We had a bit of an abbreviated tailgate with a few of us having other committements and nobody spending the night. Not to mention the noon kick off made it an early day for all of us. We made the most of it and still had a good time. And best of all ECU had a convincing win.
I’ve got a Netgear (JGS516) gigabit switch in a closet just off my kitchen near the family room. Even with the door closed the fan noise it audible even above the refrigerator that is just a few feet away. Quite distracting when trying to watch a movie or have a quiet meal in the kitchen. So I did a little project to reduce the noise.
The switch uses a 5v 40mm x 40mm x 20mm fan. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as if quiet 5v fans are made this size, so I ended up getting a 12v fan of this size Scythe Mini Kaze 2, Quiet 40mm Fan, 3500RPM, Single Pack. To get a 12v power source I pulled apart a cell phone charger, fed the wire through the vent opening and spliced it together.
With the fan running full speed, it still wasn’t quiet enough, so I got a Manual 12V DC Variable Speed Controller 4 pin Molex to Dual 3 pin Connector so I could turn it down. With the fan on the lowest setting the sound is barely audible in the closet let alone with the door closed and there’s just enough air flow to be sure the barely loaded 16 port switch doesn’t get too hot. And finally, I can very easily pull the mod out and return it to it’s original configuration.
Before:
After with the speed controller in the back right corner:
Speed Controller | Vent Wiring |
This article also appeared in the Fall 2012 Edition of The Laser Sailor and is now featured here as well. It was written with help from Kyle Martin.
Sport cameras are a relatively new breed of cameras that are compact, waterproof, durable and can be easily mounted on all kinds of surfaces. This makes them great for boats and sailing and especially the Laser. The footage from these cameras is great as a training aid, as a keepsake of your sailing and as a way to share sailing with friends and family – just don’t bore them with 20 minutes of you sailing upwind with nothing happening. Not only do most of these cameras do video, but they can also be used for time lapse photography either to watch the whole series, or just to pick key photos of maneuvers , scenery or technique.
Disclaimer: While great for training and pleasure sailing, cameras are not legal equipment for racing on a Laser.
There are several different brands of cameras on the market each with their own strengths, weaknesses, price points, features etc. Kyle and I both use the GoPro Hero2 cameras, but any of these cameras could be mounted in the shots below.
| Bow Pro: Easy to set and forget, sees a great scene into the boat and all of the activity in the cockpit Con: Often submerged leaving wet spots on lens, risk of snagging others mainsheet Tip: Use a tripod mount on the bow eye for the most secure attachment. How-to Video |
 |
 |
| Mast Facing Forward Tip: For best results, angle slightly off center to port. This ‘looks’ ahead around a mark or down the line on a start. Pro: Shows boats ahead of you Con: Boring video if you are in front How-to: Go Pro Mast Mount |
 |
 |
| Side Mast Facing Aft Tip: To mount use a roll-cage mount with extra long screws Pro: Similar scene as the bow, but from a higher elevation. Con: Only works upwind |
 |
 |
| Masthead Pro: Wide view shows boats around and position in cockpit Con: Unsteady in waves, weight aloft |
 |
 |
| Mid-Mast Pro: Closer view of cockpit than masthead Con: Good video one tack, ok video other tack How-to Video |
 |
 |
| Side of Boat Tip: Use a suction mount on the smooth hull surface. Pro: Interesting angles Con: more likely to be underwater, greater risk of getting banged against something |
 |
 |
| Chest Pro: Great shots of hand-over-hand activity in the cockpit, putting the viewer in your seat Con: easy to obstruct the view with hands or bang camera with tiller extension and hiking out shows all sky |
 |
 |
| Head Pro: Nice point-of-view shots Con: Scene changes fast as the wearer quickly looks around the boat to sail |
 |
 |
| Boom Facing Starboard Tip: Wrist mount fits boom perfectly Pro: Unobstructed rear view downwind Con: Completely obstructed view on port tack by sail |
 |
 |
| End of Boom Facing Forward Tip: Use roll cage mount Pro: Shows sailor in cockpit and what’s ahead when sailing upwind |
 |
 |
| Stern Facing Forward Pro: Shows sailor plus what’s ahead Con: Slight risk of snagging your mainsheet Pro: Shows sailor in cockpit and what’s ahead when sailing upwind |
 |
 |
| Side of Dolly Pro: Can be used right-side up, or down |
 |
 |
Jon Deutsch
Races Lasers, PHRF boats and anything else he can find to race and usually has a video camera running. Check out his YouTube channel.
