The North Atlantic J29 Class held its Fall AGM on Saturday, November 26. Representatives from six boats made it to the session and Matt Stokes joined from Alberta via 21st century technology. Co-President Andrew Childs presided as Chair and other Co-President Evan Petley-Jones took the minutes.

As is usual at these affairs, the group agreed on the regattas that will form the J29 series for the coming year. Essentially, it will be the same as 2011, although it was agreed that the date for the Squadron’s Fall One Design should be moved to later in September (i.e., to the Fall). Members in attendance agreed that something like the third weekend in the month made sense. As Co-President Petley-Jones is the incoming VC Sailing for the Squadron, it seems likely to work out.

The bigger issues were Don Matthews’ and Doug Williams’ careful study of our hulls and the results of a second effort to bring the North American Championship to Lunenburg , which appears to have gone a fair bit better than the first. On the first subject, Don and Doug have measured seven boats that they have been able to access in Halifax and Lunenburg. The most interesting thing was the large variations in many of the dimensions within what is a fairly modest number of boats. Some keel measurements vary by as much as 4 cm and the thickness of keels and rudders varies by as more than 10 per cent in most of the measured locations. The next most interesting thing, though, is that it is very difficult to see that any particular modification will guarantee a fast boat.

My boat, J-Zeus II9 showed up on one edge or the other of most of the measurements Don and Doug did (longer, thinner keel, slightly farther back, with the thinnest rudder). It tends to be fast in light airs. Scotch Mist IV is at the other side of nearly all keel measurements (no data on their rudder) and is definitely fast when it blows. I’m willing  to bet, though, that my lighter crew and the fact much of my formative sailing was done in Ottawa where drifters are a fact of life has as much to do with that the sharp trailing edge on my rudder. I guessing SMIV is similar. Certainly, they have a bigger group than JZII9, although I know they are also plenty good when the wind is light.

Members in any case agreed that owners should be encouraged when getting their boats refinished to adhere to the dimensions represented by the average of the middle four boats. There will never by another JZII9. 

The news concerning the North Americans is much more exciting. Word is that Andrew and Evan with considerable assistance from Matt Stokes have negotiated hard with our US counterparts to come up with a workable agreement.  Nearly everyone now appears to be on board. The Lunenburg J29 Regatta will become a three-day event for this year only, crews will be limited to 1,600 lbs (up from the North American limit of 1,500 lbs), boats will have the right to remove their outboards, and boats have the right to exercise the time allowances for different types of J29s stipulated in the North American rules.

Having been around once on this issue myself during my time as President, I can only hand it to the guys. If John Esposito (many time past J29 North American Champ) had only told me that removing his engine meant that much to him! (Actually he did but I thought he could be made to appreciate the opportunity to not have to drag the damn thing over the transom).  Apparently, three US boats have indicated a strong interest in coming up to compete and we can only hope they will have the sense to stick around for Chester race Week. Race Committee Chair Andreas Josenhans is totally on board and will host a party for crews at his house on the Saturday night of the event.  If we can get all our local boats to come out, we could be looking at a 20-boat field that should go down as the best event in the history of the 29 class and great motivation for all of us in Atlantic Canada to get our boats and our crew in tip-top shape for 2012.

The meeting concluded with the presentation of the 2011 Season Championship trophy to Matt and Scott Christie. The Christies took the trophy for the second time, although this year’s boat is the new fractional Colmonell as opposed to the masthead Colmonell, which took it all in 2008.  Joining the Christies this year was Geoff Dalzeill, who was a key member of the Satisfaction crew that won the championship in 2009 and 2010. I believe Geoff is on a four-season winning streak. I wonder what he’s doing next year? I was thinking of selling a half-share in JZII9 for a buck. For the history-minded, incidentally, I had the trophy next to me for long enough to copy down all the past winners and have added the list to this site on the J29 menu.

	Evan Petley-Jones (still in the red sweater) makes a deal with Scott Christie while Scott’s brother Matt attempts to look away. That’s my bro’ Geoff Dalziell on the left (only a loonie Geoff).

Atlantic J24 Chair Greg Blunden wanted one more event to close the season out in style so he scheduled and organized the last J24 regatta of the season for the weekend of October 14 and 15. It all looked good too. We were well underway with one of those really good fall seasons you sometimes get in Nova Scotia where the weather is warmer than in June and the rain is intermittent at worst. The enthusiasm was there too as eleven boats were committed well before the event.

