Menu

Top
Close Mobile Navigation

Sail1Design

Signup to Receive the latest news, events and Sailing jobs Via your inbox
You are here: Home / Regatta News/Results / Becker's Blog: J/70 North American Championship Report and Results

Becker's Blog: J/70 North American Championship Report and Results

by Leave a Comment

Final Report

2013 J-70 North Americans Report – By Geoff Becker

Day 3 – Final Day Wrap-up

4 races (all races course 4, 4 legs and downwind finish) Wind 6-12 knots @ 10°-40°

The final day of the 2013 J-70 North Americans brought an early first start (10am), moderate shifty winds and 4 races! Because no races could be completed on Day 2, the RC needed as many races as possible on the final day. This meant that more than half of the regatta was to be decided on this final day of racing.

Team Helly Hansen was able to endure the fickle and streaky conditions to finish the event 3rd overall, with scores of 2nd, 6th, 22nd and an 8th on the final day of racing. Consistency was something all the teams wanted, but for this regatta it was difficult to achieve. 

Fortunately, we were able to stay out of major trouble and keep our boat going toward the better side of the course, most of the time.

Looking at the scores from this regatta, they show an effective illustration of one of the topics from my J-24 North American Blogs. 

Thinking of a regatta score in terms of an average, a score of ‘par’ 

can be found. A ‘par’ score in sailing is basically the average score per race versus the overall regatta score. By thinking of a ‘par’ 

score, it makes looking at the larger picture easier when you do finish 25th or even worse. For example, if a boat finishes 5th and 15th for a score of 20 points in two races, the average score would be 10th and thinking in terms of two 10th place finishes often offers a more positive outlook.

Looking closely at the scores for the J-70 North Americans, it is easy to see that every boat had big scores. Add to that that this regatta offered no drop races, and the average scores were much higher than would normally be expected. The winner of the event averaged over 13.5 points per race and even counted a 55th. Our team, finishing in 3rd overall, had an average score of almost 14.5 points per race and only one race in the top 5. Again, these averages are higher because of the lack of a drop race.

After some experience looking at race scores, a winning average score can often be estimated before the event begins. Some elements that effect the forecast of an average regatta score are, number of boats, depth of the fleet, consistency of the sailing conditions and number of races. During the J-70 event it became obvious early that the regatta would have a high average score for the overall. There were 89 boats, including a large number of high level crews, which combined with the fickle conditions made consistent top finishes more than challenging.

Ok, why does guessing an average score before the event matter? The answer is simple, peace of mind. Knowing that the regatta will likely have a high average score, when your boat finishes a race in 25th place, that score doesn’t sting as much making it somewhat easier to re-focus for the next race. Basically, having an average score in mind helps even out the highs and lows that will surely occur during a long and tough event allowing the bad races to be put into the big picture more easily.

Our takeaways from the final day are…

1. The large and deep fleet made all the average scores increase.

2. Knowing the regatta would have a high overall average score made it easier to maintain focus after bad races.

3. All things considered, our 3rd place was an excellent performance!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Results

Information is provisional and subject to modification
Regatta results saved: Sunday, September 29, 2013 9:01:11 PM EDT

 

J70 | Corinthian

 (89 boats) (top)

