(San Francisco, CA)- The annual salute to all things “J”, the St
Francis YC’s J-Fest got a well needed shot in the arm this year with the
addition of the J/111's and J/70's. A staple of the StFYC spring series
for decades, the J-Fest originally featured dozens of J24's, J-30's and
the then, elite J-35's. The fleet of these boats have lessened in years
gone by and the introduction of the J/105's in 1991, the J/120 in 2000
enabled the J-Fest to enjoy a bit of a resurgence. Fast forward to 2014,
the addition of the new J-Speedsters, the J/111s and the J/70s, were a
welcome new addition to the regatta.The fleet of forty-eight boats were treated to “beyond glam” conditions. Starting with sunny, cloudless mornings, the StFYC PRO kept the fleet in the cozy confines of the harbor until 11am under harbor postponement. As soon as the first whispers of the sea-breeze wafted in under the Golden Gate Bridge, StFYC PRO John Craig sent the fleet out to the starting line just off Alcatraz Island and the magnificent San Francisco city-front. It is hard to imagine a more fun and challenging race course than having to divine the ins-and-outs of traversing tide-lines and playing wind streaks funneling over the peninsula’s headlands down through San Francisco Bay.
"We are expecting eight J/111's for the Vallejo Race", said Drew Harper who was tugging on lines aboard Roland Vandermeer's BIG BLAST, which had consistently superb results over the weekend especially considering it was their 1st regatta. "We were very pleased with the results of not only our boat but also the turnout of the regatta. Additionally the Bay Area fleet is expected to grow to 10 boats by April 29 as BAD DOG joins the fleet, going to former J-120 owner Dick Swanson, and another J-111 named BLAST is en route from Nova Scotia”.
"Roland is no slouch at the helm,” says Bill Colombo, who was calling tactics on board BIG BLAST. "Roland has done well on other boats, and his new J/111, just arrived from the Great Lakes where it achieved 3rd in last year's J-111 North Americans. Andy McCormack is running the program and is doing a very good job." Bill is no newby to the J-111 having sailed on Frank Slootman's original INVISIBLE HAND, J-111 hull #4, and sailing in the aforementioned NA's last year and the Verve Cup.
Commented Bill, “We got the J/111 because it is the perfect combination of fun to sail with family and friends and it is a blast to race. It is very agile and quick to respond. It is very easy to sail and still requires a good team to drive fast and hard. The first regatta proved this all and the fleet dynamics and people look great! Andy has sailed with me before and we just threw some friends together to race and it worked well. We still have so much to learn about all the modes of the boat, but not a bad set up for first time out.” Sailing photo credits- Erik Simonson Sailing photos credits- Chris Ray For more J/Fest sailing information
