The Laser Sailor Fall 2014

FALL 2014

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

®

FALL 20142

Call Clay to discuss rigging or ask questions.

[email protected]

1649 Bay AvenuePoint Pleasant

NJ 08742

Colie has the gear you need to win, not just get around the course.

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Clay-Allen Kit: rigged exactly how Clay Johnson rigs his boat. • Clay’s Centerboard Bungee System: often copied but never matched• Top of the line Allen blocks• Spliced and whipped 5mm V12 traveler• FSE Robline Dinghy Control• Hand-made, spliced dingleberry• Spectra hiking strap line with instructions for the BEST hiking strap adjustment system

Mojo Kit: successful upgrades to be Competitively Equipped.• Maffioli and V12 upgraded control lines• Custom made inhaul bungee• Vang Retaining Bungee• Ronstan and Harken upgraded blocks

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www.Laser.org 3

Call Clay to discuss rigging or ask questions.

[email protected]

1649 Bay AvenuePoint Pleasant

NJ 08742

Colie has the gear you need to win, not just get around the course.

SignatureUpgraded

KITS

Colie Sails’

to discuss rigging

Clay-Allen Kit: rigged exactly how Clay Johnson rigs his boat. • Clay’s Centerboard Bungee System: often copied but never matched• Top of the line Allen blocks• Spliced and whipped 5mm V12 traveler• FSE Robline Dinghy Control• Hand-made, spliced dingleberry• Spectra hiking strap line with instructions for the BEST hiking strap adjustment system

Mojo Kit: successful upgrades to be Competitively Equipped.• Maffioli and V12 upgraded control lines• Custom made inhaul bungee• Vang Retaining Bungee• Ronstan and Harken upgraded blocks

NEW

Buy a new 4.7 rigged Laserfrom Colie Sails and get outfitted with

a SEA starter pack for FREE:

• SEA Neoprene Hiking Pants• SEA Life Jacket• SEA Rash Guard

Retail value of over $325!

For a limited time:

FALL 20144

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www.Laser.org 5

Offi cial publicationof the InternationalLaser Class AssociationNorth American Region

US Postal Service:Please return undeliverables to:ILCA-NA2812 Canon StreetSan Diego, CA 92106 USA

Canada Post:Publications Mail Agreement #40612608Please return undeliverables to:Bleuchip InternationalPO Box 25542London, ON N6C 6BC

EditorsSherri Campbell & Jerelyn BiehlILCA-NA

Offi cers

Andy RoyChairman15 Claudette CourtPeterborough, ON K9J 7Y7 [email protected]

Meka TaulbeeVice ChairmanDunedin, FL USA727-631-7005meka@sailfi t.com

Eric ReitingerTreasurer7908 Normandy DriveMt Laurel, NJ [email protected]

John LongSecretary4707 Sierra Madre RoadSanta Barbara, CA [email protected]

Al ClarkMember at Large337 E 6thNorth Vancouver, BC [email protected]

Sherri CampbellExecutive Secretary2812 Canon StreetSan Diego, CA 92106 USAphone: 619-222-0252fax: [email protected]

FALL 2014District Contacts .....................................................................................................6

President’s Report....................................................................................................8

Treasurer’s Notes....................................................................................................10

Flight of the Lasers................................................................................................12

Layline Primer II: Using Laylines to Improve Your Starts..........................14

Coaches Corner: Sail Canada.............................................................................16

Regatta Roundup

Great Lakes...............................................................................................18

District 11..................................................................................................20

NA Masters...............................................................................................22

Canadian Masters....................................................................................23

US Nationals.............................................................................................24

ACC’s..........................................................................................................26

US Masters................................................................................................28

2015 Event Schedule..............................................................................................21

Laser World Insert .........................................................................................center

District Reports.....................................................................................................30

Bringing it All Together: Full Body, Complete Athlete................................38

Why Join the Laser Class?...................................................................................40

Membership Applications....................................................................................41

FALL 2014

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

®

Cover shot: Marshall McCann rounding the leeward mark of St Francis YC during the US Na-tionals. C-Vane photo.

EXTREME WATER SHEDDING TOPS

BUILT WITH THE WORLDS THINNEST NEOPRENE

VISIT WWW.ZHIK.COM FOR THE FULL RANGE

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TEMPERATURE REGULATING

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FALL 20146

District 1Danielle Dube, 8 Sunnydale DrGlen Haven, NS B3Z 2T8902-823-2802, [email protected] 2Philippe Dormoy, 385 Place Desmarest,Ile Bizard, Quebec, H9C [email protected] 3Nigel Heath416-417-0193; [email protected] D3 website: www.d3laser.comDistrict 4Brigitte Smutney, Sail Manitoba; 409-145 Paci� c Ave. Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2Z6 [email protected] 5Mark Lammens510 Cynthia St. Saskatoon, SK S7K 7K7306-975-0833, [email protected] District 6Andy Hunt, 111-2260 W 8th AveVancouver BC V6K 2A7604-733-9663, hotline: [email protected] 7Derek Stow28 Starlit RoadTiverton RI [email protected] 8Lindsay Hewitt & David Trinder631-692-4798: [email protected]: [email protected]

District 9Chas Williamson, 9 Lagrand CourtIthaca, NY 14850607-272-0630 [email protected] 10Eric Reitinger7908 Normandy DrMt. Laurel NJ [email protected]://d10.laserforum.orgDistrict 11Jon Deutsch3422 Blithewood Dr, Richmond VA 23225804-305-1244, [email protected]://www.laserdistrict11.orgDistrict 12Glenn Walker6255 Turtle Hall Dr, Wilmington, NC 28409910-612-5618 [email protected] 13Michelle [email protected] www.laser.org/m/_general/d13.aspDistrict 14Britt [email protected] District 15Forest [email protected]://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/txLaser/District 16Tim Fitzgerald, 2322 Brom� eld CircleWichita KS 67226, [email protected] 17John E. Coolidge, Jr., 1113 Hanover StChattanooga, TN 37405 [email protected]

District 18John [email protected] 19Ken Swetka27022 Koerber St., St Claire Shores, MI 48081248-635-5363www.d19laser.orgDistrict 20Troy TolanSpring� eld, ILCarlyle Sailing Assn. 217-960-2681, [email protected]: Laserd20District 21Matthew � [email protected] 22Kurt Hoehne, 524 N 67th StSeattle, WA [email protected] 23Geo� HurwitchGeo� [email protected] 24Stephen Aguilar1809 Brier Way, Carmichael, CAgpn@surewest-net916-968-3554District 25Jorge Suarez, 7 Covina AveLong Beach, CA 90803562-260-8116. [email protected]/group/nalaserdistrict25District 26Guy Fleming, 44-392 Olina St. #6Kaneohe, HI 96744-2617808-955-4405, [email protected]

SAVE 10% off any online order of clothing, parts and gear over $75 (excluding boats, trailers, electronics and charters).

Enter Code KOLASER at checkout.

KO Sailing is proud to support the youth, performance and recreational boating communities all over the U.S., from right here in Seabrook, Texas.

As the largest small boat dealer on the Gulf Coast, KO Sailing is uniquely equipped to provide today’s performance racers with everything from boats and sails, to gear, apparel, guidance and more.

• Charter boats online Book for both events, get a discount!

• Coach boat charters available

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Plus, stop by our onsite KO Support Trailer for last minute bits and advice.

Photo by Matias Capizzano

Get a jump on the competition atkosailing.com

www.Laser.org 7

SAVE 10% off any online order of clothing, parts and gear over $75 (excluding boats, trailers, electronics and charters).

Enter Code KOLASER at checkout.

KO Sailing is proud to support the youth, performance and recreational boating communities all over the U.S., from right here in Seabrook, Texas.

As the largest small boat dealer on the Gulf Coast, KO Sailing is uniquely equipped to provide today’s performance racers with everything from boats and sails, to gear, apparel, guidance and more.

• Charter boats online Book for both events, get a discount!

• Coach boat charters available

• Preorder items online Pick up order at either event.

Plus, stop by our onsite KO Support Trailer for last minute bits and advice.

Photo by Matias Capizzano

Get a jump on the competition atkosailing.com

FALL 20148

For reservations or information: [email protected]

Coaching for all levels of sailors Excellent variety of conditions from flat water to wind and waves Custom designed programs for your level or group Top quality charter boats Cabarete, the perfect place for an outdoor family vacation

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Carib_Laser 3rdver.pdf 26.11.2006 16:42:53

Dec-Jan 2015 Clinics & Regattas

Dec. 29-Jan. 3 New Year’s Clinic and Regatta

Jan. 5-9 Midweek Clinic and Regatta

Jan. 11-14 Midwinters Pre-race Clinic The perfect warmup for our annual regatta

Jan. 15th-18 13th Caribbean Laser Midwinter Regatta

Jan. 20-24 Masters Clinic and Regatta

www.caribwind.com

BOOK NOW to attend a winter clinic or regatta.President’s ReportANDY ROY

By the time this issue is mailed out one of the largest single class sailing regattas of all time (not counting the Opti) will be in the books. Yup, I can’t wait to get to Hyères, France in early October for the Audi Laser Masters World Championships. There are about 520 entries and that is a mind blowing fi gure. There will be about 75 Great Grand Master Radials (that in itself is amazing), 120 Masters in the Standard rig, and 94 in my age group (GM Standard rig). I just did not want to miss this one.

I sailed in a couple regattas late in the summer, including CORK OCR and the US Masters in Rochester, NY. Good fl eet sizes in both events, and the competitive level at CORK was really high. Both were fairly light wind events, although both regattas saw a couple good hiking races. Special thanks goes out to the folks at Rochester Yacht Club for their fabulous hospitality.

The ISAF Sailing Worlds just wrapped up in Santander, Spain. Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, CA), put in a fabulous result fi nishing 7th in the incredibly competitive Laser Men fl eet. Congrats also to great results in the equally competitive Radial Women fl eet by Erika Reineke

(Fort Launderdale) in 14th and Isabella Bertold (Vancouver) in 18th. Check out on the www.sailing.org website the video of the medal races in both Laser fl eets: 20 knots, big chop, and incredibly competitive racing. Interesting that Robert Scheidt was fl agged for a Rule 42 violation on the fi rst upwind leg of the medal race. Hard to believe he would be called in such windy, wavy conditions. After doing his penalty turn, however, he was still ahead of the eventual medal race and Worlds winner, Nicholas Heiner from the Netherlands.

I’d like to thank NA Executive Committee member, Eric Reitinger, for fi lling in for me last month and writing the opening article in The Laser Sailor. Eric wrote a great article and he talked about some good ideas about how to increase fl eet participation at district events.On the NA class administrative side of things the NA Executive Committee voted unanimously to increase annual class dues by only $5 a year. This represents the fi rst increase in the past 10 years. The increase is necessary to maintain a balanced budget for the class fi nances. We will also be ending the family membership category ..please read the full Treasurer’s Report of page 10.

Several TLS issues ago (or was it over a year ago?) I reported that the long awaited new and improved Laser Standard Rig sail will be introduced

very soon. Well, even though the sail is ready, and has been for some time, all parties (i.e., all the Laser builders) have not signed off on it in accordance with the Laser class constitution. This is, of course, quite disappointing as there is no valid reason for holding back the sail’s approval. I notice that Laser Performance is now advertising the sail on its web site as a practice sail (they also state that it is not yet class legal). Let’s hope sanity prevails and the fi nal signature from PSA will soon enable the sail’s release.

For everyone in the northern latitudes your boat and sailing clothes are probably now packed away for the winter, and for all of you lucky southern folks you have no excuse for not getting out on the water all through the winter months. If you can pull it off start planning now to attend a mid-winter Laser event in CA, FL, Dom Rep or Mexico!

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For reservations or information: [email protected]

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Carib_Laser 3rdver.pdf 26.11.2006 16:42:53

Dec-Jan 2015 Clinics & Regattas

Dec. 29-Jan. 3 New Year’s Clinic and Regatta

Jan. 5-9 Midweek Clinic and Regatta

Jan. 11-14 Midwinters Pre-race Clinic The perfect warmup for our annual regatta

Jan. 15th-18 13th Caribbean Laser Midwinter Regatta

Jan. 20-24 Masters Clinic and Regatta

www.caribwind.com

BOOK NOW to attend a winter clinic or regatta.

FALL 201410

Treasurer’s NotesAll,

As we looked at the fi nancials from this past year we realized we would be running in the red. When we created a budget for next year, we did the best we could to cut costs but in the end a $5 increase in dues was the decision we made. Just to note this is the fi rst time dues have been raised in 11 years. Going by the membership numbers this year, we project to add an extra $9000+ to the budget. The last few years we were running a tight budget due to a lack of a sponsorship which had been in place for quite some time.

We also decided to eliminate the family membership option. While it was very useful for some and saved some money, it started to become diffi cult from a bookkeeping perspective. Some sailors were having issues fi nding their names in the database and causing confusion to the regatta organizers. We felt it would be much simpler to have each person have their own membership ID and would make things easier in the long run.

If you have any questions about the budget don’t hesitate to email myself or Sherri.

Eric Reitinger ILCA-NA Treasurer

www.Laser.org 11

FALL 201412

BY BRETT HEMPHILL

Although it’s not the America’s Cup race, Newport Beach’s annual “Flight of the Lasers” race still has been the starting point for many blue-water sailors.

The afternoon race was held in breezy conditions on Sunday July 20th. This was the 79th Annual running of the event. Originally called the “Flight of the Snowbirds,” because of the wooden boats used in the race, the event was renamed in 1975 after organizers decided to replace the aging, wooden craft with Olympic class Laser.

“It is really a great event that attracts avid Laser racers, families and young sailors,” commented race organizer Brett Hemphill. “Thus, we have trophies for the oldest skipper, fi rst married couple, youngest boy and youngest girl.”

The windy conditions combined with a bright sunny afternoon made for a lot of traffi c on the bay this year. The race course started near the famous Balboa Pavilion and covers a majority of the bay.

Finishing fi rst was Brian Cottrell of KHYC followed by Wills Johnson (NHYC), Phil Thompson, Joseph Hou (NHYC) and Dais Hanscom (NHYC)

The breezy conditions made for some tough luck for the participants. The oldest registered skipper, David Tingler, turtled his Laser and required outside assistance. His DSQ resulted in Don Stoughton getting the award for oldest skipper.

The youngest skipper, 10 year old Pierce Hemphill, also capsized at one of the weather marks. His crew, Sebastian Nowlan, held onto the boom for the downwind leg to the

fi nish since they could not get the boom to fi t into the gooseneck. Their determination and struggles earned them the Bravery in the Face of Danger Award.The fi rst parent/child, fi nishing 22nd overall, was Nick and Kate Madigan (NHYC). The fi rst married couple, Jim and Lindsey Beek (BIYC), fi nished 29th

overall.

All winners received gift certifi cates for Sailing Pro Shop in Newport Beach, CA.

A special thanks to all of the sponsors: Balboa Island Ferry, Hemphill’s Rugs & Carpets, Island Marine Fuel, Balboa Bay Resort, Nikkis Flags, Visit Newport Beach, Citrus Motors, Connell Chevrolet, RW Lewis Builders, Impact Graphics, LTSP, Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort, Balboa Yacht Club and Newport Harbor Yacht Club.

Flight of the Lasers

Photos by Tom Walker

www.Laser.org 13

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The youngest skipper, 10 year old Pierce Hemphill, also capsized at one of the weather marks. His crew, Sebastian Nowlan, held onto the boom for the downwind leg to the

fi nish since they could not get the boom to fi t into the gooseneck. Their determination and struggles earned them the Bravery in the Face of Danger Award.The fi rst parent/child, fi nishing 22nd overall, was Nick and Kate Madigan (NHYC). The fi rst married couple, Jim and Lindsey Beek (BIYC), fi nished 29th

overall.

