Please select your home edition
Edition
Belvedere

J/100 Stark Raving Mad wins 2024 Hot Rum Series

by J-Boats 14 Dec 2024 07:27 GMT
2024 Hot Rum Series © Mark Albertazzi

There is an old wise tale about the three-race Hot Rum Series. One of the races will feature one '"perfect weather" day with sun, no clouds, flat seas, and a perfect westerly breeze that boats can reach/run around the course. Then, another race will have stormy conditions, not limited to blustery southerly winds, significant swell/waves, and maybe some rain to make it truly miserable. Then, another race that has little to no wind!

Hot Rum Series races 1 and 2 were nearly identical featuring the most desirable "perfect weather" conditions. Winds were in the mid to high teens from that sweet westerly direction. Consider the finish times for Jim Madden's J/100 STARK RAVING MADE with consistent top-level performance: Race 1 finished at 14:11 and Race 2 finished even faster at 14:07. Race 1 enjoyed 110 finishers in about 32 minutes, while Race 2 clocked 114 finishers in about 1 hour.

And so, while the morning of Race 3 dawned bright, it was also warm and dry, suggesting light Santa Ana conditions — and so it was. The Race Committee administered a 20-minute AP (postponement) due to the absolute lack of wind across the start area and a flood tide that would have caused boats attempting to start to pile up within the first few hundred feet of the course. By 12:30, there was enough wind to get boats moving down the course toward mark 1, with marginally better wind outside the harbor.

But, there wasn't enough for most sailors. By the time the race clock ran out at the 4:30 PM time limit, 34 boats had finished in the preceding 30 minutes with Jim Madden's third place STARK RAVING MAD crossing the line at 15:58. Even subtracting the 20-minute postponement, his finish time would have been 15:38, around an hour and a half longer than his Race 1 or Race 2 elapsed time.

PHRF Overall

In the overall series scores - Class 6 was the huge winner. The top 3 boats were J/Teams that do well, especially, on a powerful reaching course. Third place was awarded to J/105 J-ALMIGHTY skippered by Mike Hatch. Second place went to the J/105 PERSEVERANCE owned and driven by Bennet Greenwald and Dave Vieregg. And first place went to defending Overall winner, Jim Madden and crew aboard his J/100 STARK RAVING MAD.

PHRF 2 Division

In this thirteen-boat fleet, it was the story of the trio of J/145s. All well-sailed teams. In the end, it was Rudy Hasl's PALAEMON that took third, followed by Steven Ernest's AIMANT DE FILLE in fourth. Alec Oberschmidt's ARRGH took seventh place.

PHRF 3 Division

This eighteen-boat division had a very bizarre and eclectic group of boats racing against each other. Imagine, a J/122 or J/111 against a Cape 31, Melges 32, or Farr 30. Not exactly, a level playing field. Nevertheless, Mark Stratton's J/122 CHEEKY won the bronze medal. Meanwhile, Erostino Dagfish's J/122 DOUBLE HELIX took fourth place and Ed Sanford's J/111 CREATIVE ended up fifth.

CLASS 4 Division

In this twenty-one-boat fleet, three J/teams faired quite well. Garnering third place was Eric Axford's J/120 CAPER, They were followed in fourth place by a past multiple times winner of this division; Chuck Nichol's and Kyle Clark's CCRIDER. Then, rounding out the top five in fifth place was Jeff Shew's J/121 RAVEN.

CLASS 5 Division

Amongst the dozen boats sailing in this fleet, it was Jim & Scott Barber's J/109 FELEENA that took fifth place.

CLASS 6 Division

Winning with straight bullets in this large two-dozen boat fleet was Jim Madden's J/100 STARK RAVING MAD. Second place went to Bennet Greenwald & Dave Vieregg's J/105 PERSEVERANCE. Then, Mike Hatch's J/105 J-ALMIGHTY ended up in fifth place.

CLASS 7 Division

It was a duel between two J/crew for the top of the leaderboard in this seventeen-boat fleet. Winning by a single point was Scott Bennett's J/92 FANDANGO. Meanwhile, settling for the silver despite winning the last race was Chuck Bowers's J/29 RHUMB RUNNER.

Thank you to perennial event supporter Mt. Gay Barbados Rum, and to the volunteers serving on the Protest Committee arbitrating knowledge and experiences on the race course, and to the Race Committee volunteers that manage the starts, mind the buoys, and score this winter hallmark event.

For more San Diego Yacht Club Hot Rum Series sailing and scoring information sdyc.org/calendar/event/hot-rum-series-1-24

Related Articles

Etchells North American Championship overall
Luke Lawrence and team win at San Diego Yacht Club The competitors for the Etchells North American Championship in San Diego left the dock Sunday morning for the final two races of the regatta with a lot of work still in front of them to determine the winner. Posted on 19 May
Etchells North American Championship day 2
Three more races held on Saturday The 2025 Etchells North American Championship continued with 3 more races on Saturday. Conditions were more favorable for racing today with wind in the 8 - 12 kt range. Posted on 18 May
Etchells North American Championship day 1
A strong day for Masfen, Cooke and Wilkinson give the NZL team top position Day one of the Etchells North American Championship started off under an AP flag with mostly cloudy skies. After an almost 90 minute delay, Race 1 got under way at 12:55 with a course bearing of 235 with 1.2 nm legs. Posted on 17 May
2025 Etchells North American Championship Preview
Racing set to Kick Off Friday May 16th in San Diego San Diego Yacht Club welcomes 39 teams competing in the 2025 Etchells North American Championships - a 3-day regatta May 16-18. Posted on 15 May
2025 Yachting Cup at San Diego YC overall
Awarding 7 class winners along with the overall award to J/24 Wharf Rat Day 2 of SDYC's Yachting Cup started with a bit of rain and overcast coastal skies. The race management team was concerned about the forecast conditions - specifically the sea state, which built as a result of an overnight offshore front. Posted on 5 May
2025 Yachting Cup at San Diego YC Day 1
Competitive racing with light conditions for the seven classes After all the concern about inclement weather and alternate plans... Day 1 of San Diego Yacht Club's Yachting Cup defied the forecasts. Posted on 4 May
SDYC hosts the 2025 Yachting Cup this weekend
Featuring one design and handicap classes racing Each year as the calendar flips to May, San Diego Yacht Club hosts the annual Yachting Cup regatta, featuring one design and handicap classes racing. Posted on 2 May
Jesberg Wins Etchells Orca Bowl
Busch/Madden Win Etchells West Coast Spring Series The Orca Bowl wrapped up the 2025 Etchells West Coast Spring Series on April 26-27 with a 5-race regatta sailed by 33 teams on the ocean course off of Point Loma in San Diego, CA. Posted on 29 Apr
2025 Etchells Midwinters West in San Diego
Chris Busch wins tight battle after a dynamic three days of racing The 2025 Etchells Midwinters West, hosted by the San Diego Yacht Club and sailed on the Coronado Roads, delivered a dynamic three days of racing, concluding the third leg of the West Coast Spring Series with a hard-fought victory by Chris Busch Posted on 1 Apr
Registration open for the 2025 Yachting Cup
San Diego's Premier Spring Regatta San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC) is thrilled to announce that registration is now open for the highly anticipated 2025 Yachting Cup, San Diego's premier spring regatta. Posted on 4 Mar