The boat we have all sailed and loved has changed little in the past nearly 50 years. The racing has remained the same yet the sails have gotten more durable, the lines and rigging easier to adjust, and now the name we’ve all been used to is changing as well. The boat is going to start being referred to as the ILCA Dinghy as part of the ILCA Class. Any boat that was sold as a Laser before 2020 can race as an ILCA Dinghy and new ILCA Dinghies are now becoming available from multiple builders. There will still be standard, radial, and 4.7 rigs.
What does that mean for us? Very little in terms of the racing …
We are planning to dispose of all remaining abandoned boats in the Laser racks next to the Junior Shed. The old racks will be disposed of as well, and new storage for the club’s 420s will be installed. While the “Laser Graveyard” has a certain rustic appeal, we will end up with a much neater and useful space.
Unclaimed Lasers are available for club members to take, but must be removed from property by December 13th. Please note that these boats are going to need a lot of work and most have hull integrity issues.
This year we had great participation in the Laser Series with 55 total sailors taking part in either Standard or Radial racing. The standards sailed 19 races over 4 days while the radials sailed 14 races over 3 days. The 5 day series consists of one spring, 2 summer, one fall and one frostbite race days. Only the first summer race was canceled for lack of wind. To qualify for series scoring, a sailor needed to participate in 50% of the races in the series.
Sunday was the final day of the Laser Series and the the final event of the One Design schedule for 2020 and it was a perfectly light day to end on. The forecast all day was for nothing and it was delivering. Those who sailed Saturday had the same forecast and knew the wind came in around 1 and so we waited. Sure enough an easterly breeze of 4-7 came in and we were able to sail 5 races with 9 boats right up in Fishing Bay just off the docks.
Mike Toms had a great first race – getting a lead and not letting it go. In the 2nd race James Jacob lead the fleet around the course while …
Hurricanes, high tides, power outages have not stopped the Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters before, and neither would a global pandemic this year. The event looked a little different on shore and the social and dinner was a little subdued with social distancing and other precautions in place to keep everyone safe. Fortunately for single-handed sailing – the social distancing was only briefly violated at a few mark roundings and most violated was the weather mark itself.
The sailing was as good as it’s ever been – the fleet was greeted with 16-20 knots of wind out of the NNE and had a blast sailing in the slightly shifty condition and flat water on the far side of the river in Godfrey …
A little rain and drizzle couldn’t keep the Lasers from sailing in FBYC’s Laser Fall Regatta. 14 full rigs and 4 radials sailed 5 races in what started as 11-13 knots and dropped to 6-8 by the last race. Many sailors used this as a tune up for the 39th Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship at FBYC next weekend including a few Annapolis sailors.
The fleet all sailed very well and was fun to sail with. Evan Hoffman (SDYC) a Snipe Sailor from Richmond and former ODU sailor got out to a great start with a bullet in the first race in his first time in a Laser in years. Evan would end up 2nd overall on the …
The Laser Fleet will be out sailing this Saturday in the Laser Fall Regatta. This will be a great tune up for the 39th Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship the following weekend. Right now conditions for Saturday look fantastic, temperatures reaching the 70s, winds in the low teens and very little chance of rain.
The Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship carries a long tradition of continuing no matter what is thrown our way. This year will be another chapter adding pandemic to the power outages, hurricanes and high water we've endured on regatta weekends. We will have to make a few changes to do things safely this year, but we hope to be able to have just as much fun sailing and socializing socially distanced. We look forward to having you join us and thank you for helping us make this a safe and successful event.
Registration for the 39th Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship is now open. Head over to the event website for the Notice of Race and all of the information …
It was a beautiful day to get back to racing for the Lasers, Radials and Flying Scots. 5 Scots sailed with a dozen Lasers and another 10 or so Radials in 4 races on sunny but cool day with light winds 9-12 out of the ENE. Lew Thatcher and the crew of Catitude headed up the Race Committee while Paul Almany was on station snapping some pictures.
The next Laser racing at FBYC will be with the Long Distance Race at 7/4 and the Laser Summer Regatta on 7/18.
FBYC Sailors have been active racing in socially distant races at Norfolk Yacht and Country Club with 36 boats and some very competitive racing. Results and write up: https://laserdistrict11.wordpress.com/2020/06/04/2020-nycc-spring-regatta-results/
High water and impassible roads couldn’t keep the Laser Masters from sailing this weekend. Extremely high tides due to a harvest moon and a Nor’easter off the coast made Fishing Bay Road nearly impassible in 6-8+ inches of water at times. The road and Fishing Bay dock were still underwater at some of the low tides over the weekend.
