Northwest J/24s at the Worlds in Japan

The J/24 fleet in Seattle remains strong, in fact one of the strongest in the country. And it seems that nearly every year one or more crews head to the far corners of the world to attend international regattas. So it’s no surprise the Northwest was well represented by Michael Johnson and Mark Laura and their crews at last week’s Worlds in Japan. Friend and Pearl crew member Joy Okazaki was kind enough to give us some insight into the regatta. Thanks, Joy. If anyone else wants to provide a report on their Salish sea racing or cruising, email me.

What Seattle boats/sailors there?

Two of the three U.S. Boats were from the Seattle fleet – Pearl, skippered by Michael Johnson with local sailors Gabrielle McCoy (trimmer)‎, Joy Okazaki (logistics/mast) and Gavin Brackett (bow), with guest tactician Chip Till from Charleston, SC – and Baba Louie, skippered by Mark Laura, Lance McDonough (trimmer), Craig Suhrbier (mast), and Melanie Edwards (bow), with guest tactician Steve Cucciaro from Boston, MA.

The regatta also drew two teams from Germany, three teams from Korea, one team from Singapore, one team from Peru, and‎ one team from England. A total of 41 boats participated.

Did you feel the Seattle fleet had good speed? Were they charter boats?

The Seattle boats were both chartered boats in Japan. The boat that Pearl Racing Team chartered was originally commissioned in 2002 as “Ragtime” by JBoats owner Rod Johnstone ‎for the 25th Anniversary of the J/24 and was later sold to an owner from Japan. The Pearl team had to make a few improvements to optimize it for racing.

The boat that Team Baba Louie chartered was originally owned and sailed by Mark Laura when he won the J/24 North Americans in Long Beach in 1994 . The boat had changed hands a few times and required extensive bottom work to get it race ready for the regatta.

Both boats had various bursts of speed, but it was more about getting a good start (there were many general recalls and U Flag starts), going the right direction, finding clear air and figuring out the current than it was about the boat speed.

Did you bring your own sails?

We brought our own sails (main, spinnaker, genoa and jib, plus practice genoa and spinnaker), halyards, running rigging, extra blocks and cleats, compass, tools and bottom kits. We’ve learned from chartering boats in Mexico (2007) and Argentina (2011) it’s better to be prepared with many spares, tools, tape, extra line, etc.

What kinds of shore side activities that were a little different in Japan?

The Japanese hosted a fabulous regatta, complete with opening and closing ceremonies featuring local sake, a taiko drumming performance and a masterful tuna carving.

Daily prizes included post-racing beer accompanied by table-top barbecues, grilled fish and deep fried fishcakes, rice balls, and tube steaks, allowing teams to socialize and get to know each other. Protests were surprisingly minimal, though there were a handful of penalties scored every race.

What was it like for you personally?

While we would have liked to have done better (we placed 16th out of 41 boats; Baba Louie was 14th) we were out sailed by the competition and we learned a lot, while having a great time. The Japanese did a wonderful job of planning a top notch regatta – the hotel and sailing venue was amazing, and the warm hospitality of all of the Japanese teams, both on and off the water, was unparalleled. Many foreign sailors had never been to Japan before so it was truly an experience. Mark Laura said it best: “They really rolled out the red carpet for all of the competitors.”

Anything else of interest?

September is traditionally a very warm and humid month in Japan – and often threatened with typhoons. This year was no different, and the regatta ended up losing a day of racing to Typhoon No. 16 “Malakas” which hit Wakaura Bay on Tuesday, September 20. Winds were clocked 11.2 m/s (22 knts) with peak gusts of 15.7 m/s (31 knts), but the accompanying torrential rains caused local flooding, slides and minimized visibility. The post-typhoon wind was light and very shifty making races very challenging, and the runoff left lots of debris to dodge in the marina and bay.

Photos courtesy of the event photographers. Gallery here. And here is the link to the results. Finally, the Seattle J/24 site.

Kurt Hoehne

Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.