About the Sunfish

The Sunfish dinghy is a single-handed, pontoon style dinghy, with an un-stayed mast and a lateen sail. It has a simple rig set-up, making it good for beginners, but the class is hugely popular with a very competitive racing scene.

With over 300,000 sold worldwide there is an argument that it is the most popular fibreglass boat ever produced. They are hugely popular boats in the United States, and this popularity is spreading into South America and parts of Europe too.

Videos for Sunfish Sailing

On board at a World Championship:

Tips from the top of the fleet from the Midwinters in 2019:

David Loring talks about his technique when sailing in a breeze, and also briefly his fitness regime:

Andrea Aldana with some pointers on setting up and sailing in a breeze:

Sailing with Bill Brangiforte

Video from the Worlds in 2011:

Some tips for Sunfish Sailors

Rigging the boat:

Adjustable Hiking Strap design

Sail a Frostbiting Race from the comfort of your own home (including a capsize at 27 mins 55 secs)

Books for Sunfish Sailing

Specific for Sunfish Sailing

The Top 3 Class Specific Books (All in One!)

This book has the main three books in one, so it is definitely the best class-specific book there is. If you only need one of the titles, then all three are still available separately, and I’ve listed them below.

The Sunfish Bible by Will White, Derrick Fries and Larry Lewis

The Other Class-Specific Books

General Books Useful for Sunfish Sailors

The Bestsellers

These three books will help any sailor improve in any class of boat.

Sailing Fitness

You need to be physically fit to do well – even just a little bit of all-round fitness can improve your results a lot. These books are all helpful in designing a program that works for you. My favourite is Sailing Fitness & Training by Michael Blackburn.

Psychology

Getting your head right can be as important as getting your technique right. These books will all help with this area, and the Eric Twiname book, Sail, Race and Win is possibly my all-time favourite book on how to improve your sailing

Books for Self-Coaching by Olympic Coach Jon Emmett

Jon Emmett coached Lijia Xu to an Olympic Gold Medal, and is a multiple World Champion himself. These well written books share the secrets of how to coach yourself and improve your sailing.

Sailing Technique and Performance Books by Frank Bethwaite

Frank Bethwaite is a bit of a legend – relentless in his pursuit to understand high performance race craft. His two bigger books (High Performance Sailing and Higher Performance Sailing) can be quite dense to read while Fast Handling Techniques is lighter and easier to read. All are hugely important.

…and finally, Three Absolute Classics

These three books are nailed-on classics – books that have helped generations of sailors and are still relevant today. Start to Win is a good, relatively basic book that will help get you to the front of the fleet; Winning in One Designs is widely regarded as essential reading for one-design sailors; and Advanced Racing Tactics is more in-depth, is a tougher read, but will help with a lot of in-race strategy.

Links for Sunfish Sailors

Class Information

• The International Sunfish Class Association
• The Netherlands Sunfish Racing Class

Boat Set-up, Boat Handling and Other Tips

• Tuning Guide
• Rigging Manual from Laser Performance
• Sunfish Knowledge Base
• Sunfish Rigging Guide by Eduardo Cordero
• Sunfish Racing Sail Bending On and Tuning Guide
• Windline Sails “How-to” section
• Rule 37.3, and another post on this piece of rigging
• Storing sails
• Foil repairs
• A useful boat repair video
• Want to make your own dolly? Or how about a road trailer?

Mike Ingham on sailing in a big fleet:

David Mendeblatt gives some tips on setting the boat up for sailing in a breeze, and includes the basics of his fitness regime:

One of the many great things the class does is provide “Words of Wisdom” from top sailors explaining the things that they felt were key to them doing well in particular regattas. It is always great when top sailors pass on information and tips that will be useful to other sailors, and this class is particularly good at doing this. Have a read and find out what the best sailors focus on:

• Conner Blouin on adjusting to shifty lake conditions
• Amanda Callahan’s WOW: Lessons learned during a global pandemic
• Greg Gust on heeling to windward upwind and other tactical situations
• Conner Blouin on downwind Sunfish sailing

Andy David:

• Fall Frostbiting 2013
• Bolton Lake Regatta, 2013
• Fall 2012 Season

Bill Brangiforte

• Wequaquet Lake Regional, 2013
• World Championship 2012
• Frostbite Series, 2011-2012
• International Masters 2012
• December 18th 2011
• Juan Delgado
• Fitness, Aging and Sunfish Racing
• December 2010
• Random Thoughts on the 2010 Season
• Barrington Regional 2009
• Spring Frostbiting 2009
• Lewes NAs words of wisdom from 2010 NA champ

Forums for Sunfish Sailors

• Yahoo Group – Sunfish Sailor
• The Sunfish Forum
• The Sunfish Sailing in the Midwest Yahoo Group

