ve
never
sailed
aa
radial
before)
and
decided
toto
take
chance.
The
radial
GM
fleet
was
small,
just
boats,
take
aa
chance.
The
radial
GM
fleet
was
small,
just
2424
boats,
but
featured
some
quality
competitors
the
top,
including
but
featured
some
quality
competitors
atat
the
top,
including
four-time
world
champion
Peter
Heywood,
Bay
area
Laser
four-time
world
champion
Peter
Heywood,
Bay
area
Laser
legend
Chris
Boome,
perennial
podium
finisher
Bruce
legend
Chris
Boome,
perennial
podium
finisher
Bruce
Martinson,
and
my
old
friend
and
rival
from
the
full
rigs,
and
my
old
friend
and
rival
from
the
full
rigs,
Martinson,
Rob
Lowndes.
I really
think
any
one
them
could
have
won
Rob
Lowndes.
I really
think
any
one
ofof
them
could
have
won
this
regatta
had
the
shifts
broken
little
differently.
this
regatta
had
the
shifts
broken
aa
little
differently.
Thankfully,
for
once
my
life
they
didn’t.
Thankfully,
for
once
inin
my
life
they
didn’t.
Read
Read
Peter
Peter
Seidenberg’s
Seidenberg’s
story
story
onon
page
page
18.18.
did).
did).
I had
elected
elected
a few
days
prior
the
first
day
day
toto
sail
sail
I had
a few
days
prior
toto
the
first
the
the
Radial
Radial
rigrig
and
and
was
was
happy
happy
with
with
the
the
choice
choice
asas
my
my
175
175
lbslbs
was
was
quite
quite
appropriate
appropriate
for
for
the
the
20+
20+
kts
kts
wewe
saw
saw
each
each
race.
race.
The
The
first
first
few
few
days
days
wewe
saw
saw
flood
flood
tides
tides
and
and
lots
lots
ofof
tacking
tacking
upup
the
the
beach
beach
, our
, our
starts
starts
were
were
well
well
down
down
from
from
the
the
club
club
soso
often
often
wewe
made
made
our
our
first
first
tack
tack
in in
the
the
entrance
entrance
toto
the
the
harbor.
harbor.
It It
allall
added
added
upup
toto
multiple
multiple
tacks
tacks
toto
get
get
out
out
ofof
the
the
tide
tide
and
and
the
the
rich
rich
getting
getting
richer
richer
each
each
race.
race.
I had
I had
aggressive
aggressive
starts
starts
the
the
first
first
4 races
4 races
(I was
(I was
OCS
OCS
in in
race
race
) and
I figured
that
2 )2 and
I figured
that
was
critical
getting
the
wall
good
shape.
was
critical
toto
getting
toto
the
wall
in in
good
shape.
The
3rd
day
saw
the
ebb
tide
the
outside
and
flood
The
3rd
day
wewe
saw
the
ebb
tide
onon
the
outside
and
flood
the
inside
the
placement
the
windward
mark
was
onon
the
inside
soso
the
placement
ofof
the
windward
mark
was
pivotal
in in
the
strategy
for
the
weather
outside
pivotal
the
strategy
for
the
weather
legs
legs
, the
, the
outside
paid
the
first
race
and
the
inside
2nd
, I ,had
my
poorest
paid
the
first
race
and
the
inside
the
the
2nd
I had
my
poorest
day
with
2 fourths
and
was
keen
toto
the
day
with
2 fourths
and
was
keen
get
get
toto
the
the
front
front
the
next
next
race
day.
race
day.
We
had
a lay
day
onon
the
4th
day
and
the
We
had
a lay
day
the
4th
day
and
were
were
back
back
atat
it it
onon
the
5th
day
for
race
6 and
7 .7I .felt
this
key
day
5th
day
for
race
6 and
I felt
this
was
was
the
the
key
day
and
and
figfigured
I needed
toto
push
hard
throughout
day.
ured
I needed
push
hard
throughout
the
the
day.We
We
were
were
into
a full
ebb
, few
tacks
and
lots
into
a full
ebb
, few
tacks
and
lots
ofof
drag
drag
racing
racing
out
out
toto
the
the
I had
race
with
the
Australian
left.
left.
I had
a tough
a tough
race
with
the
Australian
(who
(who
had
had
won
won
5 and
6 )6and
hehe
prevailed
me
2nd,
race
race
5 and
) and
prevailed
with
with
me
in in
2nd,
I won
I won
the
the
race
ofof
the
day,
soso
I was
happy
toto
bebe
back
onon
track.
second
second
race
the
day,
I was
happy
back
track.
The
5th
day
ofof
racing
was
similar
toto
the
the
4th
4th
and
and
I had
I had
The
5th
day
racing
was
similar
some
some
good
good
battles
battles
with
with
the
the
Brazilians
Brazilians
and
and
a few
a few
Kiwi’s
Kiwi’s
, I, I
ended
ended
the
the
day
day
with
with
a 1,2
a 1,2
and
and
I had
I had
a3
a point
3 point
lead
lead
going
going
into
into
the
the
final
final
day
day
over
over
the
the
Brazilian.
Brazilian.
OnOn
the
the
final
final
day
day
I had
I had
toto
keep
keep
a keen
a keen
eye
eye
onon
Carlos
Carlos
the
the
Brazilian.
Brazilian.
We
We
had
had
plenty
plenty
ofof
breeze
breeze
and
and
pin
pin
end
end
bias
bias
starts
starts
get
soso
it it
was
was
tricky
tricky
toto
get
off
off
the
the
line
line
allall
day.
day.
I had
I had
a decent
a decent
start
start
a few
a few
boats
boats
upup
from
from
the
the
pin
pin
and
and
was
was
able
able
toto
tack
tack
and
and
head
head
out
out
into
into
the
the
good
good
ebb
ebb
tide,
tide,
I won
I won
that
that
race
race
and
and
had
had
mathematically
mathematically
won
won
the
the
event
event
, but
, but
toto
bebe
sure
sure
I sailed
I sailed
the
the
final
final
race
race
and
and
had
had
a blast
a blast
sailing
sailing
in in
the
the
windiest
windiest
breeze
breeze
ofof
the
the
regatta..I
regatta..I
finished
finished
4th
4th
and
and
was
was
very
very
satisfied
satisfied
with
with
my
my
performance.
performance.
Another
Another
very
very
enjoyable
enjoyable
Masters
Masters
Worlds
Worlds
hosthosta fantastic
one
the
best
eded
venues
byby
a fantastic
YCYC
in in
one
ofof
the
best
venues
for
for
sailing
sailing
in in
the
the
world.
world.
1717
North
NorthAmerican
AmericanMasters
MastersRock..
Rock..
cont’d
cont’
Peter
Peter
Seidenberg
Seidenberg
I knewI it
knew
would
it would
be a windy
be a windy
regatta
regatta
and that
andphysical
that physical
fitnessfitness
would would
be of prime
be of prime
importance.
importance.
I also knew
I also knew
that, at
that,
ebbat
tide,
ebbwe
tide,
would
we would
spend spend
more time
moresailing
time sailing
on theon
runthe
than
runusual,
than usual,
and superior
and superior
downwind
downwind
speed speed
would would
mean big
mean
gains
big and
gains
myand
only
myhope
onlyto
hope
beattomy
beat my
heavier,
heavier,
long-time
long-time
rival, and
rival,
12-time
and 12-time
Masters
Masters
World World
champion,
champion,
Keith Wilkins,
Keith Wilkins,
GBR. So,
GBR.
I worked
So, I worked
on my on my
conditioning
conditioning
in the gym,
in theon
gym,
my on
bicycle,
my bicycle,
and onand
theon the
water.water.
Starting
Starting
in January,
in January,
I sailedI sailed
in seven
in seven
regattas
regattas
and went
andto
went
twoto
one-week
two one-week
heavy-air
heavy-air
training
training
ses- sessions in
sions
Ari Barshi’s
in Ari Barshi’s
sailingsailing
centercenter
in Cabarete,
in Cabarete,
DR. DR.
One ofOne
the of
regattas
the regattas
I sailedI sailed
in and in
attached
and attached
great great
importance
importance
to wasto
the
was
annual
the annual
Elvström
Elvström
regatta
regatta
at
at
the Stthe
Francis
St Francis
Yacht Yacht
Club inClub
April,
in on
April,
theon
same
the same
coursecourse
and the
and
same,
the same,
newly-devised,
newly-devised,
coursecourse
configuconfiguration ration
as wasas
used
waslater
usedin
later
the World
in the World
championship.
championship.
The regatta
The regatta
went very
wentwell
veryfor
well
mefor
– Ime
won– the
I won
Radial
the Radial
division.
division.
I am now
I amlooking
now looking
forward
forward
to nexttoyear’s
next year’s
Masters
Masters
WorldsWorlds
in
in
th and
Brisbane,
Brisbane,
the 30the
30th
myand
29th
my
, determined
29th, determined
to taketothe
take
event
the event
seriously
seriously
right from
rightthe
from
start.
the start.
This and
This
alland
theall
conditioning
the conditioning
I had done
I hadmade
done me
made
feel
meready
feel ready
and and
confident
confident
at the at
start
theof
start
the of
Masters
the Masters
WorldsWorlds
– overconfident,
– overconfident,
as it as
it Photo
Photo
above:above:
ActionAction
at the at
World
the World
Masters
Masters
by Chris
by Ray.
Chris Ray.
turnedturned
out. Winning
out. Winning
the Elvström
the Elvström
regatta
regatta
quite handily
quite handily
made me
made me
think Ithink
couldI deal
couldwith
dealthe
with
“crazy”
the “crazy”
tidal currents
tidal currents
in a rather
in a rather
nonchanonchalant way.
lantWhat
way. IWhat
didn’tI didn’t
realizerealize
in Aprilinand,
Aprilagain,
and, again,
well into
well
the
into the
Masters
Masters
WorldsWorlds
was that
wasthe
that
ebb
the
current
ebb current
this spring
this spring
and summer
and summer
was stronger
was stronger
and ran
and
longer
ran longer
than indicated
than indicated
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tide
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causedcaused
by a larger
by a larger
than usual
than run-off
usual run-off
from the
from
mountains
the mountains
due todue to
recordrecord
snow falls
snowlast
falls
winter.
last winter.
SailingSailing
further
further
out in the
out bay
in the
tobay
taketo take Dolly accessories
Dolly accessories
designeddesigned
and manufactured
and manufactured
by PeterbySeidenberg,
Peter Seidenberg,
advantage
advantage
of the of
extended
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of the Seitech
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flood.
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some genuine
bad bad
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gelcoat
more gelcoat
luck, like
luck,
being
like fouled
being fouled
at the at
start
theof
start
the of
first
therace,
first causing
race, causing
me to me to
abrasionabrasion
under the
under the
capsize;
capsize;
or running
or running
into the
into
back
theend
back
ofend
the of
Grand
the Grand
Masters
Masters
fleet fleet
gunwale.
Cushioned
gunwale.
Cushioned
boat support
boat support
during during
and locking
and locking
gunwales
gunwales
with a with
straggler
a straggler
while trying
while trying
to round
to round
the the
storage storage
and trailering.
and trailering.
leeward
leeward
gate ingate
firstinplace,
first place,
causing
causing
me to me
loseto10lose
boats!
10 boats!
Of
Of
Soft, injection-molded
Soft, injection-molded
course,
course,
a 720 below
a 720 below
the finish
the line
finish
in line
one in
race
onedue
race
todue
a misjudged
to a misjudged
Easy slip-on
pieces. pieces.
Easy slip-on
installation.
installation.
tack didn’t
tack didn’t
help either!
help either!
SEIMAR
SEIMAR
At the At
halfway
the halfway
point of
point
the of
regatta,
the regatta,
looking
looking
at my at
first
myseven
first seven
fin- finBow Tie-Down
Bow Tie-Down
Secure your
Secure
bow
your
to the
bowdolly.
to the dolly.
ishes of
ishes
17,8,3,14,5,3,4,
of 17,8,3,14,5,3,4,
my place
my in
place
the regatta
in the regatta
appeared
appeared
ratherrather
dismal.
dismal.
The dream
The dream
of beating
of beating
Keith was
Keith
gone
was–gone
he had
– he
won
hadsix
won six
races races
by then.
byItthen.
was It
questionable
was questionable
whether
whether
I wouldI would
even salvage
even salvage
a
a
secondsecond
place in
place
the regatta!
in the regatta!
So, I started
So, I started
to taketothis
take
event
this serievent seriously. ously.
I knewI Iknew
had good
I hadupwind
good upwind
and superior
and superior
downwind
downwind
speed speed
and and
was determined
was determined
to staytoout
stay
of out
trouble.
of trouble.
