Alex Ling, son of UKLA Chairman John Ling, has grown up with Laser sailing in his blood so it’s only natural to assume that Alex would ultimately progress from the Topper class into the Laser. Alex, having borrowed a boat from Jon Hammond at South Cerney Sailing Club, took part in his first Laser Wessex Grand Prix Event. From that point on, he was hooked and of course wanted a boat.

Here is Alex’s story of how he, with the help of Dad John, Activated his Laser.

“I was so grateful when Dad told me that our friend Adam John had managed to find a boat for me, although it needed some work. We turned up at Adam’s house on the way back from a Topper event with my other four sailing mates and we were all really excited. Adam showed up to his back garden where two boats were propping up a hedge and seemed to being used as weed collectors! I thought ‘oh my god,’ it was filthy dirty having been left in the garden for god knows how long, but Dad was confident that we could sort it out…. First we pressure washed the hull to get rid of most of the muck (grass and tree roots) and then we used a cleaning agent on the hull to remove the stubborn bits. We used wet and dry sandpaper to get off unwanted stickers and scratches.”

“We had to buy some new gear because we didn’t have all the stuff we needed, and we had to replace some small items, like the bung. All in all it took about 3 hours (and more of Dad’s time he says!) and then it was sailable and almost as good as new. I raced it last weekend and 1 was 2nd Laser in most races and even won the last race!”

“We now have 9 Lasers back on the water at Upton Warren Sailing Club and Dad is Activating another one for my mate Dan so we will have a 10 boat fleet very soon.”

Alex is a great example of how a little bit of hard work can bring a boat back to life at very low cost. Alex and his Laser “Say-Ling” (get it!) also took part in the LaserPerformance World Open Regatta on 26th/27th June at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy where he was placed as 1st Radial Youth Sailor in the UKLA Laser Club Sailor Championships.

Another success for Activate Your Laser Fleet!