(Lake Champlain, Vermont)-
They're having a ball sailing in Switzerland, Lake Champlain, Barnegat
Bay, Naples and eastern United Kingdom! Recently, we got a nice note
from a passionate J/95 owner on Lake Champlain in northern Vermont-- a
spectacular body of water that goes for a million miles north and south
and forms the border between upper New York state and the long, tall
skinny state of Vermont. The sailing is awesome and the vistas of lush
New England foliage and the mountainous valleys on either side can be
breathtaking. It's truly one of those gems hidden in the American
northeast that few in the sailing world ever joy to its fullest.Meanwhile, for a bunch of local sailors, they have this giant lake all to themselves on incredibly spectacular days! One of them happens to be Dana Bolton, a proud new owner of a J/95 called SWISH based in Charlotte, Vermont. Said Dana, "note- here is a happy J/95 owner picture. This was last Tuesday on Lake Champlain. Winds were 15-25 kts. With a reefed main and 105 jib, we got the speedo up to 10.5 knots on a broad reach. On Wednesday, with similar winds, we got her up to 11.9 knots with the A4 spinnaker in 20-25 knots (with only 2 of us on board). I am on the mainsheet in this photo (with the huge smile!). My friend Simon from London (a very good dinghy sailor) is on the wheel.
I
retired in June after 26 years of lawyering in NYC and bought J/95 #26
("Swish") as a retirement gift for myself. I grew up sailing on the
shallow waters of Great South Bay of Long Island and was intrigued with
the J/95 as a shoal draft performance boat. I sail Swish on Lake
Champlain in Vermont, were shoal draft is not required, but I fell in
love with the cockpit and sweet looks of the J/95 (I don't sleep on
boats and wanted a cockpit with seats that works well for both
sailing/racing and non-sailing friends). I also do a lot of
single-handing, and the wheel with a simple wheel auto pilot makes that
very easy. That said, the boat tracks so well that I only use the auto
pilot when under power to stow dock lines/fenders and raise and lower
sails, and when sailing down wind to forward and set the spinnaker.I entered some casual races this season with mixed but improving results as I got to know the boat and Lake better, made local sailing friends and got them out on Swish, and revived my sailing skills. The season is nearly over and I can't wait to enter more races next year!"
