#Laser - Irish Laser Radial Olympian Ciara Peelo will be head coach for the Irish Laser Class Association’s upcoming training weekend on 24-25 March.
The Beijing 2008 flag-bearer will offer her guidance especially to lighter and female Laser sailors over the weekend, which is hopeful for a big turnout spurred on by the ‘Annalise Effect’.
Find out more about how to take part on the Irish Laser class website HERE.
MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business
More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven't put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.
Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full-time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.
So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.
The ILCA, formerly known as the Laser, is the most produced boat in the world, with 220,000 units built since 1971.
It's easy to see why the single-handed dinghy has won the title of the most widely distributed boat of all time.
The Laser is a one-design dinghy, the hulls being identical but three rigs that can be used according to the size and weight of the sailor.
The class is international, with sailors from 120 countries. The boat has also been an Olympic class since 1996, being both the men's and women's singlehanded dinghy.
Three rigs are recognised by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA):
Designer Bruce Kirby & Ian Bruce
Year 1969
Crew 1
Draft 0.787 m (2 ft 7.0 in)
Hull weight 58.97 kg (130.0 lb)
LOA 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
LWL 3.81 m (12 ft 6 in)
Beam 1.39 m (4 ft 7 in)
Mainsail area 7.06 m2 (76.0 sq ft)
Racing D-PN 91.1 RYA PN 1088 PHRF 217
Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