Pos Bow/Sail Boat Skipper 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Total
Points		 Pos
1 95/ 95 MUSE Gregg Earl/Bardenheier, Heather/Joe 5 55 5 3 5 13 9 95.00 1
2 96/ 96 Savasana Keane, Brian 22 14 6 1 11 1 42 97.00 2
3 C2/ 2 Helly Hansen Healy, Tim 23 31 9 2 6 22 8 101.00 3
4 29/ 209 Trouble McChesney, Peter 19 2 20 9 27 9 25 111.00 4
5 53/ 353 Heart Breaker Hughes, Robert 21 15 30 20 2 25 2 115.00 5
6 47/ 187 Catapult Ronning, Joel 15 6 1 14 44 33 32 145.00 6
7 51/ 51 Black River Racing Powered by Strebel, Douglas 3 36 23 43/ZFP 1 32 14 152.00 7
8 63/ 369 Cool Story Bro Brigden, John 7 28 18 46 24 7 23 153.00 8
9 46/ CAN 246 Touch 2 Play Kullman, Martin 18 1 22 90/BFD 9 10 4 154.00 9
10 45/ 45 Wild Child Filter, Henry 47 3 44 4 15 19 27 159.00 10
11 17/ 217 Joint Custody Wulff, Jennifer 9 40 13 29 30 2 41 164.00 11
12 88/ 388 Flojito y Cooperando Julian, Fernandez Neckelmann 11 29 17 13 45 16 35 166.00 12
13 34/ 34 Perseverance Greenwald, Bennet 4 4 4 31 55 48 22 168.00 13
14 76/ 67   Killeen, John 49 33 29 19 3 28 11 172.00 14
15 39/ 185 turbo duck von der Wense, Bodo 2 62 8 38 23 5 39 177.00 15
16 85/ 85 Dazzler Goat Terhune, Allan 6 26 59 27 7 42 10 177.00 16
17 11/ 11 Menace Klingler, Kerry 1 32 60 21 10 45 13 182.00 17
18 23/ 222 Junkanoo Leech, Suzy 13 12 55 26 37 24 17 184.00 18
19 94/ 94 Lifted Cunningham, Jim 35 20 10 27.5/RDG(1) 40 27 33 192.50 19
20 32/ 32 US 32 Ullman, David 10 5 78 24 4 51 30 202.00 20
21 35/ 35 Moxie Allsopp, Cole 16 38 45 63 8 41 1 212.00 21
22 68/ 68   Thompson, Ron 36 7 14 35 33 37 51 213.00 22
23 81/ 181 GB Lewis, Chris 14 39 34 23 60 17 26 213.00 23
24 99/ 99 Nostalgia Kimbrough, Blake 31 35 48 37 50 8 5 214.00 24
25 C1/ 167 Risk Tisdale, Gary 20 23 51 8 16 54 46 218.00 25
26 56/ 245   doyle, tyler 32 16 3 51 17 59 50 228.00 26
27 86/ 86 BRUNO PASQUINELLI PASQUINELLI, BRUNO 34 56 54 30/ZFP 13 46 3 236.00 27
28 43/ 243 VitaminJ Johnson, Ted 41 42 24 57 20 30 24 238.00 28
29 15/ 15 Junior Finkle, Donald 28 48 42 16 29 38 38 239.00 29
30 93/ 309 CloudSourced Copfer, Ronald 77 37 19 7 21 31 48 240.00 30
31 69/ 69 USA69 Colling, Joseph 51 8 63 22 58 3 37 242.00 31
32 C5/ 5 Instant Karma Betts, David 26 27 12 90/BFD 25 47 20 247.00 32
33 36/ 364   aras, john 30 47 2 45 43 52 34 253.00 33
34 12/ 312 Soul Koski, David 42 41 47 17 36 55 16 254.00 34
35 40/ 40 B Squared Elliott, Brian 65 61 43 10 22 40 15 256.00 35
36 71/ 171 Running Wild Vessella, Peter 12 10 64 6 65 81 28 266.00 36
37 42/ 342 Hurricane Cook, Ian 53 34 11 70 12 56 31 267.00 37
38 41/ 340 Rimette brim/Aras, john/Evan 48 45 25 28 28 57 36 267.00 38
39 74/ 174 Magic Bus Mylett, Gregg 17 60 7 55 66 14 55 274.00 39
40 52/ 152 Sundog Parks, Kathy 70 43 26 32 26 62 19 278.00 40
41 22/ 322 Sail22 Furry, Ed 40 58 65 5 39 20 52 279.00 41
42 49/ 49 Relative Obscurity Duncan, Peter 62/ZFP 9 62 36/ZFP 47 49 18 283.00 42
43 59/ 159 Torqeedo Flack, Brandon 68/ZFP 30 28 15 32 68 49 290.00 43
44 44/ 44 Gnixe Vickers, William 25 68 15 65/ZFP 52 15 57 297.00 44
45 91/ 91 Carlos Sudofsky, Mike 39 65 80 41 38 34 7 304.00 45
