LASERS LIKE LAKE EUSTIS

  Lasers like Lake Eustis

A response to the Tillerman challenge, My Favorite Place to Sail.

It is in Florida.

Lasers sail all year long about every other weekend, Saturday and Sunday, 10 AM to till noon.

We have fresh water lake about 3 miles by 5 miles in size and plenty of room for five fleets to sail.( MC scows, Flying Scots, Wayfarers,  struggling C scows,  and struggling A cats)   The “youth foundation” has Optis, Laser, and 420 sail boats that sail every Saturday from September to May and then take the Summer off.   With the fresh water we don’t have to wash everything off after sailing.

Our location is central Florida.  North and South and East and West.  If we have a hurricane, there is no Storm surge and the intensity is greatly reduced by the time it reaches us.  Average high temperature in our coldest month, January, is 68.6 and the average high temp in our hottest month, July, is 91.1.

There are about 140 members of the Lake Eustis Sailing Club with all the classes counted, so it is not hard to know everyone after a little bit.  The club house has a large dining room for catered dinners at regatta time, toilets, showers, a small kitchen, no bar and no restaurant.  There are picnic tables in the shade of the cypress trees next to the club house with a view of the lake, the two launching ramps and the T dock for the MC, Flying Scots and Wayfarers.  Favorite views from the picnic tables are the coming and going of the sailboats--- both good and bad, as well as the sunsets with gorgeous color changes across the lake and sky.

There are three 100 foot sand beaches and the Lasers launch off the North beach and have a five or ten minute sail to their own race course that is usually south of the club.  The Laser fleet is a branch of the “youth foundation“ and has short windward leeward races with a three minute starting sequence.  If the wind is up we may have a race finish in ten minutes.  That fixes things so that if you have fallen behind, never fear a new race starts pretty soon and we get a lot of practice starting.  If the kids (youth) sail a radial, a 4.7 or a 420, we take time and give them corrected time.  When the adults do that because of the high wind, then no time allowance for them because we are all going at ‘hull speed”.  We have a couple of youth that can win is the full rigs.   Because we have our own course, we don’t have to wait for other boats to finish or start.  In the two hours we usually have four to seven races depending on wind velocity.   If anyone wants to race longer we have a deal with the “bigger boats” that we can go and sail with the Wayfarers on a long course at noon.

We have 5 to 15 Lasers racing.  All good friends. A few that win most of the races, but they are pleased when somebody else sails well enough to win one.  Back on shore after the races there is always good talk about who ought to have done better and how.  Then if you want to sail better we can loan you the books on how to sail your Laser.  The DVDs we also loan out.  Then Sam has his http://howtosailthelaser. blogspot.com and if you want to know who was sailing on any day, how they did, and something GOOD about them =  http://lakeeustislaserfleet.blogspot.com

We are happy to have you come and sail with us or happy to have you not come.  We have people from France, Hungary, Spain, Columbia, Brazil, and Canada as well as Indiana, Ohio and New York that sail with us regularly or occasionally.

Wednesday afternoons or evenings (Daylight Saving time) and Sunday afternoons we have an invitation out to others, “come and sail a Laser” No real racing.  Depends on who comes.  We usually use a spare Laser and the youth foundation boats.  If you haven’t sailed a Laser I usually start you off with a 4.7 rig so you can get used to moving around in the boat without much sail area.  We follow along in motor boat or another Laser depending and who and what kind of wind and weather.

If you want more experience with bigger waves, the sea breeze and bad tasting waster then a two hour drive to Melbourne on the east coast or to St Pete and Clearwater on the west coast.

Eustis is residential city of about 16,000 people with good restaurants, a small legitimate theater, and a museum with the center of town a mile south of the sailing club.

The lake is inhabited by alligators, but they have learned to stay away from the sailing club and they do not eat small sailboats.

For some reason the water skiers and jet skis are not popular on the lake.  Occasional bass boats are seen fishing along the shore running on their little electric trolling motor then they can be seen going at 50 miles an hour to other side where they fish very slowly again. An occasional pontoon boat crosses the lake.  So at the present time we have most of the lake just for sailing.

