J/22 Racing On the Southwest Circuit

Dana, Vincent, and I placed 5^th out of 19 boats last weekend, at the J/22 circuit stop at Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club. It was our best J/22 circuit result to date. We started the year with a 6th place finish at Chandler’s Landing, but then skipped the Rush Creek event because of scheduling difficulties. Our best previous finish was a 9^th place, last year at DCYC.

I’ve been putting off writing this article for a little while, because I did not want to jump to any conclusions about our new UK sails. There is no doubt about it now however; the UKs are faster. For the last year or two, we’ve been struggling to finish in the top ten. This year we have more boat speed, and our finishes are more consistent. Even when we’ve had a bad start, or been on the wrong side of a shift, we’ve been able to battle back into the top ten. Last weekend, our worst race finish (in 5 races scored) was an 8. Our best race finish was a 2.

Several sailors, after racing, commented that our boat speed was much improved. We are slowly (I hope) starting to develop a reputation as one of the boats to avoid near the start line. I’ll probably post some specifics on the new sail design soon, along with my explanation of the differences which are making us faster, particularly upwind.

As some of you know, our boat is sometimes a little contentious. Here is a sample of the boat talk on board last weekend:

After a bad downwind leg:
David: Ok. 3 boats passed us on that downwind. We’ve got work to do.
Vincent: No worries. This thing is an upwind machine!

Going upwind with the big boys:
David: Who is that on our hip?
Dana: That is {insert name of former J/22 NA and Midwinter champion}
David: Is he getting closer?
Dana: Yep. He’s been slowly falling down to our line for the last 5 minutes.
David: How is our speed?
Dana: We’re faster.
David: And we’re pointing better?
Dana: Yep.
David: What was that sound?
Dana: He just tacked away. We were giving him bad air.
David:
Dana:
David:
Vincent: We should think about tacking soon, to cover the fleet.
David. Quiet. I’m in afterglow.

During the pre-start:
David: Let’s find a muffin and start near him.
Vincent: Everyone is our muffin.

To jibe or not to jibe; democracy in action:
David: Jibing.
Dana: Why?
David: What the? Are you kidding? Jibing! Now.
Dana: There is better pressure over here.
David: Darling, could you put your hands on the pole thingy and then MOVE IT TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BOAT?
Dana: I could… but I think it’s a bad idea.
David: Please. Honey, now!
Dana: Bad idea.
David:
Dana:
David: I’ve decided that we will stay on this jibe.
Dana: Good boy.