A brief quick update on a number of topics from the organisers of the 2012 SB3 World Championships. As soon as further details are available, they will be posted here, so please stay tuned…..and HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

Weather
If we had been at Hammo this year we’d have had a great regatta. I’ve attached the Met observations from Hamilton Island airport for December , and highlighted the days of the regatta. Of course it’s not next year and any guarantee that the met will be like this is not offered !! However , Hammo in December is more often than not , a regatta paradise.

In East Coast Australia this year ( Especially Queensland East Coast ) we are again in the La Nina phase of the weather patterns. ( very simply…La Nina / El Nino are names given that relate to the direction of current on Pacific equator and on West South American coast that affects the water temperatures there and here in East Coast Australia and the Pacific in general ) La Nina to us means more rainfall , more instability etc. It is typical that we get more cyclones and floods. However this is the 3rd year of the La Nina cycle and typically it is moderating. We can likely expect a mild La Nina cycle next year or even the first year of the El Nino effect ( we get warmer , drier weather and possible droughts )…the other indicators ( Southern Oscillation Index ) are also pointing to a weak La Nina in 2012 with a possible transition to an El Nino year in 2012/2013.

What this means , if it eventuates as expected , is a milder wet season ( late 2012 and early 2013 ) for Queensland. Good news for us , typically  this year to date has not been as wet as last.

The met I’ve provided shows the wind in kmh ( so divide by 1.8512 to get knots ) , as you can see there was very little rain during the month ( by our standards ) , and what there was fell during short periods during storms or frontal events.

We would have lost no days due to too little or too much wind , temps were not high ( maybe a degree or two down on what we’d normally expect ).  All was good regatta wise.

Hamilton Island Weather Observations December 2011

Shipping
No new news as yet , am awaiting advice from our container shipping company as to containerised rates , I expect this shortly ( and yes I know I have advised that for last month or so but it is coming !! ). I do expect this rate to be less per boat than that we have offered for RoRo.

Accommodation
I suggest you start looking at accom now but hold off booking anything for a few months , it is likely we will be able to release accom at Whitsunday Holiday Apartments in the New Year. These are apartments that sleep up to 5 , overlook Casteye Beach , have kitchen etc etc and offer great value. They do not include a buggy BUT are within walking distance of everything in the resort that matters. I will be putting out accom suggestions as soon as we have this online.

Entry
The NOR and Entry fee is ready , we are in negotiation with a major Event partner , I expect that this will come to fruition in next 6 weeks. If it has not , we will publish the NOR and open entries at that time.

Flights
No more news as yet , great deals can be had on Air Asia out of London Gatwick into Melbourne and then a separate ticket to Hamilton Island. Worth looking at this as it is very cheap. Air Asia are a no frills service , flying Airbus A330. The danger with this is its nota  through ticket and may mean an extra days travel into and out of Melbourne. They are regarded as reliable and safe in our part of the world. I do expect to be able to offer a mainstream airline at good prices soon.

Fun on the island
The island offers a multitude of tourism and fun attractions. You can bowl in the new bowling lanes ( Kiegel bowling ) , Mini Golf , Driving Range , real Golf ( one of the world’s most scenic and challenging courses on adjacent Dent Island – owned by the resort and linked by 10 minute ferry ride ) , Go Karts , Shooting Range , Jet Boats , Fishing , Picnics , Tennis , Gymnasium , Video ( Movie ) hire , Spa and Beauty ( 2 ) , Beach Cricket , Volley ball , Reef Tours , Restaurants , Take Aways , Kayaks , Fishing boat hire , Evening Dining Cruises , Catamaran hire , Paddle Board hire , and the list goes on…..

Catering
Self Catering accom is the best option on the island , there are two mainland supermarkets that offer a cheap delivery service to Hammo. It needs to be booked a few days in advance.  To give you an idea check out

www.colesonline.com.au                  or                     www.igaairliebeach.com.au/index.php

In 2012, the Laser SB3 fleet in the UK will be taking part in the Vice Admirals Cup, hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Cowes, Isle of Wight. This is the first time that the class have been invited to take part in the event, “we’re looking forward to some tight racing in the central Solent, it’ll be fun being part of this lager event,” explained UK Class Chairman, Chris Darling.

Racing will take place over 3 days, Friday 18th, Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th May. 3 races are scheduled for Friday and Saturday with just two on Sunday allowing time for the prize giving and everyone to return to their home ports.

The Vice Admirals Cup is the first of a number of Laser SB3 events that will take place in the Solent during 2012. Shortly after the V.A.C. the Laser SB3 fleet will be taking part in the Royal Southern Yacht Club’s 175 Year Anniversary Regatta on 2nd and 3rd June before making the trip to the eastern Solent for the annual Seaview Yacht Club gathering of the class.

2012 is shaping up to be a really exciting year for the class. The National Championships will be hosted in mid June at Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy, just ahead of the closure of the venue for the Olympic Games. Cowes Week will no doubt be as popular as ever and in the third week of September, the European fleet will gather for their Championships at Medemblik, Netherlands where approximately 70 boats are expected to compete for the European Championship title.

Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia will host the 2012 Laser SB3 World Championships from 12th – 20th December. Highly subsidised shipping will encourage a good turn out of European entries for the fifth World Championships of the class in one of the world’s “sailing paradises”.

2012…..let’s be havin’ ya!

Congratulations to Mark Stokes, Craig ‘Spike’ Watson and James Eastbury winners of the 2011 Laser SB3 Solent Series in the UK. The crew of Eau No! won all three of the Laser SB3 Solent Series events in 2011, the first time that any crew has ever achieved this success.

Laser SB3 Solent Series Results 2011

Congratulations guys, a truly excellent result!

Following the distribution of the ‘Clyde SB3 Class Proposal’ in September an information and social evening was held on 27th October at The Lansdowne Bar & Kicthen in Glasgow’s West End. Despite some last minute cancellations 25 people made it to the event which was hosted by Scottish SB3 Class Representative Doug Paton.