All winners received gift certifi cates for Sailing Pro Shop in Newport Beach, CA.

A special thanks to all of the sponsors: Balboa Island Ferry, Hemphill’s Rugs & Carpets, Island Marine Fuel, Balboa Bay Resort, Nikkis Flags, Visit Newport Beach, Citrus Motors, Connell Chevrolet, RW Lewis Builders, Impact Graphics, LTSP, Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort, Balboa Yacht Club and Newport Harbor Yacht Club.

Flight of the Lasers

FALL 201414

by Judith Krimski

Conversations about successful starting techniques usually begin with topics such as starting at or near the favored end of the line. Once you’ve fi gured out that information what’s the next step? Knowing the location of your layline is equally important if you want a leg up on the competition.

Layline: The layline is the line on which a boat would sail a close-hauled course to reach/round a mark of the course with having to tack.

Starting Geography-Wind Direction When considering wind direction there are three basic orientations in which one section of the starting line may be favored (further upwind than the rest of the line):Boat favored —The wind is right of center. Line is skewed towards the boat.Pin favored: Wind is left of center. Line is skewed towards the pin.Square: Wind is centered. Line is square so the line is equally perpendicular to the wind.

Finding the Favored End of the Starting Line The most basic technique for determining the favored end of the line is to sail up to the line and luff up head-to-wind. Whichever way your bow points, that is the more upwind or favored end of the line.

Once you’ve determined the favored end, position yourself a few boat lengths below and to the right of that end. Sail a close-hauled course on starboard to the starting line. This will give you the layline angle. In a boat favored start the layline is steep. Boats stack up in lanes. A pin favored start has a shallow layline so boats start in a lee bow position.

Tactics “The key to starting at the weather end is knowing exactly where the layline is.”— Dave Perry, Winning in One Designs

Boat favored start: If you want to win the boat you’d better know where the layline is and have good downspeed boat handling to successfully time your approach while defending your position. Be prepared to have your head on a swivel. You need to shut the door against boats trying barging in above the layline while also being watchful of boats coming in to leeward trying to luff you up and take over the your position. By positioning yourself on the

layline far enough from the boat (5-10 boat lengths with up to a minute to go) you can defend both sides.

A second option when you don’t want to fi ght for the layline is to let a few eager participants fi ght it out at the boat while you slip in just below them. Time your start by looking over your shoulder at the boats to windward. Creep slowly forward by trimming just enough so you have minimal boat speed and steerage. Stay just bow out on the windward boats. Finally trim in and go with your bow past the boats to windward. Keep in mind that a clear lane and clear air is the goal. With this starting technique you’ll make out while the pack of boats stacking up at the weather end will be sailing slower mired in their own bad air.

“Remember that a good start puts you in the front row, in clear air and water near the favored end of the line and going in the direction you want to go.”

— Dave Perry, Winning in One Designs

Pin favored start: Unlike a boat end start a pin start is like being on the edge. Since you are fair down the line there is very little room for error. Setting up too early or too high, misreading the layline and not considering lefty shifts or current will all contribute to foiling your pin start.

A great way to facilitate a pin start is to hang back on port tack past the pin end of the line. That way you’ll be able to observe how the fl eet is setting up. As you sail on port towards the fl eet coming up on starboard you’ll have two options: tacking just below the fl eet and leading them to the line or fi nding a hole amongst the lead boats to tack into. When you tack, time it so you end up as close to the boat to windward and with some room to leeward so you can accelerate. It is also imperative to get your bow ahead of the boat to windward so you’re in clear air. Like the boat favored start there is another option to “winning the pin.” It you know there are going to be a number of boats fi ghting it out for the pin, start in the triangle of water just to windward of them. Similar to the boat start most of those boats will end up in the second row in bad air. A pack of boats starting at the pin tends

to get headed right from the start so if you are above in a clear lane you have the opportunity to sail up and over them.

Current’s Affect on the Starting LaylineFoul (downwind) current: Pushes boats downwind from the starting line. A foul current mimics a

Layline Primer II: Using Laylines to Improve Your Starts

www.Laser.org 15

pin favored start. Boats fall to leeward and pile up at the pin end. Evidence of this is the appearance mid-line sag and a triangle of clear water that opens up towards the boat. Don’t be afraid to be aggressive about sailing up to the starting line, especially in the fi rst race when most competitors haven’t accounted for the current. NOTE: Current traveling crosswise towards the pin will have similar characteristics.

Far (upwind) current: Pushes boats over the starting line. This mimics a boat start because your angle of attack will be steeper. In this scenario you must be careful not to set up to early or close to the line since there is a distinct possibility you’ll get pushed over by the current. While it’s important to have a clear lane remember you can accelerate faster depending on the speed of the current.

Setting up for the startLots of sailors ask me, “When in the sequence should I set up for the start?” That depends on a number of factors:— What’s your strategy? Are you someone who prefers to lead the fl eet by staking your claim to a front row spot early or do you like to swoop in to fi nd a spot late in the sequence and hit the line at full speed. — What are the fl eet’s habits? I remember a Buzzards Bay Regatta in 2013. I was sailing in the radial fl eet (50 boats) and during the starting sequence boats were setting up with as much as two minutes left in the sequence. The front row became crowded very quickly and boats that didn’t set up early were stuck trying to fi nd a hole. Whether you are in a big or small fl eet it’s important to pay attention to what’s developing and be within close range of the starting line within the last minute. If the wind is light and the line is crowded it’s all the more important to stake a spot in the front row early so start planning your strategy early on in the starting sequence and stay close to the starting line.— What’s the wind strength? With light wind it’s important to stay close to the starting box and focus on leading the fl eet to the line. That way you’ll be in the front row with more likelihood of getting clear air. If the wind is heavy you can lay back a bit

more and use a longer runway to accelerate up to the line. — How’s your boathandling? You need a quiver of skills to be a good starter and there’s no time like the present to start practicing them. Luffi ng head-to-wind and holding position on the line, protecting your position, and timing and acceleration for the start are all keys to getting great starts. Co mmon QuestionsQ. What if I get stuck in the NO GO ZONE or over the starting line. A. Bailing out earlier rather than later is optimum. If you are positioned near the pin or boat bailing is easier because you can just sail around an end.

Q. How do I determine my boat’s drift in current?A. Position your boat head-to-wind next to both the RC and the pin. Hold position for 30 seconds or more. Observe the time and distance of drift as you hold the boat in position.

Q. What if I am starting at the boat and someone tries to sail to windward from above the layline. What should I do?A. A boat barging in above the layline is subject to Rule 11: keeping clear, and since it’s before the starting signal Rule 17 is off. That means the leeward boat can take the windward boat above close-hauled. Note under Rule 16, if you change course to take them above close-hauled you must give them “Room to keep clear.” If you are the leeward boat it’s important to think ahead. To deter windward interlopers before they stick their nose in maneuver your boat into an offensive position (your boat and your bow angling towards your competitor) and use preventive hails, “No Room.” and “Don’t go in there.”

Q. What if I’m trying to make the pin to start. Can I luff up to clear the pin?A. Yes because proper course rules apply here. You’re proper course is to round the mark. But remember under Rule 16 if you change course you must give any windward boat room to keep clear and if you hit the pin do your penalty turn.

Q. What if I’m OCS. What rules apply?A. Rule 22.1, “A boat sailing towards the pre-start side of the starting line or one of its extensions after her starting signal to start or to comply with rule 30.1 shall keep clear of a boat not doing so until she is completely on the pre-start side.” applies when OCS. That means that you and your competitors must observe all the normal right-of-way rules while you are still sailing up the course but once you turn back to restart you are required to “keep clear” of boats racing up the course. If there are two boats returning at the same time normal right-of-way rules apply as well. Practice Drills:It’s always a good idea to see how the pros do it and fortunately Youtube is fi lled with videos to help you get a handle on various techniques, especially starting techniques. A good example is John Emmett’s video on double tacking. The goal of the double tack is to get back up close to the line without accelerating over the line. Practice next to a buoy for reference. Do multiple tacks with out moving forward. Ben Ainslie’s video on starting includes sculling and acceleration tips.

To watch how John does it go to: http://youtu.be/aFBYnsyCuaETo watch how Ben does it go to: http://youtu.be/dV4lcgmt8Zg

FALL 201416

Coaches Corner We’ve asked a few of our top North American coaches to share some of their favorite drills with us. If you have a drill to

share, send it to the ILCA-NA offi ce for publication.

gillna.com

Designed with all the features that you are looking for on the water, our watches include highly visible displays and simple functions as standard. The audible countdown timer can be adjusted to any start sequence, and the highlighted synchro function means that the start time will always be spot-on. Both watches are packed with useful features such as a key lock function, loud alarm and a bright back light leaving you to concentrate on the race.

Race Watch Available in black, blue or red.

Regatta Master Watch Available in black.

Sailing time.

Reaching Slalom - courtesy of Sail Canada & Ken DoolA reaching drill is easy to set up with either set marks or by driving the coach boat ahead to be the next mark. In some cases you may be very lucky to have a channel marked in such a way you can use that as a reaching slalom. The boats race toward the fi rst mark, gybe around it then head for the next mark or direction in the sequence.Variation: this can also be done as a time trial where the marks are preset and the boats start at 20 to 30 second intervals. At the end the overall time is recorded and ranking of the boats is assessed based on their time.Variation: Boats can start all at the same time to simulate a tight race. The boats can also start with an upwind leg then go into a series of reaches back down to the bottom.Objective: To work on techniques without the infl uence or pressure of other boats nearby.Coaching Tip: If your class rules provide unlimited pumping conditions ensure it is stated whether you are allowing unlimited pumping or not.

Shooting the Mark - courtesy of Sail Canada & Ken DoolApproach the windward mark slightly below the lay line. On the fi nal approach sheet in hard, heel the boat to windward and head up to “shoot” the boat around the mark cleanly, while staying on starboard tack.Objective: This drill is designed to practice those weather mark roundings when you have either on purpose or inadvertently under-laid the mark and cannot or don’t want to tack. This move keeps those boats on your hip behind you as you round the mark.Coaching Tip: As the athlete becomes better at the drill start to challenge them to approach from lower and lower to see how far they can “glide” and still get around cleanly. As the wind velocity decreases a boat can travel further while gliding.

www.Laser.org 17

We’ve asked a few of our top North American coaches to share some of their favorite drills with us. If you have a drill to

share, send it to the ILCA-NA offi ce for publication.

gillna.com

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FALL 201418

Regatta RoundupGreat Lakes ChampionshipBY JOHN SHOCKEY

The 2014 Laser Great Lakes Championship was a tremendous success featuring 66 sailors in Laser and Laser Radial divisions. The event was hosted by Laser Class District 18 and Vermilion Boat Club in the historical portage of Vermilion, OH. Malcom Lamphere of Lake Geneva Yacht Club outpaced the 36 boat full rig division to capture the Laser Great Lakes Championship, followed by Drake Lyon (Bayview Yacht Club) and Alec Chicoine (Hoover Sailing Club) in second and third, respectfully. In the Radial class, Shawn Gershman of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club ran away with the Laser Radial Great Lakes Championship! Tying for second were Noah Collinson (RCYC) and Sam Morrell (RBVIYC), with the tie breaker going to Noah. Full results can be found at www.regattanetwork.com

What stood out at this year’s Great Lakes Championship was the outstanding attendance from the Canadian Laser sailors. I counted 20+ Canadian sailors who made the trip through customs to take part in the weekend of Laser sailing in Vermilion, OH, and I wanted to especially thank you all for your attendance.

To add to the fun on the Friday preceding the Great Lakes Championship, Vermilion Boat Club played host to the I-LYA Junior Traveler Series regatta, a regatta which consistently draws large numbers of Optis, FJs, 420s, Thistles, and of course, Lasers! This year’s count was right around 400 sailors! Having got the word out via Great Lakes NOR and the Laser Class database, the Canadians jumped all over the opportunity to tune up and compete with our local Lake Erie junior Laser sailors. The junior event boasted ideal conditions, and according the results the Canadians must have enjoyed themselves because they cleaned house!

After the 400+ sailors and entourages dispersed Vermilion it was time to welcome the Laser Great Lakes Championship competitors, who arrived throughout the day, evening, and into the wee hours of the morning. Parking conditions at Vermilion

Boat Club on a Friday night can be a bit cramped, so we dealt with this by assembling a welcoming committee made up of early arrivals and fellow club members, my twin brother (Kevin), a roll of caution tap to designate an area on the pad, and a keg of Great Lakes Brewing Co. beer which was paramount for keeping the volunteers motivated. From my experience it was defi nitely a unique gesture as far as regatta accommodations go, the welcoming committee fearlessly and expeditiously unhitched trailers and lifted Lasers from car roof tops onto their dollies and moved into the designated “Laser Pad” area to help the new arrivals. It was more typical than not that the boat owner never had to get out of the car because the team of Laser veterans were “Johnny on the spot” and made for record time un-loading boats. “Welcome to Vermilion,” we said, and took care of everything.

Mother Nature greeted us Saturday morning with light and variable conditions and a damp forecast. Following an onshore postponement there was a glimmer of hope which prompted the RC to send us out in pursuit of some light air racing. Things were looking good on the way to the race course until a rogue weather cell—hidden from the radar—came through and gave everyone their second shower of the day, and then selfi shly took whatever wind was left with it!

Kudos to the VBC RC during the on-the-water postponement because it wasn’t a total bore. The pin boat setup a buoy and ran a 3 minute sequence for an “anything goes” race to keep the Laser sailors entertained. The challenge was met by 20+ sailors who began rocking and rolling and paddling their boats to win the fi rst race of the day! Capsizes and all, it was a funny

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www.Laser.org 19

Boat Club on a Friday night can be a bit cramped, so we dealt with this by assembling a welcoming committee made up of early arrivals and fellow club members, my twin brother (Kevin), a roll of caution tap to designate an area on the pad, and a keg of Great Lakes Brewing Co. beer which was paramount for keeping the volunteers motivated. From my experience it was defi nitely a unique gesture as far as regatta accommodations go, the welcoming committee fearlessly and expeditiously unhitched trailers and lifted Lasers from car roof tops onto their dollies and moved into the designated “Laser Pad” area to help the new arrivals. It was more typical than not that the boat owner never had to get out of the car because the team of Laser veterans were “Johnny on the spot” and made for record time un-loading boats. “Welcome to Vermilion,” we said, and took care of everything.

Mother Nature greeted us Saturday morning with light and variable conditions and a damp forecast. Following an onshore postponement there was a glimmer of hope which prompted the RC to send us out in pursuit of some light air racing. Things were looking good on the way to the race course until a rogue weather cell—hidden from the radar—came through and gave everyone their second shower of the day, and then selfi shly took whatever wind was left with it!

Kudos to the VBC RC during the on-the-water postponement because it wasn’t a total bore. The pin boat setup a buoy and ran a 3 minute sequence for an “anything goes” race to keep the Laser sailors entertained. The challenge was met by 20+ sailors who began rocking and rolling and paddling their boats to win the fi rst race of the day! Capsizes and all, it was a funny

gesture, and I would encourage you to try it sometime at your own event, and with any luck those potential rule 42’ers get it all out of their system in time for the event.

The clouds were interestingly low to the water and brought some breeze and misguided hope as they neared the race course, but once over the top the course the clouds brought doldrums of doom underneath with little to no wind. Finally around 4pm we got our fi rst race off in light air, ranging from 2-5 knots, and we were pushing for even that on the fi nal leg. Following Saturday’s racing sailors made their way back up the Vermilion river and were greeted with a fantastic buffet featuring pastas and meats, and of course there was plenty more Great Lakes Brewing Co. draft beer on reserve. Sailors took advantage of the lawn space and set up tents, swam at the pool and some ventured uptown to sample the fantastic cuisine that Vermilion features in many different fl avors from fi ne dining to pub style. Saturday night was loved by all.

