Race Committee for Laser Nationals - day 1

Elise is still in Hawaii and I miss her greatly. On Aug 1st and 2nd, I helped out the race committee for the laser nationals on the Bay as I had the time. 

Usually grey foggy day on the Bay. 

Chatting with the other volunteers. I was on a rover boat, ie a boat that's free floating around the course. We didn't have much to do at all, but it was fun to watch the competition from all angles. 

Serge on the beach took a lot of pictures.

Dinghy sailing is a great school - that's how I first learned to sail. You are very close to the wind and water and you garner a deep understanding about how they affect your boat performance.

Dinghies are also very tipsy and teach you all you need to know about the importance of weight balancing and positioning. And you learn to be wet. Very wet.

Completing a tack

Hiking hard

A lot of nostalgia. Radials weren't around much when I sailed on a laser out of my sailing club. My weight back then was way too light to handle a full rig so after the optis, I moved to two person-boats (420s style).

Exiting a tack.

Check for layline.

and tacking

There were hundreds of boats. It was amazing to see so many sails on the water. Nostalgic days for me, reminding me of my young days on the water, when I didn't have to worry about the cost of maintaining a boat :)

I haven't raced dinghies since I went to college and I probably should get back into it as it would very much help me with starts and tactics, as well as upwind driving.

The only question is where to find the time and money. Maybe a partnership on a radial could work. There is a Byte fleet out of Richmond but I worry about finding parts, competing elsewhere, etc... 

A dinghy is so light that you can easily truck it around to competition around the state or the country.

There were Canadian and Mexican boats too in the North American Nationals...I guess it is one big country now?

We helped this little guy as his main sheet had gotten disconnected after a capsizing.

Yay! Girls!

 Not much worrying about running aground near the beach...

Who says sailing isn't a sport? Do you realize what it takes to hike out like that for three races a day for four days? Iron abs, and fabulous quads. And try sheeting in this main upwind...

Tacking

Competitors in all age groups.

Both lasers and laser radials are olympic classes.