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J/30s Across the World
Story by Bob Rutsch
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The last time we put our eyes on J/30 hull #1 was during the Midwinter’s in Miami as we sailed past #547 in 1995. The records indicate a 25-hull gap between 149 and 175, probably unrealized overseas production. After deducting the J/30s reported lost, including six in Hurricane Alicia in 1983 at Houston YC, I figure there are about 500 left. So I was aware of about 80% of the J/30s remaining. The ‘vocal minority’ of J/30 owners are racers of two types. One-design sailors have something they wish to protect and perpetuate. PHRF racers either enjoy playing the handicappers game or accept it as their lot in life for choosing a boat, club, or a home port that doesn’t have a one-design fleet at all, or at least not in a boat of their liking. |
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It might surprise some of us to learn that most J/30s are cruisers. The two biggest factors for choosing a J/30 (after choosing a size and price range) are the head and the inboard diesel engine. Perceived performance comes next. Some, but not many, buy the boat because they wish to race one-design.
Here’s a breakdown by region. Chesapeake Bay has about 65 boats accounted for. Half are cruisers or inactive racers. So far in 2003, 25 have raced one-design on the weekends or Wednesday nights. About ten more sail PHRF in their home port, with all but a couple using strictly one-design sails and equipment. Long Island Sound has more than 60 boats with 30 active racers. Cedar Point has a nice one-design fleet of about a ten boats. There’s a pocket of boats in City Island/Manhasset/Larchmont. The rest, spread out on both sides of the Sound are club racers: Riverside to Black Rock. Oyster Bay to Port Jefferson. They rarely leave their own harbor to do a J/30 or YRA race. Most have class sails but may carry a PHRF size/cloth genoa or kite.
Southern New England (RI, Buzzards Bay, Nantucket) with at least 70 boats has the largest percentage of cruisers. When there is a local NA regatta, they generate about 10 boats that have no problem qualifying under class rules. Chicago has a dozen or so, half racing, primarily using class sails but in PHRF races. New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf coast is working towards a nice fleet (10+), and appears to be making the transition from pure PHRF (with GYA’s the crazy 170% genoa limit) to class sails.
That’s more than half of the boats accounted for (240+/-). I’d estimate that about 120 are racing one-design or in class trim and 10-12 are using non-conforming sails or equipment.
J/30 Fleet 1 was in Holland Michigan. Once upon a time (1981) there were ‘Fleets’ in Marina del Rey, Lake Ontario, Puget Sound, Portland (Maine & Oregon), Galveston, Atlantic City, Detroit and Miami. Some never got off the ground, others died off. The J/30s in these areas have no alternative but to race handicap. Or go cruising, which based on hundreds of phone calls and emails I get or have gotten over the years is what the unaccounted for J/30s do. I routinely search around the country, using the internet for other J/30s that are racing in far off places. I rarely find one I haven’t seen or heard of before.
In the last four-year NA cycle (Barrington RI, Chicago, Cedar Point CT, and Annapolis) 57 different boat/owner combinations have sailed in the NA’s. During the ten years prior to that, there were a total of 161. During that entire period, only about 4 or 5 boats that I can think of had to put away their PHRF rags and buy or borrow class sails.
So I’d say a more reasonable assessment is that one-design (and one-design suited) racers probably exceed those with PHRF sails, probably by a ratio of at least 2:1.
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