Optimist, Open Skiff, Youth & Olympic Sailing Blog

A new Laser class, called « The Laser Class » - presented as « a class for sailors, by sailors » - was announced today, on the occasion of the RYA Dinghy Show in London. Note: if you haven't done so yet, please read  Sailing and the Coronavirus . The class is supported by a number of Laser sailors until now associated with  EurILCA / ILCA, as well as UK Laser builder LaserPerformance. The Laser Class Interim President is Heini Wellman, from Switzerland, who is the immediate past president of the International Laser Class Association (ILCA). The Laser Class is presented to be a class « For sailors, by sailors - with the original Laser spirit in One Design dinghies. » « Welcome to The Laser Class. Or should I say, welcome to the original One Design Laser Class that we all wanted. I wish we didn’t have to go down this road but it’s time that the largest racing dinghy class also be the most democratic and the most respected. So many around the w...

After several months of silence, here is what LaserPerformance has to say about its relationship with the international Laser class ILCA, the lengthy delays in the tractations with ILCA for a possible reinstatement as an authorized builder, and why it has not signed the paperwork, presented by ILCA, for being reinstated as a builder. LaserPerformance Media Release - 6 February 2020 Why is LaserPerformance still not an approved ILCA Builder? Many Laser sailors have contacted LP and asked why LP has not signed the ILCA Builder’s Agreement, reappointing LP as a Laser Builder. We take this opportunity to update you on the latest developments. In mid-August 2019 the World Council of World Sailing voted for Laser to be the single-handed dinghy sailboat for the 2024 Olympics. This was based on the World Sailing Submission that said the following about LP and PSA: “(c) ILCA is in process to approve LaserPerformance Europe as a builder. LPE has agreed to the terms of approval and ILC...

Today, long time Italian Laser sailor Alessandro Castelli sent this letter to all the European districts. The letter was also published in Sailing Anarchy and, in Italian, on Saily.it. To all the European Laser Districts  Dear Laser District representative,  In its statement released on December 1, 2019 after the Annual General Meeting Eurilca wrote “EurILCA has scheduled an extraordinary EAGM for mid January to make any decision we believe necessary to protect the interests of our sailors, should significant progress on the above points not be apparent.”  This extraordinary General Meeting is now scheduled for March 7, 2020 and I think it’s important that all the district representatives attending the meeting know what their members think about it, because the decisions to be taken will have a fundamental impact on the future of our class. For this reason I propose that every district has a referendum (electronically it’s quick, every member has an em...

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 ...

Here is an update about Laser class developments in this end of the year 2019, a chaotic year for the Laser, which started with the « termination » of the world’s largest builder - LaserPerformance - in March, followed by a controversial and partially reversed name-change in April and the loss to the RS Aero in the World Sailing equipment trials. Yet the Laser was saved by the insistence by World Sailing member countries to keep the boat Olympic. World Sailing then worked with the Laser class on « proposed arrangements » aimed at getting the class to meet antitrust and other requirements. 4.7 ILCA Sail (4.7 Branding Has Been Removed) But the controversial « proposed arrangements » of the Laser class remain to be implemented, and undoubtedly to be legally tested. Meanwhile, there is impatience, particularly in Europe, where shortages of equipment are becoming acute, to the point that the European branch of the Laser class - EurILCA - issued an ultimatum to its mother organization...

Pressed by European Laser sailors, experiencing growing equipment shortages and feeling sidelined in the Laser class decision making, ILCA’s American president and executive secretary were given a tight January 1 2020 ultimatum. In the absence of progress, EurILCA plans « to make any decision we believe necessary to protect the interests of our sailors, » stated the European arm of ILCA, that coordinates Laser activities in 42 countries. The main concern during the EurILCA annual meeting, which took place in Rome, was to find a solution to the shortages of new boats and equipment. « Mr. Eric Faust and Mr. Tracy Usher gently assisted to this European convention representing the International Laser Class Association, and they were asked to provide a satisfactory answer regarding this supplying issue. » « After several hours without finding a satisfactory response, the European representatives decided to write the following Statement … » The EurILCA statement unde...

If you are on Instagram or Facebook, it’s likely you will have seen the various ads for new rigs for the Laser. There are ads by LaserPerformance, promoting their ARC rigs (see picture), and ads by Up Marine, a Honk Kong company selling the C rigs. The ARC rigs were developed by Doyle Sails in the US. The C rigs have been developed in Australia by Bethwaite (cf 29er, 49er, Byte CII). The Laser class president is an  advocate of the C rigs, as can be seen in this video . With the governing body of the Laser class, the World Council, meeting this week-end in the USA, it’s worth looking at what is the popularity of a rig change. It is indeed heard that key individuals running the Laser class would like to further promote the C rigs, and may get ILCA’s Advisory Council and/or World Council to pass a motion accordingly. So how popular is this idea of a rig change? Here are the results of an informal poll posted on a popular Facebook group. This is obviously not claiming to be sc...

With the unresolved trademark issues associated with the Laser, there is confusion with the plaques affixed in the cockpit of the boats. The latest model that came to our attention is from the "Club Edition" Lasers sold by LaserPerformance, at a substantial discount in the UK. The sticker on the left reads "International Class Sailboat" with the Laser name and logo. The right sticker reads 300,254: is it a sail number associated with this non-class boat? Note that this Laser is not recognized by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA), and it therefore is not bearing a World Sailing plaque.   This second picture is the interior of an Australian "ILCA Dinghy." There is no mention of the Laser name. There is a World Sailing plaque with the ILCA mention. ILCA stands for International Laser Class Association. The boat is considered class-legal by the Laser class, as it bears a World Sailing plaque, yet is seen as illegal by LaserPerfor...

Something pretty astounding occurred in Bermuda today. World Sailing voted to replace the RS:X by the iFoil for the 2024 Olympics. Windfoiling is an amazing discipline, yet the rapid selection of this new equipment for the Olympics is truly noteworthy. Indeed, there were several reasons why windfoiling could have been rejected: 1. Windfoiling is really new. Just a few years old, while conventional windsurfing has been around for over 50 years. 2. Windfoiling is still, to a certain extent, an unproven discipline, especially for racing in large fleets, and will probably require new race formats 3. Windfoiling, will undoubtedly generate accidents, injuries, and the proper prevention measures have not yet been fully developed 4. The chosen iFoil equipment has been very recently developed and is barely available world-wide 5. Windfoiling is more present on Youtube than in reality — today, this equipment is simply not present in most countries. 6. As far as World Sailing reg...

While replacement boats were found at the 2019 North Americans last July for those teams with non-compliant Club 420s, no progress has been achieved since to compensate the boat owners for their financial losses. The retailer of the non-compliant boats seems to have shut down his business. Owners of the boats - both private or clubs, are left in limbo. The Club 420 class has been unfortunately of little assistance to the unlucky owners of those boats. The way the Club 420 class dealt with non-compliance can be interestingly contrasted with the way the Laser class dealt in 2015 with non-compliant Lasers . There was drama last July at the Club 420 North Americans at St Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco.  Some 16 boats were prohibited from registering because they did not pass measurement. The boats were PS2000 boats built in China by Far East Boats and retailed by Sturgis Boat Works, based in Yarmouth, MA. The non conforming elements were, according to a July 15 media releas...