As many folks know I am the director/instructor of Rick White's Sailing Seminars and do clinics for cats and for monohulls.
<br>Each spring we have a week-long camp for Laser, Sunfish, Bytes, or whatever other dinghy.
<br>And the chap that is my guest expert is on the Olympic Laser Team -- in other words, pretty hot.
<br>He stayed around for some beercan racing one Wednesday night and race his Laser against the Waves.
<br>Results were surprising. I though the Laser would be faster upwind and slower off the wind. Just the opposite -- I pulled far ahead upwind, but when heading straight downwind the Laser started catching up. The Wave didn't plane, the Laser did.
<br>Keep in mind this sailor was young, strong and at the top of his game, and I am an old man.
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<br>One more point. The Laser is priced at around $5000, while the street price on a Wave is just over $3000.
<br>The Laser holds a maximum of one person, the Wave hold 19 before it sinks (see the latest issue for evidence as seen at the Special Olympics, and if you are not a subscriber, click the following to subscribe http://www.catsailor.com/cs_order.html)
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<br>Go Waves! Down with Wave Snobs!
<br>Rick<br><br>Rick White
<br>Catamaran Sailor Magazine
<br>email: rick@catsailor.com