Mug Race - Jacksonville, FL

[Inquisitor]

I should have added this far sooner...

This is a sailboat race that occurs every year in Jacksonville. A friend of mine has done it for years and highly recommends it... for people like us. This will be my first race and its not like cut-throat fleet racing around marks. Here are some particulars...

* $70
* It is in river so there is no blue water
* It is one way - meaning nobody trying to do a bonzai on your ass.
* Your handicap is based on your boat's type... PHRF M=96, X=100 http://www.ussailing.org/portsmouth/tab ... 8off-2.asp
* It is a pursuit start - meaning you are started based on your boat's rating. Slower ones go earlier.
* There are boats of all types: high performance cats to some even slower than us. Because of this you get the best front row seats as the faster boats (rating and better sailors) start after us and pass us by. And maybe... just maybe... we'll get to pass some of the slower boats that started before us. The slower X's (PHRF rating, not my assessement) start earlier. So I have only one goal - try to catch up to a buddy of mine taking his X.
* BTW - Blue M boats start earlier also.
* The race is on Saturday.
* Apparently there will be shuttles to/from the Rudder club (at the finish line) and Patlatka (at the starting line)

For those in for the full experience - You can join in for any or all of the following...
* The die hards drive in early Thursday and park at the Rudder Club's facilities (this is where the race ends)
* They sail part way up to the starting line and there is a "Pre Midway Party" Thursday night.
* I (and several I know) will be driving in LATE Thursday (so we can work Thursday) and sleeping on-the-hard at the club's facilities.
* Putting the boat in Friday morning and sailing/motoring up to the start line in Palatka.
* There is suppose to be quite a "Pre Race Party" Friday night.
* Race on Saturday.
* A post race party on Saturday night
* Awards breakfast on Sunday morning
* Return home.

Race: http://www.rudderclub.com/mug.html
Course: http://www.rudderclub.com/MugRace2010SouthCourse.pdf
On line registration: https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt ... ta_id=2632


Hope to see you there!

[paj637]

I'm in. What's the parking situation in Palatka?

[c130king]

Phil,

I think the optimal solution for you would be to park your trailer at NAS Jax. Then motor down to Palatka and sail back in the race.

The Rudder Club is right next door to the base. That's what I would do if I was there.

TAKE PICTURES! (* Remember I am living vicariously through you guys and all your sailing adventures *)

And have fun of course.

Cheers,
Jim

[Inquisitor]

I'm in. What's the parking situation in Palatka?

I'm not real familiar with the area or optional logistics... I think the common thing is to park at the Rudder Club (race end) and sail/motor the boat up to Palaka (race start). They do talk about shuttles... so people who cannot take the time to move the boat on the water, can put it in the water in Palaka and drive down to the Rudder Club ready to pull out at race end and take the shuttle back up to Palaka to your boat for the race. Here are some details scarffed of their website...

South Course
- Late Registration & Race Packet Pickup: Apr 30th 4:00 - 6:00PM
- Competitor's meeting: Apr 30th 7:15PM
* Registration, Packet Pickup, & Meeting held at
Quality Inn in Palatka
- Mug Race Start: May 1st 7:30AM
* Warning signal will sound at 7:25AM

Shuttle Bus Schedule
From Rudder Club to Palatka
- Apr 30th: 5:30PM & 8:30PM
- May 1st: 5:45AM & 9:30PM
From Palatka to Rudder Club
- Apr 30th: 7:00PM & 10:00PM
- May 1st: 9:45AM

Awards Ceremony
- Breakfast Buffet: May 2nd 8:00AM
- Awards Ceremony: May 2nd 10:30AM

[Inquisitor]

BTW... Its $70 for the on-line registration.
If you wait and do it by mail or in-person, its $90.

Apparently, they are having a party this weekend to organize the boats that are registered so far and set their start times.

That makes four parties (that I know of) for this one event. Do you Jacksonville people like to party... or what?

I think you all are just making the event to have an excuse to party.

[paj637]

Went to the registration "party". I registered Southern Soul for the race. No big party, I think a cookout was planned for the club members that helped with the registration. We left before it started. We anchored off the club in the river and took the dink in. Lots of nice fast looking boats at the docks, I left thinking that I'm gonna get my a** waxed during the race, but it will be an experience.

[Inquisitor]

My boat needs waxing!

I agree... but I'm going in with the expectation of getting the best seat in the spectators section. Or maybe I can hold off that Extreme 40 Cat for... ohhh... 2 seconds. Or maybe I can put a "move" on a Sun Fish. At the very least I can block her wind. I'm just hoping I'll have as much sailing enjoyment as the last time I visited Jacksonville with the Jax Mac group...

