GAMBLER Rolls the Dice and Wins!(Block Island, RI- June 22-26)- Ten J/122s showed up at Block Island Race Week to compete for the inaugural J/122 North American Championship, hosted by Storm Trysail Club's Race Committee on the White Course. An enormous variety of wind conditions both challenged and bedeviled the competitors over the five day event-- everything from 15-30 knot winds and towering breaking waves to flat water and light to moderate breezes. Certainly, whomever triumphed over the others would get a well-deserved wind considering the extraordinary variety of wind, waves, current thrown at them. In the end, Doug Shaffer and crew from Bayview, TX on-board GAMBLER threw down the gauntlet and with a bit of lady luck, took all the marbles home with them. Coming up short on the last two races were David Askew's FLYING JENNY VI from Annapolis, MD, missing the top of the podium by only three points after a disappointing fourth and eighth at the end. Just off the pace was Bill Coates and crew from Bellaire, TX on OTRA VEZ finishing third.
Doug Shaffer's GAMBLER had three points to make up on Thursday's leader FLYING JENNY VI, skippered by David Askew. GAMBLER accomplished that at the first weather mark when all the boats converged at the same time. "Everybody was ducking boats; we were in fifth place and jibed out to the left and picked up three boats (to finish second)," said Shaffer. "That was the regatta right there. FLYING JENNY had to take more boats at that mark (and finished eighth for second overall)." Shaffer, who has owned a number of different J boats over the years, says this is the first time he has won a regatta on a national level and gave credit to his crew, which included co-helmsman Eric Olving (Long Branch, N.J.) and tactician Jay Lutz (Seabrook, Texas).
Mike Bruno's Report on the eve of the final races Friday: "1st place and 3rd place will be hotly contested today—1st is between FLYING JENNY (great people from Annapolis—next to us on dock) and GAMBLER (nice folks as well from Houston)—both boat
s are extremely well sailed, and 3rd between the other Texas boat, OTRA VEZ, and WINGS. We have sailed well but did not deserve to place above FLYING JENNY or GAMBLER—both boats have been sailed flawlessly all week by extremely talented folks— quite impressive. Racing has been excellent and the fleet is pretty darn strong. Pete Dupont’s new boat is fast and very well sailed. The newest J/122, PUGWASH, with Larry Leonard aboard is improving daily and will ultimately be very well sailed, ditto PLUM CRAZY from Annapolis— a strong J/105 sailor previously. The J/122 owners are all quite enthused about their boats and we are getting pretty big press here. The J/122 is clearly considered one of the hottest one-designs out there at Block Island Race Week—many questions and much praise from the crowd about the boats—a lot of folks want one."