FPSC’s Laser Youth group is open to any youngsters at the Club who want to sail a Laser. We cater for skill levels from RYA Youth Stage 3 upwards, but we are inclusive so if you can sail a triangular course and navigate yourself around the Pond or fancy your chances at top end of the fleet then come and join in! We aim to get our young sailors racing and competing at the Club and ultimately to give them the confidence to enter open meetings and events, if that is what they’d like to do.

The Laser Youth Group normally meets on Saturday mornings. We rig the boats, run a briefing and / or some on-shore training, get changed and go sailing!

We are back on shore in time for some lunch before Saturday afternoon racing. – the Laser 4.7 / Radial “youth” start is 10 minutes after the Saturday Handicap Race start. There are Summer and Winter series with trophies to be won for each!

Exact timing does varies throughout the year, so please check the Club Handbook or class programme on the web site (or email the LYG organiser below).

A bit about the boats...

Lasers were originally designed with what is now known as the “Standard” rig. It can be quite hard work and you need to weigh 75Kg plus to sail competitively, so optional rigs were developed to cater for lighter weight people - everything else stays the same.

The Laser is an RYA recognised Pathway Boat, with the 4.7 rig for Junior sailors (Under 16) and the Radial rig for Youth sailors (16 to 19 years). The UK Laser Association runs a very extensive event programme, so you can go and race a Laser with any of the rigs pretty much every week-end of the year, if that is your thing. The UKLA also organises regular open training and there is an RYA Squad system in place for all three rigs which could take you all the way through to the Olympics… If it takes your fancy, all three variants are raced internationally.

Laser 4.7 The Laser 4.7 has the smallest sail (4.7 square metres, believe it or not !) with a short bottom mast section. It is suitable for lightweight sailors from around 13 years old, depending on weight (50 -65 Kgs) and height as much as anything.

Laser Radial The Laser Radial has a 5.7 sq m sail and a bottom mast section that is longer than the 4.7 but smaller than the Standard rig’s. It is suited to sailors in the 60 to 75 Kg range and as well as being an RYA Pathway class it is the Women’s Olympic single hander.

Contact Chris Brown This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.