I studied
I studied
the tide
thetables
tide tables
the the
night before
night before
and made
and appropriate
made appropriate
notes on
notes
my on
deck
mythe
deck
following
the following
No moreNo
bow
more
slip-off
bow slip-off
on ramps.
on ramps.
Kit nowKit
includes
now includes
11/64” drill
11/64”
bit.drill bit.
day – eliminating
day – eliminating
any confusion
any confusion
about about
the currents.
the currents.
The results
The results
in
in
the remaining
the remaining
five races
five races
of 1,1,2,1,1
of 1,1,2,1,1
were awere
late a
vindication
late vindication
and eleand eleAvailable
Available
at dealers
at dealers
around around
the country.
the country.
For a dealer
For anear
dealer
you,
near
go you,
to go to
vated me
vated
to me
a solid
to asecond
solid second
place in
place
the regatta.
in the regatta.
www.laserperformance.com
www.laserperformance.com
> Dealer> Locator.
Dealer Locator.
For more
For
information,
more information,
email peseidenberg@gmail.com.
email peseidenberg@gmail.com.
18
18
FALLFALL
2011 2011
2012 Schedule
Regatta
Laser
Radial
Laser 4.7
Masters
World Championship
Sr: Boltenhagen, GER
Women's:Boltenhagen, GER
May 4-10
Jr: Buenos Aires,ARG
April 8-15
May 15-20
Mens: Brisbane,AUS July 11-17
Youth: Brisbane, AUS July 1-7
Buenos Aires, ARG
March 31-April 7
Brisbane, AUS
March 9-17
Colombia Gorge, OR
July 26-29
www.CGRA.org
Colombia Gorge, OR
July 26-29
www.CGRA.org
Colombia Gorge, OR
July 26-29
www.CGRA.org
tbd
na
Lauderdale YC
www.lyc.org
February 2-5
na
na
Etobicoke YC
Toronto, ON
June 21-24
Etobicoke YC
Toronto, ON
June 21-24
Etobicoke YC
Toronto, ON
June 21-24
tbd
30 GP Pts, ISAF Grade 2
Houston YC
Shoreacres, TX
May 31-June 3
Houston YC
Shoreacres, TX
May 31-June 3
Houston YC
Shoreacres, TX
May 31-June 3
Brant Beach YC
Brant Beach, NJ
Sept 14-16
CORK
Kingston, ON
Kingston, ON
Kingston, ON
www.cork.org
www.cork.org
www.cork.org
30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 1
August 18-22
August 18-22
August 15-18
Midwinters East
Clearwater, FL
Clearwater, FL
Clearwater, FL
www.clwyc.org
www.clwyc.org
www.clwyc.org
Feb 23-26
Feb 23-26
Feb 23-26
Midwinters West
Alamitos Bay YC
Long Beach, CA
March 23-25
Alamitos Bay YC
Long Beach, CA
March 23-25
Alamitos Bay YC
Long Beach, CA
March 23-25
na
na
na
Sayville YC
Bluepoint, NY
July 7-8
ISAF Grade 1
NA Championship
40 GP pts. ISAF Grade 1
North American
Women’s Radial Champs
ISAF Grade 1
Canadian
Championships
US Championships
30 GP Pts., ISAF Grade 2
Rolex Miami OCR
www.ussailing.org
www.ussailing.org
January 22-28
January 22-28
Atlantic Coast
Championships
District 7
District 7
District 7
Cabrillo Beach YC
San Pedro, CA
June 22-24
Cabrillo Beach YC
San Pedro, CA
June 22-24
Cabrillo Beach YC
San Pedro, CA
June 22-24
Texas Corinthian YC
Kemah, TX
May 19-20
Texas Corinthian YC
Kemah, TX
May 19-20
Texas Corinthian YC
Kemah, TX
May 19-20
No Coast
Championships
District 4
District 4
District 4
District 20
District 20
District 20
Gulf Coast
Championships
Melbourne YC
Melbourne, FL
Feb 17-19
Miami, FL (men only) Miami, FL (women only)
ISAF Grade 1
Pacific Coast
Championships
na
D16, D21,
D22, D23
Great Lakes
Championships
www.Laser.org
Crescent Sail YC
Grosse Pt Farms, MI
June 23-24
19
Tips & Technique
A COOL RIGGING TRICK
and Related Tips for your Rudder & Tiller
RYAN MINTH, C-VANE SAILING
Every now and then you see something so
cool in the boat park or during a training
camp that it just must be immediately adapted
on your own boat. In this case, it is also totally worth sharing. Giving credit where it is
due, I first saw this on Canadian Sailing Team
Member hotshot David Wright’s boat.
We have all known to take the rudder tie
down line out the back of the rudder head
and over the top or along the side to keep it
from dragging under the tiller and rubbing the
top of the transom. Problem is that it creates
heaps of friction and reduces the tension on
the line. Moreover, it totally eats through
whatever flavor line you might be using quickly. True, it is more of a pain buying and
installing the new line than about crying over
the $0.92 of severed cordage.
With a hole at the fat end of the tiller, the line
cleanly passes over the aft rudder head post,
through the hole, and heads directly for the
cleat. Have a look:
If I still have your attention (those not reading
this at work probably went looking for their
drills and out to the garage to make the mod
straight away) here are a few tips when it
comes to the rudder, tiller, and tie down line.
This is one of only TWO applications aboard
your Laser where stretchy cordage is highly
preferred. The idea is to keep load on this line
and help keep the rudder all of the way down.
Even one degree up is horrifically slow, particularly to those likely to make the error as
they are probably sailing with heel as well.
No-stretch line will ease in the Clamcleat® as
it takes hold. Stretchy line will keep some
load on the blade and the tiller (the line not
only keeps the blade down but also keeps the
tiller in the rudder head without the unnecessary tiller pin). It also will have some give
should you hit the bottom and reduce the
probability of blowing out the stopper hole in
the blade.
To keep a high load on the tie down line, us a
3:1 truckers hitch as shown. If your tiller cleat
is too far aft, it is possible to place the purchase inside the ridder head.
If you have the tiny rudder bolt and washer
set up as shown here, replace it with the maximum sized bolt allowed (for stiffness).
20
FALL 2011
Tighten
Tighten
the rudder
the rudder
bolt bolt
to where
to where
therethere
is quite
is quite
a bit aofbitfricof friction tion
whenwhen
liftinglifting
and lowering
and lowering
the rudder
the rudder
bladeblade
in thein rudder
the rudder
head.head.
YearsYears
ago, many
ago, many
sailors
sailors
would
would
absolutely
absolutely
crankcrank
downdown
hard hard
and effectively
and effectively
lock lock
the rudder
the rudder
in thein down
the down
position.
position.
This This
lead lead
to premature
to premature
cracks
cracks
and complete
and complete
failure
failure
of the
of the
bladeblade
(especially
(especially
as they
as they
werewere
the old
theCompton
old Compton
foamfoam
blades).
blades).
If youIf are
youtimid
are timid
aboutabout
drilling
drilling
out your
out your
tiller,tiller,
at least
at least
ensure
ensure
that that
the aft
theend
aft of
endthe
of tiller
the tiller
doesdoes
not protrude
not protrude
aft oraftcontact
or contact
the tie
thedown
tie down
line. line.
If it does,
If it does,
the tiller
the tiller
is able
is able
to pull
to forward
pull forward
and either
and either
ease ease
the line,
the lifting
line, lifting
the rudder
the rudder
or make
or make
the rudthe rudder/tiller
der/tiller
connection
connection
less than
less than
completely
completely
wobble
wobble
free. free.
Finally,
Finally,
it is nice
it is nice
to have
to have
the side
the side
entryentry
style style
of Clamcleat®
of Clamcleat®
with with
the open
the open
post,post,
making
making
it really
it really
easy easy
to rigtoand
rig unrig
and unrig
the the
line. line.
ManyMany
tillertiller
cleats’
cleats’
entryentry
holesholes
are too
are small
too small
to pass
to pass
the the
line through
line through
twice.
twice.
ManyMany
sailors
sailors
merely
merely
tie a tie
fewa half
few hitchhalf hitches, but
es, why
but why
have have
a cleat
a cleat
therethere
at allatand
all not
and use
not it?
useI it?
would
I would
have have
a photo
a photo
of mine,
of mine,
but that
but that
tillertiller
got shipped
got shipped
to San
to San
Diego
Diego
to replace
to replace
the XD
the IXD
snapped
I snapped
during
during
a clinic.
a clinic.
Bummer.
Bummer.
So back
So back
to drilling
to drilling
out your
out your
tiller.tiller.
It certainly
It certainly
is notis the
not Gothe GoFastest
Fastest
tip you
tip will
you ever
will ever
hear,hear,
but without
but without
a doubt,
a doubt,
is pretty
is pretty
cool.cool.
See you
See on
youthe
on water
the water
soon.soon.
New Stainless Sunfish Trailer
New Stainless Coupler
www.Laser.org
www.Laser.org
21 21
Regatta Reports
Fanning and Johnson win North
American Championships
TOM RAMSHAW
When I heard that the North American
Championship was going to be held at
Brant Beach Yacht Club, I knew that this
regatta was one that I had to attend. Just a
short eight-hour drive from my home in
Toronto, Canada, I set the week of July 815 aside for one of my key trips of the
summer.
It was my second time sailing at the
Brant Beach Yacht Club. BBYC is on Long
Beach Island, a long narrow island with
beautiful beaches in New Jersey. In the
days before the regatta many of the sailors
enjoyed the beaches, surfing and other
water activities. I rented a cool little house
with my buddies a block from the beach.
Surfboard rental shops were all along the
main boulevard, and I took advantage of
some time prior to the regatta to charge
some tubular waves from the ocean swells
in between training sessions.
My friends and I arrived three
days early for some training. It was great
weather – sunny and windy – with lots of
boats out practicing. The sailing at Brant
Beach is on the west side of the island in
protected, flat, shallow and warm waters.
The race course was only a short five
minute sail from the beach. One important
thing I remembered during my first experience there was to pay attention to the
weeds collected by the dagger board and
rudder. To keep boat speed up, it was
important to clear the weeds that slowly
accumulated over the course of each leg,
and I made sure to practice this technique
during my training.
Clay Johnson and Chris Dold beginning
the first reach in the top three of race 7.
The hospitality of the Brant Beach
Yacht Club
makes sailing
there fantastic.
Every morning
before racing, a
full breakfast was
offered to the
sailors. Fruit,
granola bars and
water were handed out to the
sailors right after
the finish of each
race. They even
had snacks and
drinks after racing and a barbeque before the awards on
the last day. Colie Sails and one other
company were busy in the boatyard selling
sailing equipment and clothing.
The regatta had a strong fleet of 73
Lasers and 146 Radials registered. After six
races of qualifying the Radials were split
into Gold and Silver fleets. The
regatta had 40 Grand Prix
Points available and the top two
Laser sailors would each get a
spot in the 2012 Laser Worlds
in Germany. This was a big
event and almost all of the top
North American sailors attended
making it very exciting and
competitive.
On the first day of the regatta there were light, shifty, offshore winds in hot conditions,
which made decision-making
tricky on each upwind. It was
tough to have consistent results,
but we still got off three wellrun races.
22
The second
day saw similar
conditions to day
one with three
more races, but
the temperatures
were even hotter!
Many of the
sailors were concerned with the
heat, and hydration was an important factor in the
success of each
competitor. In addition to the heat, many of
the top guys in the fleet were getting into
trouble with yellow flags for propulsion
Avery Fanning in first on the
final reach of race 8
under Rule 42 which was being well
enforced by the jury.
I was excited to learn that day
three was anticipated to be windier. Sailing
out in 18-20 knots, I was stoked to get the
racing started. It was some of the tougher
sailing conditions I had seen on the circuit
this summer with small, steep chop making
it difficult to surf downwind. Upwind I had
to work really hard to keep the bow out of
the waves and the cockpit free of water. At
the end of the day, we finished another
three races.
The fourth and final day of racing
there were two races scheduled, but the
wind was very light and inconsistent making it tough to get the races started.
During the first race the wind was barely in
existence. Doing well involved having
good powerful tacks and jibes and being
able to find the small puffs scattered over
the race course. We managed to finish that
race in just under the 90 minute time limit.
Shortly after the race was done the Race
Committee sent the fleet in, completing the
FALL 2011
No Coast Championships
Position
1
2
3
4
5
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
18
20
20
20
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
29
SailNo.
