J24 Tuning Tip for Flat Water and Light Air

Fresh from another 1st place victory at the King's Day Regatta in Jacksonville, FL, Nov. 20-21, Quantum Sails' Tim Healy shared some valuable tuning tips with fellow racers this past weekend.  His dockside clinic was attended by 30+ sailors with lots of excellent feedback.  Tim's Tip:

"In light air and flat water with 20/15 on shroud tension, it is important that you achieve 2 ½-3 fingers of headstay sag. This will ensure that you get the proper genoa depth.  Make sure the genoa is no tighter than 3 inches from the spreader tip to avoid stalling the upper part of the sail.  The genoa should be 6-8 inches from the spreader tip when accelerating out of a tack."

This strong regional J24 competition was hosted by the Florida Yacht Club and held on the St. John's River.  Several of the 21 boats made the trek from a distance, notably RI, NJ, TX, SC, and GA.  In five races over two days competitors saw consistently light air and flat water but made the most of it -- hard to complain when that is accompanied by sunshine and temps in the 70's!  The Florida Yacht Club was a terrific venue and their Southern hospitality was on full display: all facilities were made available for competitors.  The meals were excellent, and the race committee was excellent in light, tricky conditions. 

Quantum took first place -- congratulations to Dan Borrer (helm), Chip Till (cockpit), John Paulson (mast), Stephanie Karidas (bow),  and Tim Healy (tactics).  Fourth place went to Peter Bream, another Quantum customer.  Sails used included the TH2 Main, the Technora tri-radial Genoa, and the full radial spinnaker.

Quantum sails finish 1st, 3rd , 5th, 6th , 7th at the 2010’s Hillman Capital Management J24 East Coast Championship

Congratulations to Quantum Newport’s Tim Healy and team -- Gordon Borges (bow), Ben McAndrew (mast), Geoff Becker (tactics), and Paul Abdullah (trim) -- on winning the 2010’s Hillman Capital Management J24 East Coast Championship held by Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, MD, October 29-31^st.  

Thirty-five teams representing the US from the Great Lakes to Florida, as well as Canada, Bermuda and Puerto Rico enjoyed three days of racing on the Chesapeake Bay in one of the most competitive regattas of the year.  Sailors saw winds 18-28 knots on day one of sailing, with moderate chop over three races.  Day two featured another three races, with lighter air of 6-16 knots but heavier chop.  Winds increased again on day three, from 12-22 knots with moderate chop. 

Five teams using Quantum sails finished in the top 10:  in addition to Healy’s win, other top 10 finishes included third place to Fraito Lugo of Ponce YC; fifth place to Chris Jankowski of FBYC; sixth place to Kirk Reynolds of Skaneateles NY; and seventh place to Mark Hillman of AYC.  Quantum sails in use included the TH2 Main, Technora Tri-Radial Genoa, SF Blade Jib, and Full Radial Spinnaker.  Quantum customer Chris Jankowski and fifth place winner commented that his “sails looked great, and we were smokin’ fast!” 

Highlights from this Quantum-sponsored event included a decadent pig roast on Friday night, and Severn’s famous rum punch party on Saturday night.  Tim Healy conducted a dockside clinic on tuning and sail trim Thursday afternoon.  Quantum also supplied the regatta packets, bow #s and a new spinnaker that was raffled off at the awards presentation.

Tim’s tuning tip for success from this event: in 22+ knots of breeze, take an up extra ½ turn on both the uppers and lowers to get to 30-30 on the tension gauge.   This will allow the helmsman to pull maximum backstay tension without over-bending the mast.  The tension from the backstay will then be transferred to the headstay to keep the blade/ or genoa flatter.

Quantum Newport Embraces 21st Century Social Media!

We are joining the 21st Century and blogging regularly about our experiences on and off the water to keep you up-to-date with our latest tips on how to sail fast.  Keep up with our success at regattas around the world while our sailmakers share the tips that help them bring home the hardware.  Stay tuned....