ABW Dec 2019 -1

Thom on his Laser Sexy Lexy
Thom with Oz Goose designer
Michael Storer
Thom on a rented Oz Goose
on Taal Lake
the Laser features - aware of doing an apples to pears exercise;
not fair to both designs but interesting enough for dinghy lovers.
The Goose doesn’t sail attractively very close-hauled and
can’t be tuned during a race, but once you got it going in
good wind the close-hauled experience becomes thrilling -
sitting much further back than in a Laser and playing with
the ’heeling power’ of making the hard
chine as part of the anti-drift effect the
boat goes fairly well upwind. (Broad)
Reaching the speed encountered is not
much less of a Laser and the experience
of speeding over the water, easy
planing, is similar, if not better: one flies
a basic honest design over the waves as
good as an Olympic class! Running in
firm winds it is stable and without the
chance encounters with fatal capsizes the Laser guarantees.
Forced to make a race comparison between Laser and
Oz Goose - an unfair request but ’torn between now two
lovers’ I will still try:
The Laser is unforgiving when ignoring its many technical
sensitivities (especially running, hard wind, tacking, jibing)
but the Oz Goose will not let one get away with strategic
82
So, I am a formal Goose
convert now and will use
my old Laser for fun on
Lake Taal while taking the
’Goose challenge’ for the
near future in racing.
incompetence - eagerness to tack a lot near the mark
resulting in losing boat speed, close hauled - going too high
too early, impatience with velocity while on the port tack with
the yard leaning on the mast, sitting too far forward... funny
enough when you obey simple Oz Goose rules the boat will
perform great. She needs a bit of time to get going but then
when she goes... she goes!
So, I am a formal Goose convert now and
will use my old Laser for fun on Lake Taal
while taking the ’Goose challenge’ for
the near future in racing, with the ever
expanding fleet. Goose strategy is finer
and more comprehensive than Laser
racing as it requires far more longer term
tactics than the often on-the-spot Laser
approach - start is less critical, but clear
wind and lengthy good moving tacks are of the essence. It is a
better mind game hence!
A local Goose sailor with help from the designer of the boat
are now building a new boat for me and I can’t wait for the
full 2020 season.
Philippines will show, also for this reason, to be more
exciting than Singabore. Go Goose go!