Is a Laser the Right Boat for Me? - Part 2, Fitness

The last few dozen years I have had to pay close attention to what I eat. My weight can climb right out of my clothes if I just start thinking about dessert or smoothies. Pasta tenaciously clings to me. I have to find ways to motivate myself to diminish belly fat.

Just as surely as I gain weight, I seem to lose muscles as I age. I want to be active with my grandchildren and live life with a good degree of energy, so I want to stay in aerobic shape and maintain muscle mass. I got a Laser to help me accomplish those goals. One of the bumper stickers I like is “Cheat the nursing home, die on your Laser.”

Not every Laser sailor does, or needs to use the boat to motivate their workout regime, but I sure do. One of the major reasons I bought a Laser was to have a boat that encouraged me to keep in shape.

Now I must admit I have another reason to stay in shape, I coach executives and high-functioning individuals with ADHD on developing effective behaviors and good daily habits. I lose my credibility if I walk in clearly out of shape and over weight. Either way the Laser is my secret.

To sail the boat more aggressively it helps to be flexible and fit and young. I am over 60, can’t touch my toes after months of stretching and so fit is the only criteria I can hold out hope for, and it’s still just a hope.

My first Laser race a few years ago was a spring regatta on a lake in New Hampshire. I arrived an hour early trailering my boat with the car trunk and backseat loaded with clothing and other just-in-case gear.

I knew that Laser racing had a “Masters” category and I just hoped that I wouldn’t be the oldest guy around – no worry. A nice guy from Canada who was in his mid 70’s arrived with his boat on top of the car and a wool sweater for warmth. The day was cool with gentle breezes. He beat me in two races and I barely beat him in two others. He let me know I was in the right boat.

A couple of years later I sailed in the New England Masters Regatta on the ocean off Newport, RI. The wind was steady above 20 with gusts over 25 and waves rolling up the bay. I was sailing with my smaller “radial” sail and after two hours I was beat. I considered it an Olympic effort to get back to the beach. My physical conditioning had slid during the summer and my endurance went with it.

Sailing and racing happen in all sorts of conditions, and physical endurance and strength are only important part of the time.

A Laser uses your weight to counterbalance the action of the sail trying to tip you over in a moderate or better breeze. You hook your feet under a seatbelt-style strap (a “Hiking Strap”) and use that to lean backwards (“Hike”) out of the boat without falling out. Your weight is transferred to the strap and leverages against the pull the other way from the sail.

Hiking requires the same muscles as a sit up. You can sail the Laser and only hike occasionally for brief periods of time. Top-ranked sailors can hike out for a long time. Even after I had been working out for some time I found it difficult to do an exercise called a “wall sit” for more than 45 seconds at a time; good sailors can do that for ten or fifteen minutes.

So, the Laser hangs a challenge out in front of me and that encourages me to get on the treadmill or stationary bike in the winter and to work on my “core strength” with crunches and leg lifts. I get little pleasure while working out, but looking forward to sailing the Laser pushes me onward.

Many of the same muscles that boost racing performance are developed by riding a bike, so I am also encouraged to get my aerobic exercise, which is a major component of endurance.

A Laser doesn’t demand physical strength, but it sure encourages and rewards it.

Part 3 will cover the care and feeding of a Laser.