Sailor
174350
JimChristopher
156813
AlexGross
182870
DrakeJensen
180109
NicholasOdegard
195938
162291
JayMiles
171007
TracyUsher
167437
BruceBraly
JeffKluge
156874
DougDuBois
184618
TimZimmerman
95006
ScottVermerris
194594
EricWilson
196165
GeoffHurwitch
194037
PhillippeAstie
197602
SimeonThomas
160965
MikeGilbert
149237
KarstenGillwald
131479
TrentStewart
161089
MichaelEichwald
121477
BusterPike
155566
ChandosErwin
194481
ChuckThomas
106295
BobSkinner
196252
BillRusconi
129355
BillGillingham
196036
PaulSwan
195898
RomainAstie
181723
LaurenEberly
112231
BillTabor
184588
LindsayEberly
Scores
11
28
31
35
37
37
49
53
60
68
87
88
90
109
115
116
133
134
134
142
142
142
149
158
189
191
216
225
226
226
1
(6)
5
1
2
8
(15)
4
3
(23)
7
13
9
10
11
12
20
18
16
22
17
(26)
19
(27)
(24)
(25)
14
(31)
21
28
29
2
1
2
3
8
6
4
7
5
10
9
13
11
17
15
18
(26)
(24)
14
12
22
20
(23)
21
16
25
19
(31)
29
27
28
2011LaserNoCoastChampionships
3
4
5
6
7
8
1
(5)
1
2
1
1
3
1
2
7
(18) 2
2
8
(12) (17) 3
7
(9)
3
4
4
6 (10)
4
(11) 6
1
4 (11)
(13) 4
3
3
2
4
8
9
(10) (14) 7
5
7
(16) 8
9
10
3
6
2
5
6
9
6
11
7
(16) 10
5 (15)
12 10
11 (19) 14
8
10 14
9
11 11 (18)
5
13
13
18 (20) (22)
(20) 12
19
15 12 (25)
17 17
7
(22) 13 16
(26) 6
26
13 15
9
(25) 24
23
5
17 12
(27) 15
15
20 19 17
16 19
14
12
8 (31)
15 21
21 (26) 16 21
14 (25) 18
8
24 19
(24) 23
22
23 21 13
18 20 (24) 16 23 14
21 (22) 17
21 22 20
22 (26) 25
25 25 23
19 18
28 (31) (31) 31
31 31
31
24 26 24
(31) (31) 20
31 31 31
23 28
27 (31) (31) 31
28 27
29
27 27 (31)
9
1
(12)
5
7
4
9
2
8
16
14
6
(20)
3
10
15
13
17
(22)
(31)
(24)
23
11
18
19
21
31
25
31
31
(31)
10
3
6
2
1
4
8
7
(12)
(21)
5
(20)
13
11
15
(25)
14
17
18
31
9
16
10
19
22
23
31
24
31
31
31
North American Championships....continued
regatta as a ten race series with two drop
races.
I thought the Race Committee did
a great job throughout the regatta. For
example, to manage the starting line they
used a megaphone to communicate to the
fleet, telling us our distance from the line
and hailing sail numbers as they were over.
This resulted in fewer general recalls and
OCS scores, which I thought was awesome.
In addition the courses were well set and
races were punctual and fair.
After racing on the final day a
delicious barbeque dinner was served for
www.Laser.org
the competitors, followed by the awards
ceremony. In the Radial fleet, Max Lopez
finished in third, Ian Barrows came in second, and the radial North American
Champion was Avery Fanning. The top
female sailor was Ingrid Merry. In the
Laser fleet, Rob Crane came in third, Chris
Dold finished second and local New Jersey
native, Clay Johnson, won the North
American Championship. Clay Johnson
and Chris Dold were awarded the two
World’s spots for 2012.
can’t wait to come back to Brant Beach.
Photos taken by Beth Reitinger from
Brant Beach Yacht Club website,
www.bbyc.net
Thanks to the committee members and the hospitality of the club volunteers and staff. It was a great regatta, and I
23
Vranizan and Neville Win 2011 U.S. Singlehanded
Championships
JAKE FISH
US SAILING COMMUNICATIONS
Frederick Vranizan (Shoreline, Wash. /
Seattle YC) dominated the men’s Laser
fleet from start to finish and Christine
Neville (Oakland, Calif. / ILCA) came
from behind on Sunday to win the
women’s Laser Radial fleet at the 2011
U.S. Singlehanded Championship, a US
SAILING National Championship event
hosted by the Columbia Gorge Racing
Association.
Vranizan won five out of the nine races and
finished in the top five in all but the final
race of the Championship. He won race
eight and finished eighth in race nine on
Sunday. Vranizan won by a 16-point margin over fellow Seattle Yacht Club member
Michael Karas (Kirkland, Wash.), who
solidified second place by posting a pair of
fifth place finishes. Vranizan raced well in
all conditions this weekend, including the
strong winds on Friday and the light, shifty
breezes on Saturday and Sunday. The men’s
Laser fleet consisted of 21 sailors.
Neville also discussed her keys to success
this weekend. “I had good speed upwind,
especially in the first day. It was important
not to fall back, because there were no
The U.S. Singlehanded
Championship is a qualification and select invitation
event... Racing took place
on the the Columbia River
Gorge... Last year marked
the first-ever women’s division for the U.S.
Singlehanded
Championship…
Competitors took part in
Rolex Clinics on Thursday,
July 21… US SAILING
Medals were awarded to the top three in
each division… Frederick Vranizan will
have his name engraved on the George
O’Day Trophy... Tracy Usher (Montara,
“I tried my best to have conservative starts
and either take an early lead or put myself
in position to climb into the lead,” said
Vranizan. “I love the sailing here at the
Gorge. I sailed fast in the downwind here at
the Gorge where it is shifty and tricky,” he
added.
Vranizan is a graduate of St. Mary’s
College of Maryland, where he competed
on the sailing team from 2005 to 2009. He
raced in the Gold Fleet at the 2010 Laser
World Championships. Currently, Vranizan
is campaigning in the Laser for the
Olympics as a member of the US Sailing
Development Team. He is also preparing
for the ISAF World Championships in
Perth, Australia this December.
The women’s fleet managed just one race
on Sunday. Neville’s fifth place finish was
good enough to surpass Hanne Weaver (Gig
Harbor, Wash. / Seattle YC) for the lead
who finished 13th in today’s only race.
Weaver dropped to third and Sky Adams
(Santa Barbara, Calif. / Santa Barbara YC)
slipped into second after finishing third.
Neville finished fourth out of 12 at last
year’s U.S. Singlehanded Championship.
There were 18 sailors competing at this
year’s women’s division.
“This is pretty surprising and really exciting,” said Neville. “It’s an honor because
this Championship was so competitive.”
24
throwouts. I was able to keep the boat flat
when it was windy and take the lead before
the downwind shift, which was going
against the current.”
Calif. / St. Francis YC) of the men’s division won the Peter Barrett
Sportsmanship Trophy.
For more details on the U.S. Singlehanded
Championships, including a list of competitors, results, final standings, recaps, photos,
Notice of Race, Preliminary Sailing
Instructions, history and more, please visit
the event website at
http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult/U
SSinglehandedChampionship.htm.
Stay connected with US SAILING and our
National Championship events through
Facebook and Twitter for breaking news,
daily updates, reminders, photos, videos
and more.
The U.S. Singlehanded Championship is
sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A.,
LaserPerformance, Gill North America and
Hobie Polarized. The Championship is a
Sailors for the Sea - Clean Regattas certification event.
Championship Notes
FALL 2011
Inaugural Round Shelter Island Laser Race 2011
number on the #2 boat.
Rounding Ram’s Head I tried to stay
west of the rumb line to avoid any
remaining outgoing current. Passing
Coecles Harbor I was surprised by the
strength of the easterly current still coming out so I decided to cut the Nicoll’s
point corner. The rocks indicated that the
current had changed and was coming in,
very surprising and confusing but this
tidal change was confirmed as we got
close to heading up around the most
south-easterly point of the island,
Mashomack Pt (where I managed to wet
sand the lower part of my rudder).
At this point we were more than half
way through the race and my lack of
local knowledge would hurt, but thankfully we started 30 minutes after the
Sunfish and the Lasers were now beginning to pass the tail end of that fleet. The
leading Sunfish were proving to be a
good predictor of conditions ahead
and I figured that the locals would
know how to cross that portion of the
bay heading to the South Ferry.
This was the pivotal part of the
race as the top two Lasers were hugging the Shelter Island shore yet the
Sunfish fleet were mainly crossing
the bay on starboard tack. With the
top two boats 20-30 boat lengths
ahead I decided to split and cross the
bay. I was pleasantly surprised by
the good pressure and incredible
NWerly current flow taking me up
the course (wasn’t the tide supposed
to be slack 5 hours after high tide?).
By the time we got close to turning
the point to cross the ferry path I had
closed the gap to ~4 boat lengths
from the top boat sailed by Connor,
Fantastic accommodation... Amazing facilities... and great sailing!
who graciously congratulated the
- Paul Goodison
move.
I passed him on the next tack,
tried to cover but he had better speed
in the very light and confused winds
Orange Bowl Clinic and Regatta Coaching
coming off the southerly shore and
Clinic: Dec 22-24 | Regatta: Dec 26-30
Format: Chris Dold will be running a three day training clinic out of the US Sailing Center in
pulled away. The drag race on starMiami, FL from December 22-24 and then provide on-water coaching at the International
board across the Shelter Island Sound
Orange Bowl Youth Regatta which runs Dec 26 - 30 . Accommodation, boat, and food are
NOT provided.
began. Going further into Noyack
High Performance New Years Training Clinic
Bay the wind built to where my 190
th
December 27-January 7
lbs came into play and I was able to
Format: All Inclusive Package: Includes Accommodation, Laser Charter, Coaching and Food
grind out the deficit and sail below
DĞǆŝĐĂŶDĂƐƚĞƌ͛ƐůŝŶŝĐĂŶĚZĞŐĂƚƚĂ
February 25 ʹ March 4th
and in front on the long tack
Format: All Inclusive Package: Includes Accommodation, Laser Charter, Coaching and Food
approaching Paradise Point. After a
DĞǆŝĐĂŶDĂƐƚĞƌ͛ƐŚĂŵƉŝŽŶƐŚŝƉƐ͗The regatta will take place on the last three days of your
stay ʹ Friday to Sunday. ISA will provide on water coaching to sailors competing in the
quick port tack we rounding the red
regatta and tactics will be discussed each day after racing.
nun into Southold Bay where the rest
Spring Break Youth Clinics
was a close cover on a tight reach to
Week 1: March 11-17 | Week 2: March 18-24 | Week 3: March 25-31
Format: All Inclusive Package: Includes Accommodation, Laser Charter, Coaching and Food.
the finish after 3 hours and 50 minutes.
If there are dates available where you would like to come down and training by yourself or
with a group of people let us know and we will set up a clinic to meet your needs
Someone at the party mentioned I
need to defend this new world record,
so see you all next year!
STEVE FISK
Conditions could not have been better
for the 2011 race, warm weather, bright
sun, good breeze (NW 5-14knts). For an
inaugural race a 12 boats fleet was a good
turnout (I was there for the inaugural 420
race, 2 boats). Overall, hats off to the
SYC and race management for opening up
the race to Laser fleet and running a great
event.
Race tactics off the start should have
been pretty easy; with a clockwise race the
pin was heavily favored (closer to the rumb
line- favorable current -better angle) yet I
got lazy and ended up at the boat. Within
ten minutes I was in 5th. The top two
boats did a great job beam reaching and
using the marginally planning conditions to
pull away from the rest of the pack.
Tactically not much going on, stay in the
current and sail the shortest distance before
rounding the furthest NW point of Shelter
Island’s Hay Beach Pt, hike hard in the
gusts and bear off when possible. I managed to pass Ted and Bob before rounding
down into Gardiners Bay.
Five years ago in a Sunfish I rounded
that point in first and managed to lose it all
by going into the bay and not sticking to
the coastline like the rest of the fleet, not
again. This time with the long, long, downwind run I played it safe sailing a mostly
straight line by the lee towards the tip of
Rams Head. I learned that any unnecessary
easting would put you into a current pulling
you out into Gardiners Bay and away from
the island. Downwind pressure across the
course seemed consistent. Once within a
mile of Rams head I heated up my angle to
get within the rocks off the beach and
seemed to close down the gap with the two
front runners where I could read the sail
2011-2012 ISA CLINICS
th
Chris Dold
x
x
North American Laser Champion
ISA Coach
Vaughn Harrison
x
ISA Head Coach
Inquiries
chris@internationalsailingacademy.com
WWW.INTERNATIONALSAILINGACADEMY.COM
www.Laser.org
25
Reaching: The Lost Art
MIKE KALIN
How often do you round the windward mark in a breezy race and just
can’t seem to get the boat on a plane.
You frantically sail high to defend, your
mind is racing (your boat is plowing),
only to watch veteran sailors take the
low road, deeper and faster, always
seemingly in control, always with just
the right amount of power in their rig,
never running into the backside of
waves and never getting off a plane.