Sunday’s racing featured fi ve races in 5-10 knots of breeze from the northwest, tossing 1-2 foot waves. The lack of racing Saturday was quickly made up for as the race committee was

determined and poised to keep us out there for a throw-out, which meant we were going for six races, and we did just that. Under perfect conditions the fl eets sailed races just past the cutoff hour for “no more races in a day,” and results rewarded those who raced most consistently. (But from my perspective they were also just plain fast, so I’m sure that helped too.) After sailing back up the windy and shifty river, past the four star French restaurant, Chez Francois, we arrived back at the VBC and began pulling

boats over the sea wall and onto trailers for the journey home with an army of volunteers, similar to how it all began.

Thank you again to the 66+

sailors and families who joined us for the 2014 Laser Great Lakes Championship at the Vermilion Boat Club in Vermilion, OH. We took great pleasure hosting this past year’s Championship and even more getting to know you all. On behalf of District 18 and The Vermilion Boat Club, we look forward to hosting future Laser events right here on the south shore of Lake Erie and you’re welcome back anytime!

FALL 201420

Regatta Standard Radial Laser 4.7 Masters

World ChampionshipISAF Grade 1

Kingston, OntarioCanada

June 29-July 8

Youth:Kingston, Ontario Aug 14-19

Medemblik, NEDAug 6-14

Kingston, Ontario, CAN July 10-18

NA Championship40 GP pts. ISAF Grade 1

US- East Coast US- East Coast US East Coast

Carolina YCCharleston, SC

May 22-24

Canadian Championships

30 GP pts. ISAF Grade 2

District 2 or 3 District 2 or 3 District 2 or 3 District 3

US Championships30 GP Pts, ISAF Grade 2

Brant Beach YCBrant Beach, NJ

July 21-24


July 21-24


July 21-24

CORK30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 1

Kingston, ONwww.cork.orgAugust 15-19


Kingston, ONwww.cork.orgAugust 21-24 na

Midwinters East30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 1

Clearwater, FLwww.clwyc.org

Feb 18-22


Feb 18-22


Feb 18-22

USSC Martin CountyJensen Beach, FL

Feb 7-9

Midwinters West30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 1

California YCMarina del Rey, CA

March 27-29


March 27-29


March 27-29na

Rolex Miami OCRISAF Grade 1

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

January 24-31

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

January 24-31 na na

Atlantic CoastChampionships

25 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 2

Fishing Bay Yacht ClubDeltaville, VA

May 16-17


May 16-17


May 16-17


Sept 19-20

Paci� c CoastChampionships


Royal Vancouver YCVancouver, BC

June 19-21


June 19-21


June 19-21

Gulf CoastChampionships

25 GP Pts

Texas Corinthian YCKemah, FL

May 2-3


May 2-3


May 2-3

Gulf Island SeashoreFt. Walton Beach, FL

April 25-26

No CoastChampionships

25 GP PtsDistrict 17 District 17 District 17 na

Great LakesChampionships

25 GP PtsDistrict 3 District 3 District 3

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District 11 Cham pionshipsBY JON DEUTSCH

Our 2014 District 11 Championship fi nished up with some nice racing on Sunday at Tred Avon Yacht Club. Luke Shingledecker (SSA) and Conner Bayless (AYC) are our 2014 Laser District 11 Champions.

Light winds plagued the fl eets on Saturday with only 1 shortened race being run. The fl eet made it to shore just as showers rolled through the area and to watch the Log Canoes racing (and capsizing) in the river just off the club as the wind gusted with the front coming through.

On Sunday the wind settled down with a nice 8-11 knot breeze with patchy clouds. In the Standard fl eet Luke fi nished 1-3-1-1 to secure the title and put on a pretty commanding performance in each of the races. Henry Amthor (HYC) had some consistent fi nishes to raise himself up from 8th on Saturday to 2nd overall

on Sunday. James Moran who had won Saturday’s only race held on to a podium fi nish to end up 3rd.

The radial fl eet was a little more contested for the lead. All regatta Conner and Jake Vickers (SSA) swapped places – both had 1-2-3 going into

the fi nal race. As Conner and Jake were coming to their fi nish in the 4th race the Standards were starting and both crossed the line within inches from each other and blanketed by the Standards. So both of them were awarded 1st place in the fi nal race. Since both had the same number of each place and the same fi nish in the last race, the tiebreaker was broken on the 2nd to last race and Conner got it. Jake fi nished 2nd and Aaron Helmly (TAYC) fi nished 3rd.

Top Master was Luke Shingledecker. Top woman was Dorian Haldeman and Top junior was Connor Bayless.

Thanks again to Tred Avon Yacht Club for hosting and to Mike Waters our PRO.

Photo above: JR Fucture

www.Laser.org 21

Regatta Standard Radial Laser 4.7 Masters

World ChampionshipISAF Grade 1

Kingston, OntarioCanada

June 29-July 8

Youth:Kingston, Ontario Aug 14-19

Medemblik, NEDAug 6-14

Kingston, Ontario, CAN July 10-18

NA Championship40 GP pts. ISAF Grade 1

SAIL NCManteo, NCJuly 30-Aug 2



Carolina YCCharleston, SC

May 22-24

Canadian Championships

30 GP pts. ISAF Grade 2

District 2 or 3 District 2 or 3 District 2 or 3 District 3

US Championships30 GP Pts, ISAF Grade 2


July 21-24


July 21-24


July 21-24

CORK30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 1



Kingston, ONwww.cork.orgAugust 21-24 na

Midwinters East30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 1


Feb 18-22


Feb 18-22


Feb 18-22

USSC Martin CountyJensen Beach, FL

Feb 7-9

Midwinters West30 GP Pts. ISAF Grade 1


March 27-29


March 27-29


March 27-29na

Rolex Miami OCRISAF Grade 1

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

January 24-31

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

January 24-31 na na

Atlantic CoastChampionships



May 16-17


May 16-17


May 16-17


Sept 19-20

Paci� c CoastChampionships



June 19-21


June 19-21


June 19-21

Gulf CoastChampionships

25 GP Pts


May 2-3


May 2-3


May 2-3

Gulf Island SeashoreFt. Walton Beach, FL

April 25-26

No CoastChampionships

25 GP PtsDistrict 17 District 17 District 17 na

Great LakesChampionships

25 GP PtsDistrict 3 District 3 District 3

2015 Schedule

FALL 201422

North American MastersBY KURT HOEHNE

Charlie Buckingham (Hawaii) and Michael O’Brien became the new Laser Master North American champions over the weekend in atypical Columbia River Gorge conditions, Buckingham in the standard rig and O’Brien in the Radial.

The event came on the heels of the Columbia River Gorge Racing Association (CGRA)-organized Gorge Laser Performance clinic and the famous downwind Gorge Blowout Race. Both were well attended and deemed by all to be successes.

Races run by the CGRA are usually sailed in full-on “nuking” conditions of 20-35 knot westerlies. That’s what attracted many people from around North America to sail in 50-boat event. On the eve of racing the predictions were dire, and several ‘tweeners switched from the smaller Radial to full rigs as there class of choice. Winds were in the teens Friday and Saturday, except for Friday’s fi nal race which at least gave competitors a taste of the real Gorge.

Buckingham sailed a strong series, but had to survive a protest from the race committee in one race and missing a mark in another and having to sail back to it in the last race sailed. He was able to explain the situation in the protest and used the other race as a throwout. In second place, by a mere one point, was Gorge regular Dan Falk, who was able to match his usual strong heavy air performance in the lighter conditions. Tracy Usher, who recently served as class president, was third with his usual consistency.

O’Brien’s victory may come as a surprise to those outside his home fl eet of Seattle, but not to his home fl eet competitors. He’s been

diligently working at Lasers for about fi ve years in the light winds and currents of Puget Sound. He was pushed hard by master Keith Davids who was only two points behind. When the masters handicapping was put in place, he was well behind grand master O’Brien. In third, by only a point after handicapping, was the perennial, ageless wonder Peter Seidenberg.

No races were completed the fi nal day, though one was started and abandoned as the full rig fl eet had picked up a zephyr en masse and were headed for one of the most

interesting leeward gate roundings ever.

As is the case in most Laser Master regattas, the mood of camaraderie and enjoyment was profound. The fact that it wasn’t blowing 30 may have moderated the Advil consumption a bit, but had it been blowing 30 we all still would have been out there!

Photographer Jan Anderson with help from driver Skip Anderson shot the event, and the gallery of nearly 300 outstanding pictures. The results can be found on the ILCA-NA website. More photos: http://janpix.smugmug.com/

www.Laser.org 23

diligently working at Lasers for about fi ve years in the light winds and currents of Puget Sound. He was pushed hard by master Keith Davids who was only two points behind. When the masters handicapping was put in place, he was well behind grand master O’Brien. In third, by only a point after handicapping, was the perennial, ageless wonder Peter Seidenberg.

No races were completed the fi nal day, though one was started and abandoned as the full rig fl eet had picked up a zephyr en masse and were headed for one of the most

interesting leeward gate roundings ever.

As is the case in most Laser Master regattas, the mood of camaraderie and enjoyment was profound. The fact that it wasn’t blowing 30 may have moderated the Advil consumption a bit, but had it been blowing 30 we all still would have been out there!

Photographer Jan Anderson with help from driver Skip Anderson shot the event, and the gallery of nearly 300 outstanding pictures. The results can be found on the ILCA-NA website. More photos: http://janpix.smugmug.com/

2014 Canadian Laser Masters Championship

BY KEN DAVY REGATTA CHAIR

The 2014 Canadian Laser Masters Championship was held this year at the Etobicoke Yacht club from June 27 – 29. It was a great event with 30 boats from as far as Annapolis and Long Island New York competing in warm temperatures and light air. The fi rst day of racing saw south easterly breezes reaching no more than 7 knots. The Race Committee under the experienced guidance of Irene McNeill worked hard to establish a viable course and was successful in getting off races throughout the afternoon. The R C pushed for a fourth and fi nal race and despite the lightening breeze got the everyone fi nished and off the water before dinner time. The left hand side of the courses seemed to be favoured as is normal for that wind direction.The results of the fi rst day of sailing were very close with a few competitors OCS in every race. Ray Davies won the fi rst and third race with Scott Collinson and Rob Koci winning the second and fourth respectively. Rounding out the top three after four races, without handicap, was Ray Davies, Rob Koci and Tom Woodford.The wind was a ittle stronger for the second day of racing with speeds reaching a consistent 7-8l knots from a more southerly direction. Again the Race Committee got four races off very quickly and the sailors got off the water by early afternoon. Once again Ray Davies showed his consistency winning the fi fth and sixth race with second places for the seventh and eight. Also showing his

winning form was Nigel heath who won the seventh and eight races. With eight races completed the scoring and the sailors safely on shore dinner was served. The evening was pleasant and the competitors enjoyed the hospitality of the club.Sunday was a bright and sunny day, however, the wind was just not cooperating. The RC kept all the sailors on shore and as the hours ticked by and with an early afternoon cut off for the last race it seemed pretty evident that there was going to be no racing that day. The PRO went out into the lake several times checking for breeze but by noon the breeze was no more than two knots so the days racing was scrubbed. Overall the regatta was a success with eight races counting despite the lack of races on Sunday. Everyone gathered for the prize presentations and thanks were given to the RC headed up by Irene McNeill with Peter Helmich as her deputy RO. Special thanks were given to the Port Credit Yacht Club and its

team of judges led by Katie Nicoll and boats it provided. David Lewis the Safety offi cer as well as all of the on the water and land volunteers received thanks for their efforts..The fi nal overall standings with one throw out and handicaps applied put Tom Woodford in third followed by Rob Koci and the winner of the 2014 Canadians was Ray Davies.In the age divisions we had:

Apprentice1. Ray Davies 2. Chris Van Rossem 3. Ryosuke Sakai Master1. Scott Collinson 2. Nigel Heath 3. Patrick WachholzGrand Master1. Rob Koci 2. Tim Woodford 3. Richard RobertsGreat Grand Master1. Joe Van Rossem 2. Lindsay Hewlitt 3. Gary Orkney

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FALL 201424

BY WILLIAM “BERKY” SUTTON III

The iconic San Francisco City Waterfront with its picturesque backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, and the San Francisco skyline was the site of the 2014 US Laser Nationals. 137 Laser sailors representing more than 50 sailing teams and yacht clubs from Canada, the United States, Mexico, islands throughout the Caribbean, and beyond descended on the gracious Saint Francis Yacht Club. From July 31st—August 3rd, sailors enjoyed the conditions, competition, and camaraderie.

San Franciso is known for her cool summers and foggy mornings, and whether or not Mark Twain quipped “the coldest Winter [he] had ever spent is a Summer in San Francisco,” I heard several sailors comment on the cool temperatures. Rhone Findlay, a Radial sailor from St. Maarten in the Caribbean and fi rst time visitor, opined, “The venue was indeed one of the very best I have ever visited. It was certainly one of the coldest but this was not a problem. Great Venue!” I saw sailors’ shore crews, parents, grandparents, and friends, in heavy coats or sweatshirts or blankets, or sometimes all three.

The San Francisco Bay, especially at City Front, is famous for its strong tidal currents and windy conditions. Historically, July and August are the strongest months. Many Laser Nats sailors expected heavy weather conditions. I certainly did. In fact, several junior sailor friends of mine from Southern California opted not to attend this year’s Laser Nats because they thought the Bay Area conditions would be too heavy for them. Notwithstanding, the attendees were looking forward to the challenge. Haddon Hughes, from the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club and the 2014 International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Youth World Championship women’s Radial Silver Medalist, said “coming off of a light air regatta at ISAF Youth Worlds, I was stoked to fi nally have some heavy air. The conditions were very unique as you had to try and manage the strong current, constantly changing wind velocity, and tricky wind shifts.”

While several sailors who usually sail in light air conditions expected a huge challenge, many of the locals commented on the unusual conditions at the event. Dr. Tracy Usher, president of the ILCA and a St. Francis Yacht Club member thought, “It’s never like this here! Too bad the regatta wasn’t last week!” He went on to explain “in general, fl ood tides mean heading for shore on the

beats. However, the max current was actually relatively low for San Francisco (in the low 2 knot range) and there was a south component to the breeze making it very puffy and shifty on the race course. I think this disadvantages the locals since, generally, we have a tendency to overplay the current and underplay the breeze. The out of town sailors focused on playing the wind shifts and linking puffs together and did really well. For me personally, my best race was when we had the most

‘normal’ breeze: steady WSW (parallel to the shoreline) and I was able to lead the race for a good bit of it.”

San Francisco Bay Area expatriate to Rhode Island and current US Sailing Development Team member, Christine Neville, thought the same thing. “I lived [in] the Bay Area and made the City Front my home waters for three years. I couldn’t wait to sail there again, but was nervous about competing there against the best. I was hoping that everything I learned from sailing in San Francisco would come back to me quickly. The conditions for the regatta were not the same as I had usually seen sailing at StFYC. The wind was more variable than the ‘typical’ conditions, so it made for extremely tough decision making.” San Francisco Yacht Club junior member, Cooper Weitz, agreed. “The conditions were unusual for the City Front which made the racing much more challenging because each race required different strategies.”

Even though the conditions weren’t like they are historically, the competition was certainly strong. Among this year’s competitors were current and former US Olympic Sailing and US Sailing Development team members, current and previous Masters and Youth Worlds, North Americans, US, Canadian and Mexican Nationals, Caribbean Open, Regional and District, Masters and

Youth Championships winners and runners-up. There were also a lot of young, aspiring junior sailors like me. As a matter of fact, 80 of the 137 competitors were 17 years old and under, and several of the fi fty-seven 18 and over sailors just turned 18. I was among a small group of hungry 13 and 14 year olds.

