Sept. 29-Oct. 2
Jet -14 Nationals winner and current class president Brent Barbehenn and crew Ben Stock came back to take third place in the recent Championship of Champions Regatta run by US Sailing. This is a special event with only the national champions from each class eligible to compete. Needless to say, Brent and Ben's third place finish in this toughest of fleets is an affirmation of what the Jet-14 class has known for many years: 1) Brent is a gifted sailor, and 2) There are not many crew mates more dedicated and sharp than Ben. Their performance has brought respect and visibility to our class.
Brent and Ben have wrote up an interesting and sometimes humorous account of their experience - see below. The full results can be found on the US Sailing website.
After a good Jet-14 Nationals, and the close proximity of the venue, the wheels started turning about taking part in this event hosted by US Sailing. Since the event is limited to 21 boats, all competitors need to apply and then be accepted. Luckily we got in.
The C of C ran from Wednesday, September 29 through Saturday , October 2, took place at Raritan YC in Perth Amboy, NJ, and was raced in new JY-15s.
Tuesday
Ben leaves work in the afternoon to drive 8 hours to Brent’s house. All goes fine until he meets Jeanne(actually the remnants of hurricane Jeanne) near Harrisburg. She’s not very nice, and takes Ben hydroplaning a few times. At least no bears were hit this trip. Brent works til 8 to cram in the work he will miss the next few days, and must start thinking tactics already as several major highways are shut down due to flooding. Ben is re-routed but traffic is still very slow, but at least not stopped….he rolls in at 1 AM, 2 hours late.
Wednesday
The team leaves for Perth Amboy early in the morning to take part in “practice day”. Forecast is for NE winds 20-30 knots. Eric Leitner, local guru, gives a talk on local knowledge which includes mucho current. Brent, who last sailed there too many years ago(1977?) doesn’t remember there being that strong of a current. Cutter Smith, JY-15 manufacturer’s rep and past class champion, enlightened us on boat handling and sail trim. By 2 PM the wind has died to 10-15, and everyone hits the water in 21 brand new JY-15s! The day is a success as we don’t fall out of the boat or tip it over.
A meet and greet reception follows along with the skipper’s meeting. The original plan was to switch boats every race, hopefully getting in 21 races with each team sailing each boat. But this eats up time. Due to the boats being new and equal, and the poor wind forecast, it was decided only to switch 6 times, each morning and at lunch.
Thursday
The war begins. The long range forecast is for very light wind through Friday. The current is ripping even stronger than normal due to the large amount of recent rain, which has turned the water into a light chocolate brown color. Did we mention very shifty wind? The RC is well aware of the forecast, and must do whatever it takes to get races in. The run in Race 3 takes 30 of the total 45 minutes for the race as the fleet battles a 2 knot current in 4 knots of wind. It was a mentally challenging day. Our 3 race results were about as good as the weather—cold and rainy—leaving us in 11th place. The competition is as expected….one mistake in this fleet and 10 boats will pass you!
Dinner was served to everyone afterwards at the Club.
Friday
At least there’s no rain. We get in one quick race before the wind completely dies. Most boats have to be towed in as they are carried out by the current. It’s now 3:30, and everyone wants to know when the keg will be tapped. But at 3:45, a very light sea breeze begins to fill, and we go out for 2 more races, finishing at 6:00. Our results are better…we move up to 6th overall. The Vangard 15 rep, Mike Funsch, has taken control of the regatta with Allan Terhune(Lightning) in second. The JY 15 rep, Glenn Darden, is now 3rd.
It’s “banquet “ nite , and a change from our casual dress may be needed. We see many of the competitors remain casual, but decide to go with our jackets and ties. After all, we are representing the Jet 14 Class. After a fine sit down dinner, Gary Bodie, US Olympic Sailing Team Coach, gives an informative talk on the recent Olympic Games.
One thing is evident in the hours after racing: there’s more liquor available than a Bill Buckles Blender Party. Ben decides to take advantage of this, and clears his head with some premium scotch.
Saturday
Last chance to advance. There’s actually wind on the water when we get to the club. Forecast is for 10 to 15 from the southwest, and that’s pretty much what we got. 5 races in shifty, lake type conditions with current help our cause. The final race was started 5 minutes before the 1:00 cut-off. We don’t really know why we did better on this day, but muse that it may be due to not overthinking, as we had less brain cells to work with due to the nite before. As we sail in we figure our final position is 4th or 5th, but really have no clue how the others finished. Not until 15 minutes before the awards ceremony, when the scores were posted on the giant scoreboard, did we know of our 3rd! Others were as surprised as we were. When we received our bronze medals, we held our heads high, indicating it was an honor to sail with this collection of champions, and to represent the Jet 14 Class.
This event was fabulous. The new friends we made, the “red carpet” treatment extended to us by US Sailing and host club Raritan YC, the intense but sportsmanlike racing… all make it something we recommend to others who may get the chance to participate.Results Posted 10/13/04
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