Corinna Stolp reports from San Diego:

After doing the 2009 Coastal Cup, the J/109 Joyride (Alameda) stayed in Southern California for J Fest.

Crew included Bay Area sailors Jim & Jenn Vickers (owners), Corinna Stolp (tactician), Michael Irish (main trim), Brian Leigh (foredeck), Andrew Otewalt (trim), and Tanya ZiCornell (trim). 

The Friday night practice race was a nice start to the weekend, with similar conditions in the bay to Alameda. Although after racing for about an hour, the wind died and they had to abandon the race. Both Saturday and Sunday the San Diego Yacht Club set up windward/leeward courses out in the ocean about 2.5 miles off of Zuniga Jetty. The race committee did a fabulous job of setting new windward marks and changing courses to adjust for wind shifts. The winds ranged from about 8 to 14 knots both days.

Our team had a weekend filled with high and low points. The second race on Saturday, we were leading the pack to the windward mark by quite a bit and then had a bad douse, ripping the kite, and ended up last in that race! We also had to learn the hard way in one race that kelp really slows your boat down. The top local boats in different fleets were using a line and a pole to clean their keel after every upwind leg!

We ended up with third place (we were just happy not to be last!) and were also recognized as the boat that came the furthest distance.   

The weekend was excellent, and I wanted to thank the San Diego Yacht Club for being a class act. Their GM, Terry Anglin, really went out of his way to make sure we were treated well. 

- Corinna Stolp

For results and photos, see www.sdyc.org/raceinfo. The racing included ten J/120s, eighteen J/105s, and nine J/80s as well as four J/109s. The J/24s were here for their Nationals, so that may be why they didn’t field a division in J Fest (more on the J/24 Nationals coming up).