Will Crump's Wrap Report from Davis Island YC
The J/24 Midwinter Championship regatta wrapped up Saturday in Tampa as the final day of racing was cancelled due to light air. Geoff Moore (Newport) won the regatta.
Annapolis sailor Tom Sitzmann and his Patriot crew were third in the 63 boat fleet. St. Mary's College alum Tim Healy was fifth overall. Will Crump and his Annapolis-based Satisfaction team were 16th.
Crump reports from Tampa:
It's obvious that this fleet is a devoted and rabid gang. Several things are notable at this point.
1. There are more new boats (within 3 or 4 years) at this event than any I have seen since the 1998 Worlds in San Francisco.
2. The first of the New J24's built by US Watercraft has debuted here causing some admiration and attention.
3. This marks the chilliest Midwinters since the last trip to New Orleans years ago.
Will Crump's Friday evening report from the J/24 Midwinters in Tampa
Today was more like it. We got things straightened out and started to move off of the line with proficiency. It's amazing what happens when you have options. The breeze was again out of the North East and moved to the North and then to the East as the day went on with pressure building. One unique thing about the race area was that literally no chop developed as the breeze increased from 8 to 14 knots. So speed was an easy thing for everyone to accomplish. Mark roundings were crowded, and wind shifts caused definite shake ups in the positions.
We finished the day with a 12, 5, and 8 for a good jump forward in the standings, but still not enough to move into the hunt. The fleet was again littered with OCS's and several Z-flag penalties. Top position is currently held by Geoff Moore who now has 28 points followed by Brad Read with 32 and Al Constance and Tom Sitzmann each with 51 points. You'll notice that the points are significantly higher here than you would normally see after six races. There have been several boats that have won a race only to follow up with a bottom half finish in the next.
In general, I was very happy with our sailing yesterday. Our boathandling was crisp. We always gained boats at the leeward mark. We were executing off the starting line, and of course we were fast all of the time. I've found that it's pretty tough to get angry about the shifts here. Frequently you'll here a race winner respond to the questions with "We got lucky", and while that is the entire story, it has definitely played some part. At every mark rounding there has been a different leader in all but two races.
Tomorrow we face a scattered thunderstorms and rain, and hopefully some more breeze. We still have not had a chance to use the Jibs, and I was hoping for at least one race. It's still overcast and a little cold.
Will Crump's Thursday evening report from the J/24 Midwinters in Tampa
Today's racing was some of the shiftiest and wildest I have seen yet. The seemingly harmless forecasts of 10-15kts with slight oscillations did not ring true. The fact of it was 7-12 with 40 degree shifts and 4kts jumps and drops in pressure and windhsear that turned spinnakers inside out several times on the downwind legs. Very few boats looked like winners or losers as the fleet did massive changes in position on each upwind leg. It sounded like a stampede as boats hit the dock and rushed for the beer kegs to recover from the days racing.
The results were not out as we left the yacht club, but the obvious was that Geoff Moore and Stuart Jardin of England were the only boats to sail with relative consistency during all three races. Local Jeff Linton who just returned from a 2nd place finish at the Lightning Worlds also looked good, but was one of several OCS boats during the day. In addition, race 3 further mixed up the scores as a few general recalls brought out the Z-Flag on the starting line and Chris Snow, Tim Healey and ourselves were all caught by the race committee. Each of us restarted, but our scores had an additional 20% added to them for our infraction.
It's obvious that many boats are starting off this regatta with a lot of points on the board, us included, and I'm not sure where the regatta will go next.
Tomorrow we have a front moving through bringing both rain and lots of breeze. More breeze would be nice because it settles down the erratic shifts.
Annapolis sailor Tom Sitzman is in third and Hampton sailor Rob Overton is in seventh.
Will Crump reports from the J/24 Midwinters underway in Tampa
Total count here in Tampa is now at 62 boats from England, Peru, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, Canada, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, California, Florida and Georgia. This is about 12 more than the Davis Island Yacht Club really expected, but they are handling the volume well.
After much stress and hustle, all of my team is here in spite of cancelled flights, and it seems that is a common story for the regatta. It's obvious that this fleet is a devoted and rabid gang. Several things are notable at this point.
1. There are more new boats (within 3 or 4 years) at this event than any I have seen since the 1998 Worlds in San Francisco.
2. The first of the New J24's built by US Watercraft has debuted here causing some admiration and attention.
3. This marks the chilliest Midwinters since the last trip to New Orleans years ago. The high today was around 55, but the 20kt breeze really wouldn't let you think it was warmer than 40F.
In spite of the cold, the breeze looks to be good, and I for one am pumped to sail!
I'll let you know more as it unfolds tomorrow. Right now we are going to raid this town of the four or five pieces of fleece that remain on the racks in stores.