Blogs and Blog Posts

• My2Fish
• Massapoag Sunfish Sailing News
• Sunfish 3929
• Proper Course (it’s not all about Lasers…)

The Vital Statistics

Suggested sailor weight range: 55kg to 90kg (120lbs to 190lbs)

• Hull Material: Fibreglass
• Year designed: around 1953
• Length: 4.19 metres
• Beam: 1.24 metres
• Mainsail Area: 7.0 square metres
• Hull Weight: 54 kg

Who’s Who in Sunfish

• Alexander Zimmerman
• Matheus Dellagnelo
• Jonathan Martinetti
• David Loring
• Paul Foerster
• Sebastian Mera
• Lucas Gonzales
• Eduardo Cordero
• Malcolm Smith
• Paul Jon Patin
• Stephen Smeulders
• Scott Kyle
• Donnie Martinborough
• Bruce Sutphen
• Andy Pimental
• John Kostecki
• Dave Chapin
• Cor van Aanholt
• Pierre Siegenthaler
• Paul Fendler
• Serge Marsolle
• Bob Bowles
• Ted Moore
• Gary Hoyt
• Bill Brangiforte
• David Mendelblatt
• Andres Ducasse
• David Gonzalez
• Jonathon Martinetti
• Doug Kaukeinen
• Andy David

The post Sunfish appeared first on THE FINAL BEAT.

For the day of the first races it was blowing a solid force 4, with a decent if not huge swell. I love sailing in these conditions, but I get better results in lighter breezes. So when I rounded the windward mark in seventh I was pretty happy, and when I gained a spot on the downwind I was even happier. Sixth place and gaining – this frostbiting thing was easy.

The breeze was building a little, so I ramped on the vang for the second beat. The first shift came in, and I tacked onto port. And my buoyancy aid got caught on the boom, and… I capsized.

I got the boat upright and got going again having lost a handful of spots. Then, a couple of tacks later, my buoyancy aid got caught on the boom, and…I capsized.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHhhh!

I finished the race 14^th, knackered, cold and frustrated.

The most annoying thing about all this was that it gave me a problem in heavy winds. I wanted to hammer the kicker on to depower, but I couldn’t afford two capsizes every beat. Never mind where I came in the races, my ego simply couldn’t handle it.

My results suffered as a result. In force 3 and under I always finished in the top 5. In force 4 and upwards I didn’t get a single top 5 result, and most were in the early to mid-teens.

The next summer I got the opportunity to attend a couple of training sessions with the guy that had won the second of the two frostbite series I’d competed in, and he was particularly quick in a breeze. He was watching us tacking, and made a suggestion to me. He told me to slide my bum back about a foot as I turned into the tack. I already put my back foot across the boat before the tack (so that it hooks under the toestrap as I come onto the new tack), but sliding back had one big benefit. It meant that as I crossed the boat I could push the old back foot into the back leeward corner of the new tack and push myself across and, crucially, forward onto the new tack. This meant that my head and body passed through the biggest gap possible, allowing me to put more vang on upwind.

It was a real light-bulb moment for me. Others among you would have thought of it, no doubt – many probably did, or just did this naturally. But, for two reasons, it think it would have taken me a long time to figure this out (if, indeed, I ever would have figured it out):

1. I’m not exactly a genius
2. I grew up sailing Optimists.

The square back of an Optimist means that the more you dig the back corners into the water the quicker you stop the boat. This means that when you tack, you tend to keep your feet reasonably well forward. It was so ingrained in me that sliding back means slowing down, I suspect I may never have really tried it if it hadn’t been suggested to me by a good sailor.

All of which goes to show that, firstly, getting coaching can really help unlock a problem very quickly (especially if you know specifically what you need help with); and, secondly, that you should always revisit your assumptions and analyse the things that you think you know – they may not always stand up.

Oh, and thirdly, if anyone is likely to park their bum in the wrong place then it is me.

First published October 2014

The post One Coach, Two Capsizes and Three Lessons Learned appeared first on THE FINAL BEAT.

The Inner Game of Tennis
by W. Timothy Gallwey

Buy Now

United States
UK & Ireland

Outliers
Malcolm Gladwell

Mentioned in the post called “Frostbiting and Winter Sailing”

Buy Now
United States
UK & Ireland

The post Non-Sailing Books That Are Useful for Sailors appeared first on THE FINAL BEAT.

If you’re thinking about doing a Frostbite or Winter sailing series this year, and my poetry has failed to convince you (although this does seem unlikely), then perhaps Malcolm Gladwell might have more luck.

In his book Outliers, Gladwell describes how children of all backgrounds learn and improve at approximately the same rate during school term time. However, children from more disadvantaged backgrounds fall behind during the holidays – particularly the summer holidays – a phenomenon known as the “summer learning loss”.