Following beer and pizza a 40 minute presentation was given which was followed by an open question and answer session. The presentation covered a range of points including; an overview of the boats, opportunities for the 2012 season, berthing & launching facilities, available boats and sponsorship opportunities. Feedback from those that attended would suggest that the evening was a success and we are now aware of a further 2 definite owners presently looking for boats as well as 4 other individuals or syndicates giving the opportunity serious consideration.

At the request of some of the attendees we will be holding a demo sail weekend on Saturday 26th November between 11:00 – 14:00 (weather dependent) where interested owners and crew can come and try out a boat.

If you are interested and have not already registered for a demo sail, can you please email Douglas Paton (douglas_paton@hotmail.com) with your preferred time.

Aside from strengthening the local class the focus now turns to securing a class sponsor for the boats in 2012 and finalising details for the 2012 Laser SB3 Scottish Championships due to be held at the Brewin Dolphin Scottish Series. Interest has been received from as far as Holland and Belgium for this event and we look set to welcome competitors from England and Ireland for what is sure to be a great Scottish Championship.

For those of you that don’t already know, there has been a great deal of effort put into developing the Laser SB3 class on the west coast of Scotland. There a number of boats and crew committed to racing on the upper clyde for evening and weekend racing. The class has previously failed to become established in Scotland possibly as a result of high boat prices in the past. However, with the availability of great value second hand boats, and the affordability of racing them, it looks set to be a success.

For the 2012 Laser SB3 Scottish Championships, the class are going to Loch Fyne to take part in the Scottish Series event. Here the class will benefit from their own one design class start and nine windward-leeward Races over 3 days organised by the Clyde Cruising Club. There will be free craning on 2nd & 4th June provided by Macleod Construction. The class will also benefit from free berthing at the new Portavadie Marina, PA21 2DA (www.portavadiemarina.com). We have provisionally booked out the bunkhouse accommodation block in the very nice new development at the marina exclusively to the class. We intend to have class socials held between tarbert an portavadie with the added help of the water taxi service.

For further information contact Scottish SB3 Rep Doug Paton: douglas_paton@hotmail.com

Scottish Champs Flyer

Please see the official update regarding the 2012 Laser SB3 World Championships in Hamilton Island, Australia.

Laser SB3 World Championships 2012 Who’s Coming to Sail in Paradise

As more information becomes available, this document will be updated and republished.

There are still a number of question marks over shipping, simply because the shipping companies haven’t set their rates yet, and we are unwilling to commit to a “guestimate”. However for planning purposes, a guide price is included in the attached document.

Download the UK fleet 2012 Event Calender below. Calendar highlights include the National Championships at WPNSA, the 2012 Olympic Sailing Venue just ahead of the Games!

UK Calender 2012 V9

Congratulations to John Pollard and crew, winners at the Dutch National Championships. Full rankings below:

01 GRB 3058 Pollard
02 NED 3511 van Driel (MXT3)
03 GBR 3027 Darling (Darling Associates)
04 GBR 3510 Williamson (Huttons)
05 GBR 3060 Reed (Finitor 7)
06 GER 3561 Dohrendorf (Razzmatazz)
07 BEL 3472 Schoenmakers (Los Zapateros)
08 GER 3600 Schoeder (Isabella III)
09 GER 3573 Gielen (Vinatas)
10 NED 3470 Buitenhuis (Cube)
11 NED 3441 Gast (Rivium)
12 GBR 3289 Lossie (TWERK)
13 NED 3446 Beekman (JSBtje)
14 FRA 3078 Renault
15 NED 3555 Hameeteman (Transparts)
16 NED 3158 Stam (Voyager)
17 NED 3219 Scherrens (Cafe Sport)
18 FRA 3423 Russo (Morpheus)
19 FRA 3163 Durozey (Little Wing)
20 ITA 3161 van Dijk (Caveman)
21 BEL 3518 Elleboudt (Tacktonic)
22 GER 3475 Belterman (Stine)
23 BEL 3311 Jonckheere (Selden)
24 NED 3585 van der Elst (Fakey)

OceanBuro the Sunshine Coast based professional sailing company have successfully introduced a strict one-design sports boat to the Australian yachting scene.

There were the expected sceptics when the high profile SB3 Dart made its initial debut under the Oceanburo banner however the class has continued to attract attention with fleet numbers growing throughout Australia.

The strict design pedigree and the flighty nature of this ‘clone’ class where the hull, sails, rig and mechanics are identical which provides all crews with an even chance off the start line has and will continue to attract the attention of the sailor who is searching to master a supreme personal challenge.

Queensland class stalwart Rod Jones held a personal vision that the exciting SB3 Dart would successfully fill an important place on the Australian regatta circuit.

His personal passion and vision to develop a one-design class of sailing for all Australians will be rewarded when the World championship (the first to be contested outside of Europe) is decided at Hamilton Island in December 2012.

Meanwhile the Australian crews which are expected to include Olympic helmsmen Nathan Outteridge (49er) and Matthew Belcher (470) will have a selection of major regattas to refine their skills before they face the starter’s orders on the windy Whitsunday Island waters.

“There is a growing interest in the class and we are expecting strong fleet numbers to contest the major regattas including the 2012 Australian championship in Tasmania next February”. Rod Jones said.

The talented ocean racing skipper Rod Jones who combined with his Mooloolaba mate Greg MacAllansmith and the multiple World championship winning helmsman Glenn Bourke to finish 4th in the 2011 SB3 Dart World championship in England are naturally accepted as the crew to beat after their runaway Queensland championship win at Hamilton Island last August.

However while this trio are presently ranked as the crew to beat they know from experience that past reputations can only be protected with winning on the race course.

The intense regatta campaign for the Queensland champions in Club Marine Blue commences with the Geelong Race Week on Corio Bay in late January followed by the Australian Championship on the River Derwent in February and their State championship defence at the Southport Yacht Club Sail Paradise regatta in March.

They have including the New South Wales championship at Port Stephens in their racing log for April as the final regatta before contesting the Wintersun championship series off Mooloolaba Beach during June and July.

