Our 2022 Schedule is posted and here are some ILCA Sailing highlights to put on your calendar for this year.
Club Series - these are 5 single day events spread throughout the year that count towards the season series using the high point system. Anyone who sails in 50% of the races held qualifies for the series. Some of these race days are sailed during one design events with the other one design boats, and other days will be stand alone days. We'll run a Radial fleet and radial series on the days we have enough boats. There's no entry and first warning times vary depending on the day.
Our fleet has a new name! At the last Board Meeting - the club agreed to begin formally recognizing the Laser Fleet as the ILCA Fleet. The old name will still be used informally and will still appear in some places. Starting this year, all of our events on the event page will be listed as ILCA events. Otherwise it’s the same boat and the same racing we’ve been doing.
Why the new name? Well, the class we sail has changed it's name and this keeps us in line with that change and should prevent any confusion over the equipment and rules we are using to race with. Some more details on that can be found here.
The results for the 2021 FBYC ILCA series have been posted. The season-long series consists of 5 days of racing with Spring, Summer 1 & 2, Fall and Frostbite Regattas. With one day (Frostbite) canceled due to weather the standard fleet sailed 19 races with 21 boats taking part in a race. 5 boats qualified for the series by sailing at least 50% of the races.
The Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters prove that things do get better with age – both the sailors and the regatta itself which celebrated its 40th annual this weekend. Special guests Happy Hubard and Jim Rodgers were both toasted at dinner along with current competitor and Chef Alain Vincey who all sailed in the very first FBYC Masters regatta in 1981. Alain shared the story of how the regatta was founded – in typical fashion sailors sharing a beer after racing labor day weekend decided to bring their boats and race with only the masters the following weekend and such the event was born. 40 years later the tradition continues and hundreds of sailors have taken part over the years.
47 Lasers will take to the waters of Fishing Bay this weekend in what will be the 40th annual Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters. We’re also very excited to honor a few sailors who participated in the inaugural regatta as specials guests at dinner thanks to Alain Vincey, Laser sailor and chef extraordinaire who started the event back in 1981 and has brought this group back together.
It takes a lot to run these regattas and a huge thank you to everyone who has helped over the past 4 decades. This event is special not just for the Laser fleet members at FBYC, but also the guests who come from up and down the east coast, year after year …
Sunday started breezy and sunny for the 8-boat fleet at FBYC’s ILCA Fall Regatta being sailed alongside a 4-boat Flying Scot Fleet. The ½ mile course was set on the south end of Area A just north of the channel with the wind out of the North. David Waiting (SSA) won the first 3 of 5 races to win the day overall. James Jacob (SSA) was two points behind with Jon Deutsch (FBYC) in 3rd another two points behind him.
In the early races the wind was up in the mid-teens, 2 boats retired early and the rest of the boats did well to sail left and pick up the shifts and pressure coming from up the Piankatank …
It's hard to believe it's been 40 years since this event started and is now one of the longest continuously running events at the club.
This year we're extending the scoring to include a Legends division. Instead of having Great Grand Masters covering 65+, GGM will be 65-74 and Legends will cover 75+. This is in line with other masters regattas and will better recognize that age group.
Alain is planning another great dinner and we've got a highly experienced RC group led by Rick Klain back for another year. We'll have a commemorative t-shirt and have …
The ILCA Summer Regatta I on Saturday saw beautiful weather – mostly sunny with winds starting around 12 and building to about 15-16 knots out of the south west. We had 14 boats with 9 ILCA 7 (Standard) and 4 ILCA 6 (Radial) all starting on the same line making things more fun with more boats to race with around the course. Some of the Radial sailors were really fast and were nearby and beating many of the standards around the course. It kept things interesting at mark roundings.
FBYC’s junior coach for the summer, Francisco Renna, put on a clinic in the ILCA 7 (standard) fleet. He was fast all the way around the course and nobody came close …
Laser Clinic – This SATURDAY is a Laser Clinic at FBYC put on by Mike Toms. If you want to learn Laser basics or just revisit some of the things you already know – this is a great opportunity to talk shop and learn some things about the boat. The group will meet at 0900. Sign up and more details at: https://www.fbyc.net/events/2021/210529-training-laser-training/
District 11 Championship – last weekend Norfolk Yacht and Country Club hosted the ILCA District 11 Championship. Fleet members Jon Deutsch and Britt Drake were in attendance. FBYC Junior alum, Alex Jacob, now residing and sailing out of NYCC won the event. This was a great tune up for ILCA Nationals that will be hosted …
The ILCA fleet kicked off the season with the Spring Regatta on Saturday. PRO Rick Klein patiently waited for an hour ashore for the wind to come and when it did we had a perfect course on the far side of the Piankatank and 8-10 knots of breeze from the ESE.
New Member Holly Sears made her ILCA racing debut at FBYC. Chris Rouzie was back and had some good speed mixing it up with Mike and Britt. Alain had a solid end of the day finishing 2nd in the final race. Britt had a lot of solid starts. Mike had some really good upwind speed. Jon stayed on the best side of the shifts most of the day.
Our 2021 Schedule is posted and here are some highlights for ILCA Dinghy/Laser Sailing to put on your calendar for this year.
Club Series - these are 5 single day events spread throughout the year that count towards the season series using the high point system. Anyone who sails in 50% of the races held qualifies for the series. Some of these race days are sailed during one design events with the Flying Scots, and other days will be stand alone days. We'll run a Radial fleet and radial series on the days we have enough boats. There's no entry fee and first warning times vary depending on the day.
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.
