(The Netherlands)- Every year, a popular race continues to get even more
popular. Wonder why? Because it's different! It's NOT a
windward-leeward. It rewards fun, perseverance and a bit of luck. You
go sailing in a 24 hour race that measures how you perform against
yourself and others-- based on an index of "100" (+/-). Plus, like the
San Francisco SSS (Single-handed Sailing Society) "Three Bridge Fiasco"
sailed every February on San Francisco Bay, you get your choice of
starting venues and how to round each mark!The J/80s NJORD and and QUICK & DIRTY prepared and worked very hard for their 24-hour race on the "great lakes" in the Netherlands. In the past, the small and large J's always scored well and that is, of course, mainly due to the favorable sail area / weight ratio of the J's. The NJORD looked well poised to do well with an enormous Code Zero on board. But, the Q&D TEAM had a dream team on-board, including the infamous "Janpiet" as speed coach! Nevertheless, as the crews always know, everything will always be decided on the water!
How did it all turnout for the teams? Well, as good as it gets for 24 hours of sailing on a J/80! On the Q&D, the team began Friday afternoon with a well-filled pasta salad prepared by Coach JP-- who is a good speed coach, but maybe a better chef!! The first leg for Q&D was amazing-- yes, the spinnaker also works well in the dark and one of the finest, fastest legs for Q&D was from racing marks "KG" to "SPORT-A"-- a leg of around 15nm. Amazingly, they covered that leg on Friday night in around an hour or two with an average speed of 12-13 knots!! The NJORD started in Kornwerderzand and Q&D in Muiden-- but, the results were very close together. Both boats sailed an average of 102.6% and 103.9% of their predicted VPP's, respectively!! Cool! J/80 teams had fun, yet again on this great race! For more J/80 Netherlands 24 Hours Race
|
