Dinghy Show 2020

Oh what a show!

Another fantastic event enjoyed by many national and international visitors.

It felt like our stand was in the absolute centre of the show as we were VERY VERY busy.

Coffee was flowing and everyone was very enthusiastic. There was no way you could pass our stand unnoticed as I’m pretty sure our Masters Rep Alison talked to every single visitor to the show! How she has not lost her voice it’s beyond me…

We congratulated Elliot Hanson on being selected for the Olympic team. Elliot Hanson alongside Lily Xu are a true inspiration to our sailors

It was absolutely wonderful to see so many members to pop in.

Thank you all for chats and giggles and making this show such success. Massive applause to all volunteers for dedicating their time to make our stand such success and to our guests for their time.

This year we had fun with guessing how many sweets could fit in a Laser boom – who knows what we come up with next year! Watch this space…

You may have heard that the show will not be returning to the iconic Alexandra Palace next year. It was announced at the show that for the next at least three years the show will be at the Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre where we hope to see you again.

If you would like to be part of the organising team or have ideas that we should definitely consider next year, drop Ellie a line.

Dates for the diary: 27th & 28th February 2021

Be there or be square

Grand Prix 2019 Wildwind Holiday winner announced

We waited for a major event to happen so that we could announce the winner of the 2019 Grand Prix events participation draw.

On 1st March at the Dinghy Show, Olympic Golden medalist Lily Xu drew the name of the Wildwind Holiday winner - Tom Burke from Coniston SC - Lakeland and border region.

“The grand Prix I attended was brilliantly organised and lots of great people on and off the water who helped with anything no matter how big or small this made it a very enjoyable place to be where ever the event was. These events are key to helping sailors come out and show talent. Very enjoyable and great atmosphere all round the best.

Thanks very much, Tom”

Hopefuly the world health situation will improve and we will get to see Tom zooming in a Laser in Greek sunshine soon. Wildwind is looking to reopen in July this year. Check out Wildwind website if you also want to get away once the lockdown is out the way and we are safe to return to travel and sailing. Wildwind are winners of the small British Travel Awards 2019 for best activity/sports holiday company.

We wish Tom masses of fun in the sun!

Your UKLA Needs You!

In 2021 the Laser dinghy will celebrate its official 50th birthday. Since its unveiling at the 1971 New York show there have been over 217,000 boats built. In these strange times when racing is only virtual and dead easy to pause - I’d like your help. 

Bruce Kirby

This phenomenal success story has had very little formal documentation so I would like to create an archive of visual and written information. The intention is to put all this archive material onto the UK LA website along with all the archive results both digital and written – this can be added to as we get more material.

Laser 21634 . 1975

I bought my first laser in 1975 directly from the factory in Banbury Oxfordshire - sail number 21634 and a fine shade of lime green it was too! Last summer I managed to track down my old boat but unfortunately just missed out being able to buy it back after over 40 years. From what I understand this boat has had eight owners. Bearing in mind that the newer boats would have had fewer owners and the older boats may have had more, we could estimate that Laser dinghies have been owned by over a million people! And this doesn’t take into account those who have ‘had a go’ in a Laser.

David Casale 1970’s

This is of course is an exercise in unapologetic nostalgia but it also serves as a reminder of what we risk losing if we allow divisive petty politics and greed to dominate. Perhaps we could learn something from the fans of football clubs exerting so much pressure on owners that they finally make decisions that are best for the game not simply for their pockets. Keeping this incredible history in everyone’s sights might just help.

Laser sailing is for many a philosophy and a passion that flows through our lives.  Racing may be on hold but the tradition and community is still here.  So what do I want from you?  Rummage around and find those photographs from regattas and of your pride and joy. Probably a brown 1973 laser with wooden foils – or a great photo torn from Yachts & Yachting 1999 of you hiking hard off the start line. Or even some old film/video that you have and wouldn't mind sharing.

Just email me

Laser 35585 . 1979

The View From the Jury Boat

The View From the Jury Boat - Two Common Scenarios David Battye

Many classes experience a reluctance to lodge protests following boat-on-boat incidents. There are many reasons which lie behind this reluctance to protest when sailors are aggrieved at an apparent rule breach? Here are six possible reasons:

• Sailing is a sociable sport with some long-term friendships which can be damaged by an adversarial encounter in the protest room

• The other party is someone who always pushes the rules and can be unpleasant if challenged

• Sailors hope an on-the-water judge will protest for rule breaches

• Forgetting to hail “protest” at the time of the incident

• Not certain of the current rules particularly when more than one other boat is involved

• The outcome of a protest hearing is unpredictable when the facts are in in dispute.

Dealing with all these possibilities is beyond the scope of this article. I will therefore focus on the last two and examine a couple of regularly occurring scenarios when approaching a mark. When the facts about an incident are in dispute, a protest committee is required by the rules to find facts. This means deciding, on the balance of probabilities, which story is the most likely in the circumstances. Sometimes this makes the outcome of a protest hearing unpredictable and can depend on which party tells the best story. In these situations, the chance of a favourable outcome can depend on the availability of a credible independent witness.

