Reading the Notice Of Race for the next Marblehead-Halifax race, I try to figure out if the J/30 complies with the modification of #3.04.2 of ISAF OSR specified in the NOR section 1.2.3, that is:

1.2.3 OSR 3.04 Stability – Monohulls: -- Sub-paragraph 3.04.2 shall apply as follows:
(i) A yacht of less than 31 ft LOA in hull length:
(a) Shall have a minimum displacement of 3.0 tonnes (6,600 lb) and shall meet at least one of the following:
(b) Design Category A under ISO 12217-2 and an Angle of Vanishing Stability (AVS) greater than (130 – (2 x mass)) where mass is the minimum sailing displacement in tonnes, but always greater than 100°, or
(c) Minimum Royal Ocean Racing (RORC), STIX of 32, or
(d) Minimum RORC Stability & Safety Screening Numeral (SSSN) of 28, or
(e) Minimum ORR Stability Index (STBIX) of 110, or
(f) Class rules if those rules have been previously accepted by the Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race Committee (MHORC), in which case 1.2.3 (i) (a) above does not apply.

(a) is much subject to interpretation - is that the actual displacement with crew in at the time of the start? - and I have no idea regarding the (b) to (f)...

Not that I feel the boat ready yet this year, but I have been slowly making upgrade to the boat with the idea to sail this race...
Thanks!

I just sent Rod Johnstone an email asking for some help in answering your questions.

Just go in there raging about Fastnet '79

Minimum 6600 lbs eliminates a hell of a lot of ocean capable boats. Farr/Mumm 30, Olson 30 for example.

Georges,

Rod Johnstone sent the following:

The J/30 meets the requirements of (a) with a displacement of 3.2 tonnes displacement in IMS measurement trim (empty boat) which is well over the 3.0 tonnes requirement of OSR 3.04. I believe it would also meet the ISO requirement under the paragraph (b) as long as deck and cabin are included. I am copying this to Al J for him to confirm whether the J/30 meets this requirement and/or the RORC STIX of 32.
Happy sailing in 2011!

Rod

Two of us from Halifax tried to register our J/30's for Marblehead in 2007 (along with Rod's help) and were denied entry due to not meeting the STIX ratings. Rod's comments on the modifications required on the keel of a J/30 in order to make it comply would result in it passing the STIX ratings and basically make the J/30 un-racable. I forget if the STIX was 32 so figures crossed the rating number has been amended in favour of the J/30.

Andrew

The answer is NO. I am part of the organizing committee and it does not pass the stability requirement. I pleaded the case before and submitted the articles about the Fastnet and an old IMS certificate. However for liability reasons the race will not allow boats to enter that do not meet the stability minimums.

I have done the race 3 times and the only real requirement is a heater (-:

Hello Andrew
I am going to try and find a place to crew Marblehead this year if you know of any spots let me know. Plan on starting to race Groovin this summer. I see there were two j30's at Chester last year.
Greg

Greg - I bet you can at least find a delivery spot down. That may be a good way to get on a boat. I will have beer waiting for you on the dock at the BYC.

DB

I am also looking at delivery. A cool beer is always a ggod way to meet. Look forward to it.
Regards

Bill, David, Andrew,
I am not sure how I missed your answers. My apologies and many thanks for those answers... however sad they are... :-(

Hello Dave
I crewed a C&C 37R/40 out of Nova Scotia and it was a great first offshore race. I did not have your contact info and not much time from flying in and sailing back. Looks like I owe you the beer next time. Wind was strong and seas lumpy made for some interesting helming especially for the new J111 that was posted in this forum running in Halifax late last fall.
Greg

Marblehead race turns to harrowing ordeal for crew
Crippled yacht makes it to port
By BRIAN FREEMAN Sports Reporter
Wed, Jul 13 - 4:53 AM
Eight crew members aboard a Nova Scotia yacht had their sailing abilities and ingenuity put to the test in waters along the province’s South Shore after the boat’s rudder and emergency steering were crippled early Tuesday morning near Port Joli.

Sailing the final leg of the Marblehead-to-Halifax Ocean Race, Blast, a 36-foot yacht owned by Mark Surrette, spent a harrowing several hours edging up the coast with a jury-rigged steering system before ending its journey safely in Chester just before lunch.

"It was a challenge, that’s for sure," Surrette, 54, said Tuesday evening.

"It was something we read about, we think about, we talk about as a crew, but you really never execute until something like this happens."

The Head of St. Margarets Bay skipper said he and his seven crew had high hopes for his boat, just designed and built last year, in the 360-nautical-mile (670-kilometre) race, which he was running for the 19th time.

"We had a great start. We had a terrific first 30 hours. We were pushing hard . . . and my feeling was that we were in very good shape to do quite well in the race, so we had the pedal down hard."

But things went very wrong at about 12:30 a.m.

"We were reaching up the coast and somewhere off Port Joli a big gust hit us and we broached. We went down hard and the top of the rudder post broke."

With the helmsman unable to control the boat and sails flapping wildly in winds gusting to 25 knots, the crewmen managed to get the sails lowered. But they soon discovered that Blast’s emergency steering system had also been detached when the rudder post broke.

Undaunted, Surrette and the crew assessed the situation and proceeded to do their best impersonation of MacGyver, the resourceful television series hero who solved complex problems with whatever materials were at his disposal.

"We got down in the boat, found a piece of a quadrant, which is part of the steering mechanism that was still intact, and then we rigged up some emergency steering."

Once they managed to get the yacht back under control, Surrette said, they initially set out to proceed to Halifax, but he decided to abandon the race when more damage was discovered below.

"Where the rudder post had broken, the rudder had actually slipped down out of the boat about three inches and the only thing holding it in was the quadrant. There’s a seal there that protects water from coming in and the thinking was that if the quadrant should ever fail or the sealant ever fail, then we would be in a very compelling situation of having about a three-inch hole in the bottom of the boat."

Setting a course under power to search for a service yard, with a Canadian coast guard vessel nearby, they headed for Lunenburg and upon reaching that port decided they had mastered their makeshift steering system well enough to carry on to Chester.

A crew from South Shore Marine met them on the water, escorted them into the bay and had the boat pulled out of the water by about 11 a.m. Surrette said he hopes to have the boat repaired and back on the water by the weekend.

The veteran sailor said the incident was a challenging one but his crew demonstrated its seaworthiness by extracting the boat from a perilous situation.

"They were outstanding," he said. "It was tough. It was thick fog, dark, dark, dark, windy as hell, big lumpy seas. And between safety, getting the sails down, making sure the engine was proper, making sure we weren’t sinking, then jury-rigging gear and learning how to control the boat with jury-rigged gear, the guys were just brilliant."