ILCA NSW & ACT

The NB Sailsports Metropolitan Championships are on 16-17th March at the fabulous Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club at Newport.

This will be another great event and as our last big event for the season not to be missed.

The Notice of Race is HERE and Sailing Instructions HERE.

Entry is $60 and $30 for sailors under 21. You can enter online HERE or at the club on Saturday between 9.30 and 11.30am.

There is a detailed Competitor Information Guide with all you need to know about the land logistics for the event HERE.

We will be running SMS sign on/off so if you are deploying from another location you can send an SMS to 0477 647 537 including the sail number/s and “sign on” or “sign off”.

Brett Beyer Standard Rig Winner – Photo by Jane Humphris

The NSW & ACT Laser State Masters were held over the 2-3 March weekend at South Lake Macquarie ASC and what a cracker event it was.

There were 128 entries sailed in two fleets – Standard with 72 and Radial 56. There was a great representation from Queensland, Victoria and WA joining NSW and ACT sailors for the event.

The weather gods were very kind with beautiful NE breezes on both days from 12 to 16 knots – what’s not to like.

The full schedule of 6 races was completed. The conditions were kind to the race crew and RO Andrew McLachlan however the Standards tested their patience with a near to record 6 black flags in one race. It is true that the black flag finished up in lake but not true that it was thrown there by the race crew in despair at its ineffectiveness. Thanks to the sailor who fished it out and returned it to fly another day.

18 cubes were awarded in the various age divisions.

The outstanding winner in the Standards was current World Masters Champion Brett Beyer WSC who won every race. Though he was pushed at times he was always first when it mattered. David Whait from SoPYC/FSC WA also a Master was second in the standard Fleet by a tie break from Apprentice Master Nick Skulander WSC.

In the Radials GGM Jeff Loosemore MHASC/GRSC won all but the first race for a convincing fleet win. GRSC club mate Master David Early was a clear second with GM Adam French GSC third.

Vanessa Dudley was the first woman and was 4th placed overall in the Radial fleet.

The full results are linked below.

• Standard Rig
• Radial Rig

There are very many excellent photos taken by Jane Humphris which you can see at the links below – click the thumbnail to see a larger image.

• Standard Rig Photos
• Radial Rig & Club Photos

Thanks to the SLMASC for their fabulous organisation of the event on the water and in feeding and watering us on the land. Thanks also to our RO Andrew McLachlan for his spot on settings and tolerance of the impetuous.

Masters sailors our block buster State Masters Championship is coming up 2nd and 3rd March. This one will be at South Lake Macquarie Amateur Sailing Club at Sunshine – always a great venue.

The Notice of Race for the event is HERE and the Sailing Intructions are HERE. You can enter online HERE.

As usual you can enter until 11.30am on Saturday 2nd March at the club however unless you really can’t decide sooner we would appreciate if you could use online entry as we expect to be pretty busy on the day.

SLMASC have arranged with the Lake Macquarie Council to allow us to camp (tent only – no caravans) on Friday and Saturday nights on Sunshine Park at the club. Camping fee is $30 per night (with funds going to the Council). The clubhouse toilets and showers will be available 24 hours. Please contact Diana Charlton by email at treasurer@slmasc.org if you want to book a camping spot.

On Saturday night the club is putting on a BBQ dinner for us. Nibbles, BBQ (steak & sausage) with salads, plus dessert and tea/coffee for just $20. What’s not to like.

Rob Lowndes has organised the Masters Golf event on Friday 1st March.  The prizes are not as great as those at the event with the same name at Augusta – but then nor is the expected standard of play. Details are in the post below.

It’s on again, the Laser Masters Golf tournament will be held on Friday, 1st March as a prelude to the weekend State Masters. Venue is Morisset Country Club at Dora Street Morisset. Cost is $28 per person for members of any golf club and $33 for non golf club members. Cart hire is $40 per cart.

Always a fun event it will be a teams based Ambrose format which means you don’t have to be a golfer (not many of us are!) but each team will have to count a certain number of drives from each member. The best drive is selected and all other players pick up their ball and place it close to the best ball. Each person then hits a second shot from the same spot and so on until holed. Teams will be selected on the day to give a spread of golf experience in each team. Also $10 entry for prize money including a nearest the pin and longest drive.

We’ll meet at noon at the club to have some lunch, select the teams and pay the green/cart hire fees (directly to the pro shop please) for a first tee time around 1:00pm. Please let Rob Lowndes know if you will be coming (text 0419 266 257 or email lowndesr@bigpond.net.au). If you would like a cart book it directly with the pro shop at 02 4973 1100.