This is not always possible and in such circumstances a protest may not be appropriate. However, if you are not sure if you are at fault in an incident but think the other party has broken a rule, one possibility is to hail “protest” and then take penalty turns as an insurance policy. That way, even if the hearing goes against you, you cannot be penalised further unless you have gained an advantage even after taking your penalty. Here are a couple of frequently occurring incidents where, even when the facts are in dispute, the rules and cases give clear guidance to a protest committee on how to resolve the facts. The risk of an unpredictable outcome in these incidents is much reduced so let’s look at the two situations which follow.

Approaching a Leeward Mark

The first incident is at the approach to a leeward mark.

Before entering the three boat-length zone at position 1, Yellow is clear ahead of Blue and hails No Room. At the zone at position 2, Blue has advanced on Yellow and hails for room. At the mark at position 4, Yellow curtails her luff to avoid contact and hails “protest”. There are no witnesses.

At the hearing the facts about whether an overlap existed when Yellow entered the zone are in dispute and the protest committee needs to resolve this point.

In this situation Rule 18.2(e) assists the protest committee to find that an overlap did not exist. This rule states: If there is reasonable doubt that a boat obtained or broke an overlap in time, it shall be presumed that she did not.

In other words, the protest committee go back to the last point of certainty when both boats agree that Yellow was clear ahead. In this scenario the risk of an unpredictable outcome for Yellow is very low. The other useful learning point from this scenario is Grey’s situation. Grey has three boats inside her as she approaches the mark. She is clear ahead of Blue at positions 1 and 2 but has not entered the zone yet and is therefore not entitled to mark-room against Blue. When she does eventually enter the zone at position 4, she is outside overlapped with Blue and under Rule 18.2(a) is required to give her mark-room. This is useful point to remember whenever you approach a leeward mark overlapped with three or more boats inside you.

Approaching a Windward Mark

Here is another commonly occurring scenario this time at the approach to a windward mark.

In this scenario Yellow approaches the windward mark on the starboard lay line. Blue, on port tack, thinks she can cross Yellow. At position 2 Yellow bears away slightly to avoid contact with Blue’s rudder and hails “protest”. Green is a witness and confirms that Yellow bore away. Blue states that Yellow’s bear away was unnecessary as she would have crossed ahead without contact.

The protest committee need to decide if Yellow’s bear away was necessary. After consulting Case 50 they disqualify Blue.

Case 50 states: When the committee finds that S (starboard tack) did change course and that there was reasonable doubt that P (port tack) could have crossed ahead if S had not changed course, then P should be disqualified.

Again, in this scenario the risk of an unpredictable outcome for Yellow is very low.

Protest Committee Notices

07/03/2020 - UKLA event at the Weymouth and Portland Nationals Sailing Academy

PROTEST COMMITTEE NOTICE - RESULT OF RULE 69 HEARING

On 7 March 2020, the Protest Committee conducted a rule 69 hearing against Ben Childerley.

As a result of this hearing, the Committee has determined that Ben Childerley has committed misconduct under rule 69.1(a).

The Committee has issued Ben Childerley with a warning and the outcome has been reported to the RYA.

Will Davies, NU.

Protest Committee

PROTEST COMMITTEE NOTICE - RESULT OF RULE 69 HEARING

On 4 April 2020, the Protest Committee conducted a rule 69 hearing against Ben Flower.

As a result of this hearing, the Committee has determined that Ben Flower has committed misconduct under rule 69.1(a).

The Committee has issued Ben Flower with a warning and the outcome will be reported to the RYA.

Andy Wibroe, IJ, IU

Protest Committee Chair

Feedback on ILCA Constitution Requested

International Laser Class Association - Message from Tracy Usher:

At the ILCA World Council (WC) meeting in November 2019 it was agreed that a formal process would be commenced for review and possible amendment of the ILCA Constitution.

Since then a small working group of WC members has been preparing a suggested process for the review. The resulting process document ( click here to access the Constitution Review Process document) has now been approved by the World Council. As well as setting out the process that will be used for the review the document contains some initial ideas which have been suggested on areas where change might be considered.

We are now commencing the second step of the process, where we would like to obtain suggestions on possible changes from all interested groups involved in the class including WC members, Districts, individual sailors and commercial parties. The process is aimed at allowing consultation and input from all interested parties, and ultimately allow adoption of changes to the constitution supported by all the necessary parties, including the required two thirds vote of our membership.

In order for this process to proceed in an orderly and rational manner we request that all member feedback is channeled through your appropriate WC regional representative.

Comments can be submitted either via the website form (link to website form), directly to your regional representative, or through your local district chairman who can forward to the regional representative, whichever you prefer. The regional representatives will then coordinate and collate all their regional feedback before forwarding it to the working group, who will combine it into a set of possible changes for formal WC consideration.

So we invite you to start thinking and documenting specific changes that you would like to see to the class Constitution, start talking amongst yourselves about what changes you would like to see and importantly record the logic and rational, both positive and negative, that you see for each of your ideas for change. In some cases you may wish to initially identify what you see as a problem with the existing document and propose a range of options for change or indeed just raise an issue for consideration without in fact having a specific solution in mind at this point.

We see this process being interactive, you are very welcome and we encourage you to progressively correspond with your regional representatives and you certainly do not have to just present something on the last day.