You tweak and tweak your settings:
tighter outhaul, looser vang, board up
more.... no down more.... why does
my rudder keep cavitating!?!?! In the
modern day of sailboat racing, we are
losing the art of the reach. From junior sailing on up to college sailing,
windward/leeward courses have dominated the scene. When we go out to
train, we inevitably do a bunch of rabbit starts to a point very far upwind,
look at our watches and say “long run
to the red nun by the harbor
entrance” and call it a day. I recently
ran a clinic out of Richmond Yacht
Club where the group selected reaching as the prime focus. Young Laser
start Charlie Buckingham had this to
say: “have you ever seen Steve
Bourdow on a reach? He’s sick”. True
enough, Steve was at the top of the
Laser sailing world in the early 1990s
(and is definitely no slouch now,
either). Those massive race courses
had giant equilateral triangles where
the reaching legs could sometimes take
as much as 40 minutes of a 1.75 hour
long race. The best Laser sailors at
the time (Glenn Bourke, Peter
Tanscheidt and Steve Bourdow) were
masters at making the boat go on the
reach. They could literally put a quarter mile of distance on the rest of the
fleet on the reaching legs. How did
they do it? We decided to spend a few
weeks trying to figure out what those
legends knew.
First of all, like anything in life, you
need to put in the hours — just ask
The Beatles. This means dedicated
time and effort with the right set up;
26
maybe not “10k hours”, but at least
50% of your practice time. You’ll need
a windy venue, nice waves, competitive
training partners and most importantly,
a good set up of drills that will keep
the training group tightly packed and
sailing to fixed marks (not water towers on a horizon six miles away). This
is an important point: you’ll never
learn to reach effectively if the training
drills only reward those boats who
consistently heat it up and take the
fast, high road (to a somewhat arbitrary destination). Most of the experience based fine-tuning that the reaching masters have figured out is how
much to deviate from the rhumb-line
for various strategical considerations
(current, persistent shifts, geographic
puffs/lulls, phases of the wind (up in
lifts, down in headers). It truly is a
subtle art to tweak your heading several degrees lower than your competitors in a puff, while retaining 98% of
your speed, then during the inevitable
lull, smoothly transitioning up while
keeping your speed up (and their
speed drops 15%). Again, many course
alterations are subtle, but the gains to
be made are huge when played out
over a long reach. Each reach is
unique and has its own set of challenges — you need to build up a database of experience to know when to
sail which mode and how much to
account for each factor on a reach.
And again, these subtleties are like science experiments and they need to be
played out to completion ie. the entire
training group sailing 100% effort to
the fixed mark. In San Francisco Bay,
there are a couple of drills I have set
up for when I’m coaching there. One
drill is what I call the “downwind
slalom” — not to be confused with
the Heavy Air Slalom which is more of
a boat handling exercise on a tiny
course. The “downwind slalom” starts
near the south tower of the Golden
Gate bridge and blasts off on a starboard reach to fixed marks that line
the beach of the Presidio. The coachboat motors down to become the
outer reach mark and the fleet zigs
and zags down the city front in 15-20
knots with a bit of skewed swell, chop,
current gradients, geographic wind
shifts, frequent puffs and lulls — you
name it, the City Front provides it. All
in all, the course takes about 30 minutes and every single aspect of reaching in a Laser is put to the test. You
can likely set up a similar drill in your
home waters. It is a great way to add
some spice to your training, or even
weeknight racing group. You can turn
the drill into “the points drill” — the
first place boat at each mark is awarded two points, but has to complete a
720 before continuing on. The second
place boat gets 1 point, but completes
a 360. The third place boat at each
mark gets 1/2 point, but continues on,
usually in the lead. This is a great way
to get practice leading the pack and
trying to extend, or getting stuck in
FALL 2011
the pack and trying to overtake on the
reach.
Cross-training: reaching in a Laser
transforms the boat’s upwind characteristics (a brute force hammering
tool), into a majestic work of art (with
some occasional brute force). In contrast to clenching your jaw, hammering
on the mainsheet and getting into
“smash-mouth” sailing mode, think like
a ballerina and dance, dance, dance
down the waves. In all seriousness,
cross-training in a fast reaching boat,
like a V15, 505, 29er will get you more
in tune to what the boat wants to do
and how it wants to release its energy
through the water. Mainsheet trim and
steering techniques that are crucial in
double-handed planing boats are similarly crucial in the Laser. I also know
of many of the world’s top Laser
sailors are also exceptional windsurfers (Paul Goodison, Gustavo Lima,
Mark Mendelblatt, Matias del Solar) —
many windsurfing techniques can be
applied to a Laser. Far often we fail to
relax our animal instincts and we overtrim the mainsheet, and leave it that
way. Effective reaching techniques are
about subtle, frequent adjustments of
mainsheet, bodyweight, angle of sail to
release energy into the boat (when
over-powered), or build up energy
(when under-powered). There is no
better way to feel when all of your
adjustments are working right then on
a windsurfer — a correct sail trim,
pump, weight shirt will cause a noticeable and direct translation of that
adjustment into pure speed.
With the philosophical aspects and
training ideas taken care of, here are
some heavy air reaching technique
notes that we gathered from the training in San Francisco:
Mainsheet trim is paramount: 90% of
reaching “speed” problems is simply
not trimming the mainsail to the optimum angle. Because the wind is everchanging, the mainsheet must be
CONSTANTLY adjusted — in and out
at a very high frequency. Pumping the
sheet is not nearly as effective as just
paying constant attention to having the
www.Laser.org
telltales flowing (but when you get
enough experience, this is achieved
passively and without conscious
thought). It is especially important to
be able to deflect the high wind gusts
immediately with immediate mainsheet
dumps and have the boat accelerate
with a constant angle of heel vs.
attempting to hike harder while heeling over.
Flat is not fast: a common misconception in the Laser. Sailing the boat too
flat means you won’t have enough
power in the boat, you will be dragging
in the water and likely suffering excessive bouts of windward heel followed
by leeward heel. A modest leeward
heel will reduce a bit of wetted surface, but the real key is to maintain a
constant angle of heel throughout.
Board height is very important: a
board that slides through the stopper
and always goes too low on the reach
can cost you dearly. Worse than the
extra drag, is the potential excess heeling moment and also the tendency for
the boat to “spin out” and for the rudder to cavitate. On a very over-powered reach, rather than flogging the
mainsail and spinning out of control,
raise the board 3/4 of the way to produce a forgiving set-up — puffs will
make the boat slide to leeward rather
than broach to leeward. The faster
you go, the less lateral resistance you
need (think of a windsurfer with one
tiny fin). Also, lateral resistance at high
speed also means greater heeling
moment (think of a keelboat broaching).
boat. Be fast, yet gentle when bringing
your weight forward and inboard during lulls. Be powerful and aggressive
when hiking out and back in the puffs.
Anticipate the puffs and have your
weight in place a split second earlier
than what is required. This goes back
to keeping your boat at a constant
angle of heel and transferring energy
from the wind into instant speed.
Be proactive with your strategy: know
where the mark is, what phase the
wind is in, what the next shift is likely
to do, what the pressure will do, what
the current will do BEFORE you round
the top mark. The first 20 seconds of
the reach will likely dictate your fate
— whether you are executing your
strategy, or fighting for dear life with
the boat directly behind you. Focus on
your boat, the waves and your strategy; don’t fall into the trap of looking
back and deciding you have to defend
the high road at all costs. The best
reachers are proactive and forward
thinking, not paranoid and looking back
behind them.
Have fun with it! The Laser is one of
the most exhilarating boats to sail on a
heavy air reach. Remember back to
when you were 14 years old and
learned to sail your “Laser 1”. I say
let’s bring back the old triangle course
— reaching is a lost art that is worth
re-discovering!
Sail Fast!
Up in the lulls, down in the gusts: a
simple saying that is easier said than
done. This requires incredible
amounts of experience and practice.
How high? How low? What about
the pack to windward? All of these
things you will need to experiment
with to get just right. Even the subtle
course changes have massive effects
over a long reach.
Be like a ballerina: the more variable
the wind and the looser the reach, the
more you will have to be all over your
27
District Reports
District 1
Nova Scotia
Danielle Dube
This summer District 1 proved to be a hotbed of
laser and radial activity, both for local sailors and
for those coming from all over Canada to compete
in our waters. The provinces managed to cram several events into a short period of time, to the point
where there was some overlap and race teams had to
choose which events to attend and which to look
forward to next year instead. The level of sailing
this year was unprecedented… an opinion which is
not just mine, but is shared by coaches and Race
Committees alike. There were plenty of opportunities for group training (at Youth Olympic Training
Seminars held before some events), and plenty of
races held in different locations to test D1 sailors
across all conditions. In mid August sailors from
District 1 attended Cork International Week and performed spectacularly. Not much more than a week
later, the competition was brought home to them as
sailors from across Canada flocked to St. Margaret’s
Bay for the Trihedral Youth Nationals (a Canadian
Yachting Association event) in the last few days of
August. For most this was the pinnacle event of the
season, and by all accounts it was a great success…
despite tropical storm Irene’s best efforts to blow
out the opening ceremonies and the first day of racing (Instead sailors were treated to a wild and windy
half-day of racing in the storm’s wake). To put into
perspective the importance of the event, the Youth
Nationals was the first qualifier for the 2012
Canadian Youth World Sailing Team that will represent Canada at the ISAF Youth World
Championships held next year in Dublin, Ireland.
This season’s D1 report will include results from
major local regattas, D1 sailors results from Cork
International Week and Cork OCR, and results from
the CYA Youth Nationals. It will also include a
regatta report sent to me from the Rothesay Yacht
Club in New Brunswick on the third event in their
New Brunswick Circuit Series.
Regatta Report From the Rothesay Yacht Club, New
Brunswick:
Regatta number three of the New Brunswick Sailing
Circuit Series was sailed under perfect conditions on
August 13th & 14th under the direction of Noreen
Gilland Race Committee Chairperson and assisted
by long time laser master sailors Stephen Fuccillo &
David Wells.
The Rothesay Laser regatta was sailed on KENNEBECASIS BAY in consistent strong southerly
sea breezes, the conditions were very challenging
even to the best Laser sailors.
After a short postponement on Saturday the sailors
were greeted with classic day on the bay. The land
heated up during the day and the sea breeze filled in.
The wind started out at 10-knots and quickly built to
a steady 16 to 18 knots by the end of the day. Some
gusts of 20 knots were reported.
The first day of racing on a windward-leeward
course was just brilliant under clear blue skies.
During most races positions changed frequently due
28
to the high winds, often on the down wind legs one
or two boats would have difficulty remaining
upright and would turtle in the 20 knot gusts, making the racing exciting to view.
On Saturday in the Full Rigs ST-Onge from RKYC
was in great form. He was able to hold off Alex
Mouland also from RKYC in Saint John. The two
had a nice battle going on. Alex Mouland had not
been sailing in a laser in a while and was using a
friends boat at the regatta. (((((THE SPIRIT OF
LASER SAILING LEND A FRIEND YOUR BOAT
IF YOU CAN NOT USE IT)))))). But by the end of
day one it was evident that Alex Mouland, when he
got his form back, would prove to be unbeatable for
the remainder of the regatta in the full rigs.
In the radial rigs on Saturday Jill Landry from
RKYC was positively unstoppable!! Jill kicked butt.
She often was able to beat the full rigs around the
course. She sailed a perfect regatta winning all
eleven (11) races. She always had a solid start and
held off anybody that got close to her on the course.
In race three when the wind was the strongest of the
day Jill cleaned house, starting at the pin end and
rounding all marks in first place. She beat all the full
rig competitors. Someone needs to ask CYA, why
this young lady is not on the team going to
Weymouth!!!
Brand new radial sailor Claire Sears from
Quispamsis also did well. At the young age of 13
and sailing in her first full season of racing radials
she did extremely well. She improved in each race
and was by far the most improve sailor of the series
male or female. She will be a force to contend with
in the Maritimes in the future.
The regatta was a huge success this year with superb
race management; eleven races sailed over two days
in perfect conditions. The lunches on both days were
donated by SUBWAY and were great. The host club
ROTHESAY YACHT CLUB, provided all the water
you could drink while racing plus dinner both
Saturday and Sunday for all the sailors and there
families. Also don’t forget the awesome T-shirt’s all
the sailors received that remind us “THE TRADITION CONTINUES”!!!!
As always camping was allowed on the grounds of
the RYC and the staff was willing to help out with
everyone’s needs.
Perhaps next year we will see some of the big guns
from HALIFAX join us to see how they do on
KENNEBECASIS BAY. ROTHESAY YACHT
CLUB was home to long time Laser Great STEVE
FLECKSTEIN, a Canadian National Laser
Champion. Join us next year, mark your calender
now.
