2014 J/70 Charleston Race Week Results and Reports

By Geoff Becker
Team Helly Hansen:  Skipper, Tim Healy, Tactician/Trimmer: Geoff Becker, Trimmer: Sam Stokes, Bow: Gordon Borges
Day 2   3 races, 2 heats/race (races course 4, 4 legs and downwind finish)      Wind 6-12 knots from the South, shifty again!
Again, on Day 2 of Chareston Race Week 2014, three races (two heats per race) were sailed in a puffy and shifty sea breeze. Team Helly Hansen again had our ups and downs finishing the day with scores of 1^st, 10^th and 3^rd, moving us into a tie for third overall. With the short course and challenging wind shifts it was important for us to be prepared to tack or gybe quickly in reaction to the oscillations and positioning of other boats.

In conditions where there are a lot of significant puffs and wind shifts, there are often time where the boat needs to react quickly to the breeze when it changes. For example, when sailing upwind toward a puff that looks to be a significant header wind shift, the boat might need to tack immediately as the shift arrives. It is important that the skipper and crew are ready for the new wind to arrive, and be prepared for the likely to outcome when the shift does arrive. For such transitions to go smoothly, there has to be discussion and communication on board before any reactionary maneuver happens.
As a new wind approaches, the driver and the tactician need to discuss what is likely to happen when it arrives. The conversation can be something like this…
Tactician: “Here comes a big puff, it looks like a header.”
Driver: “Do you want to tack on it, or keep going straight?”
Tactician: “We need to tack as it hits us, so everyone be ready.”
The same type of conversation can be used in many other scenarios on the racecourse. For example, when sailing on port tack and approaching a boat on starboard tack…
Driver: “Here comes a starboard tack boat…I am not sure if we are crossing?”
Tactician: “We are lifted, we need to continue straight, so try to cross, but duck behind if we can’t cross.”
Being prepared for new wind puffs and other scenarios on the racecourse can ensure the boat is prepared for a maneuver well before it has to be executed. If these types of discussions don’t take place, boathandling will certainly suffer and often a crew will end up with more than their share of crash tacks and tight situations with other boats. A little prep work and communication will go a long way and keep the whole crew more involved during the race.
Our takeaways from Day 2 are…
1. Be prepared for puffs and wind shifts as they approach
2. Communication is the key to reacting quickly to those changes
3. Discuss likely scenarios as the occur during the entire race
TOP 30 after Day 2:

1	USA 187	Catapult	Joel Ronning	1	3	5	1	1	13	24
2	USA 248	Scamp	Will Welles	1	7	10	2	6	1	27
3	USA 316	Superfecta	James Barnash	10	2	8	4	4	1	29
4	USA 2	Helly Hansen	Tim Healy	3	8	4	1	10	3	29
5	USA 397	Hot Mess	Rob Britts	3	4	11	14	1	2	35
6	USA 179	Africa	Jud Smith	10	1	2	16	3	4	36
7	USA 51	Black River Racing	Doug Strebel	8	9	7	5	5	10	44
8	USA 96	Savasana	Brian Keane	2	20	4	3	2	15	46
9	USA 34	Perseverance	Bennet Greenwald	8	4	15	9	2	9	47
10	USA 245	USA 245	Ian Liberty	5	13	3	15	10	7	53
11	USA 364	School’s Out	John Aras	13	5	1	12	7	17	55
12	USA 167	Kraken	Gary Tisdale / Adam Burns	5	6	3	12	14	16	56
13	USA 94	Lifted	Jim Cunningham	6	6	19	3	8	14	56
14	USA 45	Wild Child	Henry Filter	6	3	1	20	21	10	61
15	USA 159	Torqeedo	Chris Carroll	2	17	14	2	18	11	64
16	USA 11	Menace	Kerry Klingler	7	24	14	13	5	1	65
17	CAN 246	Touch2Play	Rob & Sandy Butler	11	7	6	13	19	15	71
18	USA 217	Joint Custody	Jenn & Ray Wulff	7	5	8	19	26	8	73
19	BER 308	Elusive	Chuck Millican	9	15	12	7	20	12	75
20	USA 185	Turbo Duck	Bodo & Nick von der Wense	4	14	13	8	13	25	77
21	BRA 403	Bruschetta	Mauricio Santa Cruz	17	23	10	6	7	14	77
22	USA 15	Junior	Don & Tim Finkle	22	25	12	11	3	5	78
23	USA 174	Magic Bus	Gregg Mylett	19	2	21	21	16	3	82
24	USA 151	Reach Around	Thomas Bowen	12	21	2	14	17	17	83
25	USA 171	Running Wild	Peter Vessella	14	12	9	19	12	19	85
26	USA 26	Jungleland	Chris and Carolyn Groobey	15	23	22	5	14	7	86
27	USA 326	Aquaholiks	Martin Johnsson	12	10	42/DSQ	4	13	6	87
28	USA 99	Nostalgia	Blake & Lud Kimbrough	20	18	16	7	4	22	87
29	USA 86	Stampede	Loring / Pasquinelli	9	26	9	25	8	18	95
30	USA 035	Moxie	Cole Allsopp	19	13	26	8	18	13	97