If you stop by and didn’t bring your Laser, we will loan you one so you can check the lake out for yourself.

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LASERS JOIN THE CLASS.

The new year is coming up and you need to support your class and get the quarterly magazine "The Laser Sailor".   It is $40 for the year and send it to ILCA of NA, 2812 Canon Street,                                             San Diego, California, USA 92106   619-222-0252,  Fax 619-222-0528

I have temporarily given up on an index for the articles in this blog.   Too long.

Next will be my picks of the past year.

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LASERS SAIL FAST

This is old stuf, recently written, but worth thinking about.

The WOW or words of wisdom as long as I had three wins on Sunday. Topics, so you can judge if interested at all--- 1. Windward heel--- 2. Roll tacks --- 3. By the lee sail trim.


Rob was sailing with windward heel whenever he could manage it, and making it pay off—speed and less leeway. The little lee helm that it requires bothered him, but not enough for him to think that it wasn’t working. I have done that before. The results are not spectacular, but a little better speed and height never hurts unless you are going in the wrong direction.

With the windward heel, the upwind side of the boat that is in the water gets rounder and downwind side in the water gets straighter. Now that is the same as the sail, but working in the opposite direction. A foil in the water working upwind and one in the wind pulling forward.

My 80 year old roll tacks are working better and I thought I was picking up a little on each. It may have been the wind shifts, but…. Turn up slowly into the wind and burn off your speed going in the upwind direction trimming in the sail and roll the boat hard to the new leeside as you turn to the new close-hauled heading or just past it. Ease out some sail, so when you rock the boat back up, you can pull in some sail to pump you forward. You should be putting half the side deck under water when you roll. As soon as you are back up level check the tell tales for fast up wind sailing. With a good roll I think you can take advantage of small shifts and avoid the lay line, till late.

If you think you need better roll tacks, then practice some. Buddy Melges STARTS his practice sessions with 50 tacks. If you can’t come to sail other days than race days, come early or stay late and do some extra practice. If you are practicing before the race be sure to hang near the starting line so you don’t miss the races.

Downwind I got away from Rob several times with careful sail trim by the lee. When you are by the lee, the mast keeps the trailing edge of the wind over the sail straight and makes it faster in light wind and more under control in heavier wind.

Now to trim the sail, get a little vang on but not enough to take all the twist out of the sail. Trim the sail in so that the bottom of the leach flutters a little. Hopefully the full sail at the twisted top will keep the thing from gybing. This is a little like the curl in the windward edge of the spinnaker when you are trimming it, or the luff in the jib when you ease it a little. Now ease the sheet a little so it won’t gybe with a little wind shift and then ease again to be sure you are right on the edge. Rob and Alejandro sail with the sail far out and maybe stalled part of the time. Do that is an airplane and you will fall out of the sky. Then don’t sail dead downwind. Off on some kind of broad reach. Tacking downwind or when the folks one the coast are working waves, I think they just do transitions from by the lee to broad reach and then back again to catch the next wave.

Then in that third race Rob and Patrick went around the leeward mark together with me close behind (a three boat race). They were covering each other and let me go off to the left alone and the three of us came together at the finish. The RC gave me second place, but it could have been anybody. I tried to shoot the line, but don’t know if that helped. It can give you and extra foot or so. (Finish at the downwind end of the line and go head to wind just before crossing the line.)
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LASER STUFF 6 AND 5.

Now I am in the midst of pointing out what I think are my best posts of the year.   I will tell you about the picture a little further down..

Number 6.  LASER SAILORS MAKE NOTES, September 9, 2010.  I have several posts on how we learn from mistakes, but here is the one that will let you remember the mistakes longer and give you a chance to review them from time to time.  No big deal but an important step to being better.

Number 5  LASERS RESCUE RACING, October 9, 2010. If you click on that link, you will have to scroll down a couple to get to THE RESCUE.  That was as close as I could get.   OK, now we have been improving our sailing, but what if we are the only ones out there.  Above in the picture is Claire A., our look into the future.  I think we are going to do OK.
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LASERS LOOK FOR THE BEST TEN OF THE YEAR.