46 57/ 157 Spring Franzel, Dave 59 17 75 36 51 26 44 308.00 46
47 48/ 48   Lotoff, Joe 61 19 74 11 59 53 45 322.00 47
48 13/ 151 Reach Around Bowen, Thomas 63 46 40 39 46 60 29 323.00 48
49 18/ 218 Tsunami Olds, Todd 64 50 16 53 42 67 40 332.00 49
50 26/ 26 Jungleland Groobey, Chris and Carolyn 8 53 53 64 19 78 60 335.00 50
51 31/ 311 it Sminchak, Jim 76 54 33 44 14 44 70 335.00 51
52 19/ 219 GetMyBoat Rowland/O’Brien, Basil/Thomas 38 59 52 48 69 75 6 347.00 52
53 73/ 73 Occam’s Razor Pletcher, Walter 57 78 81 50 49 35 12 362.00 53
54 66/ 66 Eagles Wings Gottwald, John 46 72 36 30 54 65 65 368.00 54
55 55/ 155 Ragtime Johnstone, Rodney 72 13 71 42 41 73 63 375.00 55
56 27/ 27 Derecho Golden, Jim 56 51 61 69 67 6 67 377.00 56
57 25/ 25 PaPa Wheillie Dodge, John 78 49 41 66 64 11 69 378.00 57
58 60/ 360 REX weakley, scott 24 21 21 43 90/DNF 90/DNC 90/DNC 379.00 58
59 78/ 197 Nirvana 7 Donahue, Louis 43 24 31 68 77 72 64 379.00 59
60 87/ 87 Tick Tock Croc Nesbett, Richard 67 57 50 67 18 80 43 382.00 60
61 20/ 220 Phoenix Firey, Peter 73 64 66 34 62 29 58 386.00 61
62 61/ 6 HCMAX Hillman, Mark 29 66 68 33 63 79 53 391.00 62
63 37/ 317 Late Life Crisis Corbishley, Corbo 33 70 56 90/BFD 53 21 72 395.00 63
64 83/ BER 308 Elusive Millican/Cucahiaro, Chuck/Steve 90/OCS 22 90/DNF 58/ZFP 31 61 47 399.00 64
65 72/ 199 Mojito Evans, Catharine 27 82 38 76 56 43 77 399.00 65
66 89/ 189 Sotapanna DiMatteo, John 37 52 67 60 68 58 62 404.00 66
67 16/ 216 Possum DaMore, Justin 66 79 58 61 57 36 59 416.00 67
68 65/ 225 Shred Skaane, Stein 69 44 70 77/ZFP 71 66 21 418.00 68
69 64/ 64 Exit Strategy II Martin, Jack 75 88 85 54 35 4 90/DNC 431.00 69
70 28/ 28 Mission Impossible Malkin, David 78/ZFP 25 39 52 82 90/DNF 75 441.00 70
71 14/ 168 USA168 McKenna, Marty 52 83 27 65 83 63 68 441.00 71
72 80/ 387   Guzman, Hector 85 18 86 73 61 39 81 443.00 72
73 58/ 357 USA 357 Berry, Kristen 58 67 37 75 81 71 56 445.00 73
74 54/ 54 Little Rascal Pfarr, Rick 82 86 46 83 74 12 66 449.00 74
75 33/ 169 Empeiria Heaton, John 79 69 32 78 73 64 54 449.00 75
76 24/ 324 Reggie Imamura Imamura, Reggie 54 80 35 62 78 69 79 457.00 76
77 62/ 362 362 Wicker, David 71 87 87 72 48 23 71 459.00 77
78 38/ 385 Safe Haven Donald, Keith 55 11 82 90/BFD 80 84 61 463.00 78
79 50/ 50 Rogue Warrior McDonald, Bruce 45 63 57 76/ZFP 75 74 74 464.00 79
80 84/ 84 Bazinga! Goldberg, Daniel P. 86 71 69 80 85 18 78 487.00 80
81 30/ 230 iZula Smith, Kenneth 62 75 73 79 84 50 83 506.00 81
82 98/ 98 USA 98 Poindexter, Al 84 81 72 90/ZFP 34 70 76 507.00 82
83 21/ 200 Cat’s Pajamas Johnstone, Drake 74 77 49 74 76 90/ZFP 73 513.00 83
84 97/ 97 Loki Zupon, Michael 81 73 79 49 70 83 90/DNC 525.00 84
85 10/ 210 Vortex Bomar/Powers, william/Austin 68 76 77 89/ZFP 72 76 80 538.00 85
86 70/ 320 Windsong Jordan, Jeff 87 84 83 81 79 86 85 585.00 86
87 75/ 205 Tigress Weibel, Timothy 88 89 76 84 86 82 84 589.00 87
88 82/ 208 Shamrock Flaherty, James 83 85 88 82 87 85 82 592.00 88
89 C4/ 4 Sport Wagner, Mark 80 74 84 90/BFD 90/DNC 90/DNC 90/DNC 598.00 89