Not only did most sailors race for the challenge, but also to qualify for future events. Luke Muller, current

US Sailing Development team member, said, “The US Laser Nationals always displays some of the best domestic talent and is a good indicator of the work you’ve put in during the last year, so I wanted to test my skills. I had never sailed on City Front which defi nitely interested me. It was also a qualifi er for

The 2014 United States Laser National Championship: The Conditions, Competition, and Camaraderie

www.Laser.org 25

the 2015 Kingston Worlds which I wanted to get a spot for.” Robert Crane, who hadn’t sailed City Front since the 2008 North Americans but was top Full Rig fi nisher, was also racing towards a goal: “I went to the Laser Nationals to sail in the hopes of getting a 2015 Worlds spot and to coach a group of Radials from the North East.”

Many of this year’s Laser Nats competitors were going on to race in the US Youth Championship, CORK Olympic Class Regatta, U21 Laser World Championship, US Masters Nationals, and the ISAF Sailing World Championship, as well as some lake and off-shore J-Class racing.

When I asked Bill Symes, president of the Columbia Gorge Racing Association, what he thought of the competition, he remarked, “Brutal. 100+ of the fastest Radial sailors in the country. A very impressive showing.” Richie Gordon, from Cedar Point Yacht Club, stated “There was some great competition. I had to push my skills to the limit all the time to stay in the top. I have been sailing with most of the fl eet for most of my life, so I knew what was I was getting into.” US Sailing Development team member and runner-up Full Rig competitor, Erik Bowers observed, “The fl eet had some depth. No one won more than 3 races [out of 11].”

The competition was strong as you would expect at Laser Nats. Fortunately, we had a very capable Race Committee. Mark Foster, this year’s Principal Race Offi cer, told me, “I am a NRO (National Race Offi cer) with US Sailing and an IRO (International Race Offi cer) with ISAF. I also ran the Laser Master Worlds at St Francis YC in 2011. I volunteer with US Sailing and I am the current Chair of the Race Management Committee.” Mark thought “[the competitors] were very aggressive on the starting line and challenged the RC to set a fair line.” When I asked him who he thought was “the most interesting person” at the regatta, he responded, “I will have to say the entire RM (race management) team and RM Staff at StFYC. Great group!…[T]hey all knew what they were doing [and were] a real pleasure to work with.”

The camaraderie I’ve come to expect and enjoy in the Laser fl eet was really great at Laser Nats. And while we’re competitors on the water, and we know how to have a good time with each other on shore, we’re also concerned about the impact we’re having on the watersheds and oceans, and are leaders in conservation. D’amy Steward, a Coronado Yacht Club junior, shared, “Laser Nationals was a great event all around with fantastic conditions

and great racing. As West Coast Ambassador for Sailors for the Sea, I was pleased to see sailors joining in the movement to pick up three pieces of trash, use reusable water bottles, and convince our friends to do the same to keep our waters clean.”

In the end, St. Francis Yacht Club put on a great event—the best I’ve experienced there so far. Erik Weis, from Lauderdale Yacht Club and top Radial fi nisher, expressed, “I would like to extend a massive gratitude to all those who helped put on the regatta. It was one of the best run and organized regattas I have ever attended. For such limited launching space, the yacht club did so well

to get over 130 boats on the water on time. The yacht club was so hospitable, welcoming us and providing food after every day of racing. I was so happy to meet the Rear Commodore of the Club. He was so dedicated [in] welcoming the Laser fl eet to San Francisco…. He volunteered on the race committee and I’m sure put a ton of effort into having the Nationals at St. Francis.

William Marshall, from the FAST Sailing Foundation and runner-up Radial fi nisher, summed up his experience like this: “I decided to compete in Nationals because it was… a venue known for great, heavy-air conditions. I had never sailed City Front before…. Overall, the regatta was very competitive. Eric [Weis, top Radial fi nisher] sailed a great event, consistently getting good score after good score and deserved his win. The event was well organized both on and off the water. The race committee ran a great series. The [St. Francis] Yacht Club was very welcoming and generous.…” Richmond Yacht Club junior, Michael Marlett, agreed: “[It was] a perfect place to have a National Championship regatta.” Fourteen year old Alamitos Bay Yacht Club competitor, Drea Keswater, put it this way: “St. Francis has the best venue…. The Golden Gate and the City Front make it [a] prime place for the parents, and the wind and current make it a challeng[ing] and fun place to sail.”

See you guys out on the water. Sail fast, my friends. Sail fast.You can fi nd the results here: http://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_regatta_results.php?regatta_id=8479

Special thanks to Melanie Roberts, St. Francis Yacht Club Race Offi ce, Jerelyn Biehl, Laser Sailor Editor, and Stephen Aguilar, District 24 Secretary

About the author: Berky Sutton is 13 years old and is in his second year Laser & 29er sailing. He’s a student of the Stanford University Online High School and a junior member of San Francisco & Richmond Yacht Clubs.

FALL 201426

Atlantic Coast ChampionshipsBY JOE BERKELEY, #170780

Two words for anyone who has lost faith in the belief that hard work in the Laser pays off: Christine Neville.

In 2009, Neville sailed in big breeze in the Fat Boys regatta in Bristol, Rhode Island and had trouble getting her boat to shore after racing. On the way in, she capsized, bent her mast when she dragged it along the keel of a moored sailboat, and was struggling to stay upright. The race committee told her to sail to the closest beach and hitch a ride as she was not going to make it to the club.

Just fi ve years and lots of practice later, Neville won the Radial division at the Atlantic Coast Championship with an authoritative 4, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, (5). After day one, the former collegiate lacrosse player who stands an athletic 5’ 11” tall said, “I’m very comfortable when it’s windy. I’m pretty happy with my upwind speed. I was lower and fast, I’m trying to improve my pointing ability.”

Neville has Olympic dreams and is campaigning to represent the USA in Laser Radials at the 2016 Rio Games. Her Facebook page is Newport4Neville and she invited all Laser sailors to like it. Her next event is the Laser Radial Worlds in Santander, Spain.

John Kirkpatrick, a member of Fleet 413 in Newport and a sparring partner of Neville’s, won a three-way tie for second overall that was decided by a shut-up-and-kiss-your-sister tiebreaker. He also won the fi rst race of the series. On Sunday, Kirkpatrick was involved in a protest, which is worthy of review. The race committee fi led against two Radial competitors, John Kirkpatrick and Cameron Loncoski, for rocking downwind in race 6. Cameron elected to withdraw from the race. John Kirkpatrick chose to have a hearing.

As there were no judges available, three competitors from the full-rig fl eet, Joe Berkeley, Peter Follansbee, and David Frazier formed a committee and reviewed all of the testimony. The race committee cited rule 42.2 (b) which prohibits “rocking: repeated rolling of the boat, induced by (1) body movement.”

Kirkpatrick made his case with rule 42.3 (a) that stated, “A boat may be rolled to facilitate steering.” According to Kirkpatrick, he was heeling the boat to leeward, heading up, trimming the sheet, then when pressure built in the sheet, heeling the boat to windward, bearing off past dead downwind and easing the sheet. Having sailed the same downwind leg on the same day in the same conditions using the same techniques, the judges ruled in favor of the competitor. All parties shook hands at the end of the hearing.

The incident is being reported not to open a wound or to point fi ngers, but to propose more discussion as there is a lot of room for interpretation between rule 42.2 (b) and rule 42.3 (a). There

was a good story in scuttlebutt news about how the rule was administered at the Laser Worlds. It may be worth a read for all Laser sailors considering international competition: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2013/11/18/administering-rule-42-laser-world-championship/

Also part of the three-way tie was Corinne Peters of the lyrically named Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. When the dust settled, she fi nished in third overall with scores

of 2, 4, 5, 4, 2, (7) 4. After the regatta, Corinne wrote in an email, “The ACCs was a great regatta! It proved to have very challenging conditions with lots of changes happening all over the course. It was defi nitely a regatta where your head had to be out of the boat!” Corinne has been working on “leverage management” and is preparing for the Miami OCR in January.

Graham Kilvert, whose personal motto is, “Eat. Sleep. Sail. Repeat.” has been known to do a peacock yoga pose such that he balances his entire body on his hands, while on a stand up paddleboard, in the water. Kilvert has the sort of boat handling skills that are the result of days and days upon the water and when he tacks or jibes, lesser creatures stop and stare. Kilvert fi nished fourth in the three-way tie for second and has Olympic aspirations to represent the USA at the 2020 Olympics in Japan.

In the full rig division, the competition was tight in the 30-boat fl eet. After day one, youth crossed tacks with experience countless times, and after fi ve races, 19-year-old Henry Machum of Kingston, Ontario came out one point ahead of Master sailor Peter Shope of Newport, Rhode Island. With a throw out, Sunday could go either way.

Gearing up for day two, Machum donned his special, red, aerodynamic Lycra top over his lifejacket, stating with a wry smile, “red is the color of intimidation.” In the fi rst race of the day, he had a 2. His last race was a (17) as a result of a fl uky breeze. With the throw out, it was enough to win the event by two points.

In an email, Henry wrote, “I was really pleased with the conditions in Portland, Maine. The race committee was really good about getting races off in tricky, shifty conditions. The racing saw the right side favored almost every time, and it was about positioning yourself to be the boat that benefi tted the most from the right shearing pressure. Consistency was key, and just

photo above: Christine Neville hikes hard and presses the bow down. Photo: foresidephotography.com

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making sure I wasn’t taking too much risk compared to the fl eet allowed me to pull together consistent results.”

Peter Shope of Sail Newport liked the right on day one. He had a theory that there was tide relief on the right for the fi rst half of the beat, then it was important to get back to the left, as there was a persistent left shift at the mark.

Noting Shope’s upwind technique, Master sailor Steve Kirkpatrick remarked, “Peter Shope is fast upwind. And these young kids have great technique downwind. The big difference between now and 30 years ago is you used to just heel the boat to weather downwind and point at the mark. Now, downwind sailing is more athletic than upwind sailing.”

When asked if his boat speed upwind on Saturday was simply a result of hiking hard, Shope bristled. He believes shifting gears effectively pays dividends that are just as valuable as fl at out hiking. When the pressure changed upwind, Shope adjusted his vang, cunningham, and mainsheet accordingly, all the while keeping his mast vertical.

In third place overall, Steve Kirkpatrick sailed consistently with a (6) 3, 5, 5, 4, 5, 3. He was keen on clearing his blades of clumps of sea weed several times each race and is working on refi ning his technique such that while racing upwind, he heads up, pulls the centerboard up, slides it back down, bears off, heels the boat over, jiggles the tiller side to side vigorously, then continues onward weed free.

Canadian Luke Ruitenberg in Baab fi nished fourth overall. He plans on training in Florida this winter and hopes to qualify for U21 Laser Worlds in Medemblik, Netherlands next summer. His long-term ambition is to win a medal for Canada at the 2020 Games. Sandy Beatty in Monsieur Sanchez fi nished fi fth overall to round out the top fi ve.

More than one Masters sailor noted that it was a treat to rig up near Coach Steve Keen of Christchurch, New Zealand, who taught his Long Island youth sailors about weather, sail trim, boat trim, boat preparation, and hydration. As for day one, Coach Keen, who often went head to wind on the starting line in his rigid bottom infl atable between races said, “It all came down to clean starts and boat speed. It was a two-shift beat. The right paid for the fi rst half, with some tide relief, then there was a persistent lefty at the weather mark.”

Peter Follansbee of Laconia, New Hampshire, who fi nished in the top ten, enjoyed the sailing and said, “I like the urban venue, it’s kind of cool to be able to walk downtown to restaurants and bars.” Portland is a city where dogs are gods, and all of Follansbee’s Labrador retrievers would have been welcome here. Regarding the sailing on Saturday, Follansbee said he could have

used another fi ve knots of breeze and a couple of more races. His fellow Master sailors, who were nursing their wounds and their adult beverages, grimaced in unison. Chris Morin of Falmouth, Maine said, “Being 5’ 4” and 140 pounds the Radial would’ve been a better choice than the full rig.”Christopher Palmieri of Marblehead, Massachusetts who fi nished the regatta in 11th got his money’s wroth. He said, “This was one of the best weather conditions we’ve had in awhile with Optimum S-curve conditions.”

Victor Sullivan of Montreal, who has aspirations to make the Canadian Youth Team said, “It was fun, nice conditions. Windy and sunny, that’s all we need.” Victor’s mother, Claire Belanger, came to the regatta because he didn’t have a coach. She found Portland to be a very welcoming place, with a laid back vibe and plenty to do off the water.

Dwight Escalera, a marine surveyor from Wakefi eld, Rhode Island is another Born Again Laser Sailor. He sailed the boat as a youth, then decades later rejoined the class. His best race was an 11th in a Laser he bought off of craigslist for $650. That is not a typo. According to Escalera, the powder blue yacht, named “Improv,” had sat in a basement for 35 years. His sail number, 13222 is the real hull number.

Bryant Wood of Nova Scotia fi nished in the top ten overall, which is noteworthy considering he started every race without the benefi t of a stopwatch. He said, “Sail Maine is a good little venue. I liked the Gold Cup and I got excited.”

Stephen Kosacz of the Piscataqua Sailing Association believes the

preparation that goes into racing Lasers is good for

staying healthy. The 65-year-old owner of Auto Works in Kittery, Maine said, “I spend more time in the gym to stay in shape for Laser racing than when I was a Category 3 bicycle racer.” Kosacz was winning race 6 for half a leg until he ended up on the wrong side of a wind shift.

Jack Zinn stepped into a Laser for the fi rst time in a year. He said, “It was challenging and physical. It was great to see all my old District 7 friends.”

While the water in Portland, Maine was cold, the welcome at the Laser Atlantic Coast Championship could not have been any warmer. The staff at Sail Maine went out of their way to valet park dollies, help competitors with food and water, and make everyone feel at home. Katie Hatch, Executive Director of Sail Maine, said, “This is a community center, we want to make people feel welcome.”

Race PRO Matthew Hill, who is the Race Administration

photo above: Full-rig winner Henry Machum, #203636 starts in clear air. Pho-to: SailMaine photos.

FALL 201428

Director for US Sailing, did a masterful job of holding fi ve races on Saturday. The wind came from 200 degrees with puffs up to 20 miles per hour, the sun kissed the tops of the waves, and the Chamber of Commerce was no doubt pleased to have all of the beauty of Portland on display. On Sunday, Hill showed mercy by ending the second race at the weather mark in a breeze that was shifty and light.

As the sun dipped below the horizon and set on summer and the Atlantic Coast Championships, two competitors, Neville

and Machum packed up their fi rst-place trophies. But all 45 competitors went home happy, having enjoyed excellent racing, world-class hospitality, off-the-water camaraderie, and all that Portland, Maine had to offer. This is the way life should be.

Joe Berkeley is a freelance writer who fi nished 16th at the ACC regatta. His work is at joeberkeley.com

SHOPE WINS MASTER NATIONALSBY JOE BERKELEY170780

Be careful what you wish for. After four light-to-medium air races at the Laser Masters Nationals in Rochester, New York, the fl eet was pining for more breeze. Lake Ontario, the 14th largest lake in the world, obliged.

The black storm cloud on the horizon moved from left to right, the RC posted course D, a windward, leeward, windward, reach, gybe, leeward, fi nish. Against the black sky, just shy of 98 white Laser sails waited. At the gun, the breeze had fi lled in at a solid 20. Up the fi rst beat, the breeze increased to 30 and then to 35. Rain fell in a great white sheet and visibility became near to zero. There were no atheists in this race, as everyone said a little prayer they would live to tell the tale.

While some made deals with their particular Gods, and others struggled to survive, two were out to kill. Tracy Usher of San Francisco started at the pin and with his hiking strap as loose as possible he hiked and hiked and then hiked some more. To the right of him, Peter Shope started closer to the boat. With his strap just as loose as Usher’s and his legs just as straight, Shope hiked, hiked, hiked, then looked up to see he had a commanding lead.

