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J27 #150 - Sailing Stories

Nut Case out for a day sail.  Quantum tape drive main and older #2

Launch Day

After a LOT of projects and work the original planned launch in late July was moved forward to prepare for first club race June 21, 2008 - the Square Compass race.  This race is the first of three races in our club championship series and a great chance to get the bugs out before our distance races on June 29 and 30.

Good weather and a brutal work schedule allowed launch on June 7, 2008.  Lots of work to do to get mast ready, boat rigged and the interior cleanup complete.  As is usually the case once the mast was up and boat launched much of the work stopped.  The Quantum tape drive main was bent on and the roller furl #1 and then I went for a sail - ready or not.  Was a lot of work single handing, no tiller holder and no place to put my coke can!  The second day was less wind than that and I found some cup holders to hang from lifelines and was very relaxing.  This boat moves in almost no wind and keeps up with a C&C99!

Observations.  The boat likes a crew.  Everything is spread out quite a distance apart.  The UK Tape Drive main is extremely difficult for one person to hoist as it has to be fed into track at same time halyard is being hauled in.  Need a second hand for tiller and easier hoist mechanism.  

Ready to raise mast and launch

First sail.  Motor won't stay up, light wind but the boat works!

Commodore Square Compass race - June 21

Our first race.  Peter showed up on helm with his friend Larry P for crew.  Larry B our foredeck guy arrived 2 hours before race.  Crew rounded out by Heather and I on mast and main.  That morning the halyards other than one genoa halyard were not yet sorted out, the uphaul/downhaul cam cleats not yet installed and the mast had not been tuned.  Larry spent 1.5 hours sorting out foredeck, I lowered roller collar and Peter and I tuned the mast.  Race time at 1PM sharp and we were still organizing the foredeck as we motored out to the start area.  One minute before start we had barely made it to the right side of the line, were just hoisting the main and had not headsail on deck.

Other boats were Shadow a modified Soling, Prospector a 2008 C&C99, Baby Bird and ODay 27 wing keel, Midnight Magic a C&C25-1, Sea Horse an Aloha 27 and Phantom a Tanzer 26.  Few of our other boats were yet launched.

We crossed the line nearly 3 minutes late and had finally managed to get a headsail on.  The sail in the bag I had asked for turned out to be #2 and not the #1 I expected (my fault) but it was working well.  After first mark we were on a reach and then decided to hoist spinnaker.  We had never even had either out of the bag before.  We soon passed the lead boat and then never looked back.  One gybe and then an upwind beat back (with the 1.5 oz mylar #1 this time) and we crossed the line 18 minutes ahead of the C&C99 - nearly 25 minutes corrected on a 90 minute race.  First race and first win.  Of course the other boats we under crewed with family and friends so were all late launching chutes and we had our race crew for a shakedown cruise but still - we were all impressed with the boat.  To make things better we determined the knot meter had been calibrated 1.3 knots too slow - I had been very frustrated by a boat that felt fast but read slow.

First Pleasure Sail - June 22

With the boat finally rigged and tuned Heather and I went out for a pure pleasure sail the next day.  Approx 10 knots of wind, sunny and warm.  These are the reasons we sail in this area!

Modicfications.  Tiller tamer.  When not in use lines run to rudder end of tiller.  Makes much easier for helmsperson to make adjustments when single handing without affecting performance when a crew is aboard.  Main luff pre feeder.  Handy gizmo that of course cost nearly $100 - makes it so a single person can easily hoist main.