I am thinking about all the fun we have had this year sailing Lasers and this is a picture of the two most important fellows in our fleet.  They sail regularly, often fight it out for last place and keep smiling.  They are getting faster and faster, but still need to work on keeping the boat flat. If we didn't have them then it would probably be me and then I hope they will be holding the fleet together in several years.

We still have four more posts on Buddy Melges's book "Sailing Smart", but I will hold those off while I tell you about my ten favorites that I have made in the past year.  It was hard for me to get it down to ten, but I want to start with LASER SAIL TO RULE OF THUMB, September 13, 2010.  That was about sailing the long tack first until it wasn't the long tack anymore and then think hard about getting over the other way.  I keep thinking about that now in every race although is nothing really new.

If I knew what I was doing you could click on that capitalized title (Like in Proper Course) and go right to the post.

LASERS RESCUE RACING

I am not sure about saving sailing, but we can do a lot to advance it.



Teach adults to sail.
Teach youth to sail.
Teach the rules.
Teach and promote racing–that is where you learn to sail better or well.
Can we teach sailing without “certified instructors”?
Encourage crewed boats. Crews often move into boat owners.
Have a crew series–when the crew skippers and skipper crews– how about a big prize.
Lasers sail double. Lets get three on the Laser.
Contest– how many can you get on a Laser before it capsizes?
Newspaper articles.
Open house at the “Yacht Club”. Offer food. Offer sailboat rides.
National “Bring Your Neighbor Sailing Day”.

Build your fleet programs–but don’t forget people move from fleet to fleet. The more the merrier. We need all the fleets to grow.
             Fleet instructors.
             Fleet repairers.
             Fleet loaner boats.
             Used boats for sale.
             Family participation.
             Women’s program
             Kids program
             Social events.

Fun sailing in the evening or other times other than racing.
Full moon sailing.
Sail canoes, catamarans, sail boards. Sail the cruisers. Charter in Carribean or Mediterranean.
Be active in the Community so people know you are there.
Community Sailing programs.
When money is short.....
             Co or multiple owners.
             Community sailing program
             Build your own boat or better yet, get a group.
                           PD racer
                           Cape Cod Frosty
                           Optimist pram
                           Moth
                           Pacific Pelican
                           Or one of Phil Bolger’s designs.

Add to my list.  Maybe we need help.....

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LASERS GO DOUBLE

                                                                                                                                                                                  LASERS GO DOUBLE

If you want to take a friend sailing or to teach someone to sail, try to do it on your Laser.

Fairly easy if the primary skipper sits in the back and takes the sheet from the middle boom block (skip the rachet block), then the second person can sit with legs in the front of the cockpit. Primary skipper can control the whole thing. If you want to share, then it is easer to let a beginner start with steering and the experienced controls the sheet. Do it the other way around if you want.

If you want to have one of you steer and sheet through the rachet block like they were sailing alone, then the other can sit forward on the centerboard.

If the wind is light, then one sits on one side and one on the other. If you want to change sides when you tack or gybe then moving about gets a little more complicated.

If you turn the thing over, you have a lot of help to get it back up.
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LASERS DO NOT ALWAYS WIN

How do we keep the tail end of the fleet entertained? Do they get discouraged? Will they quit coming? We want them to come. The frontenders want someone to beat up on! The tailenders are the frontrunners of the future. Everyone starts there. We have to have them. And how do we keep them coming?? I have asked several people about that and gotten no help, so here are some thoughts..

HOW TO HAVE FUN IN THE BACK OF THE PACK.



1) Remember it is all fun for you. Those others are worried about winning a trophy. You are not!



2) If you wanted one of those big silver things you would go down to Merry Jewelry Old Silver shop and buy several really gorgeous ones for a lot less than a new sail.



3) Come early and go out and check the wind or come late and join in wherever. Who cares. You are having fun.



4) Bring plenty of water, soda, a sandwich. You are going to have a party.



5) Sail by the RC and wave to everyone. Remember to smile and laugh. You are having fun! They are checking watches, making lists, checking flags and checking the wind.



6) Wave to all your sailing friends out here on the water. Call them by name if you remember it.

Call things like “good luck” and “don’t turn over” and “did you see that big alligator?”



