June 22, 2005
Sailing on CLUSTER
I had the chance to sail on a J/80 last Sunday. Until now I've never much been impressed with J/boats, mostly becasue they seemed to have been designed such that the crew has to have armor plated thighs, the ability to move through 6 inch wide spaces and the strength of Hercules. Also, my first experience racing was on a J/24 with a skipper that was not at all about doing frivolous things such as training the crew to sail except by way of screaming at them and stamping his feet. As for helping a first timer to understand what was going to happen? Forget it. Actually, that individual was probably the main reason I went in to a smaller class of boat.
The J/22 I sailed on years later seemed a lot like the J/24 - but smaller. My experience with that boat was neutral; I only spent a few hours on it, but I noticed that blocks and travellers and the like were exactly where I wanted to be.
The J/80 goes a long way toward reconciling me with the brand. Walter and Beverly C. invited me to go sailing in the Houston Yacht Club's Leukemia cup aboard their boat, Cluster.
I'm sorry to say I didn't help their standings; they were tied for 3rd in a fleet of five at the beginning of the day Sunday. By the end of the day we were firmly in 5th.
Nevertheless, the racing was fun. I managed to get a GPS track of the second race. Here it is:
I got to trim the A-sail (asymmetrical spinnaker), which was a lot of fun. I was amazed at how much less work it took to get that sail up and down at the mark roundings compared to a traditional Spinnaker. I was also surprised at how easy it was to grind in the jib and was grateful that the cleats and blocks were placed in location where they would work yet were not constantly bruising one's backside or thighs.
I can understand why the J/80 is a popular boat; perhaps if I ever move to full keel boats and strike it rich...
Posted by Bob at June 22, 2005 08:28 AM