Race to the Straits = J/FUN & Silverware!
by J/Boats 13 May 11:07 NZST
Race to the Straits © Sean Trew
Hosted annually by Sloop Tavern Yacht Club in Seattle, WA, the Race to the Straits featured two days of racing 30.3 nm from Shilshole to Port Townsend and return over last weekend. When the fleet arrived at Port Townsend, they were treated to an amazing "Halfway Party" at the Northwest Maritime Center.
The racing didn't disappoint either, with the usual challenging conditions facing the fleet, having to deal with current, holes, streaks, and various forms of commercial traffic doing their best to frustrate the sailors. In the end, many J/Crews earned their fair share of silverware, and then some!
Class 14
In this nine-boat division, Tolga Cezik's J/111 LODOS took the bronze medal while Chris Lanzinger's J/111 HOOLIGAN finished fifth.
Class 13
Not surprisingly, the two well-sailed J/120s in this division cleaned house. Winning was Chris Butler's HINZITE, with Brett Fey & John Kazaras's LUMMI earning the silver medal.
Class 12
This ten-boat division also saw a sweep of the top two spots. Winning was Stephanie Arnold's J/112E MYSTERY, followed by Paul Hanson's J/35 TCHOUPITOULAS in second place. Fourth place went to Matt Gardner-Brown's J/88 SEA STORIES.
Class 11- J/105s
The eleven-boat class had excellent racing. Winning was Al Hughes's CREATIVE, followed by Mike Caine's PANIC in second, and Travis Gosnell's MOONGLOW.
Class 8- J/70s
Yes, it's hard to believe the hardy J/70 sailors in the Pacific Northwest would make it 30 nm, but it's just about 6.5 hours of sailing. Winning was Spencer Kunath & Chris Roberts's LAKE SHARK, followed by Lek Dimarucot's FLYING ACE in second, and Bill Heston's GREENWICH in third position.
Class 7- J/80s
Like their J/70 colleagues, this is a serious adventure to tackle a 30.0 nm race. Winning was Gerry Gilbert's VELOCE, followed by Steve Neidhardt's UNDERDOG in second and Ryan Porter's well-known veteran team on JOLLY GREEN in the bronze position.
Class 4
This eight-boat division was Ulf Georg Gwildis's J/30 IMPULSIVE take the silver medal, missing first place by just 45 seconds corrected PHRF handicap time!!
PHRF Overall
In general, the J/Teams did quite well overall in the 98+ boat fleet. Second went to Stephanie Arnold's J/112E MYSTERY. Fourth was Cezik's J/111 LODOS, fifth was Chris Butler's J/120 HINZITE, sixth went to Hughes's J/105 CREATIVE, ninth was the Fey/ Kazaras's J/120 LUMMI, and tenth was Hanson's J/35 TCHOUOPITOULAS. Not bad for J/crews to take seven of the top 10!!
Clcik here for Sloop Tavern Yacht Club Race to the Straits sailing information.