Friday, May 27, 2016

J/Teams Lovin’ Vashon Island Race

J/105s sailing off Seattle (Seattle, WA)- The Seattle YC hosts a very popular offshore racing series in late spring called the Tri-Island Series.  The racing takes place bi-weekly and the teams sail races that can easily be completed by midnight given the right conditions.  The trio of events are the Smith Island, Vashon Island and the Blake Island Races.  This past weekend, the Seattle offshore fleet raced the Vashon Island on May 14th.

In Class 1, Tom Huseby’s J/145 DOUBLE TAKE is now standing 5th in the Tri-Island series after taking a 4th in class in the 46.54nm long course, covering the race in 9:51:30.

J/109 sailing off SeattleIn Class 2, Ron Holbrook’s J/133 CONSTELLATION is sitting on 3rd in the series after taking a 7th in the Vashon Race to complement their 1st place in the Smith Race earlier in the season.  John Murkowski’s brand new J/122E JOY RIDE is now sitting in 5th place for the series after their 3rd in the Vashon Island Race. Both boats are just two points from second place, so the Blake Race finale will be an important factor in the overall standings— anything can happen in that race, too!

Class 3 has a pair of J/120s that are doing well in the series. Mark Liffring & Chris Johnson’s J/120 WITH GRACE is leading the class after winning the Vashon Race with Jim Hinz’s J/120 HINZITE sitting in third for the series after getting a 2nd in the Vashon race.

The J/105s are enjoying great one-design racing in Class 6. Currently, Jim Geros’ LAST TANGO is leading after winning both the Smith and Vashon Island Races.  Sitting is second overall is Lance Rummel’s INCONCEIVABLE with a 3-2 scoreline in the two races.  Third is Jerry Diercks’ DELIRIUM.

Although sitting in sixth overall at the moment, Leo Morales’ J/27 WIZARD has a very good mathematical chance of finishing in the top three in Class 7, even with their current record of a 4-7.  Here’s why, the fleet has been way up and down the standings in the first two races and third place currently has 8 pts.  So, a wizard-like performance in the Blake Islands Race could easily land them in the top three.

After sailing the Cruiser/Racer course for the past two races, Bill Boyeson’s J/42 JIMINY is counting a 3-3 to hold on to third in Class 8.  For more Tri-Island Series and Vashon Island sailing information