By then the Club Marine Blue racing team of skipper Glenn Bourke, and his Sunshine Coast sail handlers Rod Jones and Greg MacAllansmith should have a guide on the boat speed and tactical standard they will have to produce to improve on their fourth at the 2011 Worlds when the tactical ‘slug fest’ for the 2012 World crown begins off Hamilton Island in late December. — Ian Grant

A new fleet of Laser SB3’s is developing on the River Clyde in Scotland. A social evening has been arranged on Thursday 27th October at the Lansdowne Bar, West End, Glasgow from 6.30pm. Anyone interested in the class is welcome to attend.

The social evening will provide a great opportunity to share news and information on the development of the Laser SB3 class on the Clyde. Representatives from James Watt Dock Marina, Laser SB3 Class Association, local Yacht Clubs and SailLaser will all attend the evening and will be on hand to answer questions.

If you are interested in owning, co-owing or just getting involved by crewing with the Laser SB3 class in Scotland, please come along. If you are able to attend, please contact Doug Paton by e-mail. douglas_paton@hotmail.com

A fleet proposal document has been published. Click here to review the proposal.

It is the intention of the class to hold the 2012 Scottish Championships within the Brewin Dolphin Scottish Series. Discussions are under way with the Clyde Cruising Club and Portavadie Marina. The Notice of Race will be published in early 2012. There is already interest in the Scottish Championships from North and South England, Ireland and Holland; we look forward to welcoming competitors.

We have launched a Facebook page for the Laser SB3 class. Please visit the page and and LIKE it to follow all news and information from the class around the world. Please feel free to post questions, photographs/video and comments to the page.

To LIKE the page, click here

World Champions, Geoff Carveth leads the Garmin Hamble River Winter Series after the first 2 days of racing. UK National Champion, Mark Stokes lies in 2nd place after 7 races. Titch Summers and crew on Chill Pill complete the podium.

Full results here

The Magic Marine Cup / Open Dutch Laser SB3 Championships 2011 starts on Friday 7 October, so only a few days to go. To date there are 24 entries out of 4 countries!! The water at the Haringvliet is great, the skippers dinner (Saturday) and after sailing beers are also arranged, so with some perfect weather conditions the Championships will be a fantastic event!

Entries are still welcome. If you haven’t registered yet, please do!

Below you can find the Notice of Race, Online Entry and the Entry List.

Notice of Race NOR Laser SB3 Nationals 2011
Online Entry & Entry List www.lasersb3.nl
Venue website www.wsvhelius.nl

Sailcenter will also be present on location with their service van. If you need some spare parts or other stuff drop them an email (shop@sailcenter.nl), mention that you participate in the Magic Marine Cup and they will bring it along!

If you have any further questions, please contact the Dutch Class Association (Claire Schreiner) via info@lasersb3.nl

The Angel Group SB3 National Championships were hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club.

Race officer Jack Roy did a superb job getting a full schedule of three races in on Friday & three on Saturday, unfortunately he wasn’t so lucky on the Sunday as racing was abandoned due to winds gusting in excess of 30 knots.

The young pretender Ross Vaughan RNIYC took line honours in race one. But it was the experience of Peter Kennedy who lead after day one with two wins. Hot on his heels going into Saturday were Mel Collins  RCYC sailing Sibelus, and last years Champion Gareth Flannigan Ballyhome YC.

Day two which ended up as the final day, included the first two races in the north of Dublin Bay.

Jack Roy moved the fleet towards Dalkey Island for the final race.

A second place by RIYC Alan McGettigan’s Defiant in race four skippered by Colin Galavan, was the hosts club best result over the weekend. Andrew Algeo sailing Flutter was best placed  Dun Laoghaire boat with some very consistent results finishing sixth overall.

But it was Sharkbait sailed by Ben Duncan, Brian Moran & Ric Morris representing Howth YC who prevailed with some excellent results. Including two wins and two seconds brought them over the finishing line to win from Ridgefence  by one point.

The Howth team sailed superbly all weekend and thoroughly deserved their victory.

“This was a very well run regatta by Paul McCarthy RIYC and Mark McGibney sailing manager.  Another very successful year for the SB3 class, with 39 entries for our Nationals, and the quality throughout the fleet, making it the most competitive class on the island “ said Jerry Dowling, SB3 National Chairman and organiser of this years National Championship.

The final SB3 Regatta is the Midlands hosted by Lough Ree YC 15 -16 th October 2011.

Geoff O’Donoghue claimed the Silver Fleet prize and Selina Dicker took the Bronze.

Great news! Oleg Zherebtsov from Team Russia has confirmed that the Russian Laser SB3 National District has been approved.

There are currently 8 Laser SB3′s in St Petersburg and their intention is to build the fleet to 15 – 16 boats in 2012. The Russian class will host the first Russian National Championships in August 2012, and all Laser SB3 owners and crews are welcomed to compete.

This is really exciting news for the development of the class across Europe. Stay tuned for more news soon!

Team Russia, Zhik SB3 World Championships 2011

The 2012 Laser SB3 European Championships will be hosted by Medemblik, Netherlands.

The event dates are: 21st – 27th September 2012.

Registration & Measurement: Friday 21st & Saturday 22nd September
Racing: Sunday 23rd – Thursday 27th September

A new event for the Laser SB3 calender, the One Design Championships in Hyeres, France from 10th – 13th November 2011. Racing will be offered for the Laser SB3, Longtze, Melges 24 and Fun classes.

The 250 euro entry fee will include berthing, trailer storage, launching, recovery and invitations to social events for the owner and crew.

NOR One design NaH 2011.1

The 2011 Laser SB3 Scottish Championships was held over the weekend of 17th/18th September at GSS North Clyde Regatta. This event was run by the Clyde Cruising Club out of Rhu.

The weekend kicked off with the arrival of the travelling competitors, rigging and launching before retiring to the free bar in the Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club. This provided by the sponsor, GSS Plant.

