First sailing tests for the JAV 2 in Italy

[Carbon]

Hi guys,
perhaps most of you did not know that all the Javelins 2 built so far by BIMARE but 2, are actually in the US.
The next weekend these 2 (Italian) Javs 2 will be sailed extensively one vs the other for the first time to speed up their tuning in view of the well known Vele di Pasqua Regatta to be held at Cesenatico from March 29 to March 31 at Cesenatico.  
It is very likely that a few old BIMARE F18HTs will be sailed as well in order to verify their relative performances.
I'll keep you informed

[Carbon]

Hi all,
be informed that 12 Javs 2 will be racing next weekend (7, as you know, in the US and 5 in Italy (all the boats produced so far).
9 of them will be sailed for the first time only one or two days before their racing debut (infact only the prototype in the US and 2 more boats in Italy have sailed before).
BIMARE boatyard assembled and delivered 2 Javs during last  weekend and one more is due to be delivered tomorrow.
With regard to the sailing tests scheduled for last weekend in Italy,  strong winds and big seas prevented an accurate tuning of the boats. Anyway the Jav 2 proved to handle the rough conditions with ease.
Therefore we have to wait for the Spring Fever and the Vele di Pasqua Regatta to know more about the performance of the newest BIMARE cat.
   

[Carbon]

Hi all,
perhaps you are still interested to know something about the first major European Event sailed by the new Jav 2. The 6 races scheduled were held in light and often tricky winds. 4 new Jav 2 attended the event together with 3 old BIM F18HTs and a few F18s (Nacra F18s, Tigers, Cirrus F18s etc). The Jav 2 won all races on elapsed time by huge margins (a leg or more) but was able to win on CT only 3 of the 6 races, so that the overall win went to a Dutch Nacra F18.
Please take note that the European Handicap is much more "punishing" for the F18HTs that yr current Portsmouth (62.7). If converted in yr system it is worth 60.9. This fact together with the lack of preparation (tuning) for the Jav 2, only one of them had sailed before the regatta, is the explanation for this not brilliant result.
Anyway I am confident that, due to all the tuning work being carried out in the US by highly talented sailors as Randy and WF, just to name two, the Jav 2 will be the first 18' to be granted a PN under 60.0.
 

[W.F. Oliver III]

Carbon and other EU F-18HT sailors,

Congradulations to the Italian F-18HT (Jav 2) sailors on their performance in Italy's first big test!  Myself and other North American F-18HT sailors look forward to racing in "the old country" soon!  I am sure that sailors from both the Eu and NA will benefit from forthcomming information exchange.

It is impressive that the Jav 2s initial class regattas went so very well on both sides of the pond, as the vast majority of the sailors involved were putting their boats in the water for the first time.  Matt Struble, Randy Smyth, Tommy Gonzalas, and Kevin Smith's (to name a few) technical expertise and sailing ability was paramount to our overcomming this lack of boat prep and testing in the Spring Fever Regatta!  Randy and Matt have the "feel" or "eye" needed to make rig tuning decisions quickly (ie mast rake, diamond tension, etc).  Randy Smyth's sail development (spinnakers on all US J2s are by Smyth Team) has been instumental in the classes "instant boatspeed".  The Smyth Team is also developing mainsails that show a lot of promise ,as well.  Our class also has the benefit of sail development by private sailmakers, such as Peter Cogan (who makes fast A-Cat sails).  The lessons learned and to be learned will certainly be shared with our European counterparts.  

The F-18HTs development in the US is in its infancy.  Heck, we were just trying to figure out which parts went where!  Other formula classes (F-18) have the benefit of several years of tuning and testing by sailors of the highest level (ie, Tornado sailors).  Their boats are much closer to optimal performance than ours, simply due to the "time on the water" and level of competition in the EU.  In the North America, it is the F-18HTs that have the upperhand in terms of level of competition and technical expertise found sailing the boats.  Our class will experience substantial gains in performance as time goes on!  This is exciting, because the boats are already going better than most!

[davidhertz]

I think that W.F. brings up some great points, particularly the potential for further utilization of the F-18HT's performance cababilities.  I lot of folks don't realize how large of performance gains are made in classes/designs, after they are introduced.

The Inter 20 class in the USA is a prime example.  I remember that the I-20s could not match the performance of a well sailed Nacra 6.0 for a COUPLE of season.  Once, folks like Struble and Oliver spent time tweaking the I-20s they made HUGE leaps in performance.  Another example is the Tornado Class.  These boats are arguably sailed closer to their max performance than any other cat design, as they have been tweaked and proded for years by the best.

The incredable initial performance of the Javelin Twos or F-18HTs is very heartening.  With the tweaking that these boats will undoubtably receive, they will continue to amaze.  In fact, classes like the F-18HT lend themselves to even quicker development, due to their "semi-open" rules.  These rules do not restrict owners to particular manufacturer parts nor sails.  Development can proceed unencombered by these restrictions.

Congradulations, once again, to ALL of the F-18HT sailors at Lake Hartwell on a job well done!