Our hope here is that through this process we generate a full range of ideas for possible revisions and critically get an understanding of the rationale behind each idea and also the general level of support each may have. Once we receive the range of ideas for changes from the regional representatives we will then move to stage 3, where the working group will seek to analyze the worldwide feedback and come up with a discussion document for the World Council on the range of specific changes that may deserve consideration and the arguments for and against each.

It has been widely recognized that some change to the ILCA Constitution is desirable. It is important for us all to remember though that we are looking to get to a point where there is sufficient consensus on any change to ensure that it can be successfully adopted. As such it will be important that we recognize the success the class has enjoyed over the last 50 years with the existing constitution and structure and look to changes that can be demonstrated to all parties to truly offer the potential to build on the existing strength of the class in the future.

We are aiming to complete stage 2, receipt by the working group of submissions on ideas for change, by 1 July 2020 so we ask everyone to have their submissions to their regional representatives by 1 June 2020 to allow each region time to consolidate their feedback and submit it to the working group by 1 July.

CLICK HERE to access the on-line feedback submission page.

Tracy Usher

International Laser Class Association

E-Sailing with UKLA

A number of you may have noticed the fantastic performance of some of our younger class members at the recent RYA Youth s-Sailing Nationals. See news item here

The UKLA is now supporting regular online regattas using the Virtual Regatta Inshore platform or on the virtual regatta in-shore app.  (Make sure you select the in-shore game on the website).  This is an excellent platform to fine tune your racing tactic decisions, as well as your computer dexterity. 

Races will take place every Saturday and Sunday at 4pm.  The code for the race is "lasers", and participation will be free of charge.

As we are limited to only 20 people on each occasion and the regatta is limited to UKLA members only as we expect it may be oversubscribed. You are asked not to share the code or use it if you are not a member.

The sessions are expected to consist of 3 races of circa 10 minutes each, so that the start times for each subsequent race will be 4.00pm, 4.12pm, 4.24pm, and 4.36pm.

Because of the limit of 20 sailors per race, those wishing to take part are recommended to log into the system two minutes prior to the first race.  The system accepts entrants with the correct code on a first come first served basis. 

Initially we are starting out with a simple "friendly" practice racing, before considering expanding this out into a Lockdown Ladder Series.

Enjoy!   

The RYA 2020 Youth Nationals e-sailing

LASERS PERFORM WELL AT THE RYA 2020 YOUTH NATIONALS e-SAILING.

Silver Medal Placing to Max Steele from our Laser 47 fleet  

During the Coronavirus Lockdown many sailors have taken to online e-sailing using VirtualRegatta.com.  Apart from being fun, the platform is used by thousands of sailors around the world in various classes. The software is also helpful to test and fine tune regatta tactics.  It features crowded start lines (depending on the actions of competing sailors), port-starboard biases, different wind pressures and directions at different parts of the course, wind shifts and shadows, boat handling decisions including tacking, gybing, course directions and angles, mark lay-lines and roundings, and for some boat classes, the timing of spinnaker hoist and drop decision making.  This all takes place in the presence of and against live competitors subject to a practical albeit not perfect implementation of the racing rules of sailing.     

Not ones to be beaten by the virus, the RYA replaced the 2020 Youth Nationals with an e-sailing event on the virtual regatta inshore platform.  With over 150 competitors from various fleets, the event consisted of 48 qualifying races, a semi-finals with two flights, and then a finals with the top 10 ranking sailors.  

Three UKLA youth squad sailors made it to the finals: 

• Joe Drake (the 2019 Laser Standard Youth Champion)

• James Foster (the 2019 Laser Radial Youth Champion)

• Max Steele (winner of various titles in the RS Tera fleet and newcomer in the Laser 47 squad)

Other sailors included: 

• Terry Hacker (the 2019 RS Feva Champion)

• Blake Tudor (multiple titles in the RS Tera's and RS Feva fleets, and currently campaigning in the 29'er fleet) 

• Jack Lewis (former RS Tera World Champion, RS Feva European champion, and GBR 420 sailor)

• Dan Meadowcroft (multiple national title holder from the the National-12 fleet)

• Mike O'Donavan (Scottish RS 200 champion)

• Ted Lane (GBR 29'er); and 

• Isabelle Waha (former GBR Optimist and now 420 and SB20 sailor)

The quality of the lineup for those that made it to the finals is an indication of the sailing tactical skills needed to perform well. 

A sunny and windy day - Champagne sailing conditions prevailed in both the real and virtual worlds. 

A brilliant format which involved sailing J-70's in the first race, 49'ers in the second, and 10 America's Cup F50's in the third race, not something that one would see every day in the real world.  So a real spectacle indeed, in a virtual setting of Portsmouth Harbour.  Scores were reset to zero at the start of the finals, and all three races were to count (ie no discards).  

The first race did not go well for the Laser sailors.  James and Max both had reasonable starts but suffered punishing mistakes which lead them to finish the first race in 6th and 7th place respectively, with Joe in 9th.  The first race went to Terry Hacker from the RS Feva fleet and Jack Lewis from the 420 fleet.  

The second race involved 49'ers.  James and Max both pulled a strong come back to place 2nd and 3rd respectively, behind Dan Meadowcroft (National -12 fleet).  

