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Onboard Trackers Introduced for Howth Yacht Club Laser Frostbites

11th October 2018
Lasers competing in this year's HYC Frostbites will use onboard trackers Lasers competing in this year's HYC Frostbites will use onboard trackers Credit: Afloat.ie

Olympian Dan O’Grady and Tokyo Olympic campaigner Ewan McMahon are among the entries lined up for next month's 2018-2019 Laser Frostbites at Howth Yacht Club where onboard trackers will be used for the first time in the long-running series.

Howth's own Olympic Radial campaigner, Aoife Hopkins, is also going to race some of the series in her busy schedule.

The series starts on Sunday 4th Nov, and runs to 9th March 2019. Organisers have arranged the hire of onboard trackers this year. This will allow for superb debriefing and coaching opportunities along with plenty of post-race banter!

Format is largely the same with 2 races each Sunday morning (FG 10:45) just outside the Harbour.

The event always attracts a large entry with sailors ranging from Ex Olympians and current top Olympic campaigners to absolute beginners, across the 3 rig sizes. All are welcome.

Online entry now open here

Published in Laser
Dave Quinn

About The Author

Dave Quinn

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David is a keen Laser sailor, having previously sailed an SB20 and a number of IRC Cruiser Racers.

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About the ILCA/Laser Dinghy

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):

  • ILCA 4: sail of 4.70m2
  • ILCA 6: sail of 5.76 m2
  • ILCA 7: sail of 7.06 m2