J/99 Leads Chilean IRC Championship
(Valparaiso, Chile)- The J/99 LADY CHOPPER II, owned by Eduardo Capdeville and skippered by Juan Reid, leads the Campeonato Apertura Oceanic that is being sailed off Valparaiso, the gorgeous mountainous seaside city with hundreds of pastel colored buildings. Hosts for the first IRC handicap regatta of the season are Cofradia Nautica del Pacifico, Yacht Club de Chile, and Club de Yates Higuerillas. Here is Juan Reid’s report on how they are progressing and leading the provisional standings.
“With three races on Saturday 27th of September at ValparaÃso Bay and three races sailed in Higuerillas Bay on Sunday 28th, with winds of up to 27 kts, the J/99 managed to sail well and become the leader in the regatta with 8 pts. We are followed by the Chilean Navy’s CALEUCHE with 13 points and the Swan 45 RAYO with 13 points.
The upwind performance and stability of the J/99 against the other IRC boats is very good, especially in the choppy seas and with strong puffs. The stability of the boat with the standard bulb led keel was very good with winds blowing over 25 kts. The full mainsail and J2 jib were enough sail area to keep the boat 100% under control with no stress in the breezy conditions and big waves offshore.
In the downwind legs with moderate winds on Saturday, it was tricky to manage the IRC competitors (mainly with symmetric spinnakers). But once the wind started to increase, the simpler maneuvers and the speed of the J/99 made the difference. We won the 3 races on Sunday in real time against the boats of the size (Emme 37, X-37, Italia 9.98, and First 35).
The championship continues on October 17-18 with the 50th edition of Off-ValparaÃso Regatta (a very traditional regatta organized by the Chilean Navy) and concludes with the Interclub Regatta to be held in Algarrobo Bay on November 22-23 by CofradÃa Nautica del PacÃfico, home club for LADY CHOPPER II.
This J/99 hull number 60 was sold in Chile in 2020 and, in the last 6 months, was prepared for racing. The team got in contact with OneSails UK to develop a new IRC mainsail and A2 spinnaker. With the support of OneSails UK, the team got the right mast tuning for the sails and target speed and angles upwind and downwind. The current TCC of the boat is 1.011. This appears to be a good number to compete against dedicated ORC and IRC boats like the Italia 9,98, Emme 37, First 35 with carbon rig, and X-37.
For a windspeed of 14-17 kts, the target TWA downwind is 167-170. Achieving this, the boat can be competitive upwind and downwind. The proper A2 developed in this case by OneSails UK is crucial for the downwind performance!”
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