Our first pleasure sail with the boat rigged

June 28 - Barrachois Harbour - Pictou 35NM

Crew was Larry on foredeck, heather on helm, Daniel on genoa and Sean helping with halyards, etc.  This would be Daniel's second time sail (first was the previous week) and Sean's first - rookie crew but maybe some keepers.  16 boats in this race including Taylor 40, Mumm 30, Olson 30, Peterson 37, C&C34, Kirby 25, 2 Tanzer 26, Beneteau 305, Ranger 26, Aloha 27, Jeneau Eolia 25, Catalina 30, 2 Tanzer 22.  Start was upwind in a light breeze - we screwed up and were again last over the line.  After about five minutes we found the groove between pointing and easing off and the boat took off as we tacked out of our Bay.  Rounding Cape John something went terribly right for us and horribly for Peterson 37 Valour and Olson 30 Ghost.  They hit a header just before the Cape with soft wind.  We rounded the cape ahead of the Olson and upwind and right behind the Peterson.  For the next 7 miles we hung right with the Peterson 37 Valour who owes us a lot of time.  I was extremely pleased with how the boat sailed in these conditions.  Then of course the wind died altogether and after 2 hours not moving many of the A boats including ourselves dropped out - we had a lobster supper to attend.  Daniel had turned out to be a quick learner and is a natural at this. results

Nut Case in Barrachois - Pictou.  Chasing Olson 30 and Mumm 30. Mylar #1 & Kevlar main

June 29 - Pictou, NS - Charlottetown, PEI - 45NM

In contrast to the day before there was wind and plenty of it.  Forecast 20-25 from SE - downwind most of the way.  Same crew as the day before with 30NM in an open Strait.  We thought we had a great start but were called back and lost some minutes restarting.  The habit of passing boats was getting old fast!  Today's fleet had dropped most of the B and C vessels and added a Henderson 30, J35, J30, C&C33-2.  Was upwind leaving Pictou and we ran 1.5 oz mylar #1 (probably should have used the heavier dacron rolling #1) until we cleared the harbour and then launched the chute.  It was blowing approx 20 knots at the time and neither Daniel nor Sean had ever flown a chute before.  Wind was off stbd quarter and as we progressed down the Strait more toward the stern.  Waves were not small to say the least.  The boat hit 10 knots and we were excited!  Then 11, 12 and eventually 13 knots!  What a ride!  Huge waves, a knot in the stomach fearing a gybe or knockdown in huge waves and exhilarating speeds.  This boat is a dream - a small boat that feels very secure while traveling very fast.  In this race Valour the Peterson tore its main Spinnaker, Fun! the C&C34 had genoa wash off foredeck in a wave resulting in a huge tear and bent bow pulpit, Vanish - Mumm 30 ripped its spinnaker.  We ended up 7th in A and 8th overall of 15 in a race that was basically a white knuckle hang on for dear life! results Click here to see photo sequence of our blown start.

13.9 knots!  Wow

July 26 - Pugwash Harbourfest, Pugwash Nova Scotia.  15NM

Pugwash is 29NM West of Barrachois Harbour on the same coast.  What makes this race challenging is that the following weekend has races Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday 35NM East of Barrachois Harbour in Pictou.  Logistics become the challenge.

Friday we transited the boat in 20-25 knots Southerly warm weather.  It was a good chance to check out the newly installed barberhaul system with the #3 and to check out Ron Joyce's new mega yacht the 171 foot Destination Fox Harb'r Too.

Saturday race was a 15NM Olympic triangle with 1.8 - 2.0NM legs twice around followed by a windward leeward.  There were only six boats ranging from a Thunderbird 26 to a Beneteau 305 with four traveling from various clubs at least 30 miles away. Our chief competition was Oh Chute! a Kirby 25 skippered by Ian Wallis out of Pictou.  After a 40 minute motor to the start we had a great start and being the fastest boat were first to the windward mark close to 3 minutes ahead of the next boat. We never really built much on that lead over the rest of the race as wind strengths increased and changed directions at interesting times.  On board we had Peter on helm, Larry B foredeck, Larry P in pit and Heather on mast while I was supposed to be on main - a good plan at least. 

