The Laser SB3 Class Association is pleased to announce the publication of the Notice of Race for the 2011 Laser SB3 World Championships, to be hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club in Torquay, UK. Entrants will enjoy 14 championship races from Monday 16th May to Friday 20th May 2011 in Torbay under the jurisdiction of Principal Race Officer, Robert Llewellyn.

A Pre World Open Championship will also be hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club from Thursday 12th to Friday 13th May 2011. Entries for this warm up event have also opened.

Torquay hosted the sailing during the 1948 London Olympics, where Paul Elvstrom, competing in the Firefly, began his currently unequalled record in Olympic Sailing of four consecutive gold medals. The Royal Torbay Yacht Club has a background of running top quality events including the Laser SB3 UK National Championships in 2005 and Melges 24 World Championships in the same year. Since then, the Club has hosted over 20 Championships for other classes. William Butcher, Rear Commodore Sailing at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club added, “Torbay’s excellent sailing conditions, race area, race management and harbour-side facilities made Torquay an excellent choice for this event for the Laser SB3 Class.”

Dave Cheyne, President of the Class explained, “It’s very exciting to see the Laser SB3 Worlds in the UK. The UK was essentially the birth place of this class, and since its launch in 2002, we now have over 500 boats racing worldwide. This will be something of a homecoming, but should see the British contingent having to work harder than ever to keep the trophy from going overseas!” 16 Nations were represented at the World Championships in 2010, the event organisers hope to see this representation increased in 2011.

Previous winners of the Laser SB3 World Championships include:
2008, Geoff Carveth (GBR), Earls Court Boat Show in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland
2009, Craig Burlton (GBR), Gill Race Team in Cascais, Portugal
2010, Jerry Hill (GBR), 3 Sad Old Blokes, Torbole, Italy

2011 Laser SB3 World Championships NOTICE OF RACE
2011 Laser SB3 World Championships ENTRY FORM
2011 Laser SB3 Pre Worlds Open NOTICE OF RACE
2011 Laser SB3 Pre Worlds Open ENTRY FORM

Only a few weeks left before the weekend of the Dutch Nationals! The entry list is growing with not only Dutch boats but also boats from Belgium, the UK, Germany and France. So don’t miss out on this great event! It’s especially a good opportunity to test the water for the Europeans in 2012, which is also held in Medemblik. So if you haven’t registered yet, please do so via the website: www.lasersb3.nl

Date:
8 – 10 October 2010

Address Regatta Center:
Vooroever 3
1671  SG Medemblik

Boat park:
If you arrive on Thursday, you can park your trailor at the parking area. If you arrive on Friday
you can go directly to the slipway.

Registration/NOR/Entry Fee:
The registration form and NOR are available on the class website: www.lasersb3.nl. You can pay the entry fee
of €100,- at registration on Friday (11.00 – 13.00). First Race is Friday at 14.00!

Accomodation:
They have fine bungalows at http://www.zuiderzee-recreatie.nl  which is a 5 minute walk
(850 mtrs) from the boat park. You can rent a bungalow (6 pers) for the weekend (or Thursday – Sunday). T
el: + 31 (0)227 542345 or email: info@zuiderzee-recreatie.nl and mention that you participate in the Laser SB3 nationals.

Hotel Medemblik (1 km) is a nice option for sailors who prefer more comfort and/or service and
the nearbyness of pubs/restaurants (which might be nice if the weather is the same in October as it was last days…)
Tel: + 31 (0) 227-543 844 / Email: info@hotelmedemblik.nl / www.hotelmedemblik.nl

For more bungalows, hotels / B&B’s and restaurants check the city guide: http://www.vvvmedemblik.nl

Social programme:
Friday:
Have a beer after sailing at the club and explore the culinary hotspots of the historical city of Medemblik (or have a nice dinner at the club).
Saturday:
Drinks and a delicious captains dinner at the club.
Sunday:
One for the road: a last beer at the club during the prize giving

Latest details of the event will be published on the Dutch Laser SB3 website, so check back  regularly for any news and updates!