The third and final race involved 10 F50's on the water, with the same course design as in the America's cup and sail-GP series; ie a reaching start, followed by a windward-leeward but in the virtual Portsmouth Harbour.  Max Steele and Joe Drake's tactical skills were on full display to climb from reasonably strong starts into 2nd and 3rd place respectively, behind Mike O'Donavan (Scottish RS-200 champion). Things did not go as well for James in the last race, who finished in 10th place.  

This meant that the overall finals went to Terry Hacker (gold), followed by Max Steele (silver) and Mike O'Donavan (bronze). James Foster ended the event in 6th place and Joe Drake in 9th. Congratulations to all, but especially Terry, Max and Mike.  

The event was  streamed live on youtube with GBR 470 Olympian Luke Patience commentating.  It can be relived here

Many thanks to the RYA's Jonny McGovern for serving as the perfect race officer for the event.

David Catto

It is with great sadness that I must tell you that on Sunday 12th April, we have lost one of our most enthusiastic and generous Laser Sailors.

David Catto’s home Club was Hunts Sailing Club, but I came to know David as a top Masters sailor who competed at all of our Masters events, often on the podium at the prize giving.

David was most generous with his time and as an IT professional with his own firm, he got stuck into modernising the UKLA systems, and was involved in much of the change you will have seen recently. His generosity extended to him sponsoring Masters Training - I still have the Merger IT logo on my boom.

As Masters Representative on the UKLA David led the most significant part of our Class, with his clear thinking, 'anything is possible' attitude he took us all with him as he laid out his vision of what the UKLA Masters sailing could become.

David had organised the UKLA stand at the RYA Dinghy Show held just before ‘lock down’ and as ever bought a new level of IT prowess to our set up, making it a very successful event for the class.

I will never forget a fantastic meal I enjoyed with David and Jennie half way through a very breezy Masters Worlds in Dun laoghaire in 2018. We had all been battered by another 30 knot day out in the bay and I for one was pretty done in, but David was as full of energy and ideas as ever, as he enthused on how we could make Laser sailing bigger, more inclusive and more fun than ever.

A shocking loss to the Laser fleet, our thoughts are with Jennie and David's family at this tragic time

Rob Cage
UKLA Chair

If you wish to send a message to Jennie please do so via email to Jon Emmett

Class rules update

Whilst we wait patiently for the lock down to be lifted to allow us to go sailing, we are hearing that there is confusion around what are Class legal boats.  The Class rules are available on the UKLA website here but the key things to look for are:

1.  The hull must have a World Sailing plaque in the back of the cockpit (unless older than 148200)

2.  The sail must have an ILCA authorised sail button near the tack of the sail: Standard Mark 2 are ORANGE, Standard Mark 1, Radial and 4.7 are RED

3.  Subject to points 1 & 2, hulls and sails bearing the Laser name / Laser starburst or the ILCA name are both Class legal

4.  ILCA sails are known as ILCA 7 (Standard), ILCA 5 (Radial) and ILCA 4 (4.7) due to the rights held by the intellectual property owners of the usual names.

Laser Performance is not currently an accredited builder of Class legal boats. ILCA has issued a contract to them but, as we understand it, they have not yet signed and returned it.  Given the past good service we have received from Laser Performance we hope they will soon.

ILCA has issued contracts to potential new builders, including Ovingtons in the UK.  This is to meet the FRAND requirements of World Sailing for all Olympic Classes.  These manufacturers have to build a series of test boats for quality control purposes before they become accredited.  This process has been delayed due to the Covid 19 lock downs across the World.  As soon as we know more we will issue updated guidance.  Boats manufactured by Performance Sailcraft Australia are available in the UK and they are currently the only accredited builder.

Laser Performance continues to manufacture and sell boats.  If these do not have a World Sailing plaque or the Orange / Red sail button with ILCA on it they will not be Class legal and therefore ineligible for racing.

Laser 2020 Oceania & Australian Masters Championships - Royal Geelong SC

My build up to one of the best planned and organised Laser Masters World Championships was prompted by a facebook message from Terry Scutcher. Terry is a past World Masters Laser Champion. His partner Eve, of  “Yoga Eve” fame on You Tube. Eve had photographed Terry pulling his boat down the slipway to launch at Shotley Sailing Club. Training in the River Stour, adjacent to the North Sea on the 4th January. The air temperature was 8 degrees that day and the sea temperature would have been very similar. 

In Eastbourne the conditions were similarly chilly. Hunkering down in my freezing cold workshop with the fan heater on full power, I was glad I had the excuse of still nursing a Meniscus tear on my right knee to delay my own personal training regime. While others from the Laser Masters Jet set were off training in warmer climes; Miami and Southern Europe. I pushed my own boat off the beach of Pevensey Bay SC just two weeks before setting off to Geelong, Australia. Departing shortly after the Alexandra Palace Dinghy Show on  the 10th of March, I was the last British competitor to make it into Australia before the Covid 19  (Coronavirus as it was originally referred to) quarantine borders started to fall.