At the windward mark we launched the spinnaker with no problems.  It looked like we would perform a gybe at the next mark and carry the chute two of the three legs of the triangle.  The gybe was slow at the mark and then we immediately realized the wind was too far forward to carry the chute.  Since we were still cleaning up from the gybe we were slow in dousing spinnaker and raising and trimming genoa.  We lost the gains we had made with the chute up.  Next upwind leg was uneventful as was the next launch.  We picked the angles such that we could gybe early before the next mark and then head up at the mark - of course the wind again shifted ahead at the mark and there was no way we could carry the chute again - at the same mark as last time!  We tried to douse in a hurry and there was a knot in the guy which resulted in yet another four or five scrambly minutes, a cut guy, a slow period of sail trim a wet chute and all downwind gains lost.  Ugh!  The wind had picked up so we changed to the #2 and headed back upwind again for the last time to be followed by a straight downwind to the finish.  Of course we were late to pack the chute and had to run a new guy so in our hurry the sheet snap shackle let go on launch which resulted in yet another 4 -5 minutes of mad scrambling with a chute in the water sporting a seven foot tear.  We retrieved the chute, trimmed the main and #2 then launched the other spinnaker (uneventfully this time) and completed the race.  We calculated we needed 11 - 12 minutes on the Kirby 25 and ended up with only 7.  Despite all this we finished second and had a lot of fun.  Results can be found here.

After the race was an uneventful trip home

Modifications: Added tweakers/barberhaulers port & stbd.  When reaching with #3 this is essential to pull clew toward toerail.  With spinnaker same gear can be used to choke down guy in bouncy waters or wind and to control sheet.  With the block being attached to toerail track easily adjusted.

Destination Fox Harbr Too - 171 foot LOA

Aug 1-3 - Trueman Stright Weekend.  Pictou, NS

Pictou is 34NM from Barrachois and almost 70NM from Pugwash.  Larry took the boat to Pictou on the Wednesday following the Pugwash race.  Friday was a short harbour race with two laps around a triangular course.  Larry and my two neighbours (each Jim) and I raced.  Was uneventful but we came 9th of 16.

Saturday - Pictou Island. 25NM

Counter Clockwise around Pictou Island with winds forecast SE at 20 knots and rain.  Pictou is a harbour that has narrows opening to a river and an estuary so there are strong tidal currents, back eddies, shifting winds and wind holes.  Was a fun race despite the rain with 16 boats participating.  Our lack of knowledge of the harbour currents, eddies, winds combined with lack of experience on this boat and a dirty bottom hurt us.  A learning experience with great people that demonstrated how technical a boat the J27 is to sail to its potential.  The positives were sail changes using twin foil and confidence running the boat in 20 knots in open water with chute, etc...  Also learned the sail inventory better as we tried #2 and blade both on this day.  Blade good, #2 too old and not very good upwind.  15th - ugh!  Results.

Sunday - Gull Rock Race.  20NM.

A quick hull scrub from the dock and weather forecasted to be 15-20 SE increasing to 25knots.  We started with blade on deck.  First leg would be a close reach after a short beat out of inner harbour against a rising tide and 1+ knot current.  A good start but then in the narrows some bad decisions on tacks with current caused port/stbd problems and we lost ground on other boats.  Opted for the dacron #1 as it is heavier material than the mylar #1 and was not windy enough initially to use blade.  Left the blade on deck for beat back from Gull rock.  Chute run to Gull Rock uneventful but wind was not the anticipated 20+ knots so we stowed the dacron #1 and opted for the mylar #1 for the beat back - a good choice.  Another port/stbd situation rounding the mark lost more ground and then a nice beat back to the harbour for two laps around a triangle.  Of course we once again found the hole inside the harbour and watched the other boats sail by on the stbd side of the course.  11 of 12 on this day.  All in all an pretty frustrating weekend but we won a 60 qt cooler on wheels as a draw prize and learned a lot about this boat. Results

Observations.  Dacron cruising #1 not suitable for racing and some more power needed before switching to #3 as wind comes up.  Now on wish list an All Purpose #1 that can be flown up to 15knots true wind speed.