Two teams to note made the journey up from Sunderland to be at the event. A special thanks to Dave Atkinson (Kit Off) and John Outhwaite (Baloo) for making the effort. The new Scottish SB3 owners, Allan Lennox and team (GBR3038) showed up having never hoisted the kite and were instantly on the pace.

Saturday morning started light with the wind building and settling at around 10 knots for the first race. Superfly took the first race with Baloo and The Young Pretender close behind. The breeze further increased for the second race and Baloo took the win with Superfly second and Kit Off in third. The third race started in good breeze, but immediately dropped and became patchy. With some boats completely becalmed and others in good pressure. Baloo came off best in the end with their second win of the day with The Young Pretender finishing second.

There was another social event at the RNCYC including a BBQ and live band.

Sunday morning started off with more settled weather. There was a bit of a wait for the breeze to fill in and for some Navy traffic through the race area. Due to the unsettled breeze, only one race was run. This was won by Superfly with Prostate Cancer Charity second and The Young Pretender third.

Overall Results
1. Superfly  GBR 3074 7 pts
2. Baloo   GBR 3057 11 pts
3. The Young Pretender GBR 3202 14 pts
4. Prostate Cancer Charity GBR 3081 17 pts
5. No Name   GBR 3038 17 pts
6. Kit Off   GBR 3044 19 pts

Overall, a great fun regatta was had by all. Thanks once again to GSS plant for sponsoring the event, Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club for hosting the social events and Clyde Cruising Club for running the races.

Focus is now on the preparation for the 2012 Scottish Championships to be held at Brewin Dolphin Scottish Series, Tarbert, Loch Fyne on the 1st-4th June.

Follow the development of Scottish SB3 class on facebook by searching: “Scottish Laser SB3 Sailing” and clicking “Like”

Thanks to Doug Paton, Scottish Representative on the UK Laser SB3 Committee for pulling this document together. If you’re interested in getting into the class in Scotland, please take a look here and contact Doug!

SB3 Clyde Doc 2011

They say that a picture says a thousand words. We think that this photo from Family Fun Week in Cascais, Portugal sums up the Laser SB3! Perhaps the crew weight is over the limit, and there are certainly more than 4 in the crew BUT they are all having one hell of a fun time, and that is what the Laser SB3 is all about!

Some of you may have already noticed, but the format for the Hamble River Sailing Club Winter Series has changed. There will no longer be a Winter Series as such for the sportsboat classes and the Autumn Championships will provide a double weekend of racing in October for the Laser SB3 class.
 
Personally, I think that this is a good move with increasing pressure on owners and crews time and finances. I hope that you’ll all support Hamble River Sailing Club with their change and enter the double weekend Autumn Championships. The details are:
 
Dates: Sat 8th & Sun 9th October & Sat 22nd & Sun 23rd October
Notice of Race: Click Here
Online Entry: Click Here
Entry List: Click Here (just the one so far!)

If there are any visiting boats that would like to base themselves in Hamble for the Autumn Championships, please let me know and I’ll facilitate you where I can to make this as simple as possible for you (e-mail katiesb3@gmail.com). It would be great to see a bumper turn out for these two weekends, so please click on the Online Entry link above and get your entry in to the Club.

For those of you who don’t sit on National District Committees or the Laser SB3 World Council, you may not know that the President of our Class changed following the World Championships in May 2011. Dave Cheyne stood down after his second stint on the World Council and has been replaced by Ed Russo from France.

Below are a few details about Ed to help you get to know him. Ed has been the driving force behind the Laser SB3 class re-establishing itself in France and will bring the same level of passion and enthusiasm to the class that we enjoyed with Dr C!

Make sure you say hello to Ed at the next event you attend with him…..and don’t forget to buy him a beer, he does a great job keeping the class moving forwards!

Name: Ed Russo
Contact: edward.russo @ lagardere-active.com
Mobile: +33 0777 6318
Boat Name: Morpheus
Sail Number: FRA 3423
Fleet: France

The Dutch National Championships will take place at Hellevoetssluia from 7th – 9th October 2011. Below you can find the Notice of Race, Online Entry and the Entry List.

Notice of Race Dutch Laser SB3 Nationals

Online Entry

Entry List

If you have any further queries, please contact the Dutch Class Association info@lasersb3.nl

Congratulations to Joe Llwellyn, Nigel Wakefield and Ben Vines on Henri Lloyd – Forelle Estates, winners of the 2011 ZHIK UK Laser SB3 National Championships which concluded on Tuesday at the Royal Southern Yacht Club, Hamble.

Racing on the final day of the Championships was abandoned due to the wind conditions. With less than 4 knots of steady pressure, Race Officer Tony Lovell abandoned racing to ensure a fair result for the event. Had a 10th race been run in poor conditions, a second discard would have been applied to the fleet’s results.

Catching up with Joe after the prize giving, he explained, “We’re so pleased with our decision to buy our own boat and join the Laser SB3 fleet. The racing is so close and this event has provided the best sailing you could ask for, with great conditions, strong competition throughout the fleet and first class race management as always from the Royal Southern. Nigel and Ben have been awesome to sail with and I’m absolutely over the moon to have won the event!”

Joe Llwellyn wins the Laser SB3 UK National Championships for a second time, having previously won the event in Largs with Jerry Hill in 2008. Ben Vines replaced Jerry “Pasty” Vigus who is recovering from surgery having dislocated his shoulder in the penultimate race at the 2011 World Championships in Torquay.

Henri Lloyd – Forelle Estates were also winners of the “Best New Comer” trophy as Joe owns and helms his own Laser SB3 for the first time in the 2011 National Championships. However, being the gentlemen that they are, they passed their prize to second placed best new comers Doug Paton, Matthew Thomas and Roddy Anderson on Superfly who travelled from Glasgow to compete. Ray Davies, Ray Newman and Graham Bridle on healthyone.co.uk won the “Salty Sea Dog” prize awarded to the best placed crew with an average age of 50 years plus.

