scott.projectsomewhere

So the last weekend of the JJ Giltinan has been and gone. Euan, Aaron and Trent on Southern Cross have come through to win in impressive style.

We blew our chances in Race 6 on Saturday, when we started poorly and didn’t recover, crossing the line in 12th. From there we were still mathematically able to win, but we would’ve needed all the cards to fall into place.

Southern Cross led into the final race, with 7 1 point behind, Active another 1 behind, AppliancesOnline.com.au another 1 behind them, and the Rag another 2 behind that.

But with the points close and the forecast for a horrific light easterly, it was going to be all on. The boat park was just buzzing with tension and controversy in the morning.

The start was tough, with a big pin end bias, but not much runway on the left hand side. Everyone tacked soon after the gun, but Herman on Appliances did the best out of the pin to streak away to a big lead halfway up the work. We started well, but seemed to have the fleet lift around us, coming into mark 1 in the teens.

At this point, Herman had the regatta, with 7 a couple behind him, Active further back, and Euan completely buried and over 4 minutes behind.

Down the run the breeze came in from the left side, so the boats that gybe-set came out looking famous. Macquarie took the lead and 7 stepped into 2nd, with Herman falling well behind.

From here on it was 7’s regatta to lose.

They took the lead from Macquarie and extended away for the next 2 and a half laps. We moved up and around the 5th place mark, looking good at times, but never quite having enough pressure or direction to close the gap.

Southern Cross kept chipping away at the fleet, moving up the placings with every leg and putting themselves into the mix for the last work. As 7 tried to stay in touch with both SX and Active Air, they lost ground on both, with Active moving ahead and into the regatta lead (albeit behind Woody and Panasonic) at the last mark.

But then 7 and Euan did an earlier gybe set and rolled Active. 7 was back in for the win.

Then Euan gybed with 7 and rolled them heading down the harbour. Euan was back into the lead.

Then Active crossed back into contention.

7 at this point was gybing out to keep their options open, but the fleet was closing in. Appliances was blasting in from the right, Smeg was coming in with pace from the left, and we were in better pressure and gaining.

Active crossed the line in 3rd and looked dangerously close to taking the title. SX only just crossed us on starboard, with us gybing between them and 7, then it all came together on the line. SX came through in 4th for the title, Smeg came through below us into 5th, and we crossed the line in 6th, Herman 7th and 7 back in 8th. All seperated by a matter of seconds. There will surely be some nice footage of all that on sailcam.tv.

It was a pretty impressive finish to a tough regatta.

We ended up 5th in the end. Same as last year, though not as disappointing. We stayed in contention, but didn’t really pull it together. It was a shame there wasn’t much variety in the conditions, but it was really impressive to have so many boats vying for the championship. There’s always next year for us.

There will be plenty of interesting post regatta analysis, plenty of celebrating and plenty of soul searching. But that’s always the case with this event.

And as Hanger said at the end, Sailing was the winner on the day.

Another up and down day in the JJ, where the leaderboard remains close, albeit slightly reshuffled.

As predicted, the light and shite seabreeze meant for a tough day on the water.

We got off the line well, but soon fell into the group below who got into a better line of pressure. We bounced off boats up the track till we met with the spooners on the port layline, where they proceeded to go bow down at us so we couldn’t duck behind. Two tacks later we were behind a bunch of boats that we then spent the rest of the race trying to pass.

Unfortunately there weren’t many passing opportunities, so we finished up in 6th place. Seve was 1 ahead in 5th, then Active in 4th, Euan in 3rd and then Project Racing and AppliancesOnline.com.au in 2nd and 1st respectively. We’ve now had 5 different winners across the 5 races.

So it is all still close.

After 5 races and including a drop, Euan on Southern Cross is in the lead on 10 points, 2 clear of Active Air. 7 and Rag are tied for 3rd on 13 points, with AppliancesOnline another 3 points behind.

It’s going to be an interesting weekend.

So much for low-hooks Tuesday.

Races 3 and 4 of the 2009 JJ have been very tricky.

Race 3 started off very badly. A ferry was approaching from Manly, running parallel to our start line and was scheduled to hit the pin end of the line at about the start signal. For some unknown reason the start still went ahead, and we were one of only 3 boats to cross, albeit only just. Finally the race was abandoned as we were way ahead into Rose Bay, and the ferry was drifting sideways in Taylors Bay after going into full reverse and stopping. There will be a bunch of complaints there for sure.

We got off the line poorly in the restart, and bounced off boats in the pack on the first work, rounding the first mark in the teens, just behind Euan on Southern Cross.

At this point, 7, Project and Active were launched.

