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LASER 5000 ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

 

INTRODUCTION 

The cold weather is over and I’m not sure about the rest of you, but I feel a desperate need to get away from politics, elections and drudgery; sailing a Laser 5000 seems to be a great way to do that.  In fact the Association has already started the healing process and has held a very successful training weekend; more about that later. 

It’s an exciting time to be a member of the Association, numbers are up and people ‘out there’ are beginning to notice the fleet once again.  Past members are showing interest and there are significant numbers who have stated an interest in attending our events this year.  Of particular interest is the up and coming fleet on the continent.  The German Class Association has held an event and there is small but determined fleet in Poland. 

The committee has been busy on your behalf and has been in negotiation with our equipment suppliers to try and get you the best deal possible and these negotiations are ongoing.  Organisation for the European Championships is well underway and the first entry forms have been received.  Incredibly we have had over 15 expressions of interest for both the Europeans and the Nationals being held at Lymington in July and this is just the beginning.  With your support and effort we could possibly get in the region of 20 entries to both events. 

TRAINING WEEKEND 

This year’s training weekend was once again held at Thorney Island, near Emsworth over the 15^th and 16^th of May.  Despite only 4 crews being available for the training, all of those that did attend gained some valuable experience, be that during the dry land drills, learning where to put their feet or how to move across the boat, to boat handling on the water, starting practice, hoist drop zones and short sharp races.  The weather was just right, with a steady F2 to 3 on the Saturday, building to a nice F3 to 4 on the Sunday, which proved to be suitably challenging for everybody.  At the end of the weekend, all finished with smiles on their faces and with no broken boats or bodies (well, not badly anyway!) I think I can say that it was successful and all learned valuable lessons.  Let’s hope we have sufficient interest to be able to run a similar event next year.  My thanks go to all of those who attended and also to Clive Grant who provided valuable coaching input. 

NATIONALS 

Only just over a month away now, this is ‘the’ event in the UK calendar.  Lymington Town SC are hosting our event as part of their Regatta weekend and we will be there with the 4000 fleet as well as others.  The event will take place over the 3^rd and 4^th of July and I hope the NOR will be posted soon on the LTSC website.  The great news is that currently I have 15 boats on my list who have said that they want to attend from across the country.  This will be a truly magnificent effort by the membership and I believe, with a bit of commitment we may get more than this.  It’s up to you, out there, to ensure that we go from strength to strength.  By the way, in order to be eligible for any of the prizes, you will have to be a member of the Association and have paid your fees.  We are also thinking of some sort of prize for the person who comes last but has completed all races.  We are also looking into a nearby campsite where the whole gang can pitch up (excuse the pun) together and enjoy the social. Why not come along and enjoy the fun?  Please get in touch with me and let me know. 
 
 

EUROPEANS  

The entry form for this is now on the website link.  Race Instructions have been finalised and will be posted/sent to those who have entered no less that one month before the event and the beer and BBQ have been booked.  There will also be a karaoke and we are looking into a band for the event.  So as you can see it’s going to be rocking good week!  We’re looking at 12 races in all over the 5 days with a lay day thrown for a rest or to look around the famous area of the Mohnesee Dam.  We have entries from Germany and Poland and I’m still chasing up people from Denmark and Italy, it’s going to be a truly multi-national event and a snip at £80 a head (a little more for those who are not association members from the continent).   Food and accommodation can also be arranged through our hosts, the British Mohnesee Sail Training Centre, their link is on the website.  I would advise booking your ferry crossings through Sea France as soon as possible, the longer you leave it, the more expensive it will become. For Association members, we’ve negotiated a 20% discount, so if you haven’t joined yet, get in touch with Neil our Treasurer to sort things out.  For those on the continent, if you want parts from Northampton Sailboats bringing across, please let us know as soon as possible, by the end of June at the very latest please.  Once again, if you haven’t let me know that you’re coming, I’d appreciate it if you’d drop me a line so that I can keep my information up to date and advertise the size of the event through Dinghy Magazine and Yacht and Yachting. 