After 10 years of great racing, the Laser SB3 class remains the number one sportsboat sailing choice in the UK. A newly formed fleet of boats will race in Scotland, based on The Clyde in 2012; Torquay remains a strong fleet and there is also regular racing in Brightlingsea on the East Coast as well as the large Solent fleet. Jerry Hill and Craig Burlton, both previous World Champions and long term owners in the Laser SB3 class enjoy racing the boat so much they both claim, “There’s nothing else they’d rather be sailing.” The 2012 calendar is in the final stages of planning, so if you’d like to get involved in this great fleet, contact Katie Ashworth for further details katiesb3@gmail.com.

Thanks from the UK Class Association to our title sponsor Zhik and our supporting sponsors Hamble Yacht Services and LaserPerformance who all contributed to making the event the success it was.

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Top 5 Results:

1.         Henri Lloyd – Forelle Estates, Lewellyn/Wakefield/Vines     31 pts
2.         Gill Race Team, Burlton/White/Heeley                                         34 pts
3.         3 Sad Old Blokes, Hill/Barker/Thomas                                            36 pts
4.         Body Elements, Carveth/Ramus/Wilkinson/Clarke                  38 pts
5.         Baloo, Outhwaite/Boatman/Hivey                                                  48 pts

For full results visit: ZHIK LASER SB3 UK NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS – OVERALL

Last night ZHIK hosted the Laser SB3 10th Anniversary Party at the King & Queen in Hamble. It was a great night, thanks to everyone for coming!

Just a few photos here!

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The Royal Hollywood Ball will be held at the Club on Saturday 10th September.  This is the last Crew ball of the year coinciding with the September Regatta. This is a great social event to finish of the Sailing Season, following on from the successful May Royal Bollywood Crew Ball, this time the club will have a Hollywood theme.

Tickets are £25.00 per person, to include: a Wight Vodka Cocktail on arrival, Two Course Sit Down Dinner, Dancing until Midnight to Mean Poppa Lean, Altobasso Photo Booth and more.
 
The Southern will be turned into Hollywood for the evening so expect to see a red carpet on arrival, Oscars and a glamorous themed Club.
 
This is a great opportunity for all to get together, drink, dance and mingle! The ball is open to Members, their guests/friends and all crews and owners who have or will sail from the Southern.
 
Dress Code is: Black Tie and Dresses
 
Tickets can be purchased online from the Club website by Non Members and Members, please go to: www.royal-southern.co.uk/Calendar/Book-or-Enter-Online. Alternatively please call Reception or the Sailing Office on 023 8045 0300.

Organising authority: Royal North Sea Yacht Club Ostend
Date: 23/25 September 2011

Please find here the Notice of Race (http://www.rnsyc.be/ostend/uploads/entryforms/2011-huys-nor.pdf) and link (http://www.rnsyc.be/ostend/en/calendar.asp) to the Entry Form for the Huysman Open Belgian Nationals Laser SB3, formerly known as the 3-Nations Cup.

The Laser SB3 class is pleased to welcome you all for the 3th time in Ostend. The Belgian class is now growing rapidly and 7 teams are ready to take up against UK, IRL, NED and GER teams. As always, Ostend is a perfect venue to end the season or, even better, to prepare for the Dutch Nationals in Medemblik two weeks later. Don’t miss it!

The Basics:

Date: Fri 23th – Sun 25th September
Club: Royal North Sea Yacht Club, Ostend – Belgium
Expected # entries: 25 and more!
Races: 9 scheduled
First race: 14 PM Fri 23th September
Entries: open now, please enter a.s.a.p. on http://www.rnsyc.be/ostend/en/calendar.asp
Mooring: at RNSYC
Craning: Free, assistance starting from Thursday 22th PM. On Sunday boats will be called to the craning area individually following a craning list. We will ensure priority for overseas teams!
Boat parking: competitors participating at the Dutch Nationals can leave their boat +trailer for free in between both events!
Accommodation: a wide range of hotels or youth hostels is available and for the quickest among you, we can even arrange a free stay on one of the yachts in the harbour.
Social events: Free beers after sailing, what else ? , dinner at the clubhouse on Sat. 24 Sept at 20hPM. Prizegiving scheduled at 17PM at latest on Sunday ensuring everyone of you can leave in time.
Contact details:
Royal North Sea Yacht Club
Montgomerykaai 1
B-8400 OOSTENDE
0032 59 43 06 94 or info@rnsyc.be

If you’ve got any queries, or need personal assistance please e-mail cedric@beweb.com or frank.dobbels@telenet.be and we’ll help where we can.

A few piccies from day 3 at the ZHIK Laser SB3 National Championships 2011. A fairly grey day on the Solent, but 3 good races and everyone is back in the bar by 2.30pm!

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Geoff Carveth, Emma Clarke, Sandy Ramus and Julie Wilkinson (Body Elements) continue to lead the fleet at the 2011 ZHIK Laser SB3 National Championships with a 4 point lead over Jerry Hill (3 Sad Old Blokes). 6 races have now been completed and one discard has now been applied.

For full results, please see below:

ZHIK Laser SB3 UK National Championships Results – Day 2

After day 1 and 3 races at the ZHIK Laser SB3 UK National Championships the fleet is lead by Geoff Carveth and crew on board Body Elements. Jerry Hill (3 Sad Old Blokes) lies second and Sarah Allan (Sailboat Deliveries) lies third.

The full results can be viewed here:

ZHIK LASER SB3 UK NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS – DAY 1

Preparations are well underway in boat yards around the River Hamble as competitors ready themselves for the 10th Laser SB3 Nationals Championships sponsored by Zhik. The forecast is promising brisk westerly’s and Principal Race Officer, Tony Lovell of the Royal Southern Yacht Club will oversee the eleven race championship that will be sailed on windward leeward courses in the central Solent.

The cream of the UK class will battle it out for the final class championship title of 2011. Current World Champion, Geoff Carveth will be aiming to take “The Double” for the 2011 season; Jerry Hill will want to put his disappointing World Championship result behind him and regain his previous form in the class; Craig Burlton will compete with his regular crew of Stephen White and Adam Heeley who are consistently “quick”.