Kyle Martin
Races Lasers and makes a variety of tips and tricks videos on how to make the most of GoPro Cameras. Check out his tips on his YouTube channel.
Other YouTubers posting Laser footage:
laserinternational, ClaySails, DCSSInstructors, Districttwelvelaser, ericjpetersen1, GRSALaser, jondeusch5, kylemartin101, laserd8, LaserPerformance, LaserTrainingCenter, lightningfleet192, nalsalam, paigesailor, prsalaser, robsuhay, rwbeigel, SailProCameras, sdalin27, syelland100, ussailing2, wjsymes, xdlaser, zorgetbetty, 5FishBoy5, raffak1, GreatDaneLaser, pgihockey13, sailingshack, lasertouring, jonemmettsailing, eshedsailing
Video highlights of the 31st Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship at Fishing Bay Yacht Club October 13-14.
Last weekend was the 31st Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship at Fishing Bay Yacht Club. We had a great fleet of 45 boats come to sail. I was the event chairman and I also got to be out on the water during racing to take some pictures. Here are a few of the best:
All in all it was a great regatta. I couldn’t have done it without the help of our race committee and all of the Laser Fleet members who helped out. And it was nice to have all of the masters sailors I see so often on the regatta circuit come sail with us in Deltaville.
The forecast for the last day of the Laser District 12 Championship was for light air and as we were sailing out to the race course we had great wind – 10-12 knots. By our 10am start it had dropped at bit and it continued to go down from there. Today was a basically a two-boat race. Unless I put up two DFLs it would have been hard not to get 2nd place. Once a drop would be factored in, I was effectively 1 point behind John Potter, so it would come down to today’s races as to who won the regatta.
In our first race today I had a crummy start – I just about won the boat, but had no boat speed at the start. John was to leeward of me and was a boat length and a half ahead when I crossed the line. I took a big duck and headed out right while he sailed to the left. Wanting to consolidate I came back to the middle having made up some ground, but John tacked on me and forced me back to the right. On the middle right of the course I had better pressure and got in front of John, but the boats who went left did much better than us putting me around 6th and John several boats behind me by the time we rounded.
Downwind John caught up a few boats and on the 2nd upwind I stuck to the middle of the course while John went to the left. When we got to the top 3rd of the course a 50-degree righty came in and I laid the mark while John out to the left still had to tack to fetch it. At the mark there was one boat between us and downwind I worked to pass one boat on the way to the finish. With two boats between us that put me 1 point ahead of John.
After the race we sat on the course for half an hour with no prospect of wind and the race committee abandoned racing for the rest of the day and I won the District 12 Championship Regatta. Not only was John great competition this weekend, but so were sailors such as Rob Bowden who would have beat both John and I had he not been OCS twice. All in all it was a fun regatta and I got to visit a an awesome club who put on a great and I got meet a lot of new District 12 sailors.
Results | My Photos | CSC Photos by Joe Reyes
All but the last photo courtesy of Joe Reyes
We had a great first day of the District 12 Championship at Columbia Sailing Club in Columbia South Carolina. We sailed 5 races that at some point in each of the races we had 4 knots and 10 knots. In the lighter winds I did well on the first upwind leg most races and worked hard to hold onto my spot on the downwinds. I put up a 3-2-8-1-2 and am currently 2 points out of first behind John Potter from Beaufort SC. Tomorrow will be another light air day and hopefully I can keep up the top 3 finishes to have a shot at the title.
Provisional Results (the winner in race 3 will be RET and everyone moves up one)
Arrived at the Columbia Sailing Club this evening and ready to sail the District 12 Championship tomorrow!
Here’s the back t-shirt design for the 2012 Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship. It’s based on this picture. The front will feature the plate logo.
