J/22 Midwinters: Closing Day

Part Four in a Four Part Series
Well, if we thought Saturday was cold, Sunday morning the temperature was a whopping 41 degrees as we were rigging the boats for the final day at the J/22 Midwinters. The Weather Channel indicated at 9am the wind chill was 33 degrees. The fleet shrank a bit as several felt the conditions to be a bit marginal. Even some of the top boats felt it not in their best interest to weather the chill...Eric Faust, second place after Friday's racing and Texas sailmaker Bill Draheim were two of the top contenders to pack it in.

However, I must say as we sailed out the channel, the 8-10 mph breeze really didn't feel as tough as we had expected. Since we were dressed for a trek across the Antarctic, we found it not that unbearable. I thought the water was nearly flat when out of nowhere a rogue wave crested just above my wife, Jo Ann, on the bow and in very slow motion, dumped quite a load right down her neck. I thought I saw some ice left clinging to her hat...but that quickly turned to steam so it was hard to tell.

The racing Sunday turned out to be really challenging. It was good sailing but even shiftier than Friday. We were learning that it was imperative to be near the left at the top end of the beat, and sometimes the right paid at the bottom. When, and how you were able to cross the middle had a huge effect on where you finished. And like Friday, a poor start pushed you back to middle and away from the favored sides (not the way the books say to attack the beat). Rob Johnston and Terry Flynn did the best jobs of staying most consistent but it was Kelson Elam who, with a 8,1, earned the scores that brought him into a tie with Friday’s leader Dave Van Cleef, and then win overall on the tie breaker. Kelson is from Dallas, has been second in several major J/22 events and is always one of the very top contenders. A major win like this was overdue and well deserved.

Our team felt good with a 3rd in the first race Sunday after coming back from a mediocre start. For us, the big gainers came from sailing downwind near the middle, and the rhumbline, while much of the fleet spread towards the laylines. However, in the second race, we seriously underutilized a nice, clean start, and eventually worked our way back into scoring our throw out.

While there was some discussion about the cancellation of the third race and sending us in (the sailing really became pretty nice), everyone soon realized that once again a wise decision had been made by the Houston YC race committee. Their wisdom gave everyone the opportunity to make the trophy presentation and hit the road by 4pm. I know everyone will agree that HYC did an outstanding job in making this chilly event still the huge success it was. In addition to providing a perfect onshore facility for a big one design fleet such as the J/22, the club members made you truly feel welcome - true Southern hospitality. It was a great event in spite of the weather.

Jo Ann and I were pleased to be on the road at 4:30pm after dropping our teammate, Todd Hiller at the airport. Our plan was to drive nearly straight through so we might arrive home Monday evening. I was looking forward to one of those bonding experiences that only develop after driving 24 hours with your co-pilot.

As stated earlier in this blog, no road trip is complete without a little action and adventure...and this time it happened as we made a sharp turn on Rt 65 in Mobile, AL during rush hour. I am not sure I really knew what a serpentine belt was until that moment when it shredded and flew off. Our dashboard idiot lights lit up like a pinball machine. Without power steering I felt like Tom Cruise in "Days of Thunder," nearly grazing the outside cement wall. Soon I realized that this belt also drives the fan and water pump...and we quietly coasted and gurgled off to the side of the road.

I have to tell you, if you don't have AAA, you gotta get it. We called the 800# and in 45 minutes we had been pulled to our tow truck driver's best buddy's repair shop. Three hours or so later, we were back on the road heading towards Annapolis, and an hour later AAA called back to check to make sure we had been treated satisfactorily!

The remainder of our trip was totally uneventful and we made it home safe and sound early Tuesday morning. If you think you might develop some serious bonding after driving 24 hours with your "co-pilot," wait 'till you bump it up to 38 hours. – Greg Fisher

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