Andy Oddie in Underground Toys will be one to watch, along with Peter Saxton, Sarah Allan, Charlie Whelan and Tom Clay. All are capable of great results at this event. Stewart Reed and his crew on Finitor 7 will, without doubt, win the social award and any crews wishing to be in contention for the title would be well advised to give them a wide berth in the bar!

The class look forward to welcoming David Cheyne, former Class President, from Ireland and Martin Lossie from The Netherlands. All in all, the 10th Laser SB3 National Championships is going to be a great event on and off the water. Over the past decade the Laser SB3 has provided highly competitive one design racing at affordable prices. There are still owners sailing in the class who took part in the 2002 National Championships hosted by Warsash Sailing Club, where Paul Lovejoy, Mike Budd and Robert Greenhalgh were victorious.

Title sponsor Zhik will host the Laser SB3 class at the 10th Anniversary Party in the King & Queen Pub in Hamble on Monday night. All past and present Laser SB3 sailors are welcome to join the competitors for a beer or two from 7.30pm. Thanks also to supporting sponsors Hamble Yacht Services who’s launching and recovery facilities have made this event possible and thanks also to LaserPerformance who will be onsite providing an event repairs service during the Championships.

Please join us on Monday 29th August at the King & Queen, Hamble to celebtrate the 10th UK Laser SB3 National Championships. We’ve had a great decade of sailing and socialising so we felt it was appropriate that we mark the occasion with a kick ass party!

If you’ve owned or sailed a Laser SB3 over the past 10 years, you and your past/present crew mates are welcome to come along!

Full details below….see you there!

The Zhik Laser SB3 UK National Championships begins on Saturday 27th August. To date there are 35 entires and comptition is going to be fierce.

The Sailing Instructions, ABP Bye Law (Notice to Mariners), Course Card and Comptitor Notes (a useful guide to the event, please read) are published below.

If you have any further quiestions, please don’t hesitate to drop me an e-mail: katiesb3@gmail.com

ZHIK LASER SB3 UK NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
ABP Byelaws 10 & 11 and NtoM No 3 v2

ZHIK LASER SB3 UK NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITOR NOTES

The Notice of Race for the Scottish Championships can be found at the link below:

GSS Scottish Championships Notice of Race

SATURDAY 17th & SUNDAY 18th SEPTEMBER 2011

Clyde Cruising Club and sponsored by Gareloch Support Services (GSS).

The event will consist of up to 6 windward –leeward races for the SB3 class within an area of approximately 3 miles of Rhu marina and general surrounding sea area. Three races are planned for each day with first race will starting on Saturday at 10.30 and on Sunday at 10.00.

Entries shall be made on the GSS CCC Regatta Entry Form on or before the 10 September 2011. The entry fee is £40. Entries received after 10/09/11 will be subject to additional £15.00 late entry fee. All entries and enquires shall be addressed to the CCC. The Notice of Race and Entry Form will be available from the Clyde Cruising Club and on the CCC website www.clyde.org.

Sailing Instructions will be posted on the CCC web site www.clyde.org. Any amendments to the sailing instruction will be posted on the club’s web site where possible and also at the harbour master’s office at Rhu marina during the time of the regatta.

The Low Points System of RRS Appendix RYA 1 will apply with one discard. Prizes will be awarded for up to the first three yachts overall in each class and to the yacht which has given the best performance of all yachts in the event.

As per our successful event in 2010 the sponsor GSS, has agreed to provide the SB3 class with free crane and berthing for the duration of the event.

A lively social programme will be on the cards kicking off with a free bar on the Friday night at the Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club…

More info: Contact Scottish SB3 Class Rep: douglas_paton@hotmail.com

Congratulations to Mark Stokes, James Eastbury and Spike Watson on their victory in the Laser SB3 class at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week 2011.

Mark has competed in the past 6 Cowes Weeks and was clearly delighted with his win. Eau No! beat Red Rocket, helmed by ISAF Number 1 Laser sailor Nick Thompson, with a 2.5 points margin.

Mark was ceremoniously thrown into Cowes Harbour…by his crew…when they returned to the dock this afternoon!

Full results can be found here

Hamilton Island Race Week runs from 19th – 17th August in the glorious Whitsunday Islands, Australia. In December 2012 the Laser SB3 World Championships will be hosted by Hamilton Island, so no doubt the Aussie crews will enjoy some time on the water at the Championship venue.

Rod Jones, summaries the runners and riders…..have a great week!

13 x SB3s ( plus 1 ring in ) in Sports Boat Division for AUDI Hamilton Island Race Week
 
In the fleet
 
·         Multiple Olympic Medallists ( Malcolm Page ( Gold ) and Ian Brown ( Bronze ) and they are on same Sb3 !! )
·         Multiple World Champions ( Ian Brown , Matt Belcher , Malcolm Page , Nick Rogers , Dennis Winstanely , Glenn Bourke )
·         America’s Cup sailors ( Glenn Bourke )
·         Multiple Australian Champions skippers ( Phil Gray , Nick Rogers , Glenn Bourke , Matt Belcher , Dennis Winstanley , Rod Jones )
·         Multiple Olympic Coaches ( Ian Brown AUS / BER and Rod Jones FIJ )
·         Multiple State Champions ( too many too list )
·         2 x female crews ( Shahrzad Pullar and Ali Blundell )
·         1 x SB3 European Champion ( Glenn Bourke )
·         1 Qld State of Origin and Kangaroos Rugby League legend – Mike Mclean
·         4 teams from Tasmania
·         6 teams from Queensland
·         2 teams from Sydney
·         1 team from Melbourne
·         1 Melges 24 !! ( guess he’ll have fun )
·         12 races !!
 
Queensland Championships on the line for the SB3s  (the Melges cant play!!)

