Big Stories
Small Boats, Laser Racing on the Bay by Kim Couranz
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##SSA ran separate starts for full-rig Lasers and Laser Radials shown here. Photo by Kim Couranz
##Rigging a Laser can involve chipping ice. Photo courtesy of Mohamed Harraz
100 April 2012 SpinSheet
kay, so the winter of 2011-12 wasn’t the coldest—actually, it was the fourth warmest winter in the United States since 1895. But air and water temperatures dropped enough that some hardy souls around the Bay can still proudly define themselves as Laser Frostbite sailors. Fleets at a handful of locations gathered to keep their dinghy skills sharp over the winter. The Washington Sailing Marina, just south of Reagan National Airport in Alexandria, VA, is home to the Potomac River SA Laser fleet, which races for about three hours every Sunday from late November through the end of March. This year, they averaged 18 boats—and had 29 boats one Sunday. “The mighty Potomac River can be fickle; however, this year has been spectacular,” says fleet captain Erich Hesse. “The river provides current, shallow spots, and shifty breezes that cause many lead changes.” (For more information, visit potomacriversailing.org.) At the Severn SA, 35 Lasers and 14 Laser Radials have participated in at least one frostbite day on the Severn River just outside Annapolis Harbor. (Radials use the same hull and rigging but shorter top section of the mast and smaller sail; they are sailed by smaller sailors, often including women and juniors.) Conditions in Annapolis vary dramatically with wind speed and direction and can include challenging northwesters that favor sailors who keep their eyes peeled for shifts and southerlies that pump big breeze and waves up the river. The Annapolis fleet sails most Sunday afternoons from mid-November through mid-March and often gets in eight quick windward-leeward races. (For more information, see severnsailing.org.) A little further south, the Southern Maryland SA in Solomons sails on the Patuxent River just outside the harbor entrance. Fleet captain
Jeffrey Moore reports that the fleet, which averages five to seven boats, enjoys “beautiful sailing conditions—not a lot of current where we race and [we are] protected from the big waves of the Bay with consistent breeze.” They race Saturdays in November and March and Sundays in December and April, as well as on New Year’s Day. “We take January and February off as we are not that tough or crazy, depending on how you look at it,” Moore explains. The fleet sails three to five races using government marks, and they are informal. Sometimes they do a lap around Molly’s Leg in the middle of the harbor, “NASCAR style.” (For more, click to smsa.org.) In Hampton Roads, the fleet sails out of the Old Dominion University facility in Norfolk on many Sundays. (For more information, visit laserfleet11.org.) Laser sailing is strong on the Eastern Shore, as well. Sailors enjoy launching from Ship Point—for beach launching and a safe winter sailing area—to sail in the Corsica River YC series, which runs most Sundays from November at least through late March and New Year’s Day. Nicholas Place, fleet captain, emphasizes that their “goal is to keep the sailing competitive but laid back, enjoyable, and focused on improving the skills of all the participants.” It’s a gorgeous place to sail, featuring a lot of wildlife, including bald eagles. Place reports that once this summer, a herd of deer swam across the race course! (For more information, visit cryc.org.) But spring is here, and it’s time to stow the drysuits until next fall. Check out these Laser fleets for fun summertime racing, including casual weeknight racing. For schedules and results, visit laserfleet11.org.
##Temperatures into the 30s require drysuits and several layers, as sported by the Potomac River SA. Photo courtesy of Frank Gallagher
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