J70 sailing
We had another beautiful night of J/70 racing on the Piankatank River. The wind was in the 6-8 range. We had 5 boats out and started with 2 one lap races. We had a bit of a slow start, but got our boatspeed a little better and really noticed the difference in speed on the balance of the boat. By the 3rd and longer race we led wire-to-wire and were leading the 4th race to the dock when we put the afterburners(engine) on to beat the rush to the hoist.
The FBYC J70 Summer Regatta was a light air affair for the 7 boats out racing in the Piankatank. While we were a little off-speed – we got a lot of boat handling practice and made some great strides in getting through the corners more quickly. Thanks John, Ron and Gabe for a fun day on the water.
We started the 2015 FBYC Friday J/70 Series with a nice evening to be out on the water. The wind was a little light – but enough to make a race out of it among the 4 other boats that were out there.
On board were Ron, Brad and Borna and we sailed pretty well hitting the left corner on the first beat while most of the rest of the boats went right. It worked out for us and we had a nice lead until E.L.E. was able to claw us back to pass us in the final boat length to the finish as a puff came from behind.
We started racing back to the dock and gave up when the wind died for good.
FBYC concluded the offshore spring series with gorgeous sailing conditions. Sailing on J/70 No Quarter were Ray, Ron and John. We had a good first race – picking the shifts well and going fast on the course set just east of Stove Point. The wind started around 10-12 and died out to about 5 by the end of the race. We finished 1st in the 5-boat J/70 fleet and even picked off some of the PHRF-A boats who started 5 minutes ahead of us.
By the time the second race rolled around the wind had piped up to 12-15. We had a good start and worked on going fast and getting out ahead of the fleet. At the top mark we were leading the fleet and we made the turn to go downwind. When the crew exclaimed ‘mark!’ I though we had bumped it and started contemplating how to do a quick turn before we put the chute up. When they said ‘MARK!’ again – I realized it must have still be close and sure enough it was hung on the keel and coming right along with us.
We stopped the boat and walked it around the bow as our competition took wide swings around us, likely thankful we just made the lay line a lot more reachable for them. On my way back to the helm from the bow I missed my step around the companionway and fell all the way to the bottom of the cabin, hitting my right shin on the companionway edge as I fell. No blood, but it was a pretty good hole and I could see to the bone.
Our day was over so we radioed in and quickly got back and put the boat up so that I could head back to Richmond to spend 2 hours in an ER getting xrays and 6 stitches. Coincidentally, I sprained my ankle pretty badly this weekend last year. I’m probably going to have to stay home next year.
It had been a great day up until that point and we were learning a lot about making the boat go in the better breeze. Thanks Ray for coming down for the day and showing us some of the tricks.
On Sunday No Quarter was among the 5 other J/70s sailing at FBYC in the Spring regatta. We started out with pretty nice wind – not quite hiking, but solid without any big holes. With John, Holly and Mark aboard we had good starts and sailed consistently finishing 2nd in almost every race. In the last race we got a little behind and ended up 3rd – and loosing the tiebreaker for 2nd to finish 3rd overall.
Say Hello to the new No Quarter! J/70 #781 arrived at Fishing Bay Yacht Club on Saturday and will be put together on Sunday to be ready for Opening Day next weekend.
After half a day of traveling – arrived in Florida at Davis Island Yacht Club to sail the J/70 winter Series on spice with Holly, Lud & Brian against 50 other boats. Today we did some practice, took part in the practice races and settled in for the night.
The forecast is looking a bit on the light side for the weekend, but we are looking forward to getting out sailing.
Racing at the Davis Island Yacht Club J70 winter series got underway this morning in a nice 8-10 knot breeze under mostly sunny skies and low 70s temperature. 51 boats are racing what is the final 3-weekend series that has run monthly since December.
In the first race we had a reasonable start and got bounced to the left. We held our own downwind and then made it to the right on the second upwind picking up a couple boats. On the final downwind we picked up a couple more boats and finished 28.