Follow the action on the event website: www.hamiltonislandraceweek.com.au

First-time sailor Paul Kendall takes a lesson in riding the waves from Dame Ellen MacArthur .

A sailing lesson with Dame Ellen MacArthur

I can safely say I’ve never, in my entire life, had any desire to go sailing. Paying to sit on deck, sipping a cold beer while other people climb the rigging and man the tiller has always suited me just fine. It’s true that I did once don a sailor’s uniform, complete with a doughboy hat and stick-on handlebar moustache, but that was forced upon me by my so-called best man during my stag weekend. And the attention it attracted in the pub we went to for drinks later in the evening was enough to put me off the nautical life forever.

Which is why I was as surprised as anyone, 10 months on, to find myself on my way to the Isle of Wight to have a sailing lesson.

Three things had changed my mind: first, I’d finally forgiven my best man. Second, Cowes Week in the Isle of Wight was coming up, and I’d always thought that anything that had been part of the sporting calendar for as long as Cowes had – the regatta was first held in 1826 – and managed to attract more than 10,000 spectators every year, must have something going for it. And last, but by no means least, my teacher was not going to be some salt-encrusted mariner smelling of fish; it was to be Britain’s most famous yachtswoman, the inspirational Dame Ellen MacArthur.

Few people alive today embody the great British tradition of extreme fortitude better than Dame Ellen. In her extraordinary career, the 35 year-old has won two classic transatlantic races and set a new world record for sailing non-stop around the globe. Her lonely battles with monstrous waves and horrific weather, which she famously recorded in a series of emotional video diaries, endeared the 5ft 3in champion to millions and propelled her to the status of national treasure.

In person, however, Dame Ellen wears her achievements lightly. I know nothing about sailing, but as we approach our boat for the day, a Laser SB3 keelboat, she’s considerate enough to stop and show me how to get on to the boat from the quay.

“Step over this,” she says, pointing at a wire. “Turn around backwards, holding on to the rail, and lower your foot down on to the side of the boat.” I feel a bit foolish struggling to complete such a basic procedure when my companion has just told me about the time she had to climb up a 100ft mast in a force-eight gale to fix a sail, but she is so unstarry she puts me at my ease.

As soon as we’ve made our way out of Cowes Harbour, she starts the lesson. “One of the most important things you have to be able to do is tell where the wind is coming from,” she says. “That’s pretty fundamental.”

If you can work out the direction of the wind, then you can work out where to position the sails to take advantage of its power. There are two principal manoeuvres she demonstrates: tacking (turning the boat so the wind exerts pressure on the opposite side of the sail) and gybing (the same thing, but reserved for when the boat has the wind behind it).

After a few attempts, I start to get into some sort of rhythm, pulling on the appropriate rope to move the mainsail or the jib and scurrying under the boom when we change direction.

To give it extra authenticity, Dame Ellen insists on calling, “Ready about!” (“Is everybody ready?”) before we turn and “Lee-ho” as we swap sides.

She then shows me how to put up the spinnaker, an extra-large sail for sailing downwind, and gives me a tutorial on using the tiller.

It’s not easy to sail in a straight line; the wind and the waves are constantly moving the boat one way or the other. It’s important to keep an eye on your telltales, the small pieces of ribbon attached to either side of the sails. If the inside telltale is loose and fluttering, then the sail is too loose, she says, and you need to pull in the rope a couple of feet. If the outside is loose, let the sheet out.

You can’t relax for a second. (How Dame Ellen kept on top of everything on her own, on a boat three times the size of this one, in some of the world’s most hostile seas, God only knows.)

But, towards the end of my lesson, as the breeze picks up and we speed towards The Needles, I feel for the first time like I have some sort of control over the boat. It’s an exhilarating feeling and I’m starting to see why she, and millions of others, love sailing so much.

But I’m a bit late to the party. Dame Ellen gave up competitive sailing three years ago to concentrate on her two charities: the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, which organises sailing trips for young cancer sufferers, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a group that campaigns for sustainable development.

But it’s obvious, even on our mini trip out of Cowes, that her passion for sailing remains. Can she definitely say, hand on heart, she will never race again?

“Yes,” she replies. “Because I’ve realised there’s a much greater challenge out there. Our world has finite resources and we’re using them at a very fast rate. I’ll never ever lose that passion [for sailing] because it’s me, but I’ve never come across a challenge that matters more than this.”

She sounds every bit as determined as she was in her attempts to circumnavigate the globe. And, from a selfish point of view, if I take up sailing seriously, there’ll at least be one less tough competitor to worry about.

TIPS FOR A NOVICE SAILOR

Choose calm, uncrowded waters

Begin on a boat rigged with one sail

Research tide, wind and weather conditions before you set off

Become familiar with sail control. In general, sails should be relatively flat when the wind is either very light or very strong and full when there is a moderate wind

Capsize on purpose. Better to practise in a controlled environment

Respect the boom. To avoid a bump to the head, or even worse, being knocked overboard, always be aware when the boom is about to swing

Learn the sailing lingo
DAME ELLEN MACARTHUR’S TOP-FIVE PLACES TO SAIL IN BRITAIN

1 The West coast of Scotland – stunning scenery and crystal-clear water

2 The Essex coast and Thames Estuary. Full of beautiful old barges

3 Any lake, especially lakes with islands. Swallows and Amazons territory – it reminds me of being a kid

4 Inland waterways

5 The Solent – a lovely protected piece of water with stunning rivers

TelegraphPlayer-8677882 By Paul Kendall
7:00AM BST 05 Aug 2011

Meeting with Glenn Bourke it’s not an easy task, he’s not unfriendly, on the contrary, he was happy to talk to us, and it’s not even the ten hours time difference the obstacle…he is just so busy with his ‘new’ job. After winning four Laser World Title, followed the Olympic dream and the America’s Cup, after being the Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Glenn Bourke today is the General Manager of the moost important Australian Resort at Hamilton Island. A new challenge that keeps him away from the racing world, unless regattas go straight to his door…

The Zhik Laser SB3 World Championship in UK has just ended, how did it go for you? Well, we didn’t have much preparation, just two small regattas in the last year as I have been very busy with work. But I must say in the end I was very happy with 4th. We sailed very well upwind but didn’t have good technique downwind and lost places which basically stopped us from getting on the podium.

