J/22 Midwinters Begin

Part Two of a Four Part Series

(Saturday, Feb 18) For most of the 48 boats sailing the J/22 Midwinters at Houston YC, the first day of racing on Friday began with a trip to the Kolius Equipment trailer to stock up on all the fancy fleece and rubber gloves they carried. While everyone was expecting a nice 70-75 degree regatta (like we had for our practice day Thursday), a nasty front pushed through and 50 degree highs and 15-20 mph breeze was the prediction.

Truth be told, the racing on Friday was not nearly as bad as the forecast, with the breeze being a comfortable 8-12 mph. It was shifty for sure, and required working - and then winning your side - to position well at the top mark. The scores were up and down for most people as a result, except for fellow Annapolitan Dave Van Cleef and his VC Performance Rigging team. They pegged the day well with a 2,7,1. Their secret seemed to be consistent, conservative starts, and rarely getting stuck in the middle. It was definitely one of those "tough to cross the middle" days. They also prepared exceptionally well, practicing a good 6-8 hours before the racing began! In second is Eric Faust, Scott Young in third, Max Scott in fourth, and Scott Nixon in fifth.

Our team with Annapolis J/22 ace Todd Hiller, my wife Jo Ann, and top local C420 sailor Robby Baldridge wound up 8th for the day. We found that marginal starts pinged us back to the middle where we struggled in traffic. Interestingly, one usually tries to stay near the middle and away from the edges! Our highlight for the day was picking up our van after it spent 3 days with a local mechanic. No road trip finishes up without a little excitement.... and maybe a new transmission!

I'd like to describe in my next report a little bit of our feelings about Houston YC and the sailing conditions. I am very impressed with the club. The people have been so kind and welcoming, the launching facilities look like they could easily handle a 100 J/24's (which they might have in April for the Nationals), and there is plenty of parking for cars and trailers. As we have learned, the sailing conditions here can throw anything at you - on Thursday we had a nice SSE straight down the bay - true boat speed sailing. Yesterday, however, when the breeze turned around, the Bay provided some challenging lake style conditions.

All in all, a great spot, but we're not quite sure about the temperatures today. Taking a look at the Saturday forecast, it is calling for a high of 45 degrees is predicted with 15-20mph! – Greg Fisher

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