Dinghy racing for OAP's

[ianc1200]

I fancy having a go at dinghy racing. Sailed my cruisers/smacks boat locally on East Coast (Walton on the Naze) but our club are very active in their various series of races. I am thinking (& probably will do) buying a Laser but a friend who also races suggests a Laser not great for elderly backs/knees, etc, she suggests I buy her Super Nova (seems just a faster Laser to me). Any thoughts?

 

[Boathook]

Where my boat is they race scows. You sit inside so fairly stable and a single sail. Very competive they are on the water and respond to being sailed well. Most of the skippers appear in their 70's though there are a few younger looking ones.

 

[jon711]

Try a Hadron H2, built very close (Simon Hipkins) and good for your knees

 

[Hermit]

Not sure a Super Nova is faster than a Laser (despite the PY difference). At my old club they were known as Super Sofas so maybe the best bet for knees etc..

 

[wombat88]

An an OAP myself I gave up racing dinghies. I realised I couldn't get myself back into or onto the boat after capsizing.

 

[The Q]

Depends on how fit you are.. We had a 75 year old at my last club who leapt across his laser better than many a 20 year old..

Me, Do sports they said it'll keep you fit they said..
So I'm not yet 65 and decrepit with all the sports injuries , so I sail a mini Keel boat which has the sailing style of an International 2.4mR

 

[RJJ]

I fancy having a go at dinghy racing. Sailed my cruisers/smacks boat locally on East Coast (Walton on the Naze) but our club are very active in their various series of races. I am thinking (& probably will do) buying a Laser but a friend who also races suggests a Laser not great for elderly backs/knees, etc, she suggests I buy her Super Nova (seems just a faster Laser to me). Any thoughts?

Big advantage of a Laser is racing against other Lasers. So much more fun than bitchin' about whether the conditions suit your boat, whether your PY is fair etc, although "each to their own".

RS AERO is catching up fast, is a faster and (they say) much more ergonomic design. People love them. But even second hand you need at least £4k and probably £5 or 6.

Personally I would choose, and only choose, the boat that offers one design racing. Yeah, the old Laser isn't the comfiest but it's not THAT bad. And for club racing you're not likely to be sent off for some horrid 2 mile beat in six foot waves.

To get the best out of a Laser it's really important to have the footstrap right (somewhat tight) so that you hike straight-legged and with feet pointed like a ballerina. That's the mistake many club sailors make (look, with my long strap I get my feet further outboard, gotta be better, oh hell my bum is eight inches under water and I am drastically bent at the waist and hips to reach the tiller while straining my unsupported knees and, oh bugger, the strap is so floppy I have to flex my ankle to hook into it which is even more uncomfortable). Also wear battened hiking pads. You'll be fine. There's loads of stuff on YouTube.

Also do some exercise to accompany your sailing. At club level you don't need to become Ben Ainslie but you do need a cardio base, some flexibility, and a reasonable core. A little pilates plus some running, cycling or rowing in your life will see you right and do you no harm more generally anyway. I'd say the same to race any singlehander.

People moaning about the Laser (which, as you can tell, I am fond of) are somewhat akin to runners who enter a race wearing the wrong shoes and without training. Yes, it's a physical boat! So give yourself and your body a chance by setting it up correctly and working out a bit.

 

[Telstar26]

Wel I've been sailing a Supernova since I was 55, and I'm now an OAP, as are a good proportion of the 100+ fleet at the Nationals each year.

They're lovely boats, without the Laser/ILCA quirks. But they can still be a handful in a fresh breeze if you're under 75kgs - I use a smaller sail.

I'd also consider the Aero, but their cost and fragility puts me off.

 

[Thistle]

What do they sail at your club? Even if it's handicap racing, it's worth being able to sail against other boats of the same class.

I'm almost 70. I gave up an Enterprise a few years ago as the club fleet was dwindling, and moved to a Laser. A change from full rig to radial has allowed me to stay there and to sail reasonably competitively in spite of being a tad over the ideal weight (!) My next move may be to a single-handed Mirror but I'm still too young for that in my club; more rescue or race officer duties is another alternative.

 

[dancrane]

Interesting. I nearly bought a Laser last month, when I realised it will probably be next year before I launch the Osprey again.

Then I remembered what a Laser is, and why I haven't envied those who sail them (or almost any other small dinghy) since the 1980s.

They're tender and respond exaggeratedly to any movement of the crew's weight. Perhaps they're meant to, but it's not very pleasant. I also dislike sitting on a sidedeck so low that one's backside is awash every time the boat rolls.