For future planning below is the list of our NSW & ACT events for next season.

It will be a very busy year for Laser sailing in Australian in 2020 with Oceania and World  Open & Masters Championships scheduled for Sandringham and Geelong.

The list of known National, Oceania and World Laser Championship events in 2019 and 2020 is below.

If too much sailing is never enough then we have two major events in Victoria which may be of interest.

2019 Victorian Laser State & Youth Championships are on 9-10 February at McCrae YC. The NoR is HERE.

2019 Victorian Masters Championships will be sailed on the same waters and at the same time as the Masters Worlds in 2020 at Royal Geelong Yacht Club. The dates are 16-17th March 2019. The NoR for the event is HERE.

World Championships Sakaiminato-City Japan

Applications for entry for the following World Championships in Sakaiminato-City Japan will be accepted beginning Tuesday, 29 January 2019:

• 2019 ILCA Laser Standard Men’s World Championship
• 2019 ILCA Laser Radial Women’s World Championship
• 2019 ILCA Laser Radial Men’s World Championship

For all three of the above events, the deadline for receiving paid applications for initial allocation of places is 9 March 2019 at 23:59 Central US Time (10 March 16:59 AEDT).

ILCA World Youth Championships Kingston Canada

Applications for entry for the following Youth World Championships will be accepted beginning Thursday, 31 January 2019:

• 2019 ILCA Laser Radial Youth World Championships
• 2019 ILCA Laser 4.7 Youth World Championships

For both of the above events, the deadline for receiving PAID applications for initial allocation of places is 20 March 2019 at 23:59 Central US Time (16:59 21 March AEDT).

Note for all these Championships

These are all limited entry events with Australia’s allocation of places filled in order of ranking. The ranking event for World Championships is the preceding Australian Laser Championships – 2019 Devonport in this case.

If you don’t apply by this deadline you have little chance of receiving and entry offer.

The ILCA event web site HERE has all the information and links to apply.

On 9^th February, VYC will be hosting the 87th annual Vaucluse Regatta.

You can get information on the event on the Vaucluse YC web site HERE.

71 boats competed in the NSW & ACT Laser Championships sailed from Canberra Yacht Cub over the weekend.

RO Andrew McLachlan Presents to Radial Winner Jordan Makin

The event was is two parts Saturday when there was arguably too much breeze and Sunday when there was none.

Four races we completed for 4.7′s and Radials and three for Standard rigs on Saturday. With winds stronger than predicted – gusting to 30 knots – there were lots of oops moments and some broken gear.

On Sunday with everyone rigged and ready to roll the breeze would not play ball. Never raising above 5 knots and constantly changing in direction it gave RO Andrew McLachlan little choice and racing was called off without, as they say, troubling the scorer.

The winner of the Standard rig event was Steve Gunther from Port Melbourne Yacht Club. He won from Jeff Loosemore (MHASC/GRSC) and Canberra local Bruce Paine who was the previous winner in 2012 when the event was last held in Canberra. In the Radials Jordan Makin from Belmont 16 ft Skiff Club won from Maddie O’Shea and Zac West both from DBSC and RSYS.

It was as close as it can be in the 4.7′s with Brooke Wilson (RSYS/DBSC) and Daniel Costandi (RSYS/GRSC/DBSC) finishing on even points and places and Brooke winning on a count back. Third was Evie Saunders (RSYS/MYC/DBSC).

The final results are HERE.

The NSW & ACT Laser State Championships will be held on Lake Burley Griffin from the Canberra Yacht Club 24th and 25th November 2018.

CYC is a fabulous club and we have been promised good sailing conditions so this is an event not to be missed.

This  is a cube event for open and youth divisions. Masters cubes will be awarded at the States at South Lakes ASC 2-3rd March 2019.

The Notice of Race for the event is HERE. Sailing Instructions are HERE.

Online entries ($60 and $30 for sailors under 21) can be placed HERE.

Following racing on Saturday competitors, family, and friends are welcome to stay on and socialise with drinks and dinner on the lakeside patio and grass of Canberra Yacht Club. Beer, wine and soft drinks can be purchased from the bar of the Club. Next door, boxed dinner of fish and chips, salads and snacks can be purchased from the Snapper on the Lake shop.  No bookings required.