See you in  Medemblik!

www.lasersb3.nl

Awesome Scottish scenery, the beautiful mountains surrounding where the Gare Loch joins the Firth of Clyde, greeted competitors arriving for the weekend.  Add to that a £25 entry fee, free craneage, berthing and camper van parking with electric hook-up in Rhu Marina and this event is sounding good.  Add free drinks evening at the very hospitable Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club on Friday courtesy of the event sponsor GSS (Gareloch Support Services (Plant) Ltd) and the stage is firmly set for the third edition of the Laser SB3 Scottish Championships.  Breakfasts and evening meals and bar in the marquee at Rhu Marina complete the scene.

Team Baloo (and The Little Man) travelled up from Yorkshire to defend their title.  Other travelers included Huttons from Yorkshire, a crew from Ireland and TB4E who had driven the 500 miles from Essex, with one of the crew having come from Falmouth – now that is commitment!!

Add a whole bunch of Scottish boats, many with owners new to the fleet and the SB3 fleet is in business with its own class start at the annual GSS Regatta organized by Clyde Cruising Club.  Extra event support allowed the Sailing Instructions to remove the need to carry all the engine equipment or alternative ballast, leaving the boats able to sail lighter.

Saturday morning dawned with sunshine (in Scotland in September???) and around 10 knots of breeze from the South West (ish).  The result was a champagne day of challenging sailing on the Clyde with a breeze that fluctuated between 8 and 15 knots with direction changes driven by clouds and the hills (oops mountains).  It was all about good gear changing and getting the shifts right.  Three races were successfully completed before the fleet adjourned for evening refreshments and entertainment.

Sunday brought Scottish drizzle (very thoughtful to lay on this free sail wash facility at the end of the season) and a very feeble breeze.  As the fleet went afloat the breeze faded even more before dying completely.  Early radio entertainment was provided by Geezer (Geoff) starting a game of eye-spy.  This led to much more radio inter-boat frivolity, some of which questioned the Scots ability to play rugby, as all the SB3 crews were sustained by warm drinks supplied by the bigger cruisey IRC fleet.  The PRO was eventually forced to abandon racing and the Championship was decided on the results of Saturday’s races.

Prizes for the SB3 fleet were generously provided by Marineaglaze and the RNCYC:
- 1st and Scottish Champions – Baloo, John Outhwaite, Yorkshire
- 2nd and most travelled UK SB3 2010 – Huttons, Ben Williamson, Yorkshire
- 3rd and first Scottish boat – The Young Pretender, Callum Calder, Scotland
- 4th and thanks for driving the rebirth of the Scottish Championships – Tonic, Doug Paton, Scotland
- 5th and newest to the SB3 – SB33dboat, Ross Lang, Scotland, first sailed his boat Friday evening.

We are promised the same reception and treatment by the organizers and the generous sponsors, GSS and Marineaglaze, for next year so put this event in your diary now.  Superb.

John Outhwaite

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Following developments in the planning stages for the 2012 Laser SB3 World Championships, the World Council of the Laser SB3 Class Association are excited to announce that the event will now be hosted on Hamilton Island in Northern Queensland.

Hamilton Island is situated on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef, amongst Queensland’s 74 Whitsunday Islands, Hamilton Island offers an experience like no other: glorious weather, azure waters, brilliant beaches, and fabulous trade wind sailing.

The new dates for the event are 13th – 20th December 2012. Further details will be made available shortly.

Monday 20th September 2010

LaserPerformance is pleased to announce that a build order is in place with DK Yachts in Malaysia to provide 20 Laser SB3’s for delivery in early spring 2011. 18 of these boats have been sold into Northern Europe. In order to maintain price and build terms orders will only be placed when 10 sales orders have been achieved. Anybody wishing to purchase a new boat in time for the 2011 Laser SB3 World Championships in Torbay should inform LaserPerformance or their local dealer of their order before Christmas 2010 to ensure delivery in time for May 2011.