7) Don’t worry about the course. You are just going to follow the other folks.



8) Work on the small stuff.



8a You are competing against the other back of the packers.



8a1 Usually there is no money or trophy involved.



8b If you are way way last, skip a mark and suprise the next guy with how much you have caught up.–OK, but don’t pass him. He is working hard and you are having fun.



8c Remember you may be getting your own “our favorite sailor award” or the “pickle dish”.



8d You are really practicing “sailing the boat”. Make the most of it.



8d1 Before the start do the “four things” (another note for the four things, if you don’t know) and sail down the line and check the wind. Establish a routine.



8d2 Practice starting at the boat end.



8d3 Practice starting at the pin end.



8d4 Practice starting at the middle.



8d5 Practice starting second at the boat and tacking for clear lane.



8d6 Practice port start at the pin.



8d7 Practice port approach and tack into a starboard hole.



8d8 Follow the fleet Champ and see what he does.



8d9 Practice tacking.



8d10 Practice tacking into a close by the lee spot.



8d11 Practice ducking starboard tacker.



8d12 Practice bare off and then tack, to go behind windward boat that has you pinned.



8d13 Practice tacking on 5 degree headers.



8d14 Practice port tack approach to windward mark. Easy if you are behind or ahead.



8d15 Practice port tack approach to windward mark out past the 3 boat length zone.



8d16 On shore, pace off three boat lengths to see what it looks like.



8d17 Practice starboard tack approach at the windward mark and set up one or two boat lengths above the lay line. That will make it easier to get around when you are with a lot of boats.



8d18 Practice a “ head reach” (luff head to wind and coast around– good for ½ boat length if no waves) around the windward mark.



8d19 When you hit the mark, do a 360 turn before resuming you position behind everyone. More good practice.



8d20 Practice a double tack at the mark (easy if you are last).



8d21 Practice going around the windward mark. Clear the sheet, vang off, heel to windward, sheet out, turn to big time by the lee, and push the boom out if you need to.



8d22 Practice getting trimmed for downwind. Outhaul and Cunningham off. Weight forward with dramatic heel to windward. By the lee or broad reach. Do transitions downwind.



8d23 Look behind and to the side for dark water. Get in the pressure and try to stay there.



8d24 Downwind is the catch up leg. See if you can make it work?



8d25 Measure the guys ahead on you out stretched fist and thumb. See if you can make them bigger.



8d26 Think about entering the leeward mark zone on the left side, just in case you could be inside some other tailender.



8d27 Make note of the last wind shift. If it was from the left, then you might want to tack right after the mark rounding.



8d28 Set up the outhaul and Cunningham at 6 or 7 boat lengths. You want to do that before the excitement of fighting for inside and rounding the mark.



8d29 Sail to two boat lengths to the right of the mark.



8d30 Visualized the close hauled course past the mark.



8d31 Abreast of the mark push the board down and start the circle turn sheeting in with long pulls with alternating hands.



8d32 Aim for passing just to the right of the mark closehauled.



8d33 If the last shift before the mark was from the left (now right), think about tacking as soon as you are organized and the lane is clear of other boats coming into the mark. (It will be clear if you are really still last.) After you tack you will be on starboard tack closehauled, and have right of way over anyone still coming down wind to the mark. Don’t forget that it is slow to be running into boats going the opposite direction, even if you have right of way. Not to worry – remember, you are last.



8d34 SHORT BEAT TO FINISH



8d34a Look for and go to the downwind end of the finish line. If one was favored at the start and the wind is the same, then probably the other end.



8d34b If a big shift to the right go left.



8d34c Approach on the first lay line. When you reach the crossing of the laylines to the pin and to the boat, look to see which is closest. Go for the short end. If you can’t tell, stick with the tack you are on.



8d34d Shoot (head into the wind just before you cross the line, so you get to the line a second or two earlier.) one end or the other.



8d35 Get a big drink of water.



8d36 Thank the RC for waiting for you (if they did.).



8d37 Get out your sandwich and stuff, if you brought them. Have a party.



8d40 Ashore, check for water inside your hull. Don’t do that before the race. Don’t spoil your record.



