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Any advice for racing against Lasers

Regularly sail against lasers at our club (inland reservoir) and the PY works out very well. Last week in moderate conditions I sailed a 6, had a very close race with leading laser finishing just ahead tho he beat me by one second on handicap. He seemed marginally faster on the runs, I was faster on reaches and about the same upwind (playing the shifts and good tacking were very important). Most weeks it is very close between leading lasers and leading Aeros (mix of rigs).. Overall the series has a 7 leading followed by full rig laser.
As to tips, don't try to outpoint laser, you won't. You gain with the faster acceleration in gusts if you can keep boat level and balanced. Especially on reaches. Sail by the lee on runs the same way the lasers do.
I suspect it is harder on a windward leeward course. We generally have a mix of all points of sailing.
Pay attention to sail shape, kicker is very critical, free outhaul forore depth off wind. I like having wind indicators mast head for downwind and low down for upswing.

21/08/2025 08:29:00
gk.griffiths
Posts: 186

I've been sailing an Aero for the last year (I have all the sails), and sailed a Laser on and off since they first came out over 50 years ago...so some experience of Lasers, and on a learning curve with the Aero. My advice is : don't get frustrated with handicap sailing sailing against Lasers! Different conditions will always favour certain boats on handicap....it's an inexact science which the RYA do their best to work with, but if I take my Aero9 out in a blow, I cannot hope to hold her down and will never do well, and the 5 has the opposite problem in light winds - a small sail (even with the light hull)...a Laser Radial has a bigger sail and I cannot get past them . Enjoy the Aero!

20/08/2025 17:08:00
Happygoingsolo
Posts: 4

When I sail our "Wednesday" Race, a yardstick race, I hardly see a chance against the lasers (I sail the 9 rigg). That made me frustrated over the years and I saw the problem in my weight (100 kg). In our club we have also an very experienced and successfull laser sailor with an equal weight. Last week we sailed a long distance yardstick race with 50 boats (45, Melges 24, Dragons, H-Boat, ... and 5 Lasers) and we hat in average 7-10 kts of wind. I crossed the finish line after 2:10 hours. The first laser came 20 Minutes later (b.t.w. I was faster than all other dinghys, H-Boats, Schärenkreuzer and most of the Dragons). I was suprised and the lasers were shoked :-)
After analyzing my and their GPS Data I saw, that the reason was the long beam reach. In both directions of the beam reach I was much faster than the other boats, especially because I was able to glide earlier and faster. Downwind and upwind was no big difference. On a standard race course (Up and down) I do not have this advantage, and I will loose against lasers. Also a problem in a "mixed" race is the coverage by larger boats. This disturbs the wind and make me stop immidiatly. Lasers are heavier and are not so sensitive.

14/08/2025 10:45:00
neonerl
Posts: 17

Just to expand a bit on what Marc says about reaching, the aero is so responsive that it can be difficult to respond to wind changes quickly enough. 2 techniques are, to take the mainsheet from the boom so that armful of rope can be pulled in or pushed out quickly, also learn how to "steer to balance" .
Aim to keep the boat upright by bearing away (sometimes quite briskly) as the boat heels with a gust and then luffing as it starts coming over on top of you as the boat catches up with the wind, or the gust passes.
As I understand it, the exact angle of heel is not critical but the flow of water over the foils is different when heeled to leeward v to windward and you don't want to keep changing it.
Ps Marc J is much more famous than me, and I am sure much better!. So I won't be upset or surprised if he comes vack and corrects me.

14/07/2021 15:48:00
Dan Bridger
Posts: 2

Specifically against Lasers:
If you are sailing in very light air it can be difficult.

In general - use your speed advantage don't get into dog fights. Try to keep your air clear and on the beat don't get into a pointing battle.

Brian

09/07/2021 16:15:00
Posts: 0

Hi Marc
Great tips, thanks.

What's the reason for 5 degree heel on a reach, rather than flat?

Simon

09/07/2021 08:01:00
[email protected]
Posts: 17

Hey there,

Do give yourself a bit of a break - the ILCA has been around for 5 decades, and people know well how to sail it in all conditions.

That said, a well-sailed Aero 7 should have no problem with an ILCA 7 in almost any condition, especially reaching. How much practice, away from racing, have you done? I'd especially suggest working on the areas that are weakest. In addition, practice your boathandling, and accelerating from a stop - this will serve you well off the line. Remember: you cannot expect to do well against others if you haven't put in the practice!

While reaching, do everything you can to maintain a very slight (5 degrees) angle of heel to leeward, and don't let that change NO MATTER WHAT the wind, sea state or heading! That will make you very aware of body position in and out, and the blades (daggerboard and rudder) will be their most efficient. In light air keep the weight forward to get the transom out of the water, and as one starts planing scoot aft to keep the bow up. Long boat in light air (weight forward), short boat when planing (weight aft)!

When passing other boats downwind/reaching, if at all possible get a few boatlengths off to the side so as to not be affected by their wakes. Often one can be fooled into surfing other boats' wakes (which means you'll never pass!) instead of getting off to a side and blasting off. So much depends on the length of course - the longer, the easier to get off to a side and work your magic.

On runs, go either by-the-lee or broad reaching to build speed in light spots, and steer the boat dead downwind when the puffs come through. This keeps you in the puffs longer, and saves the ups/downs of BTL or reaching for lighter air, when they're really needed.

Now, get out there and PRACTICE! :)

Marc Jacobi

09/07/2021 04:14:00
heymatey
Posts: 39

Ha, yes, sadly I'm too light for a 9 rig but I might consider It within the next couple years

09/07/2021 00:25:00
WN13d
Posts: 4

I find using a 9 rig gets me clear of those confounded Lasers, Streakers, Mirrors, 7 year old bandits in Teras etc. I don't even look at results anymore as I know I am not competitive on handicap. But getting clear air and having better tactical choices is more enjoyable and I am off the water and in the pub sooner.

08/07/2021 22:20:00
BikeMike
Posts: 9

There is approximately a 3% difference in the PY numbers between the Aero 7 (1065) and the Laser/Ilca 7 (1100). Or about 1.8 minutes every hour. And the PY number itself is only an average

I am not a very good Aero sailor, but think that if I could put more time on the water I would be able to improve by 3%. I hope so... currently I am being beaten by a Mirror sailor and his 8 year old son - he might be 6 actually.

Aero's have many advantages over Lasers for the pilot - over time the pilot should be able to build those into a sustainable advantage over ILCAs.

06/07/2021 00:39:00
Moko Benelli
Posts: 1

Hello,
I recently bought an Aero 7 as my first proper racing boat to use at my club in our race series and I have been really struggling to gain any standing against the Lasers in the club and the 1065 PY handicap seems to make it impossible for me. I have had a read through many of the other posts and not many gave tips on racing against lasers and how to beat them on the downwind legs on our courses or upwind, I find I often suddenly slow when passing any boat downwind to windward and struggle to catch them on the reaches to the wing marks. Is there anything I should be doing differently to gain ground against lasers and I was wondering if there are different race course designs for aeros?

05/07/2021 11:46:00
WN13d
Posts: 4

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Any advice for racing against Lasers

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