In the 35 mile per hour breeze, Scott Pakenham observed that Shope was actually tacking on the shifts. His red yacht named Fluffy, a tribute to the cat sleeping in his Toyota minivan, was a red burst against the white out conditions, going up the breeze

not so much sailing as fl ying, pressing the bow down driven by adrenaline that had been locked away during the previous races. Shope would go on to win the race and the regatta with a 2, 1, (8), 5, 1, 1, throwing out a race that many sailors in the middle of the fl eet would love to pluck from the discard bin and call their own.

At the weather mark in race 5, one boat missed the layline, tacked, and capsized. Soon, there was a multi-boat pileup of carnage, boats stuck together, upside down. The more humble competitors overstood, sailed around the carnage and focused on survival.

Downwind, the waves had kicked up to fi ve-foot steep moguls and the leaders were dancing down them with loose vangs, sitting in the back of the cockpit, rooster tails fl ying from the transoms. For these sailors, like Mark Bear who sailed to a third in race 5 and a second overall with fi nishes of 4, 3, 12, (20), 3, 3 “Master” is a term of sailing skill rather than one which denotes entrance into that august organization, the AARP.

In the big breeze, calamity visited itself upon sailors of all skill levels. The great Nigel Heath of the Water Rat Sailing Club in Canada was the last to rig his boat on Saturday, but he was the fi rst to fi nish in races 3, and 4. In the big breeze in race 6, Nigel Heath was putting every ounce of his 160 pounds into keeping the boat fl at when he rounded up, capsized, and almost bisected the reporter to weather of him.

Andy Roy, the President of the Laser class fi nished fi fth in race fi ve. Between races, he stated that he is happy with the state of USA/Canada Laser relations. One of his countrymen noted that it would be great to have some USA attendance at Canadian

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Nationals. The note is worthy of review as there were no shortage of Canadian sails on the line and the opportunity to sail on a Great Lake is a treat.

When the breeze picks up, the waves get steep and the bottom of the lake goes to the top. The water gets colder as the Lake “turns over” and the conditions are ideal for Laser sailing.

Fleet 413 had great representation at the regatta. Shope was fi rst overall, Mark Bear was second. In the radial division, the man of iron, Peter Seidenberg, took home more fi rst place silver. He fi nished with a 3, (13), 2, 2, 5, 4. David Frazier won the Great Grand Master division. Scott Pakenham and Peter Hopple, who travelled together both had one race each in the top ten. If you could outfi t their pickup truck with go-Pro cameras, you could have the makings of a great reality TV show.

Hopple, who sails with whatever clothes he can get his hands on refl ected upon the fact that when he fi rst returned to the Laser fl eet, he didn’t pay much attention to gear. He often sailed with a wooden tiller and rather than buy hiking boots he just laced up his construction boots. After one heavy air day, where he had a couple of strong races, Dan Neri, the man of very few but very powerful words, approached Hopple with a question. “You beat me? With. A. Wooden. Tiller?” The question was rhetorical as Neri did not expect an answer and turned on his heels and walked away.

As always, the camaraderie on land was quite good and it was great to have

competitors from all over the country in the mix. One competitor launched his Laser through the back window of his minivan. The housing was fi rst rate, the RC fi gured out how to get 6 races off in tricky conditions, and the staff of the Rochester Yacht Club was hospitable.

Between races, I came up with an idea worthy of consideration. During postponements when the fl eet is waiting, when the race committee fl ies Code Flag V, it is an invitation for the fl eet to vote. By sailing to the left of the committee boat, you are voting to sail in and cancel for the day. By sailing to the right of the committee boat, you are voting to stay out and wait for breeze. The vote is not binding, but informs the committee’s decision. The thinking is Master sailors are not youth sailors. The centuries of wisdom on the starting line is worthy of the race committee’s consideration.

Photo by Betsy Lawless

Joe Berkeley is a freelance writer who fi nished 26th at the Laser Nationals. His work is at joeberkeley.com

FALL 201430

District ReportsDistrict 1Danielle DubeNova ScotiaThis summer has been both busy and successful for laser sailors in the D1 provinces. We have hosted a number of regattas, most of which had excellent sailing conditions and a great turnout of sailors from D1 and beyond. Here are some results from this summer’s racing:

ARK Regatta, Bedford Basin Yacht Club. (July 12-13)Laser1. Luke Ruitenberg, RNSYS2. Gerry Giffi n, CYC3. Gordon Stevens, RNSYSRadial1. Will Jones, RNSYS2. Nathan Dunn, RNSYS3. Corinne Peters, RNSYS

Sail East/Bay Wind/D1 Champs, St. Margaret’s Sailing Club. (July 19-20)Laser1. Sandy Beatty, LYC2. Luke Ruitenberg, RNSYS3. Bry Wood, RNSYSRadial1. Corinne Peters, RNSYS2. Philippe Pasquin, RStLYC3. Coralie Vittecoq, HYC

SBYC Circuit Regatta, Shediac Bay Yacht Club. (August 2-3)Laser1. Jamie Kennedy, RKYC2. Daniel Mosher, CYC3. Nicholas Ford, SBYCRadial1. Sean Docherty, SBYC2. Braden Holdich, RKYC3. Will Pelletier, SBYC

RYC Circuit Regatta, Rothesay Yacht Club. (August 9-10)Laser1. Nicholas Ford, SBYC2. Jamie Kennedy, RKYC3. Jeff Boudreau, SBYCRadial1. Braydon Holditch, RKYC2. Alex Sheppard, SBYC3. Keegan Slater, SBYC

D1 sailors also had some impressive results in regattas outside of the maritime provinces. At CORK International Regatta (also this year’s Youth National Championships), Luke Ruitenberg of RNSYS placed 2nd , and Gordon Stevens (RNSYS) 9th in a tough 22 boat fl eet. In the radial, Nathan Dunn (RNSYS) fi nished 4th, Antonia Lewin-LaFrance (RNSYS) 8th, Spencer Dalzell (RNSYS) 11th, Claire Sears (RNSYS) 14th , Lauren Sullivan (RNSYS) 48th, Aiden Harris (RNSYS) 64th, and Eric Purcell (RNSYS) 82nd in a massive 115 boat fl eet.

Two days after CORK International, CORK OCR kicked off. Many of the same D1 sailors who had raced CORK International (which proved to be quite windy!) came back after only 1 day off to race 5 days

of CORK OCR. Conditions during CORK OCR were dramatically different from the fi rst event, with light and shifty winds prevailing. In the laser fl eet, Luke Ruitenberg (RNSYS) fi nished 16th, and Bryant Wood (RNSYS) 23rd in the strong 52 boat fl eet. In the radials, Nathan Dunn (RNSYS) fi nished 11th, Alec Chicoine (RNSYS) 16th, Will Jones (RNSYS) 18th, Antonia Lewin- LaFrance (RNSYS) 31st, and Claire Sears (RNSYS) 49th out of a 57 boat fl eet.

While the summer season may be over, there is still much racing to come! In New Brunswick, Royal Kennebecasis Yacht Club is set to host a circuit regatta on September 28-29th. In Nova Scotia, The Royal NS Yacht Squadron will be hosting their Fall Regatta on October 18-19th. Results from these events will be posted in the next issue of Laser Sailor Magazine.

District 3Nigel Heath- 200133Ontario

With another sailing season ramping down here in Ontario we are looking forward to the 2015 season with excitement. The premier regatta of them all, the Laser World Championship, is fi nally coming to the original home of the laser here in District 3 (Hans Fogh fi rst tested the laser sails at the Water Rats Sailing Club). Also we are hosting the Pan Am Games here in Toronto and the Masters World Championships in Kingston. District 3 will certainly be the place to be in 2015.Apologies to sailors too young to attend the World Masters Championships, but hey your time will come. If you do have suffi cient years under your belt and want to get involved in some pre-event training, we will be doing everything we can to be fully prepared for this event, so stayed tuned in the spring.

Pan Am Games organizers are looking for charter boats for visiting sailors, so if you are interested in chartering out your boat and it’s in good condition, let me know and we will try to help out fellow laser sailors.

The last of the 2014 Fogh Marine Gold Cup regattas was recently held at Fall Cork, so the results of the series are now available at d3laser.com. Congrats to all the winners!!

Sail fast

District 4Brigitte SmutneyManitoba

Another jam packed season is slowly coming to an end. Our Laser sailors battled a lot of cold, windy days this summer and the fall is approaching way to fast. It’s hard to believe that in another 6 weeks there will most likely be snow on the ground again.

Besides the Laser Short course in Regina, the Laser Canadians in Vancouver, Sail West in Edmonton , the U10s in Kingston and CORK we offered a total of 30 training days as well as 15 in province regattas.

Our new and old District 4 Champion is Kyle Ross and the 16and under Champion is Anthony Clark. Andrew Murtomaki and Colin Krawchuk won the Manitoba Laser and Radial Champion titles respectively.

The Laser Master title went to Bill Dawson. Congratulations to all of our Laser sailors for a great season.

District 5Mark LammensSaskatoon

Barry Tee is back.

After spending a 2 years in India at a remote Yoga retreat to fi x his back BT was able to hang off the side of old blue. Barry wins Sail West and the Western Masters, Louis Pierre Gagnon is 2nd and Brayden Bilton is 3rd. There were 29 Masters at Wabamun. In Radial the Past Commodore of the Calgary YC Stephen Reichenfeld is fi rst, Colin Krawchuk 2nd and Mairin Rockcliff is 3rd.

Alberta super coach Ian Elliott wins the Prairie Wind, Icebreaker and the AB provincials. Ilia Rudnitskiy wins the Districts; Louis Pierre wins the SK Provincials.

The Dick Degner District 5 series has the following category winners. Ian Elliott-Laser, Louis Pierre Gagnon-Master, Stephen Reichenfeld-Radial.

D-5 alumni Logan Campbell fi nished 2nd at the IFDS World Championships with team mates Paul Tingley and Scott Lutes. They have qualifi ed CAN for the Paralympics in 2016. Ranked 2nd going in. Nice work by LC and D-5 sailors preparing for the World Masters. Thank you to the clubs that hosted our District 5 events and see you next year.

District 6Andy HuntVancouver

Greetings to all District 6 Laser, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 sailors.The bulk of the major regattas for 2014 are now over. Evening club races are either over or just about over. However, there are still a few weekends left for club racing and there are a few regattas in September, October and November to look forward to. For those of you who are interested in the club racing scene, please check out the results on the various club websites.There were lots of regattas in District 6 during the months of June (1), July (5), August (1) and September (1). One of the regular regattas. the KSA Invitational / BC Laser Masters was cancelled due to a confl icting event. Another event, the BC Sailing Championships, which were part of the BC Circuit, was cancelled due to lack of wind. The regatta in June was the annual WAVES Regatta. This is a regatta that is hosted by the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, usually at the end of June.. There were 15 Laser Standards in total with sailors coming from BC, Alberta and one from Washington State. In the Laser Radials, there were 28 boats with sailors coming from BC, Alberta, Washington State (2) and Colorado (1). All fi ve Laser 4.7 sailors came from BC. All of the Lasers sailed on their own area of English Bay. The weather was very good and there were 9 races in total for the Laser Standards and Laser Radials while there were 8 races for the Laser 4.7s. Max Gallant who sails out of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club was fi rst in the Laser Standards with 13 points. Reece Myerscough, who also sails out of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, as well as the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, was tied for second

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with Alex Shepard (RVANYC) with 28 points. Reece beat Alex on the tie-breaker In the Laser Radial fl eet, the top fi ve positions went to: Graham Harney, RVANYC, 18.00; Natalia Montemayor, RVANYC, 21.00; Miranda McGillvray, RVANYC, 33.00; Eliza Dawson, Port Townsend Yacht Club; 48.00 and Jonathon Scott (making an appearance after many years absence), RVANYC, 55.00. The fi ve Laser Radial sailors were: Matthew Stranaghan, Gibsons Uacht Club, 8.00; Joshua Smithman, RPSA, 17.00; Mchale Haines, NSST, 21.00; Zachary jeanguard, WVYC, 21.00 and Connor Mckay, RPSA, 31,00. The Squamish Yacht Club tried to host the 2014 BC Sailing Championships on July 5 and 6, but, (as mentioned above), the event got cancelled due to lack of wind. On the following weekend (July 12 and 13) the Qulchena Sailing Centre was going to host it’s annual regatta.Due to a confl icting event in District 22, the decision was made to cancel the event. The third weekend in July (18 - 20), the Jericho Sailing Centre hosted the 2014 Pacifi c Coast Laser Master Championships. There will be a separate report on this regatta elsewhere in The Laser Sailor. To cap off a very (scheduled) busy summer was the 2014 Canadian Laser, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 Championships on July 25 - 27 at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. This event will be reported on in a separate article. The Whistler Sailing Association, located on Alta Lake, was the host of a BC Sailing Circuit event. There was only one Laser Standard, two Laser 4.7s and six Laser Radials. Most of the Laser Radial sailors (4) are members of the Whistler Sailing Association. The lone Laser Standard sailor was Richard Barry from Comox. The two Laser 4.7 sailors were Matthew Stranaghan (Gibsons Yacht Club) who was fi rst with 8 points and Gabriel Santiago (WVYC) was second with 17 points. Ren Bennett (WSA) was fi rst in the Laser Radial fl eet with 8 points. Second place went to Leo Bennett (WSA) with 16 points. Third place went to Cayley Wilcox (Squamish Yacht Club) with 22 points, Fourth place went to Neo Bennett (WSA) with 28 points. Fifth place went to Aoife Cannon (WSA) with 37 points. Finally, sixth place went to Erika Yokouchi (Squamish Yacht Club) with 45 points. The Rocky Point Sailing Association hosted their annual Rocky Point Sailing Regatta which is part of the BC Sailing Circuit. Unfortunately, I cannot fi nd any information about the regatta. I hope it went well. The regatta was on September 13 and 14. Good Luck to all the District 6 Master sailors that are competing in France at the Laser Master World Championships.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments.

The Jericho Sailing Centre and the Jericho Laser Fleet hosted the 2014 Pacifi c Coast Laser Master Championships on July 18 - 20, 2014. There were enough Laser Radials (5) to let them have a separate start. All fi ve sailors were from the local clubs. There were 21 Laser Standard sailors with sailors coming from the Pacifi c Coast (California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia) as well as one sailor from Alberta. Masters (5), Grand Masters (10) and Great Grand Masters (6) made up the Standard Fleet. The local Laser sailors that compete in Master events are getting older and older as there were no sailors in the Apprentice division. The Laser Radial fl eet had two Great Grand Masters, one Grand Master and two Apprentices. For whatever reason, there were no Masters.The fi rst two days of the regatta had moderate westerly winds with an ebb tide on each day. Races

were about 30 to 35 minutes long and the sailors seemed to think that the races were about right. As the day went on, sailors started to hit the left side of the course more and more. That said, the sailors still had to do some tacking up wind to get to the windward mark. The courses were either single windward-leeward or double windward-leeward. The weather was also nice and sunny. For a change of pace, the third day had light easterlies despite the sunny conditions. This suited some of the sailors since easterlies in English Bay bring their own set of challenges. Local sailor Al Clark (Master) dominated the event with 7 fi rst place fi nishes out of nine races. Al fi nished with 26 points after the Master Handicap system was applied. In second and third place were Grand Master sailors Peter Woytkowiak and Bob Britten. Peter had 37 points while Bob had 38 points. The top three Masters were Al Clark, Andriy Kanyuka and Jorge Yanez (all local sailors). Top three Grand Masters were Peter Woykowiak, Bob Britten and Tracy Usher (California). The top three Great Grand Master sailors were Jon Andron (California), Chris Boome (California) and Jacek Suski (local). The fi ve Laser Radial sailors were Richard Spencer (GGM) 23.00; Deirdre Webster (GGM), 24.00; Bob Lewis (GM) 30.00; Marcia Macdonald (A), 33,00 and Judith Neville (A), 60.00. Marcia won 7 out of the nine races but did not have a hope of winning overall as there were no Master division in the Radial Fleet. A big THANK YOU to main sponsor Helly - Hansen.They came through big time with gear bags and clothing. Also, thank you to Evolution Sails, West Coast Sailing and West Marine. All of them donate prizes for the regatta.