The idea is that, where families with money and opportunity help their children to continue their learning and maintain their knowledge through things like museum visits, cultural holidays, access to a range of educational books and material, families without money (or, to some extent time, if they are having to work multiple jobs to keep their heads above water) are not able to provide this stimulating environment and so their children fall behind.

Like pretty much any study or claim these days, there are some that question these findings but, regardless of the rights and wrongs, it is probably fair to say that those that continue learning gain significantly on those that don’t.

And the same applies to sailing:

Those that sail competitively through the winter improve; those that don’t, don’t.

I saw this first-hand when I sailed a competitive frostbite series in Dublin. Not only does your racing continue to sharpen, especially as you’re racing against guys you don’t normally compete with in your own club, but things like your sailing fitness improve too.

It also helps with other things. Getting out of your comfort zone, and dealing with creating new routines for yourself, all help you to figure out what helps you perform well and what hinders you.

And sailing in cold, windy, wavy conditions certainly make those breezy summer days feel a lot easier.

So, if you want to get a headstart on the fleet for next season, then Frostbiting or Winter racing is the way to go.

This post uses some affiliate links. Click here to find out what this means.

Outliers
Malcolm Gladwell

Buy Now
United States
UK & Ireland

Affiliate links

This page uses some affiliate links so, if you click on the link and end up buying an item, I get a small commission. Just like a shop makes a profit when you buy something that they display on their shelves.

The money from this goes to paying the website costs (hosting, plugins, etc.) and buying me the occasional coffee, so any purchase is much appreciated.

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It keeps you fit; it builds skills in the off-season; you make new friends; you learn from good sailors; and it can also give you new experiences that you wouldn’t otherwise have.

A few years ago I was frostbiting out of a club in Dublin. As I sailed out of the harbour a seal bobbed up behind my boat and swam along behind me for a little while, diving down and then popping back up. He was never more than a couple of boatlengths from me, and he was having a good look at what I was up to. He seemed to want to play.

And then, as I approached the harbour wall he had a last look, dived down and swam back into the harbour. It was as if he realised only someone crazy would venture out of the nice, calm harbour.

He was probably right.

The incident struck me more than it probably should have. It’s unusual, but nothing life-changing. But there was something strangely peaceful and personal about it. After a busy week, and then a busy boat-park, and with my mind on work, or race strategy, or family, it was a moment out of normal life. It was different.

The funny thing is, I didn’t tell anybody about my short encounter for several weeks. Not on purpose, I actually forgot. It had been a strange day’s racing, with the wind swinging 180 degrees so that for much of the first race we were surfing upwind on one tack, and lurching with a cross-swell coming from leeward on the other. And I’d done quite well, with a couple of top 5 places, and so, somehow, the seal was forgotten. It is amazing how quickly life takes over again.

But whenever I think of it I can remember that sense of other, of something else in life than the day-to-day, and it makes me happy.

I’m glad I went frostbiting that day.

First Published September 2014

The post Frostbiting is Good for the Soul appeared first on THE FINAL BEAT.

It’s Frostbiting time of year again,
And so I pull out my trusty pen
And start to fill in the entry form,
When slowly memories begin to dawn

Not of that second place I got
Nor of the time I overtook Scott,
But rather of waves fifteen feet tall,
(alright, they were four feet, but they didn’t feel small);

And of breaking ice off my Laser’s cover
While trying to remember why I bother
To spend my Sundays in the shivering cold
Starting two races (and both times being rolled
Off the line by someone I otherwise like,
But who, in those moments I could stab with a spike).

I think and think, and I’m about to give up
And put my pen in my pen-holding cup
And throw the form in the wastepaper bin
When suddenly a thought begins to seep in.

If I don’t enter I’ll spend the whole time
Checking the forecast (it’ll probably be fine)
And thinking “Force 2? I could’ve done well”
Or “Twenty knots – there’d be a nice swell”

And I’ll imagine the reaches where you can’t breathe for the spray
Or the gybe mark where my only hope is to pray
Or getting a start that is as I intended
(Yes, I’m heading to a place where reality’s suspended)

And I realise that I will have to take part,
If only to prove I was right from the start.

Amazing, right?

I know what you’re thinking.

You’re thinking that I should have warned you that you were about to read something life-changing. Something Earth-shatteringly brilliant.

And you’re probably right.

Still, it’s pretty great to think that you are among the first to read this great addition to a strong literary canon of sailing poetry. Just think, your children and grandchildren will probably be studying this poem in the future, hunched over their textbooks, the classroom hushed, a sense of awe pervading the room.

Some of you (I call you ‘doubters’, but others might describe you as ‘people with at least a basic education’) may be thinking “That’s not a poem, it’s a rhyme. At best.” To you I would say this:

1. I am not bound by the poetical cliches of metaphor and simile, of themes and motifs. I am above these techniques, and my writing is pure.
2. If I had used proper literary techniques then it would have taken me a lot longer than 5 minutes to bang this poem out, and I’ve got other things to do.

