Category: News

RC Laser sailing in extreme weather is not for the faint hearted. Sydney experienced some extreme weather yesterday.  Winds averaged 20 knots plus and gusted to 33 knots. Six gusty RC Laser sailors set up at Rodd Point in Sydney to test their Radio Control Lasers under these conditions.

Our correspondent, Noel, thought he might get away with a C sail and set out try it out. He promptly came back, rigged the D sail.. and sailed with that all day. Here is Noel’s report.

“The wind, from the south west,  was swirling around as well as blasting in in heavy gusts.  At times there were quieter periods just to annoy us as well. The one thing about the direction was that the water was relatively flat; so downwind, if you got your boat going, it really screamed along.

Under the circumstances, we felt the wind was an additional handicap, so we settled for scratch starts.  It was a struggle to get to the line in the first place.  There was so much leeway on the boats that it would wipe out any planning to get near the pin on the starts.  Having gone through the start line, the next problem was to tack… you really had to keep going and wait out the gusts, choose your moment, then go for it.  The marks were rather lively at the best of times, but you had to sail so far past the windward mark that you would not be caught be the leeway on the boat to run into the mark or have to make another tack to get around.  Sailing to not touch the marks kept us away from them.
In spite of the conditions, we had some very close finishes – I think that is a good reflection on everyone who sailed.”

 

We are publishing some of the top tips from the Radio Control Laser Community. This one comes from Ned Whiteley of  Victoria and explains how to repair the sail winch in 30 minutes at a cost of $14.

How to Repair the Sail Winch on the RC Laser

Step 1
Place tape around the bottom of the servo casing to ensure that the bottom cover remains in place when you remove the four retaining screws.

Step 2
Carefully remove the retaining screws and then remove the top cover to expose the servo gears. Examine the gears and ascertain where the problem lies (in this case, four teeth have sheared off the small gear at the top of the right hand stack).

Step 3
Carefully remove all the components, starting with the small ‘O’ ring, and lay them out so that you know the order you need to replace them in. Clean out any old grease and broken teeth.
Note: The top ball race is a very tight fit and may have to be lifted out still attached to the gear. If the gear is undamaged, I would recommend leaving it attached and using it for the rebuild.
The bottom gear (centre spindle) may prove difficult to remove and can be left in place (as in this case) if undamaged.

Step 4
Replace the components in reverse order, substituting the new gears where appropriate (always best to change the whole set just to be safe) and add a small amount of servo grease to each gear set. Replace the top cover and screws and remove the tape. Your servo should now be ready to go.

Total cost $14 Time taken 30
Please send your top tips and photos to fun(at)radiosail.com.au

Radio Control Laser 2015 Australian National Championships

Date Announced

Hold the press and get out your diary! The date for the 2015 RC Laser National Championships has been announced.

The event will take place over the weekend of 29th – 30th August, 2015 and will be hosted in Sydney by Dobroyd RC Lasers. It’s expected that a large fleet from all around Australia will join the competition and overseas entrants will be warmly welcomed.

The 2015 RC Laser National Championships will be the sixth consecutive year the championships have run, and the second time hosted by NSW and Dobroyd RC Lasers. In 2010 the event was hosted by QLD and held at the Sunshine Coast, 2011 by Victoria, 2012 by Western Australia, 2013 by South Australia, and 2014 by QLD and held at the Gold Coast.

The schedule of activity will include practice racing, championship racing, a welcome function, and a prize giving function. It is competition combined with social events and friends and families are invited to come and join in the fun.

A full schedule of activity and the Notice of Race will be published shortly.

2015 Radio Control Laser Championship of Nations

The 2015 Radio Controlled Laser Yacht Championship in the Netherlands promises to be a great event and we are hoping many Australian Radio Controlled Laser Yacht sailors can participate in the regatta. Australia had two participants in the 2013 Radio Controlled Laser Yacht Championship of Nations held in Southport in the UK and they were well placed.

The Championship will be held on 22, 23, and 24 May, 2015 at Ouderkerkerk aan de Amstel.  The location is about 25 minutes by public transport to the center of Amsterdam. It boasts many fine restaurants and historic areas. There are some good flight packages available from Australia to Amsterdam at present. Holland is a great place for a holiday with easy public transport and lots of accommodation options. Having sailed there a number of times, the locations for sailing Radio Controlled yachts are beautiful and the locals very hospitable.

 

Taco Faber and his team will be welcoming hosts and a large representation from UK and European countries will be sure to attend, making for some tough sailing competition.

Because of Australian support at the 2013 Radio Controlled Laser Yacht Championship of Nations and the success of the annual Radio Control Laser National Championships, the 2017 Radio Controlled Laser Yacht Championship of Nations is scheduled to come to Australia. That means it is even more important for Australia to be represented at the 2015 Radio Controlled Laser Yacht Championship of Nations.

 

More information will be posted as it becomes available and there will be assistance available for organising travel and accommodation.

For information on international Radio Control Laser Yacht news and contacts check the following sites.  http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/class/RC-Laser  and https://sites.google.com/site/rclaserinternational/

Also check out Radio Control Sailing Australia’s Facebook Page for updates. https://www.facebook.com/RadioControlSailingAustralia

Rodney Popham

AUS 42

AUS Representative – RC Laser International Association and Working Committee