Warsash Spring Series: Race One
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 By Jamie Arnell on JEEZ LOUISE
Apparently a third place today entitles me to scribble a race report, but we very nearly lost this duty on the last leg!! The weather was amazing, Spring had sprung and we cracked open the sunscreen.
We had a delayed start whilst the wind settled in direction and strength to 16-18 knots. JEEZ LOUISE started at the Committee Boat end of the line, and in all honesty I have no idea where everyone else was because we were concentrating on scrubbing the speed we carried into the start line, which was not easy with the strong west running tide.
Our plan was to head to the deep water as quickly as possible and with the assistance of clear breeze we found ourselves in a position to tack quickly and head for the mainland shore. A strategic tack back and we began looking for the lay to the first windward mark. J-DREAM (David & Kirsty Apthorp) and SHIVA (Matthew Boyle) overstood the lay a little as we made our move to the mark and we were very pleased to round in first place, closely followed by newcomers to the fleet, JYNNAN TONNYX (Owain Franks). Our moment of glory was short-lived as a fumbled hoist let J-DREAM and SHIVA through. SHIVA had the best hoist to lead the fleet back across the Solent.
 The tide remained a tricky little customer and the wind was beginning to build with gusts peaking at 20kts. On the second beat we watched J-DREAM overtake SHIVA to take the lead, whilst we stayed ahead of the battle for fourth place between OFFBEAT (David McLeman) and AUDAJIOUS (David Jobson). The final beat saw AUDAJIOUS, OFFBEAT and JAMBHALA (Gill Ross/Richard Sainsbury) close the gap requiring us to take a defensive position.
After what we hoped was the last tack for the pin end of the line we had to throw in a final tack to poke our nose over the line a mere five seconds ahead of AUDAJIOUS, with OFFBEAT 6 seconds behind them and JAMBHALA 9 seconds after that. It says a lot about one design racing when after one hour forty minutes of racing, only 20 seconds separates third to sixth.
Note to self - next week, try harder to finish top two, so do not have to write race report!
Results:
1st - J-DREAM (David & Kirsty Apthorp)
2nd - SHIVA (Matthew Boyle)
3rd - JEEZ LOUISE (Jamie Arnell)
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ISAF Changes to Sailor Classification: Are you Ready?
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 Fellow J109 Officers, Fleet Captains and Class Members,
As you may be aware ISAF changed its categorization of sailors this year to eliminate the Category 2 designation. As such, sailors are now considered to be Category 1 (amateur) or Category 3 (professional). This doesn't affect our class rules as we only had limitations on the number of Cat 3's that can be aboard during a class event, it may affect the status of some of your crew members. I would strongly encourage you to have crew members clarify their classification status well in advance of any regatta where crew lists need to be submitted and verified against the ISAF Sailor database as formerly Category 2 sailors may have been designated Category 3s. If that is the case, and they don't believe they have been properly classified they will need to contact ISAF and review their status. Obviously if a former Category 2 sailor is designated a Category 1 there won't be a problem.
I have attached a document from ISAF designed to assist race committees and classes in setting out crew restrictions in Notices of Race and Class rules and reviewing procedures under which classifications can be protested either at or subsequent to a regatta.
Please circulate this email and attachment to your Fleet members to make sure they are aware of the change in the ISAF classifications. Please have anyone contact me if they have any questions. If I don't know the answer I will raise the question with ISAF.
I'd like to wish all of you best wishes for a successful (and safe!) 2010 sailing season.
-Rick Lyall
Editor's Note: The full classification code is available under "class documents" on the J/109 website.
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Regatta Preview: Mid-Atlantics in Annapolis
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The Mid-Atlantic Championship will take place during the Annapolis NOOD Regatta, April 30-May 2, 2010. This is the first event that will determine who (if anyone) can wrest the Season Championship Trophy away from Bill Sweetser. For more information, visit the J/109 website. To register, visit the NOOD registration page.
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Happy Spring!