So there you are – my gift to humanity.

You’re welcome.

First Published September 2014

The post An Ode to Frostbiting appeared first on THE FINAL BEAT.

• What the Experts Say
• Videos for Race Analysis
• Books for Race Analysis
• Links for Race Analysis
• What We Learned

What the Experts Say

This section will be completed soon…

Videos for Race Analysis

Charlie Cumbley analyses a race (with Andy Rice) at the GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series event at Rutland Sailing Club:

The ever-brilliant Mozzy Sails on his European Championship 2023 win:

2-Time World Champion Marc Jacobi analyses a frostbiting race:

Books with information on Race Analysis

This section will be completed soon…

Websites and online articles for Race Analysis

Some Race Analysis of races at the London 2012 Olympics from the Improper Course blog:

Women’s Laser Radial:

• Women’s Laser Radial Medal Race

Men’s Laser:

• Men’s Laser Race 4 (Skim down past some photos at the top – admiring them as you go -for the race comments)
• Men’s Laser Race 6 (Again, skim past the top photos for the race comments)
• Men’s Laser Race 7 and Race 8
• Men’s Laser Race 9 (Really nice analysis here of how to win a championship race)
• Men’s Laser Medal Race (The Men\’s analysis follows the Women\’s Radial analysis)

Finn

• Finn Race 7 and Race 8
• Finn Medal Race (The Finn analysis follows the Star analysis)

Star

• Star Medal Race

Women’s Match Racing

• Women’s Match Racing Semi-Final

Andrew Scrivan analyses a day’s racing in Lasers

It is worth taking notes on your racing, and also on what was in your mind at the time of racing. When reviewing later it can remind you of things that you may have forgotten. This is a good example of someone thinking about their racing.

Njord Analytics – software to help you analyse your racing in depth.

What We Learned…

This section will be completed soon…

The post Race Analysis for Sailors appeared first on THE FINAL BEAT.

• Sailing Clubs in Delaware
• Sailing Clubs in Maryland
• Sailing Clubs in New Jersey
• Sailing Clubs in New York
• Sailing Clubs in Pennsylvania
• Sailing Clubs in Washington D.C.

More information about dinghy sailing in the Mid-Atlantic and the US can be found on the US Sailing Website

Delaware

Yacht Clubs and Sailing Clubs in Delaware that have dinghy sailing

• Elk River Yacht Club
• Lewes Yacht Club
• New Castle Sailing Club

Other Relevant Institutes and Associations

• Rehoboth Bay Sailing Association

Maryland

Yacht Clubs and Sailing Clubs in Maryland that have dinghy sailing

• Annapolis Yacht Club
• Baltimore Yacht Club
• Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club
• Chesapeake Bay Boating Club
• Corsica River Yacht Club
• Deep Creek Yacht Club
• Eastport Yacht Club
• Gibson Island Yacht Squadron
• Havre de Grace Yacht Club
• Indian Landing Boat Club
• Miles River Yacht Club
• North East River Yacht Club
• Parklawn Sailing Association
• Rock Hall Yacht Club
• Severn Sailing Association
• St Mary\’s River Yacht Club
• Tred Avon Yacht Club
• West River Sailing Club
• Yacht Club of Cape St Claire

Other Relevant Institutes and Associations

• Baltimore County Sailing Center
• Downtown Sailing Center
• Glenmar Sailing Association
• Sailing Center Chesapeake

New Jersey

Yacht Clubs and Sailing Clubs in New Jersey that have dinghy sailing

• Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club
• Avalon Yacht Club
• Barnegat Light Yacht Club
• Bay Head Yacht Club
• Beachwood Yacht Club
• Brant Beach Yacht Club
• Brigantine Yacht Club
• Corinthian Yacht Club of Cape May
• Haven Beach Club
• Hunterdon Sailing Club
• Island Heights Yacht Club
• Keyport Yacht Club
• Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club
• Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club
• Long Beach Island Yacht Racing Association
• Manasquan River Yacht Club
• Mantoloking Yacht Club
• Metedeconk River Yacht Club
• Minsceongo Yacht Club
• Monmouth Boat Club
• Ocean City Yacht Club
• Ocean Gate Yacht Club
• Rariton Yacht Club
• Red Dragon Canoe Club
• Riverton Yacht Club
• Rumson Country Club
• Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club
• Shore Acres Yacht Club
• Shrewsbury Sailing and Yacht Club
• Spray Beach Yacht Club
• Surf City Yacht Club
• Toms River Yacht Club
• Windjammers Sailing Club
• Yacht Club of Sea Isle City