When the weekend dawned, it was still looking good, with comfortable temperatures and lots of sun. The only qualifier was that it was blowing as it sometimes does ’round these parts in October as hurricanes pass to the south and gales whip up the coast. Blowing enough by October 14, as a matter of fact, that four of the eleven prospective entrants thought better of it when they got out of bed. Another got out to the start line and decided that 30 kts plus was not the last thing he wanted to do this year and bailed right away. I was getting the mast out of my J29 as the time and I watched others straggle in over the course of the day wide-eyed and exhausted with stories about multiple broaches, keels out of the water, and all manner of terrifying events.

Sounded like so much fun that I decided to try it myself when Dale Robertson told me he was shorthanded the next day. There were only three boats left by that point: Dale who was leading the regatta with a 1 and a 3 from Saturday, Greg who was nipping at his heels despite having shown his bottom to the fleet while leading the second race, and Fred, helmed by the ever fearless Evan Petley-Jones. Sunday was really no different from Saturday except that the Race Committee agreed to set up the course inside instead of outside Lighthouse Bank so as to avoid the considerable sea that had made the competition a bit too interesting up to that point. Before the race, we on Dale’s Slam understood that an agreement had also been reached not to fly spinnakers in the interest of cooling things down a bit.

As things transpired, Evan and company on Fred apparently didn’t get that memo and the first time they went downwind up went the chute. I saw Evan with a crew of five on the J29 Satisfaction pop a spinnaker in 40 kts on the Wednesday night two years ago when I broke the mast in my J-Zeus II9, so I wasn’t surprised to see them do just fine with a full crew in a 24 and mere 30 kts of breeze. On the next leg, however, they replicated Greg’s move from the previous day and laid Fred over in front of us for about 30 seconds before recovering decently.

Notwithstanding, they kept at it and Greg, who won the first race responded. Being older and more prudent on Slam we stuck with winging the blade, which we eventually discovered was nearly as fast once we figured out how to use the spinnaker pole to get the sail out a bit farther. The wind, anyway was dying a bit and it all seemed pretty reasonable until Fred rounded the second downwind mark of the second race and without dousing the spinnaker. As we learned later, the gooseneck on Fred broke shortly before or as they went around the mark. At the same time, a know in the halyard prevented the spinnaker from making it all the way to the deck.

As Evan’s crew scrambled to deal with it all and he tried to make progress to windward, a series of events ensued that should be considered by all sailors and particularly J24 sailors. With the spinnaker halfway down and the main flapping with its gooseneck broken, the crew of Fred other than Evan headed to the middle and leeward areas of the boat to deal with the problem. In 25 to 30 kts, obviously, the boat was heeling a condition considerably aggravated by the distribution of crew weight. It didn’t take long underr the circumstances for Fred to hit the critical point at which a J24 will tip and I soon looked up from my spot on Dale’s bow to see her keel out of the water once again. Not long after (according to Evan it was very quick) she was completely upside down with the keel out of the water.

As the boat immediately behind, we new we had to help. I dropped the blade on Slam as quick as I could and Dale sailed over to offer assistance. It was immediately clear that the crew was in good order with all five clearly visible and working on the problem at hand. We helped out by providing rope and equipment, and circled the scene until two Zodiac crash boats showed up followed by Mike Evans in his Bavaria 39. Our rope soon got tied between Fred and one of the Zodiacs and in maybe ten minutes Fred was dragged upright.

Unfortunately, while all of Fred’s crew were safely on board other vessels and Fred herself looked to be no worse for wear, it didn’t last long. Fred floated on her gunwhales for about 15 seconds by my estimate before her bow started to descend and she did a pretty good impression of the Titanic going down minus the band. It’s not the first sailboat I’ve seen sink in Halifax Harbour and most of us know the drill at that point is to tie some rope and something that floats onto the mast before everything slips out of sight. Evan and the Race Committee crew were able to do so and everyone decided we’d seen enough for the day. Dale won the regatta despite Greg winning three of the four races that were completed and us finishing last in two. It would make a good Grade 6 math problem (Seven boats entered the reagatta and Boat A won three of four races while Boat B finished last twice. How the heck … ?).

Epilogue

Fred has since risen from the deep. The bouy tied to her mast did its job. I understand the salvage operation, which took place the next day was challenging, as Fred has apparently grown to like the harbour bottom and made three more trips down there when her sails filled (Monday was windy too) and she repeated her Titantic thing. Eventually, though, she stayed up long enough to be pumped and dragged to shore. She’s worse for the experience but arrangements have been made with the insurer to get her back on the line for the 2012 season.