RESULTS:
LASER 1) MOULAND
2) St. ONGE
3) ALEXANDER-STAIRS
RADIAL 1) LANDRY
2) COUTELLIER
3) SEARS
ARK Regatta: July 16-17th Bedford Basin YC
Laser: 1) Tom Brosky (RNSYS)
2) Karl Mitchell (LYC)
3) Aaron Stonehouse (SMSC)
Top Master: Gerry Giffin (CYC)
Radial: 1) Stuart Bliss (Waeg)
2) Michael O’Connor (LYC)
3) Greg Simms (RNSYS)
Bay Wind Regatta: July 23-24th St. Margaret’s SC,
Laser: 1) Fraser Wells (RNSYS)
2) Dan MacMillan (SMSC)
3) Anthony Bell (HYC)
Top Master: Gerry Giffin (CYC)
Radial: 1) Erin Rafuse (RNSYS)
2) Danielle Dube (RNSYS/SMSC)
3) Vaughn Harrison (ISA)
Sail East: August 4-7th, Shediac Bay Yacht Club, N.B.
Laser: 1) Anthony Bell (Hubbards Sailing Club)
2) Andrew Bell (LaHave River Yacht Club)
3) Nicholas Ford (Shediac Bay Yacht Club)
Radial: 1) Danielle Dube (RNSYS/SMSC)
2) Erin Rafuse (RNSYS)
3) Sandy Beatty (LYC)
Laser 4.7: 1) Charlotte Kassis
2) Daniel deYturralde (SBYC)
CORK International Week: August 15-18th
Kingston, Ontario
Laser: 2) Fraser Wells (Rothesay/RNSYS)
14) Zachary Dunn (RNSYS)
21) Max Seward (BBYC)
24) Jack Campbell (Waeg)
28) Eli Macneil (Waeg)
Radial: 3) Devan Dube (RNSYS)
Gold
7) Sandy Beatty (LYC)
11) Luke Ruitenberg (RNSYS)
14) Corinne Peters (RNSYS)
23) Alexander Sapp (RNSYS)
28) Michael Cunningham (BBYC)
34) Nathaniel Dunn (RNSYS)
35) Alexander Burke (HSC)
52) Maggie Kennedy (BBYC)
61) Meghan Henneberry (BBYC)
* 151 boats competed in the radial fleet overall
Cork OCR: August 20-24th, Kingston, Ontario
32) David Wells (Rothesay)
39) Bryant Wood (LYC/RNSYS)
40) Anthony Bell (HYC)
41) Andrew Bell (LRYC)
Radial: 1) Danielle Dube (RNSYS/SMSC)
Female 3) Erin Rafuse (RNSYS)
18) Rebecca Power (RVanYC/RNYC)
Trihedral CYA Youth Nationals: August 29-Sept 1st,
SMSC, N.S.
10) Zachary Dunn (RNSYS)
12) Max Seward (BBYC)
13) Aaron Alexander-Stairs (RYC)
14) Eli MacNeil (Waeg)
15) Jack Campbell (Waeg)
Radial: 3) Corinne Peters (RNSYS)
Female 9) Dee Osmond (RNSYS)
11) Sophia Josenhans (LYC)
12) Stephanie Robertson Kempton(RNSYS)
13) Maggie Kennedy (BBYC)
15) Meghan Henneberry (BBYC)
17) Rachel Erskine (Waeg)
19) Holly MacMillan (SMSC)
Radial 2) Devan Dube (RNSYS)
Male 4) Sandy Beatty (LYC)
9) Alex Burke (HSC)
13) Greg Simms (RNSYS)
15) Nathan Dunn (RNSYS)
18) Jack Bignell (RNSYS)
21) Henry Machum (RNSYS)
26) Michael Cunningham (BBYC)
28) Alexander Sapp (RNSYS)
FALL 2011
29) Luke Ruitenberg (RNSYS)
36) Alexander O’Connor (LYC)
38) Matthew Williamson (SMSC)
39) Alex Lane (Waeg)
41) Logan Mielnik (Waeg)
District 4
Manitoba, Canada
Brigitte Smutny
CYA Sail West with
the U17
Championships took
place August 4-7
2011 in Gimli,
Manitoba, the
largest Icelandic
community outside
of Island and home
of the Vikings. The
event kicked off
with two days of
training, followed
by two days of racing. Awards were presented for overall placement
and for the U17 Championships. For results go to
www.sailwest2011.com. The successful event
brought also a full menu of leader training opportunities for people from the Gimli community, the
province of Manitoba and the Western region of
Canada to gain national accreditation to support the
sport of sailing! Beside athletes training in Optis
and Olympic development classes a Race
Management Clinic, a Judges Clinic and a
Community Coaches Clinic was offered. All courses included a theory part and an on water practical
component and were well attended.
The District 4 Championships was held at Sail West
and winner was Robert Ewanchuk in the Laser class
and Paloma Corrin in the Radial class. The winner
of the Provincial Championship Circuit 2011 is
Austin Ross in the Laser, Emma Williams in the
Radial, Ellyn Waschuk in the 4.7 and Bill Dawson
in the Master Category. Congratulations to all!
Our Provincial Team is still practicing at the
Manitoba Sailing Centre at the Gimli YC but
because our province will be covered in ice and
snow latest in November, Team Toba will pack once
again their big 14 boat trailer at the end of October
and move it to Victoria, BC to participate in several
winter training camps and the Midwinter’s West.
District 5
Saskatoon, Canada
Mark Lammens
The biggest event for 2011 in D-5 was obviously the
Nationals, Ricardo Montemayor who finished 4th at
the CAN National Youths in 2006 when they were
at Wabamun SC came back and won, sailing for
MEX and the Royal Vancouver YC. He won in very
convincing fashion with almost a perfect score.
ISAF CAN youth Rep Kyle Martin finished 2nd. A
young and fast Malcolm Lamphere won the Radial
with Ontario Youth Champion Isaac Bussin 2nd and
Natalia Montemayor 3rd. Graham Harney, Alex
Fritz and Rachel Spinelli were the top 3 in the 4.7.
The District 5 Championships saw Canada Games
www.Laser.org
rep Simon Schmitt taking 1st, and Master Sailors
Lewis Oteruelo and Barry Tee 2nd and 3rd. Ian
Hern, Lesley Reichenfeld and Kristi Van Gunst were
top 3 in Radial. A few OCS’s at this one. The
Western Masters was held in Meota, SK. L.P.
Gagnon, Oteruelo, and Ben Pickford finished 1st,
2nd and 3rd. The Calgary YC group decided not to
come because they had a deck staining, official club
opening party. CYC did host the AB championships,
light air and cold beer. The little people were happier at this one vs. the Nationals. Hern, Isaac and
Peter McDougal were in the top bunch. Lesley,
Hanny Buitenwerf and Kristi were the top 3 in
Radial.
Some of the guys from ‘back in the day’ are coming
back to the laser, Michael Hooper, Bill Forsyth and
Jim Campbell, very good to see, and they are still
fast. Bill was yellow flagged in a race at the
Nationals he was doing well in, he did not know
what it meant or what to do. Yellow flag??. Jim
Campbell is showing incredible recovery from a
very serious accident and Coma. You cannot tell
how he finished in a race on shore by his face; he is
winning and he is always smiling, obviously perspective from all of the time in a hospital bed…..and
Hoop finished 4th at the Provincials.
Past master of supporting D-5 events (travelled to
all of them) and the name sake of our summer
series, the Dick Degner District-5 Series, is completed. New winners for 2011.
District 6
Vancouver, Canada
Andy Hunt
Since District 6 is now made up of British Columbia
and Alaska, there has been very little in the way of
regattas this summer. In fact, there are only three
regattas that I can report on. The Royal Vancouver
Yacht Club hosted the first regatta of the summer of
2011. This regatta was held on July 1 – 3, 2011 and
was called WAVES. WAVES has been hosted by the
RVYC for the past 25 years, WAVES is a multiboat regatta but the Lasers, Laser Radials and Laser
4.7s had their own course. There were 28 Standard
Lasers, 36 Laser Radials and 10 Laser 4.7s. There
were 3 races on Friday, 4 races on Saturday and 4
races on Sunday, for a total of 11 races. The winds
were from the west all three days with the windiest
day being Sunday. Alexander Heinzemann led
Ricardo Montemayor, Michael Schalka, Doug
Honey and Derek Stanger after racing was over on
Friday. These sailors all competed in the Laser
Class. In the Laser Radials, Cameron Ho was in
first place ahead of Natalia Montemayor, Maura
Dewey, Alexander Kroitzsch and Joanna Moore.
Alexander Fritz was in first place in the Laser 4.7s,
followed by Jake Cullen and Hayley Linton. After
racing was over on Saturday, the leader board
changed in the Laser Standards and the Laser
Radials. All top three positions in theLaser 4.7s
remained the same. In the Laser Standards, Ricardo
Montemayor was ahead of Alexander H, Robert
Britten, Thomas Roehrl and Michael Schalka.
Isabella Bertold was in first place in the Laser
Radials followed by Natalia M, Joanna M, Cameron
H and Alexander K.
The final positions in the Laser Standards were:
Alexander Heinzemann ( 21) first; Ricardo
Montemayor (23), second; Michael Schalka (44),
third; Robert Britten (46), fourth and Kevin
Grierson (54) fifth. In the Laser Radials, Isabella
Bertold was first with 27 points. In second place
was Natalia Montemayor with 28 points. Joanna
Moore was third with 31 points.
In fourth place was Tanja Smutny with 37 points. In
fifth place was Alexander Kroitzsch with 50 points.
The top three in the Laser 4.7s (pointwise) were:
Alexander Fritz (11), Jake Cullen (17) and Hayley
Linton (21). Complete results can be found on the
RVYC website (www.royalvan.com).
The weekend following the WAVES regatta saw the
Kamploops Sailing Association host it’s annual BC
Laser Master Championships and Open Regatta.
There were 11 master (35+) and one open sailor.
The masters were scored seperately and the lone
open sailor was given his own special prize. There
were 4 races on Saturday in a variety of conditions
and one light air race on Sunday. The one race on
Sunday meant that there would be a throwout race
taken into consideration.
Out of the 11 masters, there were 3 Apprentice (35 –
44), 4 Masters (45 – 54), 3 Grand Masters (55 – 64)
and one Great Grand Master (65 +). After the racing on Saturday, sailors and others were treated to a
wonderful dinner hosted by the commodore of the
KSA, Al Knight. Sailors were allowed to switch
from a Standard rig to a Radial rig (or vice versa)
provided they did it on shore and the other competitors were in agreement. One sailor did in fact take
advantage of this opportunity but it did not make
much difference as he finished well back of the
pack. The top great grand master sailor and winner
of the overall event was Trevor Owen (15 points).
In second place (and would have won in straight
racing) was Doug Honey (16 points). Doug was
also first apprentice. In third place and top grand
master was Jacek Suski (18 points).
The above mentioned sailors received prizes while
the top master, Mark Fitxsimmons (4th overall)
received a draw prize.
Most of the sailors (8) were from out of town. I
hope to see more masters and open sailors there next
year,
In regard to the SOSA Invitational, I have been
unable to find any results or a report on the regatta.
For what’s it worth, the regatta was hosted by the
South Okanagan Sailing Association and was held
on August 6 and 7. The pictures that are posted on
the SOSA website seem to indicate that there was
very little wind on Saturday and enough wind on
Sunday to run some races.
The evening racing programs at the Jericho Sailing
Centre and the Surrey Sailing Club are now over for
the year. The results for the Tuesday racing program are incomplete and, hopefully, they will be
posted on the Jericho website (www.jsca.bc.ca) in
the near future. There were 33 races in total at the
29
Wednesday Racing Program at the Surrey Sailing
Club and a total of 18 boats. Laser sailors (and one
Laser Radial sailor) dominated the top four positions. Congratulations to Darren Redies, Mark
Fitzsimmons, Doug Honey and Stephanie Huggett.
District 6 sailors also competed in International and
World events. These events include but are not limited to the Canadian Laser, Laser Radial and Laser
4.7 Nationals, Sail West and the big one, the Laser
Master Worlds. In regard to the Laser Master
Worlds, congratulations to Al Clark (1st, Radial
Masters) and to Jacek Suski (9th. Radial Grand
Masters) and Peter Woytkowiak (15th. Standard
Grand Masters).
I must plead mea culpa in regard to the District 6
website. I have not done anything about it and for
that I apologize. I will make it my goal to get it up
and running by 2012.
District 7
Rhode Island
Kim Ferguson
As I write this, one of District 7’s rising stars is
prepping to undergo yet another surgery in hopes of
regaining the use in his left arm. On August 23rd,
Ted Green of Wickford, RI suffered a horrific accident while working for a local tree company taking
down trees. He was 30+ feet up and taking down
tree limbs, when he was struck by 7000 volts of
electricity. Ted had been training hard all year to get
into Laser shape and that is what doctors have told
him, saved his life. Ted suffered 2nd and 3rd degree
burns over 30% of his body and was read his last
rites at two different hospitals, as his survival was
dubious.
