Wednesday through Sunday
July 30th – August 3, 2008
Chairman: Marylyn Hoenemeyer
310.472.3577 or 310.617.3870
J80NA@roadrunner.com
DAILY REPORTS by Tom Leweck
DAY THREE
Light air was once again the order of the day, for the final two races of the J/80 NAs … but with an unusual twist. At the scheduled time for the warning signal, the breeze was coming from 200-210 – far left from the normal direction. PRO Tom O’Conor postponed the start for about 15 minutes, hoping the wind might shift a bit to the right before sending the fleet up the course. That didn’t happen, so O'Conor had the weather mark placed at 205 degrees and started the sequence in 7-knots of wind.
No one was surprised when the wind clocked 30 degrees in the next 25 minutes, but those boats who positioned themselves properly on the course to take advantage of that shift were launched. The first three finishers were the top three boats in the standings. More importantly, however, Bruno Pasquinelli’s second place finish was more than good enough to insure that his Tiamo had won the championship without even needing to sail the eighth and final race.
That set the stage for the final race which became a duel between Kerry Klinger from Larchmont, New York and CYC’s Curt Johnson – a duel to see who would occupy the second spot on the podium. It was an intense race from start to finish, but in the last few feet of the race course, Klinger passed Ed Cummins’ Bold Forbes by inches to take second place. Johnson’s fifth place finish in that race put him into a tie with Klinger – a tie that was broken in favor of Klinger to give the New York team second place, with Johnson settling for third.
DAY TWO
The second day of the J/80 North American Championship had a decidedly different look than Day One. The sun made a late appearance – showing up only for the third and final race of the day. As a result, the sea breeze had a difficult time grabbing a solid hold, so the winds were lighter and much shifter than the fleet experienced during the previous three races on Day One. Most of the racing took place in 6-8 knots of wind. However, the pressure varied considerably over the race course, which helped shuffle the pecking order a bit at mark roundings.
But there were at least a couple of constants. Bruno Pasquinelli’s Tiamo – the boat that has occupied the top spot in the standings since the opening race – and defending champion Kerry Klinger, always started near the pin, and more often than not both worked the left side of the course on the weather legs. Tiamo looked very fast going upwind, and has now opened up a six-point lead on the leaderboard.
Curt Johnson from the host club seemed much less baffled by the shifty conditions than many of the other competitors. Johnson was never dueling with Pasquinelli or Klinger for the pin at the start but consistently was able to find a comfortable hole on the starting line so he was always able to sail his own race. Johnson “won” Day Two with finishes of 1-2-4, and is now in second place. At the same time, Klinger took a 40% penalty for an issue at the leeward gate with Pasquinelli in race five of the series, and is now in third place – five points behind Johnson
Although a throw-out has now kicked in for scoring purposes, it would be shortsighted to overlook the fact that Tiamo’s worst race is only a fourth – four points less than that of any other boat in the fleet. This fact will not be lost on Bruno Pasquinelli’s team as they go into the final two races of the championship on Sunday.
DAY ONE
A casual observer on the water watching the first day of the J/80 North American Championship, might easily have gotten the impression that Bruno Pasquinelli from the Fort Worth Boat Club in Texas was giving a seminar. Pasquinelli's Tiamo won the first race of the series rather easilty and although he needed to pass a boat or two on the first run of the second race, after two races he was still undefeated. He and his crew seemed very comfortable in the 7-9 knots of breeze in which both of those races were sailed, and seemed happy to start each race at or near the pin and protect the left side of the course upwind.
The third and final race of Day One had a bit more breeze, but once again Pasquinelli started at the pin and protected the left side, which rewarded him with yet another first place rounding at the weather mark. However, on the second beat, the left side magic deserted him. Steven Hammerman, also from the Dallas area, hit the right corner on that beat in a breeze that built to 11 knots...and was several boat lengths ahead of Tiamo at the top mark. Hammerman's Hammertime held on to that lead to win the third race and move into a tie for third place with defending North American Champion Kerry Klinger from Larchmont, New York. However, after three races, Pasquinelli sits comfortably at the head of the pack with a five point lead over Ed Cummin's very consistent (3-2-4) Bold Forbes, steered by Mike Sturman, with Hammertime and Klinger's Infiniti two points further back.
Three more races are scheduled for Saturday with the final two races on Sunday. The weather? Look for more 7-11 knots of breeze with bright sunshine and temperatures in the mid-70s.