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... =4&t=15696

... and maybe check out the parties.


hull, if we get enough Mac's there, maybe we can run a... (what do the truckers call it?) ... a gauntlet for the faster boats.

[Inquisitor]

79 boats are entered... 8 are Macs.

Maybe we can form a log jam!

[paj637]

8 Macs..... That means we may have our own class and one of us may go home with a trophy. Let me go wax my blue hull so it will look nice during the presentations.

[Inquisitor]

WOW, what a trip! Although our little fleet of Mac X and M's were a mere footnote, I had a blast. The people were great and there was plenty of action... on and off the water. 130 boats made the race and it really never seemed crowded. But it sure was a site to see so many blasting (relative term) down the river.

As far as our little contingent of Mac's... after 40 miles and 10 hours, I came around the last buoy (after which there is a drag race up-wind to the finish) just ten feet behind Mark.

The difference... I was the one playing catch up and was flying full spinnaker coming into the buoy and Mark was being conservative and had taken down his spinnaker long before. Trying to do an America Cup spinnaker take down and rig for up-wind AS your going around the buoy is something that needs a lot more practice than what we have under our belts... as evidenced, I found my spinnaker in the river dragging behind the boat and watching Mark cruise off into the distance.

Congratulations Mark. I want a re-match next year.

[c130king]

So the 40 miles travelling downstream (North towards Jax) was downwind all the way? That sounds great. What kind of wind speeds did you have?

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König

[Inquisitor]

So the 40 miles travelling downstream (North towards Jax) was downwind all the way? That sounds great. What kind of wind speeds did you have?

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König

Hi Jim,
Sorry to hear about your assignment woes. Hope you can defend yourself from the daughter.

http://www.rudderclub.com/MugRace2010SouthCourse.pdf

It was pretty much down wind to the dog leg below Palatka and the winds were pretty light (guessing 0-10). Getting out of the dog leg and up to several miles north of the Shands bridge, it was dead down wind much of the time and still pretty light. Hard for me to judge speed. It started shifting to the east from the bridge and was coming head-on after the last mark (A) going toward the finish. I would guess the winds got into the mid teens in the latter half.

[paj637]

Let it be known that the Blue Hull without a spinnaker was ahead for the first couple of hours until the winds died down and I ran aground. Even with the delayed start time for spinnaker boats, It was obvious that the blue hull is faster during the good winds we had at the start of the race. I bet that if we could have gone head to head during the light winds from 9-2, without the white 's spinnaker, the blue hull would have won!

[markh1f]

It really was a blast, the party Thursday night in Green Cove Springs was great and getting to see the river that far down stream was a real nice change, a lot of green and very natural looking in places. Seeing the sights and hanging out with Phil, Dennis and Bryan in Palatka was also a treat. The race was long and hot, boring at times and an adrenaline rush at others (especially when the wind piped up a couple of times while we had the spinnaker up). Maneuvering in such a big crowd of boats at the start was challenging and rounding the last mark with Dennis on my tail and another boat directly in front of me definitely got the blood pressure pumping.
The blue and white hulls are both definitely slow boats, Allons-y! finished 111 out of 137 that started and the majority of those with lower finishes were DNFs that gave up or got disqualified. However even racing a slow boat can be fun and exiting especially if you have good competition and good friends - thanks Dennis & Phil you were both that.

Jim - here is the only shot I have of Dennis's Genoa/spinnaker setup, look closely between my Spinnaker and mast and you will see his boat. This was about 2/3 of the way and we were neck and neck.


Here is a shot from early in the race when Phil & Dennis were so far ahead that I needed binoculars to pick them out of the boats ahead of me. If you zoom in you can make out the spinnaker from Dennis's boat and Phil's blue hull.


Dennis - Looking forward to next year, just need to find some crew that is younger than me and doesn't mind wrestling spinnakers on the foredeck.

[c130king]

Mark, Dennis, and Phil,

Can't wait to get home and see those pics...photobucket is blocked here at work.

Just as an aside I want to point out a place on the St. John's that I have been a couple of times that you guys might want to check out if you ever get that way again. Just South of the bridge at Green Cove Springs, on the Eastern side is a creek. I think it is called "Six Mile Creek" and about 1 mile up this creek is the Outback Crab Shack. Good eats if you like the things southern and fried. And their free pier is nice...floating and 1000' long. You could park a lot of boats there. Creek is nice and deep. You can see it easily on GoogleEarth.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König