162 Laser sailors

Originally posted by Chris 249 ... Sure, we can understand that not everyone likes huge fleets (although in my experience, the Laser fleets are broken into age brackets) but some people do, and it's an effective counter to the "Lasers are dying" propaganda. ....

I'm not really seeing any 'Lasers are dying' propaganda.
I see a lot of people wanting something similar in size and concept to a Laser, but not wanting to be part of the Laser Inc machine. And a lot of boat builders wanting a slice of that market.
Equally I see a lot of people racing Lasers. I can't see them dying out.

Even 195 must be a small turnout %-wise of the Lasers sailed by 'Masters' down there?
Like a lot of people, I've enjoyed racing my Laser this year, but I can't see me gettig involved with the CA or travelling to events with it, and there are many things I really don't like about the boat, the organisation etc. But in reality, it's the best option for good racing at my club. Looks like we'll have a few more here next year. Could be regularly double figures on the start line, which is not bad for a low-budget small town sailing club. I'd far rather we all bought contenders though!