Thursday 3 December 2009

Laser SB3

I was lucky to get a spot on a Laser SB3 in the recent Garmin Hamble Winter Series. The good ship Trio was looking for someone to trim main and asymmetric and call tactics. I cannot think of a better way of spending a Sunday, even if the weather was horrible once or twice.

After four years of watching these boats blast around the Solent, it was my first time racing one. They are very popular here, as any one who has been to Cowes week in recent years will know, and with good reason: They are simple (no winches, running backstays and one person can roll the sails), easy to transport and so, so fast downwind with 15 knots plus. They remind me of the Melges 24 for their fun and simplicity...without being quite as ridiculously expensive.

Sacrilege, some of you will say. Probably. SA slated the SB3 in 2007, citing build quality and calling it step backwards in design. Sure enough, the owner of Trio had his original hull replaced after he discovered that it was far and away the heaviest in the fleet. And, despite much adjustment, he still does not believe that the keel is straight. Nevertheless, the class is strong in the Solent and that's what good racing is all about: good competition, good turnout and equal boats. I realised how much I missed crowded starts, ducking transoms and crossing bows, knowing instantly whether your strategy paid off or not. So much better than handicap racing.

It was also my first proper experience trimming an asymmetric. I am hooked! All those years I wasted, worrying about topping lifts, tweakers and the "break"; trying to coordinate a foredeck, pitman, sheet and guy trimmers. As for jibing, it has become as simple as tacking (OK, the boat is only 6M long). The asym is such a different animal to its aged cousin that I had to learn almost from scratch...but it's not difficult. The only thing we need to master is keeping it filled all the way through the jibe, which probably requires the cooperation of all three of us.

In any case, I may never go back to a symmetric again.












Photos Paul Wyeth.