Update
a shock it took a few hours to get our heads back into the race. After an event like that it’s hard not to think about the consequences for the upcoming weeks of racing. With the wind slowly dropping off throughout the evening, we worked our way back up through the fleet. By the morning we headed into the finish in 15th, a result we were happy with given the circumstances. Immediately after docking-in we lifted the boat out. Even at a
glance it was clear we were looking at a few weeks’ worth of work, so that evening we sailed the boat back to Port-la-Forêt. With the strict one-design rules of the class the repair must be done very carefully to ensure the boat remains within the regulations. Sadly, this means it will take some time to be back on the water. Frustrations aside, the focus now shifts to preparations for the
upcoming Solitaire Urgo le Figaro. While it isn’t easy to sit onshore and watch the rest of the fleet racing, I’m making the most of the unexpected time on my hands. A harsh reality of offshore sailing is there are always risks attached. For the rest of the fleet still competing it hasn’t been plain sailing
in the subsequent two legs of the Sardinha Cup. After serious concerns over the strength of the spreader roots, it was decided that all the boats must have them reinforced before the start of the first long leg. However, during the strong winds of Leg 2 it quickly became clear that the reinforcements were not sufficient, as several boats encountered either damaged or broken spreader roots. With safety the main concern, this left many skippers nervous
to start Leg 3. The race organisers were under pressure to postpone until a new spreader root had been manufactured and fitted to the entire fleet. A monumental task to complete in under five days. But the 33 remaining boats were de-masted, refitted and re-masted in time for a shortened 300nm course. Somehow on Thursday after- noon the fleet took the start for the final leg with Figaro 2 legend Yann Eliès taking the leg win and overall victory with Brit Sam Davies. The next race of the season, the Solo Maître CoQ ,is going to be
an impressive build-up to the Solitaire: 45 Figaro 3s will line up for a series of short-course races followed by a longer offshore race from Les Sables d’Olonne. Short-course racing with multiple starts and wings sticking a metre out either side is going to be interesting!
FORMERLY KNOWN AS... – Rob Kothe The Bruce Kirby-designed Laser is the most popular sailing boat ever produced: 216,000 have been sold in more than 140 countries worldwide since its 1971 launch. The original builder was fellow Canadian Ian Bruce, but his company became overextended and eventually folded in 1983. In the turmoil the trademark and name copyright were sold separately. A short-term benefit for creditors but it seems to have been a longterm disaster for everyone else. In 2011 the International Class Association (ILCA) was attempting
to mediate in a fight between the Laser’s designer and its largest builder, Laser Performance Europe (LPE) owned by US businessman Farzad Rastegar. The mediation efforts were not successful, and the dispute over unpaid royalties went to the Connecticut courts, where it has remained on and off for the past six years. Social media threads on the issue have been active among the
50,000 Laser sailors around the world, the most active of which, Lasers – Applying a Blowtorch, started in 2013 when Kirby proposed to appoint builders for an identical dinghy called a Torch. The thread continues, with complaints about LPE’s inability to reliably deliver boats and components in the America’s and Asian territories. In March LPE was reluctant to allow ILCA access to its manu-
facturing plant for an inspection, putting the company in breach of the Laser Construction Manual Agreement (LCMA); ILCA then exer- cised its right to remove them as an approved builder. In April LPE publicly admitted to the breach when it explained that it had refused the inspection only because the class was refusing to sign a sep- arate trademark agreement favourable to them. An admission that must have caused heartache for LPE’s legal eagles. The ILCA has now formally withdrawn LPE’s approved manufac-
turer status, which means that without the mandatory compliance plaques for each boat the supplier of 65-70 per cent of Lasers sold
16 SEAHORSE
The morning rig-check superyacht-style at the St Barts Bucket, keeping an eye on a mix of composite rigging, titanium jewellery and a level of halyard locks, furling and other equipment that would not disgrace a racing maxi. Titanium fittings aloft and five tonnes of aircon gear below. Superyacht world, you gotta love it
could be out of the game. ILCA is seeking new manufacturers for LPE’s territory while assuring sailors that the two remaining Laser builders in Japan and Australia can satisfy demand in the interim. The catalyst for this action might be World Sailing’s recent Olympic
class re-evaluation with Laser Standard and Radial put up against the Devoti D-Zero, RS Aero and Melges 14. Notably, German Laser distributor Ferdi Ziegelmayer, who supplied the Lasers for the 2018 Aarhus World Championships, was in Valencia for the trials, rather than LPE. Ziegelmayer was one of the first to put up his hand as a new European manufacturer, with plans to build the boat in Poland. The worst-kept secret in the sailing world, that the ILCA board
has decided to rebadge the Laser, was confirmed by the German class site: ‘If everything goes according to the plans of the ILCA, we will sail soon “The Boat Formerly Known as Laser”, as the Laser brand rights are owned by Laser Performance.’ No rocket science was needed to see this coming. Since 2017
the word Laser has not been on the World Sailing plaque on every legal boat – just ILCA. In early April the ILCA confirmed its intended path forward in a set of FAQs on its website. ILCA has apparently also obtained confirmation that changing the brand name of the boat will not affect the class status with World Sailing. World Sailing cares about the boat, not the name. All current, class-legal Lasers will remain ILCA class-legal and
all fleets will continue operating as usual. Laser and Laser Radial class boats will be used in the Men’s and Women’s One-Person Dinghy events in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Boats will be supplied by the current, class-approved builder in Japan. ILCA and the currently approved builders are finalising the intel-
lectual property details for the new brand. However, a clarification on the class website states that ‘LPE could be reappointed if it
CARLO BORLENGHI/ALEA
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