(Montego Bay, Jamaica)- The Jamaica J/22 Class had a fabulous third meet
in Montego Bay. The second meet was a hoot, but the third one was even
better- we called it the "Hannah Montana" special. We had six races in
5 to 25 kt winds. For the most part there were three race per day with
at most two hours on the water per day. Too short, you say? Well, here in MoBay we take most kindly to the most "considerate" sailing imaginable. After all, it's beautiful here. The people are beautiful, too. And, they are simply wonderful and laid back. Don't believe us? Please come down and join us, mon! Be assured, we can show you a good time!
So,
here's an example of how we sail-- There should be no such thing as a
‘close call’ in a port-starboard that doesn’t result in a protest and
this past weekend people realized that as port boat in close quarters
they must either tack and (preferably) lee bow, or duck. A good duck
can only mean that the chances are the roles will be reversed at the
next encounter further up the course!!The fleet was very conservative at the start on both days with ZIPPER playing at the port end and clearing easily across the fleet on a couple of occasions.
Once
again a square short start line, with excellent race management from
Evelyn Harrington and Robbin Delisser, the fleet was able to enjoy a
focus on extremely close racing. The only thing persistent for the
whole weekend was that there was no right or wrong on the way up the
course and 20 degree shifts were the norm. Those that could capitalize
gained big and those that couldn’t - well, next time. Boat speed helped
but as RENEGADE proved with her oldest sails pointing the bow in the
right direction ensured a place well up in the fleet was really
possible.Sunday’s racing had everyone in the bar within 2.5 hours albeit with rain preventing the boats from coming out of the water. There is so much positive energy and reaction to the impetus we can only hope that Montego Bay can generate as much participation in Kingston in the coming months.
Thanks to "Hanna Montana" for the title and a pink beach ball picked up during a downwind leg on "Renegade" which even has a little bell in it!! Cool runnings, dudes, kids will love this one! Sailing photo credits- Evelyn Harrington For more Royal Jamaica YC and J/22 Montego Bay sailing information
