Photo by Travis Odenbach
Twenty-three J/24 boats showed up for the 28th annual 2016 J-Daze regatta at the Canandaigua Yacht Club earlier this month. Quantum’s own Travis Odenbach dominated the three-race event, winning each day’s race and the overall event.
A springtime tradition in New York, nearly two dozen boats competed this year despite tricky conditions. “The breeze was out of the southeast at 14-18 knots on a very narrow lake, so that made it puffy and shifty ,” said Odenbach. “With the sea state being so flat, we tuned our rig tighter than normal, going three steps up from base off our tuning guide.”
Even with the shifty conditions, Odenbach said the most difficult part of the regatta was watching the fleet split from each other. “We kept to our game plan off the starting line and trusted that, by winning our side and not chasing to cover other boats, everything would play out. Staying patience upwind was the key.”
Patience paid off as Odenbach and his crew on Honeybadger won the event. He credits the win to a combination of his experienced team and some exceptional sails. “Quantum’s sails excel in those conditions,” he said. “We were very pleased with them, as usual. We were also pleased to see that over fifty percent of the fleet was using Quantum sails, with two teams finishing in the top five and five teams in the top ten. Nine of those teams were amateur teams, proving that Quantum’s sail are easy to set up and just go sailing.”
Congratulations to Odenbach and the crew of Honeybadger on a great win!
Click here for full results.