Ted is an inspiration to us all and especially those of
us with kids. Success in life doesn’t come without
hard work. He is a reminder that life can change in
an instant and that there are no guarantees. Life is
short, so do what you love, full on and love those
around you, a lot!
Ted is a senior at SUNY Maritime where he is
studying to be a Naval Architect as well as one of
the top sailors on the collegiate team.
On a lighter note, congratulations to our D7 sailors
entering as freshman in college! We will be keeping
an eye on this gang and their collegiate sailing
endeavors! In alphabetical order:
Luke Adams (Portsmouth, RI) Brown University
Chris Aitken (Sandwich, MA) Providence College
Elizabeth Dubovik (Chatham, MA) Connecticut
College
Nick Johnstone (Newport, RI) The College of
Charleston
Dan Nickerson (Noank, CT) Tufts University
OJ O’Connell (Niantic, CT) University of Vermont
Please put your emails on the email list for the blog
(http://laserdistrict7.blogspot.com) to get the most
up-to-date stories and photos. Also, check the
“Regatta NOR/Results” page on the D7 website for
NOR and results!
You can promote your own events and boost the
enthusiasm by sending me photos and stories or better yet, post your info directly to the D7 Facebook
page!
District 8
Long Island, NY
Ted Cremer
Greetings! Hope everyone had a great summer sailing lasers!
We have some folks to be very proud of here in
District 8. Lindsay Hewitt finishing 4th at the
Masters Worlds in San Fran (ahead of some guy
named Heineken!) , and Junior Nick Valente (Wet
Pants Sailing Assoc) winning the US Sailing Junior
Singlehanded, followed closely by Old Cove’s Gary
Prieto. Also kudos to Great Grand Master Doug
Mercer for being a constant inspiration to all in
the district and sailing at worlds!
Upon regaining consciousness, 24 hours after the
accident, Ted was pretty upset. While still with a
breathing tube down his throat, he couldn’t speak so
instead, he wrote with his right hand (he is left
handed) on a white board and his first question to
his parents was, ‘Is sailing over?’ Unfortunately he
learned shortly after that there was a high probability that he would lose his left arm completely.
Anyone who knows Ted knows that he is a true
fighter and it is no surprise that he is blowing by
“the odds” like dominoes! Through extensive grafting and the moving of tendons from other places in
his body to his hand, Ted has the hope of not only
keeping his arm but of possibly being able to close
his fingers as one unit. He is already trying to figure
out how to write with his right hand along with
ways to deal with the tiller and mainsheet with 1-1.5
arm.
30
Additionally. many thanks go to my rather talented
videographer and webmaster Robert Terry . . .
Please check out his awesome videos at:
http://laserd8.tripod.com/news.htm
Subject: EELS Final Results by Mike Duran and
Lynn Sexton.
The 2011 East End Laser Series is in the record
books! In our 6th season, the schedule included 8
regattas and had a break in the middle to allow the
East End Laser fleet to race in the 1st Annual Laser
Race around Shelter Island. Unfortunately, the series
was cut short by tropical storm Irene and we missed
Southold Yacht Club which was scheduled for
Saturday, August 27.
Many thanks to all the venues – Noyac Bay
Informal but Competitive Laser Racing Association,
Old Cove Yacht Club, Shelter Island Yacht Club,
Breakwater Yacht Club, Southampton Yacht Club,
Devon Yacht Club, Westhampton Yacht Squadron,
and Southold Yacht Club.
In total, 59 racers contested 37 races in 7 regattas on
7 Saturday afternoons at 7 different venues on Long
Island, New York’s east end. The fleet included 11
Juniors (18 and under), 2 Great Grand Masters (65
and over) and 7 women. Laser racing is a family
sport – 17 racers were on the water with and racing
against a loved one (boyfriend / girlfriend, brother /
sister, father / son, or husband / wife). Nice!
To be included in EELS final standings, racers were
required to compete in at least 3 regattas; but since
the season was cut short by one week, that requirement was relaxed to at least 2 regattas. 16 racers
competed in 2 or more regattas. Gary Prieto, a
Junior, was first overall. Matt Doherty was the first
Master, George Prieto was first in the Open age
group, Doug Mercer was the first Great Grand
Master, Mark Webber was the first Grand Master,
Peter Vakjo was the first Apprentice Master, Joe
Slawek was the first Radial, and Lynn Sexton was
the first woman. Congratulations to all the racers!
Race details, results, comments, pictures and videos
are posted at www.laser.org and www.laserd8.org.
We are actively planning the 2012 season and welcome your feedback, questions, observations or
complaints.
See you on the water,
Mike Duran, 162043, Lynn Sexton, 100550
The District wants to send along their sincere appreciation of what Mike and Lynn have accomplished
out there in the Hamptons. From an idea to a thriving summer series in a matter of a few short years.
The host clubs are awesome and good to the sailors.
The racing is fun and fair... I encourage all to try it
out!
Nyack summer season Report courtesy of Jon
Marsh, NBC Laser Fleet Capt
We had a very successful season with 5 races, all
part of the Hudson River Yacht Racing Association.
We averaged about 20 boats a regatta. The results
were as follows
Memorial Day Regatta at Nyack Boat Club
1
Justin Coplan
2
Dave Foster
3
Sarah Hatsell
1st Radial Carol Marsh
July 4 Regatta at Nyack
1
Chris Henkel
2
Sarah Hatsell
3
Rick Wood
1st Radial Jessie Fitzgerald
Aug 6 at Chelsea Yacht Club
1
Sarah Hatsell
2
Andy Hudson
3
Eric Beck
1st Radial Jessie Fitzgerald
Aug 20 at Minisceonga Yacht Club
1
Eric Beck
2
Andy Husdon
3
Jon Marsh
1st Radial Carol Marsh
Labor Day Regatta at Nyack
1
Rick Wood
2
Sarah Hatsell
3
Ryan Sprole
1st Radial Ryan Wood
FALL 2011
In addition to this series we had three regattas at
Nyack in which Lasers were a one design start. On
July 4 a Laser sailor, Shea Thorvaldsen, won the
Guy Molton Trophy for the best performance of all
the different classes. We also have a weekly race
series for overall standings for the year.
Jon Marsh
NBC Laser Fleet Capt
the entire sailing genealogy of Chautauqua County.;
8th – Nick Evans – Young fellow who is neither
Bargar nor Turner; 9th - Amy Catherine Turner, Top
female sailor and one tough young lady; 10th –
Hanna Evan - 2nd very tough young lady. Until
next year, when I hope you will join us. The
Perpetual CLYC Laser Fleet Captain.” From David
Menzies. Thanks so much Dave !
Upcoming Fall Sailing
The Dinghy Shop Laser Fall Series runs from
September 17 to October 22 with awards on October
30. Come on out to the Great South Bay sailing
center and support laser sailing in Amityville!
I received the following report from Mike Mueller,
aided and supported by peter Bushnell (who incidentally will take over from Mike next year as Fleet
Captain). Thanks for your great work Mike ! This
regatta was run outside of the official regatta schedule announced by ILCA, so nexxt year we need to
get this one included properly, and increase turnout
too ! Here’s Mike: “On a lark, seven WBYC Laser
sailors got themselves invited to an informal regatta
in Liverpool, NY, today. It was graciously hosted
by Onondaga Yacht Club where we had a great time
with some very nice people and enjoyed the amazing venue. Their club dates back 1885 and enjoys a
Liverpool lease on property that’s part of Onondaga
Park. It’s on the northeast shore of the Lake, just
west of downtown Syracuse. It’s one of Onondaga
County’s best kept secrets. The lake’s been cleaned
up enough for swimming (we saw lots of swimmers,
and inadvertently I participated before the first race),
though it’s not quite up to drinking standards. One
really nice feature about OYC’s location is that it’s
pretty much wide open with breezes that are not
overly erratic. Today wind was from the north and
northwest. We ran six races, “modified Olympics,”
three before lunch, three after lunch. A half-dozen
members were on hand to help us launch from the
club ramp; but we were advised that there’s an easily accessible ramp farther toward downtown, maybe
100 yards. OYC has an old fleet of Lasers and is
looking to improve their inventory. They have an
amazing venue. It should be no surprise to you to
learn that the six race regatta was won by Lee
Davis, in a tie-breaker with Peter Bushnell.
Federico Meira in an old, borrowed boat (i.e. not
upgraded) took third place.” Thanks for the report
Mike. Next year we will have a District 9 regatta
there ! It is clear that WBYC Laser sailors are anxious to help with such a project.
http://dinghyshop.com/fall_series_laser/LASER_NO
R.pdf
District 9
Ithaca, NY
Chas Williamson
The main part of this summer has been very pleasant with light to moderate winds, and some easygoing sailing, although some of us would have
rather had some strong breezes every so often - not
so much a feature of upstate New York! We need to
travel to get wind and waves around these parts. I
am writing always at a crazy busy time at this point
in the year - this time about to fly to Marseille someone has to go. Last year it was from Bavaria neither of these venues are regattas, which is a great
pity! We have had a full set of regattas this year, and
I include here a couple of mid-season events - the
regatta at Turner HQ - namely Chautauqua - and a
regatta at Onondaga YC for the first time for several
years. In the next report we shall have District 9
Championships regatta (also doubles as the CNYSSA Central New York regatta) held at Willowbank
YC, which was run by Ian Ikeda, from Rochester
YC, followed by AJ Webster from the local club followed by Chas Williamson. We shall also include
Seneca YC next time, and the dreaded Deathroll
Regatta at Willowbank.
At Chautauqua Lake YC (25 June 2011), the Turner
Dynasty again were central in a regatta that sounded
tremendous fun ! David Menzies very kindly sent
me an email Report, so I pass the details on here
also! : “Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club’s district 9
Regatta......
The skies were grey but the sailing was great. Our
2011 District 9 Regatta turned out to be a great day
of sailing. The regatta was held in winds varying
between 10 and 18 knots. Attending from afar was
Steven Leach and not so afar, Doug Bargar. Locals
rounding out the fleet were Marc , Brad and Ricky
Turner, Nick Evans, Nate Bargar and myself, with
Hanna Evan and Amy Catherine Turner adding style
and grit. This day proved to be a day of both quantity and quality as the family most represented was
also most often first. First to the weather mark, first
to the leeward mark and most importantly first to
the finish. And so the details.....Winner - Marc
Turner, uncle of Ricky and Brad, father of Amy
Catherine; Runner up Brad Turner, Younger brother
of Ricky; 3rd – Ricky Turner - ersatz winner but for
that unknown OCS; 4th - Steve Leach - not a
Turner that we know of? Research indicates that he
is from Rochester.; 5th - Doug Bargar – Uncle to
Nate; 6th – David Menzies - Se moi, a Chesapeake
Bay Boy; 7th – NateBargar- and by now you know
www.Laser.org
District 10
New Jersey
Eric Reitinger
Summer was a busy season for the district.
At the Shrewsbury regatta we had all manner of
weather and wind! Lack of wind delayed the start,
but as the sea breeze filled in at 11:15am, the day
moved quickly from no wind to a good, steady
breeze. Thirteen boats competed, including five
radial rigs. Apart from the stellar performance of
Eric Reitinger winning all five races in the full rig,
the racing was close and variable throughout the
day. Top three full rigs were Eric Reitinger (Brant
Beach YC), Jack Swikart (SSYC) and Chris
Williams (Brant Beach YC). Top three radials all
hail from SSYC: Caroline Garth, Emily Kosinski
and Robert Gruskos. Top Master Finishers: Ed
Rowe (Portland, ME), Had Brick (Island Heights
YC) and Larry Nociolo (MBC). Top Woman:
Caroline Garth and Top Junior: Chris Pomerleau.
Special thanks to the Munger family for servicing as
PROs, to Brian Holsey for ably managing safety,
mark placement and sailor hydration and to Anita
Waters Sr and Amy Milnes for managing breakfast,
lunch and libations. It was a very nice day on the
water.
Now that completes our Spring series. After doing
the stats here are a few to mention:
Total number of regattas: 6 (would be 7 but BBYC’s
Annual was the same weekend as Districts)
Total boats that competed (full and radial): 72
Total races sailed (including separate starts): 40
Number of different full rig winners: 4 (Eric and
Had had 2 wins)
Biggest total turnout: 25 (OCP)
Smallest turnout: 8 (Monmouth)
Brant Beach hosted North Americans July 12-15. 68
fulls and 141 radials raced the 4 days. Conditions
ranged from light to 15-20mph with gusts. Temps
were up with heat indices over 100 early getting
cooler for the final 3 days. Clay Johnson sailed a
great regatta winning the full rigs. Top Radial for
the district was Max Lopez in 3rd place. The
District had 13 full rigs and 32 radials. Full results
can be found here: http://www.bbyc.net/LaserNAC
The junior events were all over the area. Upper
Barnegat Bay had their weekly interclubs and one
day regattas all throughout the summer with some
great turnouts. The 4.7 fleet there is getting bigger
every year. Downbay on Long Beach Island there
were weekly interclubs at every yacht club. The 4.7
fleet is also growing as well. I estimate we have at
least 25 4.7s in the area now.
