ILCA/Laser

ILCA and Laser dinghies sailing under ILCA Class rules

 

The ILCA/Laser fleet is the largest of all the fleets raced at Frensham so you can be guaranteed some good competition whenever you choose to sail, be it Saturdays, Sundays or Wednesday evenings in the summer. The class organises race training, normally on Saturdays. Fleet members often take their boats on the open meeting circuit while others are content with a quiet potter just for fun. The club has a couple of Lasers for hire by members.

Everybody knows the Laser - by far the largest of all the dinghy classes with over 200,000 boats registered world-wide. More recently this World Sailing approved, and Olympic single-handed dinghy has taken a new direction as the ‘ILCA dinghy’ with new manufacturers in the UK.

Designed, literally on the back of an envelope, by Bruce Kirby in 1971 the Laser and ILCA is incredibly simple - but very difficult to sail well so you'll need to be fit! The unstayed mast is made from two sections which slot into each other for ease of storage. Of all GRP construction the ILCA and Laser is easy to maintain and its mass-produced, strict one-design formula makes it relatively inexpensive to buy. The flat 'surfboard' style hull planes easily and offers sparking performance yet easily rights dry after a capsize.

  • Length: 4.23m
  • Beam: 1.37m
  • Weight 60kg

The design offers three variants - just buy a new lower mast section and sail to convert from one to the other:

 ILCA 7 / Laser Standard: 7.06m2, PN 1078 - suitable for sailors over 76kg

 ILCA 6 / Laser Radial: 5.76m2, PN 1101 - ideal for youths and smaller

 ILCA 4 / Laser 4.7: 4.7m2, PN 1175 - best for youngsters aged 12 and over

Sailors may 'change down' to a smaller rig in high winds in normal class racing (without any handicap benefit) - the intention is to get people sailing!

The club has chosen to race in accordance with ILCA Class rules. Therefore, dinghy hulls must have a ‘World Sailing’, ‘ISAF’ or ‘IYRU’ plaque in the cockpit and sails must have a red or orange sail button near the tack reading “ILCA AUTHORIZED”.

Read Clive's tips on sailing an ILCA or Laser in our Laser Hints and Tips

International Laser Class Association (ILCA): https://www.laserinternational.org/

UK Laser Association (UKLA): https://laser.org.uk/

Frensham Pond ILCA and Laser Fleet Captain

Ann Brand

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Frensham Classes

  • Cadet
  • Enterprise
  • GP14
  • Access
  • 2.4mR
  • Lark
  • Laser
  • Model Yachts
  • RS200
  • Solo

Hansa

The Hansa Dinghy classes were designed in Australia and specifically for the disabled sailor and proved an instant success. They have been adopted by Frensham Pond Sailability which has 15 Hansa dinghies, both two-person and single-person versions.

The two-person 303 dinghies are perfect for introducing newcomers with a disability to sailing and, after a few hours, most can progress to sailing independently in the very simple 2.3 single sail boat. For the sailor with less mobility, the single-person 2.3 boat can be sailed with electrically powered controls to the tiller and the mainsheet via a joystick.

Those with a competitive streak can take part in racing which is organised both at Frensham Pond, mostly on Thursday afternoons, and around the UK during the summer season. There is also a 2-day National Championship every year, and Frensham sailors have won the Championship in both the 2.3 and 303 classes in recent years.

There is more information on the Hansa class website: www.hansaclass.org.uk

Frensham Pond Hansa Fleet Captain

James Woosnam
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Boats Sailed At Frensham

There are several different classes of boat that we sail at Frensham Pond which are suitable for a variety of different types of sailor. Some are single-handed dinghies and others are two-handed boats.

The classes that we sail are listed on our Favoured Boat List. Classes on this list are in two groups, the Favoured Classes and the Prospective Favoured Classes.

Because there is only limited berthing available the Club prioritises allocation of berths to boats of the Favoured Classes, click here to see the Club's Berthing Policy.

Favoured Classes

Prospective Favoured Classes

  • Phantom

Handicap

As well as all of the club classes, any boat can race in the club's Handicap races provided their Portsmouth Number is less than that of the Cadet. This includes boats such as the RS300,RS400 and many others.

There are several handicap series' that run throughout the year, they are as follows:

Summer Season:

  • Saturday Afternoons
  • Wednesday Evening Handicap
  • Helm of the Year

Winter Season:

  • Saturday Afternoons
  • Sunday Mornings

Results

The results for the current handicap racing series are available in the results section, previous results can be found in the results archive.

 

 

More Articles ...

  1. K-Class
  2. Solo
  3. RS200
  4. Laser