Day 1 Report from Laser Worlds in Hyeres

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HYERES LASER WORLDS

October 2, 2014

Well, it turns out the Laser sailboat is a good companion for a freelancer. If you don’t have work, you can go practice. And the boat demands a lot of fitness, discipline, and dedication.

The Laser is one of the most successful one-design classes in the world, with more than 200,000 boats built to date, and the fact that it is an Olympic class drives young people to sail them hard.

The Laser is not one of my best boats, in fact, it may be one of my worst as I came to it late in life. But better late than never.

A couple of months ago, I mentioned to my wife that the Laser Worlds were in Hyeres. Turns out that’s precisely where she spent some memorable summers as a young lady. She later went on to be a French major in college. So she was more than a little excited about the idea of going.

I applied to the regatta, was accepted, then we waited for three months to see if I could get a charter boat or not. The beauty of the Laser is since all of them are the same, you can charter, or rent a hull, and bring your own tiller, tiller extension, ratchet block, lines, and sail, and be reasonably comfortable on the water.

Peter Seidenberg, the nine-time World Champion, who is a member of the Newport fleet, says the Laser is a “simple, complex boat. Little adjustments can make a big difference.” He also talks about how the boat is “simple, pure man against man sailing.”

In big boats, people with big money can buy their way to victory. It’s not possible in the Laser. The champions earn their way to the top, then find their way to the top of other classes. Both Jimmy Spithill, the helmsman of Oracle, as well as Ben Ainslie, the tactician were spectacular Laser sailors. Scott Ferguson of Newport, Rhode Island who designed the mast for Oracle, is a two-time Laser Master World Champion who is keen to win his third.

When you are a freelancer, you are alone a great deal of the time so if you want to be part of a community you have to go find it. The beauty of joining a vibrant class like the Laser is you create a fleet of friends. This summer, I lost 25 pounds and made at least 50 friends. Or at the very least I now know 50 like-minded people who think going for a sail is a worthwhile activity.

Many of the Newport Frostbite fleet members are involved in the marine industry, so you can learn things about sailing you wouldn’t otherwise.

Today we measured in and put our boats together. The jet lag made us feel like we were all hit in the face with a shovel and putting the boats together felt like we were at high altitude as every movement was a struggle. The temperature is warm, the air is light, and our friends are arriving here.

Le Bor hotel is pretty. The room is so small one of us have to leave while the other unpacks. My wife’s French is beyond good, it is spectacular. Every native compliments her. This makes life in and around this beautiful small town a bit easier.

There was time for a bit of a practice today. I found the Irish guys due to the “IRL” upon their sails and sailed with them. They have invited me to the Ireland Master’s Nationals next year in July and I may attend. The regatta is a two-day event with around 30 boats. They said they’d be happy to get me a boat. I just have to show up with my sail, battens and sailing clothing. It could be good.

My charter boat is just-came-out-of-the-plastic-wrapper new. When the sun heats it up, it smells like polyester resin that hasn’t kicked all of the way. The blades are perfect and the boat does not have a scratch on it, which is a bit different than my boat at home, which has more than a little bit of use.

The measurement process is strict and sails that have letters on them just a millimeter away from where they are supposed to are rejected. The sad owners scurry around looking for replacement letters, often fashioning them from tape or whatever they can get their hands on. I heard the judges were strict, so I ordered my new sail from Clayton Johnson at colie sports. Clay campaigned for the Olympics so he knows exactly where the numbers need to be. When the judge measured my sail, he said one word, “Perfect.”

When I travel to a faraway regatta,  I would like to bring my boat, my sails, my spars, my tools, my truck, my dog, my bed, my pillow, everything. Since you can’t do that, you have to be selective about what you do bring. I should have brought my metric tape measure as well as my multi-screw driver. I was able to make the best of it with my Leatherman multi tool and Peter Seidenberg lent me his tape measure. Peter Shope offered me his two open-ended crescent wrenches.

In the practice race, I scored an 11 which is quite good for me. The next day, Sunday, was the first day of racing. The question on everyone’s mind was, “Ou es Monsieur Mistral?” With no breeze, the boat parking lot was a United Nations of anticipation. It was also a reporter’s dream. There were great sources everywhere.

Jamie Stanley of Toronto, Candada is a first-timer coming to France. He said, “What an awesome place. Good winds, warm water and this great competition. It’s a great opportunity to learn.” Roy Davies, a fellow Canadian stated, “It’s a lot better now that I’m not in a cockroach infested hotel. He fled a place that shall not be named and bunked up with a friend in a hotel that is infested with ants. Progress, eh?

Simon Bennet from Cromwell, England agreed, saying, “It’s a fantastic collection of like-minded sailors from all over the world.”

The Italians came out in force in team kits. And truth be told, my wife swooned a bit over more than a few of those fine looking Apprentice Masters who haven’t been dinged up by life. Francesco Bianciardi from Pisa, Italy said, “This is my first world championship. It is amazing to be sailing against ex-Olympic medalists.”

Mark Bear, who arrived in Hyeres with his wife Ann, said, “This place is perfect. Of all of the places I have been, this may be most perfect for this sort of regatta.” Professor Bear recalled that Bob Saltmarsh once told him that when you go to events like this, you create memories that last a lifetime. There are many regattas Mark cannot remember, but he recalls all of the Worlds, even those where he suffered, fondly.

