April 2016

A write-up by Phillip Laby with contributions by Toné Chin and Pat Benedict

J/Fest was held April 16-17 with a strong fleet showing of twenty-five J105’s, the best this year and especially good for a mid-season event.  With strong midday ebb transitioning into early flood later in the day, and with light breezes predicted, a premium could be expected on good starts, working the currents, and finding lanes for breeze.

Saturday’s start was postponed several hours and the fleet watched from the St. Francis Yacht Club (largely in summer attire) as the Lightship race drifted through their starts, struggled to avoid obstructions, and made due with a light easterly wind or otherwise were induced by the strong ebb out the gate.  At about noon a westerly finally appeared building to around 10-15 knots for the rest of the day.

In the first race stronger ebb out in the bay favored several boats starting at the committee boat and who tacked immediately to port.  Arbitrage nailed the start at the committee and tacked out first, followed by Advantage3, then Jabberwocky, Godot, and Wonder with the rest of the fleet following suit.  The ebb made for a fast beat and Godot’s strategy called for an earlier tack shy of the lay line to avoid the possibility of over-standing.  However, those that continued farther (Arbitrage and Advantage3) gained additional lengths by the weather mark.  The fleet tightened heading downwind along the relief on the beach.  Godot sailed below a group on starboard and jibed shy of the beach, finding more wind off shore and moved into 4th. After one more loop, featuring some close jibes between leaders Arbitrage and Advantage3, the latter got its bow out at the finish line to earn the bullet. Wonder found the boat side favored to finish just ahead of Godot for the 3rd spot.

Simon Bell, tactician aboard Advantage3, had this to say of the exciting finish in race one: “Being overlapped with Arbitrage at the finish line… with both spinnakers pulling, the crew really pumped up, and winning less than 2 seconds ahead will be unforgettable!”

For the second race, the starting line was set significantly port side or pin favored to attract some starters from just ganging up at the race committee and heading out into the remaining ebb.  Godot decided to set up a third back from the pin end for a position to quickly tack after the start.  A header occurred during the final moments allowing for an easy execution of this tack at the gun.  Recounted Toné Chin on the bow of Godot, “With my keen eyes, I waved the skipper to go full speed… this allowed us to take full advantage of the skewed line.  At the gun, we flopped over to port and managed to clear the whole fleet.”  A drag race ensued with 007, the pin boat off the line that also crossed on port, to the right corner of the course.  Towards the top of the course 007 crossed close ahead of Godot several times.  The early flood had already begun at the mark and Godot managed to arrive first, closely followed by 007, both several lengths ahead of the next boat. Godot led the rest of the way, playing the shifting current and wind at the top of the next beat that offered the fleet passing opportunities.  At the finish line Godot was followed by Roxanne, Jam Session, Advantage3, and Blackhawk.

Sunday’s racing was canceled with the absence of breeze. In the end, Godot scored the win followed by Advantage3 in a tie breaker, both with 5 points.  The next three spots were filled by Roxanne, Arbitrage, and Blackhawk, respectively, in a three way tie breaker with 12 points each.

The skipper of Advantage3, Pat Benedict, acknowledged outstanding crew work as integral to his success. At one leeward gate rounding, he was amazed that his team was “able to jibe, pull out the jib, do a leeward take down, and round the mark within 4 boat lengths of the starboard buoy.”  

Someone on the pointy end of Godot remarked, “There was some amazing work done by the foredeck team of Patrick Haywood (pit), Matt Skafel (mast), and Toné (bowman extraordinaire). The trimmers Drew Cannon (spinnaker) and Will Lowe (main) also did some good work, and the driving by Phillip Laby was… okay.” Then added, “This crew has been racing together for only five days, so we’re happy with the results so far… we’ll keep working on Phillip!”

Great write-up by winning skipper Ryan Simmons:

Gorgeous weather was welcome for the second regatta of the season. Down on the Circle, after a significant postponement on Saturday, winds filled to 17 knots with flat water and very steady direction for ideal racing conditions. Racing was tight and contested at every mark rounding with many races having the top 7-8 boats finishing within seconds of each other. Such a close, competitive fleet placed a premium on tactics and boat handling.

At the end of the day Blackhawk was sitting with a 2-point lead over Godot and a 3-point lead over Arbitrage, putting those three a step ahead of the rest of the pack with 2 races to go on Sunday. With 23 boats racing it was still anyone’s regatta. Each of the top 3 won a race on Saturday, earning us all famous SFYC MaiTais!

Sunday we were treated to breeze right away, conditions started around 10-12 knots with a building ebb tide. After 2 general recalls and a 20% Z-flag penalty distributed to multiple undisclosed boats, we finally got the first race off. Donkey Jack won the race handily, and after a very close pass on the final downwind leg, Arbitrage, Godot and Blackhawk finished 2,3,4… Setting up a virtual tie between the 3 leaders going into the final race.

The 5th and final race was a short upwind-downwind-upwind in variable 12-17 knots. Rounding the first weather mark Arbitrage came in on the port layline and fouled 2nd place Donkey Jack. In an effort to clear themselves to complete their 720, they held out Donkey Jack and Blackhawk for a few boat lengths, allowing 4th-6th place boats to slide inside at the offset. Once set, there was a 5 boat drag race running downwind, with Godot positioned on the inside of the pack and Blackhawk on the outside. Godot chose to gybe first and trend middle/left on the leg, Blackhawk hung it out to the far right of the course. Upon reaching the leeward gate Blackhawk rounded the left gate in first with Godot one boat length behind, while simultaneously Donkey Jack and Wonder rounded the right gate and prepared for the final sprint upwind.

We actively try not to get too caught up focusing on or covering single boats when fleet racing, but when the entire regatta comes down to a final beat and the only boat that can challenge for the victory is 10 seconds behind you, tactics change. While the rest of the fleet raced to finish, Godot and Blackhawk engaged in a match race up the middle of the course. Despite Godot’s multiple efforts to clear and an attempt to set up a pick, Blackhawk was able to cover all the way to the finish, taking 2nd place in the race and winning the regatta. Donkey Jack won the race, finishing the regatta strong with a 1,1 on Sunday… Snake-eyes and a round of MaiTais for that crew, Heehaw!

Final results: Blackhawk finished with 12 points, Godot 15 points, Donkey Jack edged Wonder on the tie breaker for 3rd with 22 points, and Arbitrage finished 5th with 26 points. It was a very exciting weekend of racing with close boat on boat situations and tight racing from start to finish. See you all out there again for J/Fest!