My inquiry into this event has been informal but as Borat would say there have been a few learnings. One is that spinnakers can be tricky in a breeze even in experienced hands. Evan has sailed big boats offshore and managed to roll his boat through 180 degrees without getting his feet wet. At least three of his four crew also qualify as highly experienced). Two is that there are times when it makes sense to give up. Evan has said that they had decided to retire when they realized the gooseneck was broken but it seems that the desire to see if they could compete overtook the obvious reality that the day was done and the sails needed to come down. Third and less obvious is the design of J24s. I don’t know the exact point but there is clearly a critical angle at which a 24 is destined to go the rest of the way. Even more important is the design of the lazarettes in older 24s like Fred. They are L-shaped and tend to flop open when a 24 reaches 90 degrees. Once they are open, they are only a few inches above the water and it doesn’t take much wave action to start filling them up. The aft tanks, furthermore, are open to the cabin so that once they start to fill there is little to stop water entering the entire boat with inevitable consequences.

I have seen this issue discussed in relation to many other J24 sinkings and I am probably not getting all the details right but the long and the short is that the larazettes on a J24 should, at the minimum, be latched at all times. It actually makes plenty of sense to fibreglas and seal them and, for good measure, to enclose the aft bulkhead to ensure the positive bouyancy of the aft tanks. I understand boats have been modified this way and it makes good safe sense. Check the Class rules and talk to someone who knows more than me before you proceed but do it if you want to maximize your safety and the safety of your crew. Here in Atlantic Canada, we now have six months to deal with it. And whether you do or you don’t modify your boat, make sure to wear a lifejacket when sailing in a breeze if not all the time.

• Adrenaline Rush (Gregory Blunden)
• Barely Legal (Jono Reid)
• Dark Star (Ben Rubarth)
• Jammin (Nick Hamblin)
• Juvenile Delinquent (Ted Murphy)
• Lightning McQueen (Ian Dawson)
• Muffin (Brien Story)
• Out of the Blue (John McSheffery)
• Satisfied (Ben Maloney)
• Swish (Sean McDermott)
• Turning for Turtles (Sarah Boyne)

That sounds pretty good already but Greg would like to get the entry over 15 boats. As he says it should be a great way to end the season at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron.

As a result, the J29 season is done for 2011 and a champion has been decided based on the “total boats beaten” scoring system agreed to in the off-season. The new champ, as it turns out,   is an old one. The Christies on Colmonell have returned to the top after a two-year absence. It has taken awhile for them to learn the intricacies of the fractional rig they acquired when the replaced their original masthead Colmonell with the former Radar Love. They did not dominate but they opened the season with a good win at the RNSYS Opener and followed with consistent finishes in all of the following regattas. They were also ready and willing to compete for the championship at the Fall One Design had it taken place.

The second place finisher was two-time defending champ Satisfaction. Jaeger, which has won more times than I have a count for, came in third. 

1. Matt and Scott Christie, Colmonell, 30 pts.
2. Jim Mason and Evan Petley-Jones, Satisfaction, 28 pts.
3. Larry Creaser, Jaeger, 26 pts.

For full results, click here. Attendance was generally good at this year’s events, with a revival in Charlottetown and good numbers at both Lunenburg and Chester. Hopefully, next year we can address the weak attendance at the Squadron’s two bookend events in Halifax.

This year’s switch was made because J29s, in particular, found it hard to get crews together when many were drawn into the prestigious Prince of Wales Race, for which they give away a cup donated by Queen Victoria’s dissolute successor and made by the same fellow who made the America’s Cup. Last year’s One Design attracted only five J29s and two of those boats had to consolidate crew for the sceond day.

The change, sadly, did not work. The opportunity to clean up the cottage, buy school supplies for the kids, or go for a final long walk on the beach with one’s significant other seems to outweigh even the opportunity to compete for the fat prince’s old mug. Only four 29s indicated an interest in sailing. We in J-Zeus II9 were a major culprit. For the record, I am pretty sure we have sailed every J29 regatta in Nova Scotia during the last eight years that we had a mast for, but I could only come up with two crew for Saturday and three for Sunday to compete in this one. On Wednesday, J29 Presidents Andrew Childs and Evan Petley-Jones pulled the plug.

The J24s, with the promise of at least six, forged ahead but on Saturday only four showed and one quickly decided that they would sooner take one of those long walks than participate in a mini-event. The three remaining asked with the Race Committee for a one day regatta with short courses so that the three boats could stay close to each other. Four races were then held in highly variable winds under beautiful sunny skies.

