LASER 5000 CHAIRMANS REPORT – AUGUST 2010
As I sit here, in the club house at the British Mohnesee Sail Training Centre watching the sun shine and people relaxing after the first European Championships that the Association has held for several years, it’s nice to contemplate the last 8 months and to reflect on where the Association is now and where it may be in a year’s time.
This year has seen a series of highs for the Class and very few lows. There have been successes in training, National and International events, Class Association membership is growing and our equipment suppliers have made huge leaps forward in support to the Class.
The newcomers that came to the training weekend at Thorney Island gained valuable experience and learnt much in relation to rig set up, boat handling, both upwind and down and some start line practice. It’s always nice to see new people at the training weekend and it would be even better to get more at next year’s session. If you have any thoughts on where you’d like it to be, or a change in the format, please let me know, however, it’s unlikely that it will be held at Thorney Island next year.
The increased interest in the Association was reflected in the entries for the National Championships at Lymington where we were hosted in fine style by the Lymington Town Sailing Club and we were sponsored by Northampton Sailboats who kindly donated prizes. The racing was magnificent; with winds ranging from force 4 to 5 on the Saturday and force 6 on Sunday with some massive gusts that could well have been in lower force 7 range. A valiant effort by all those who sailed in some very testing conditions and well done to our 2010 National Champions – Thomas Sauval and Alistair Farman. We’re thinking of trying to get a venue further to the North next year – on the sea, but somewhere that is likely to attract more participation from our Scottish friends. Once again, your thoughts and feedback would be appreciated, as we want the best for everybody. The south coast is of course always a good place to go, but why not try some other coastal area?
The European Championships, held on the Mohnesee just south east of Dortmund proved to be one of the biggest events that the Class Association has seen in several years. We had 11 boats, representing Germany, Poland/France, England, Wales and Scotland and with 11 races completed out of the planned 12, the weather, although fickle and at some times very frustrating was, in the end a challenge and all those attending seemed to enjoy themselves. My personal thanks must go to all of those who made the huge effort to travel to and from the event (even though my car ended up on an AA recovery truck at Dover!) and also to the huge help and welcome that all of the staff at the British Mohnesee Sail Training Centre gave us. It was fantastic. Of course no race will run without the race officer, and Clive Grant from the Army Sailing Association was superb and gave calm, considered advice and guidance to the fleet when required and also ran some great races, with some very close start line calls (I still don’t think I was OCS – lol!). Of course a huge WELL DONE to Alistair Kinsman and Paddy Adler on becoming the 2010 European Champions in very fine style.
On the subject of European Championships and indeed all the other Association events, it has become apparent, and entirely understandable, that not everybody is entirely aware of the rules regarding the boat and how the one design concept works. The boat standing rigging, sails, foils etc are designed to be equal across the entire fleet in order that no one boat should have a ‘design’ advantage over any of the others. The boat speed is entirely down to crew skill, even down to the weight equalisation. To use any other equipment that does not conform to our rules is against the ethos of the Association. During the last 6 or 7 years, we as an Association have been pretty relaxed about applying the rules to try and encourage newcomers at the same time pointing out the correct way to do things whilst also understanding that equipment has not always been available. This approach will continue, however I must emphasise that the rules are pretty strict for our Class events and we will apply them to make sure that everybody is on the same playing field (lake!). Please get in touch if any of you have problems conforming to the rules because of kit issues and we’ll try and help out, we do not want to stop people competing, because after all, that’s the best way to improve in these magnificent boats – against other boats of the same specification. Have a look at the Rules on this website and get back to me with any issues. In addition, there will be no compromise on safety issues, therefore if the Racing Rules state that Personal Buoyancy is to be worn, then competitors run the risk of disqualification if buoyancy aids are not worn.
As previously mentioned, we are already beginning to think of venues for next year’s events. We need to find somewhere to hold the training weekend, sometime in April or early May, perhaps once again at Grafham or other suitable lake location with sufficient facilities.
