Blogs

Does an older Laser sailor really have to let go of dreams that require physical prowess?

Someone once said the way you knew you were an adult was when you had to give up certain dreams as unrealistic. Now, many people give up dreams before it may be necessary, but there is no doubt the athletes have to face the reality of age related limitations. How does this affect Laser sailors?

Solstice seems like a good holiday for sailors to acknowledge. It’s all about the ebb and flow of our natural world. It names a background phenomenon that both ignores our desires and affects our lives.

I've designed an exercise tracking sheet to help motivate me to get to my aerobic and resistance sessions done each week. I find I get a little boost in by having a blank column expectantly waiting for me to fill it in.

I have a home gym, a big, wonderful room in my basement with a treadmill, elliptical machine, rower, spin bike, trainer for my road bike, ski machine, complex weight machine, roman chair, leg-lift machine, stretching mats, five-foot mirrors and clocks.

I’d rather be sailing! Actually I’d rather be sailing my Laser or riding my road bike.

One cool day recently I was leaning against the car waiting for my wife to mail a letter at the post office. The trees along the street were in the various end stages of mid November leaf dispersal. In New England this stage commonly means that the few individual leaves that still cling to branches, are doing loopy the loops in the breeze at the end of their curiously long stems.

I hate to put the boat away for the New England winter. Each fall I’m faced with the option of frostbiting or laying up the Laser until next spring. I’ve done winter sailing seven or eight years; I love the cold; and I really enjoy the numerous starts I can get in a saltwater, frostbite series. When new sailors ask me what I’m going to do, I separate the question into, “What are you going to do Jay?” and “What should I (the new sailor) do?”

I ended up with stress fractures in my foot after a recent ocean regatta. It isn’t quite clear what caused the injury, but it kept me off the Laser for three weeks in the midst of three regattas I’d been aiming toward this year. Finally this past weekend I was able to sail in the QYC Last Blast Laser regatta. The wind speeds were in the mid twenties with higher gusts and even with the radial I was struggling. It was some of my worst racing this year – a few reflections.

We have a number of Master’s-age-bracket Laser sailors in the club and it’s instructive to watch how they approach improving. I’m thinking particularly of the split between those that seem to be willing to tolerantly put in the time learning and those that complain.

Oceans and lakes, each have their idiosyncrasies. I appreciate the steady breezes that so often grace the afternoons on salt water, but the lumpy water is a pain in the butt. I just got off the water after four hours of racing off Marblehead under the sponsorship of Eastern Yacht Club with a group of 11 sailors.

The Laser radial sail helps those of us under 155 lbs keep our Lasers flat during breezier days, but if you’re small enough to want a radial then you may not have the height or strength to put the mast in the boat when there’s a breeze. Consider this technique as a possible substitute for brawn.