Greg Blunden dominated, winning three of four. He was followed by Jono Reid, who racked up four seconds ahead of relative novice Dan Murphy. Dan steadily improved over the day finally getting close enough in the last race to carry a late downwind gust to a first place finish. Trophies, I’m told, are being etched for all three:

1. Greg Blunden, Adrenaline Rush, 6 pts.
2. Jono Reid, Barely Legal, 8 pts.
3. Dan Murphy, Juvenile Delinquent, 10 pts.

The J29 class is trying to arrange a replacement event for the October 1 and 2 weekend. J-Zeus II9, for one, looks good to attend. Hopefully, four or five more are a possibility to make a good season ender and determine the class champion. Greg Blunden has also mused about a J24 event to wrap up their year but we’ll see about that.

In the longer run, both classes have to give some thought to the best date for the One Design. The Labour Day Weekend clearly has some issues. Not only does the last long weekend of the summer draw many to the cottage and the family, Bedford Basin Yacht Club has long hosted its multi-class Labour Day Regatta over the three days. Incorporating our events in the BBYC event seems to me to be one choice. Another is to go later into the year as it looks as though we are going to do this year. Finally, we can presumably go back to folding the One Design event into POW. It has worked fine in the past and may well be feasible for the future.

In the J29 Class, at least, we all agreed on this year’s change to the Labour Day Weekend. It hasn’t worked and we have to go back to the drawing board. Certainly, we should continue to have a late season event. September and, often, early October, generally provide great weather and great sailing conditions. Its a great time to settle scores and wrap up our year.

The 2011 North Americans finished last Saturday, August 20, at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. Conditions were variable: steady at roughly 15 knots throughout the first day; wildly swinging and rising from light to medium the second day; and light and shifty on the final day. Consistency was close to impossible. Numerous boats in the 30-boat fleet flipped from the top ten to the bottom ten in consecutive races 

The big winners were all from away. First overall and North American Champion as a result was Travis Odenbach from Rochester, NY. Travis had a major Canadian talent, Rossi Mileev of Toronto on his boat. Mileev is the current Canadian Champion, having posted a solid win over 22 other competitors at the Canadians at Port Credit Yacht Club in July. Odenbach edged out John Mollicone from Newport, RI, with a final race second that put the necessary nine boats between their two boats, when Mollicone finished in eleventh, his worst race of the event. In third was three-time World Champion Mauricio Santa Cruz from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who started with three straight bullets but couldn’t find the button again over the course of the last six races. The first Canadian boat was Ted Bartlewski of Toronto’s Drivers Wanted, which finished fifth.

The top local boat was current Canadian Champion Johnny Whynacht’s Sticky Fingers, which came in seventh. Other notable Atlantic Canadian performers included the other current Canadian Champion, Ian Dawson, who’s Craig Noakes helmed Lightning McQueen finished eleventh and young Ted Murphy who hauled around various 50-plus relatives and their friends in the aptly named Juvenile Delinquent to record twelfth overall.

There is no question that exposure to immaculately prepared international boats was a challenge for Maritime J24 sailors. Seeing beautiful boats execute perfect roll tacks and gybes should inspire the likes of Johnny and Ted, as well as Greg Blunden, who won the last race of the regatta, to greater effort. For everyone it was an excellent chance to get in nine good races in a large fleet, learning to start in a crowd, pass boats in groups, and work one’s way through multiple boats to find clear air.

What’s next for the local fleet is hard to say. Atlantic Canada is now a J24 stronghold and Halifax has hosted two major events in consecutive years. There will be none in 2012 as Dale Robertson and the organizers of the 2010 Canadian Nationals and 2011 North American Championship will take a well earned rest. The venue for next year’s Canadians has yet to be announced. The North Americans will be at the Florida Yacht Club in Jacksonville, FL, beginning November 14 when the event should provide an excellent opportunity for Atlantic Canadians to extend their sailing season by a week. The Worlds will be earlier in the year at Rochester Yacht Club, September 13-21 (seriously). The World Championship has been declared an open event meaning anyone can enter to have a crack at Rochester boy Travis Odenbach as well as most of the top sailors who attended this year’s North Americans.

	Odenbach’s crew didn’t need to sneak away with anything. Their steady, consistent sailing in tough conditions earned them a well deserved championship.

J24

	Rush Hour deals with the weather on Wednesday

The J24 fleet was offered a discount to use Chester as a tune up for the immediately following North Americans at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron in Halifax. Eight boats took advantage and got a taste of everything the North Americans may throw at them weather wise, although, in fairness, not competition wise. As already noted, Lisa Ross and Greg Blunden controlled all the bullets. While the contest was tight, Lisa had it won going into the last race. Kim Drisdelle and the crew of Black Jack sailed steadily to grab third.

