Rob and Andrew joined me for this race. We got out to the windward mark early and to check the angle to the next mark. We pulled out the Code 0 to try it out and it was perfect, we were screaming. The only problem with this choice is that it would require a bare headed spinnaker change further down the track as the wind clocks to DDW. We left the Code 0 hooked up and decided to make a last minute call on what to set.
We came back to the starting area and prepared for our start. We would have some larger boats racing in our division and it would be important to be able to hold a lane off the start. The pin was favored, so we chose a leeward position on the pin end of the line. We had a clean start and were able to hold our line until we got squeezed out by the GP26 to leeward and the Farr 36 coming over the top. We took a clearing tack and managed to get to the windward mark in the top 5.
On the way to the windward mark we could see boats from the previous start setting and holding their spinnakers. By now we know that if anyone can hold their spinnaker, so can we on the JS. So we switched plans and instead of starting with the Code 0 we will go straight to the A2. It was a tight reach and we could just hold our angle. Erik got a nice shot of us below:
This is a point of sail that the boat likes. While other boats struggle to hold the tight angle the JS just digs in an accelerates. We could sail a bit higher than the rest of the fleet and we were able to keep up with the front runners as we started passing boats from the previous starts. We chose the Richmond side of the course as the Tiburon side looked light. Here we started mixing it up with other boats and managed to keep the boat moving in the lighter conditions between Richmond and The Brothers. Past The Brothers we started the San Pablo Bay leg. Though we were staying on the inside, we could see Outsider, who earlier on had split to the West side of the course, now on better pressure and beginning to catch up. We took a painful gybe out get into the better pressure. This moved pay off, as by the time we converged with the boats that stayed on the inside we had made significant gains.
Jetstream Racing - Jazz Cup 2011 from rob blackmore on Vimeo.
Up ahead we could see a new wind line just before Pinole Pt. It was going to be a header with increase in velocity and we cold see some of the boats entering the new pressure struggling to keep their lane. This would be our opportunity. The leg from Pinole Pt. to the Vallejo Bridge was the funnest part of the race with the boat sailing in consistent 10 - 15 knots of boat speed. We were able to put some distance between us and the boats behind us while making some ground on the few boats ahead.
From Vallejo to Benicia it would be a more traditional downwind run (as opposed to the reaching legs across San Pablo Bay). The winds lightened a bit again and we were in a tight race with California Condor and Twisted ahead (the Farr 36 and the T650 though close were a bit out of our reach) and Outsider charging hard from behind. California Condor had a couple of bad gybes and we got past them, but we couldn't make the distance on Twisted. We had been able to hold off Outsider, but as we rounded G25 the got just ahead of us.
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From G25 to the next leeward mark it was another reach and we were the only boat in our group to hold the kite all the way to the mark allowing us to close the gap with the boats in front and sneaking past Outsider again. We would hold this position to the finish line and would end up as the 4th monohull to cross the finish line and would correct out as the 2nd monohull for overall behind the T650.
It was a great race and a significant improvement from last year. We stayed in Benicia for the awards and started our delivery back home around 10 PM to take advantage of the ebb. It was a pleasant motor home at night with a light breeze and a great moon. We got back to Alameda a bit after 2AM and was at home in bed by 3 and lights off.
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