Laser Slalom renewed at St. Francis Yacht Club for 2011

by Paige Brooks on 6 Apr 2011 St. Francis Yacht Club - The Laser Slalom.

Where the Wild West meets salt water—on San Francisco Bay—a 2011 grand gathering of Laser class sailors affords an opportunity too good to pass up. We're going to revive a classic.

Colin Dibb, now of Fremantle, Australia but originally from South Africa, tells us, 'When I first started sailing Lasers I saw a movie of the very first Slalom in San Francisco, and I've wanted to do it ever since.'

A typical reaction. The Laser Slalom has returned before, from time to time, sailed close under the windows of the St. Francis Yacht Club. But the heyday was the early years of the Laser class, when the fleet was building and the world was new. Unlike a rodeo, the rider didn't get extra points for a rougher ride. But the bigger the breeze and the steeper the chop and the nastier the whitecaps (both sailors down at once, now, that's a good look), the closer we came to a bronc-buster's notion of what is 'classic.'

The 2011 Slalom runs August 3rd and fourth, between the Laser 4.7 World Championship and the Laser Masters World Championship. (http://www.sflaserworlds.com/page/Slalom ) In that prospect lies plenty of fresh meet for a fleet limited to 32 entries, with ample slots still open. Slalom courses are laid close to the beach, and the course is configured to force hurry-up maneuvers. Under pressure, good people go bad in conditions that would never otherwise trip them up. The splashier the crash, the heartier the audience appreciation. Where else while racing do you get to hear your best friends howling in glee when you take a dose of saltwater up the nose?

Bill Kreysler, PRO for the event explains 'the Slalom works this way. Two parallel rows of buoys are laid to windward of the starting area. Two sailors start one-on-one, each luffing nose-to a left side or right side bottom-most inflatable mark. It is the sailors' job to hold position as best they can until the race committee sees that both are nosed-up evenly (enough). Then a start is signaled. The challenge is to tack up through your row of buoys, cross sides at the top (no hunting allowed), gybe down through the buoys, beat back to weather, cross again, and hurry-up gybe to a finish at the bottom.'

It's an eliminations ladder, so the survivor (oops, we meant winner) advances. And while there is no absolute guarantee of wind on San Francisco Bay, there is a tremendous likelihood of a sea breeze of 18-22 at the height of the day. Thirty knots can happen, and that's perfect. Forecast currents for 2011 are heavy on flood tides, moving with the current, which should flatten the water and make maneuvers easier. But with the current pushing, those gybes will be coming up in a hurry, won't they? Past survivor-winners have included the likes of Olympic medalists John Bertrand and Jeff Madrigali. The most recent winner was Abe Torchinsky at a 2008 Slalom timed to a Laser North American Championship.

Laser Schedule:
Laser 4.7 World Championship July 26-August Second
Laser Slalom August Third and Fourth
Laser Masters World Championship August Fifth -Thirteenth

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