hmmmmmmmmmmm- yes, that's the sound of a Laser planing on a broad reach in 15kts of breeze. How do I make that sound my ringtone- because you better believed I missed that the past couple of months.
Yesterday, I was finally able to get out in a Laser for the first time in 2012- and wow it felt refreshing.
It felt so good to finally get in a Laser again, made me realize just how much I love and missed Laser sailing... I'm starting to believe that there will always be a part of me that is a Laser sailor, no matter what class I may evolve into in the future.
I decided to take out a Full Rig, and the wind was about 10-15kts and very shifty coming off the shore. Despite the sunshine and great conditions, it was COLD with temperatures in the mid 40s and with the wind chill it felt a lot colder. I was actually wearing a wetsuit, which is something I never do, and I was still freezing.
We had 3 Lasers out in Charleston Harbor, all of which were sailors off of the Club Team. So we were able to have some good mini races and just get dialed in by feeding off of each others performance. I didn't feel as fast as I used to in the Laser, and this is for a few different obvious reasons- but I did feel good.
As we sailed on and on, I started to feel more in the groove and back into the proper boat handling rhythm, and yes- I began to feel faster and faster. It was crazy how quickly things started to click for me, It was like I never forgot all those small pointers Coach Dunkley taught me in practice about maximizing boat speed through proper body positioning.
Getting back in the Laser made me really want to find some local Laser events and race them. I have no idea yet if any are coming up anytime soon, but I'm sure that once spring rolls around there will be a few popping up in SC.
Wow, hopefully I can get back out there this weekend as well. I <3 Laser sailing.
SailFast, Live Slow!
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