The Royal Vancouver Yacht Club was the host club for the 2014 Canadian Laser, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 Championships. This regatta was held on July 25 - 27, 2014. International Race Offi cer John Culter, RVANYC Fleet Captain Gerry Cullen and RVYC Sailing Director Hunter Lowden put on a great event. There were three races each day, For all three days, the fi rst two races were held in sunny conditions with nice moderate westerly winds. The sailors hit the left side of the course to such a degree that the IRO decided to move the course for the third race in each of the three days. Some sailors liked the decision while other sailors just wanted to race. After the fi rst day of racing, Frederick Vranizan led in the Standard Rigs followed by Alexander Heinzemann and Malcolm Lamphere. In the Laser Radial Fleet, Isabella Bertold led the fl eet followed by Graham Harney, Natalia Montemayor, Hanne Weaver and Alexander Fritz. After the second day of racing, Frederick Vranizan continued to lead the fl eet with Alexander Heinzemann in second place and Yanic Gentry in third place. In the Laser Radial Fleet, Graham Harney took the lead followed by Reece Myerscough, Isabella Bertold, Alexander Fritz and Natalia Montemayor. After the third day of racing, Frederick Vranizan emerged the winner of the Standard Fleet followed by Alexander Heinzemann and Malcolm Lamphere. There were 25 Laser Standards and sailors came from Canada and the United States. In the Laser Radial Fleet (40 in total), Isabella Bertold (18.00) was fi rst with Graham Harney (27.00) in second and Alexander Fritz (31,00) in third. Fourth place went to Reece Myerscough (32.00) and fi fth place went to Natalia Montemayor (43.00). In the Laser 4.7 class, there were four boats in total. Overall winner was Matthew Stranaghan with 11 points, Second place went to Joshua Smithman with 15 points. Third place went to Gabriel Santiago with 20 points and fourth place

went to Nicholas Donaldson with 25 points. An on-water jury kept the sailors honest.

District 7Derek StowTiverton, RI

It was a busy summer regatta season in District 7 once again with an event somewhere in the district almost every weekend. One name you won’t see as often as usual in the list of winners below is the District 7 Energizer Bunny, Peter Seidenberg. Not because he has been sailing less; quite the reverse. Peter has been traveling all over the planet this summer to train for the Laser Masters Worlds and in the process has won the Radial Great Grandmaster crown at the European Masters, the North American Masters and the US Masters. He is an inspiration to us all.

On June 21-22 New Bedford YC hosted the second annual John Bentley Regatta for the Saltmarsh Trophy. Many of the competitors were friends of John Bentley, the local New Bedford YC sailor who passed away in December 2012, and whose legacy of fun on and off the water lives on in this group. Racing in conditions ranging from 15-18 knots of white-capped sea breeze on Saturday to a more benign 8 knot southerly on Sunday, the high quality fl eet battled it out in 11 races held over the two day event.Results1. Mark Bear2. Mike Matan3. Peter Follansbee4. David Frazier5. Peter Seidenberg

Portland YC hosted the second event in the Maine Laser Series on June 29, attracting 34 Laser sailors to Casco Bay. There were fi ve windward leeward races sailed in a building breeze that topped out at 14 knots. In the 27 boat standard rig fl eet Peter Follansbee was able to fi gure out the quickest way to sail the courses with consistency. His fi nishes (5 second place fi nishes!) were enough to best Belfast’s Colin Gowland who was second with last year’s winner Arthur Blodgett from Rockland rounding out the top three. A pleasant surprise was the 7 Radial rigs that registered for the regatta, and in this fl eet Ethan Merrill from Yarmouth was fi rst followed by Cam Loncoski of Falmouth.

Our 2014 District 7 Championship was hosted by Sail Newport at the Newport Regatta on July 12 and 13. An impressive 44 standard rig Laser sailors entered the event, along with a 4 boat Radial fl eet. The conditions were superb with a classic SSW building sea breeze on both days, peaking in some 25 knot gusts on Sunday. Excellent race committee work. 15 races over the two days. Wide range of ages from youths to great grandmasters. It’s hard to imagine how it could have been any better.Standard Rig Results1. Marek Zaleski2. Peter Shope3. Steve Kirkpatrick4. Christine Neville5. Dan NeriRadial Results1. Rachel Bryer2. Carly Broussard

Two weeks later the District 7 Radial Championships

FALL 201432

were held at the Hyannis Regatta on July 25-27. Once again there was an impressive number of sailors (some willing to travel a considerable distance) wanting to sail in a District 7 Championship, so much so that the Hyannis YC entry limit of 40 boats was fi lled some weeks before the regatta, with several sailors being wait-listed. I think most of the sailors on the wait list eventually had their entries accepted, but I apologize to anyone who was disappointed in not being able to attend. Sometimes the popularity of Laser sailing can be a headache rather than a blessing! In the 40 boat Radial fl eet, Richie Gordon of Cedar Point YC sailed a superb regatta to become the 2014 District 7 Radial Champion with Alexander Hanna in second and Nathan Dunn in third. In the 16 boat standard rig fl eet, Peter Shope took the win, followed by Luke Ruitenberg and Mark Bear.

The Marblehead NOOD Regatta was held on July 26-27, the same weekend as the Hyannis Regatta, and Lasers were invited to join the event only a few weeks before that date. In spite of that, some energetic emailing and arm-twisting by Tom Dailey of the Marblehead fl eet managed to attract 27 Lasers to the event, making it the second largest fl eet at the regatta. Conditions were relatively light and shifty but I hear a good time was had by all.Results1. JB Braun2. Tom Dailey3. Phil King4. Philip Kersten5. Joe Berkeley

The Buzzards Bay Regatta is always one of the most popular events on the District 7 calendar and this year’s event on Aug 1-3 was no exception with 30 boats in the full rig fl eet and 60 Radials. Unfortunately the weather didn’t respond to the Laser sailors’ enthusiasm. As Joe Berkeley wrote in his regatta report, instead of the usual sunny conditions and big breezes, “The rain fell fi rst in showers, then bursts, and fi nally in great sheets upon Buzzards Bay,” the conditions were “fi nicky” and although the fl eet enjoyed good breeze on day one, there was “less on day two, and even less on day three.” Oh well, let’s hope for better weather next year. On the good news front, Beverly YC had arranged for the Lasers to launch from Silvershell Beach in Marion with parking nearby which created a much more workable situation than some of the offsite parking options at BBR in recent years.Standard Rig Results1. Alan Ruigrok2. Steve Kirkpatrick3. Mark Bear4. Matthew Schofi eld5. Mark Bethwaite

Radial Results1. Alexander Hanna2. Connor Blouin3. Nicholas Serti4. Gray Kiger5. Leo Boucher

The Stone Horse Regatta on August 9 attracted a 26 boat fl eet to Harwichport on Cape Cod and was sailed in a shifty 2-8 knot northerly.Results1. Peter Shope2. Peter Seidenberg3. Oriane Longerstaey 4. Christina Persson

5. Mark Bear

Eric Robbins, one of my predecessors as D7 Secretary, invited a bunch of Laser sailors to join him in a two day Laser regatta on Aug 11-12 as part of Nantucket Race Week. I assume they went over on the ferry and didn’t tire out themselves and their sails by making the 26 mile trip from Hyannis to Nantucket in their Lasers. Be that as it may, Eric beat them all soundly. Skip Willauer was second and Chris Gordon was third in the ten boat fl eet. Given Nantucket’s popularity as an inspiration for limericks, I was expecting to receive a regatta report in the form of a limerick. Alas it was not to be. Maybe next year?

Twenty sailors competed in the Chiott Vermont Laser Open hosted by Malletts Bay Boat Club on August 16-17. Congratulations to Chris Palmieri who won the regatta followed by John Harris and Al Baker.

Nine sailors gathered in scenic Camden, Maine, (famous as the home of the annual US Toboggan Championship) to race the third event of the 2014 Maine Championship Series on August 16. Seven races were sailed with the initial race being a steady 16-18 knots and and the subsequent six races in a wind ranging from 11-17 knots with some great wave action building on the bay. There were plenty of exciting passes and lead changes through each race and some wipeouts too. In the fi nal Route de Rhum race, Phil King of Massachusetts won with great speed and “mass-netics” (whatever they are) on the long reaching leg back to the dock – and held up the bottle of Goslings at the Penobscot Bay Rendezvous awards party to prove it. The Antiguan reggae band, wine, beer and appetizers were more than welcome after the long, windy day on the water. Colin Gowland won the regatta with Phil King in second and Hank Thorburn in third.

The major event in the district this summer was the Laser Atlantic Coast Championship in Portland, Maine on Labor Day Weekend. See Joe Berkeley’s report elsewhere in this issue of The Laser Sailor.

And lastly (at least lastly before the deadline for this issue of The Laser Sailor) was the 65th Annual Massapaog Regatta hosted by Massapoag YC on Lake Massapoag in Sharon MA on Sep 6-7. On Saturday, the conditions were challenging for many of the sailors with brutally shifty and gusty winds from the WSW necessitating a short course across the lake with three windward leeward laps. I hear the mark roundings were a little crowded! On Sunday the winds moderated a little and were from the north down the long axis of the lake which led to more enjoyable sailing. Even more enjoyable was the the awesome lobster, chicken and steak tip buffet dinner served by the caterer on Saturday night followed by MYC’s famous make-your-own-sundae bar! Sixteen Laser sailors braved the wind and waves of Lake Massapoag. And it is fi tting when the fi rst regatta in this report was the Saltmarsh Trophy, named after Laser sailing legend Bob Saltmarsh, that the last regatta in this report was won by Bob’s grandson Josh Saltmarsh. The Saltmarsh family tradition continues!Results1. Josh Saltmarsh2. Chris Palmieri3. Erik Aker4. Hunter Rosenthall5. Dwight Escalara

Thanks to all the fl eet captains and regatta organizers who are the people who do all the real hard work to make Laser sailing in District 7 so successful and popular. Thanks also to all the people who sent me regatta reports and made it so easy for me to prepare this summary. You may well recognize some of your own words in the text above. (Thank god for cut and paste!) And thank you to all the many many Laser sailors who sailed in one or more regattas in the district this season.

Please feel free to contact me about any district matters at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.

District 8Lindsay HewittNew York

Another summer season has come and gone with a very successful D8 schedule of more than 22 events with regattas almost every weekend starting in May. Our D8 Grand Prix was hosted by the always gracious Sayville Yacht Club in July with good participation with Mike Matan winning overall. There was an increase in overall participation at all the events with lots of new sailors joining us from new areas in D8. We are as of this writing fi nalizing the results of the summer season.As usual we owe a very special thanks to Bob Terry for running our website. Please go to LaserD8.org for a recap of all the summer’s events and all of the scores. Photo below of future Laser sailor Becky Schmitz practicing her hiking with Lillian Kennedy at the D8 Grand Prix. Photo: Larry Kennedy.

Eric ReitingerDistrict 10New Jersey/PAhttp://www.twitter.com/LaserDistrict10https://www.facebook.com/LaserDistrict10

While most of the adults make the switch to other boats, the youth start their summer programs and the sailing circuit. Unfortunately the major regattas were on the west coast so some made the trip out there. Aside from the junior events the one regatta that stood out a little was the fi rst time Lasers were invited to Atlantic City Race Week. With only one day offered to sail, sailors were treated to some fun ocean sailing and some extracurricular activities on the way in. As we traveled in and out of the Atlantic City inlet there was shore break that allowed the sailors to experiment surfi ng. Sadly no footage exists. We look forward to next year to try to get some great sailing and then catch some surf on the way in.Junior sailing was busy with local YRA events as well as the regional regattas like the Junior Olympic series.District 10 Radial and 4.7s were held once again at Brant Beach. The 28 boat radial fl eet and 4 boat 4.7 fl eet had some great racing over the 2 days with

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Carson Pearce from SCYC winning the radials and Cooper River’s Cameron Acito winning the 4.7s. Mark your calendar for the Radial and 4.7 District 10 championships next year which will be hosted by Cape May on August 15-16. This means ocean sailing!Fall started with the Surf City’s Annual Regatta with Had Brick winning the full rig fl eet.Here is Glen Dickson’s report for the Shore Acres event:Shore Acres Laser RegattaSeptember 13, 2014Shore Acres YCBrick, NJ

In an effort to rekindle Laser sailing on upper Barnegat Bay, Shore Acres YC held its second annual Laser regatta on Sept. 13. While turnout was light, due mostly to a confl ict with Laser Masters Nationals in upstate New York, the D10 sailors who did make the trip were greeted with great conditions: 18 knots out of the East and surprisingly big waves churning down the Green Island course. The fl eet rolled through fi ve Gold Cup-course races, with an on-water lunch break after three races. The wind dropped down to about 14 knots by the last race.

Glen Dickson of Bay Head YC liked the big breeze and took the regatta win, followed by Chris Henkel and Larry Nociolo of Monmouth Boat Club in second and third. Dickson was also awarded “The Plank” perpetual trophy made from a wooden plank salvaged from SAYC’s former clubhouse, which was destroyed in Hurricane Sandy. The club is currently raising money to build a new clubhouse while it maintains its regular schedule of one-design racing. It also hopes to eventually grow its fl edgling Laser regatta into a big-fl eet event.

The sailors enjoyed a great post-race spread and some tasty Painkillers and a few laughs at SAYC’s fully-functional bar, which is currently housed under a tent where the clubhouse formally stood. Living up to their name, the Painkillers seemed to make tired hiking legs feel instantly better.

Many thanks go to regatta chairman Philip Angelo, PRO Brendan Hogan and SAYC’s many volunteers for putting together a really fun day. If you haven’t sailed before at Shore Acres, it is defi nitely worth the trip—the club is one of the best open-water venues for Laser sailing in our District.——Glen Dickson

September is fi lled with a regatta every weekend and fall series in a few different places. Look for results next issue. We also have various fall series running all over the place with Beachwood, Toms River, Brant Beach and Brigantine. Frostbite series also start. Monmouth starts on October 26th and runs through December. Marsh Creek starts November 9th. We are crossing our fi ngers that Cooper River’s frostbite starts on 2nd but we still await on if the county wishes to start dredging the river.

