Laser 4.7: All You Need to Know! A Webinar with Coach Agustin Ferrario

A Webinar to Discover the Amazingly Successful Laser of the Teens!

The Laser 4.7, the smallest of the three Laser rigs, has steadily grown to become immensely popular in Europe. In North America, there is growing interest in the Laser 4.7, with fleets emerging in locations such as Nova Scotia, Florida, Ontario and Alberta. Trends are really encouraging. There were 66 participants in the 4.7 at the Canadian Youth Nationals this past August in Kingston, Ontario. This upcoming week-end, there are nearly 30 registrations for the Florida District championships in the Laser 4.7. There is an even higher number of registrations for the upcoming Orange Bowl Youth Regatta in Miami. Globally, it's in Europe that the Laser 4.7 is the most established, with huge fleets regularly exceeding 400 participants.


With increasingly large numbers of sailors graduating each year out of the Optimist, as well as classes such as the O’Pen Skiff, the Laser 4.7 offers an opportunity for a smooth transition with a single-handed boat that is particularly suited to teenagers. While the Laser 4.7 is a proven and highly successful boat, there are still coaches, club officials and parents who remain on the fence, not convinced that the Laser 4.7 is the right way to go for single-handed sailing after the Optimist. This webinar seeks to address the concerns usually heard about the 4.7.

This webinar presents the Laser 4.7, how the racing looks like, who the Laser 4.7 youth sailors are, the characteristics of the boat, the various aspects to consider to transition in the boat, and also to transition out of it after say 2, 3 or 4 years, according to the particular situation of the sailor. The webinar presents many pictures as well as video clips, to visualize what Laser 4.7 sailing is all about.

Based on the succesful experience in growing the Laser 4.7 in Nova Scotia, the webinar addresses key questions one typically has about the 4.7, and how to grow, in practice, a fleet at the level of your club or region.

See below a more detailed outline of the webinar, which is presented by Jean-Pierre Kiekens and Agustin Ferrario.

About the speakers: Jean-Pierre is a youth sailing expert, with extensive knowledge about the Optimist, the Laser, and youth sailing in general. Agustin Ferrario is the head coach of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. He has been instrumental in successfully developing Laser 4.7 fleets in Nova Scotia. He is also regularly involved with the national teams representing Canada at the World Sailing Youth Worlds.

Laser 4.7 Webinar: Outline 

- What about Laser 4.7 racing?
- What about Laser 4.7 sailors?
- Laser 4.7: Key Information
- The 4.7 International Success
- The Laser 4.7 Produces Champions (video)
- The 4.7 as a Platform for Further Singlehanded Skills Development
- When to Transition to the 4.7
- How to Get Started?
- Where in North America?
- RNSYS Experience
- 2019 Laser 4.7 Canadian Youth Nationals and Worlds in Kingston
- North American and World Level Key Events in 2020
- How Does a World Champ Train? (video)
- How to Transition Out of the 4.7
- Sources of further information
- Questions and Answers

Enjoy the webinar. And don't forget to join the Laser 4.7 Discussion Group on Facebook!

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