New York

Yacht Clubs and Sailing Clubs in New York that have dinghy sailing

• Babylon Yacht Club
• Bay Shore Yacht Club
• Beach Point Yacht Club
• Beacon Sloop Club
• Breakwater Yacht Club
• Brockport Yacht Club
• Buffalo Harbor Sailing Club
• Buffalo Yacht Club
• Centrepoint Yacht Club
• Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club
• Chelsea Yacht Club
• City Island Yacht Club
• Cold Spring Harbor Beach Club
• Crescent Yacht Club
• Cuba Lake Yacht Club
• Devon Yacht Club
• Dunkirk Yacht Club
• Fishers Island Yacht Club
• Genesee Yacht Club
• Great South Bay Yacht Racing Association
• Harlem Yacht Club
• Hempstead Bay Sailing Club
• Hempstead Harbor Club
• Hook Mountain Yacht Club
• Horseshoe Harbor Yacht Club
• Hudson Cove Yacht Club
• Huntington Yacht Club
• Ithaca Yacht Club
• Keuka Yacht Club
• Lake George Club
• Larchmont Yacht Club
• Little Peconic Yacht Club
• Lloyd Harbor Yacht Club
• Locust Point Yacht Club
• Mamaroneck Frostbite Association
• Manhasset Bay Yacht Club
• Mayfield Yacht Club
• Midget Squadron Yacht Club
• Miramar Yacht Club
• Narrasketuck Yacht Club
• Newport Yacht Club
• Niagara Sailing Club
• Northern Lake George Yacht Club
• Northport Yacht Club
• Nyack Boat Club
• Olcott Yacht Club
• Old Cove Yacht Club
• Orient Yacht Club
• Orienta Yacht Club
• Oswego Yacht Club
• Otsego Sailing Club
• Owasco Yacht Club
• Polish Sailing Club
• Port Washington Yacht Club
• Quaker Lake Yacht Racing Club
• Richmond County Yacht Club
• Riverdale Yacht Club
• Rochester Canoe Club
• Rochester Corinthian Sailing Club
• Rochester Yacht Club
• Sag Harbor Yacht Club
• Saltaire Yacht Club
• Saratoga Lake Sailing Club
• Sayville Yacht Club
• Sea Cliff Yacht Club
• Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club
• Sebago Canoe Club
• Seneca Yacht Club
• Setauket Yacht Club
• Shattemuc Yacht Club
• Sodus Bay Yacht Club
• Shelter Island Yacht Club
• Southampton Yacht Club
• Southold Yacht Club
• Storm Trysail Foundation
• The Douglaston Club
• Unqua Corinthian Yacht Club
• Valocur Sailing Club
• Westhampton Yacht Squadron
• Willow Bank Yacht Club
• Youngstown Yacht Club

Pennsylvania

Yacht Clubs and Sailing Clubs in Pennsylvania that have dinghy sailing

• Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia
• Erie Yacht Club
• Harveys Lake Yacht Club
• Lake Glendale Sailing Club
• Lake Wallenpaupack Yacht Club
• Marsh Creek Sailing Club
• Moraine Sailing Club
• Nockamixon Sail Club
• Pymatuning Sailing Club
• Pymatuning Yacht Club
• Rose Valley Sailing Club

Washington D.C.

The post Sailing Clubs in the Mid-Atlantic, USA appeared first on THE FINAL BEAT.

• Sailing Clubs in Connecticut
• Sailing Clubs in Maine
• Sailing Clubs in Massachusetts
• Sailing Clubs in New Hampshire
• Sailing Clubs in Rhode Island
• Sailing Clubs in Vermont

More information about dinghy sailing in New England and the US can be found on the US Sailing Website

Connecticut

Yacht Clubs and Sailing Clubs in Connecticut that have dinghy sailing

• Bantam Lake Yacht Club
• Black Rock Yacht Club
• Bolton Lake Sailing Club
• Candlewood Yacht Club
• Cedar Point Yacht Club
• Essex Yacht Club*
• Fayerweather Yacht Club*
• Frostbite Yacht Club
• Greenhaven Sailing Club
• Groton Long Point Yacht Club
• Guilford Yacht Club
• Hamburg Cove Yacht Club
• Indian Harbor Yacht Club
• Milford Yacht Club
• Niantic Bay Yacht Club
• Noroton Yacht Club
• North Cove Yacht Club*
• Norwalk Yacht Club
• Off Soundings Club*
• Old Greenwich Yacht Club*
• Pequot Yacht Club
• Pettipaug Yacht Club
• Ram Island Yacht Club
• Riverside Yacht Club
• Rowayton Yacht Club
• Sachem\’s Head Yacht Club
• Shennecossett Yacht Club*
• Shoreline Sailing Club
• Smith Cove Yacht Club*
• South Norwalk Boat Club
• Sprite Island Yacht Club
• Stamford Yacht Club
• Stonington Dinghy Club
• Stonington Harbor Yacht Club
• Thames Yacht Club
• Belle Haven Club (participate in Greenwich Laser Racing)
• The Shore and Country Club
• Thimble Islands Sailing Club
• Wadawanuck Yacht Club
• Weekapaug Yacht Club
• West Cove Yacht Club*
• Wilson Cove Yacht Club
• Windjammers Sailing Club
• Yale Corinthian Yacht Club

