Sailing downwind in Laser is an art. In big breeze, it’s survival. Some people make it look easy, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t working hard. The effort in balancing the boat is lessened if you understand what it wants to do.
Sailing downwind in Laser is an art. In big breeze, it’s survival. Some people make it look easy, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t working hard. The effort in balancing the boat is lessened if you understand what it wants to do.
Once hiking conditions present themselves, a balanced boat with appropriate rig setup becomes particularly important to maximize your hiking efforts into productive speed. In order to obtain our upwind objectives, we need to get the powerful rig working for us by setting up appropriately for the conditions.
Fitness can really limit your upwind boatspeed when the breeze is up - consistent hiking on windy days can feel truly unsustainable. It’s a constant battle, with thousands of hours required in the gym and on the water to improve fitness. And while hiking may be paramount to upwind speed, there’s a lot of other technique involved that can help you go faster and even make hiking less painful. After all, there are some fast laser sailors who aren’t that fit. So what are they doing anyway that makes them so quick? This four part series will get you started.
