Friday, July 10, 2009

Real Laser Sailor


After three Fridays with pictures of two tennis stars and a naked swimmer, here is one of a female athlete who in my opinion outranks them all, a real Laser sailor.

Can you guess the year?

Clue: you may be able to see dinosaurs hiding behind the trees on the shore.

Bonus points if you can guess the sailor. I've already given you a clue to that.

12 comments:

Litoralis said...

Susie Pegel?

Yarg Jr. said...

Your Wife?

twitoralis said...

Ellen MacArthur

jbushkey said...

1652. Jacquotte Delahaye off the coast of Haiti.

Anonymous said...

Have to go along with your son and an older post:
http://propercourse.blogspot.com/2009/06/susie-pegel-real-laser-sailor.html

Sam Chapin said...

The wood centerboard and tiller, loose traveler, Candian sails, and Elstrom life jacket.

Smilicus said...

Might this be Tillerwoman??!

Tillerman said...

Those of you who guessed that the picture is of my wife need to read this blog more carefully. I love her dearly, but Tillerwoman is no sailor, certainly not a Laser sailor, and most definitely not a "real Laser sailor".

The photo is indeed of Susie Pegel. Maybe my clue was too easy. She did recently write the definition of a real Laser sailor.

The reason that I said that she outranks those tennis players is that, as I mentioned before, she beat Russel Coutts (and every other man sailing that year) to win the 1980 Laser North Americans. Isn't that much the same as if Evonne Cawley had beaten Bjorn Borg at Wimbledon that year?

But nobody has guessed the year yet. Sorry jbushkey not 1652. Sam Chapin spotted most of the clues. Here is another clue: the Laser is boat #2605 and it's not all that old.

Carol Anne said...

Since you mentioned 1980, my first thought was that was the year, but then you said that Laser #2605 was not all that old in the picture.

Now, since her definition of a real Laser sailor includes having sailed one since "the early '70s" (NOTE: unlike the vast majority of Americans, she actually used the apostrophe CORRECTLY!), I'm inclined to think this photo must be from that era.

Wild guess: 1972.

Tillerman said...

Right first time Carol Anne. The photo shoes Susie on her home lake of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin practicing for the 1972 Laser North Americans, which were held on Lake Geneva and won by another "real Laser sailor" Dick Tillman.

These two stalwarts of the class also raced in the 2009 Laser North Americans finishing 5th (Susie) and 15th (Dick) in the silver fleet.

Anonymous said...

It's Liza Minelli! In her Liza!

Carol Anne said...

Wisconsin. I knew there's some reason I have been dreaming -- literally, not figuratively -- about visiting that state, since I was in junior high.

Post a Comment