I've just bought a Laser 5000. How do I sail it?

Paul Brotherton hands out advice on taming the beast

I've just taken up Laser 5000 sailing, having only sailed much smaller boats. What advice do you have?


Before

Take it step by step. Don't throw yourself in at the deep end because you are in danger of putting yourself off the whole thing. A good first step is to get hold of any books or videos of people sailing Laser 5000s or similar boats. Try contacting the Laser Centre in Banbury for any relevant videos or literature, or else see what the madforsailing shop has to offer. John Merricks and Ian Walker produced an excellent video with footage of Laser 5000 and 4000 sailing too, which may be worth a look.

Ask other Laser 5000 sailors how they approach basic manoeuvres like tacking and gybing. Then, get them to watch you and crew doing dry runs in the boat park. Strap your boat down to the launching trolley and secure it to the ground if possible. Then you can both safely step into the boat and practise tacking and gybing on the boat. It might look a bit silly, but with some dry land practice at least you won't look as silly the first time you go out on the water.

If you can convince an experienced 5000 sailor to take you out on the water, all the better. Either go out three up, or get him to take you and your team mate out one at a time. This is a very quick way to pick up the hard-won secrets of the experienced sailors.

Finally, having completed as many of the aforementioned steps, the time has come for your and your team mate to go sailing under your own steam. Pick a nice comfortable Force 2 to go out the first time. Any more and you could struggle with the boat. Don't worry about the trapeze wires too much to begin with. Practise tacking and gybing with both of you sitting down on the gunwhale after each tack. Ease the sails if necessary to keep the boat flat.

Then, build up to the crew getting out on the trapeze and getting used to moving out on to the rack. Then, get the crew to come in while the helm practises the same routine, so that both of you build confidence in the trapeze harness. Eventually, try sailing the boat with both of you on the trapeze.


After

Do the same gradual build-up with the gennaker. Make sure that you have practised your on-shore drills properly before trying the gennaker on the water, because it can be quite a handful in any sort of breeze. To begin with, the helm should concentrate on steering the boat and keeping it upright and leave the crew to handle every aspect of the gennaker.

Many top crews have the helm hoisting the gennaker while the crew pulls the pole out for a faster hoist, but forget about this until you are comfortable with the basic manoeuvre. Keep sailing the boat quite deep downwind and then gradually head up as you get used to the power of the boat. Eventually, both of you can get on the trapeze and you can take the boat on a power reach. You may be surprised to find just how stable the boat is at speed, and with both of you on the trapeze, but still build up to this point in gradual steps.

Make sure you capsize and practise your capsize drills on an easy, light wind day with plenty of rescue cover. There’s not actually that much that can go wrong in a capsize. It’s very rare, but about the worst thing that can happen in a capsize is getting tangled up in a piece of rope or elastic, so each of you should carry a knife with you. The best thing is to stitch a pocket for a knife on to your trapeze harness so it is always to hand.

Initially, take the boat out in only a Force 3 or less for the first couple of months, unless you feel your confidence is growing rapidly, in which case step up the rate of progress. Always sail within your limits, and then begin to push yourself a little beyond them. Have the confidence to do things really well in 10 knots and then you will be able to them well in 22 knots. The processes do not change that much - you just need to execute them with more precision the windier it gets.