Notes

(1) Average Points (A10(a))
(2) Scoring System is ISAF Low Point 2009-2012
(3) Time limit expired (TLE) penalty is: Finishers plus 2

2013 J-70 North Americans Report – By Airwaves writer Geoff Becker

Team Helly Hansen

Skipper: Tim Healy

Tactician: Geoff Becker   Trimmer: Paul Abdullah    Bow: Gordon Borges

Day 1 Report

3 races (both races course 4, 4 legs and downwind finish) Wind 4-10 knots @ 0°-40°

Light and shifty winds and almost 90 boats in the fleet, then add a high level of talent and you are in store for some major mood swings. 

After Day 1 of the J-70 North Americans in Annapolis, MD, it is clear that there are going to be highs and lows for everyone. Team Helly Hansen saw ups and downs today, and finished the day with a 23rd, 31st and a 9th. Believe it or not, but that is good enough for 12th overall and only one point out of 10th.

The depth of talent in this regatta is outstanding. There are dozens of professionals and dozens more excellent amateur sailors all on the same course. Small mistakes, especially early in a race, will find you well back from the lead pack and struggling to find clear air, much less any passing lanes. Keeping your nose in clear air and being able to sail at full speed will surely help get you up to the front 1/3 of the fleet. If you are then able be on the favored side of the course, well that’s a bonus and might thrust you into the top 10.

On the way to the racecourse in the morning our team had a discussion about our overall strategy for thi
s regatta knowing that there were so many boats and this was a no throw-out regatta. To us, that meant we had to work hard to pass boats no matter our position or situation. It was likely that most teams, including ours, would have difficult races back in the fleet. Overall positions in the regatta could easily come down to how many boats could be passed from the first mark to the finish. Staying focused and patient would be our biggest asset on the day, and each point would matter to our overall position.

In race 1 we had a good start and were able to sail clean to the left side, which we thought was better, but found that the right side had a bit more wind and we got to the first mark in the 30s somewhere. After the first mark, we were able to scratch back to our 23rd and felt pretty good about it. For race 2, we were too aggressive on the line, started OCS and had to return and re-start. Our return was quick, we found a clear lane and survived to finish in 31st. The final race of the day, Race 3, we saw better pressure on the right, started near the right and had a clear lane to the right. At the first mark we rounded third! Yay! On the second upwind leg we again went to the right, but another pack of boats found more wind on the left and sailed around us. Fortunately we were able to stay inside the top 10 and save our best race of the day.

I can say that our patience was tested and at times it looked like we had no good options for gaining in a race. Something that has been said on our boat many times before became our mantra today…Day-by-day, race-by-race, leg-by-leg, puff-by-puff. Staying in the moment and keeping our focus on our best options each leg of each race was something we tried very hard to achieve today. Truthfully, there were several moments today when that ideal was challenging and it seemed like we had no best option, but for the most part we kept our heads and continued to look for gains on the course.

While our scores are not outstanding, we finished the day ready to work hard tomorrow. Light air, so many boats and mental highs and lows can be some of the hardest conditions to face on a racecourse. 

Tomorrow we plan to keep our pre-race focus positive and fight hard in every race, on every leg and for every point.

