LASERS START A NEW YEAR

THIS YEAR LET US GET MORE PEOPLE OUT ON A LASER.

THIS YEAR I WILL CONTINUE TRIPS 3 TIMES A WEEK TO THE GYM. I have done the last 13 months.  It has not been easy, because when it get easy we notch it up a little.  I think it helps, but there is just one of me --so no controls.

THIS YEAR I WILL TRY TO GET MORE SAILING IN DURING THE WEEK.  Pretty soon I will be off to the lake for the first sail of 2013.

THIS YEAR I WILL TRY TO GET AN OCCASIONAL ENTRY IN THIS BLOG.  The old stuff is pretty good.  I just need to read back through it myself.
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LASERS LOOK BACK AT 2012

This year has been bad and good.   Probably check out March 31 on LASERS PRACTICE STARTS.  Check  down to the left for starts and they will all come up.

I will have a resolution for January 1. 2013 --- so check back.        

LASERS LOOK AROUND

                                   A democrat and a republican go for a sail.

LASER WRITE IT DOWN

After your races, sit down and write the stuff you did well and that the things that were not so good.
Try to do it as soon as possible after the races.

Can you think of a way to do it better?   Practice?  New equipment?   Get stronger?   Try to figure a plan.   Ask for help if you need it--- maybe even if you think you don't need it.

After you collect some notes--- review them and see what has been happening.

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LASERS TALK TO GOD

This is not a picture of God.  I don't have a picture of her, so this will have to do. 

Sam Varner, former trainer of US Olympic teams, is his book "Slimmer,Younger, Stronger" writes about breathing, fluids, food, sleep, exercise, thought, and the power of prayer.

Sam is spiritually motivated and suggests that you pray to God twice a day about your goals.  Write them down on a little card to carry with you, so you won't forget.

I am not sure God cares about your sailing, but if you continue praying twice a day for better sailing, after a period of time I wouldn't be surprised if it worked.
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LASER SAILORS LOOK FOR HAPPINESS

 Look at that picture! Aren’t you glad you sail a laser? 

Somehow this sailing business has to do with ‘fun” or just being happy.  If you look down the left side bar, you will find I have 52 posts on fun.  Check out the August 27, 2911 post which is a pretty good one.

Shawn Achor, Harvard Professor, tells us that if you are happy, you work faster and smarter at about everything. That is compaed to being neutral or sad. He doesn’t mention sailing.  They haven’t tested that yet, but he will probably think so.

Shawn has a 21 day program that goes like this. 

Every day for 21 days.

!) Write down three things you are happy about.  Try and keep them different every day.

2) Journal an activity that made you happy in the past 24 hours... this will help you remember it.

3) Exercise at least ½ hour every day.

4) Meditate.  To clear your brain of all confusing thoughts and multitasking Junk.

5) Record one thing that you did to help another.  Open a door for them. Pick up trash that wasn’t yours.  Write a note to thank someone.

I found that number one was easy except after a few days I was repeated something.  Try to keep them all new.

Number two was fun to do and turn out to be mostly about sailing because I can do a little of that every day.

Number three reminded me to get the exercise in.  Get the happy hormones working!

Number four was hard for me.  Usually I just stopped writing, closed my eyes, focus on my breathing and spent a few minutes then.  Better to do it twice a day 5 or 10 minutes at a time.

Number five required some new thinking.  I do things for people, but it is random.  Now I am looking for things to do to help every time I am out and about.

AM I HAPPIER NOW?    I was really pretty happy before.  IT WAS “FUN” ANYWAY.

AM I A FASTER BETTER SAILOR NOW?   It can’t hurt.

I REALLY JUST WANT HAVE MORE FUN SAILING.  Yes, maybe a little faster, but if you get really good you just have other problems.

You can “Google” Shawn Achor and see one of his videos. Worth a look and he is funny..

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LASERS CHECK ON DAVID DELLENBAUGH

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    This is Alejandro checking the bottom of his boat.   I put this in because I can't figure out

      how to get my David Dellenbaugh picture in here.   I probably have your attention.

The last ”Speed and Smarts” skipped telling us about the finish in the last race with Greg Fisher in 24^th and David D. in 25^th.  Before that race David D. was winning the series if he could throw out his worse race, a 22.--- but he had to throw out the 25 and that put him in second with Greg Fisher in first.               I e-mailed “S and S” asked what happened and have had no answer.  I hope that David D. dose a “S and Smarts” on that subject.

All the good guys keep track of the score in a long series and know who they have to beat to stay ahead or get ahead.

The last race may turn into a match race thing or a team race activity in a fleet race situation.

Usually the first shots are in the prestart, with one boat trying to chase the other away from the line so both can be very late.  That didn’t seem to happen as David had a fairly good start except for one fellow that tacked under him just before the start.  Was that Greg?   Then David was taking a lot of bad air and took a lot of sterns trying to get free air.  But did that get him down to 25 by the end of the race and Fisher a 24.  Fisher must have been messing with him around the course.

Maybe there is some question of “sportsmanship” to throw match racing into a fleet racing, but it is regularly done and not outlawed by current racing rules.  The team racing that I mentioned above is referred to action that slows another boat so other boat can get ahead.  Team racing as such with a second boat interfering with a competitor so that another boat will win has been ruled illegal.

Certainly many times a person will cover another for reason of a short or long series and let another boat, which is no threat in the scoring go off uncovered.   I have personally won several races because the first two boats are covering each other and let me have the last wind shift.

For a moment I feel like a real winner and then you realize what happened.  They let me have it.

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