Aug 7-9 - sail back to Barrachois and Amet Island Race - 18NM

On Thursday Heather and I motored back to Toney River - mid way from Pictou to Barrachois.  Of course it rained again on the way.  By the time we arrived it was sunny so we anchored in 5 feet of water on a sandbar and I jumped in with scrub brush, mask and snorkel to finally clean the bottom properly.  Friday I sailed and motored in light wind back to Barrachois solo. A great chance to practice sail trim in light wind with mylar #1 and main.

Saturday dawned to pounding rain and no wind.  Typical for the week.  I dragged myself out of bed and then picked up Larry at the ferry terminal and headed to the boat.  The Amet Island race is a 20NM affair that is mostly sailed inside our Bay and then out and around an island with a 4 mile leg in the Northumberland Strait as we round the island and back to our club.  Two boats cancelled before the race but five did show up meaning the race was official.  Daniel cancelled at last minute and with other crew canceling it was Larry, Bill and myself.  At the skippers meeting there was no wind at all but by the start there was just under 5 knots.  The race consisted of a 7 mile beat out of the Bay followed by a close spinnaker reach on stbd tack North of Island and a close spin reach on port tack back to finish.  For once the rain ended just before the race and we sailed for five hours in the sun.  The boat was moving well and in a race that started with about 4 knots breeze for 1st hour and picked up to about 8 knots for remainder of race we sailed to a first overall.  Only five boats but the previous week our sailing would have probably placed us 10th of five.  Results

Aug 30, 31 - Earle Forshner Regatta - Part 2 of Club Championship Series

The Square Compass Race was the first of three races in a best of two Championship series.  We had won that race so had high hopes for this series.  Saturday was beautiful conditions - 12 knots wind and sunny.  Unfortunately only Heather and me on the boat so we finished mid pack - 7th.  Is certainly a lot of work for two people to race this boat with full inventory - even with lightish winds.  Still was fun.

Sunday we had a great crew lined up.  Heather on helm, me on main and cockpit, Bill Foley (over 70 and still keen) on genoa trim, Bill Stright and Shawn MacDonald of Pictou (competing skippers and great sailors) on foredeck and mast.  Race started with extremely light winds on a downwind leg.  Boats were barely moving in approx 4 knots breeze.  A reach to the next mark had a tight chute reach followed by close reach under #1 genoa.  Was maybe 8-10 knots wind.  Another spinnaker reach to the following mark followed by a 3 mile upwind beat to finish.  As we approached the finish (approx 1/2 mile) we saw ominous dark clouds - so we put on our rain gear.  Winds came with lots of rain.  Soon we were up to 20knots wind still flying our light #1.  We had hoped to carry it to the finish but had to change to the #3 to save the sail and depower the boat.  Winds now up to 36 knots True in gusts.  The sail change was done with a brief period of bare headsail in interest of safety and probably cost us 3rd in the race.  We finished with full main, #3 and smiles all round in a pouring rain with lightning flashing continuously a couple miles away.  A fitting end to our 2008 racing season.  Most of the fleet dropped out of the race but four finished - with us 4th by less than 1/2 minute.  This gave us 4.75 points on the championship series to Prospector's 4.0 (two seconds).  A third would have given us the club championship - but Prospector deserved it as they finished with their #1 still up on their C&C99.

Observations:  Boat handles a breeze very well with main and #3. Of course we already suspected that.  #1 mylar genoa nearly lost as wind piped up.  It cannot handle more than 12knots True Wind Speed and will be destroyed if left up after that.  

Approaching BHYC2 in light wind - Spin reach below

Below - Wind increased from 10 knots to gusts 36 knots in 10 minutes

Over 30 knots wind with #3 - waves not yet built up

Prospector - C&C99 - finishing race with wind 36 knots in flat water with #1 and full main