Seattle Laser Fleet

Welcome to the Seattle Laster Fleet and ILCA District 22. Fleet members race regularly on Puget sound and in regional regattas. Join us for the tightest one design racing in the Northwest.

Frostbite Series Heats Up

Join the fun and keep the spirit warm. Frostbite dates are: October 17, October 31, November 14, December 5, January 9>, February 13, March 6, March 20 at Shilshole. Racing starts 12:30.

February 13

Frostbite continues to grow with 17 lasers on the line with several Optis racing as well. Our race committee for the day of Michael Johnson and Eric Becker provided a tightly run set of 8 races in quick succession. And a great after-dinner spread was provided and served by Peter O'Donoghue (Thanks Michael, Eric and Peter!).

Frostbite is hardly living up to its name - with warm weather in the 50s and a light south breeze averaging 8-10 kts, you could not ask for more in Seattle. The wind shifted up to 40 degrees in some races and a strong ebb current made picking the right course a challenge.

Dave Watt sailed very consistently with three bullets to win the day. Second was Anthony Boscolo also with three bullets. Sarah Mackey sailed a full rig and was fully stretched, hiking hard in many races to get a 4th in the 7th race. Nicely done Sarah! Two radials (Hannah Weaver, and Alexis Aird) joined the fun and showed bursts of speed sometimes matching the full rigs in light air. See the full results.

The season ahead looks promising. So far, there have been 30 lasers participating in the Frostbite series. Considering the Frigid Digit regatta also had 28 boats participating, the laser community is certainly strong and committed to excellent racing!

The next Frostbite is March 6th.

January 9

Frostbite day five turned out to be another great day of sailing, though it didn't like like that from the start. Temperatures in the 30s kept a few people home, but nine Lasers (and four Optis) launched, sailed and loved it. There was more than a little deja vu as Mike Johnson and Dan Falk took turns winning, often finishing with a couple of boatlengths from each other. Dan finished one point ahead.

More significantly, we saw a couple of new faces to the series. Greg Jackson came from across the pond (Bainbridge) and Jim Barrett turned up. Welcome and welcome back! Everyone had a great day of racing and there's a definite sense that from the front of the fleet to the back, everyone's improving.

The racing itself ran the gamut from very light at the start to full on full-on planing on the runs in the later races. Chef Falk fired up the grill and everyone stayed for chat. Our "new" committee boat, rented from CYC, worked great. It was a great tuneup for Frigid Digit coming up at the end of the month.

The next official Frostbite day is February 13, though there will almost certainly be some informal practices both on the Sound and Lake Washington before then. If you want to initiate a practice or stay in the loop on what's happening, make sure you're on the Google Groups list. And don't forget to put the Frigid Digit series on your calendar for January 29-30. It promises to be a good one.

The next official frostbite day is January 9th, but everyone should feel free to lure each other out for some fun in the meantime. Check out the results from December 5.

Duck Dodge

Duck Dodge a week ago was great fun. Ten boats total, five from Shilshole and five from the U of Washington. Thanks to Ross Fleming for rustling up the U's Lasers. (Remember, the U used to be THE Laser home). Thanks to Joe Burcar for figuring out the perfect WDM (Wine Dispensary Method).

For what it's worth, four Lasers came in ahead of all other centerboarders including an FD and two 505s! Nothing like good starts and clean air and an archipelago of slowly moving fiberglass islands to help give Lasers the edge.

Thanks to the Duck Dodge Committee for our own ducks! This is proof positive that the Lasers fleet can assemble at a remote location and have a blast.

Kurt Hoehne