December 2009
Laser Team Newsletter— 2009 Year in Review
The intent of this newsletter is to provide all Fast sailors and their families with a review of the training and racing opportunities available to Fast laser sailors throughout the past year. In 2009 the Fast laser program provided 18 coached clinic days and 17 coached regatta days for over 25 youth laser sailors from the New England area, as well as from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and California.
Beyond the laser opportunities within Fast, many of our radial and full rig laser sailors were selected for the Brooke Gonzalez Advanced Racing Clinic and for Youth Champs, and also competed at the Leiter Cup and the Healy Trophy (the New England High School Singlehanded Championships). At the Healy Trophy all eight sailors who advanced to the national Cressy Cup were Fast sailors.
Additionally, recent ‘graduates’ of the Fast laser program are now attending and sailing at Brown, the College of Charleston, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, SUNY Maritime, Tufts and the Webb Institute.
Spring 2009
The Fast laser team held six one‐day clinics at Sail Newport on Sundays in May and June for 4.7, radial, and full
rig sailors. The coaching staff was led by Jeff Kittredge who was joined by coaches Chris Lash, Fred Strammer and
Kathleen Tocke.
Summer 2009
In late June a team of six 4.7 and radial sailors attended a two‐day Cape Cod Clinic (Pleasant Bay,
Orleans/Chatham, MA) coached by Genoa Fedyszyn. A team of ten 4.7, radial, and full rig sailors then headed north to
Buffalo Canoe Club for Laser North Americans where they were coached by Genoa and Todd Fedyszyn, and Kathleen
Tocke. Over the July 4th holiday weekend a two‐day Cape Cod Clinic (Pleasant Bay, Orleans/Chatham, MA) was attended
by six radial and full rig sailors and coached by John Mollicone. In mid‐July a team of six 4.7s and radials headed to the
New Bedford Junior Regatta coached by Jeff Kittredge. Also in mid‐July, a one‐day Connecticut Clinic (Ram Island YC,
Noank) was coached by Fred Strammer. In late July eleven radial and full rig sailors, coached by Jeff Kittredge and
Kathleen Tocke, competed at the Hyannis Yacht Club Regatta and a week later eleven radial and full rig sailors raced at
Buzzards Bay Regatta, again coached by John Mollicone and Kathleen Tocke. At the end of the summer another one‐day
Connecticut Clinic (Ram Island YC, Noank) was coached by John Mollicone, who then took a team of five radial and full
rig sailors to CORK OCR in Kingston, Ontario for the final event of the summer.
Fall 2009
The Fast laser program held three one‐day clinics at Sail Newport on Sundays in September and October,
coached by Jeff Kittredge.
Fast Laser Plans for 2010
All Fast laser families will soon be receiving information regarding the Fast laser plans for the upcoming 2010
season. In the meantime, please visit the North American Laser Class website for2010 laser regatta information here:
http://www.nalaser.org.
After chairing the Fast Laser program for two years, I am now pleased to announce that Fast parent and Board member Jim Bryer (Jamestown, RI) will take over for me as the Fast Laser Chair for 2010. My sincerest thanks to all our dedicated Fast laser families and our talented coaches who have helped to make the Fast laser program a rewarding, challenging and successful program for our youth laser sailors.
Thank you,
Kathy Howes, South Orleans, MA
Fast continually strives to make our programs as successful, fun, and safe as possible for all our youth sailors. We ask that all laser sailors who sailed with Fast this past year at our clinics and/or regattas please take the time to consider what worked well and what could use improvement. Please share any feedback on the Fast laser program, schedule, clinics, regattas, coaching, etc. with the incoming Fast Laser Chair Jim Bryer at jimbryer@cox.net. Thank you.
 
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