A skipper I occasionally sail with recently bought a J-105 and invited me out this Saturday for Snowbird 06 – Race 2, his second race in it (and my first time on a J-105).
(For more pictures of Xtreme being surveyed check out Maurice’s photo album).
We started the race in the pouring rain and raced from Shilshole down to Alki and back. Even with all the ski gear that I’d wear up to around -5’C, the leg to Alki was very cold. We then turned around and tried to sail the asymmetric spinnaker in ~30 knot winds back home to Shilshole. Needless to say it was a wild ride as we sped along at 11 knots. After more than a few round ups and losing a good patch of skin off one finger (I need gloves with better coverage) we took the chute down and were still doing around 9 knots downwind to Shilshole.
Overall, it was pretty exhilarating, but I’m looking forward to learning how to sail this boat on a calmer day :).