A laser is a 14’ fibreglass boat with a single main-sail. It is an Olympic class sailboat, with a huge following all around the world. It is generally sailed by a single person, and certainly raced single-handed. They have a surprising amount of power, which equates to quite a turn of speed when the wind is up above the 15 knot range!
The Narrabeen Lakes Laser Fleet is growing rapidly, as are the skills and experience of the crews. There is a great camaraderie amongst the regulars, and new faces are welcomed with great enthusiasm. Like many others, the Laser sailors were attracted to the class for its simplicity, speed, and close racing that you get from this fantastic one-design class.
The club has a Laser available for those with some sailing skills to ‘have a go’. It is also used as a training tool when we run our sailing school days.
The laser fleet races along the same courses as the Herons, usually starting 5 minutes earlier but tracing a longer course. This makes for some interesting moments when the fleets cross each other, but generally each fleet keeps to themselves. On the short-course days, close racing is assured by starting the Lasers 3 minutes BEHIND the herons, which over a 20 minute course is almost guaranteed to see 2 fleets hit the final bottom mark all at the same time!
For those new to the sport, a laser is a fantastic introduction due to is low cost, simplicity and ease of use. A basic boat will cost you $500, right up to $8000 for a brand new vessel. Due to the simplicity of the laser, you will spend 10 minutes learning how to make it go, and the next 10 years learning how to make it go faster!
For more information, please contact our Class Captain – Chris Schauwecker on 0408 407 204
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