The Australian Worlds organising committee led by Volunteer Principle James Mitchell,  had already run 4 other Laser National and World Championships from Sandringham Yacht Club nearby, prior to the Masters events. They were deeply impressive with every aspect of the organisation running like a finely oiled machine. Before setting up for The Laser Masters Oceania and World Championships In Geelong Australia I made a brief stop over in Hong Kong to visit my eldest son Will. I recall being surprised at how deserted everywhere was. I was the only person transiting into the Central District of Hong Kong on the subway.

The only people I met were masked, dressed in white full length overcoats  and usually wiping down handrails or cleaning floors and windows. Will seemed unperturbed by the apparent oddity of the situation and put it down to Asian paranoia. I spent a fun night out in Hong Kong in a restaurant and bar with Will and his friends, noting once again that we were the only non-masked people; of the few others we met. 

I arrived in Melbourne Airport and was pleasantly surprised to see everything seemed normal, after being packed on a plane full of more mask clad people, on this occasion I joined in.  James Mitchell arranged for his wife Chris to pick me up from the airport and carted me off to a comfortable apartment the organising committee had arranged for me. A barter we had agreed in return for me giving a few talks about my trip round the UK last summer.  After the first day it started to become apparent Australia was moving into a higher state of alert about Covid 19 than I originally perceived. The event organisers were in deep discussion most days. Social distancing rules were shortly after introduced within a few days of my arrival.  Stories of other Brits being concerned about their ability to get back from Australia even if they could get  in just seemed surreal to me at the time. I couldn’t see what the fuss was about. It was great weather, an amazing club venue and picturesque bay. They even named a street Pevensey after my home club Pevensey Bay to make me feel at home.

The significance of the issue started to sink in when I was asked to report daily to the organisers for a health check after transiting through Hong Kong, incorrectly listed as one of the high risk countries requiring competitors to self isolate for 14 days. The following morning Hong Kong was removed from this list and replaced by China after further clarification was sought from the Australian government's website. A great relief. Nevertheless it was a wake up call. On the same day I received an email from Cathay Pacific Airlines stating my return flight was cancelled and advising I will be notified by them of an alternative.  I am still waiting!

While all of this was playing out the organisers of The Australian Oceania Championships, a four day National Championships designed also as an open invitation warm up event for all  Worlds competitors, being hosted by the same Royal Geelong Yacht Club, were carrying on with plans as normal.

Initially, the only obvious sign of anything being unusual in the sailing venue was that elbow touching was to be the method of greeting, instead of normal hand shaking and back slapping. None of the current 2 metre distance rules were in play at this point in time. Following on from the Oceania Champs practice race we started hearing rumours the event may be cancelled. After lengthy discussions between the organisers and the club behind closed doors, it was announced the next day that all social events would be cancelled. At the same time it was decreed that all competitors were to observe the now familiar 2 metre social distancing space and not to sit inside the clubhouse.

Meanwhile the first race went to the forecasters form book, with shifty tricky conditions across the bay of Geelong. The top sailors always seemed to pick the correct side of the course. Somehow the results started to look increasingly irrelevant after day two with the imminent cancellation of this event and The World's cancellation also looking inevitable. The Organisers were managing a near mutiny amongst the Clubs volunteers, many of whom were by today’s definition high risk, and becoming increasingly aware of their potential vulnerability. Cooked food was removed from the menu, catering staff were now fully gloved and distanced from the customers. All food was pre packed. 

When just enough races had been sailed for the minimum number to count a series, the event was closed down. The Worlds were cancelled and the clubhouse shut. People were left wandering around in a dazed trance like state. PSA Charter boats were hurriedly being packed five high on trolleys ready for extraction.

My options for getting back earlier looked limited. I had already booked a backup return flight with Qatar Airlines transiting via Doha on the same original date of the 29th March, some 10 days from now. Will, (my son) calling from Hong Kong managed to get through to Cathay Pacific and re-booked my return seat on the earliest available flight, also on the 26th March. I felt covered with two different transiting options. I was hopeful the insurance company might pay out on at least one of these. With the sailing event cancelled and the ILCA Organising Committee and Sailing Club starting to look at each other across a table discussing losses, costs and compensation, my free apartment looked pretty shaky.

Spending an afternoon looking around Geelong harbour for an empty yacht I might decamp to if needs be, I bumped into fellow GBR sailor, Guy Noble. He kindly put me in touch with Mike Hicks, another Master from GBR. Mike had a whole two bed luxury apartment paid for sitting empty very near the harbour. He hadn’t made it out to Australia in time to beat the quarantine rules. One email later and Mike very kindly offered the use of his apartment at no cost. I moved in within hours. I could relax and ride out the time, continuing to write my book from my round UK adventure and enjoy the weather. 

I quickly established a routine. Spending the morning hours writing, followed up by a swim in Geelong's outdoor caged sea compound at lunchtime, and strange patterned coffee with Jeff Loosemore chatting about rubbish in the afternoons .

Rob Cage bumped into me in reception one morning looking for an alternative place to stay. He moved in with his wife to Mike's apartment with me shortly after. The days were easy but got slightly stressful if you watched the news too much. Figuring out how, and if, we should make a break for it to go home early. None of the airlines were contactable. No reply from emails. Everyone was telling me to get out of Australia as soon as possible. I couldn’t see why I needed to rush. My Historic Door business in England had a friend running it as well as I could while I was away. I had a free pad and lovely weather. I had loads to do on my book. Why rush back?