District 11Jon DeutschVA, MD, DE

The summer has come and gone and plans are already being made for frostbiting. This summer the usual compliment of events were held at Severn Sailing Association, Corsica River Yacht Club, Fishing Bay Yacht Club, West River Sailing Club,

Ware River Yacht Club, Tred Avon Yacht Club and many others.The summer was capped by our District 11 Championship at TAYC at the end of August. See the report elsewhere in this issue. At that event we also held our Annual District meeting. Jon will stand as Secretary for another year. There was some further discussion about the lack of communication from the class on recent rule changes and a general disappointment in the progress of implementing the new sail and top section.This winter both SSA and PRSA will have frostbiting most every Sunday from sometime after Thanksgiving through March. PRSA will also host a Hangover Regatta on New Years Day. See http://severnsailing.org and http://potomacriversailing.org/lasers/ for details.In Hampton Roads a fall series is underway at the ODU Sailing Center and runs from late September through early December. For details email Robert Suhay [email protected] fi nally Fishing Bay Yacht Club will host the Laser Atlantic Coast Championship on May 16-17, 2015.Look for results of the SSA Crab Claw Regatta, Hard Rock Masters and Chesapeake Masters/Laser Masters ACC in the winter edition of The Laser Sailor

District 12Glenn Walker - 206457NC, SC, GA

We’ve put two more regattas in the bag and are closing in on our fi nal two regattas.The Carolina Yacht Club of Charleston hosted our 4th stop on the championship circuit in conjunction with their open regatta the last week of July. This worked out well as it encouraged more junior sailors to participate in the regatta and join the ILCA. We had 13 standard rigs and 11 radials duke it out in the historic waterfront that only Charleston can provide. In the standard fl eet we saw some new faces that we need to keep an eye on, namely Daniel Birmingham who now sails for Cornell University

and is a sophomore, he fi nished 2nd overall. In the radial fl eet Sally Key from the Columbia Sailing Club posted several bullets to take the tie breaker with up and coming junior sailor Chase Carraway of CYC-NC. Travis Tucker (Lake Norman Yacht Club) pulled out a third by winning the three way tie over Thomas Smith (CYC-NC) and Darby Reddaway. A big thank you goes out to CYC-SC for hosting our fl eet!As of this writing, our last regatta was at Wrightsville Beach and hosted by the Carolina Yacht Club –NC. The weather turned out to be a bust as we only got in one race on Saturday before the next line of storms came in from the south. Kudos to the RC for being able to get the one race in. Overall we had 18 standard rigs, 12 radials, and two 4.7’s all sailing the ocean course. In the standard rig fl eet we had the local contingent demonstrate how to sail in the lumpy mess as Martin Willard lead wire to wire and his long time friend and training partner and district secretary Glenn Walker took second. John Potter of BYSC was in the mix and brought home a 3rd to keep his hat in the ring for being crowned district champion in October and then in 4th was Jonathan Phillips, a fast out of district sailor from D-11. In the radial fl eet Travis Tucker brought home the bacon with a 1st place fi nish followed closely by a couple of scrambled eggs, Thomas Smith in second and Sally Key in third. Our 4.7 fl eet showed more patience than any other group out there on the ocean. Light air and lumpy ocean conditions and these kids reveled in it; congratulations to Collin and Nathan Porter, also to their dad John!Check out our website often to keep up with the latest news and see who got crowned District Champion!

District 13Michelle DavisFlorida

Summertime is usually the slowest season here in Florida; the opposite probably of everywhere else. Still, we have several local series going on around

FALL 201434

the state: the Suncoast Series on the West Coast, the Small Boat Sunday Series in Melbourne, the Treasure Coast Series on the East Coast, and the Laser Fleet Miami Sunday Series held on Biscayne Bay. At this writing the top 3 in the TCS are 1. David Hartman 2. James Liebl 3. Monica Wilson and the top 3 in the LFM Sunday Series are 1. Roberto Porter 2. James Liebl 3. Michelle Davis. Some D13’ers hit the road this summer and participated in the national events. St Petersburg YC and Lauderdale YC both sent strong teams, particularly in the Radial fl eet, to the US Nationals and North Americans in California. Eric Weiss (22nd) and Paul Streater (50th) represented in the Standard fl eet at the NA’s in Alamitos Bay last June, while Paige Railey and Luke Muller dominated the Radial fl eet with a fi rst and third respectively. Also in the Radial Gold fl eet: Patrick Shanahan (11th), Nic Baird (16th), Scott Rasmussen (24th), Brandon Kirby (27th), Sophia Reineke (36th), Jack Gower (38th) and Ty Baird (43rd). Gage Wilson won the 4.7 fl eet and Gage Schoenherr came in third.A lot of the same cast of characters went up to San Francisco for the US Nationals in July. This time Luke Muller sailed with the Standard rigs and was 4th overall. Some great performances by D13 sailors in the Radial Gold fl eet were Patrick Shanahan in 8th, Liam McCarthy in 9th, Nic Baird (11th) and Jack Gower (22nd).The ‘seasoned sailors’ held their US Masters Nationals in September in Rochester, NY. Three D13’ers made the trek, and two scored in the top ten. David Hiebert fi nished 6th, David Chapin fi nshed 8th, and Michelle Davis fi nished 31st in the 64-boat Standard fl eet.Meanwhile, the Reineke sisters of Lauderdale YC had an impressive summer. Sophia Reineke dominated the US Jr Women’s Singlehanded Championship in San Diego last July, winning 7 of 10 races. Erika Reineke competed in the Rio 2016 Test Event and fi nished 6th overall. Erika is currenly in 14th place at the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander, Spain. Paige Railey was 8th in Rio, and unfortunately was unable to compete in Santander due to an injury. Here’s hoping for a speedy and complete recovery! The Masters Worlds are coming up soon, held in Hyeres, France. Good luck to David Hartman, David Hillmyer, Peter Vessella and Tim Landt!There are plenty of regattas coming up this fall and winter. Some multi-class events that welcome Lasers are the Melbourne YC Fall Small Boat Regatta on Oct 18-19 and the Davis Island YC Thanksgiving Regatta on Nov 28-30. The D13 District Championships will be held at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron on Dec 6-7. Coconut Grove sailing club hosts the Open Orange Bowl on Dec 27-30. And for the 35 and older crowd, the dates and venues are set for the now classic Masters Florida Week. Masters Midwinters East is at USSC Martin County Feb 7-9, Midweek Madness is at the same location Feb 11-12, and the Florida Masters will be at the Palm Beach Sailing Club Feb 14-15. Lauderdale YC is hosting two regattas on the open ocean in January where Lasers are invited; the Boomerang Regatta and the Lauderdale Olympic Class Ocean Regatta. Exact dates, NOR’s and additional information about these events will be posted on the D13 website: http://laserdistrict13.org/

District 15Forest AtkinsTexashttp://laserd15.org/

Normally summer in Texas is a bit quiet Laser Racing-wise. July and August regularly see 100 + deg temperatures across the state.So we scheduled regattas anyhow.Actually the regularly scheduled Summer Solstice event at Seabrook along the Gulf Coast occurs in later June. Hank Saurage, David Ryan and Ash Beatty went 1-2-3 respectively. Now for the sort of weird part ..... We conducted our District 15 Champs event at Palacious YC August 16-17. The rationale (logic?) went something like this.... it was Gulf coast’s turn for D15 champs ...... we wanted to have a combo junior - adult event..... Minimize confl ict with the numerous other Texas and national sailing events.... a club who really wanted to run this expanded event.It’s diffi cult to have imagined how well the Cannon Ball Run event came off.

First of all, monumental appreciation goes out to the folks of Palacios YC. Hans-Barney you and the gang did a tremendous job bringing this together. We had a great turnout at 38 entrants across all Laser fl eets..... Never mind the nearly 50 Opti’s that turned out!

Palacios is at the north end of Matagorda Bay which is about a 1.5 hour drive south of Houston-Galveston. Just remote enough that the only other boats on this vast body of water were the shrimp boats going up the channel over a mile away from the course. While getting off the beach-harbor was bit of a challenge, the sailors were greeted with winds were at a consistent 15-20 all weekend and nice surf able chop to play in . Temperatures were in the low 90s due to the sea breeze. In the full rig perennial favorite Doug Peckover had his hands full trying to catch eventual winner young Keen Butcher...straight bullets (ouch!). David Morgan followed them for a strong third.In the radial class Corinthian SC (Dallas) sailor Skylar Bayman took fi rst followed by Madeleine Butcher second and Daniel Kenrick 3rd. If memory serves Skylar did the same thing at the No-Coasts the month before!Brandon Cassrad, Dylan Cassard and Ben Froelich went 1-2-3 respectively in the 4.7. For complete results see.... http://www.palaciosyachtclub.org/Regatta%20News.htmlSome of the lasting memories included the dozens of junior Opti-Laser sailors scurrying for the “safety” of thee open water like young sea turtles and later that evening the worn out adults watching these same kids wear out the beach-side playground equipment after 5 races in 15-20 mph winds (!) from the porch of the Luther hotel.So we met our goals of a great event that combined youth and adult competitors successfully with a strong turnout at a “new” venue. I’m planning on going back next year. Thank again to the PYC folks and Keen Buthcher senior for helping bring this together.Coming up are the last two circuit events for D15...LaserPalooza at Arlington Sept 20-21 and lastly Wurstfest at Lake Canyon in the hill country outside New Braunfels Nov 1-2. Lastly, I plan on passing the D15 rep torch after next year. So if any of you in D15-Land would like to rep the ILCA-NA D15, by all mean get ahold of me.

District 19 Ken SwetkaMichigan

We had a great summer of sailing in D19. Below

are a couple regatta reports that are a very good read. Nicely done Tom and Doug!

June 21-22 D19 Grand Prix Championships – story by Tom TrautmanTwenty-six competitors gamely handled very light and shifty winds on Little Traverse Bay as they battled in the 2014 Laser District 19 Championships, held in Harbor Springs, Michigan on June 21 and 22, 2014. The top Laser class sailors from across Michigan, Ohio, and even Ontario competed in the chilly waters off the Harbor Springs Harbor. The title came down to the last leg of the last race of the three race series: sailing fast in the best winds of the weekend, Steve Johansen of Ann Arbor, Michigan emerged as the 2014 District Champion. Ken Swetka of Detroit, Michigan was a close second, and Daniel Barry of Sarnia, Ontario won a tiebreaker on points from Brady Savage of Detroit, Michigan to capture third place. The top Laser Master Award was given to Leigh Savage of Detroit, Michigan, the top Junior Sailor was Harbor Springs’ own Matt Menzi, and the top woman sailor was Suzie Pegel.

The 2014 Laser District 19 Championships were graciously sponsored by Irish Boat Shop and Little Traverse Sailors, with assistance from the Little Traverse Yacht Club. The organizers were very pleased with the sharp uptick in interest in the event this year, with nearly ten more boats racing. The extra boats and the high talent level of this fl eet made for exciting starts (with several general recalls), very tight mark roundings, and overall highly competitive racing.

On Saturday the light and variable winds saw the Race Committee struggle to get in one race, and similar conditions on Sunday meant that only two races were possible before the time deadline expired. But the lack of races was more than made up by the tight racing and camaraderie of the sailors, who were treated to a Saturday night barbeque and Sunday afternoon Awards Ceremony at Irish Boat Shop in Harbor Springs. The organizers would also like to thank Ali Hill of Bayview, Dave Travis of Crooked Lake, and Dan Thompson of Harbor Springs for excellent Race Committee work under very diffi cult conditions. The event could not have happened without the support of Irish Boat Shop, Little Traverse Sailors, and the Little Traverse Yacht Club. We hope to host the 2015 Laser District Championships next June, and look forward to building on this years’ momentum.

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Lansing Sailing Club - 2014 Laser Regatta Race ReportAugust 16, 2014 – story by Doug CarlsonNearly perfect weather conditions welcomed 28 sailors from around the state of Michigan to Lake Lansing for the 2014 Annual Lansing Sailing Club District 19 Laser Regatta.The morning started with 12mph winds from the southwest with thefl eet sailing Olympic courses. Isaac Kremers from Ada, MI, making his fi rst appearance at the LSC Laser Regatta since 2011 when he led the junior division, started the regatta with a nice 3rd place fi nish among an aggressive fl eet. But he was just warming up and as the wind continually increased over the day, with gusts well over 20mph, Isaac really got into his groove and went on to win 4 of the next 5 races comfortably earning his fi rst LSC Laser Regatta title. Chad Coberly from Grand Rapids, MI, the 2006 LSC LaserRegatta Champion was the only other racer to post 1st place fi nishes in the regatta and fi nished 2nd for the day.Doug Carlson, a LSC member from Okemos, MI rounded out the top fi nishers in 3rd place.There was special recognition again this year for both women and junior competitors. Frank Reeg from Spring Lake, fresh off his 2nd place fi nish at the 2014 Butterfl y Nationals fi nished 5th overall to lead the juniors. MaryVorel from Grand Rapids fi nished 7th in the regatta to again top the woman’s group.This year’s winds were especially welcomed considering the light conditions at this regatta in the previous two years. It was exciting to see the wind build to more than 20mph after the lunch break and hear the shouts of excitement related to planing reaches as well as the shouts of despair associated with the frequent downwind death rolls! Gil Chesbro led the Race Committee with assistance from, Jonathan Ahlbrand,Larry Koster, Larry Huff and Stephen Wagner. The team did a great job to get all 6 races completed and with the help of the strong winds got the fl eet back on shore midafternoon for the regatta BBQ.The grills were soon fi red up and the “you cook-it” BBQ began consisting of huge steaks, chicken breasts, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, ice cream and lots of beverages. No one left the regatta hungry! LSC members JuliePierce picked up all the food and Jim Fletcher took charge of grill management with Bob Miller overseeing the initial cooking of corns and potatoes. Following the feast the trophies were presented to the top fi nishers and lucky ticket holders were awarded fantastic door prizes again provided by Avon Sailboats of Rochester Hills, MI.As always the regatta was supported by many LSC members before and during the race day that helped getting the facilities ready for hosting this annual event. It was also clear that everyone appreciated our regatta sponsors, especially Avon Sailboats, for the many door prizes provide that for many years have helped make this regatta a special event for everyone that attends.Visit the Lansing Sailing Club site < www.lansingsailing.org > for complete race results and over 250 pictures taken by LSC PhotographerStephen Wagner posted on Flicker.Thank you to all our participants and sponsors. Without you we could not have had such a great day!

As of this writing there are still some regattas left on the schedule:

Sept 14 UofM Fall Regatta - Michigan Sailing Club - Baseline Lake,

Sept 13-14 Spring Lake Fall Regatta - Spring Lake Yacht Club

Sept 20 GTYC Fall Regatta / Bart’s Bash - Traverse City

Sept 27 No Sweat Regatta - Portage Yacht Club

Oct 4 Frosty Mug Regatta - Irish Laser Fleet, Little Traverse Bay, Harbor Springs

Oct 12 Pumpkin Head Regatta - Grand Rapids Yacht Club

That’s all for now from D19 (Michigan)! As always check www.D19Laser.org for more reports and photos!

District 20Troy TolanWI, ILhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/laserd20

This is my fi rst article to TLS, and I want to give you a quick overview of my sailing background. On my High School Senior Class Trip, we went to Hawaii, where I chartered a boat. You can see it on my Facebook profi le picture. That’s all it took to be hooked on sailing. I graduated from SIU at Carbondale, IL in ’81. There I joined the Sailing Club, learned how to race and held the offi ce of Social/Promotion Chairman, Racing Chairman and then Commodore my senior year. I moved to Los Angeles, CA, sailed Snipes for 7 years and then moved back to Springfi eld, IL were I currently live. I spent many years sailing with truly world class sailors from the Lake Springfi eld area, like, Evans, the Dixons, the Chapins, the Londrigans, Gust, Krebs, and many others. Now I travel to Laser and Snipe Regattas as often as I can.

Since taking on the duties of secretary for the district, my work has centered on house cleaning. Unifying the district members and cleaning up information that is no longer relevant. I still need your help! So, if I call on you, please understand the more accurate the information, the quicker we can grow our fl eets.

Steve stated in the last issue article that we have unifi ed the District 20 information with the Facebook Group Site. We have gone from 23 members to 84 to date. That’s not too bad considering there are just over 100 in total on the district member list. Members mostly use it to view what they consider needed information. I know there are still those who haven’t joined for one reason or another. Please help get the word out and ask them to “Join”.

Whether it is right or wrong, this is how I have been using the FB site. I always “Pin” the next D20 Event to the top of the page. When you click on the Event

Title, it takes you to relevant information, (NOR, SI, the club web and physical address, Lodging, etc.) about the event. I also share/post to promote the event across other “Pages” and “Groups” for a total of about 50 sites. When the Event is past, I “cancel” it, (it is the only option, although I wish it would allow for an archive it instead), then I post the results under “Files” as soon as I can, plus I update the “D20 Current Events” list. You will fi nd there are still four Events, into the middle of October for an opportunity to race!