We had an even better start for the 2nd race and pretty much held our lane and got out to the right where we wanted to be and rounded in the top 20. Downwind we held our position and on the 2nd upwind we again made it more to the right and passed a few boats. By now the wind was dipping and it became a more of a challenge to keep clear air and boat speed. On the final downwind we were fast and hit the shifts well and picked up several boats to finish 13th.
We are currently 22nd and hoping for more wind on Sunday.
Today was expected to be a light air day and that’s what we were delivered. Racing was moved up an hour and after a couple false starts we got a race started in a 6-8 north east breeze.
Our start on Spice wasn’t too bad near the middle of the line and we picked our way up the first beat. Near the windward mark we were around 20 but called a thin Pauline and stalled near the make while 5-8 boats went right around us. That further reinforced something we had learned yesterday – when j70s are blanketed they have no power so when in a clump at the windward make it pays to over stand and come in on the outside.
Around the top mark we jibed early going out to the left and that became a kiss of death when a 40 degree shift came in. We limped around the rest of the course while the wind died with only a handful of boats behind us.
All in all it was great to get out of Richmond for a warm weekend of sailing. Thanks to Holly for having me and I enjoyed sailing with Brian and Lud. I also got a lot of homework done on the j70 and am looking forward to having a boat of my own this spring.
Results | Pictures | 2015 Quantum J/70 Winter Series 3 Website | VIDEO
Fishing Bay Yacht Club held their inaugural J/70 Chesapeake Championship Regatta and I was sailing on Steve Q’s Hotty Toddy among the 18 boat fleet. The weather forecast for Saturday morning called for some pretty epic winds to move in and little did we know we’d all have some pretty epic sailing before the day was done.
Racing was moved into Fishing Bay and even before we got there, boats were already broaching on there way there. After 1 general recall the first race was started. The wind in the bay was blowing 25+ from the NNW so our course took us from Godfrey Bay, across the Piankatank River and around the windward mark on the western end of Fishing Bay.
Sailing upwind in that kind of wind was a real slog. While we had heard from plenty of others how to sail in those conditions, actually doing it was another story and it definitely took us some time to get into a groove with it. The teams that had clearly done it before easily pulled ahead in what was less about who was fast and more about who was upright especially when it came to the downwind.
Being new to this boat in this kind of wind, we took a conservative approach downwind and after watching plenty of boats wipe out, we only put the chute up when we felt the wind was going to hold and not be so gusty. That didn’t last and a few minutes after putting it up we were on our side. In the process of recovering it, one of the panels split and we quickly took it down and hauled it in, not to be used again. [Watch this whole sequence on the video below.]
After two races in those conditions the race committee abandoned further racing for the day, and ultimately for the weekend. The slog home around Stove Point grueling with 5-6 foot waves and 40 knot gusts. We sailed under main alone with waves sometimes crashing over the boat.
While we weren’t competitive in those conditions, we were happy to have had fun this weekend and learned a lot in the process. We’ll definitely be able to be a lot more competitive and comfortable with the conditions when they are up like that in the future. Thanks Steve Q for having me aboard and I enjoyed sailing with Jerry L and Tom F.
The final day of Fishing Bay Yacht Club‘s offshore fall series started out like it was going to be a nice sailing day, but didn’t last and the wind died before we could complete a race. I was sailing on Steve Q’s Hotty Toddy with Larry and his son. Despite not finishing a race, we still had fun and learned a lot. We’ll be back at it at FBYC’s inaugural J/70 Chesapeake Bay Championship regatta with 20+ boats on the line.
Sunday’s race what was supposed to be the 3rd day in the FBYC Fall Series but due to some light wind some races were missed. I sailed on J/70 Hotty Toddy with Steve Q, Clark D and Carrie R. With 6 other boats out, overcast skies and winds that started in the mid-teens and were under 10 by the 2nd race – we had a really nice day for racing.
With Steve driving the first race and Clark driving the second, we focused on good crew maneuvers and keeping the boat going fast in the right direction. We caught some shifts, missed others but were close enough or in the lead enough times to have some fun with it. Despite some great moments we went 5-4 on the day putting us solidly in 5th.
Top photo courtesy of Lisa Fleck