Sitting on a park bench in Geelong one morning shortly after the events cancellation I had an inspirational idea. I could self isolate in a Laser and sail around Australia! A quick intro from my Aussie mate Jeff Loosemore to Chris Caldecoat of Performance Sailcraft Australia and we agreed a deal. PSA will supply the boats, I just needed to do the rest. Well that was more than I got at the beginning of my UK adventure. That was how the idea of ”Round Australia in Laser” was born.

That very same afternoon I started looking at maps, and reading up about other adventurers. The first aboriginal circumnavigator of Australia Bungaree (1775 - 1830) from Broken Bay, North of Sydney who sailed around in an eight foot boat with George Bass and Matthew Flinders. It wasn’t clear if his boat 8 feet keel boat was eight feet long or eight feet deep.

Where to start, how to avoid being eaten by the Crocs in the North and the Sharks in the North, East, West and South. Access to food and water, cyclones and vast areas of wilderness. No obstacle that couldn’t be tackled bit by bit I thought. I even had a chat about it on a podcast with my mate Mark Philpott from The Global Travel Channel.

Fortunately or unfortunately for me I was  saved by Jon Emmett’s simple one line What’s app message to bring me back into reality once more…

“Stick get your arse to the airport and on standby 1st thing in the morning or you could be stuck until May!”

I did as I was told after my Cathay Pacific flight was cancelled the evening before my scheduled departure date. I got Jeff to drive me to the airport and go for an earlier flight on standby with Qatar. I finally got the last seat on the last flight out of Melbourne. I was at the back of this standby queue below.

The Australian Tour has been parked for the time being… watch this space… or better still look at my website. I will be re-running interviews, posts, videos and  comments from my round UK trip from last year and will soon hopefully have finished at least the first half of my story in a book format very shortly.

Perhaps I will return to Australia when this is all over to resume my Bungaree, Bass and Flinders style adventure! Let me know if you fancy joining in.

Yours

Stick Daring

(No longer Down Under)

LASER PERFORMANCE OPEN AND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020 By Tony Woods and Nette Robinson

LASER PERFORMANCE UK LASER OPEN AND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020 MOUNTS BAY SAILING CLUB 25th -31st July

Do you remember the waves last time we were at Mounts Bay? Truly awesome!

Mounts Bay is a fantastic location! Great for family holiday, great for sailing, surfing, beach games, sun bathing…

As the Nationals no longer coincide with the 2020 Olympics, our plans to link with top sailing journalist Andy Rice from Sail Juice won’t be happening. However, we are hoping to welcome many sailors from overseas as we did in 2019 as well as many from the UK. In fact the first night is to be called the Commodore's Welcome Evening - kindly sponsored by MBSC - to include an Italian Themed meal absolutely free for all competitors!

There'll be themed evenings every night with great food for £7.00, (ordered in advance) including Moroccan Evening, Curry Night, Chile Night, as well as the now famous Gala Dinner on the Thursday Night for £26.50 per head (ordered in advance).

You can also look forward to SUP Racing, the Hike Off, Games Night, live music, and a trip to St. Michael's Mount with a Reception by Lord and Lady St. Levan.

If you want to improve your sailing there will be Race Clinics in the mornings, Q and A sessions in the Evenings, and the Mentor/Mentee Scheme running throughout the week.

Nette Robinson will be on hand again to provide activities for non-sailors. Blow the cobwebs away and start your day off with a fun and lively Zumba session, followed by an abs class! In the afternoons there will be a host of creative pursuits to get involved with, such as art classes, singing, chess and belly dance!

Entries opening soon. Website still under construction, but you can see it here:

Uklasernationals.org

Book your accommodation now – there is a basic field where you can camp near the dinghy park - The farmer, John Oliver, who runs it can be contacted on 01736 711908 or 07810 135720.

Also here is a link to the club’s accommodation list-

https://www.mbsc.org.uk/where-to-stay

 Also, you can check out the event on the UKLA Facebook page. Connect with fellow competitors, join the discussion, find out who has room on their boat trailer and offer to hook up with others. 

If you'd like to join our new team for this year's event, we'd love to hear from you! 

We're looking for lots of people who can capture the event throughout the week, whether that's by taking photographs, videoing, interviewing sailors in the dinghy park or uploading media to Facebook and Instagram so we can produce video such like this click here. 

We're also looking for people to bring SUP’s for the SUP Relay Race, help with registration, results, reports, prize draws, trophies…Would you like to donate a trophy? Endeavour and Vintage still available at the moment!

World Sailing response to joint IOC and Tokyo 2020 statement

Today [24 March 2020] the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee issued a joint statement announcing the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

 Available on the IOC website here, the statement stated, “In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.”

World Sailing, the world governing body of the sport, supports the IOC and Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee decision to ensure the health and well-being of athletes, fans and support personnel worldwide.

 World Sailing will now work in close collaboration with the IOC and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee on future planning for the hosting of the Games.

President Kim Andersen and the World Sailing Executive Office are in direct communication with the IOC Sports Department.