Other ClubsMadison Beach Club – see Laser District 7 Fleets page

Yacht Clubs and Sailing Clubs in Connecticut that only facilitate yacht sailing

• Branford Yacht Club*
• Duck Island Yacht Club*
• Essex Corinthian Yacht Club*
• Fenwick Yacht Club*
• Formosa Yacht Club
• Halloween Yacht Club*
• Housatonic Boat Club*
• Mason\’s Island Yacht Club*
• Minuteman Yacht Club
• Mystic River Yacht Club*
• New Haven Yacht Club
• Pattaconk Yacht Club*
• Pine Orchard Yacht and Country Club*

Maine

• Agamenticus Yacht Club
• Biddeford Pool Yacht Club
• Bucks Harbor Yacht Club
• Cabadetis Boat Club*
• Camden Yacht Club*
• Castine Yacht Club
• Center Harbor Yacht Club
• Centerboard Yacht Club
• Harraseeket Yacht Club
• Kollegewidgewok Yacht Club
• Lincolnville Boat Club
• Northeast Harbor Fleet
• Northport Yacht Club*
• Orrs Bailey Yacht Club*
• Petit Manan Yacht Club*
• Portland Yacht Club
• Portsmouth Navy Yacht Club*
• Prouts Neck Yacht Club*
• Rockland Yacht Club*
• Rockport Boat Club*
• Sorrento Yacht Club*
• Southport Yacht Club
• Southwest Harbor Fleet*
• Tarratine Club of Dark Harbor*
• Taylor Pond Yacht Club
• Winter Harbor Yacht Club

Other Clubs

Thomaston Laser Fleet – see Laser District 7 Fleets page

Massachusetts

• Allen Harbor Yacht Club*
• American Yacht Club
• Annisquam Yacht Club
• Barnstable Yacht Club*
• Bass River Yacht Club
• Beverly Yacht Club
• Blue Water Sailing Club*
• Boston Yacht Club*
• The Buzzards Yacht Club
• Chapoquoit Yacht Club
• Chatham Yacht Club
• Cohasset Sailing Club
• Coles River Club
• Corinthian Yacht Club*
• Cottage Park Yacht Club
• Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club
• Dennis Yacht Club
• Dolphin Yacht Club*
• Duxbury Yacht Club*
• Eastern Point Yacht Club*
• Eastern Yacht Club
• Edgartown Yacht Club
• Falmouth Yacht Club
• Grand Cove Yacht Club
• Great Harbor Yacht Club
• Green Pond Yacht Club
• Hingham Yacht Club
• Hull Yacht Club
• Hyannis Port Yacht Club
• Hyannis Yacht Club
• Jubilee Yacht Club
• Low Tide Yacht Club
• Manchester Harbor Boat Club
• Manchester Sailing Association
• Manchester Yacht Club
• Massapoag Yacht Club
• Mattapoisett Yacht Club
• Medford Boat Club
• Nahant Dory Club
• Namequoit Sailing Association
• Nantucket Yacht Club
• New Bedford Yacht Club
• Orleans Yacht Club
• Palmers Cove Yacht Club
• Pleon Yacht Club
• Plymouth Yacht Club
• Quannapowitt Yacht Club
• Quissett Yacht Club
• Sandy Bay Yacht Club
• Savin Hill Yacht Club
• Scituate Harbor Yacht Club
• Sherborn Yacht Club
• South Boston Yacht Club
• South Shore Yacht Club
• Spindle Rock Club
• Springfield Yacht and Canoe Club
• Squantum Yacht Club
• Stage Harbor Yacht Club
• Stone Horse Yacht Club
• Tabor Academy Boat Club
• Vineyard Haven Yacht Club
• Waquoit Bay Yacht Club
• West Dennis Yacht Club
• Wianno Yacht Club
• Wild Harbor Yacht Club
• Winchester Boat Club
• Wellfleet Yacht Club
• Wequaquet Lake Yacht Club
• Wessagussett Yacht Club
• Woods Hole Yacht Club

Other Clubs

Sail Salem Laser Fleet – see Laser District 7 Fleets page

New Hampshire

• Dublin Lake Club
• Kittery Point Yacht Club
• Mascoma Sailing Club
• Massabesic Yacht Club
• Monomonac Lake Sailing Association
• Winnipesaukee Yacht Club
• Shaker Village Sailing Club – see Laser District 7 Fleets page
• Newport Laser Fleet 413 – see Laser District 7 Fleets page

