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2010 Barbados J24 Club Invitational Regatta Report
October 16 was fair to partly cloudy day with a medium breeze averaging 10 knots and getting occasionally to 12 knots. Our local J24 club and the Barbados Yacht Club hosted some representatives from the New York sailing club, here in Barbados on holiday, and some of the locals were able to shake off the cob-webs accumulated during the summer off season to have some competitive racing in Carlisle Bay.
The race day comprised of 2 races in a Windward/Leeward format with four loops during each race. With the wind primarily coming out of the south, the right or south side of the course was favored on the up wind beats. Conversely, the north side of the course paid off on the downwind legs as being shorter and having a more direct course to the leeward mark. While the fleet only had 5 boats on the water this weekend it once again was critical to have a good start and gain clean air. This pays off more in medium to light winds as the air flow over the sails is less disturbed, flows faster over the sails and gives a racing sail boat more speed.
The ISIS Racing Team, sponsored by JADA, skippered by Nicholas Lashley and owned by tactician Greg Webster dominated the day with both a 1st and a 2nd place over the two races to capture the honors on the day. In both races great starts at the committee boat end gave the ISIS team good position on the fleet to cover all the boats on the first windward beat reaching the 1st windward mark in first place and then being able to maintain top boat speed and cover the rest of the fleet.
Of course our NYC competitors, sailing the USAIL boat Jabulani showed how a “never-say-die” attitude can always pay dividends. They were over early on the start of the second race, but managed to recover quickly and maneuver themselves steadily through the fleet back to the front. They had to battle the ISIS racing team over the last two legs of the race getting into various tacking battles in almost a one on one match race in which once they gained the upper hand the ISIS team were unable to wrest the lead from their grasp winning the race by just 2-3 boat lengths. Their efforts earned them a 2nd place overall with a 1st and 4th on the day.
There was a great battle for third place between two of our favorite local competitors Xpelair Fadeaway who had two 3rd places , and Paulo’s Churrasco’s Summtin’s Happ’nin who earned the 3rd place overall honors with a 2nd and a 4th place. The tie being broken by Summin’s Happ’nin having earned a 2nd place with some great consistent sailing in the first race. The two competitive teams were locked in mortal combat in the 2nd race 3 rd leg when a tactical decision to go south on the downwind leg did not pay off taking them further away from their target allowing Jabulani to gain good ground and put itself in a position to battle for the lead.
Local teams now turn their attention to their preparations for the upcoming Match Racing Event in November. They also enjoyed making some new friends from the NYC and in future look forward to taking up their invitation to come to New York and compete in the Big Apple.
By Greg Webster.
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