And now my tradition for the summer editions:
Billy Martin (CORK)
Mike Russom (CORK)
Ryan Bailey (CORK, Youth Champs)
Andrew Puopolo (Youth Champs)
Joe Paggi (CORK, Youth Champs)
Nick Pro (CORK)
Jack Swikart (Smythe)
Kelly McGlynn (Leiter) *Champion*
Patricia McGlynn (Leiter)
Don Hahl (Master’s Worlds)
John MacCausland (O’Day)
Surf City started off our fall series the weekend after
Labor Day. LBI got through the hurricane with no
more than flooding so the island was ready to host a
regatta. Sadly there wasn’t much of a turnout. 7 total
boats, 4 radials and 3 full rigs. Winds were 5-10mph
both says and they sailed 7 races. Mike Hecky won
the fulls and Anthony Pacheco won the radials.
The fall series starts up with some regattas and multiple fall series. Plenty of sailing this fall so no
excuses to not be out on the water.
District 20
Wisconsin
Steve Dolan
Another Summer Laser season in the books. Here’s
how it went in the land of D20:
May 21-22. Pewaukee Yacht Club’s Ice Breaker.
Big wind on Saturday (big boys get to hike) Light
on Sunday. Nine boats on the line. Plenty of new
faces. Roman Plutenko 196157 take first, Dave
Abbot 771 second, Steve Dolan 198003 third.
May 30. Milwaukee Yacht Club’s Memorial Day
Regatta. Held on the day itself this year and sailed
on Lake Michigan . A two hour shore side postponement allows for a tail whipper of a South Easter
31
to develop. Sixteen boats sail the first race. Lot’s
of swimming takes place and fleet attrition follows.
The nine still standing after some beefy modified
W2’s call it a day after 4 races and make race 5 their
throw out. No one sails upwind after the first run.
All continue the downwind surfing all the way back
to the dock. Must have been some kind of team racing hand signal. Winds were in the high teens,
waves 3 feet and the water was cold. Roman
Plutenko 196157 and Matt Woodworth 168196 duke
it out all day long a leg ahead of the rest and finish
1-2 respectively. JP Mull 191497 takes third.
Special thanks to Terry McMahon 176890 and wife
Patti for running the races.
July 10. Vlad Kobal Memorial Regatta blown out
from May is rescheduled as a one day event in early
July on Lake Michigan and sailed out of Belmont
Harbor, Illinois. Eight boats register. Roman
Plutenko 196157 takes first, Rick Strilky 176078
second and Andrew Aronson 179491 third.
August 27-28. Chicago Yacht Club, Belmont
Harbor hosts the annual Verve Cup Inshore. A rare
late summer North Easter brings big wind and
waves on both days. Eleven boats register. JP Mull
198420 takes first, Paul Wurtzebach 175529 second
and David Wagner 150962 third. Roman Plutenko
decides to sail Etchells instead and take second in
that fleet.
Sept 3. A new Laser event is born. Mark Kastel
66263 gets the D20 Laser fleet a start in this perennial small boat Lake Michigan regatta sailed off the
beach in Highland Park, Il. Rick Strilky 176078
takes first, Mark Kastel 66263 second and Steve
Dolan 198003 third. Local Highland Park ace, Max
Barson takes the first youth spot. Flat water, light air
and an approaching cold front limited the racing to 3
races. A well run event by some fine folks who want
us back next year.
Sept 10-11. Laser Full Rig D20 Champs in Title
Town (That’s Green Bay, Wisconsin for you Bears
fans). Light air prevails both days (big boys do not
hike and are not happy). Twenty four boats attend.
Roman Plutenko is dethroned. Matt Woodworth
takes the 8 race event sailed over two days out of
Wind Jammers Sailing Club in Suamico, Wisconsin.
A great club that host a great Laser event every year.
On a serious and somber note, Brian Burant, a long
time D20 member succumbs to what is believed to
be a massive heart attack immediately following the
start of race one of the D20 Championship. He cannot be revived despite the heroic efforts of the support and race committee of Wind Jammers Sailing
Club and local Paramedics. Our prayers and
thoughts are with his family at this time. Life is
short, grab the ones you love and tell them so.
Make everyday count.
See you out on the water
District 22-West
Bill Symes
Greetings from the new D22, recently re-gerrymandered by the annexation of Oregon and Washington
from D6 and the secession of Wyoming to D23,
thereby gaining deep water ports on the Pacific and
restoring the US-Canadian border to the 49th parallel. With the addition of Portland and Seattle, you
may start to notice a slight westward tilt to the D22
vibe, while former D-Sixers may require some cognitive restructuring in order to shift their orientation
from north to east.
32
It’s been a while since we checked in, so here’s a
brief recap of district activity this year. Twenty-eight
brave souls turned up in Seattle Jan. 29-30 for the
annual Frigid Digit Regatta. Perennial winner Carl
Buchan graciously stepped aside to serve as PRO,
clearing the way for Victoria’s Bob Britten to etch
his name on the revered FDR plaque. Bob romped
to four bullets in the moderate conditions Saturday,
but Sunday belonged to Mike Johnson who showed
everyone how it’s done in classic FDR conditions –
20 knots, solid whitecaps, and, well, frigid. Britten
hung on for the win, followed by Bill Symes and
Mike Johnson. Seattle’s Alexis Aird led the radial
fleet home, followed by Hanne Weaver and Sarah
Mackey (full results at www.cycseattle.org).
Fair weather and fine breeze greeted the 45 competitors who showed up for the Pacific Coast Laser
Championships at CYC Seattle June 4-5. Portland’s
Elliot Drake, representing the University of Oregon
sailing team, dominated the 25-boat full rig fleet,
winning four of the seven races to finish in front of
Seattle sailors Anthony Boscolo and Michael Karas.
Natalia Montemayor from Royal Vancouver YC
came in first in radials, followed closely by Annie
Rossi from Oxnard, CA, and RVYC teammate
Joanna Moore. In the 4.7 fleet, Seattle’s Jack Toland
took the win ahead of Vancouver sailors Graham
Harney and Jake Cullen (full results at
www.seattleyachtclub.org).
The action moved out to the Columbia River Gorge
in July, starting with CGRA’s annual WIND Youth
Laser Clinic and Regatta, July 12-17. In typical
Gorge-like conditions (i.e., full hiking!), Tacoma’s
Teddy Weaver edged out his sister Hanne to top the
21-boat radial fleet, with Seattle’s Adam DiDomizio
in third. Jack Toland dominated a 13-boat 4.7 fleet,
scoring all top three finishes to lead home Seattle
sailors Alex Demmler and Ellie Shaw in second and
third. In full rigs, Taylor Smith from Orcas Island,
WA, wound up on top, ahead of Marshall Le Baron
and Cameron Schuh (full results at www.cgra.org).
Next up was US Sailing’s Singlehanded Sailing
Championships, July 21-24, featuring an all-star cast
of 40 top Laser sailors, men and women, from
around the country. In the end, it was an all-Seattle
cast on the men’s podium, with Derick Vranizan taking the coveted O’Day trophy, Michael Karas taking
the silver and Anthony Boscolo the bronze. The
Peter Barrett Sportsmanship Trophy was awarded to
ILCA chief Tracy Usher for graciously retiring after
ungraciously pasting Lars Hansen to the committee
boat at the finish of race six. In the women’s fleet,
Christine Neville from Oakland, CA, jumped out in
front in the early, light air races, then hung on when
the breeze cranked up to win her division. Sky
Adams from Santa Barbara took second and
Seattle’s Hanne Weaver was third (full results at
www.cgra.org).
Meanwhile, Lasers continued to converge on the
CGRA boat park ahead of the 4th annual Laser
Gorge Performance Clinic with Steve Bourdow and
Sean Kelly, three days of intense heavy weather
training that kicked off July 25th and climaxed on
the 28th with the infamous Laser Gorge Blowout, a
white-knuckle, 18-mile downwind ride from
Cascade Locks to Hood River. This year’s Blowout
attracted 28 daring souls from as far away as
Florida, Mexico, Australia and Denmark, including
a gaggle of master sailors tuning up for the upcoming Laser Masters Worlds in San Francisco. Once
again, Derick Vranizan led the way, S-turning his
way to the front of the pack and finishing a full
three minutes ahead of second-place Sean Kelly and
third-place Ville Roberts (full results at
www.cgra.org).
The Gorge Laser season wrapped up July 30-31
with the D22 Laser Championships hosted by
CGRA and attended by 36 sailors from five countries. In epic Gorge conditions, an epic battle
unfolded between veteran Laser ace Steve Bourdow
from Santa Cruz and young upstart Alexander
Heinzemann from the Royal Vancouver YC sailing
team. Tied at the end of seven races, the two leaders
went head-to-head all the way to the finish in the
final race, with Alex beating Steve across the line to
take the title. Third place went to Danish master
sailor Otto Strandvig. Over in the radial fleet,
Christine Neville was beating up all the boys, outdistancing fellow Bay Area sailor Drake Jensen to
win the championship. Vancouver’s Joanna Moore
came in third (full results at www.cgra.org).
As the old guys headed south to San Francisco, the
kids turned north to Seattle for their summer grand
finale, the 2011 US Sailing Junior Olympics Aug.
19-21. It turned out to be another Weaver family
sweep, with both Teddy (full rig) and Hanne (radial)
winning their divisions with perfect scores. Runners
up were Robyn Lesh of Bellingham and David
Brink of Seattle in the radials and Adam DiDomizio
of Seattle and Alex Dzinbal of Olympia in the full
rigs (full results at www.seattleyachtclub.org).
Final note: D22 was well represented at the 2011
Laser Masters Worlds in August. Seattle fleet members Dan Falk, Todd Wilsie, Greg Jackson, Joe
Burcar, Jim Barrett and Jay Winberg and Portland
sailors John Sturman, John Purdy, Henry Drotning,
and Bill Symes all made the long trek to San
Francisco. I’m happy to report that all survived, and
in fact performed with distinction throughout biblical sailing conditions and bacchanalian social functions. At the end of the week, it was nice to see
some familiar names high up on the leader boards,
especially Dan Falk (9th in the ferociously competitive Standard Apprentice fleet), Joe Burcar (4th in
Radial Apprentice), and Bill Symes (1st in Radial
Grand Masters). There should be some good stories
around the D22 campfire this fall.
District 22-East
Mike Gilbert
Hello from the Montana end of District 22! We had
a late spring, a ton of rain, and a late start to summer on the lakes. Our first real event was the Annual
Whitefish Lake Regatta in support of the Whitefish
Lake Institute in mid-July. Peter & Cheri Aronsson
generously organized and hosted the event as well
as tasty brunch at their home overlooking City
Beach. Thanks also to Heather Mull, whose lakefront yard served as staging area for trailers and dollies. Cheri Aronsson, Heather Mull, and Fred Jones
assisted with committee duties.
Early morning thermals dictated 7AM starts both
days. Very, very pretty to be on the lake at that hour
with sun on the water and a major ski hill as a backdrop. We had nice winds right off, hiking conditions,
and the best part – short course racing like they do
up in Saskatchewan! We got in 22 races in two days,
with lots of extra starting practice due to most of us
pushing the line. It was great fun and good practice,
with the fastest race lasting only 12 minutes, even
with a jibe mark. The race committee decided to
have some fun with us and ran a counterclockwise
race, then a downwind start and finish. As the wind
let up mid-day, we de-rigged at the beach and
FALL 2011
strolled up to the Aronsson’s house for a fantastic
brunch and some sight-seeing and hiking.
Nine boats competed, with always-positive John
Underwood taking first and our friends David Elliot
and Richard Quinlan from Alberta rounding out the
top three. The top five places were very close. 16
year old Austin Gilbert raced in his first regatta ever.
August brought the Flathead Lake Laser
Championship (formerly the D22 Championship) in
a spectacular setting at the north end, hosted by the
North Flathead YC and sponsored by
SailMontana.com. We had a light attendance of
eight boats due to some exhaustion from the Masters
Worlds two weeks before and several major NW
events. Some new faces, however, and great racing
with Alan Boch of Helena, Frank Caccavo of
Spokane, and Dennis Muri of Billings / Seattle
appearing here for the first time. Early north thermals up to 15 knots eased mid-day into light wind
racing, requiring an entirely different skillset. Good
close starts and 5-wide roundings made for a great
weekend of sailing. Several sailors enjoyed big
improvements from past performances.
The top three spots went to Tim Sauer of Billings
and organizer of the regatta, Mike Gilbert of
Missoula, and Dennis Muri of Billings. Dennis has
relocated to Montana after serving as a tactician on
a big boat in Seattle for 15 years.