The IOC are engaging with every International Federation as quickly as possible to ensure they develop the necessary plans in full partnership and to ensure full transparency with a focus on information for World Sailing and the athletes.

World Sailing will work with the IOC on timing of the postponed Olympic Games, necessary adaptations to Games delivery plans and Olympic qualification systems.

In the short term, World Sailing will not hold Olympic qualification events for Africa, Asia or Europe.

World Sailing is working with the IOC on an update to the qualification system where our recommendation will be to look at hosting qualifications events in late 2020 or early 2021.

Following the IOC decision, World Sailing is working closely with the Japanese Sailing Federation, the Organising Committee of the 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Final, and will communicate decisions on the 2021 event calendar shortly.

We will keep you updated with our latest positioning and further information on Games delivery.

We will communicate further information on COVID-19 with an update from our Medical Commission in due course.

The situation is moving fast and we thank you all very much for your patience during this difficult period.

Events 2020

We would like to thank all the parents, members and officials who volunteered at our events so far this year. You have assisted with safety, mark laying and race duties on the water, helped on the beach and with tally, registration, results, jury and the RIB. You’ve also talked to sailors and offered support with whatever they may have needed at the time. Without you it would be very difficult if not impossible to run our events for which the entire UKLA team is extremely grateful.

THANK YOU

After the second qualifier at Weymouth, the UKLA team has gone into self-isolation just like everyone else, but it doesn’t mean that the work to plan events has stopped.

Following the government and RYA advice as well as common sense, we cancelled all events until at least 31st May 2020, but we are keeping positive and are hopeful to resume racing as soon as we are allowed.

We continue to plan our National Championships at Marazion listed for the end July and will be hoping to see as many of you there as possible. We cross fingers and toes for the virus to be contained by then and we are committed to running the event as planned. This is obviously under a constant review and should anything change, we will keep you all posted.

If you find yourself bored during the quarantine, feel free to send us feedback or suggestions click here. We are always keen to improve and always looking for new people to join the team or assist as a one off. If you have experience of media and marketing, we are looking to improve our media strategy and would love to hear from you.

Laser Worlds 2020, Sandringham, Australia by Jake Farren-Price

The 2020 Laser World Championships was held in Sandringham, Melbourne, Australia in February. All the big names were here competing for the prestigious title, and the fact it is the year of the Olympics, everyone wanted to make their stamp on the world stage ahead of the games. For the top Brits it was also another selection event for the spot for Tokyo. This selection process had been going on for almost a year now and still hard to call as they can all win medals on their day.

Port Philip Bay was famous for its strong sea breezes in the Summer and it delivered. Almost every day we had a strong breeze come in during the early afternoon and stick around for the rest of the day. The week of racing was tough with two days of 3 races in winds gusting over 20 knots consistently. But we got the full schedule of races in and by the end of it the man on top was Phillip Buhl from Germany.

Well done to Elliot Hanson who finished 5 th overall meaning he gets selected to represent GBR for the games in the Summer.

Report on the "Podium Potential" Squad -"Chasing Great"

James Gray

British Sailing Team Single Handed Pathway Lead Coach

‘Chasing Great’

The top step of the Laser sailing world is possibly the hardest to crack, of all the Olympic classes, given the huge depth and competitive fleets which muster for all international competitions.

The UK bolsters one of the strongest Laser teams in the World. You don’t have to look too far where at UK National Qualifiers you may be racking up against a double world champion and Rio 2016 Olympian (Nick Thompson), Tokyo Olympic Representative and Enoshima World Cup winner (Elliot Hanson), and European medallists (Lorenzo Chiavarini and Michael Beckett).

This for many would seem a formidable line up but, in the quest to join such a stellar crew, there are a growing number of young sailors who are turning their attentions towards ‘chasing great’.

The British Sailing Team is comprised on the ‘Podium’ squad with sailors mentioned above filling it ranks. Below ‘Podium’ are sailors who have qualified, generally through Youth (U21) competitions, for the ‘Podium Potential’ squad, also known as Project 2024. This squad is designed to get sailors up to speed to be in contention for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Current members in the squad are Sam Whaley (5 th U21 Worlds 2017), Dan Whiteley (3 rd U21 Worlds 2017), and Joe Mullan (UK Youth Champion 2018). They are, however, closely chased by many sailors including UK Youth Squad members Joe Drake (UK Youth Champion 2019), Ben Childerley, and Krishan Bhogal.

As with all elite sports, making it to the top is a long and winding road that requires a lot of sacrifice, effort, and time. Irrespective of the time that you are able to throw at sailing, there are a few things that all sailors following an Olympic dream have to adjust to:

1. The physicality of the Laser Standard. Moving from a Radial into a Standard not only requires a substantial change in body weight, in most cases, ideally weighing 80-84 kg and being above 178cm. Given the increase in sail area there is also a high aerobic component required in order to have the intensity to match the boat speed of the top sailors.

2. A game of inches. I remember finishing 2 nd in a qualifier race to Paul Goodison (Beijing Gold Medallist) many years ago. Now he was at least 40 boat lengths in front of me and there I was feeling pretty pleased with myself that I had hiked my way into second place. The reality internationally however is that 20 other boats could have occupied the space between us. And they did! The difference in level at international level is impressive but you have to fight for everything.