We rolled a couple of boats down the tight reach, then had a blinder up the next work to round in 2nd behind 7. Down the next tight reach, we two-sailed faster than the red boat and then put up the kite at the last minute to lead around the bottom mark by a couple of boatlengths.

Up the next work, we lost the lead, and lost ground on the boats around us. The fleet compressed again, and Thurlow Fisher made big gains on the right hand side of Shark Island. Staying in touch downwind, we rounded on 7’s stern, then got slammed by them on pretty much every tack up the next upwind.

AppliancesOnline and Active made gains out of the right again, but ended up getting into a race with the ferry, with the skiffs trying to cross the ferry’s bow and head up into Rose Bay, and the ferry wanting to turn left and head down to Manly. In the end the ferry won, Appliances swam and Active had to take some pretty bad air.

We made some small gains down the next tight reach, then protected our spot over Active up the next work, with 7 covering tightly as well.

So another race saved. Lucky.

Race 4 was even more stressful, with a light and puffy SSW breeze, and another poor first work. We started ok, but lost our lane and then proceeded to be bounced as both the left and right hand boats lifted around us. At the top mark and down the first run we were will in the pack, gybing off SLAM and Project Racing down the course.

The next work we struggled to gain, but a few boats waved us through on the two-sail reach when they set spinnakers and then struggled to lay the end of Shark Island. We rounded the next top mark in about 8th spot, then brought down pressure from the right on the run to close up the gap on the leaders. The next work we stayed to the right of the leading pack as they searched for the lifting breeze from the left hand side. As we headed back towards the left, 7 slammed on us again and we bounced further right, only to pick up better pressure and gain plenty of distance on the leading bunch.

We rounded that top mark in 4th, and played with Appliances and 7 down the last tight reach, before rounding to head up to the finish. 7 looked like they’d passed us at one stage up the last work, and Active hit hard right and put themselves out of contention. We headed right at Clark, and then headed back to the line in 3rd spot, 19s behind Euan in 1st, and Herman in 2nd.

So we saved another good result from what could’ve been terrible.

I think we all might’ve developed a few more grey hairs after that one.

After 4 races, we’re tied with Southern Cross for 2nd place. 1 point behind Active Air, and 2 ahead of 7. AppliancesOnline is in 5th another 9 points back.

It’s all still to play for, and 3 more races are scheduled, in what’s looks to be more light and shite breeze.

The JJ always throws up some interesting racing, with the whole fleet stepping up a notch or three when the gun goes for race 1.

This year is no different.

Friday’s invitation race was an all-little-rig affair, and it started off fresh but then died for the last half of the race. 7 led pretty easily, and we had our moments but in the end finished 4th behind Project Racing and Yandoo.

Saturday’s Race 1 was a light and shite Easterly breeze. Given Hugh has always loved the shitty easterlies, it was no surprise to see the red Smeg out in front. We started well and went into the tide on the right, but the fleet pushed left and did better. We were deep early with Euan and 7, but slowly started to pick our way back through the pack. Project Racing led at the first bottom mark but went round the wrong way, then returned to unwind themselves without re-rounding correctly. As the race progressed, Smeg extended away, AppliancesOnline and Macquarie came back to the pack, and Euan stepped up into 2nd. We were rapidly gaining on Active in 3rd til we stuffed the last part of the work into Rose Bay and fell back to 5th behind Fisher & Paykell. A bit of a mixed race, but not a disaster.

Sunday’s Race 2 was a tricky South-Easterly, with the majority of the fleet going for #1 rig despite the forecast for plenty of pressure later in the day. Out of the blocks, Active, 7 and us headed off to the left, with Euan and Appliances heading to the right of the island. When we tacked on the bricks at Steele point, we just fell out of the line of left pressure and Active and 7 got away to a good break as we tacked back to get around. A good downwind put us back into contention, sailing around 7 and Active at the bottom mark to fight it out for the lead. We sailed a conservative upwind, looking for the left pressure that came through on the last work, but Active, Me and Kinder Caring did much better heading hard right and lifting to the mark. By that point, Active was too far ahead to do much about, but the racing for the minor placings was still tight.

The Farr40s made for a couple of interesting moments down the next run as they appeared behind our mainsail coming upwind, but we managed to stay relatively clear of trouble and battled away in about 5th. Despite our best efforts to stuff it up, we managed to stay in touch and move into 4th when Van Munster capsized on the last run, then took Me – having the race of the season – into 3rd for the final work.

And that’s where we stayed.

So after 2 races, Active Air is well in front on 4 points, with Euan on SX in 2nd on 6 (albeit with a protest pending against 7 and vise-versa). Smeg is in 3rd on 7 points, with us on the Rag on 8, and 7 on 9. AppliancesOnline rounds out the top 6 on 13 points, 7 clear of the next place.