Mark Henry, Managing Director, LaserPerformance

Within the overall Hamble Winter Series event, the Hamble Autumn Championships mini-series was introduced in 2003 to provide a highly competitive event for one-design keel and sports boats. Since its introduction the series has gone from strength to strength and we look forward to welcoming more one-design classes.

The Early Bird discounted entry fee for the Garmin Hamble Winter Series closes at midday on Monday, 13th September.

No doubt there will be a number of one-design owners discussing among themselves whether they should enter the Hamble Autumn Championships at the same time.  I can hear you saying “I will if you will!”  This year the decision couldn’t be easier.  Simply, do so and if your class can’t muster the minimum entry of eight by midday on the Monday, 11th October, we’ll refund your entry fee.  Risk free!

To recap, the Hamble Autumn Championships will be run on the Saturday and Sunday, 16/17th October, combining with main-series racing on the Sunday.  Four races are planned for the Saturday and two and three races for black and white groups, respectively, on the Sunday.  A one-design crew party is being planned for the Saturday evening – more details shortly, plus there will be a daily prize-giving; all at the HRSC Clubhouse.  Free ‘short stay parking’ on the midstream visitors’ pontoon and a free taxi service to ferry crew from around the river to/from the Club are also being planned.

All-in-all, a great weekend on and off the water in prospect. We just need you to spread the word and encourage your class entries. And, if there is anything else we can do to make this an even more memorable event for your class then please let me know.

Kind regards,
J.
 
Jamie Wilkinson
Race Director,
Garmin Hamble Winter Series

We are glad to inform you that registration of the Dutch Laser SB3 Nationals 2010 is possible as from now!

Please use the link to the registration form on the homepage of the Dutch Laser SB3 class website (www.lasersb3.nl) in order to register.

Dutch Nationals 2010
8 – 10 October 2010

Address:
Vooroever 3
1671 SG Medemblik
tel: 0227-547781

Accomodation
They have fine bungalows at http://www.zuiderzee-recreatie.nl which is a 5 minute walk from the boat park.
Or check one of the hotels in Medemblik: http://www.vvvmedemblik.nl/

We will inform you as soon as possible about the availability of the NOR and more programme details. It will also be published on the Dutch Laser SB3 website, so check back regularly for any news and updates!

See you in Medemblik!

Last weekend we had the Dutch Laser SB3 Match Race Championships during the Hiswa outdoor boatshow 2010 in IJmuiden.

The weather conditions were great, for both audience and sailors: sunshine and good wind!

The races were held between the pier and the harbor, so the audience had a perfect view of the races. The starting line was very close to the shore.

After very exciting races and a lot of action the team of Jurjen Feitsma won the first prize, the team of Renee Groeneveld (who is member of the Delta lloyd Olympic sailing team in the Elliot and preparing for the Olympics in Weymouth in 2012) came second and the team of Berend Jan Edens third.

The next Laser SB3 Match race events will be held in Hamburg, Germany.

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Help accelerate the development of the SB3 in France with your participation at this major regatta in Normandy where the SB3 fleet is taking off (7 boats purchased in 2010).

Why should the English, Belgium and Dutch SB3 owners come to the Normandy Sailing Week (NSW) at Le Havre in June 2011:
- For the English sailors, it’s a short ferry ride from Portsmouth: 3h15 direct ferry ride from Portsmouth to Le Havre. 
- It’s a 5 minute drive from the Le Havre Ferry Terminal to the cranes for launching the boats, so if you add 25 minutes from Hamble to the ferry in Portsmouth, that’s a total of 30 minutes driving time!
- From Oostende, Le Havre is about a 3h30 drive (367 km of which 354 km highways).  For the Dutch, they have to add 2 hours from Medemblik to the Oostende time.
- France is a considerably important link in the development of the SB3 in Europe as it sits at the crossroads of Northern Europe with Southern Europe
- The success of the development in France will happen if there is a success in Normandy
- John Outhwaite’s experience at the Normandy Sailing Week in 2010 was favourable (please check with John directly) – Registration includes 3 soirées organised by the sailing clubs and the organiser
- As well as a dinner for all the crews and an evening with music and entertainment

