Laser vs Finn downwind

A short clip showing a v. good laser sailor working the waves downwind in a race against a larger Finn dinghy

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Laser
• sailing
• downwind
• waves

[zkenzo]

What is the third boat??

[chrisarnell1]

@zkenzo This is my friend Luke in his RS300. It's fast but unstable on a run - I think he is just trying to stay upright on this leg of the course/

[chrisarnell1]

I'm not convinced that's illegal. As I see it he's not pumping and just rolling the boat to change course & catch the waves. I'm not an expert on this but if I was a judge I'd allow it. The finn is actually pumping a lot more but just not sailing fast enough to catch the waves - he needs to change his sailing angles to gain more speed.

[don0karotti]

i still think that a finn is fasteer than a laser arent they?

[chrisarnell1]

Not much speed difference but I think the Finn is usually a bit quicker. I think the Laser sailor's technique makes a difference in this clip - he's very good.

[davemakesawave]

looks to me like the Finn has the boom too far 4wd..?

[machobutt]

ommg that laser sailor is the best , i wish i knew him and was friends with his almighty awsomenesss

[aaedy]

to me it looks like the pumping of the sail and the steering is alright, but the constant rock of the boat would be illegal. if you look, even when he has caught the wave, the body movement is still swinging the mast.

[172839682]

laser is the best sail boat ever

[29ersailor121]

ye wat the laser sailor is doing is alg

[crrraymo]

the laser is definitely breaking rule 42! and the finn is just bad.... he pumps all the wind out of his sail

[jamienmonks]

@chrisarnell1 the laser is just rolling cos of the wind. they roll quite a lot on the run and he needs to keep changing course and sheeting, thats allowed

[sewing1243]

Finns eat Lasers for lunch in a breeze, but in light to medium air I think a good Laser sailor should be able to beat a good Finn sailor in most sea conditions most of the time.