MORE ON FLEET BUILDING FOR LASERS

..
This blog is backwards, so if you haven't been reading right along , then you need to start two days ago and work this way. If you haven't read any of this stuff and are new to Laser sailing, then go back to the first entry "Same Primary Laser Advice."

We are working on building a fleet. So the next thing you need or not in the order of importance is :

A) A news letter or e-news. The e-mail makes it easier, but don't think that it gets to everyone one on the list. Some people don't check often, the computer goes out,etc and /etc. Maybe put a copies at "the club". Maybe mail copies to people that will pay the postage -- or the fleet will pay for printing and postage. I bet mailed stuff gets through to more members. but you can send the e-mail to a big bunch.

B) Telephone tree. If you want to get in touch with part of the group-- maybe a telephone tree to get everyone called.

C) I will leave tweeter and face book off the list. Maybe you know about them.

D) Get the Youth Sailing instructions cranked up. Lasers will pick up the kids into an exciting and manageable boat. We have other boats, maybe hotter , but I think harder to get sailing with control.

E) Get the youth into the 4.7 rigs one way or another. Club boats, private boats, loaned boats. Find a way. Grab them out of the Opti classes. or after the Optis kick them out.

F) Trophies for the top, the youth , the women, the bottom (more about those folks later).
Trophies can be dumb simple things -- it is the recognition.

G) Yes, it will take some work-- maybe you can sell the boat and take golf lessons.

If you can't think of more builders, then check with us tomorrow.
..

LASER FLEET BUILDING

..
It takes a lot of things to build a fleet. Let me name a few. You are welcome to join in with other ideas or complain about mine.

1) Boats to loan or to buy.
2) Both boats to loan and to buy.
3) Help with sailing the these little boats. I hand out copies of "Primary Laser Advice" that you can find at the first entry of this blog. I have books to loan and DVDs to loan.
4) Social events-- any kind to fit your group. A long time ago I was a member (still am ) of a Yacht Club where I told people not to buy a boat. If you joined, but didn't have a boat you would be invited to the parties of the Scows, the Snipes, the Thistles, the Rebels, and the Stars. If you bought a boat you would only be invited to your class party.
5) Locals need to know that you are there. Somebody needs to write up the racing results and send them in to the newspaper. They don't have a reporter to send out to your base. Some one in the group needs to do it.
6) Maybe an open house. Take the town sailing.
7) Maybe just a day the fleet invites their friends and neighbors to come sail.
8) If you have boats with crews (Is this the Laser Blog?) then a crew race when the crew is the skipper. Elevate your crews to skippers.

What else do you think? I will give you a couple of more wild ideas tomorrow.
..

YOU NEED A FLEET OF LASERS

..
If you are going to get good, you need a fleet of Lasers. You need some one to sail with. And against.

I will do a few sessions on fleet building before getting back to stuff on the boat, like marks and settings.

Two boats will get you started.

Three is a bad race. Think about that. I can explain it if you need it.

4 and 5 is a good start.

15 now you are talking.

Up to 20 and now you need to think about A and B fleets, masters, women, youth and all that stuff. You need to spread the winning around.

Now how do you do it? Next time we will tackle that. This post is Friday night to have it on for Saturday. Hopefully will be sailing this weekend and back on Sunday night or Monday.
..

GET OFF THE CONSERVATIVE LASER SAILING.

Yesterday was a conservative approach (at least for the start). Now take a "practice regatta" or races to try all those other things.

Starboard tack and nail the pin end!

Port tack at the pin and cross the whole fleet or take a bunch of sterns to find a whole to tack in.

Set up at the committee boat and try and hold that spot.

Set up behind the committee boat bunch and try to be secon boat at the committee boat end.

If you haven't been sailing down the line on port just before the start, try that now.

If you end up with a second or third row start, then go back and read "June 10--Digging out of second row start".

BIG LASER CHAMPIONSHIP STRATEGY

I don't know much about this but what I read.

You want to consistency have high finishes. Tenth or better. Paul Goodison had mostly better than 6 until the last race. He may have been messing with only one that had a chance to win the championship in the last race.

So do a conservative start. Toward the center away from the ends, but toward the favored end.

Sail fast. Work the shifts and get to the favored side if there is one.

If you are not leading, pass boats on the run. If you can't pass boats on the run, then back to school for running.

Then in the last race you may have to match race in the fleet or just make someone else take a throwout with you.

HEEL THE LASER TO WEATHER

Yesterday I promised this "heel to weather" stuff.

I don't know if it works all the time or if it is an important action. It feels good, looks good and makes sense.

So if you heel to weather 1) what happens to your helm is a little bit of lee helm. Now the rudder is pointing to windward.

2) The under water shape of the hull gets fatter on the windward side and straighter on the lee side. This is the opposite of your sail shape, fat to lee and straighter on windward. So now the hull wants to go to weather instead of straight ahead. Isn't that what we want?

3) Now the sail is pointing up as well as sideways, lifting the boat, making it lighter. Maybe like the Windsurfers and the foiling Moths all pointing the sails up.

The problem is you can't keep doing this as the wind comes up. You are dragging in the water if you do. Try it some when the wind is medium.

What did I promise for tomorrow?? Maybe "how to win the big championship" for the guys in Canada.

SHIFTING GEARS IN THE LASER

You will have to help me with this one. It is weight in the boat, heel, sheet, outhaul, Cunningham and vang.

Light wind-- now weight forward. I don't see world champions sailing in Force 1 winds sitting on centerboard, but I do see them with the front foot in front of the sheet. Then we have big time heel to leeward to reduce wetted surface. In the rule book it says you can't sail a Laser from in front of the mast during races. (They don't put that kind of stuff in the rules to keep you from doing stupid things.) Outhaul loose for more power, but some say to make it tighter so you have better attachment of air flow. A little vang to keep about 6 inches from block to block and then you can let it out a little from the transom to keep the boat moving when the wind is really flat. Cunningham off. Did I cover it all? How do you do a roll tack from all this? I think they have to have more wind for the championship races.

Now you know, I really am not sure what to do when it is light.

Medium wind. Boat flat or heeled to weather (more about that tomorrow) Weight pushed to the front of the cockpit. Outhaul for hand breaths from the boom-- do you have a mark on the boom at the clew? (Some day we will do marks for settings on the boat.) Sheet at 6 inches from block to block and if you have to start to sit out then block to block. Cunningham to take the wrinkles out. Out haul tensioned so if you have to bear off to take a stern you accelerate.

Higher wind. Hike the boat flat. Weight can be in the middle of the cockpit. If planing way back and then if you drop off the plane back to the middle. This can keep you busy. Vang on tight going up wind, so you can ease the sheet out in the puffs to keep the boat flat and fast. Out haul tight if you are having trouble holding things down and water is fairly smooth. Cunningham is busy. Keep the draft in the middle and not running aft, where it will want to turn you over and not push/pull you forward.

Now as the wind goes up and down. As you sail into those holes and then into the pressure, keep the gears moving so you are going fast.

No more excuses--I sailed into that big hole.