J/124 MARISOL Wins Catalina Race

(Long Beach, CA)- This past weekend the Long Beach YC to Dana Point YC "Around Catalina Race" was sailed in reasonably fast weather conditions with many J/Teams participating.  Here's a report from Seth Hall, owner & skipper of the J/124 MARISOL.

"The boat is a blast.  Too much fun all the time.  We have two J/124s in Newport  harbor and it looks like a 3rd might be on the way from Marina Del Rey which would be great for a little boat for boat racing.  Busy summer as we are racing harbor races, Catalina races and lots of random legs.

Our J/124 races a few times each week.  On Monday nights for the American Legion Races, we have a farm team on board for the crew.  Average age of the farm crew is 14.  Pretty cool as they all shift positions each week and the adults try to do as little as possible.    Just a testament to the versatility of the boat.

Regards the Around Catalina Race, MARISOL was first to finish in our class and 2nd on corrected.  We sailed with a crew of eight, which came in handy soon after the start.  Winds were 15-20 kts in Long Beach harbor so we started with the #3 and a reefed main.  We then exited the "LA Gate" marks and tacked up the breakwater wall towards Point Fermin Buoy to take advantage of the current.

We then sailed out toward the West end of Catalina where we ultimately flushed the reef and changed to the Genoa for the 18 miles to the west end.  After round the top of the island, it was spinnaker reaching down the 23nm backside (west) and cleared the east end by Sunset.

To keep going fast, we then "stair-stepped" the lee shadow of Catalina until we could cut across to Dana Point. It was blowing 15 kts and when we hit the island's big shadow the winds dropped to 10 - time to jibe!  We had a few more sail changes as the breeze died down and became off-shore from Dana Point.   Crew was very active with all the sail changes and jibes.

For us, it was nice to finish right behind the incredibly fast, well-sailed J/125 TIMESHAVER at 3:00 a.m.  Our efforts weren't' all for naught.  The DPYC/CBYC are going to have a Perpetual J-Boat Trophy for this race and MARISOL was the first winner!! In addition to the trophy, the Marisol crew was very happy that we won a case of Mount Gay Rum.  Is this a great Race Committee or what?  Good stuff, eh? Seth".

One of Seth's crew members, John Drayton, also provided his perspective on the race for a local Newport Beach Newspaper-

"Over Memorial Day weekend I had the pleasure of racing around Catalina Island on Seth Hall’s J124, Marisol.  This is one of my favorite local races because it’s long enough to feel like you’ve gone somewhere, but you are typically back home and in your own bed the next day.

The “Around Catalina Race” is a 75-mile sprint that that starts in LA Harbor, runs around Catalina Island, and wraps-up with a finish just off the entrance of Dana Point Harbor.  This year’s race started off in LA Harbor with brisk 20-plus knot breezes, but there were still more than 40 boats out for this year’s event.

We started conservatively, with Marisol flying her No. 3 jib and a reefed mainsail.  About halfway across the Catalina Channel the wind started to drop off, so we shook out the reef and changed up to our bigger No. 1 jib.  After we rounded Catalina, the wind would continue to drop, but our crew worked hard to keep the boat moving and the bow pointed at Dana Point.  A midnight tacking duel also helped energize our crew as we repeatedly crossed tacks with Wes Selby’s TNT most of the way back from Catalina.

Based on our 2:59 a.m. finish, the final results show that we were second in Class B, and won the inaugural J-Boat perpetual for this event.  A half-model of Marisol is now being made to serve as a new perpetual trophy, and the Marisol trophy will be given annually for the first J-class boat in this event.

But the best part of the event is that even after a really fun 75-mile race, I was still back home in time to watch the sunrise."

Congratulations to Seth and crew, they've been having a very successful 2012 offshore sailing season, with more to come!    Sailing Photo Credits - Bronny Daniels/ JOY Sailing

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