8d41 Check all the lines for wear and make a list of all the things that need to be fixed before the next big race.



8d42 Make a list of all these things that you were able to practice today.



8d43 Find the guy or gal that won the race and ask them what you could do better.



9 NEXT TIME WORK ON THE BIG STUFF.





NOW YOU OTHER FOLKS.... Look up these people after the race and tell them how glad you are that they came. Tell them that they will soon be ahead of some other folks. We need everyone, so let us try to keep them coming.

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INTERNATIONAL LASER DAY

Sunday November 29, 2009
International Laser Day at Lake Eustis Sailing Club.
Chris Laffin from Canada is down for the Winter at Mt. Dora and is catching up with his Laser sailing. We got him out in about a no wind afternoon...
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AND then the bunch from Argentina arrived.
Marcelo Morgenstern from Club De Veleros Barlovento, Buenos Aires, Argentina with his Son-in -law Pablo Muzietti and Pablo’s wife Mariela Morgenstern and two little Muzietti boys who are learning to swim so they can get in our Opti program. AND how can I forget Mrs. Marcelo Morgenstern.. She came too.
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Now in the midst of getting Marcelo out sailing a Laser and his picture taken to prove it to those back in Argentina, the Frenchman, Marc Solal, arrives. As Marcelo arrives back at the beach ( he sailed just long enough to show he knows how to do it) the Frenchman takes the dolly down to help him. The Canadian is still sailing.
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Mr and Mrs Morgenstern were here for Thanksgiving (not too big in Argentina ) and a grandson’s birthday. Mr. And Mrs Pablo Muzietti and two sons live in Oviedo. Next year at least one of the children will be sailing Opti with us and we will try to get Pablo to sail Lasers with us now.
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When it gets cold in Argentina, maybe Marcelo and wife will come back to sail with us this Summer.
Nice to have world wide group.
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Of course we had people from Wisconsin, South Dakota and Eustis at the club today. That is not as exciting as One from the birthplace of the Laser (Canada), a few from the Southern Hemisphere and one from east of the Prime Meridian.
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ANOTHER LASER

Here is a fuzzy crooked picture of the Laser Bulletin board at Lake Eustis. This is a world map sent by Doctors without Borders and posted instead of our usual junk.

The push pins are in all the countries that have Laser Fleets. I skipped a lot of European countries as there was not enough room for the pins. We have almost all of South America and a surprising bunch in Africa. The little countries south of Iraq are in. It is a test for an old guy to find all the countries listed. An then Pakistan and India, do they have a regatta? The notes in the corners are the lists of countries in alphabetical order.

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The sun never sets on Lasers sailing. 24/7 someone is sailing.

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TOO OLD TO LASER

Maybe this will be your boat when you are too old to sail a Laser?
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But there is a lot of other stuff to do:
Race Committee
Protest Committee
Safety boat.
Tactic and Strategy instruction
Sailing lessons
Boat repairs
Knot instruction
Score keeper
Fleet historian
Trophy maker
Telephone tree
Party organizer
Parking director
Publicist
Fleet Ambassador
Spectator boat operator
Community Organizer
Photographer
Assistant Fleet Captain
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LASER TO KNOT

Here you get a look at two half hitches. That is really a clove hitch on the standing part (the long part of the line). Then a rolling hitch thrown in.

Laser sailors sometimes show up and don't have the knots down. There is not much knotting, but you do need to know:

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Figure eight

Reef knot

Two half hitches

Clove hitch

Sheet bend

Bowline (this one takes practice till you know it.)

Cleat hitch

Rolling hitch

Truckers hitch

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Go to "Animated knots by Grog.com" Do the boating group and learn the above knots.

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If it is too windy or too calm, then practice your knots or help someone else.

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LASERS GET OLD.

There is a tendency for Lasers that get old, to be soft in the deck and on the bottom. They will be slow in chop and gusting conditions, but you don't need to break the bank for a new boat with all the fancy stuff. Grab an old soft boat some place with some kind of sail to go with it . Find a fleet someplace. Get busy and chase the guys and gals at the end of the group. Win the start and see how long you can hang in there with the top dogs. If you end up winning some races be sure to help the others figure out how to do it. You will find it is no fun winning races, if you don't have to sail hard to do it.