Flexibility:
- The organiser of the NSW regatta can offer us the flexibility to race over a 4 day weekend (half day Friday and half day Monday) or a 3 day weekend (Saturday, Sunday and half day Monday).  Please provide chat on this point. FYI, Monday is is a holiday (yes another) in France, Pentecost.
- The arriving ferry schedule is convenient: night ferry leaves Portsmouth at 23h45 and arrives in Le Havre at 8h.  The other ferry leaves Portsmouth at 8h30 and arrives in Le Havre at 12h45. 
- The departing ferry schedule is equally convenient: Monday departure from Le Havre at 17h00 arriving at 5h30 Tuesday.  Or rapid ferry service leaving Le Havre on Monday at 18h30 and arriving in Portsmouth at 20h45 Monday evening.
- The French SB3 class  will ensure that the SB3 racing programme will accommodate the ferry schedule
Sponsoring and assistance for the two largest expensesThe French SB3 class (with its sponsors) will be able to ensure a 50% reduction of the ferry costs (LD Lines).

Lodging:
The French SB3 class (with its sponsors) will be able to ensure a discount for the hotel costs as well and can already offer a B&B price of 66 euro including taxes. 

For the rest:
Separate starting line for the SB3 class
Separate trophy and awards
Craning is free (including in registration fee)
International jury.

The Royal Ulster YC crew of Gareth Flannigan/Brian Spence/Jeremy Tomlinson on ‘McCreadys Gill Team’ were the emphatic winners of the Irish Laser SB3 National Championship, sponsored by Investwise, at Howth Yacht Club with a remarkable 17.5 points margin over runner-up ‘Yeti’ (Sean Craig/Stephen Boyle/Alan Green) of the Royal St.George YC. The early pacemaker ‘Sharkbait’ (Ben Duncan/Brian Moran/Ric Morris) of the host club was a further two points adrift.

The northerners simply got better and better as the series unfolded. After a tentative start with an 8th and a 6th on day one, they strung together an impressive record of three bullets and three seconds, clearly revelling in the strong wind conditions over the weekend.

They arrived in Howth as the pre-event favourites on the back of top class performances at the four regional championships and did not disappoint. Overnight leaders going into the last day, they only had to steer clear of trouble and keep an eye on Craig and Duncan to be sure of overall victory.

Winning the penultimate race (just ahead of Craig and with Duncan back in 17th) effectively sealed the title but the last race threw up the highly unusual result in one-design racing of a tie for line honours with ‘Bullet’ (Trevor D’Arcy and crew from Carrickfergus), with Duncan salvaging a third after several average results.

Discarding an 8th was a clear indication of the Royal Ulster crew’s dominance of the event and the pre-event predictions as to who would be the podium finishers were highly accurate. In addition to the top three, there were four other northern crews and four Dun Laoghaire boats in the top ten.

Duncan was the leading local boat in 3rd overall, although two other Howth crews ‘Flying Saucers’ (Emma McDonald) and ‘Lia’ (Dave Barry) filled 11th and 12th places respectively.

Overall Results:

1. McCreadys Gill Team (Flannigan/Spence/Tomlinson) RUYC 15.5 pts
2. Yeti (Craig/Boyle/Green) RStGYC 33 pts
3. Sharkbait (Duncan/Moran/Morris) 35 pts
4. Flutter (Algeo/Knatchbull/Haughton) RStGYC 47 pts
5. Bad (Hyde/Dowling/Dowling) RIYC 53 pts
6. Toucan 3 (Vaughan & crew) RNIYC 57 pts

David Hudson, Roger Hudson, Marlon Jones and Wamdisile Xayimpi win the Neilson Active Holiday UK Laser SB3 National Championships hosted by Brighton Marina Yacht Club.

