Laser 4.7 Going Strong in Australia and Florida

With the threat of a new rig made in Australia looming over the future of the Laser 4.7, and the Australian Laser class actively promoting the new rig, one would think that the Laser 4.7 is not successful in Australia.


What is noteworthy, however, from the entry list at the Australian national championships, currently taking place at Sandringham Yacht Club, located in Melbourne, is how strong the Laser 4.7 fleet is.

There are 79 entries in the Laser 4.7, compared to 126 in the Radial, and 69 only in the Standard.



But if one looks at the Australian entries only — many entries in the Standard and the Radial are international, as a preparation for upcoming worlds —, there are 67 entries in the Laser 4.7, compared to 74 in the Radial and just 44 in the Standard.

Yes, the Laser 4.7 is going strong in Australia.

This debunks the suggestion, put forward by the proponents of new rigs for the Laser, that the 4.7 is not successful outside Europe.

Laser 4.7 Also Going Strong in Florida

At the recent Orange Bowl Youth Regatta, in Miami, on Dec 26-30, there were 43 sailors in the Laser 4.7 (compared to 67 in the Radial and just 11 in the Standard).

What was noteworthy at the Orange Bowl Youth Regatta was not only the number of sailors in the Laser 4.7 but also their caliber, with several of them having recently been world class Optimist sailors.

The regatta was won, after a fierce battle, by Jose Arturo Diaz from Sailing Academy of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

As it’s still too often the case in North America, quite a number of sailors in the Radial fleet in Miami should have been in the 4.7.

A year ago, in 2018, there were just 17 entries at the Orange Bowl Youth Regatta in the Laser 4.7.

So, there was a 150% increase in participation in the Laser 4.7 from 2018 to 2019 at the regatta!

Sources:

http://sailingresults.net/sa/results/Overall.aspx?ID=80313.2

https://theclubspot.com/regatta/Qi1WoGEVTA/results

https://www.regattatoolbox.com/results?eventID=fRBwog91A6

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