"Team J/92" in the Pacific Cup

[Ragtime!]

Two San Francisco Bay J/92 owners have teamed up to race doublehanded to Hawaii:  Tracy Rogers, owner of "Relentless" (#93) and Bob Johnston, owner of "Ragtime!" (#18).  As a two-time solo TransPac veteran, Rags has the offshore gear so she gets to go.  Our start is at "high noon" on July 8th off the St. Francis Yacht Club.  We're racing in the "Kolea" division of faster DH boats.

Since much of the race is deep downwind surfing in the tradewinds, the primary performance modification is a long pole (with a spare) to square back the spinnaker tack.  Otherwise the major prep work was bringing the boat up to Category 1 offshore requirements.  The boat passed inspection two weeks ago with no deficiencies and is ready to go.

You can read about the race here.

[Joe Cooper]

On Jun 23, 2014, at 12:04 PM, 'Ragtime!' via J/92 Owners wrote:

Bob,

Off to sea again eh?

Well done

A question re. downwind, I read your email as your planning to use to use "A" kites and guy them aft on a pole longer than J, closer to JC?

Are you using a kite different to the usual ones you sail with on the sprit? A speciality sail as it were?

If so what is the PHRF hit for this?

And might it be less if you set to symmetrical kites in this condition?

On Narraganset Bay, there is no rating hit for using either an a "A" sail on CL OR round sails, unless the pole is oversize relative to J.

Thoughts?

Coop

Two San Francisco Bay J/92 owners have teamed up to race doublehanded to Hawaii:  Tracy Rogers, owner of "Relentless" (#93) and Bob Johnston, owner of "Ragtime!" (#18).  As a two-time solo TransPac veteran, Rags has the offshore gear so she gets to go.  Our start is at "high noon" on July 8th off the St. Francis Yacht Club.  We're racing in the "Kolea" division of faster DH boats.

Since much of the race is deep downwind surfing in the tradewinds, the primary performance modification is a long pole (with a spare) to square back the spinnaker tack.  Otherwise the major prep work was bringing the boat up to Category 1 offshore requirements.  The boat passed inspection two weeks ago with no deficiencies and is ready to go.

You can read about the race here.

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[Ragtime!]

Hey Coop!  Here are Relentless and Ragtime! doing some ratings analysis with some borrowed sails:

Yes, it's a long pole.  Deets in a few days - after the final ratings meeting this week :)

[John Greenaway]

And in UK waters too! Great commitment to bring both boats over her to test :-)

[Colin Mann]

Dang. I KNEW that's what we looked like downwind. I just KNEW it!

Sent from my Galaxy S4

[Joe Cooper]

Geeze you went to MH kites too, but I reckon your rating is gonna be up there with an AC boat.....

I ask for lots of reasons not the least of which is what I think you are proposing/planning is exactly how I rigged my Mini in, oh 1994...

well before everyone else. 

Minis at the time were largely still symmetrical kites on 2 x J poles, (but since no rating issues it was a free for all)

My sprit was at the time only 5 feet so not even 2 x J (7.66 feet) so still pretty conservative by todays Mini standards

For what it is worth this method worked like a champ for me.

I could sail angles when needed and as breeze comes on, pole back and sail deeper.

I was chuffed to see the AC boats follow suit the next year.....

Keep me posted please.

Cheers

C

[Ragtime!]

"I could sail angles when needed and as breeze comes on, pole back and sail deeper."

Eggzactly.  A non-planing CL assym boat has a tough time in a Hawaii race, especially shorthanded (you can't grind enough on the surfs; well maybe YOU can).  This will widen the groove significantly.

Ironically, my regular PHRF rating went UP - from 105 to 108 - but this race doesn't use regular PHRF ratings so like they say on Faceplant, "it's complicated."

[Ragtime!]

Technology sucks.

That is all . . .

[Todd Aven]

That is very true, but clearly that is not all. Do tell! :-)

On 7/6/2014 1:13 PM, 'Ragtime!' via J/92 Owners wrote:

Technology sucks.

That is all . . .

[Joe Cooper]

Bob,

Come on, 'fess up....

A J92 is, compared to a boat from even the 50's a nice bit of technology, so come on, your are among friends here, tell all....:)

[Ragtime!]

I'm on the run (we start tomorrow) but regarding the techno stuff, I spent more time getting the satphone and iPids talking with each other than ANY other part of the race prep.  This is so we can get GRIBs and if necessary, use e-mail as a backup check-in method (to the venerable old SSB).  I must be right-brained and the rest of the techno world is left-brained (or vice-versa).  Anyway, it's all good now.  I have a big bag full of rigging bits (blocks. etc.) and an ever bigger bag of chargers for all the devices!  Crazy . . .

Oh yeah, we've got a Yellow Brick too so if you want, you can watch us try to lug all this crap to Hawaii:  pacificcup.org

Bob J.

[Joe Cooper]

Oh, 

So it sounds like a normal ocean race circa 2014.....

[Colin Mann]

Fair winds and following seas Bob! We'll be watching.
Colin

Sent from my Galaxy S4

[John Madey]

Good luck, sail safe and sail fast!

[di...@pronkstudio.nl]

Go for it Bob! 

(I'll be sailing from Holland to France/Cherbourg myself this weekend, no banana-skirts waiting for me though, vin rouge instead)

---

Dick Heijdra

Pronk.

Heemraadssingel 170

3021DL Rotterdam

010 767 01 20

[EC]

A lot of folks "racing" with you here Bob!  : )  Go fast!

EC

[John Forster]

Good luck and be safe. John 

[Scott Ellis]

Go Ragtime!!!!!

[Ragtime!]

We're back.  The boat isn't yet, due to "Iselle" and "Julio."  A couple photos are below, one leaving the Gate (Copyright Leslie Richter at Rockskipper) and one playing with the A2 on the pole.

A full write-up, including an explanation of our dropping out of the race, is here:

PressureDrop Pacific Cup article.

[John]

Bob,

Glad you made it back safe!   Always a tough call to drop out of a distance race but sometimes you get dealt a bad hand.   I have been in your position and it's heartbreaking.  Start prepping for the next one...

John

Sent from my iPad

[John]

BTW how long is that pole and what ratings hit did you take for it?

John

Sent from my iPad

[furkolkjaaf]

Great write-up Bob ! One question - when under Z, was X working in vane or magnetic mode...
Max - Furkolkjaaf

[Ragtime!]

The pole is 14.5' long and I modified the sprit (via a temporary strop) so JSP was also limited to 14.5'.  Using the sprit at full extension with a 17' long pole would have cost 12 sec/mile.  The 14.5' JSP with square-able pole cost 4-6 sec/mile depending how you sliced it.  Note this is not regular PHRF - smaller boats in the Pacific Cup are rated under a secret, quasi-ORR rule so they can be scored against the big boats.  If you wanted to compete for the Pacific Cup itself (first overall on corrected time) you even had to have the boat weighed and its waterplane length measured.

Max, we were only able to use the X-5 in compass mode - the boat wandered excessively in vane mode.  I need to look into that before doing another long solo race.  Vane mode has worked fine in the past.

[furkolkjaaf]

Thanx Bob ciao Max