Olympic preview - the Laser

Jeff Martin of the International Laser Class Association looks at the form for Athens

Designed in 1969 by Bruce Kirby from Canada the lines sat on a shelf for a year until they were dusted off and a prototype was built by Ian Bruce for a one design regatta for boats costing under $1000 promoted by a US magazine One Design and Offshore Yachtsman. Hans Fogh designed the sail and helmed the boat in the regatta. He came second in the first race; re-cut the sail overnight and won the next race. Following the interest shown in the boat the group decided to go into production and worked hard to get a production model ready for the New York boat show the following January. During that period the boat’s name was changed from 'Weekender' to 'Laser'.

Kirby was a popular International 14 designer and sailor. Bruce was a 14 builder and sailor. With a history in a development class it is interesting that the pair chose a very strict one-design format for their new product.

144 orders were taken at the boat show and the scene was set for an amazing growth cycle the likes of which had never previously been seen in small boat sailing. Following the set-up of a production facility in Montreal in 1971 a plant was opened in Banbury, UK in 1972. New facilities rapidly followed in USA, Australia, Brazil, Japan, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand producing over 10,000 Lasers per year by the end of the 1970s.

Such was the growth of the class that in 1974 the class was granted international status by the then International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU). At the time there was a strong push in the IYRU for the Laser to become an Olympic class, which was resisted by the then fledging class association and the builders mainly because the concept of the boat, no changes are allowed to equipment, was a new philosophy to sailing.

The absolute one design philosophy together with an exciting performance discovered a new breed of sailors who preferred concentrate on developing sailing skills rather than developing equipment. That same philosophy has been carried through to class World Championships and the Olympics where all of the Laser equipment is supplied. Supplying equipment makes participation easier for emerging sailing nations to participate and is a significant reason why Laser has the largest country participation in Athens and the class world championships now regularly attract entries from over 60 countries.

Appearing at the Olympics for the first time in 1996 the Laser quickly gathered strong support and boosted the number countries in sailing events. The sheer numbers of competitive Laser sailors throughout the world has resulted in a highly competitive fleet in which at least half of the fleet are able to hold a top five position if they are ahead at the first mark. As boat speed differences are down to the sailor and not the equipment a boat length is often the difference between winning and losing. The Laser has consistently provided the most exciting finishes to major events. At the last two Olympics the battle for the gold medal went right to the last race as happened at the last two world championships.

In all classes consistency and a cool head are important but probably more so in the Laser where recovery from a bad start or decision is difficult especially on the short courses sailed at the Olympics. In races held in winds of under 12 knots being in the top 5 at the first mark is critical for a good result.

With 42 countries represented in Athens in the Laser and all the equipment exactly the same the single-handed open event will provide a different set of challenges for the sailors. Getting a good start is critical particularly in a large fleet on a short course and if there is any bias on the start line. Being able to identify and take the first shift is important in a larger fleet where upwind boat speed differences are minimal. This requires good speed off the line and the ability and confidence to a small wind shift that may not be so important in other classes.

Generally in steady winds above 12 knots the form book will provide a more reliable guide to the race leaders assuming the start line is good and there are no problems with the course.

Form book

29-year-old Robert Scheidt from Brazil is a clear favourite. The current World Champion has dominated the Laser class since 1995 winning the gold medal in 1996 after an epic last race with a young Ben Ainslie. In 1980 there was a role reversal when he was beaten into the silver medal position by Ainslie in another dramatic last race which had even non-sailors glued to their television sets as a match race-type drama evolved. Winning his first Laser world title in 1995 he has since won six out of eight World Championships since then and finished second to Ainslie in 1999 and second to Gustavo Lima POR in 2003 again by very close margins.

To read more about the Laser go through to the International website here .



Scheidt's top place in the ISAF World Ranking is fully justified. He has the experience of having been twice in the powder keg atmosphere of Olympic competition and also tight situations and is one of the few sailors with the ability to recover from a seemingly hopeless position as witnessed in the last race of the 2000 Olympics. After losing his World title in 2003 by a very narrow margin his long time coach smiled and quietly suggested that it would do him good. He came back seven months later and could have won the 2004 worlds with a race to spare had he not received two yellow flag penalties in the penultimate race forcing him to retire. For most people such a setback would have been a disaster but with only 30 minutes to get over his obvious disappointment he went out and nailed his seventh world title in the last race.

With Ainslie now sailing a Finn and Lima failing to continue his 2003 title winning form the bronze medallist from Sydney, Australia's Michael Blackburn, is probably Scheidt’s biggest threat on form. A perfectionist in his training and preparation he transferred to the front end of a 49er in 2001 before returning to the Laser class at the end of 2002. After an intensive campaign to catch up in the Laser he climbed to the top of the ISAF Laser rankings (currently second) until Scheidt’s victory at the 2004 worlds dropped in a place. Graduating from the Laser Radial he has finished 3,3,2,4 in the last four Laser World Championships he has sailed and, like Scheidt, he has plenty of experience.