Thierry Peyre of France was impressed with the competition, with many, many champions from their home countries.

Down under is well represented at the Worlds. Neil Feller of Sydney, Australia said, “The venue is fantastic, the sailing is fantastic. You just get to a point as a Master you only have a certain number of  years left and you might as well spend the kids inheritance.”

The founder of Rooster Sailing, Steve Cockerill, who has won the Worlds at least three times, was helping the lost and the strayed, Deirdre, a sailor whose bags were lost. Many pitched in to loan her all of the rigging and clothing necessary to go sailing. Cockerill has a new piece of kit coming out that he thinks is quite good, the Rooster Aqua Fleece. It’s inspired by the Patagonia Water Heater Canoe Top which Ryan Minth wore at the Worlds in 2002. Look for it at your rooster sailing dealer for around $85.

Amidst a sea of sails, Michael Nissen of Munich, Germany thought about the bad summer he endured, and was thrilled to be in France. He said, “today is light, but within two days we will have 15-20 knots. It’s going to be fun.”

Peter Shope, who does not normally sail with a shock cord on his centerboard was happy to grab a piece off a friend’s canvas cover, which was just too long anyway. Shope thought the practice race was dodgy so he had his own session with Scott Ferguson, Al Clark, and Andy Roy. It must have worked, because in the first race today, Shope was 4^th overall in the yellow fleet, and Ferg won the race in the gold fleet.

After a five-year around-the-world voyage, Tim Landt of St. Petersburg, Florida sold the big boat and bought a laser. He said, “If you want to take your sailing up a level, this is it. Sailing against these people is as good as it gets. I’ve known most of them since I sailed Optis.”

Paul Keane of Dublin, Ireland and the Royal Irish Yacht Club, said, “This is my first Worlds. I’m overwhelmed by the friendliness and help. It’s unlike any other event I’ve been to. This is gentlemanly sailing. We’ll see if that stands true today at the first top mark.”

Newport’s Scott Ferguson, who did not arrive in a sleek private jet painted black, said, “The coolest thing is the size of the fleet. The fact that you get to sail against the best guys in the world is great.”

Gavin Dagler of Australia and David Hillmyer of Sarasota, Florida had become friends when they shared a cab. David spotted the tiller Gavin was carrying at the train station and figured they were both going to the same place. They were chatting during the postponement to pass the time. Hillmyer, who runs 3-5 miles every day whether there is a regatta or not invites all sailors to attend Masters Week in Florida in Jenson Beach and West Palm.

At this event, even the trailing spouses are exceptional. Marion Steenhous is sick of being referred to as “Arnoud’s wife.” After all, she won a World Championship in the Laser in 1982 and a European Championship in 1984. The scars on her back told the story of her spinal fusion. Now, she coaches her husband and encourages him to relax. Arnoud has won a World Championship as well so the dinner table conversation must be quite good.

Colin Galavan of Dublin, Ireland is going to find me a boat for the Irish Nationals so he deserves a special shout out. He said, “This event is fantastic. It’s my first one, so I’m a World’s Virgin.”

Grant Lovelady of Perth, Australia was hoping for more breeze. He said, “When you’re a lump of meat like me, you need breeze.” He encourages all Laser sailors to attend “The Sail Down Under Summer Regatta.” It’s as good as it gets.

Then there were those who were touched by royalty. Alfredo Vazquez crewed for the King of Spain in the 1992 Olympics. He said that, “One time in life we have two families, our close family and our Masters family. You discover that people sail for fun, to be with friends, to be happy.” Well said, Alfredo.

Belgium had six sailors representing and Peter Van Laer said, “we are all friends. We sail together, we come here with a support team.”

Simon Barrington of Great Britain loves sailing in big fleets. How much? Well, this is his 11^th worlds. He said, “At the club, you can get 15 boats on the line. Here, there are 100 boats on the line. If you are in the mix, you can’t ask for more than that.”

Wearing a watch held together with duct tape which would be a national embarrassment, Stevan Andersson of Sweden is part of a team that has been practicing hard. The Malarhojden Kanot Sallsleep (yacht club) gets 50-60 Lasers on the line every week. With shirts as blue as their steel-blue eyes, the Swedes looked outward for breeze.

Meanwhile, Al Clark, the coach and accomplished sailor took an opportunity to jab at Ferguson. “You just can’t leave that boat alone, can you? Coming off the America’s Cup you’re always tinkering, aren’t you?” Ferguson smiled, then won the first race of the series. Ari Bashir didn’t know how he did it, but Ferg sailed the middle of the course and covered the boats on the right when the breeze went right, then covered the boats to his left when the breeze went left.

Tracy Usher of San Francisco, said, “In the Standard Masters division, the top ten could all win the regatta. I think it’s going to be great competition.”

Doug Elder of Auckland, New Zealand was pleased with how the numbers on the sails were applied this year. Almost all of the sails measured in, and very few needed to be moved.

It’s time for bed and I’m bone tired. Tomorrow is a new day with new racing and new adventures. Bonsoir.