I have also been asking local fl eets to setup a Facebook “Page” or “Group” of their own, so they can have a focused local voice. It works great for letting others know when you are on the way to the lake, wind conditions at the lake, local events like sailing clinics, etc.! I would not try to use your Yacht Club FB site, because you will get lost in all the voices. If you need help in setting one up, just contact me. Here are some examples: www.facebook.com/CSALaserFleet https://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-Bay-Laser-Fleet/358169443602Lake Springfi eld https://www.facebook.com/groups/305383369552839Neenah Nodaway https://www.facebook.com/groups/108397912513807https://www.facebook.com/groups/PewaukeeLaserFleet/

Finally, there are 78 members who show a Member Status of Expired. Please renew your membership to keep our organization strong! Even if you no longer race or sail, it would be great to have your support. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you or your fl eet. Thanks, Troy

District 21Matthew ThompsonDakotas, MN, IA, NB

In preparation for what we hope to be a grand prix event next year, here’s a recap of our fabulous time in Duluth, MN this past August. Look for it on the national calendar, it is a venue not to be missed!

Sailors were greeted with fantastic breeze and waves, but surprisingly warm lake temps on Saturday morning. Banding together, the boats were moved to the beach to take advantage of the action. Gear was loaned out and people made sure that everyone had a safe exit from the launch.

Three races took place before the race committee had had enough of the lake. Props to Bruce for giving us a lesson in big wave upwind sailing technique and Jake for showing what a tough attitude can let you experience! After the races concluded, most of the fl eet continued to play in the waves with a sail out around an anchored ore boat and then a long power reach to downtown Duluth. Once again Mike and Kurt were the last to the dock. Defi nitely pays out to get that practice in! After observing the landings from Matt and Martin, I certainly didn’t win any style points with my wavy landing!

Evening brought us back to the Duluth Club Boat property, Camping and comradarie all in one. Awesome to keep the group together for the evenings! More group interaction with less planning.

Day two brought bigger breeze initially, and racing was moved off the lake to the inside of park point.

www.Laser.org 37

Racers experienced big fl at water breeze to shifty and puffy barely hiking tactical action. Big courses and six races really took it out of the fl eet but quality racing and fun was certainly the name of the game. Excellent timing allowed for a freighter to pass through the course. Certainly not a normal Midwest sight for most of us! Battles for each place kept the racing close.

Results can be found online at d21laser.wordpress.com

Thanks to John and Son, Gretchen, Mike Meyers, the Bonsager family, Allison Prange, Kurt Taken-Holtze, Ryan Drake (+ motorhome pit-crew), and everyone else who made this event possible with your contributions! You all had your piece, I should just thank all of D21 and DSSA next year.

Now we’re throttling down for the season, with our fi rst frost in the books. Not quite time to batten down the hatches yet, as the High School Season is in full swing. After running a great MN state HS champs this last weekend, we’ve got to lock in a bit more of that energy this coming year! The battle was hard fought – very interesting to see who comes to the top without throwouts. Consistancy is king!

Left on the books for us is the annual NUMB regatta Sunday October 5th, and of course our annual Turkey Day rabbit racing at Lake Calhoun. We’ve still got some fun left before the deep freeze!

District 22Kurt HoehneWA, MT, WY, ID

It was a great summer of racing in District 22. The Columbia Gorge Racing Association (CGRA) week of all things Laser was well attended. This year the Performance Clinic and Blowout (18-mile of white knuckle downwind sailing) had great breeze. Derick Vranizan took top honors in, according to Bill Symes, “As much wind as we’ve ever seen in a Blowout that we could fi nish!” Those two events were followed by the Master North Americans. With predictions of light winds, several sailors switched from Radials to Standard, which turned out to be the right call. In the Standard class, Charlie Buckingham and Dan Falk had an epic duel with Buckingham coming out on top. In the Radial class, it was Michael O’Brien and Keith Davids

battling it out with O’Brien coming out on top. After handicaps were applied, O’Brien won handily. The fi rst ever Can-Am Ft. Peck laser Regatta/District 22 Champs was held in mid-August on Ft. Peck Lake in eastern Montana, and while the attendance could have been better the participants loved it the event sewed seeds for the future. Page Anderson reports: “We got 5 races in Saturday with 9-14 mph winds and surfi ng waves. We did 3 on Sunday with 15 + mph and gusts to 25, wild surfi ng downwind, everybody capsized at least once, one boat broke the mast step. We had great community support, super volunteers, lots of sponsors, hot breakfasts and lunches both days, and a steak, potatoes, and corn-on-the-cob feast on Saturday night with live music.” Next year’s District 22 Championships are scheduled for Bellingham, Washington June 13-14. The Bellingham YC promises to pull out all the stops to make it a great event.

District 24Stephen AguilarNorCal

Go for the gold Scott’s fl at reservoir Nevada County California16 lasers came up to the beautiful gold country of California. After two days of sailing Emilio Castelli came out on top.This summer We added some point to point races to our schedule .The fi rst being around treasure Island. Seven lasers started this event. After being spread out around the east side of the island they gathered back up under the bay bridge for a short sprint to the fi nish. Stephen Orosa took top honorsWe then had the most unusual race. The Sir Francis Chichester Circumnavigation of Alameda. This race require that you capsize your boat to go underneath four bridges. Nine lasers sailed this event Again it was Emilio Castelli Who took top honors.The Delta Dinghy Ditch Run. This is a 30 mile point to point race from Rio Vista to the port of West Sacramento. Seven lasers sailed this event with Nick Cave in his line green laser fi nishing fi rst..The Lake Tahoe fl eet championships. This year due to the drought the venue was changed from stampede reservoir to beautiful Lake Tahoe. After two days of racing on this beautiful lake Nick Pullen took top honors.

District 25 Jorge SuarezSoCal

The Laser Class District 25 (Southern California and Las Vegas) Championship was contested in conjunction with the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) Labor Day Holiday Regatta in Long Beach CA. Seventeen Lasers and Thirty-six Laser Radials participated over two days in light winds over windward-leeward courses. The larger turn-out of Radials was enhanced as the Labor Day Regatta

also served as series one of the Southern California Youth Yacht Racing Association, Ullman/Frost series (Ullman for Lasers, Frost for Radials).

On day one, the ABYC Race Committee (RC) set our course east of the traditional ABYC race area, as several large ships had anchored between the oil islands in the Harbor, compromising course options. This was fi ne with us competitors, as the wind was light making the sail out to the race course a bit of a challenge unless you got a tow.

In the Laser fl eet, ABYC’s Rodion Mazin placed fi rst in race two in the light and lumpy conditions and ended the day in third place behind Richard Didham from San Diego YC and Steven Leuck from Mission Bay YC. In the Radial fl eet, ABYC member Cooper Weitz, sailing this regatta under San Francisco (SFYC) and California YC burgees was in fi rst place despite a Z fl ag penalty in race number two. Lawson Willard from SFYC & St. Francis YC in second, Lucas Pierce from Santa Barbara YC was in third. The level of competition was evident in the Radial Fleet as the RC raised the Z fl ag for two races on Saturday placing the percentage penalty on several racers.

On Sunday we returned to the traditional ABYC race location between the oil islands in Long Beach Harbor, but sailed in the same light wind conditions faced on Saturday. In the Laser fl eet, Richard Didham battled with Steven Leuck with Steven falling a mere two points behind eventual winner Richard. Steven’s Dad, Dave Leuck slipped ahead of Rodion who was fourth, with Matthew Long from Santa Barbara YC (SBYC) in fi fth.

On day two the Radial fl eet continued their aggressive starting tactics forcing two postponements in the fi nal race forcing the fl eet back two places out of the starting rotation and imposition of the Black Flag. Cooper fi nished fi rst with a solid 18 point lead over Cameron Feves from Cabrillo Beach YC. Lawson Willard was third, Lucas Pierce was fourth and Paul Didham from San Diego YC fi nished fi fth. D’amy Steward won the last race and fi nished seventh, all the while using her free time off the water fi nishing her school homework assignments on the patio Sunday morning under the watchful eyes of parents and race volunteers, Amy and Dan.

Kudos to the ABYC Lido 14 Fleet, Race Committee, Social Committee, all volunteers and ABYC staff for a fun and successful regatta!

Steven SmithABYC Laser Fleet Co-Captain

FALL 201438

Bringing It All Together --“Full Body, Complete Athlete”

By Chris Herrera DPT CSCS USAWTrey Watson MsEd CSCS USAW

For the fourth and fi nal article of 2014, is written to summarize and accomplish a few things before the end of the year. The First is to briefl y revisit the previous three articles in order to bring them together, before diving deep into the concept of “Full body, Complete Athlete”.

The fi rst three articles took key aspects of a laser sailor fi tness program and broke them down so you would be able to understand the concepts in a deeper respect, apply it to your situation, and apply it for your specifi c training and sailing program. These concepts were:• Cardiovascular fi tness• Hiking Strength• Developing Muscular Strength for the laser

If you take these three concepts and apply them you will be miles a head of you competition. This fourth article is to take the strength portion of your workout and introduce complex full body movement patterns, progress these patterns, and apply them to your current strength workout.

The statement: “Full Body, Complete Athlete” is stating that a complete athlete not only does full body movement pattern based exercises, but they utilize them in every workout and have mastered them with development of power and effi ciency. A full body movement pattern is an exercise that utilizes both upper and lower body muscle groups with multiple joint angle and ranges. These movement patterns can be organized to work on training a specifi c muscle group (example: hip fl exors, quadriceps, abdominals, lower back, and posterior deltoids when hiking) for strength and power increases but may also be utilized for sports specifi c movements. In the last article “ I Need to Develop More Strength” the MOVEMENT PHASE of the workout is designated for these full body exercises. The exercises examples included: Power Clean, DB Squat Jump, High Box Jumps, and Front Squat.

Full body exercises are usually considered intermediate and advanced techniques. All though this is true, novice athletes that sail Radials to Masters still can use them with some minor tweaking of the lift. The way to make them specifi c for the level of athlete is to manipulate the characteristics of: Sets, Repetitions, Rest, Exercise Combinations, and Weight.

I would categorize the exercise also by Progression of movement:

• RESISTANCE: Body Weight, DB, Straight Bar• POWER: ¾ Speed, Full Speed• PLYO: In-place, jumping up, Jumping forward, Jumping in angles or from dropping from a height• COMBINATION: Power, Power & Strength, Power & Strength & Core

By progressing your Movement Phase of the workout like this, you will continue to challenge your body and develop it in ways you never thought possible.

By now you are ready to see what are other examples of Full body Strength Exercises that can help develop your body as a whole and make you into a complete athlete. Below are exercise categorized by Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced. Remember that most of these exercises can overlap in category based on the manipulation of their characteristics… but starting at novice and working through advanced is advised within these categories.

NOVICE• DB Push Press• Walking lunge with DB Front Raise• Medicine Ball Anterior Slam with reset between each rep• Land Mine Squat Press• Land Mine Lateral Rotations (Partial Squat)• Olympic Hang Holds• Squatting Rope Slams with Small Oscillations

INTERMEDIATE• Straight Bar Push Press• Walking lunge with DB Front Raise• Medicine Ball Anterior Slam with Speed• Land Mine SA Jammer• Land Mine Lateral Rotations with speed (partial squat)• Hang Clean• Squatting Rope Slams with large Oscillations

ADVANCED• Straight Bar Squat Press• Lunge Jump with Weight Vest• Medicine ball Alternating lateral Slam with Speed• Land Mine SA Jammer with Quick Feet• Land Mine Lateral Jerk

www.Laser.org 39

• Power Clean• Power Rope Slams with Speed

All of these exercises can be combined with other strength and core exercises to produce some great movement phase stack & circuit sets. Below is an example of an Advanced/Intermediate Movement Phase Circuit with a focus on shoulder/upper back strength and low back core stability.

*Videos of these exercises can be seen at JaugarTherapy.com (click Bow Down Training)

Keep pushing yourself and get creative with the exercise combinations. There are no “right” and “wrong” when it comes to pushing and challenging your self.

* COMPLETE EACH GROUPS SETS AND REPS BEFORE MOVING ON TO NEXT GROUP

MOVEMENT LIFT REST SET 1 SET 2 SET 3 SET 4 STRAIGHT BAR PUSH PRESS 30 s 6 reps 6 reps 4 reps 4 repsDB V RAISES 2 min 6 reps 6 reps 6 reps 4 reps

LAND MINE LATERAL JERK 30 s 6 reps 6 reps 4 reps 4 repsPLANK TO FRONT CORE BRIDGE 2 min 90 s 90 s 90 s 90 s


FALL 201440

Why Join the Laser Class?

What are some of the bene� ts of a strong class association?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What are some of the direct bene� ts of membership?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You get direct benefi t by joining the Laser Class!

What does the class association do with your membership dues?

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

Depending on exchange rates, the next $9.00 of your dues goes to the International Class where they use the money to pay their staff to make sure world level events get scheduled, ensuring all the boats are the same by inspecting the builders to make sure they are complying with the Laser Construction Manual, keep track of rules changes proposed by members, interfacing with ISAF on various levels, including keeping both the Laser Standard and Laser Radial as Olympic equipment, etc.

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

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

Most of the remaining $5.00 goes to all the things it takes to running an organization of 2400 members, from Executive Secretary travel costs, to federal income taxes all the way to mundane offi ce expenses.Your membership dues are used to keep the Laser Standard, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 as THE singlehanded dinghy to sail and race in North America and throughout the world!

Why should you join the Laser Class?

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

To gain the benefi ts of membership outlined above.

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

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

www.Laser.org 41

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Name_______________________________________________________ Address_____________________________________________________ City ___________________State / Prov. _____Zip / postal code ________ Phone ____________________ E-mail____________________________ Sail # ______________DOB (month/day/year) _____________Sex ______ Boat usually sailed _____Laser ______Radial _____Laser 4.7

Current Membership Fees

All amounts are in US dollars. (Canadian checks must be in US dollars.) • Regular - $45 for one year or $85 for 2 years • Junior - $40 (Member may not turn 18 during term of membership), or $75 for 2 years (Member may

not turn 18 during term of membership)• International - $55 (any member not living in the US or Canada), one year only

Amount enclosed __________________US$

Please make checks payable to ILCA of NA or provide credit card informati on as shown below. Thank you for joining the Laser Class. Credit Card payment by Visa, Mastercard or AMEX (Sorry – no Discover)Name on credit card: ________________________________________________________ Credit card number: ________________________________________________________ Exp. date: _________ Credit card billing zip/postal code _________ Security code____

NOTE: Occasionally we make our mailing list available to our adverti sers. If you do not want your name included on these lists, please check here: _________

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

FALL 201442 FALL 201442The World Leader in Outfitting Performance Sailors.

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www.Laser.org 43www.Laser.org 43

The World Leader in Outfitting Performance Sailors.

Black Diamond Tiller By Acme

Deck Covers and Hull Covers by APS $234.95

GRP Rudder and Daggerboard

Traveler Blocks

Class Legal Racing Sail By North

$565.00

$475.00

SeaHiker GripX3 Boot by Sperry

Airprene Hikers by SEA

$198.00

Pro Mainsheets

Exc

el F

usio

n

Roo

ster

Din

ghy

She

et

Pro Cunningham Control Handle

Class Legal Pro Daggerboard Downhaul Kit

Pro Outhaul Kit

Pro Cunningham

$210.00

$29.90$41.40 $78.20

$38.16

$95.00

Single $41.52

Double $58.11

$21.73

$50.01

$80.00

$485.00

Br1 Dinghyby Musto

Spray Top: $130.00

Trousers: $125.00

Speed Shop

PRESORTEDSTANDARD

U.S. POSTAGEPAID

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ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

The Laser Sailor Fall 2014

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