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International Laser II Class Association <irishlaser2>

	Great Laser II Argument!!	1290 days ago
	as found on www.laser-ireland.com/forum/2067.html -- Subject: Laser II ??? From Ailís 01 April 2006 at 14:35:52 I was recently talked into buying a Laser II. I'm fairly new to the sport but have sailed one before and loved it. Just wondering what the general opinion on Laser IIs is? Is there a racing circut? Is it very competitve? Click Here To Reply From irishlaser2 16 May 2006 at 17:17:50 www.irishlaser2.blogspot.com From Ian 01 April 2006 at 20:27:44 The laser 2 is a very affordable way to get sailing a high performance boat. Unfortunately laser have stopped making them and as a result the international and irish national fleet have dwindled over the past few years. Because of that though you can pick up a really good boat for quite cheap. There are still some laser 2s sailing at sailing clubs around the country and it would be a good boat for club racing. I think that laser 2s are much more fun to sail than laser 1s but if you want big fleets with a high level of competition the laser 1 is your man. Hope that helps, Ian From ross 03 April 2006 at 20:51:45 Laser 2 is a great boat.Old isaf youth boat but thats a while back.Its Fast and fun.Competition is on the down side at the moment but thre is still plenty knocking around with keen racers.They mostly race py fleet as most clubs only have a couple. From James 04 April 2006 at 11:54:57 Laser II's are a great boat. Used to be very competitive. We boast a World and European champion. The English fleet is still very active. Pity that the Irish fleet is run by students, who let it dwindle ! But there are at least 40 active boats in the country. Look up the English association for hints and tips. Laser have recently started building new boats, which is always a good sign. Hopefully the fleet is on the way back. The irish association has a website, have a look at it too. From Steven Armstrong 05 April 2006 at 13:31:27 Wasting your time with a Laser 2 if you want to go far in this sport. First of all, Irish crews have won both the World and European Championships in the past 3 seasons. This is the only class other than the Mirror in which Ireland can win such international events, which completeley takes away any credibility attached to those classes. If all you are interested in doing in this sport is winning a World Championships, and kidding yourself into a false state of self-proclaimed glory, than this boat is for you. If you are very new to the sport, then perhaps it is a good way to learn how to win, but move on quickly, as you will realise that there are hundreds of far more competitive classes out there, even in this country! By the way, Laser does actually build a batch of new Laser 2's every so often, but they are not a production class anymore. They are also not a 'high performance' boat anymore by today's standards. Steve From James 05 April 2006 at 14:53:34 Steve, I don't agree with some of your points. The Laser II was up to 2004 was a hugely successful and competitive fleet. Ger Owens, Tom Fitz, Laura Dillon all sailed the boats. Tom Fitz was 4th (i think) in the worlds in 97 and Laura was 2nd, behind two New Zealands who went on to sail in the America cup on the winning team new zealand. I totally agree that since 2004 the fleet has gone down. But the Worlds were in Canada last year with 60 boats and the Europeans are in Teignmouth Devon this August. All that needs to happen is people get their boats out and bring the Laser II back to the fore. Ireland World Champion, Noel Butler is probably the most dedicated amatuer sailor in the country, and Chris Forrestal as European Champion is an excellent sailor. For such a cheap boat it has excellent potential. From Mike 05 April 2006 at 15:33:11 I contest that Steven Armstrong is wasting his time in a Laser destined to be a nobody nationally and never to feature internationally. Noel Butler is the most ruthless, committed competitor in the Laser 2 I ever came across and deserved to win the Worlds in 2003 because no other sailor in the World was better than him at the time. He has gone on to great things in Class One with Tiamat and the Fireball even being invited to compete alongside Ian Walker at the end of last season on Patches. Tom Fitzpatrick has won the Irish Helmsman’s four times, which speaks for itself and competed in the Olympics. No lack of pedigree here! Opinions are like assholes, everybody as one Stephen! Laser 2’s are great value for money and if laser would get it’s act together could prevent the class from declining further. From Conor Byrne, Fingal 05 April 2006 at 15:47:57 As a Laser II enthusiast, I'm happy to see that people still hold the boat in such high regard, which it deserves. The class took a huge dip last year after the Europeans, running two events with attendances at 6 and 7 boats. Biggest excuse was nobody had cars / towbars to get to events. From talking to people over the last few weeks, there is a renewed interest in rebuilding the class after it was abandoned. It looks like we'll have a weekend each in Skerries, Courtown and the Cork somewhere. I'm hopeful, and I'll put my efforts into it once I'm finished my finals in May. I think it's worth it, a very affordable way of getting people racing. Anyone interested in giving me a hand, 0863098154. From Conor Byrne, Fingal 05 April 2006 at 15:51:03 And might I add that even with 6 and 7 boats, we had MIGHTY craic at both events! It's not quantity, it's quality. From Dermot Tynan 05 April 2006 at 20:57:06 We still have a handful here in Galway and I still race mine. Most at GBSC have switched to the 420 but I prefer the L2. Still plenty of thrills and spills and very little beats the feeling of spinnie reaching in a Laser II in a strong breeze. Actually, the feeling