Long distance Laser sailing

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Donald

New Member
I was interested to read about the chap that sailed a Laser across the Bass Strait and was wondering what other long distance/endurance feats have been acheived in lasers. I have been thinking about doing a long distance sail in my Laser as a charity fund-raising event and was wondering what sort of distances are acheivable for someone that isn't an olympic athlete.
 
Donald said:
I was interested to read about the chap that sailed a Laser across the Bass Strait and was wondering what other long distance/endurance feats have been acheived in lasers. I have been thinking about doing a long distance sail in my Laser as a charity fund-raising event and was wondering what sort of distances are acheivable for someone that isn't an olympic athlete.
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Well, it's not exactly what you had in mind, I'll bet, but we had an endurance race at my club for charity. The sailors did laps on a 1-mile course. Here's a description. Note Dan Sohner's performance near the bottom of the post. http://www.laserforum.org/showthread.php?p=20418&highlight=Dan+Sohner#post20418
 
Did you get the latest Laser Sailor yet? There's a bit in there (in the ILCA insert) about 2 kids who sailed across the English channel in theirs. They did it for charity.

I seem to recall reading (maybe on the Forum?) about one of the top Laser sailors regularly doing long distance sails (in Florida?) between venues to get long practice sessions in downwind.

In the SF Bay area for the last two years they have done a long Laser race called the Delta Dinghy Ditch Run that is 30 miles.

To sail a long distance, I would guess that the important factors are knowing what the conditions are likely be on your route and your ability to handle them. A broad reach is probably easier to do for a long distance than a beat. Of course windspeed will dictate how much distance you can cover in a given time.

Consider what is the most time you've spent in a Laser. In a regatta you might spend 4 to 6 hours in a boat but you're not sailing all the time and you're sailing a variety of courses. Spending that amount of time in one position is going to be a killer (and if you watch Blackburn's video of the crossing you see him sailing in all sorts of positions to get a break!).

Merrily's suggestion is probably the best bet and could be the most fun because you're doing it with a team and completing the course isn't all on your shoulders. I think they have (or used to have) a similar Dinghy Regatta in Mission Bay (San Diego, CA) where they would sail all day in shifts until the evening, then have dinner and a big party and then carry on sailing in shifts through the night. I never got a chance to do it but it always sounded like it could be a lot of fun.

Like a lot of things, maybe it's best to start small and work your way up. Good luck!
 
I raced the 6 h of Amsterdam last November. One of the coolest races I ever sailed. A two-man team, around a course in a lake almost downtown Amsterdam, non-stop for 6 h, with a crew switch every leg around the course.

I was exhausted at the end, we end up third. Nice crowd watching.

results, images

Switching was problematic sometimes, when people got tired, there were mistakes, some hilarious.
 
Sorry, its me again. Well 15 years ago l did a 400 Km sail (220 miles) from Lyon, France to the Mediterranean sea. 6 days, with one waterproof bag tied in front of the mast. Sleeping on the riverbank, under the sail of my capsised laser. No escort, just me. Most impresive was passing through the huge locks, the biggest having a level drop of 20 meters plus (70 feet) And then my wife came with the car for the return trip. The best thrill was overtaking some of the huge barges, and passing under some of the bridges in the capsised mode.
 
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bosco said:
Sorry, its me again. Well 15 years ago l did a 400 Km sail (220 miles) from Lyon, France to the Mediterranean sea. 6 days, with one waterproof bag tied in front of the mast. Sleeping on the riverbank, under the sail of my capsised laser. No escort, just me. Most impresive was passing through the huge locks, the biggest having a level drop of 20 meters plus (70 feet) And then my wife came with the car for the return trip. The best thrill was overtaking some of the huge barges, and passing under some of the bridges in the capsised mode.
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That's the coolest shit I ever heard of! I'm a little confused, though, so please bear with me. This was done in a canal, yes? Was it canal the whole way or mostly a river with sections of the river a canal? And what do you mean a level drop? you went in and they drained the water, yes? I've never even been near a canal much less the locks. I hope you weren't going through 70 ft rapids, it would scare me to death! And finally, what do you mean passing under some bridges in capsized mode? Literally, the mast was underwater b/c you flipped the boat? Sorry for some elementary questions. If I could write your biography on the ordeal it would be fantastic! Thx
 
Thanks for the link and i'm always interested in kooky things like sailing lasers around islands or down the Eastern Seaboard or some jazz like that but around the Isle of Wight? That's just stupid. I mean, if you're wanna go extreme and laser sail an island, why not a small one in the Bahamas? I don't like rough waters in a kayak, i'm not going into the English Channel!!! I'm only interested in doing nice weather sailing, that guy must have had a death wish.
 
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