One of the best parts of the weekend was this was
the first time we’ve been able to put on youth races
at the Championship. Tim Sauer and Dennis Muri
have built a youth lesson and racing group in
Billings using their own fleet of boats, new rigging,
and 4.7 sails. Five youth boats raced in the afternoons and we want to acknowledge them here in
print: Emily Dardis, Dylan Eve, Caleb Gillam, Allie
Sauer, and Julia Windam had good races with lots of
spectators and informal coaching from the adult
sailors. It was a good learning experience and everyone had a great time. Our local dinghy racing future
is looking brighter here. A big thanks to Harold
Gillam and his wife Joanne for their help with the
Junior program in Billings as well as committee
boat and dinner support during the regatta.
Two of our intrepid sailors (out of 6 paid ILCA
members), John Underwood and Peter Aronsson,
made the trek to the Masters Worlds in San
Francisco. We are very proud of their efforts and are
learning vicariously from their big wind experiences. They seem a little reluctant to talk about the
actual sailing, but one did say, “I’ve never sailed in
conditions like that on purpose!” They came home
beat up but very happy they went, and will add to
the experience level of local sailing.
One of our members will be at the No Coast
Championship in Park City in September. Another
will be sailing at the J22 Worlds in New Orleans in
October.
District 23
Nick Ondrejka
The Park City Sailing Association has had another
great year of Tuesday Night Laser Racing with a
number of new racers joining the fleet. The average
nightly attendance throughout the Summer has hovered around the 20 boat mark with a peak of 25
boats. Four sailors from the Park City area, including three that race actively on Tuesday Nights, raced
at the Laser Master Worlds in San Francisco. Those
three were Chuck Thomas, Jay Miles and Jeff
Kluge. They were joined by Doug Dubois, another
top sailor from Utah. In just a week from this writing the PCSA is honored to host the Laser No Coast
www.Laser.org
Championships. Attendance is expected to be
around 25-30 boats and we’re keeping our fingers
crossed for good weather and great breeze for our
guests coming from Colorado, California,
Washington D.C. and the Northwest. A write up on
the Laser No Coasts will be included in the next edition. Check in with the fleet at www.sailparkcity.org
for the 2011 No Coasts NOR and Registration information.
The Denver Sailing Association races on
Thursdays at 6pm at Cherry Creek State Park. For
more information, see their website at
www.denversailing.org/.
The Colorado Laser Champs were held at the
Grand LakeYacht Club in August, a wonderful
venue at the edge of Rocky Mountain National
Park. Wayne Lemley was first, Doug McNight second, Tim Everett third. Awesome mountain lake
racing. More information is available at
www.usdiscovery.com/laser/.
District 24
NorCal
David LaPier
Lasers ruled San Francisco Bay this summer.
Thanks especially to the many volunteers that made
all the racing and socializing such a success, and
thanks to all the family and friends that let us play.
4.7 North Americans and Masters PCC’s
South Beach Yacht Club and the Treasure Island
Sailing Center co-hosted the 4.7 North Americans
and Masters PCCs. Bright sunshine brought on a
healthy westerly in the upper teens. We raced just
south of the Berkeley Circle, still in open water, but
with a more moderate chop. The 4.7’s looked great,
with the top sailors torquing hard. Everyone
seemed to really enjoy the breeze as a warm-up for
the pending world championships.
4.7’s – 1) Ryan Amlehm (NZ); 2) Taylor Burn (NZ);
3) Jack Marshal; 4) Adrian Vlasic (Can); 5) Brendan
Shanahan; 6) Bradley Shaw; 7) Liam McDonald
(AUS); 8) Graham Harney (Can); 9) Lola Bushnell;
10) Markus Suorsa; 11) Kyle Larsen; 12) Hannah
Hughes; 13) Max Guerriero; 14) Liam McCarthy
15) Thomson Butcher (35 Boats).
Masters — 1) Wolfgang Gertz (GM); 2) Emilio
Castelli (GM); 3) Mike Bishop (AM); 4) David
LaPier (M); 5) Chris Boome (GM); 6) Kurt Wessels
(AM); 7) David Wyllie (GGM) (14 Boats)
Laser Slalom
This year’s recreation of the retro 70’s classic
starred Anna Tunnicliffe. Generally speaking, competitors hairstyles have improved since the mullets
of past generations.
Finals Included: 1) Peter Shope and 2) Ben
Richardson. Semi’s included: Michael Matan and
Scott Furguson: Quarterfinals included: Tracy
Usher, Al Clark, Colin Dibb; and Anna Tunnicliffe.
Bay Area Youth Sailing (BAYS)
The BAYS championship is a series of youth regattas, with an event at five different yacht clubs in the
area.
Radials: 1) Andrew Godfrey; 2) Travis Cottle; 3)
Kyle Larsen; 4) Sara Lake; 5) Will Cefali.
Full Rig: 1) Greg Kushner, 2) Will Queen
Leiter Cup
Richmond YC hosted the US Womens Junior
National Championship with 65 competitors from
across the country. The event featured strong seabreezes from 15 to 20+.
Results: 1) Kelly McGlynn; 2) Christina Frost; 3)
Kaitlyn Baab; 4) Alexis Aird; 5) Madison Gates; 6)
Hanne Weaver; 7) Quinn Howes; 8) Elizabeth
Dubovik; 9) Dana Rhode; 10) Susannah Spoto.
Dinghy Delta Ditch
Dinghy Delta Ditch is a 30 mile downwind
marathon on the Sacramento River for all kinds of
small boats. This year there were 25 boats overall.
Laser results: 1) Roger Herbst; 2) Orville Hrabe; 3)
Josh Lindsau
Tahoe Fleet Championship
The Lake Tahoe Laser fleet takes a camping trip to
Stampede Reservoir in early September for a day’s
racing and night’s party. In keeping with the fun
atmosphere, registration was on a first name basis.
Results: 1) Stan [Ericson]; 2) Drake [Jensen]; 3)
Nick; 4) Joe; 5) Ricardo; 6) Buff [Wendt] (19 boats)
Totally Dinghy
Racing was great at Richmond YC’s last summertime event for small boats. We sailed six long races,
with plenty of hiking on Saturday. Tracy Usher
schooled us – rounding first at almost every mark of
every race. After Tracy’s performance, it was clear
to see why Emilio Castelli let out a jubilant cheer
after coming out of the right side to win the last
race. Newcomer Ricardo Lange joined us for the
first time and was right up front in several races.
Coach Andy Casey was on the scene, happily guiding a strong fleet of Radials kids. When all was said
and done, I realized that the San Francisco summer
was over, because I finally got to sail for a day on
the bay without wearing my winter hat.
Full Rigs: 1) Tracy Usher; 2) Emilio Castelli; 3)
Mike Bishop; 4) David LaPier; 5) Simon Bell
Radial: 1) Drake Jensen; 2) Lola Bushnell; 3)
Lindsey Baab; 4) Richard Leland; 5) Christy Usher.
District 25
SoCal
Steven Smith/Jorge Suarez
The 2011 Laser Class District 25 (Southern
California) Championship Regatta was held in conjunction with the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC),
Long Beach CA Labor Day Holiday Regatta which
was also chosen as the first of four events for the
Southern California Youth Yacht Racing Association
2011-2012 Ullman/Frost Series for juniors raced in
Laser Radials.
This combination of events resulted in a nice turnout
of 53 Laser Radials and 24 Lasers. The regatta
drew racers from the San Francisco Bay Area,
Morro Bay, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles area, and
San Diego. The Radial fleet was dominated by junior racers, while the Laser fleet had a mix of junior,
adult and Masters.
The bright morning sunshine presaged fresh breeze
for Saturday and we weren’t disappointed as Force
Four to Five winds were blowing by the time the
Race Committee (RC) set the race course inside the
Long Beach Harbor breakwater. In the Radial fleet,
we had to cool our heels as nine separate classes
started before we got our chance. Thank goodness
we had no General Recalls all day. Due to the wind
velocity and petite stature of some of the competitors, the Radial fleet spread out widely over the race
course, especially in race one when we were sent
twice around a long windward-leeward track. You
have to give the youngsters their due, however, as
there were no DNF’s and only a smattering of
DNC’s over six demanding races Saturday and
Sunday.
33
Showing mastery of the conditions, Christine
Neville from the San Francisco Bay Area –heck,
those winds made her feel right at home- won all
three Radial races Saturday followed by; Matt Long
from the Santa Barbara YC (SBYC), Keenan Chung
from Newport Harbor YC (NHYC), ABYC’s Jack
Jorgensen, Chris Vilicich from Cabrillo Beach YC
and James Trotter from San Diego YC.
In the Laser fleet ABYC’s Vann Wilson was tied
on points for first place with Oliver Toole from
SBYC followed by; Kieran Chung from NHYC,
Michael Bradley from Long Beach YC and Stephen
Long from Santa Barbara SC rounding out the top
five on Saturday.
Following racing Saturday, all sailors and guests
could partake of the food and drinks on the ABYC
patio accompanied by great music from the band
and lots of fun and games well into the evening.
Sunday brought the same if not a bit more breeze
than Saturday and as we waited for our first start the
F18 multihulls, that started earlier, screamed through
the start-finish area on three sail reaches, crews
shouting out cautions to clear the way…pretty wild.
I guess anticipating anxious Laser and Radial racers,
the RC hoisted the “I” flag enforcing the “round the
ends rule” but amazingly, only one racer in one race
failed to restart correctly all day. Radials did have
one General Recall in the penultimate race as the
wind had moderated making everyone a bit more
aggressive while the last race of the day looked to
be a real drifter as a high overcast rolled in blocking
the breeze from earlier in the day.
With the strong winds Saturday and early Sunday
and with moderate to light winds for the last races,
there was a condition for everyone; however,
Christine Neville continued to dominate with a second in race five and seventh in the final light air
affair…impressive. For her efforts, Christine is our
2011 Laser Radial District 25 Champion, Labor Day
Regatta winner and she’ll have her name on the
ABYC Art Hall Fiesta de la Playa Perpetual trophy
as winner of the Labor Day Regatta’s largest fleet.
Following Christine in the final results were; Matt
Long, Alan Rochard from Austin YC, James Trotter,
Keenan Chung and Jack Jorgensen.
The Labor Day & Laser District 25 Champion was
Oliver Toole who posted three second place finishes
Sunday winning by two points over Kieran Chung.
Vann Wilson placed third, followed by Oliver’s
father, Pat Toole from SBYC and Michael Bradley.
For complete results, go to:
http://www.abyc.org/upload/LaborDay6.htm
The ABYC Laser Fleet is grateful to the ABYC
Lido 14 Fleet volunteers and friends for putting on a
great show, especially all the help at the launch
ramp and on the water! We are also thankful for the
hard working staff of ABYC. We know it has been
a busy season and it is not over yet.
Calgary
1520 Meridian Rd
Calgary, AB, T2A 2N9
403 266 3055
calgary@glenmoresailboats.com
Edmonton
6507 104th Street
Edmonton, AB, T6H 2L3
780 434 0101
edmonton@glenmoresailboats.com
Vancouver
1625 Powell Street
Vancouver, BC, V5L 1H5
604 251 3455
vancouver@glenmoresailboats.com
34
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FALL 2011
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dinghylocker.com | 203-487-0775
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©2011 Landfall Navigation. Logos shown are trademarks of their respective companies. LaserPerformance and associated logos are trademarks used under license. All rights reserved.
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FALL 2011
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
ILCA of NA, 2812 Canon Street,
San Diego, California USA 92106
619-222-0252, Fax 619-222-0528
Name_______________________________________________________
Address_____________________________________________________
City ___________________State / Prov. _____Zip / postal code ________
Phone ____________________ E-mail____________________________
Sail # ______________DOB (month/day/year) _____________Sex ______
Boat sailed
______Laser
______Radial
______Laser 4.7
Want to pay by Credit Card?
We accept Visa and MC:
Current 2007 Membership Fees
All amounts are in US dollars. Canadian checks must be in US dollars.
Regular - $40 for one year or $75 for 2 years
Junior - $35 (Member may not turn 18 in 2011),
or $65 for 2 years (Member may not turn 18 in ‘13)
Family, 1 year - $40 for the primary members and $25 for each additional member
Family, 2 years - $75 for the primary members and $45 for each additional member
Please provide family members names, DOB, boat type and sail number on an additional sheet of paper.
International - $50 (any member not living in the US or Canada), one year only
Amount enclosed __________________US$
Name on card:
_______________________________
CC #: Visa_____ MC ______
_______________________________
Exp. date:___________________
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Please make checks payable to ILCA of NA. Thank you for joining the Laser Class.
NOTE: Occasionally we make our mailing list available to our advertisers.
If you do not want your name included on these lists, please check here: ____
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The World
orld Leader in Outfitting Performance
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