1. Dale Robertson, RNSYS, Slam in 29 Seconds, 10 pts.
2. Gregory Blunden, RNSYS, Adrenaline Rush, 13 pts.
3. Kim Drisdelle, PCYC, BlackJack, 27 pts.
4. Ross Romney, LYC, Rush Hour, 30 pts.
5. Brien Storey, SBYC, Muffin, 36 pts.
6. Daniel Males, Hold Fast, 56 pts.
7. Alexander O’Connor, LYC, Isleview, 59 pts.
8. Doug Inglis, PCYC, Buzz, 72 pts.

J29

	Several J29 finishes were as tight as the starts

The J29 class attracted 12 competitors, which I believe is the most in three years. A special thanks has to go to three boats that made the trip from Charlottetown, PEI, to swell the entry list: defending champions Dog Party, Jonefortwo, and Red Sled.

As always the event was highly competitive, with 29s repeatedly rounding marks in a train. The last couple of races in lighter conditions on Saturday were particularly notable in that respect with most of the fleet rounding each mark in packs of six or seven boats finishing within seconds of each other at the end of each races.

Notwithstanding that five different boats won at least one of the nine races, the regatta was ultimately dominated by Scotch Mist IV. Mike O’Connor and the crew of Chris MacDonald’s boat recorded four firsts and, otherwise, were out of the top three in only one race. They finished a healthy nine points up on Andrew Childs in Silver Woman, who won two races and like Mike and company was impressively consistent. Rory Macdonald and crew in Andrew Orr’s Feed Me survived a rough last day to take third. Among the rest, it is notable that Larry Creaser’s Jaeger, winner of the preceding Lunenburg regatta, slipped to sixth and the reigning Chester champs in Dog Party could do no better than eighth, despite winning the final race of the event.

1. Chris MacDonald, LYC, Scotch Mist IV, 14 pts.
2. Andrew Childs, RNSYS, Silver Woman, 23 pts.
3. Andrew Orr, RNSYS, Feed Me, 33 pts.
4. Scott/Matt Christie, BBYC, Colmonell, 37 pts.
5. Evan Petley-Jones, RNSYS, Satisfaction, 38 pts.
6. Larry Creaser, CYC, Jaeger, 41 pts.
7. John Heseltine, RNSYS, J-Zeus II9, 48 pts.
8. Terry McKenna, CYC, Dog Party, 56 pts.
9. Williams/Matthews, RNSYS, Paradigm Shift, 56 pts.
10. Ronny Switzer, ChYC,  Jonefortwo, 63 pts.
11. Mac Morrison, RNSYS, Dead Reckoning, 88 pts.
12. David McInnis, ChYC, Red Sled, 90 pts.

For the sake of background, the following details are relevant. Since of I’ve already identified Stu’s salient feature (he wants to do well), the focus here is on Dale: 

• Dale considers himself a very busy man (and sometimes is)
• Dale has a cabin cruiser called the Isle of Cumbrae that is roughly the size of the USS Forrestall
• Chester Race Week has just finished ahead of the North Americans and is a well known party with a regatta on the side but for this year was offered as a J24 tune up opportunity
• Dale is careful with his money
• Dale does the pit on Slam and likes fat and fluffy genoa sheets
• Dale has cut Slam’s deteriorating tiller twice this year, reducing its overall length from 46 to 32 inches and greatly increasing the challenge of keeping Slam sailing in a straight line without the application of superhuman G forces
• Dale is easily distracted, especially when people are talking to him.

Supporting characters are the already mentioned Lisa Ross (best supporting actress), Woody Woodford (Slam foredeck, best supporting actor), and Brien Storey (skipper of Muffin, special effects).

Hopefully, that’s enough for those of you who don’t know Dale to enjoy. For those who do, I apologize for the spoilers.

Chester is next and promises to be highly competitive.

1. Larry Creaser, CYC, Jaeger, 6 pts.
2. Chris MacDonald, LYC, Scotch Mist IV, 16 pts.
3. Andrew Childs, RNSYS, Silver Woman, 22 pts.
4. Jim Mason, RNSYS, Satisfaction, 27 pts.
5. Scott Christie, BBYC, Colmonell, 29 pts.
6. John Heseltine, RNSYS, J-Zeus II9, 32 pts.
7. Rory MacDonald, RNSYS, Feed Me, 32 pts.
8. Glen Dexter, LYC, Gosling, 33 pts.
9. Don Williams/Doug Matthews, LYC, Paradigm Shift, 42 pts.

For pictures of the event go to Lynn Grey’s Ocean Media Site.