Apart from these two, previous results and history offer few clear pointers. At least half the fleet have the potential to win a race and on their day at least 11 others have the experience and have demonstrated the ability and consistency to win a big event so must not be discounted for a medal. In country order these are:

Andreas Geritzer AUT - After a poor 2003 world Championship he finished 6th in the 2004 world with several good individual race results. He also finished second in three big Eurolymp events in 2004 Hyeres, Athens and Kiel.

Philippe Bergmanns BEL - An experienced Laser sailor who has frequently achieved top ten results. He demonstrated good recent form by winning the Open European Championships last month, which will be a big boost to his confidence.

Luis Martinez ESP - Had his best result scoring a fourth in the 2003 Laser Worlds but since then his best result has been a 10th in the Athens Eurolymp.

Roope Suomalainen FIN - Results over the past year have not been good but might be encouraged after a 4th place in Kiel Week. He has the experience.



Paul Goodison GBR - Currently ranked 3 in the ISAF Laser rankings he was Ainslie’s training partner at the 2000 games and learnt from that. He has been consistently placed top three at major events for the last three years but did not perform at the 2003 worlds. He took time out from possibly over training and has come back in 2004 to once again medal in major events including a third place last month at the open Europeans where he finished ahead of Blackburn.

Per Moberg NOR - Taking part in his third Olympics he won the bronze medal in 1996. A third in the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta and a ninth in the worlds this year indicate that he is still on the pace.

Hamish Pepper NZL - Having been near the top of the Laser tree in the late 1990s including a fourth place at the 1997 Worlds he went full time with the New Zealand America’s Cup campaign. He returned to the Laser at the beginning of 2003 and in spite of an injury at the 2003 Worlds has since come back in 2004 to achieve several single figure results including a fourth at the 2004 worlds.

Gareth Blackenberg RSA - Fourth in the ISAF rankings, he has been an active campaigner on the international circuit but has never quite delivered the expected result. Has scored 9th in the last two open European Championships and scored an 8th at the 2003 Worlds. A third at Spa earlier this year was followed by a 23rd at the 2004 Worlds. A race winner who could put together a series on the big occasion.

Karl Suneson SWE - A very experienced Laser sailor who has finished top 5 in five World Championships including a fifth at the 2004 worlds. He won the 2004 Athens Eurolymp and at the 2004 Princess Sophia and finished second at Spa.



Mark Mendelblatt USA (above) - He has matured a lot since his involvement with the America’s Cup. Following a sixth in the 2003 Worlds he was runner-up at the 2004 Worlds ahead of Blackburn and followed this with a fourth last month (one behind Blackburn) at the Open European Championships.

Competitors by ISAF ranking (to see the compete ISAF rankings - click here )

Sailor	Nat	ISAF #	Worlds 2004	Worlds 2003
Robert SCHEIDT	BRA	1	1	2
Michael BLACKBURN	AUS	2	3	3
Paul GOODISON	GBR	3	8	31
Gareth BLANCKENBERG	RSA	4	23	8
Vasilij ZBOGAR	SLO	5	16	9
Mark MENDELBLATT	USA	6	2	6
Karl SUNESON	SWE	7	5	11
Gustavo LIMA	POR	10	32	1
Diego NEGRI	ITA	12	12	21
Philippe BERGMANS	BEL	13	36	16
Andreas GERITZER	AUT	14	6	49
Mate ARAPOV	CRO	16	38	20
Peer MOBERG	NOR	17	9	22
Roope SUOMALAINEN	FIN	19	35	14
Maciej GRABOWSKI	POL	20	45	23
Luis MARTINEZ DORESTE	SPA	22	42	4
Anders NYHOLM	DEN	23	11	29
Bernard LUTTMER	CAN	27	41	25
Evangelas CHIMONAS	GRE	30	27	35
Allen JULIE	SEY	33	37	47
Hamish PEPPER	NZL	35	4	131
Diego ROMERO	ARG	38	73	13
Felix PRUVOT	FRA	39		50
Matias DEL SOLAR	CHI	42	55	46
Kemal MUSLUBAS	TUR	45	21	57
Rory FITZPATRICK	IRL	48	70	90
Kevin LIM	MAS	54	59
Martin TRCKA	CZE	63	95	96
Maxim SEMERKHANOV	RUS	77	74	75
Gedrius GUZYS	LTU	80	69	73
Kunio SUZUKI	JPN	82	41	79
Stanley TAN KHENG SIONG	SIN	86	77	106
Yuriy ORLOV	UKR	111	100	83
Timothy PITTS	ISV	136
Ho Kon KIM	KOR	174	43
Alejandro FOGLIA	URU	199	71	121
Qiang CHI	CHN	272	79
Haris PAPADOPOULOS	CYP	422	82
Hafsteinn GEIRSSON	ISL	671	112	125
Sami KOOHEJI	BRN	815
Augusto NICOLINI	PER		97	113
Mario AQUILINA	MLT