e water, I kept thinking how sweet it is to be sailing in the Jaguar Series this winter. Just eight hours after leaving bitter cold, mammoth snow banks, and my ever-present shovel in Falmouth, we were ready for another weekend full of exciting Etchells racing against 80 other boats, many of them sailed by the biggest names in yacht racing today.For years one of the saddest days of the year for me was haul out day. As a fleet we would pull our boats from the water, store them away for the winter, and begin counting the days till spring. This year was different. After buying US-1166 in Miami last spring and racing in the 2007 Midwinter Regatta, VooDoo Racing decided to enter the full Jaguar Cup Series for this winter. My terrific shore crew rose to the task and got the boat transported to Biscayne Bay Yacht Club over the Thanksgiving weekend. We were one of the first away boats to arrive in Miami. The Jag series is made up of 4 regattas, 1 per month, December thru March. What is nice about the series is you rig the boat before the first regatta, and then leave the rig up, with the boat stored on its trailer in the yard of the Yacht Club through the entire series. This way, within a couple hours of arriving in Miami you can be on the water tuning up or racing.
The warm weather and water, Miami nightlife and dining, socializing at the Yacht Club all add to the experience, but racing in the Jag absolutely blows your mind; 80+ boats, all looking for a front row position at the starting line, all crowding around a windward mark 2 miles up the bay, dueling downwind through the leeward gates, back up wind then drag racing to the finish. After 8 miles of racing the entire fleet finishes within minutes, from bullet to DFL. One boat length back could cost you 4 or 5 positions.
If you even wanted to think about obtaining a top 30 finish your racing has to be perfect. The boat set-up and tune, the start, the choice of coarse sides are all critical. If you miss a shift, forget it, you will drop to the back of the fleet. As an all amateur team with family and work obligations limiting the time we can commit to sailing, just beginning to experience major regattas and on a steep learning curve we struggled to move up in the standings. In the first regatta we were tagged with 2 OCSs and finished 70th. The next regatta we generated much more consistent boat speed and were excited about our 49th place finish in the 81-boat fleet. We found that if we nailed the start, and held our lane we could sail the rest of the race competitively in the middle of the fleet. We also discovered a number of subtle deficiencies in the boat, rig, and sails that would need updating if we aspired to consistently sail in the front pack. We stuck with our plan, realistically set expectations and goals, and looked for signs of improvement. For us the bottom line was to redefine winning consistent with our abilities and experience and strive to enjoy the whole experience.
In the last and biggest regatta of the series, we got off to a slow first day. The entire VooDoo Racing team came to Florida not feeling well. We suffered from a combination of Maine winter cold and flu bugs, and struggled to hit the physical level needed to compete. A good nights rest helped a lot, and on the second race of the second day of the regatta we put together a race to be proud of. Gretchen banged off a near perfect start, the boat was fast, and we hung with the Olympic Gold Medallists, America’s Cup sailors, Etchells World Champion’s and all the boats with paid professionals. We were hanging in the top 20 boats through the first 3 legs, and were amazed at how much cleaner the air was in that front pack. The downwind leg to the finish found us the meat in a sandwich with current Etchells World Champion and Olympic Gold Medal winner, Andy Beadsworth from England about a boat length ahead and to our left. Rolex Yachtsman of the Year and past Etchells world champion, Jud Smith was to our right and about 3 boat lengths behind us. I concentrated exclusively on spinnaker trim and trying to catch the surf and every wave. I kept telling myself that I had to continue to do my job and trust my teammates to do theirs or we would lose precious positions. We completed our last jibe, swinging back onto starboard, less than a minute from the finish. As we settled in for the home stretch we heard the gun as the first boat finished. A group of boats including eventual Jag Series winner, Bill Hardesty, previous world champ and North Sails Vince Brun, and America’s cup tactician on Luna Rosa, Andy Horton, crossed us on port and finished ahead of us. We were overlapped with Beadsworth as we finished at the left end of the line, but another boat slipped in between on the right side. We looked over our shoulders and found we had beaten Jud Smith by about 4 boat lengths. We were not sure of our actual finish position, but hoped this might be the race where we finally obtained a top 20 finish.
Later that day, back at the Yacht Club with Mount Gay in hand, we checked the recently posted scores and saw we had obtained an 18th! We were thrilled and felt this a huge accomplishment for an amateur team with relatively little experience in sailing Etchells in big time events.
On the third day of the regatta we found ourselves back in the fleet racing boats with crews similar in experience to ours, but still having a ball. In the last race we held off current Adam’s Cup Champion Betsy Altman from Chicago and our fellow fleet 27 member Terry Naylon and his Marblehead partner Mark Toso. With this finish in the book, a 49th, VooDoo ended up as the second highest finishing boat in the regatta driven by a woman, behind Shannon Bush of Houston. We were especially proud of this coming from a fleet with a significant number of female members and drivers.
Our shore crew stepped up got the boat broken down, and she is now safely back in Maine. We are now working through the lengthy list of items we need to complete to prepare for our first opportunity to sail in an Etchells World Championship this June in Chicago. The preparation work never stops.
Participating in the Jaguar Cup Series is a tremendous opportunity for Etchells sailors; the conditions, race committee, facilities, and competition are all unbelievable. I am so thankful to all the people involved with VooDoo Racing for making it happen. Whether they assisted as crew in fleet races and practices, boat prep, transport, shore crew, whatever, they are as much a part of the experience as those of us fortunate enough to be on the boat for the racing. One of our competitors at the Jag, named his boat “My Wife is the Best”, but I believe with all my heart that my wife Sue, is the BEST. Holding down the home front with a 6 and 2 year old, while Daddy is away racing in Florida for 4 weekends is no small task, and without her the experience would not have happened.
Lastly I can’t say how proud I am to be a member of our fleet, and sailing as one of fleet 27’s members at this event. I have learned so much sailing against you, and getting beaten by you through the years in our Tuesday night races. Our fleet racing is very good, and any of you have the skill to make the jump and give the Jaguar series a try. I can assure you it would be a rewarding, yet humbling, learning experience. It would also be an experience, whose memory you will carry with you for the rest of your life.
And besides that warm sun feels so good on the back of your neck.
—Ralph Carpenter, VooDooToo