Our takeaways from Day 1 are…

1. This is a large, talented and tough fleet!

2. Work hard for every point in competitive fleets with no throw-outs.

3. Try to stay focused and take each race leg-by-leg, puff-by-puff.

 

Results so far:

 

Pos Bow/Sail Boat Skipper 1 2 3 Total
Points		 Pos
1 34/ 34 Perseverance Greenwald, Bennet 4 4 4 12.00 1
2 47/ 187 Catapult Ronning, Joel 15 6 1 22.00 2
3 46/ CAN 246 Touch 2 Play Kullman, Martin 18 1 22 41.00 3
4 29/ 209 Trouble McChesney, Peter 19 2 20 41.00 4
5 96/ 96 Savasana Keane, Brian 22 14 6 42.00 5
6 56/ 245   doyle, tyler 32 16 3 51.00 6
7 63/ 369 Cool Story Bro Brigden, John 7 28 18 53.00 7
8 68/ 68   Thompson, Ron 36 7 14 57.00 8
9 88/ 388 Flojito y Cooperando Julian, Fernandez Neckelmann 11 29 17 57.00 9
10 51/ 51 Black River Racing Powered by Strebel, Douglas 3 36 23 62.00 10
11 17/ 217 Joint Custody Wulff, Jennifer 9 40 13 62.00 11
12 C2/ 2 Helly Hansen Healy, Tim 23 31 9 63.00 12
13 95/ 95 MUSE Gregg Earl/Bardenheier, Heather/Joe 5 55 5 65.00 13
14 94/ 94 Lifted Cunningham, Jim 35 20 10 65.00 14
15 C5/ 5 Instant Karma Betts, David 26 27 12 65.00 15
16 53/ 353 Heart Breaker Hughes, Robert 21 15 30 66.00 16
17 60/ 360 REX weakley, scott 24 21 21 66.00 17
18 39/ 185 turbo duck von der Wense, Bodo 2 62 8 72.00 18
19 36/ 364   aras, john 30 47 2 79.00 19
20 23/ 222 Junkanoo Leech, Suzy 13 12 55 80.00 20
21 74/ 174 Magic Bus Mylett, Gregg 17 60 7 84.00 21
22 71/ 171 Running Wild Vessella, Peter 12 10 64 86.00 22
23 81/ 181 GB Lewis, Chris 14 39 34 87.00 23
24 85/ 85 Dazzler Goat Terhune, Allan 6 26 59 91.00 24
25 11/ 11 Menace Klingler, Kerry 1 32 60 93.00 25
26 32/ 32 US 32 Ullman, David 10 5 78 93.00 26
27 45/ 45 Wild Child Filter, Henry 47 3 44 94.00 27
28 C1/ 167 Risk Tisdale, Gary 20 23 51 94.00 28
29 42/ 342 Hurricane Cook, Ian 53 34 11 98.00 29
30 78/ 197 Nirvana 7 Donahue, Louis 43 24 31 98.00 30
31 35/ 35 Moxie Allsopp, Cole 16 38 45 99.00 31
32 43/ 243 VitaminJ Johnson, Ted 41 42 24 107.00 32
33 44/ 44 Gnixe Vickers, William 25 68 15 108.00 33
34 76/ 67   Killeen, John 49 33 29 111.00 34
35 26/ 26 Jungleland Groobey, Chris and Carolyn 8 53 53 114.00 35
36 99/ 99 Nostalgia Kimbrough, Blake 31 35 48 114.00 36
37 41/ 340 Rimette brim/Aras, john/Evan 48 45 25 118.00 37
38 15/ 15 Junior Finkle, Donald 28 48 42 118.00 38
39 69/ 69 USA69 Colling, Joseph 51 8 63 122.00 39
40 59/ 159 Torqeedo Flack, Brandon 68/ZFP 30 28 126.00 40
41 18/ 218 Tsunami Olds, Todd 64 50 16 130.00 41
42 12/ 312 Soul Koski, David 42 41 47 130.00 42
43 49/ 49 Relative Obscurity Duncan, Peter 62/ZFP 9 62 133.00 43
44 93/ 309 CloudSourced Copfer, Ronald 77 37 19 133.00 44
45 52/ 152 Sundog Parks, Kathy 70 43 26 139.00 45
46 28/ 28 Mission Impossible Malkin, David 78/ZFP 25 39 142.00 46