Rhode Island

• Barrington Yacht Club
• Block Island Club
• Bristol Yacht Club
• Coasters Harbor Navy Yacht Club
• Conanicut Yacht Club
• East Greenwich Yacht Club
• Edgewood Yacht Club
• Ida Lewis Yacht Club
• Jamestown Yacht Club
• Narragansett Terrace Yacht Club
• New York Yacht Club
• Newport Yacht Club
• Rhode Island Yacht Club
• Sakonnet Yacht Club
• Saunderstown Yacht Club
• Thames St International Yacht and Athletic Club
• Tiverton Yacht Club
• Twenty Hundred Club
• Watch Hill Yacht Club
• Weekapaug Yacht Club
• West Bay Yacht Club
• Wickford Yacht Club

Vermont

• Lake Champlain Yacht Club
• Malletts Bay Boat Club
• Memphremagog Yacht Club
• Royal Savage Yacht Club

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Note: the information on this page is for the Standard Rig. We’ll be producing pages for the Radial, 4.7 and Rooster 8.1 rigs as soon as possible.

About the Laser / ILCA

One of the most popular dinghies in the world, with over 200,000 boats worldwide, the Laser is a competitive one-design for one person. Simple to rig and easy to sail (though not to sail well) there are fleets all over the world, with plenty of competitive racing thanks to the tight class rules which mean that there are virtually no differences between equipment from one sailor to the next.

Designed by Bruce Kirby and Ian Bruce, the hulls are constructed from GRP. They were designed to be car-top-able, and are easily transported on a roof-rack or road trailer. Their popularity, good performance and close racing led to them becoming an Olympic Class in 1996, an honour still held today. Many great sailors, past and present, have sailed within the class since it became popular in the 1970s.

The boat rewards good fitness, and can be challenging to sail, both upwind and downwind. It is also quick to plane, making it an exciting dinghy to sail.

The class also has Radial and 4.7 rigs for smaller sailors (as well as an unofficial 8.1 rig for bigger sailors), and is active through a range of age groups. There are championships for youth sailors, but also for 35 and over sailors – namely the Masters. With world championships for the 35 to 44 (Apprentice Master), 45 to 54 (Master), 55 to 64 Grand Master) and 65+ (Great Grand Master), this is a highly skilled and very competitive form of racing.

Videos for Laser Sailing

There are literally thousands of videos available, so this is just a selection of our favourites. If you are looking for particular skills to practice then click on our Categories page and choose the area you wish to improve. The chances are that there’ll be a Laser video there.

Tom Slingsby, Olympic Gold medallist and America’s Cup winner, has fun in a breeze:

The legendary Robert Scheidt (another Olympic Gold medallist) sailing upwind and downwind:

Paul Goodison, also an Olympic Gold medallist, shows how to rig the boat and be on the water in less than 10 minutes:

There are more hints and tips from Paul Goodison on YouTube here.

Ok, so we’ve had a lot of Olympic Gold medallists already, so we might as well get a few tips from Ben Ainslie as well. Here he is on starting:

There are lots more videos by Ben Ainslie here

Brendan Casey demonstrating and describing downwind sailing techniques:

Here’s another good video for body positioning when sailing downwind.

Jon Emmett, author of Be Your Own Sailing Coach and multiple champion, demonstrates loads of key skills in the videos on his YouTube Channel

A short guide to the class by Olympic Gold Medallist Tom Burton

Books for Laser Sailing

The Top 3

Paul Goodison’s book is my favourite, being up-to-date and covering a lot of ground. Ben Ainslie’s is, of course, well worth reading – the only draw back is some of the rigging information is slightly out of date. Tim Davison’s book is a good all-rounder.

Other Great Class-Specific Books

I really love the Ben Tan book – Complete Introduction to Laser Racing because it covers so much ground and has a range of great comtributors. It’s tough to get hold of it now, though, which is the only reason it didn’t make the Top 3. The Dick Tillman book is also an old favourite, but it is a little dated now, as is Glenn Bourke’s famous and much loved classic.

General Books Useful for Laser Sailors

The Bestsellers

These three books will help any sailor improve in any class of boat.

Sailing Fitness

You need to be physically fit to do well – even just a little bit of all-round fitness can improve your results a lot. These books are all helpful in designing a program that works for you. My favourite is Sailing Fitness & Training by Michael Blackburn.

Psychology

Getting your head right can be as important as getting your technique right. These books will all help with this area, and the Eric Twiname book, Sail, Race and Win is possibly my all-time favourite book on how to improve your sailing

Books for Self-Coaching by Olympic Coach Jon Emmett

Jon Emmett coached Lijia Xu to an Olympic Gold Medal, and is a multiple World Champion himself. These well written books share the secrets of how to coach yourself and improve your sailing.

