Spring Has Sprung Loos!
On Sunday, March 18, the San Francisco J/24 Fleet 17 hosted the first in a series of race clinics. We’re hosting these by ourselves, for ourselves (and any interested crew and potential crew) because this fleet always enjoys sharing knowledge with one another, always learning and re-learning, and just hanging out.
When you go sailboat racing, the first thing you need is a boat. The J/24 is the largest production one-design keelboat class in the world and one of the most affordable one-design boats you can campaign.
In a classroom-type setting, Jasper Van Vliet led us through the basic measurements and mechanics of the J/24, mostly discussing some universal concepts and their impact on boat speed (e.g. shroud tension, mast butt placement, keel shape/location, boat heel, and lee helm).
We then headed to the yard where we dusted off the J/24 class keel template and measurement guides to demonstrate how to measure the keel width, the J-measurement, and mast butt placement. We then plunked three boats in the water and got our shroud tensions to match up. And I can tell you that one Loos gauge’s “Base” was another gauge’s “+1”. Those springs don’t last forever.
Finally some breeze came up so we could take it on the water and run tacks side by side. On starboard, one boat’s point and speed were much, much higher. We exchanged info on trim, jib car and traveler placement to try to make it all equal. Even then we still couldn’t catch him. The other tack was a very different story. It seems the shrouds were also struggling with daylight saving time — on one side they were spun forward instead of falling back! There was a massive difference between 1 below base vs. 1 above base.
Same boat, about the same crew weight, going the same direction. One-design sailing at its best. Hanging out with some of the nicest sailors we know. Priceless (and free). Next up: Starts! Clinic on April 15, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Richmond Yacht Club. RSVP on the fleet’s Facebook page. If you don’t have a boat, contact us. We’ll find you one.