“This event has been fantastic, we’ve had great sailing, great race management and great hospitality ashore!” enthused David Hudson this afternoon. Elaborating on his week, “We started with a really strong performance but had a bad few races during the middle of the week. Today, we started well and raced Craig [Burlton] hard, but we also needed to say in touch with Geoff [Carveth]. Roger has been great today.” Roger added, “Waddie and Marlon have been very solid at this event, our manoeuvres have been really clean, also, it’s great to see Dad still sailing so fast at 64 [years old].

Having lead over night into the final day of racing Andy Oddie finished the event in second place. Having hung on to Craig Burlton during the final race of the Nationals, Oddie ended up towards the rear of the fleet without enough time to get back in touch with the South Africans who subsequently won the event. Oddie added, “It’s been a great event, we’ve had a really good week, this is a really great sailing venue.”

Although he won 4 races, Geoff Carveth, finished in third position overall, just one point behind Andy Oddie. “I thought that with our 2 bullets today and Craig [Burlton] and Andy [Oddie] being down the pack in the final race we might have finished slightly higher, so I’m kicking myself for our black flag result yesterday. Overall we’ve had 4 first places and we didn’t win! But, it’s been great racing and the crew has sailed really well together.”

The final rankings in the Silver Fleet were consistent with yesterday’s results. Richard Catchpole and the crew of Orthteam finished first with 132 points. Mark Stokes finshed second with 162 points and Stewart Reed and his drinking companions on Finitor 7 finished third with 206 points.

All in all, competitors have enjoyed a very competitive event, with good breeze, blue skies and sunshine. Peter Saxton is to be congratulated for running an excellent event on the water. The competitors have praised his excellent start lines, race lengths and ability to turn the racing around in record time.

The UK Laser SB3 National Championships has been extremely generously sponsored and the class associations thanks go to Neilson Active Holidays, Gill (Laser SB3 Official Clothing Supplier), LaserPerformance, Premier Marinas, Sussex Yacht Club, Day 1, Sail 4 Cancer and Sussex Yachts. Brighton Marina Yacht Club have been fantastic hosts providing an excellent base for the event. This evening the Prize Giving and Class Association Grand Prize Draw will be made with prizes from Bolle, Gill, Suunto and LaserPerformance.

Top Ten – Gold Fleet
1. Spirit of Cape Town – David Hudson & Roger Hudson
2. In Your Pocket – Andy Oddie
3. Core Elements – Geoff Carveth
4. Gill Race Team – Craig Burlton
5. 3 Sad Old Blokes – Jerry Hill
6. Rola-Trac – Tim Saxton
7. Sponge Bob – Marshall King
8. Rumbleflurg – David Cummins
9. Zimmer – Mike Budd
10. Marilyn – Dom Form

Top Ten – Silver Fleet
1. Orthteam – Richard Catchpole
2. Eau No! – Mark Stokes
3. Finitor 7 – Stewart Reed
4. Savage Sailing Team – Chris Savage
5. Neilson – Shark Bite – Tim Cork
6. Heart of Gold – Gavin Watson
7. Healthy 1 – Ray Davies
8. Littlejohn Luck – Sam Littlejohn
9. TeamB4Ego – Geoff Gritton
10. Retail Therapy – Charlie Sheppard

Full results can be found at: http://www.bmyc.org.uk/racing/SB3%20Nationals/results.asp

With a forecast of steady pressure from the east increasing to 15 knots as the day progressed, 41 competitors in the Neilson Active Holiday Laser SB3 National Championships left Brighton Marina and headed to the race course with great enthusiasm for what promised to be a fantastic day of racing. Four races were scheduled for today [Friday] following the loss of the final scheduled race yesterday. The fleet is now split, for scoring purposes only, into gold and silver fleets.

Each of the 4 races today was won by a different competitor from the gold fleet; Marshall King (Sponge Bob), Geoff Carveth (Core Elements), David Cummins (Rumbleflurg) and Chris Darling (Darling Associates). 

