Local sailor is aiming to be head of her class

For Lindsay Buchan, it's all a matter of proportion.

Her sailboat of choice, a Laser Radial, is scarcely big enough to carry a fraction of the trophy hardware amassed over the years by her father and grandfather, both Olympic gold medalists.

Which is fine with her, because the real Buchan sailing legacy is an intangible that takes up no space at all.

"I'm definitely competitive," said Buchan, 23, the third-generation edition of the sailing family that other sailors have trailed around local and international race courses for decades. "The competition is the fun part."

Buchan, ranked fourth nationally in her class, is a hometown and overall favorite in the Laser North American championships that run tomorrow through Monday on the waters north of Golden Gardens Park at Shilshole. The regatta, hosted by Seattle Yacht Club, is expected to draw as many as 150 of the best Laser racers on the continent.

That list includes a host of local sailing veterans of other race classes, as well as a growing crop of Puget Sound youngsters who have embraced sailing the sporty, portable Laser as their athletic event of choice. Joining Buchan on the entry list are top young sailors Emery Wager, Dalton Bergan and Brendan Fahey.

Buchan, a recent UC-Santa Barbara graduate, is the oldest of five grandchildren of Bill Buchan, a gold medalist in the Star class at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where her father, Carl, also won gold in the Flying Dutchman class.

She started sailing at age 9 in the Optimist class and kept at it through her early teens at Bellevue Christian High. Her younger brother, Jamie, also pursued sailing for a time, but shifted gears and now rows in the crew program at the University of Washington.

At 15, she advanced to Laser Radials — a version of the popular Laser boat with a smaller rig and sail designed to accommodate women or smaller male sailors. She sailed at several national competitions, and continued to hone her skills in Lasers and double-handed boats at UC-Santa Barbara.

Buchan placed well at national qualifying regattas in the Laser, which led to something of a surprise: When the Laser Radial was named an Olympic class boat this year, she found herself named to the U.S. sailing team, which identifies sailors who are "strong contenders" for an Olympic berth.

Buchan, who was only 2 when her father won his gold medal, isn't sure she'll pursue a starting spot in the 2008 Beijing Games. It would be a major honor, but also likely a serious time commitment that might require dropping her new career. Buchan recently began working a laboratory job at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

"I haven't really thought about it that much," she said. "I think I'll just continue to sail and try to go to some big competitions and see how it goes. I feel like I have a long ways to go. There's definitely some other girls out there who are better than me."

For now, she keeps sailing for fun, competition, and the good, old-fashioned workout sailing a Laser entails.

The boat itself, sans rigging, weighs about 130 pounds. Sailing it is a highly athletic endeavor, because the sailor's body often weighs as much or more than the entire craft. Making a Laser cut fast through the water requires major strength, balance and endurance — skills similar to those acquired by hardcore windsurfers.

"You're bigger than the boat," said local sailor Kurt Hoehne, who, like many other local veterans, has raced many classes but keeps returning to the Laser, which he said is a more purist craft. "Whatever you do with your body is magnified."

The body is such an integral part of the sailboat, in fact, that penalties can be called for excessive body movements. The idea is to reward sailors who best combine sailing skill and physical power, not tip the balance too far toward one or the other.

If anything, Buchan said her size — she weighs about 130 pounds — is a disadvantage in her class, where the top racers tend to weigh in 15 to 20 pounds heavier. But it gives her an advantage in light winds, like those that frequent Seattle's race course.

The course is familiar to Buchan, who trains in the area all year. As most Puget Sound sailors know, that can be a bone-chilling adventure. Buchan can count plenty of days when ice formed on her boat deck and she has worn multiple wetsuits to keep from freezing.

That's not something sailboat racers from, say, Florida have to deal with.

On the other hand, Buchan has her own advantage — impromptu coaching and other advice from Dad. She lives with her parents in Medina, and having the old man around for advice is a plus, she said.

"He likes to tell me, 'Sometimes, I do this — but don't take my word for it,' " she said. "He helps me out. I ask him questions all the time about how to fix my boat."

Carl Buchan, of course, also is handy for other things — like fleet acquisition, Lindsay confesses.

"Right now I'm sailing his boat."

Ron Judd: 206-464-8280 or at rjudd@seattletimes.com.