of icy cold water usually follows closely... From annon 06 April 2006 at 04:01:31 conor byrne. i was just wandering if you would like to walk up to the shop and get some haribo From Simon Hutchinson 06 April 2006 at 04:30:11 I agree completely with all the positive comments above re Laser2. Given the number of boats in Ireland there could easily be a huge rebirth of the fleet, provided you are interested in sailing and having fun in a fast competitive boat. If you are interested in world domination please follow Steve's suggestions above. I haven't sailed mine in a couple of years due to toddler = knowledge of Spongebob Square Pants the Movie (not Laser2 sailing). For anyone else out there, for sheer fun the LII is hard to beat and this may be the best time to get involved - the boats are probably artificially cheap presently and there are tons of them in Ireland. Simon From Shay 06 April 2006 at 13:56:33 From memory there are about 12 Laser 2's in Skerries (regularly raced), 4 in DMYC (and racing in the frostbites) about 20 more in Dublin, 15 in Cork a few in Waterford and Galway and Limerick. So it wouldn't take much to get the fleet back on its feet. The hulls are rock solid so you don't need that much to be competitive. Overall a great boat to sail, very fast. From Mike 06 April 2006 at 17:10:17 I contest that Steven Armstrong is wasting his time in a Laser destined to be a nobody nationally and never to feature internationally. Noel Butler is the most ruthless, committed competitor in the Laser 2 I ever came across and deserved to win the Worlds in 2003 because no other sailor in the World was better than him at the time. He has gone on to great things in Class One with Tiamat and the Fireball even being invited to compete alongside Ian Walker at the end of last season on Patches. Tom Fitzpatrick has won the Irish Helmsman’s four times, which speaks for itself and competed in the Olympics. No lack of pedigree here! Opinions are like assholes, everybody as one Stephen! Laser 2’s are great value for money and if laser would get it’s act together could prevent the class from declining further. From ross 07 April 2006 at 14:49:32 Ive got a laser2.ill do events this year.I also race the laser.It dosent take a full time campaign,just turn up and do the business.A lot of people knock this boat probably because they werent good enough to sail it.Its about time the class made a comeback. From Conor Byrne, Fingal 07 April 2006 at 15:03:11 anon, I've loads of jelly snakes from the natural confectionary company here if you want to knock up. but not at 430am in future... Talking to a few other L2 sailors, we have plans already afoot to hash some events together this year, We have someone working on a website, so get that '2 out of the bushes and watch this space. It'll be great. From Steven Armstrong 07 April 2006 at 19:18:54 All talk and no action as usual...Another 12 boat class for Ireland, great! How long will it last this time? And what are the chances an Irish boat wins the europeans this year? Standard must really be good if they do. I suppose they'll be the best sailor in europe that year then, will they? Win sailor of the month in afloat maybe? Flippin excellent. You may be right about Steve Armstrong never featuring internationally, or nationally, but at least i'm not going around thinking that i'm the greatest sailor in the world because i can beat some try-hard no-talent losers in a laser 2. You guys should really write to ISAF and get them to include the laser 2 in the next olympics!! (even though the guys who sail them are closer to the standard of the special olympics.....muppets! From cathal 08 April 2006 at 14:17:18 another reason why we should have registered forums... From John-Joe greybeard 10 April 2006 at 02:18:13 Stephen Armstrong. Your pretty negative about laser 2s. The standard in Ireland is not bad and having raced both lasers and laser2s internationally I am in a good position to give fair comment to boat fleets. I think the laser 2 would be a better choice of boat than the 470 for the mens double hander. Lots of reasons but put simply it would be cheaper like the way Europe->Laser radial for women. The laser 2 events are way more fun and sometimes laser 1 events make fun seem like a bad idea. The standard of racing in laser1s is obviously better than laser 2s but dont be so cocky and think that the class specific skills developed in a laser 1 make you god in a boat, they dont. Laser 2s are great boats and racing them is way more fun. The class in irelkand is savage and you wouldnt have a hope of winning an event without a bit of practice. But however some people just like to be "middle of the road" their whole life and the laser1 fleet is a great place to have your enthusiasm entirely crushed and end up hating sailing. If however you would like to enjoy your life a bit then laser2s are great. Dont bother replying to this message. Im totally right and have made an irrefutable argument so sell your lasre 1 and get a laser 2. QED get over it. From Stephen Armstrong 11 April 2006 at 00:03:54 Please visit my website. http://www.stephenarmstrong.com/ From Conor Byrne, Fingal 12 April 2006 at 01:45:58 A wee bit harsh. I've done Laser radial events, I have not enjoyed them, not to say that I was not suitibly impressed by the standard and the sailors. Horses for courses. Stephen I'm sorry that people like me make your life miserable, but I enjoy sailing Laser II's with like minded people, as do many others, the best weekend of my life was in Crookhaven with just 18 boats. Just from this forum alone I've recieved many emails from people looking to help with the cause, and we have come up with plans for the year. So Ailis, I'll make sure you won't regret buying that boat, like I and a lot of my friends havn't. contact irishlaser2@gmail.com
	posted by International Laser II Class Association