Was it your first one? It was my first World Championship in the class, but we won the Europeans in Garda about 5 years ago and have won Cowes Week and the British Nationals twice, so we have done many regattas in the past. When I left England three years ago for Australia, there weren’t any SB3’s there so I basically stopped sailing and concentrated on my job which was running Australia’s largest Holiday Resort – Hamilton Island.

How do you like the boat? I love the boat, it has everything I want from a boat, it is good from 5 knots to 25 knots it performs well upwind and downwind it just flies. It is a good tactical class and because it is one design it has close racing which I like. A three or 4 four person crew is ideal, not too many to make it logistically hard or expensive but enough to sail at a high level with good crew work.

What’s the boat best asset? That it is one design, but also that it is simple and relatively light and not too expensive and is a good transition for guys who really like sailing dinghy’s but are getting too old. Personally I like the asymmetric spinnaker with the pole straight out in front and the jib over the top. I also like the wind up keel to make trailering the boat behind a car easy.

And what could be better? That they start sailing them in the USA and other countries. They are a fantastic boat, but America hasn’t discovered them yet. It will happen over time I believe.

At Torquay, did you give a glance at what they were doing and how they were running things in good ol’England, before the Aussie adventure? How do you intend to manage the Worlds in Hamilton Island? Yes I observed how they ran things in Torbay and I must say they did a good job. Especially considering it was mostly volunteers that were coordinating things. Here on Hamilton Island we have professional paid staff who look after all the events we do. Sometimes weddings for celebrities for 200 people, conferences for 800 people or productions of the Australian Ballet which need perfect coordination. We also recently organized the World 505 championships, for 90 crews which went well. Biut when company owns the island and has a staff of over 1000 people, we can do a lot of things and do them well. So I expect us to put on a good show for the 2012 Laser SB3 Worlds and it will be a once in a lifetime trip for most of the competitors coming. We have the Great Barrier Reef, which everyone must see just once in their life, we have beaches and warming sunshine and good food and a great marina. We also run the Audi Hamilton Island race Week every year in August for about 200 yachts from Superyachts to Laser SB3’s, so we have plenty of experience.

How many boats are expected at the Whitsundays? We hope to get 80 boats at least with about 50 or so coming from Australia. How will you manage crew’s accommodation and services for all those teams? I hear you have special packages for crew that want to spend some time on the Island after the races, what about it? We have a huge range of accommodation available from free standing houses, to luxury hotel rooms. Here is the accommodation web page if you are interested: http:// www.hamiltonisland.com.au/sb3-worlds-2012/

You have been involved in the management of different big sailing projects, what’s different – if that is – about the Laser SB3 Worlds? What’s the plan so far? As you know I used to be the CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, which was a big budget multi venue international race. We did our own TV production and web site and negotiated with venues all over the world to host us. It was very complex and took all of the three years in between races to organise properly. The Laser SB3 Worlds is a lot more simple for us as it’s just one venue and we have all the infrastructure already built. We have the marina and a very new Yacht Club and we have events teams and food and beverage and hotels, All they have to do extra is to get the boats here in an economical way for the competitors and Rod Jones has done a great job organising this from Europe. We also asked the Government to help us with shipping costs for teams, which they have done, with a large financial commitment. All we have to do now is get the very best Race Management Team we can and we will be asking the guys who normally run the Audi Hamilton Island race Week, who do lots of big and small boat regattas around Australia.

And do you have a social events schedule as well? Yes we have a full social schedule, with a pre event Welcome Party, some casual parties in the middle of the regatta and a big Pirze Giving party at the end of the event. We hope people also go to see the Great Barrier Reef when they are here as it is one of the true natural Wonders of the World. Hamilton Island is one of the most beautiful holiday location in the world, and how about sailing?

Can this be one of many international sailing events to come? What will conditions be like in that time of the year? We have already as I mentioned run many international events over the years and yes we hope to become even more famous for sailing racing in the future. Bob Oatley who owns the island is a racing sailor and he has a 100ft maxi called Wild Oats which has won the Sydney Hobart race 4 times, so we know and love racing.

You’ve been sailing at top levels on different boats, from dinghies to America’s Cup, can give us an opinion on the slow time the sailing business is going through, and how would you explain the 100+ boats racing in Torquay. In my opinion it is the class that people like, simple, one-design, not expensive, fun, fast, light, easy to tow, close racing. In my opinion the Laser SB3 should be the next big class in sailing and overtake the Etchells in the US and Australia, which it has already done in Europe.

I would like to conclude this interview with your opinion on the Italian fleet. Have you noticed any difference between now and the European Championship you saw in Riva del Garda a few years ago..? Do you think it’s improved? How were their performances in UK? There is no doubt in my mind that the Italian fleet has improved massively since the Euro’s in Garda. And it seems to be growing in strength very quickly. I have noticed that some of the Italian boats at the front of the fleet in the last worlds in Torbay, were sailing quite differently to how the English have been sailing the SB3’s and at times they were much faster than the way we have been sailing. The thing that happens in One-design racing is that competition leads to development and the Italian fleet appears to be breeding a new type of sailing for the class. I think that in the future the English will need to keep a close eye on how the Italians are set up the boats or they might get left behind. The English have been dominant for many years now, but these things change over time. I will certainly be watching the Italians with great interest so I don’t get left behind.

Don’t know if you know, but the Italian fleet is getting bigger and more competitive, they race on a summer Circuit and in mid October the National Champs, they’d love you to join them sometimes… Is it possible? Sure we would love to come over in late summer and race in good fleets. We want to prepare properly for the worlds in Hamilton Island and doing regattas with good fleets is part of that program. So yes, all you have to do is invite us and we will certainly try to come.

Interview by Rachale Vitello, Laser SB3 Class, Italy