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.

Volvo Ocean Race - Online Game

Tonight I found the following link regarding Volvo Ocean Race - Online Game. For me and many Albert Sailing Club sailors the 2008-09 edition provided many hours of fun, competing against some 220,000 players from across the world. Below are to links relating to the 2011-12 online game, which you might be interested in reading.

1. Back in the Game
2. Newsletter Sign-Up

My Summer Sailing Program 2010/2011

The southern hemisphere summer is just just around the corner and so it is time I look at my sailing program. This year I have decided that is it is time to try some Laser sanctioned regatta's. For the past few years I have only fronted to Victorian Laser Masters Regatta and I must say I have enjoyed them. So looking forward to the challenge for this year. Below are the regatta's that I am planning to attend, subject to family or work activities taking a precedence.

• Nov 06-07, Jolly Roger Laser Regatta, PMYC, VIC
• Nov 13-14, VLA Port Phillip Championships, MSC, VIC
• Feb 05-06, VLA Masters Championship & Youth Regatta, MMYC, VIC
• Feb 11-14, Australian Masters Championships, PSSAC, NSW
• Mar 19-20, VLA Championships, MCCRAEYC, VIC

So if anyone else is planning to attend any of these events, I would be interested in hearing from you, as I find it is fun sharing the experience.