Day 1 Laser Masters

Well the the first day is over and I can say it was a great day for sailing. Temperature 34C and upto 15kts from the NE, gusting to 20-23kts during the afternoon, a bay full of 185 Lasers....

The day started very quietly, will with little to no breeze, but at 11:30 and on time the wind picked up to 10 to 15, from the NE. It steadied, as the boat park commenced getting ready for a good afternoon sail.

For me I launched around an hour before my start, as I just wanted to get sometime on the water. It was amazing to see all 185 Lasers being launched from the shore and sailing around in close proximity. I took a couple of moments to take in the sites of my first Regatta and it was an fantastic site to see. So onto Race 1.

Race 1

As I was sailing in a Full Rig Masters division. I was lucky to be the four start, so in the pre-start I was keenly watching the large fleets already heading upto to the first mark to see if the left or right had any advantages. Good planning, but in our start sequence I got lost in the moment, which resulted in Kerry yelling at me to get a hurry on, as I missed the start by a few boat lengths. So already at the back of the fleet I had my work cut out. I was reasonable pleased with my up wind work for this race, as I was able to catch a few boats, but it was my downwind legs that cost me. As primarily a Lake sailor I still do not feel comfortable downwind using the waves. The result was the boats in front increased the gap and the boats behind caught up. So the result for me was me that I ended up at the tail end of the fleet.

Speaking to Kerry after the race 1. He suggested that I should sit a bit further back in the boat to help surfing down the waves. Lets see if I can put this into practice for the second race.

Race 2

By this time the wind was picking up to 15 and above. I did learn from Race 1. Start was much better. Still not on the front line, but a much better start. Generally I was further up the fleet and I did listen to Kerry, by sitting further back in the boat and I did feel that I did sail downwind a bit better, but I need to keep working on using the waves to my advantage.

So bring on tomorrow and lets see what it brings.

tis the night before the Laser Masters

Well I have made it to Port Stephens this afternoon. It is great to be here for my first Laser Regatta and seeing so many other Laser sailors around is fantastic. 

I spent the afternoon catching up with Kerry, registering and setting up the my boat for tomorrow. We are expecting N/NE 15/20 kts for the start tomorrow at 13:30. Looking forward to being out on the water with 182 others Lasers. I am thinking it will be busy out on the water.

If anyone is interested in the progress of the regatta can see it at the 2011 Laser Masters National website.

Laser Toestrap Adjustment

I found this youtube video on toestrap adjustment for the Laser from Rooster Sailing. I think I will look at modifying my toestrap to option 2 shown on the video. Watching the video highlighted to me that I would find it very difficult to replicate my toestrap setting on another boat if I needed to do so.

Sail Melbourne 2010 - Day 4

Sail Melbourne 2010 Day 4 highlights. Great weather, great sailing from Radials, Optis and Laser Full Rigs.

Life Members Day

This was our last Saturday race day for the year. As you can see from the wind data capture, the wind was up on the lake. 20 sailors from the Albert Sailing Club decided to give the conditions a try, with all sailors taking at least one swim during the day.

As for me. I only managed one race for the day, as I received a hit to the head late in race one and decided that it would be better not to continue. Lesson from today was that I should get some head protection in the very near further for days like today. Barring this incident I did have a good day. Speed was good (if you ignore the unscheduled swim activities), with my runs achieving a max speed of 10.73kn, 10.12kn, & 9.76kn. I really enjoyed these periods of peak speed :).

Next race at the club commences 8th of January, 2011, so I will need to look for sailing opportunities between now and the 8th, as I need to keep my practice up for the Australian Laser Master's in Port Stephen's, scheduled for mid Feb, 2011.

Till my next update.

How to repair a Laser dinghy daggerboard and rudder foils

Staying in the Lane-way

Today on the Lake was a great day with a southerly of around 10 to 15 knots. The wind was shifty and you needed to keep on your toes if you wanted to get any advantage over the others. A fantastic example of this was on the numerous reaches from St.Kilda, with a boat not 4 metres away from you gets a nice breeze to get him planing and all you can do is watch, as you are not in the same breeze :(. When the reverse happens it is all good  with the world :).

My lesson from today was when beating up the eastern side of the island, unless I am positive that I am on a lifting tack. I must stay within the lane-way, as this mitigates my risk of potentially losing ground on the others. As I did on my first leg, as I was looking for a lift off the south end of the Island, which did not eventuate.

I am writing this lesson in my blog today, so it can be a reminder for me in the future. I have learnt this lesson in the past, but again I have fallen for trying a high risk option with no benefit on the first leg. The result I ended up at the tail end of the fleet and I spent the rest of the race playing catch up.

Till next time.