3. International competitions. Generally, qualifiers can require a high-risk strategy. Biased start lines and gain features on the course require you to be in the right place at the right time and often racing can be a bit of a one-way track. UK sailors also generally prefer oscillating winds where you are more likely to get a shift back in your favour at some point. Not only is the international fleet of formidable quality, but the racing is much more open and therefore rewards sailors who make good decisions and who are able to pick up on the relevant cues in the conditions to make gains over the rest of the fleet. These cues include being able to recognise the types of conditions where the wind is less likely to shift back in your favour. It has to be said however that speed is your friend and being fast will give you more tactical freedom.

Interestingly, improving or gaining more experience in the areas above requires one thing – time in the boat.

So, this winter the ‘Podium Potential’ and ‘UK Youth Squad’ Laser sailors packed up and moved to be based in Vilamoura in Portugal, where we were able to run multiple training blocks in a warmer climate between December 2019 and March 2020. Not only did Vilamoura allow us to experience lighter winds than the UK in a warmer, and more efficient climate, we were also able to compete in 3 smaller international regattas and line up against some of the best sailors from around the world, including Laser legend Robert Scheidt. Spending time in Portugal provided the platform for each sailor to accumulate valuable time improving fitness, training boat speed against top quality opposition, and racing against international competitors in wind speeds and conditions very different from those in the UK.

Usually at this time of the year we would be heading out to Palma for the start of the sailing season at Princess Sofia regatta, which is a great test to see how everyone is setting up after winter training. But as the world is gripped with the Covid-19 pandemic and all our events rightfully postponed, we have launched an emergency operation to get all our kit back to the UK and are back home holding station.

What will happen later in the year will be interesting, but our squad, and the British Sailing Team as a whole, are in a good position to make the most of any challenge ahead.

ILCA Handbook 2020

The latest copy of the Class Hanbook has been released and can be accessed through the Technical section of our website. Click here to view and download your free PDF copy.

Masters News - 23 March 2020

Masters News!

• Alan Davis was 2nd Grand Master and Guy Noble 9th in the Australian Masters Nationals. They are now making their way back to the UK.

• 2020 Masters events updates:

  08 May Brightlingsea Training - CANCELLED due to COVID 19

  09 – 10 May Brightlingsea - CANCELLED due to COVID 19

  13 – 14 June Parkstone - CANCELLED due to COVID 19

  3 – 5 July Masters Nationals Weymouth and Portland

  19 – 20 September Draycote

  10 – 11 October Pevensey – DATE CHANGE

  7 – 8 November Inland Nationals Chew Valley

• Masters T shirts still available to order from jon@jonemmettsailing.co.uk

EurILCA extraordinary meeting

The extraordinary meeting was held this Saturday, March 7, 2020.

 Countries attending the meeting:

Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom ( with proxy vote)

Proxy votes were given to vote by Bulgaria, Hungary, UKLA (ask for proxy even if attending) and Poland

 There were four possible options:

• Proposal 1: Status Quo - no change by EurILCA

• Proposal 2: Implementing specific measures for the European Region and Regattas (incl. European Championship)

• Proposal 3: EurILCA Split from ILCA

• Abstain

 A total of 25 countries voted, the Proposal 1 being chosen for the largest number of votes.

• Proposal 1: 11 votes

• Proposal 2: 5 votes

• Proposal 3: 9 votes

• Abstain: 0

UK Laser Association voted on behalf of membership for option 1 - Status Quo - no change by EurILCA

International Events Update

2020 ILCA Laser Masters in Geelong, Australia - POSTPONED INDEFINITELY
Based on safety and public health factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ILCA World Council and our local event host have decided NOT to proceed with the 2020 Masters World Championships as scheduled on 21-28 March, 2020.

We understand that some sailors may already be on site, other are en route and some have imminent departures. Given the extreme rapidity of developments and the uncertainty surrounding travel and participation in this event, the decision to take this extraordinary step was decided to be the most prudent course of action under the circumstances.

The Australian government has now issued advise against non-essential, organized public gatherings of more than 500 people as a precaution to reduce community spread of the virus. With the number of competitors, spouses, event personnel, and visitors expected, ILCA has chosen to heed this government health advisory.

Whether the event will be rescheduled to a later date or cancelled will be determined in the near future.

2020 Under-21 Worlds in Malcesine, Italy
2020 4.7 Youth Worlds in Arco, Italy
ILCA and our hosts recognize the significant outbreak of Coronavirus in Northern Italy and the recent measures being taken across the whole country (and now much of the world) to contain the spread of the virus. The start of the Championship is approximately 4 months out from the time that initial Entry offers are scheduled to be sent. Given the swift change in circumstances, there is no way to know how things will stand from a public health perspective by the time the event is supposed to take place. ILCA and the host will continue to monitor the situation.

At present, we are proceeding on the understanding that the event will take place as scheduled. However, we intend to delay the issuing of entry offers until at least the end of March to provide additional time to assess how the event might be affected.

If at a later date, the assessment changes, we will notify all participants about any decisions made.

2020 Radial Youth Worlds in Dziwnów, Poland
At this time no action is being taken, but the event is under review.

 International Laser Class Association
Website: http://www.laserinternational.org