Sailing Technique and Performance Books by Frank Bethwaite

Frank Bethwaite is a bit of a legend – relentless in his pursuit to understand high performance race craft. His two bigger books (High Performance Sailing and Higher Performance Sailing) can be quite dense to read while Fast Handling Techniques is lighter and easier to read. All are hugely important.

…and finally, Three Absolute Classics

These three books are nailed-on classics – books that have helped generations of sailors and are still relevant today. Start to Win is a good, relatively basic book that will help get you to the front of the fleet; Winning in One Designs is widely regarded as essential reading for one-design sailors; and Advanced Racing Tactics is more in-depth, is a tougher read, but will help with a lot of in-race strategy.

Links for Laser Sailors

Class Information

The International Class Association

Class Associations by country:

• The Australian Laser site
• The Irish Laser site
• The New Zealand Laser site
• The North American Laser site (and the District 11 North American site)
• The South African Laser site
• The UK Laser site
• The Andorran Laser site
• The Argentinian Laser site
• The Austrian Laser site
• The Belgian Laser site
• The Brazilian Laser site
• The Czech Republic Laser site
• The Danish Laser site
• The Dutch Laser site
• The Finnish Laser site
• The French Laser site
• The German Laser site
• The Hungarian Laser site
• The Indian Laser site
• The Italian Laser site
• The Mexican Laser site
• The Norwegian Laser site
• The Peruvian Laser site
• The Spanish Laser site
• The Swiss Laser site
• The Swedish Laser site

The ISAF microsite

Wikipedia page for the Laser

Boat Set-up, Boat Handling and Other Tips

• The Club Sailor website tips for Laser sailors
• LaserSailingTips.com
• I’m a big fan of these Words of Wisdom articles, written by race winners describing what they did to win. Useful stuff.
• SailLaser sailing school website
• A discussion on unofficial “practice” sails on the Sailing World website
• Four good blog posts on choosing between a Radial rig and a full rig – here and here and here and here
• A great up-to-date video on some hardware set up – tiller, kicker, downhaul, outhaul and toestrap.
• Videos for marking your outhaul – here and here
• A video for repairing the daggerboard and rudder
• A video with various ways of setting up a toe-strap adjustment system
• A video for repairing a broken self-bailer
• A video tip for marking the mainsheet to help with downwind sailing. They also have a video for rigging your mainsheet here.
• There are some useful tips for what to look for when buying a second-hand boat on this page.
• A nice photo article on setting up the control lines properly.

Blogs and Blog Posts

Our favourite blogs:

• Proper Course – Tillerman’s gold-standard blog
• Improper Course – by Doug and Pam
• Center of Effort blog

Those are our favourite blogs, but there are loads more good ones out there. Here’s a good selection in alphabetical order:

• 100 Races
• Apparent Wind blog
• Christine Neville’s blog
• Earwigoagin has a lot of posts relating to Lasers and Laser sailing
• Jon Emmett’s blog
• Laser Sailing Tips blog
• Laser Salience
• Marc Jacobi’s blog
• Pavlos Kontides’ blog
• Reaching Broadly
• Scott Young Sailing

A Laser Forum on SailingForums.com

The Vital Statistics

Suggested sailor weight range: 75kg-90kg (ideal weight range is 78kg-83kg)

• Hull Material GRP (classic boats wood)
• Year Designed: 1969
• Hull Length 4.2 metres
• Beam 1.39 metres
• Mainsail Area 7.06 square metres
• Hull Weight 58.97 kg

Who’s Who in Lasers

Bruce Kirby – designer

Robert Scheidt – Class legend and multiple world and Olympic champion. Check out the Videos section to see him in action.

Ben Ainslie – Former class Olympic Gold Medallist, four time sailing Olympic Gold medallist and America’s Cup winner. Check out the Books section for his book, and the Videos section to see him in action.

Tom Slingsby – reigning Olympic Gold Medallist and America’s Cup winner. Check out the Videos section to see him in action – it’s well worth a look.

Paul Goodison – 2008 Olympic Gold medallist. Check out the Books section to see his comprehensive, class specific book. Also have a look in the Videos section to see him in action.

John Bertrand

Michael Blackburn – Olympic medallist, Olympic coach, fitness guru and author of the wonderful Sailing Fitness and Training

Tom Burton

Rasmus Mygren

Diego Romero

Vasilij Zbogar

Andreas Geritzer

Peter Moberg

Nick Thompson – World Champion (2015 & 2016)

Our Blog Posts Featuring Lasers

• Why People don’t Protest Each Other (and Why They Should)
• Trigger’s Broom and My Ever Shrinking List of Sailing Excuses
• How to Fix Anything on Your Boat in Just 23 Steps
• How Laylines Can Improve Your Day
• Learning Not to Death Roll
• An Ode to Frostbiting
• Frostbiting is Good for the Soul
• Would George Clooney Improve His Sailing Quicker than You?
• One Coach, Two Capsizes and Three Lessons Learned

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