J/125s Lead California Offshore Race Week After Two Races
(Santa Barbara, CA)- The three-race series started off with a whimper, with one of the slowest Spinnaker Cups on record. Then, the second event- the Coastal Cup- delivered in spades with some classic California offshore racing conditions. Here’s a quick overview of the two races that have taken place so far- the Spinnaker Cup Race and the Coastal Cup Race.
Spinnaker Cup Race
This was the 88.0 nm “sprint” from San Francisco offshore, turn left, and head south to Monterey.
The start was epic! Gorgeous sunny day, 15 to 20 kts plus flying off the starting line on port tack headed for the Golden Gate Bridge! Truly a spectacular send-off for the fleet. Then, all hell broke loose once the fleet got to the Farallon Islands turning mark! No wind and fog! Good Lord, the tale of two races. From there on into the finish, it was a light-air slog down the coast into Monterey Bay. To say it was a slowwwww race would be an understatement. 88.0 nm in 25 hours = 3.52 kts average for the three J/125s! Not surprisingly, over 70% of the fleet DNF’d, dropped out! For the bare-knuckled, ham-fisted survivors gripping with determination the very last ounce of power from their limp jib sheets and even limper spinnaker sheets, the few J/Teams that survived the ordeal collected a fair amount of silverware. Here is how that feeble race went down by division.
PHRF 2 Division- J/125 Podium Sweep
In this seven-boat fleet, it was going to be an epic battle between three very well-sailed J/125s. Even though the sailing was disappointing, the trio of J/125s kept it interesting as no one was going to give in to the other boats! In the end, it was a pure test of patience for the winners- Dan Murphy’s JAVELIN. They were followed into the finish by John Vincent & Ken Kieding’s ARGO IV in second place, and then Rufus Sjoberg’s RUFLESS in third place.
PHRF 3 Division
This eight-boat class was also treated to a proverbial “schooling” by highly competitive J/Teams. Winning was Ian Rogers’s J/90 ORCA, a lightweight all-carbon 30-foot speedster that should’ve excelled in the light conditions. Taking third place was Shane Riehl’s J/133 DEFIANT.
PHRF 5 Division- J/99 Podium Sweep
The two J/99s ended up sweeping their division! Winning was Camille Moussette’s LATENCY, her first major offshore win! Then, taking the silver was Falk Meissner’s SHARK ON BLUEGRASS.
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Coastal Cup Race
This was a much longer offshore contest of 205.0 nm from Monterey to Santa Barbara.
This was a much faster race than the Spinnaker Cup. The J/125s covered the 205.0nm rhumbline distance in 24 hours flat… a vast improvement, to say the least– an 8.54 kts average! Here’s how it went down by division.
ORR B Division- J/125s Sweep Again!
Not surprisingly, the three Musketeers masquerading as J/125s dominated their division again. It was a seemingly easy podium sweep, with the teams themselves trading places. This time, Rufus Sjoberg’s RUFLESS took the class honors, followed by John Vincent & Ken Kieding’s ARGO IV in second place just 3 minutes back, and the Spin Cup winners- Dan Murphy’s JAVELIN- settling for the bronze medal this time around yet another 1 min 40 secs behind… close racing between these three boats that never let each other out of their sights for 205.0 nm!!
As a result of the first two races, all three J/125s are tied at 4 pts each! RUFLESS with 3-1, JAVELIN with 1-3, ARGO IV with 2-2!! It’s all to play for in the final race- the SoCAL 300.
ORR C Division
Finding the sailing conditions much to their liking, Ian Rogers’s J/90 ORCA flew down the track to win their division by the considerable margin of 2 hours corrected time, also taking 2nd ORC Overall!
ORR D Division
Continuing her strong performance by winning the division in her first race, Camille Moussette’s J/99 LATENCY team enjoyed the conditions and sailed well enough to secure the bronze medal.
As a result of the first two races, the ORR C Division for the series has the J/90 ORCA first with a 2-1, while the J/99 LATENCY sits second with a 1-3.
ORR-EZ
Winning the ORR-EZ division was Robert Jones’s J/120 SUR, a classic offshore racing boat that did well in conditions to its liking!
For more Southern California Offshore Race Week sailing information
http://www.offshoreraceweek.com/