J99 Sailing – FBYC Fall Open Distance Race - 2023

The second day of the FBYC Fall Open featured a distance race to a mark located in Chesapeake Bay just off Gwens Island called 41A, but otherwise known to fishing bay sailors as L. The course was an out-and-back following the same path on the return. In our fleet were five boats. Sting, a J92S, Cory Reckon, a J105, Afterthought, a J109, Nanook in our Kona 46, and us on J99 Battle Rhythm. Aboard we had Todd, Len, Ron, Ann, and John. We started in the mouth of the pianka tank and sailed out into the bay on a close reach. Around us were the J109, Afterthought, and the J105 Cory Reckon. Winds were 12-14 and we were sailing with the jib in a full main. After rounding one of the entrance marks to the pianka tank, we headed south on a broad reach down the bay. We arrived at Chesapeake 41A, otherwise known as FBYC L, just off the southern end of Gwens Island. At the southern mark we doused the spinnaker and came back upwind along the same course we had taken out there. By the time we were sailing back the wind had backed to the northwest making it an even more upwind slog back to the finish. Along the way we took a few tacks inshore towards Gwens Island to stay out of the current. Once we were back in the pianka tank we close reached to the finish just off stove point. After the handicaps were calculated our race was good enough for second place. Beating the J109 by just under a minute on corrected time though we are still five minutes behind the Arkona in first place.