gouvernail
Super Opinionated and Always Correct
Somebody made up every rule for some reason. Some of the reasons are timeless. Other rules become useless and some of them are occasionally dropped.
I have always loved to speculate about new rules and their impact on the game. Sometimes I have even held test races just to see how the game would play out. I sincerely appreciate the great friends I have in Austin who have not only allowed me to run some of those races but these fine folks have participated and evaluated.
Example of some special games we have tried:
1. With a mid leg start finish line. There is a limit of four tacks on the first beat in this race and you must tack three times after the last leeward mark.
2. The leader at each mark must do a 720.
3. Nobody can cross ahead of ( usually whoever has been finishing last a lot) on the first leg. If the person is a small kid and the wind is light the kid often has the chance to feel his / her first win.
4. Just give a couple people head starts or hold a couple guys back.
5. Touch another boat and both boats must drop out.
6. No gybing
7. No tacking...Takes a lot longer to finish the beats.
8. Winner drinks a beer ( We do as many as a dozen races sometimes) Also, whoever is in the lead on the run must stop by for a beer which he must finish before finishing the race
Some I would love to try:
1. I would really love to try this in a 100 boat fleet where the starts usually become absurd bumping matches.
Before the start: Outhauls must be eased clew six inches foreword and boom vangs must be disconected and sitting on the deck.
A skipper who IS ON the FINAL APPROACH to start may pull the boom off the gooseneck of any boat within reach.
Sailors who do not wish to risk fouling leeward bpoats and paying the boom off penalty can reside in the safety zone beyond the ends of the line or at least five boat lengths behind the starting line
2. Scoring: Throw out the race that does not fit. That lucky break race disappears from the results.
3. Scoring: Throw out the best and worst races
4. 720 AND finish behind whoever you fouled
5. Dump the kinetics rules as soon as planing conditions exist.
These rule ideas are just meant as seed thoughts. I hope somebody has a rule or two which would improve the game of Laser sailing. If we chat about it here maybe we can all agree to TRY the new rule for a while and see if it really does help make Laser sailing more fun.
I have always loved to speculate about new rules and their impact on the game. Sometimes I have even held test races just to see how the game would play out. I sincerely appreciate the great friends I have in Austin who have not only allowed me to run some of those races but these fine folks have participated and evaluated.
Example of some special games we have tried:
1. With a mid leg start finish line. There is a limit of four tacks on the first beat in this race and you must tack three times after the last leeward mark.
2. The leader at each mark must do a 720.
3. Nobody can cross ahead of ( usually whoever has been finishing last a lot) on the first leg. If the person is a small kid and the wind is light the kid often has the chance to feel his / her first win.
4. Just give a couple people head starts or hold a couple guys back.
5. Touch another boat and both boats must drop out.
6. No gybing
7. No tacking...Takes a lot longer to finish the beats.
8. Winner drinks a beer ( We do as many as a dozen races sometimes) Also, whoever is in the lead on the run must stop by for a beer which he must finish before finishing the race
Some I would love to try:
1. I would really love to try this in a 100 boat fleet where the starts usually become absurd bumping matches.
Before the start: Outhauls must be eased clew six inches foreword and boom vangs must be disconected and sitting on the deck.
A skipper who IS ON the FINAL APPROACH to start may pull the boom off the gooseneck of any boat within reach.
Sailors who do not wish to risk fouling leeward bpoats and paying the boom off penalty can reside in the safety zone beyond the ends of the line or at least five boat lengths behind the starting line
2. Scoring: Throw out the race that does not fit. That lucky break race disappears from the results.
3. Scoring: Throw out the best and worst races
4. 720 AND finish behind whoever you fouled
5. Dump the kinetics rules as soon as planing conditions exist.
These rule ideas are just meant as seed thoughts. I hope somebody has a rule or two which would improve the game of Laser sailing. If we chat about it here maybe we can all agree to TRY the new rule for a while and see if it really does help make Laser sailing more fun.