Catching up with the race winners on the dock, Marshall King’s crew explained how they went hard right in the first race despite Marshall’s concerns, “We told him to keep the faith and we went on to win race 1.”

Sandy Ramus, crew on Carveth’s ‘Core Elements’ explained that he spent last night drinking Jerry Hill’s crew under the table but managed to keep his own head clear to contribute to their win in race 2.

Chris Darling put his race winning performance in race 4 down to his super-star trimmers of Andy Shaw and George Yeomans, who were recently crowned World Student Match Racing Champions, “We were tenth at the first windward mark and by the leeward gate we were first! We then managed to maintain our lead for the second lap, keeping the kids on ‘Rola Trac’ and ‘Spirit of Cape Town’ behind us.”

Unfortunately 14 boats suffered at the hands of the black flag today, with 5 boats disqualified from the third race and 9 boats from the fourth race, including quality competitors Craig Burlton, Geoff Carveth, Mike Budd and David Cummins. Chris Cousins from David Cummins’ Rumbleflurg explained his black flag away by saying, “You’re only as good as the last race you sailed in and we won our last race!”

With 2 races remaining for the 2010 Laser SB3 National Championships, competition tightens at the top of the gold fleet with Andy Oddie leading Jerry Hill by 2 points and Hill leading Burlton by 2 points. In the Silver Fleet, Richard Catchpole leads, with Mark Stokes in second and Stuart Reed third.

Results are subject to protest and can be found at: http://www.bmyc.org.uk/racing/SB3%20Nationals/results.asp

Day 2 of racing at the Neilson Active Holiday UK Laser SB3 National Championships started with a steady 10 knots of wind off the coast of Brighton this morning. However, as the day progressed, the wind became less settled and eventually dropped leaving the Race Officer with a tricky job in hand. Rob Gullan and the Parkway Pirates won the first race of the day, with Rola Trac in second and Spirt of Cape Town in third place.

“During the second race the wind veered left before shifting hard right on the second beat,” explained Principal Race Officer, Peter Saxton. A number of boats were caught out in Race 2 with the massive shift, but Chris Darling, George Yeomans and Andy Shaw managed to battle their way to the front of the fleet and took a well deserved bullet, with ‘In Your Pocket’ second and ‘3 Sad Old Blokes’ finishing third. Rola Trac and Spirit of Cape Town both lost out in Race 2 and finished in the late-teens. 

Many of the competitors came ashore claiming a day of ‘Snakes and Ladders’ and there was faint disappointed not to have enjoyed a repeat performance of yesterday’s weather conditions, perhaps not physically tired but certainly mentally tired having worked hard all day picking the shifts and working their boats to achieve maximum possible speed.

3 Fat Lads, helmed by Martin Wadsworth was joined for Day 2 by the Harbour Master from the Marina after a crew member had to leave unexpectedly after racing on Wednesday. Coming ashore this afternoon, he was buzzing, “What a great day!”

Even in gentle conditions, the Laser SB3 had clearly impressed. Gary Barker and his crew on Trio performed well in races 1 and 2, “We were really pleased with what we achieved today, perhaps not in everyone’s eyes, but for us, we did really well!”

Peter Saxton was congratulated by the fleet this evening for taking the decision to not sail the fourth scheduled race today. The sea breeze dropped to nothing and the fleet were sent home. At the end of racing, the World Champion, Jerry Hill is repeating his form from Italy earlier this summer and leads the fleet at the halfway stage of the regatta. Andy Oddie, ‘In Your Pocket’ lies second, his best result so far in the fleet while David Hudson and the crew of Spirt of Cape Town lie in third.

This evening, the free beer is flowing again, prior to the class AGM. A BBQ and charity auction in aid of Sail 4 Cancer which has been supported by our Gold Tier Sponsor Neilson Active Holidays.

Results are subject to protest and can be found at: http://www.bmyc.org.uk/racing/SB3%20Nationals/results.asp

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