J/30 FRICTION LOSS 2nd!
(San Francisco-Oahu- July 5th)- From the very first day of sailing, it was clear that Shawn Ivie's J/30 FRICTION LOSS was going to be a contender in their class blowing across the Pacific Ocean at breakneck speed to prove the venerable J/30 does indeed have the ability to surf all day long across enormous Pacific swells and be a contender. In the end, trading off an early lead ultimately led to a well-deserved second in class. The real surprise, perhaps, was the performance of Jim Brainerd's J/35c BRAINWAVES, getting a very hard-earned fourth in class! One has to remember, while the SC50s/52s swept the top spots, perhaps as well they should since they were purpose-built to be offshore sleds. The J/30 and J/35c were never designed to spend 100% of the time sliding downhill, instead proving yet again that a solid, all-round boat that can go uphill as well as downhill can still remain competitive after years of offshore sailing.In the J/42 "legend that continues to grow" category, Scott Dickinson's J/42 TIKI J also managed a 4th in his class, not bad for a non-TransPac lead-sled! Meanwhile, having a tough go "sledding" against the reaching/ running machines were Sean Mulvihill's J/120 JAMANI (7th in class), Scott Campbell's J/46 RIVA ( 4th in class!) and John Macphail's J/160 JAM (6th in class)...all respectable finishes for true racer-cruisers. For more Pacific Cup sailing and tracking info.