The AGM of the NSW & ACT Laser Association will be held at the Camberra Yacht Club on Sunday 25th November at 9.00am. The agenda for the meeting is HERE.

83 boats competed in the NB Sailsports Coast Championships from Vaucluse Yacht Club over the weekend.

There was a strong contingent from the Harbour Clubs notably Double Bay Sailing Club and Middle Harbour Amateur Sailing Club.

Saturday saw a nice building Harbour NE’er which finished at 20 knots. As expected there was a lot of traffic including ferries on the race track on Saturday. Race Officer Rob Lowndes set the course dominantly in the eastern channel which kept the Manly Ferries using the western channel out of our way. The strong run out tide saw quite a few general recalls and the dreaded black flag had quite and airing. There were quite a few BFD’s and UFD’s on the score sheet.

Sunday saw an early morning southerly change which was still at 25 knots at the 11.00am start time. The rather cold and windy conditions provided good if testing conditions for Laser racing and had the added advantage, with the exception of the ferries, of our having the Harbour to our selves. The southerly did moderate slowly in the early afternoon however the scheduled three, three lap 45 minute races were completed in good time.

The star of the 4.7′s was Brooke Wilson DBSC/RSYS who finished with four bullets and two seconds. Daniel Costandi DBSC/RSYS/GRSC was second and had two wins with Evie Saunders DBSC/RSYS/MYC third.

The Radials saw an incredibly close finish with Zac West DBSC/RSYS despite having three heat wins in the end finishing only one point ahead of Mark Louis DBSC/RSYS/CYC and Otto Henry WSC. Mark was second ahead of Otto again by a single point in a tie break. Top Master sailor was Jeff Loosemore who is a GGM and finished 4th overall in the Radials including a win the last race.

The 41 boat Standard Rig Fleet was dominated by AST member Finn Alexander DBSC. Finn had a black flag in Race 1 but went on to win the next five. Second was current World Masters Champion Brett Beyer WSC who finished second to Finn in Races 2 to 6 and won Race 1. Oscar Hansen RSYS/MHAYC/DBSC was a clear third.

The full series results are HERE.

Thanks to Vaucluse Yacht Club for their great work in hosting this event. It is a great club in a beautiful location providing access to a truly iconic sailing race course.

The NSW  & ACT Coast Championship is coming up on  this weekend 27-28 October at Vaucluse Yacht Club.

This event will provide great sailing on Sydney Harbour. We will have sign on/off via SMS so sailors who enter online can conveniently deploy from their own club or from locations around the Harbour as well as from VYC.

The Notice of Race with all the details is HERE and you can enter online HERE.

Sailing Instructions for the event are HERE.

Information from VYC’s Robert Persson on parking around the club is “Parking is challenging but not insurmountable – our members manage every Saturday! There is a small parking lot next to St Marys Church (where the Scouts hall is) otherwise parking either on Hopetown Ave or Old South Head Road will be your best option. The recommendation is to get their early to allow additional time to unload/park if you intend to rig up at or near the VYC – arriving before lunch would be best as Watsons Bay fills up pretty quickly from midday onwards.”

Photo by Nic Douglas – Adventures of a Sailor Girl

Double Bay Sailing Club hosted the inaugural Women’s Laser Regatta on 8-9th September. It was an event intended to encourage greater female participation in the Laser class, facilitated in an environment that was supportive, informative and fun.

50 women sailors from all over Sydney and beyond attended the weekend-long event, with yoga on the deck, breakfast eggs benedict, expert coaching, inspirational dinner speakers and competitive racing.

Participants ranged from women who had not sailed for 20 years, women who had sailed other classes but never a Laser, women whose children are rising sailing stars, and a strong contingent of those young stars themselves, along with DBSC’s regular women sailors.

Event originator Clare Alexander’s full report on the event is HERE.

It is time to renew your NSW/ACT Laser Association Membership for season 2018/19. Membership runs from 1st October 2018 until 30th September 2019. You can join or renew membership online HERE or you can join or renew membership at any of our events.

If you are under 21 at 1st October 2018 then the membership fee is $20 otherwise it is $40. The majority of the funds we collect from our membership fee (75%) goes to The Australian (ALCA) and the International (ILCA) Laser Associations in the from of affiliation fees. This enables these folks to run the iconic National and World Laser Championships and to administer the Class.

Current membership of a Laser District is required for sailors to enter in our district or any national or international Laser events.

For the limited entry ILCA World Championships the number of  members we have in Australia in all our Districts is used to determine how many entry places our sailors are offered.