_______________________
Day 1  3 races, 2 heats/race (races course 4, 4 legs and downwind finish),  Wind 6-14 knots from the SW, shifty!
With the popularity of the J/70 in the past year and a half the fleet sizes continue to push the limits of many venues including Charleston Harbor for the 2014 Charleston Race Week. The J/70 fleet has grown to almost 80 boats this year and with the limited space the organizers decided to sail the regatta in heats, allowing all the boats to fit on the course. To make the heats, the entire fleet was divided into four colors (groups) and each race was sailed with two separate race starts with two colors sailing in each start.  For subsequent races, the colors would rotate allowing each color to sail the others in a round robin format.
Three races, of two heats per race, were sailed on Day 1 in a shifty SW sea breeze. The shifty conditions were challenging enough, but you add 40 competitive boats in each heat and you have a lot of opportunities to pass and be passed. Team Helly Hansen ended the day with a 3^rd, 8^th and 4^th earning our team 5^th overall moving into the weekend. While our scores show some consistency, there was nothing consistent about our day. In fact, in Race 2, we were never in 8^th place until we crossed the finish line, spending much of the race in the bottom half of the fleet.

When the conditions are such that there are large gains and losses possible on the course, it is important to keep a mentality that you have to do the best you can with the options you are given. Off the starting line in Race 2 we had a bad position and were forced to tack shortly after the start. That clearing tack immediately caused us to be out of phase heading toward the middle of the course. What happened next might seem familiar to almost every sailor; we bounced around the middle trying to find a clear lane on the lifted tack, while boats continually tacked in front of us forcing us to tack away, etc., etc.. We eventually made it to the first mark, but only managed to stay ahead of a handful of boats.
Now what? The good news was, that the whole fleet was tightly packed and there looked to be opportunities to catch groups of boats if we could maintain our focus. We worked hard to minimize the distance we sailed to the next mark, keeping our sailing lanes as clear as possible. That meant trying to stay away from other boats in general, in a position where we could make our own decisions as to where to sail to get the next shift. Often, when there are a large number of boats tightly packed, it can be easy to get caught so close to a group of boats you become trapped by the group and forced to sail in the direction of the group.
With the conditions being so shifty, we thought that if we sailed away from packs, there would eventually be chances to gain as long as we waited for the shifts in our area to work in our favor. Instead of tacking or gybing on every shift, we would sail toward the bigger shifts we could see and let the packs battle for the smaller shifts making more maneuvers. This strategy worked, as we were able to move up in the fleet each leg until finally crossing the finish in 8^th place.

Looking back at that race, many of the places we gained during the race were a result of packs of boats slowing each other down, getting in each other’s way and trying to get every little shift (very much like the way we sailed on leg one). After the first mark, we tried to maneuver less and stretch out away from packs of boats whenever possible.  Sometimes just settling in, sailing straight and stretching out can be the best tactical move, even in shifty conditions.
Our takeaways from Day 1 are…
1. Do the best you can with options you have
2. Avoid packs of boats for tactical freedom
3. Stretch out and sail straight to help get back into phase
Overall results for all classes:  http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=968
J/70 Results after day one:

J 70
1	76	USA 187	Catapult	J 70	Joel Ronning	1	1	1		3
2	59	USA 45	Wild Child	J 70	Henry Filter	6	3	1		10
3	85	USA 179	Africa	J 70	Jud Smith	10	1	2		13
4	42	USA 167	Kraken	J 70	Gary Tisdale / Adam Burns	5	6	3		14
5	17	USA 2	Helly Hansen	J 70	Tim Healy	3	8	4		15
6	45	USA 248	Scamp	J 70	Will Welles	1	7	10		18
7	18	USA 397	Hot Mess	J 70	Rob Britts	3	4	11		18
8	46	USA 364	School’s Out	J 70	John Aras	13	5	1		19
9	50	USA 316	Superfecta	J 70	James Barnash	10	2	8		20
10	19	USA 217	Joint Custody	J 70	Jenn & Ray Wulff	7	5	8		20
11	51	USA 245	USA 245	J 70	Ian Liberty	5	13	3		21
12	54	CAN 246	Touch2Play	J 70	Rob & Sandy Butler	11	7	6		24
13	72	USA 51	Black River Racing	J 70	Doug Strebel	8	9	7		24
14	44	USA 96	Savasana	J 70	Brian Keane	2	20	4		26
15	39	USA 34	Perseverance	J 70	Bennet Greenwald	8	4	15		27
16	55	USA 185	Turbo Duck	J 70	Bodo & Nick von der Wense	4	14	13		31
17	25	USA 94	Lifted	J 70	Jim Cunningham	6	6	19		31
18	53	USA 159	Torqeedo	J 70	Chris Carroll	2	17	14		33
19	41	USA 151	Reach Around	J 70	Thomas Bowen	12	21	2		35
20	43	USA 171	Running Wild	J 70	Peter Vessella	13	12	9		35
21	62	BER 308	Elusive	J 70	Chuck Millican	9	15	12		36
22	29	USA 174	Magic Bus	J 70	Gregg Mylett	19	2	21		42
23	48	USA 86	Stampede	J 70	Loring / Pasquinelli	9	26	9		44
24	82	USA 11	Menace	J 70	Kerry Klingler	7	24	14		45
25	33	USA 95	Muse	J 70	Heather Gregg-Earl / Joe Bardenheier	4	30	13		47
26	80	BRA 403	Bruschetta	J 70	Mauricio Santa Cruz	17	23	10		50
27	36	USA 68	Noname	J 70	Ron Thompson	21	27	5		53
28	26	USA 97	Loki	J 70	Michael Zupon	16	15	22		53
29	28	USA 62	Lucky Charm	J 70	Ken Corsig	28	1	24		53
30	47	USA 157	Spring	J 70	Dave Franzel	18	11	24		53
31	37	USA 99	Nostalgia	J 70	Blake & Lud Kimbrough	20	18	16		54
32	49	USA 152	Sundog	J 70	Kathy Parks	25	25	6		56
33	79	USA 219	GetMyBoat	J 70	Vortex Racing	33	16	7		56
34	35	USA 335	Nitemare	J 70	Amy Neill	15	11	31		57
35	81	USA 48	Wicked Witch	J 70	Larry Landry / Paul McDowell	13	20	25		58
36	31	USA 035	Moxie	J 70	Cole Allsopp	19	13	26		58
37	22	USA 15	Junior	J 70	Don & Tim Finkle	22	25	12		59
38	52	USA 87	Tick Tock Croc	J 70	Richard Nesbett	18	31	11		60
39	27	USA 46	Loonatictu	J 70	R Noel Clinard	11	33	16		60
40	21	USA 26	Jungleland	J 70	Chris and Carolyn Groobey	15	23	22		60
41	73	USA 37	Grizzly	J 70	Charles Bayer	22	10	28		60
42	38	USA 410	Perfect Ten	J 70	Joe & Jeff Pawlowski	21	26	15		62
43	13	USA 169	Empeiria	J 70	John Heaton	14	31	17		62
44	9	USA 488	Convexity	J 70	Donald Wilson	24	22	17		63
45	69	USA 184	VLLN	J 70	Patrick Nichols / Mark Nichols	16	18	30		64
46	74	USA 238	Zuni Bear	J 70	Rich Bergmann	26	9	32		64
47	4	USA 326	Aquaholiks	J 70	Martin Johnsson	12	10	42/DSQ		64
48	68	USA 425	USA 425	J 70	Joe Baggett	29	8	29		66
49	5	USA 510	Button Fly	J 70	Andrew and Melissa Fisher	23	14	29		66
50	10	USA 369	Cool Story Bro.	J 70	John Brigden	23	22	23		68
51	24	USA 207	Leading Edge	J 70	Todd Hiller	26	24/SCP	19		69
52	12	USA 340	Rimette	J 70	John Brim	27	19	23		69
53	7	USA 497	Chinook	J 70	Frank McNamara	17	24	28		69
54	86	USA 420	E.L.E.	J 70	Matt Braun	35	17	18		70
55	34	USA 194	Napoleon	J 70	Patrick Byrne	30	16	25		71
56	61	USA 28	Misson Impossible	J 70	David Malkin	28	28	18		74
57	32	USA 379	Mummbles	J 70	Brad Kauffman	32	19	27		78
58	40	USA 220	Phoenix	J 70	Peter Firey	32	21	27		80
59	3	USA 378	378	J 70	Jeff Schaefer	27	29	26		82
60	11	USA 357	Danger Mouse	J 70	Kristen Berry	31	32	21		84
61	23	USA 236	Layla	J 70	Tim Gibbs	20	30	34		84
62	1	USA 390	20/20 Racing	J 70	John Arendshorst	31	36	20		87
63	16	USA 100	Gemini	J 70	Blane Shea	34	34	20		88
64	56	USA 168	USA 168	J 70	Marty McKenna	30	27	31		88
65	30	USA 199	Mojito	J 70	Catharine Evans	25	32	32		89
66	65	USA 36	Taipan SB	J 70	Lloyd Karzen	24	34	36		94
67	67	USA 388	US 388	J 70	Jack Neades	33	33	30		96
68	6	USA 358	Bucephalus	J 70	Andrea Krasinski	29	35	33		97
69	66	USA 367	US 367	J 70	Tiller Halfhill	34	29	34		97
70	75	CAN 361	emiLee	J 70	Hadrian Corning	37	28	35		100
71	64	USA 392	Slinky	J 70	Scott Bursor	35	35	33		103
72	2	USA 91	Carlos	J 70	Vinnie Pattavina	36	37	36		109
73	60	USA 382	Zombie	J 70	Kristen Robinson	39	36	35		110
74	14	USA 204	Eowyn	J 70	Peter Winkelstein	36	37	37		110
75	58	USA 345	White Rabbit	J 70	Steve Kiemele	38	38	38		114