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THE DALI LAMA SAILS A LASER

Spirituality is concerned with the quality of human experience.
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Such as Love.
Compassion
Patience
Tolerance
Forgiveness
Contentment
Sense of responsibility
Sense of harmony
------------ Happiness to self and others.
A call to reorientation away from self.

Sailboat racing is about controlling yourself, controlling your boat, managing the course---
----making friends -- getting along and helping them.
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. It is not competition-- really.
You keep sailing more and the Dali Lama will be in the boat with you.
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LASERS SAIL AT NIGHT

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Yes, we have done that and it is a lot of fun, but pay attention to:

1) Boat traffic in the area.

2) Everyone with a flash light to shine on sail when necessary. All that is required of a boat this small.

3) Maybe "glow sticks" on top of sail. That might be fun.

4) Do the full moon thing. Plan ahead.

5) Plan to keep together. Maybe a course or one to follow, so individuals don't get lost.

6) Be sure that you can find the way back home in the dark. Some lights or a plan.

7) How about being sure you have enough light to put the boats away. Car headlights if necessary.
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LADY LASERS DIDN'T HELP

Now this gal is showing us how to do it. Put your shoes up on the foredeck to hold the bow down. Are the shoes tied on so we can roll tack with loosing them. Must be. Just run down those marks that are not marks of the course. Weight forward. Good curve in sail and fast by the lee on starboard tack.
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Now where was may help for the Women's Laser sailing. OK, no help. So now I am looking for a fleet captain for the Lady's Laser Fleet.

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We need them to do the planning, recruiting, fostering, cruising, social, (and in our group you won't need to own a boat as we have some loaners), and join in with the regular races as desired.

We will have women's trophies, women masters, and all that stuff.

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Do you think it will work? Maybe I will let you know.

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LASERS GO TO REGATTAS

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Go to regattas--- see what the others are doing. Get more practice in traffic.

When you get back write up your thoughts to share with your Laser friends--- It will also make you think a little more and to remember better what happened. That makes you a better sailor.

If you don't go -- debrief the folks that did go.

If your Laser friends get to sail better, it will lift you up also.
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LASER WOMEN

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Let's get the Laser ladies, women, girls, mothers, and grandmother sailing.

We are working at it. some of them want shelter with just women sailing.

Some of them want to beat up on the men.

Let us try and maybe do both things. One thing we could do is just wait a little while. We had a little youth regatta at Lake Eustis a week ago. In the 26 boat Opti fleet, two 15 year old girls took first and second. Next year they may be beating up on the Lasers.

Any ideas to help get it rolling?
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LASERS MAKE A LIST

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The picture is just practice to steal pictures from around the world. I put it here to sort of brighten up the view. Actually this is one of Martin Zonnenberg's pictures from the Lake Eustis SC web site, and used with out permission.
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Today is the Goal Setting Guide.

1. Make the big list of all the stuff that you want to do. Take a couple of days if you need to, but then you can revise the whole thing tomorrow, so go it today.

2. Cut it down to 4 Goals. One each for these categories.

A. Wealth building or keeping.
B. Health
C. Relationships
D. Personal Growth

3. Convert each to annual or at least small chunks.

4. Make a weekly plan including each of the seven days.

5. Daily -- make you work list. Try to get it done while putting out the daily fires.

XXX
Under 2A you might sell the big boat.

2B Strength and weight control.

2C Helping with the fleet and youth sailing.

2D Maybe sail the Laser more??
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LASERS ARE HARD WORK

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Marlin Burnham listed seven virtues as general advice..
1) Commitment.--- get to the races.
2) Dedication --- work every day at it.
3) Hard Work--- get busy and get it done.
4) Team work --- spread the load.
5) Follow through--- check to see that it gets finished.
6) Playing by the Rules -- be fair, be good.
7) Planning ahead --- Work the stuff today, but look ahead too.

1, 2 and 3 sound like sort of the same thing-- why do you suppose?
7).-- I plan to tell you about that tomorrow.
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