J125 in Dana Point

J125 Timeshaver - Beefy Bowsprit

The Richard Henry Dana Charity Regatta took place on the 7th and 8th of September. The annual regatta raises money for the communities of South Orange County and is well supported by local boats. There were one design fleets of J80's and J24's as well as the PHRF fleets.

I was trimming downwind on a local boat, the J125, Timeshaver in PHRF1 . Three windward leeward races was the plan for the first day. It was a typical Southern California Day, sunny and warm. It took a while for the breeze to kick in and racing got underway early in the afternoon with about 6-8 knots of wind. The breeze built throughout the day and by the start of race 2 we were all out on the rail hiking hard. We had great speed and the boat was flying with its new no.1 Genoa. Some pretty slick boat handling by the team allowed us to make great gains around the corners and during maneuvers. We took bullets in the first 2 races, followed by a 2nd in race 3 to lead the class over night.

The weather on day 2 was much the same, warm and sunny with a building breeze coming in from the sea. The regatta was to be concluded with a single coastal race. The race committee gave a great course which saw the fleets beating, tight reaching and running before a last beat back to the finish line. The course really showed the difference in some of the boats and where they were gaining and loosing. For us it was all about trying to stretch our legs over the fleet downwind. We were closely followed around the last mark by the Santa Cruz 50, Horizon and it became a match race to the finish line. Their superior upwind speed was showing and they began to reel us in. They just managed to pip us at the finish as the breeze became light and patchy towards the end. A 3rd on PHRF was enough to see Timeshaver win the class overall with a one point margin over the FT10 Ruckus.

The regatta was a great learning experience for me. It was great to jump into an established team and be given an important job. I hadn't done a lot of racing on 40+ft boats so I learned a lot about how to get the boat going fast and trimming the sails as well as the communication needed to get everything running smoothly. Keeping the boat clean all the time and ready for the next maneuver was key to our slick boat handling.

Photo credit joysailing.com