Friday, November 21, 2014

J/122E Bombay Race Winner!

J/122e sitting at anchor off Bombay, India(Bombay, India)- Recently, a brand-new J/122E was delivered to her owners in Bombay, India.  That it was an enormous undertaking to simply get the boat launched and sailing would be worthy of “Sisyphian” feats of wonder and tall tales that would be repeated in many local saloons along the commercial waterfront of Bombay.  The combination of Sunil Lobo of J/India and Jim Johnstone of J/Boats Asia had to work wonders with the local Indians to offload, rig and get the boat sailing; then spend considerable time getting her up to speed. Here is the report from Jim J on the Far Side of the Pacific:

J/122e launch off Bombay, India commercial docks“Nandan (the new J/122E owner) called to say they were excited about winning their first race on their J/122E in Bombay.  The other boats were using spinnakers and his J/122 doesn’t even have one yet!  He said the next closest boat was about a mile behind him.  The breeze was about 17 knots and he was working with the targets, making sure they didn't let the boat go faster then 7.6 kts upwind.  He said that he was noticeably higher then everyone else racing and was completely thrilled, especially against a well-sailed local Nautor Swan 57.

This was quite a remarkable feat considering how it all came together in the first place.  After spending several days in the commercial port of Bombay, we were in a rush to get the boat off the docks and over to Gateway Harbor in downtown Bombay.  Facilities in Bombay are difficult, but there are options.  As you can see in this photo here, this might have been the most expensive way of handling the boat- easily the largest crane that has ever launched a J/Boat??  If you would believe it, this crane was also used for the mast installation!  You’d be amazed at how precise and accurate these crane operators are from such a high vantage point!

Nandan and friends sailing J/122 off Bombay, IndiaOverall, Nandan is very happy with the boat.  He loves buzzing his friends and sailing past them with a few knots of additional boat speed.  Since we have been doing that for the past weeks along with practicing on the boat, the activity on the J/122E has been creating a bit of a stir around the club. As a bit of a backgrounder, he owned a MacGregor 26, then a Hanse 33, and now the J/122E. He could not be happier.

The best way of explaining the experience with the J/122E in India is the smiles you see on the guy driving, Nandan and Sunil are always there!!  They loved the boat. The ease of sailing it. The power it offered and the comfort with bringing out friends to show of the new boat.

The current rig tune is set-up for about 20 knots of wind.  Average daily wind conditions in the area are between 12-17 kts in the afternoon.  Needless to say, the results speak for themselves.  Hopefully, Nandan and crew enjoy more opportunities to win silverware in the future!”