Cold Laser Sailing

The winter came late and it lasted long, but it finally went away. The bravest laser sailors started sailing again in early April. I took my boat out of hibernation mode towards the end of April. On a snowy day, to make it more dramatic.  Our sailing group started the training again on May 4, but I missed the first session. Water temperature was 4-5 degree and I was not sure whether my wetsuit would be enough or not. I will try to write about my clothes one day, but by now I have the impression that it would have been OK. I started my season on May 11. It was a windless sunny day, so I got cooked slowly inside the wetsuit. Not much sailing. The week had some days off, so I sailed quite a few days. Mixed weather conditions and mixed success. I need to spend more time on the water. The worst part is still to get in and out of the water, especially without help. Let's see how the season unfolds.

On Monday 14, a day after I bought the bought, the conditions were good, I could stop working early, and there was someone to take care of the kids. So I headed to the marina. First I needed to get all the arrangements in place to keep the boat there. I was already a member in the club, so almost everything could be solved by mail early in the morning. I only needed to collect a sticker and place it on the transom. There was a training session starting at 17:00. I had no intention to join them, just to sail on my own. I also wanted to introduce myself to the group. I spent quite some time rigging the boat, checking every single piece of hardware and knot. The arrangement from the previous owner was somewhat different from the one used in the club boats. I wanted to understand well the differences and see what was best for me. I also got some tips from the other sailors around. After rigging the boat and getting dressed, I went to the launching ramp and put the boat in the water. I made

I got myself a Laser sailboat last Sunday. I had made the decision to buy a Laser a few weeks ago and I had already started checking the market. Last Thursday, there was a new ad that looked promising. I contacted the owner and arranged a visit for the next day.  It was an interesting experience to check a boat for the purpose of buying it. All of a sudden, you become concerned about the tiniest scratch. I am in no way an expert on boats but it was in very good condition, especially the hull. The foils had a couple of very small dents that had been decently fixed. The tiller carbon bar was broken but the owner had done a good fix in my opinion. The sail (old model, MKI I guess it is called) was in training condition, as advertised. The boat was equipped with the Harken XD pack and all the blocks, lines, and other fittings were in mint condition. The two-piece (aluminum) mast also looked very good. It was even hard to find scratches on it. It quickly became clear to me that the owner wa