All depends how active (and damp) you want your dinghy-time to be. For a while I fancied a catamaran or one of the singlehanded skiffs, but they're just too single-minded in their pursuit of speed (which isn't the same as suitability for racing). Considering that much heavier, older and more sedate designs are raced equally keenly and ably (while remaining useful for relaxing uncompetitive sailing), I don't think I'd ever buy a singlehanded racing dinghy now.

The scow idea is an interesting alternative. Not fast, but they look undemanding, and far better for keeping oneself (and a picnic) dry.

An old-timer at my club bought a K1 as he couldn't right his Blaze after capsizing. The K1 has a lead bulb and is self-righting, and substantially more interesting than una-rig designs. If it weren't for the £4,000+ price secondhand, I might have gone the same way.

 

[ianc1200]

Many thanks for thoughts. My reason to look at the Laser was there are quite a few who regularly race, including the back markers who I'll be in, if not further back, but will give me something to race against. At present, there are two International Canoes, a few Phantoms, two or three Super Novas, a Topper, and about 6/7 Lasers. In the recent Round The Island Race, and Sunday's Pier Race, the IC's finished about a mile or in front of the Phantoms.

 

[dancrane]

To be fair to the Laser, as well as its ubiquity which allows close racing, the range of rigs means one needn't be afraid of a strong breeze.

I lost 15 kilos in the last 18 months, and the option to use the smaller Radial rig on the Laser, or even the pintsize 4.7 sail, means few days would be unsuitable for launching. I could even pick up the bigger Rooster 8.1 rig for force-1 days. Dammit, now I want one again.

 

[Juan Twothree]

There are lots of Laser sailers at my club, many of whom are surprisingly elderly.

The one thing they all have in common is that they're all completely and utterly barking mad. They know no fear, and are often setting off in deteriorating weather, when everyone else is turning back.

Nice bunch of people though.

 

[TLouth7]

Just up the coast at the Royal Harwich I believe that the Solo is the racing dinghy of choice for the older sailor. They are a bit more ergonomic, you don't have to step the mast every time you sail, and performance is comparable to a Laser so you aren't racing totally alone (almost the same PY as a radial).

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

I fancy having a go at dinghy racing. Sailed my cruisers/smacks boat locally on East Coast (Walton on the Naze) but our club are very active in their various series of races. I am thinking (& probably will do) buying a Laser but a friend who also races suggests a Laser not great for elderly backs/knees, etc, she suggests I buy her Super Nova (seems just a faster Laser to me). Any thoughts?

Your friend is the type of person I would want to have on my sales team

 

[Thistle]

To be fair to the Laser, as well as its ubiquity which allows close racing, the range of rigs means one needn't be afraid of a strong breeze.

I lost 15 kilos in the last 18 months, and the option to use the smaller Radial rig on the Laser, or even the pintsize 4.7 sail, means few days would be unsuitable for launching. I could even pick up the bigger Rooster 8.1 rig for force-1 days. Dammit, now I want one again.

Dinghy sailing after losing weight is an interesting exercise. I found I had to lean out a whole lot harder instead of just moving my lardy a**e an inch or two. The boat does seem to go a bit quicker!

 

[dancrane]

I believe that. Sailing an Osprey alone, I've always been somewhat underweight. I lost weight lately because I really needed to, but the lack of ballast will be worse than ever, now. On the upside, it'll encourage me to use the trapeze harness.

Thinking that way, the Farr 3.7 is reckoned to be a neat, fast but relatively tame racing dinghy that may suit the more mature helm...

...it looks terrific. I'm not sure there are enough out there for close one-design racing, but it's definitely not boring.

 

[ianc1200]

Decisions, decisions. The guy who runs the group, and has an International Canoe, so not biased, says Super Novas would be more suitable, and there's two other novice Super Nova owners getting involved. I think I need to try both boats.

 

[dancrane]

Definitely try them all. All recommendations are so subjective.

For years, I was told I was exactly the build and weight to get the most from a Europe dinghy, the ex-women's Olympic singlehander (that may or may not be taken as flattering - a taller, heavier mate of mine certainly excelled in the boat)...

...but each time I tried it myself, I was either bored or dreadfully uncomfortable. The hull seemed to roll without warning or reason, so that I christened it 'the Soap Dish'.

A club-owned Laser that I tried the same year, was much more civilised - no great thrill, but perfectly okay.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Try a Hadron H2, built very close (Simon Hipkins) and good for your knees

Are'nt they very prone to collision??