47 86/ 86 BRUNO PASQUINELLI PASQUINELLI, BRUNO 34 56 54 144.00 47
48 72/ 199 Mojito Evans, Catharine 27 82 38 147.00 48
49 38/ 385 Safe Haven Donald, Keith 55 11 82 148.00 49
50 19/ 219 GetMyBoat Rowland/O’Brien, Basil/Thomas 38 59 52 149.00 50
51 13/ 151 Reach Around Bowen, Thomas 63 46 40 149.00 51
52 57/ 157 Spring Franzel, Dave 59 17 75 151.00 52
53 48/ 48   Lotoff, Joe 61 19 74 154.00 53
54 66/ 66 Eagles Wings Gottwald, John 46 72 36 154.00 54
55 55/ 155 Ragtime Johnstone, Rodney 72 13 71 156.00 55
56 89/ 189 Sotapanna DiMatteo, John 37 52 67 156.00 56
57 37/ 317 Late Life Crisis Corbishley, Corbo 33 70 56 159.00 57
58 14/ 168 USA168 McKenna, Marty 52 83 27 162.00 58
59 58/ 357 USA 357 Berry, Kristen 58 67 37 162.00 59
60 61/ 6 HCMAX Hillman, Mark 29 66 68 163.00 60
61 31/ 311 it Sminchak, Jim 76 54 33 163.00 61
62 22/ 322 Sail22 Furry, Ed 40 58 65 163.00 62
63 50/ 50 Rogue Warrior McDonald, Bruce 45 63 57 165.00 63
64 25/ 25 PaPa Wheillie Dodge, John 78 49 41 168.00 64
65 27/ 27 Derecho Golden, Jim 56 51 61 168.00 65
66 24/ 324 Reggie Imamura Imamura, Reggie 54 80 35 169.00 66
67 40/ 40 B Squared Elliott, Brian 65 61 43 169.00 67
68 87/ 87 Tick Tock Croc Nesbett, Richard 67 57 50 174.00 68
69 33/ 169 Empeiria Heaton, John 79 69 32 180.00 69
70 65/ 225 Shred Skaane, Stein 69 44 70 183.00 70
71 91/ 91 Carlos Sudofsky, Mike 39 65 80 184.00 71
72 80/ 387   Guzman, Hector 85 18 86 189.00 72
73 21/ 200 Cat’s Pajamas Johnstone, Drake 74 77 49 200.00 73
74 83/ BER 308 Elusive Millican/Cucahiaro, Chuck/Steve 90/OCS 22 90/DNF 202.00 74
75 16/ 216 Possum DaMore, Justin 66 79 58 203.00 75
76 20/ 220 Phoenix Firey, Peter 73 64 66 203.00 76
77 30/ 230 iZula Smith, Kenneth 62 75 73 210.00 77
78 54/ 54 Little Rascal Pfarr, Rick 82 86 46 214.00 78
79 73/ 73 Occam’s Razor Pletcher, Walter 57 78 81 216.00 79
80 10/ 210 Vortex Bomar/Powers, william/Austin 68 76 77 221.00 80
81 84/ 84 Bazinga! Goldberg, Daniel P. 86 71 69 226.00 81
82 97/ 97 Loki Zupon, Michael 81 73 79 233.00 82
83 98/ 98 USA 98 Poindexter, Al 84 81 72 237.00 83
84 C4/ 4 Sport Wagner, Mark 80 74 84 238.00 84
85 62/ 362 362 Wicker, David 71 87 87 245.00 85
86 64/ 64 Exit Strategy II Martin, Jack 75 88 85 248.00 86
87 75/ 205 Tigress Weibel, Timothy 88 89 76 253.00 87
88 70/ 320 Windsong Jordan, Jeff 87 84 83 254.00 88
89 82/ 208 Shamrock Flaherty, James 83 85 88 256.00 89

Notes

(1) Scoring System is ISAF Low Point 2009-2012
(2) Time limit expired (TLE) penalty is: Finishers plus 2

Information is provisional and subject to modification

Principal Race Officer: Sandy Grosvenor
Jury Chair: Jim Capron

 

 

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

By submitting this form, you accept the Mollom privacy policy.

One Design Classes

Browse our extensive list of one design classes.
View Profiles