OTHER MATTERS: 

NORTHAMPTON SAILBOATS 

You will all be aware that we have been in negotiation with Northampton Sailboats to try and get our membership the best deal possible.  They have listened to our concerns and are willing to listen further and possibly provide some assistance.  Some of you have commented to us about the amount of time it sometimes takes to get kit from them as they do not seem to have much on the shelves and that it seems very pricey.  This is partly because they didn’t get much from Laser when they took over the supply of the equipment, partly because kit does not break very often on the 5K and therefore stocks have not been built up – it costs to make special ‘runs’ on kit, partly because people go to other places that seem to be cheaper or by cannibalisation of other boats and partly because they have not had the franchise for long and they are learning themselves. 

Therefore I would ask that you all appreciate that it is a two way thing, they need to make a profit and we need a good, ready supply at a reasonable price.  They need to be reassured that we will support them and are buying equipmen from them.  Please, if you do order kit, let them know that you are a 5000 sailor.  If you are ordering a large item (sails, spars, foils etc), then try getting in touch with Neil, our Treasurer who is compiling a list of these larger equipment items that people want, if we can get a bulk order, we may get discount.  

We will maintain the dialogue with Sailboats and apply pressure to support our membership, but we also have to play our part by supporting them where we can – of course I understand that everybody will seek bargains or lower prices elsewhere, but we need to let them know why they are not able to sell the kit if that is their perception. 

MEMBERSHIP FEES 

The committee has gone to a great deal of effort during the last 12 months to provide a service to the membership that is of good quality, balanced and informative.  In addition we have gone to various organisations, (Sailboats, Sea France, Noble Marine and others) to get you the best deals we can and we will of course continue to do so.  We also have to pay public liability insurance for our events (Training, Europeans etc) and our fees to the RYA in addition to the prizes for the Nationals and Europeans.  You get all of this for only £20 a year, yet many people out there have still not taken advantage of this brilliant deal.  Please, fill in the form in the ‘Association’ page of the site and send off your cheque or direct debit mandate to Neil.  We will continue to provide the best service we can, all we ask is that you all also support the Association. 

ONE DESIGN 

You’re all aware that the bedrock of the 5000 rules is the ‘One Design’ concept that ensures that we all sail on a ‘level’ pitch.  To my mind it is one of the beauties of the boat, the positions that we gain in the fleet are all down to crew skill and not how much money we can pour into the boat on new ‘gizmos’ (different sails, spars, home made bits that don’t conform to the Association rules etc).  There may be people out there that have had kit made (spars, sails) to undercut the price of the official designs.  I don’t think I’m a Luddite, but it is important that everybody who wishes to enter into Class events conform to the rules.  If people start bringing in their own kit, we (The Association) will be forced to start paying for ‘official measurers’ to make sure that people are not at an unfair advantage.  We cannot afford this at present and therefore we will not be able to allow it. 

WEIGHT EQUALISATION 

The 5000 is the one truly weight equalised boat and crews of all weights and sizes can sail it, once again, it is the beauty of the boat.  In the last few years we have not been pushing the weight equalisation rules in order that people can just concentrate on boat handling and getting to know the boat.  Now that the fleet is building up, we will be once again applying the rules of equalisation.  Have a look at rules area on the website and remind yourself how they work.  If you have any questions, please ask.  I will be making sure that a suitable plank and some new scales are brought to both the Nationals and the Europeans (I may even swipe the bathroom scales and run very fast from her indoors!) 
 

SPONSORSHIP AND HELP FOR HEROES 

We currently do not have any sponsorship for our events, however, now that the fleet is building up again, there is the potential to sell ourselves more.  We are actively seeking plenty of advertising in the sailing press and it’s beginning to work.  If we get the numbers at the Nationals that are expected, then we have the proof to go to companies (such as Northampton Sailboats) to see if they will sponsor us in future events and get even bigger and better prizes and support. 

You will also notice that on the head of this letter is the Help for Heroes logo.  This is a wonderful charity to help injured service personnel get back into society and get on with their lives after suffering various injuries in the service of the country.  It is not political, just worthwhile.  I will be bringing t-shirts with their logo and the 5000 logo to the Nationals and other events as well as wrist bands/stickers etc and donation tins.  If you feel this is worthwhile cause also, please dig deep when you come to our events. 

That is this editions rant over and done with.  So, if you feel suitable inspired or have views, please let us know either via the forum or Facebook site; even better, why not come to the events and express your views, good or bad there? 

Thanks for your time to read this.  See you at the Nationals 

Taff Owens

 

Chairman

Laser 5000 Association