On Saturday everyone arrived plenty early ahead of the mid-morning high tide and rigged and waited for the right wind. After a 2-hour postponement the wind filled in and 36 boats filed out to get in some races in the afternoon.
The wind filled in out of the SSE for 3 races with the first being won by Gavin …
The 38th Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship is just over a week away and the event is set to feature all of the things it is known for – great racing, amazing food, dedicated volunteers and a fantastic group of competitors who are fun to sail and hang out with. This year competitors are coming from as far away as Florida, New Jersey, and beyond and also includes closer by contingents from Annapolis and the tidewater area. A couple competitors are even tuning up for the regatta by sailing the Laser Masters North American Championship in Marblehead MA this coming weekend. Those that aren’t tuning up in Marblehead will be sailing on Saturday in the Laser Fall Regatta at FBYC …
FBYC would like to welcome Laser Masters back to Deltaville for the 38th Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship on October 12-13. Registration is now open.
Why do Laser sailors come back to FBYC year after year?
Alain Vincey's famously fantastic regatta dinner
Plenty of room to rig and launch
An open racing area with little power boat traffic
On Sunday Race Committee recruits got some hands on practice starting races and operating Mr. Roberts. David Clark and Rick Klein led the class and were eventually banished to the bow of Mr. Roberts as the recruits got comfortable with the procedures.
6 Lasers were there to practice starts for the RC and simulate some real-world start situations like when boats are over early or when a signal boat drags anchor. Thanks to Mike Toms for organizing and Finn Ciszewski, Britt Drake, Jess Hardin, Jon Deutsch and Paul Almany for coming out and sailing.
Saturday gave us probably the nicest weather we've had in a long time for an opening day for the One Design Division at FBYC. 6 Lasers sailed 5 races in a breeze that built from 8 to 15+ knots under partly cloudy skies. Junior Finn Ciszeweski sailed a standard rig sail for the first time and was very fast downwind and competitive all the way around the course. Dave Tabor joined the club this spring and was sailing his first Laser regatta at the club - welcome to the fleet! Guests Trip Ivey and Britt Drake made the trip from Richmond and VA Beach to join us for the day. Mike Toms executed his signature move by port tacking the fleet …
The Laser Fleet finished their season on Sunday at the Laser Frostbite Regatta that turned out to be a perfect fall day of air and water temperature around 60 degrees. The wind started out of the east at 13 and shifted around to the north and dropped to 8 by the time 5 races were sailed.
14 sailors attended including guests from Alexandria, Washington DC, Eastern North Carolina, Virginia Beach and Richmond. PRO Henry Latell and his crew of Bob Fleck and Jerry Latell ran the races and kept up with the changing winds.
James Jacob was the most consistent of the group winning 4 out of 5 races. Charlie Brewer was a close 2nd overall winning 1 race and …
Fifty-One Lasers were in Deltaville at Fishing Bay Yacht Club for the Laser Masters Atlantic Coast Championship this weekend where Rob Hallawell (USSCMC) won the overall title. Thursday night the remnants of Hurricane Michael roared through eastern Virginia knocking boats down in the dry sail area and leaving the club without power until Sunday morning. With some ingenuity, creativity and resourcefulness from Brian Akram, Eric, Mayo Tabb and Bob Fleck – generators were wired into the critical systems to inflate marks, lower boat lifts, refrigerate food, power kitchen appliances, light the bathrooms and power the water system.
The sailors were undeterred by the lack of lights, cold showers, no running water in residences they were staying at and not a single …
The Laser Masters Atlantic Coast Championship kicks off this weekend with the largest single fleet of the year approaching 50 boats sailing in the waters of the Piankatank. Competitors are coming from as far as Michigan, Colorado, New York and Canada for the not-to-be-missed annual laser masters regatta at FBYC.
This years uninvited guest is hurricane Michael that due to skirt the area in the early morning hours Friday as a strong storm and should be mostly passed by the time competitors are arriving Friday evening.
As always the regatta features an amazing meal of filet minon and salmon by fleet member Alain Vincey and Rick Klein is back as PRO with a great crew.
Laser Masters sailors are coming from across the country to the Laser Masters Atlantic Coast Championship at Fishing Bay Yacht Club October 13-14. Over 30 boats are already registered hailing from New York, Michigan, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC. FBYC’s Masters events feature great sailing, an easy to launch location, experience race committee and a not-to-be-missed dinner by FBYC’s own Laser-sailing chef – Alain Vincey. From Apprentices to Legends – there will be competition at all levels.
Register before Tuesday to receive a discounted registration fee!
Want to see what FBYC Laser Masters Regattas are like? Check out this video:
