(Bombay, India)- Recently, a brand-new J/122E was delivered to her
owners in Bombay, India. That it was an enormous undertaking to simply
get the boat launched and sailing would be worthy of “Sisyphian” feats
of wonder and tall tales that would be repeated in many local saloons
along the commercial waterfront of Bombay. The combination of Sunil
Lobo of J/India and Jim Johnstone of J/Boats Asia had to work wonders
with the local Indians to offload, rig and get the boat sailing; then
spend considerable time getting her up to speed. Here is the report from
Jim J on the Far Side of the Pacific:
“Nandan
(the new J/122E owner) called to say they were excited about winning
their first race on their J/122E in Bombay. The other boats were using
spinnakers and his J/122 doesn’t even have one yet! He said the next
closest boat was about a mile behind him. The breeze was about 17 knots
and he was working with the targets, making sure they didn't let the
boat go faster then 7.6 kts upwind. He said that he was noticeably
higher then everyone else racing and was completely thrilled, especially
against a well-sailed local Nautor Swan 57. This was quite a remarkable feat considering how it all came together in the first place. After spending several days in the commercial port of Bombay, we were in a rush to get the boat off the docks and over to Gateway Harbor in downtown Bombay. Facilities in Bombay are difficult, but there are options. As you can see in this photo here, this might have been the most expensive way of handling the boat- easily the largest crane that has ever launched a J/Boat?? If you would believe it, this crane was also used for the mast installation! You’d be amazed at how precise and accurate these crane operators are from such a high vantage point!
Overall,
Nandan is very happy with the boat. He loves buzzing his friends and
sailing past them with a few knots of additional boat speed. Since we
have been doing that for the past weeks along with practicing on the
boat, the activity on the J/122E has been creating a bit of a stir
around the club. As a bit of a backgrounder, he owned a MacGregor 26,
then a Hanse 33, and now the J/122E. He could not be happier. The best way of explaining the experience with the J/122E in India is the smiles you see on the guy driving, Nandan and Sunil are always there!! They loved the boat. The ease of sailing it. The power it offered and the comfort with bringing out friends to show of the new boat.
The current rig tune is set-up for about 20 knots of wind. Average daily wind conditions in the area are between 12-17 kts in the afternoon. Needless to say, the results speak for themselves. Hopefully, Nandan and crew enjoy more opportunities to win silverware in the future!”
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