But there is plenty of racing still to go, starting with low-hooks Tuesday.

Full results sheet here, with daily footage on Sailcam.tv.

The last two races before the JJ have been run and won over the weekend.

On Friday night, the handicap NAB twilight race ran in a gusty 20+ knot NNE breeze. We started well and led easily up the first work, but had some great battles with the spooners around the first couple of laps before they got pinned outside the ferry on their windward layline then capsized in a gybe on the second run.

We then swapped the lead with Project Racing before their broken gooseneck forced them to retire, after which we cruised around for a win, albeit a handicap win.

Not bad for our fill-in bowman Mark, who chalked up a win in his one-and-only 18′ skiff race.

The harbour was a complete shitfight on that evening, with tactics being dictated by clear lanes through the flotilla of yachts doing their Friday evening twilight. Hopefully we’ll miss most of that next week.

Sunday was more of the same, with a scratch race in 20-25 knots, and less boats but more spectators to deal with.

We raced pretty well, rounding the top mark in 2nd behind Euan, then fighting it out with the spooners again upwind before almost taking out the ferry and then burying the nose down a wave. Mark and I somehow ended up upside down under the windward wing before the trap hooks let go and the boat went over. John thought he could’ve saved it if we eased the sheets, but with him going downwind by himself with the kite up, we still would’ve had plenty on trying to recover it.

We finished 13th after spending a lot of time trying to get the mess sorted out.

But even with a big score in the last race, and still no bowman, we’re as happy with the preparation as we can be.

A couple of photos from Joliette Savage on the spectator ferry:

Tradition dictates that I need to write another of these. I’ve put together one for the skiffs in 2008, 2007 and 2006, so I can’t really let 2009 pass without another wild stab in the dark.

TheDailySail.com has put together a nice story on the coming JJ which gives Tolstoy a run for his money in terms of length – perfect for the attention deprived Internet generation.

I’ll keep my tips considerably shorter.

As I see it, there are few contenders for the title at the end of the week. There’s been only a couple of boats who’ve won races during the season, and fewer still who’ve been able to stay at the front consistently.

1) The Spooners – Seve, Tom and Sam. They’ve got to be favourites coming into the regatta as reigning champions and recent winners of the National championship. That is not to say they’re going to have it easy. The team are in a new boat this year, but it seems as though the rest of the pack has caught up to the speed edge they had last time around. Despite plenty of time on the water with their coach, the guys haven’t had the assistance of former JJ Champions Fiat to help with their speed development. They’ve had some bad results through the year, and appear to be making some panicked decisions at key moments. The loss of the calm Rob Bell on the sheet has definitely had an impact on their strategy. They’ve sailed around it so far, but the JJ always seems to ratchet things up a notch. The guys must be feeling the pressure to perform from a team with a budget which is a whole order of magnitude larger than the next nearest competitor. That pressure may get through to them, but they’ve been here before.

2) Southern Cross – Euan, Aaron and Trent. They imploded on the startline last week when it counted, but I wouldn’t expect them to make the same mistake twice. They’re going very fast, they’ve got plenty of grunt where it counts, and they have collectively plenty of good results under their belts. I’d expect them to be taking the regatta to 7 all the way to the end. Hopefully we may finally get another JJ that is decided on the last race.

3) The Rag – John, me and Pete. We’ve shown pretty good form over the season so far, but with Pete recovering from injury our preparation into the final weeks has been limited. Without Pete we’re missing plenty of weight that is needed to make our new rig work, so here’s hoping he is back in form come next Friday. Otherwise we’re going to struggle. Putting together a team at the last minute is never ideal. More expectation management.

Some of the other boats that could put together a few surprises…

Project Racing – They’ve got plenty of cred, and given they’ve sailed the boat full time for the last 6 months, it’s time for it to start paying dividends. I think they’ll win races and get plenty of good places, but they might have just enough bad results to stay out of contention.

AppliancesOnline – Herman’s Pirate Ship goes fast and can win big when they go the right way. Unfortunately Herman likes to push the envelope just a little too far at times, and may come undone at some point over the week.

To be honest, I don’t think there’s many other teams that will win races.

Macquarie could do it on a good day. Smeg normally fires up about now. Pure Blond is about due for some glamour races. Active have our old rig working well.

Maybe the Kiwis are ready to take the trophy this time around? Maybe Howie can put or the other US teams can pull their borrowed boats onto the pace.

Or maybe not.

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Late change to the form guide, with Smeg stepping up in the rankings now they’ve added Hugh Stoddart as a permanent addition in the back of the boat. I don’t know exactly where to rank them yet, but they’ll be putting another boat into the equation through the week.