Saturday, April 20, 2013

J/Fest San Francisco Preview

J/105s sailing San Francisco Bay- in front of St Francis YC(San Francisco, CA)- This year's J/Fest hosted by St Francis Yacht Club has another strong turnout of San Francisco Bay area J/Teams.  Leading the way is perhaps one of the strongest J/105 fleets in the country followed by the always competitive J/120 class on the Bay.  In addition, the J/70s are making their debut in this year's event and will be sailing alongside their stablemates, a fleet of a half-dozen J/24s.

For the J/105 teams, there's a likelihood that you may see past Rolex Big Boat Series Champions like Scooter Simmons on BLACKHAWK, Bruce Stone on ARBITRAGE and Adam Spiegle on JAM SESSION amongst the leaders.

J/120 one-design offshore cruiser racer- sailing San Francisco BayThe J/120s have such an evenly matched fleet it's well-nigh impossible to forecast a fleet leader as nearly all of the boats have won some regatta or another over the course of time.  In any event, you should see amongst the leaders Barry Lewis's CHANCE, John Wimer's DESDEMONA, Dick Swanson's GRACE DANCES and Steve Madeira's MR MAGOO.

Familiar faces should also be amongst the leaders in the J/24s, including Darren Cumming's DOWNTOWN UPROAR, Mike Whitfield's TMC RACING and  Rich Jepsen's RAIL TO RAIL.

As for the J/70s, it will be interesting to see how their first San Francisco Bay regatta ends up for the competitors.  Amongst them are Jim Cascino's EOS, Chris Andersen's OLD AND IN THE WAY and Mark Nelsen's SUGOI.  Sailing photo credits- Rolex/ Daniel Forster.   For more J/Fest San Francisco sailing information