J/30 Leads Sweep of Low Country Hook Race

(Hilton Head, SC)- The 2018 Low Country Hook Ocean Race goes from Hilton Head, SC to the finish off the Landings Marina on Skidaway Island, GA- a 30.0nm distance race that took place on August 18th.  The race was presented by Skidaway Island Boating Club and The Yacht Club of Hilton Head. Twenty-four boats registered with nearly half the fleet in the PHRF Spinnaker class. Of those nine boats, six were J/Boats; including two J/105s, two J/24s, one J/30, one J/100, and one J/109.

The race took the sailors out into the Atlantic, crossing the Savannah River shipping channel past Tybee Island, south to the entrance of Wassaw Sound, where the boats then maneuvered up the Wilmington River to the finish line north of Landings Harbor Marina. The “Hook Race” is named after the pattern of the race course- looks like fish hook.

Winds were light from the southwest at the start of the race, allowing the J/105 and J/109 to fly their asymmetrical spinnakers. The J/30 had chosen to use their 163% genoa, which allowed her to keep up with the asymmetrical spinnakers. The J/100 attempted to fly their symmetrical spinnaker with the pole at the lowest position on the mast and all the way forward just off the head stay.

At the end of the race, the Gebel Seese’s J/105 HIGH VISIBILITY from Savannah YC crossed the finish-line first on elapsed time, followed by Mike Foster’s Savannah YC crew on the J/30 RONIN, then Troy Lamb’s J/109 WAHOO from Savannah YC, then Paul Reddick’s J/100 BLU J from Skidaway Island Boating Club.

After PHRF handicap ratings were applied to the elapsed times, it was a convincing win for the Foster’s J/30 RONIN.  Taking the silver meal was Seese’s J/105 HIGH VISIBILITY, followed by Lamb’s J/109 WAHOO in 4th, Reddick’s J/100 BLU J 5th, and Amar Patel’s J/24 ROGUE from Skidaway Island Boat Club in 6th position.

Commented one of the crew members (and Co-Chair of the Race), Mark Winters, “It was a great day of racing, especially for those of us on J/Boats. I was on the J/100 BLU J. We competed well with the J/105 and J/109 upwind, but downwind it is difficult to compete with them unless the wind is aft of beam.  Had we elected to bring our genoa, we would have been right there with the J/30!”  For more Low Country Hook Race sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.


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