The Nationals may be on the South Coast but I’m willing to consider somewhere else as long as it will increase the numbers that participate (note that the Nationals will always be on a tidal location). We’re very unlikely to arrange a European Championships next year, as we think that a bi-annual event is more likely to attract the entries, although to ensure that we get it right, we’ll start thinking of locations soon, perhaps somewhere on the sea next time – Denmark perhaps or maybe somewhere in France, but once again, I’m willing to take advice and ideas on this.
For an Open Event, there is the possibility of the Class joining in with the Loch Lomond Dinghy Weekend in early September, but in order for us to go ahead with arranging this, I’ll need some early feedback on expected numbers. We would be able to join in with some great racing and the other Scottish 5000s will be able to join in the fun. I know that it’s a long way for many people to travel, so we need to consider this option closely. I think that once again, the Inlands will be held at Rutland provided there is no huge problem with this year’s event.
We have two more Class Events this year, please try your very hardest to get to them if you can. Let’s try and maintain the momentum that we’ve started; the first will be the Open Meeting at Broadstairs next month (24/25th). Having said that, I’m afraid that due to work commitments, I won’t be able to make the Broadstairs event and Thomas Sauval will be our Association representative there. Let me know if you’re going, the club there is great and very keen to host our event.
The Inlands will be the last major event of 2010, please make every effort to get there. There is the potential to have upwards of 15 boats on the start line if people try. Don’t’ worry if you haven’t sailed your boat much this year or if you feel that you’re not up to it. We’ve all done a lot of swimming in these boats; it’s all part of the learning experience that we all go through. People are very friendly and will give loads of advice if you want it. Our AGM will also be held there so if you have any agenda points, please get them into our Secretary, Tom Hill as soon as possible.
Talking of swimming, we’re going to put together a little article about the experiences that people have had in these boats whilst learning to get to grips with them. If you have any funny or useful stories of your experiences sailing through the air until your trapeze line runs out or bashing your crew’s head with a boom whilst trying to flick the battens across, then please, once again, get them to Tom to compile. (By the way, have you read the Alternative Guide to Sailing the 5000 on this site? Well worth a read and be prepared to hold your ribs while you fall off the chair laughing).
To the perennial problem of subscriptions; I bang on about this quite a lot because it’s important if we want to survive as a Class. We have to pay for public liability insurance and RYA affiliation as well as paying for prizes etc for our events. If we don’t have money in the bank, then the prices for entrance fees will increase significantly or we just won’t be able to hold events. We put a lot of free advice on the forum and we also liaise with various organisations, including our equipment suppliers on your behalf. I don’t think 20 quid is a great deal of money to ask to become a member and to get all of these great deals. We could go down the line of restricting access to the website to members only, but I think this would disenfranchise a lot of people and I don’t want to go down that line just yet, so please pay up or you’ll lose out. We need to build up our reserves again before the beginning of next year’s season. Come to the AGM at Rutland to find out exactly how your money is being spent your behalf.
Our relationship with Northampton Sailboats is going from strength to strength. They now have a pretty comprehensive list of parts for the boat on their website and although there still appears to be quite a lead time for many of the parts to be sent to individual when they need them, this is still a massive step forward. Due to the length of time it currently takes for parts, we are developing a plan that will allow people to stay on the water while they wait for their new parts to be delivered by Sailboats – wait out for more information. In the meantime, thanks to Tony and all the team at Sailboats for your support and help to the Association.
All of this is pretty good news for the 5000 Association. I now have a warm feeling about where the class is going once again, but we cannot be complacent. It is important to keep the momentum going. Please, please try your very best to support our events and do try to turn up where at all possible. It is YOUR class, please try and support it and we will once again be at the forefront of skiff sailing while not being in the ‘cheque book’ sailing gang. The Laser 5000 is a great boat, it’d be a massive shame to see it disappear due to apathy or a fear of embarrassment.
Finally, on a personal note, thank you for all of your support (and money!) for Help for Heroes, we still have a little more money to come in and we’ll let you know the total that we will forward to their organisers shortly. In addition, thanks to all of you who support the Class and for the great efforts and laughs that we have to keep the boat going. I hope to see you all at Rutland, and for those who are going to Broadstairs, have a great time.
Taff
Chairman
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