The 2020 World Laser Sailing Regatta That Sorta Happened

THE 2020 WORLD LASER SAILING REGATTA THAT SORTA HAPPENED March, 11, 2020. Sitting at my local airport in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, I awaited my flight to Melbourne, Australia for the 2020 Master World Sailing Championships in Geelong. Then I start thinking…. What a blast! I am flying around the world with just sailing gear, casual clothes and my tiller in my hand. Nothing serious. Just fun! On March 13, I arrived at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club and was directed to the area of the chartered laser sailboats provided by Performance Sailcraft Australia (PCA). I saw a sea of cloned laser boats and almost no people, Reality was kicking in. “I am sooo scared!” I started texting my family, friends and sailing buddies in Canada about my fear. Phil Paxton calmly replied, “You’ll do fine.” Also, I felt some reassurance when I finally saw a couple of grey haired sailors walking about. I had never sailed the ocean before. And now I am competing against the top master laser sailors of the world. I needed to attach all the Laser hardware to my chartered boat without any of the usual support from my Canadian sailor buddies. I had not sailed since September. How would I remember how it assembles? So many challenges! How will I make it? After a couple of hours of struggling and assistance from PSA with the traveller (could not remember that) and attaching my centre ratchet pulley, it was done. Relief! One barrier overcome. At 3 am, March 14, I received an email from the International Laser Class, informing me, that due to the CO-VID 19 Pandemic, the March 21-28 World’s Master Laser Championship would not proceed. Oh no, so many sailors and organisers affected! Ricard Quinlan, “pulled the plug” en route to the airport. Leslie and Stephen Reichenfeld were already in Sydney and were forced to buy new air tickets to promptly return directly to Canada. Despite the Master Laser World Championship cancellation, the 2020 Oceania and Australian Laster Master Championships would continue. The next morning I registered for this regatta. I was not the only one to choose this option. While the Master Laser World Championship cancellation caused many international sailors to stop travelling to Geelong , 33 international sailors where either already here or close enough that they chose to participate in the Oceania and Australian Master Laser Championship. They came from Canada, USA, Germany, Sweden, Austria, UK, and France. The majority of Aussies and Kiwis participating in the Oceania and Australian Master Laser Championship had also registered for the World Championship. Therefore, despite half of the World Championship competitors 1 missing, the other half arrived in Geelong. Consequently, the World Championship was almost happening, but under a different Championship title! It was Saturday, March 14, 2020. I rigged my boat for the practice race. That part was familiar and easy, which gave me some confidence. I received a lot of reaction from many sailors and Aussie organisers because I was a female, sailing a standard full rig. “You sail on a “laik”?.” one Aussie organiser asked while pushing me to switch to a radial sail. “A laik?”, I teased. He laughed. “I am just worried about your safety”. “I sail on a big lake which gets strong winds and fairly good waves. I will be fine.” I assured. Our practice race in Stingaree Bay was a wake-up call. The winds were really strong and the gusts over the cliffs from the ocean were severe. Halfway from shore, sailing to the race start, I capsized. I was too far down in the boat to climb over to centreboard for a fast recovery. “Yikes”, I silently screamed to myself, “I can’t afford any “in water” boat up-righting problems when I haven’t even started the race!” Thus I leaped onto the mast which gave me temporary support to clamber over the boat and onto the centre board. “Keep pushing hard Glynis!” I commanded. Weighing outward on the centre board, I up-righted the boat and scrambled in. Relief - – a dry recovery! I could easily do all of this when I was 19, but as a Great Grand Master, I am not so nimble. At least, after the practise race in the Bay, I better understood the waters and it short choppy waves. Another unknown hurdle passed! Step by step my fears were subsiding. It was great to see everyone’s country letters on the sails on the water, including my “CAN”! I was in the first start of the races which included all standards Lasers except the Grand Masters. Happily, Ian Elliot was in the Apprentice group, so I had at least someone on the water who I knew well – a touch of comfort! The winds for the races during the next four days greatly varied. The winds on the practice day were the toughest with deadly gusts. If the winds on the following days had been equally as strong, I wondered if I would have the strength to survive them. On the second day the winds were strong but much more manageable. On the third day the light winds allowed me to perform better against these talented male sailors since I did not need to” luff” the front of my sail to keep the boat flat. Some sailors were not optimising between sailing by the “Lee” and a 2 regular “run”. Also, many were not surfing the waves. These were opportunities for me to catch up. The final day had about 10 knot winds which was reasonable for all. After the races, sailing back to shore was not relaxing, as one usually hopes. The sudden ocean gusts, blasting from the cliffs, would cause strong wind shifts. I kept alert to any boat capsizing ahead of me, as a fore-warning. The coveted “Laser Cube” first prize award was received by sailors from Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA and Canada, in their respective Master age divisions. Many of the women sailors competed in the Women Radial fleet. Five Canadian sailors participated in the Championship. Paul Clifford tied for first in the Radial Great Grand Masters. Ian Elliot was second in the Standard Apprentice. Jack Peace was fifth in the Radial Legends. Philippe Dormoy was fifth in the Standard Great Grand Masters. I survived to tell this tale. I sailed reasonably well as a great Grand Master and was not overwhelmed. I felt that while the number of Great Grand Masters still sailing were small, those who continue to compete are excellent sailors. Of course, one of the best parts of the regatta was all the interesting people I met and the new friends I made. I am always happy to chat with people from different parts of the world and hear their perceptions and comments. Of course, the Aussies are always friendly, relaxed and helpful.. The comradery of the women was great, including all the bantering in our dressing room . I got to listen to UK sailor, Neil Peters alias “Stick Daring”, during a TV interview about his adventure of circumnavigating the UK in his Laser. Now, how to get back to Canada before Air Canada stops their Australian flights! 3 .

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