Sailing/Racing Laser:

After college I crewed on Hobies, big boats and did off shore work
A friend told me about a new dingy called a Laser.
A well designed one man dingy racer
Laser fleets mushroomed, everyone raced Lasers and competition was brutal
I raced Lasers competitive from 1973 until 1984
Now us olds guys are getting back into the Laser's masters regattas

My first boat out of college was a Laser. Old Lasers had Elstrom sails and wooden blades which were consider faster then today's gear.
At first Laser fleets were small but gained in popularity because of the strict one design concept.
Stiff competition with 30 plus boats were the norm. Some regattas imposed limits and cut off registration in an effort to control the turnout.
Lasers are fast, easy to handle and on down wind legs over 20 mph - wild.
Car toping the boat was typical. The boat is longer then the car. Note the canvas bottom cover.
Hiking out, pumping, hundreds of tacks left you tired and sore.
Only modification to the Laser could be the rudder/dagger board. You could bring the blades up to specs as I did one winter.
Competitive -you could race 5 legs and still be within few feet of another boat at the finish.