Roleur

Do what you can, with the cards you have. This isn't fantasy land. Just enjoy the ride. You've got it figured out. Aren't you on the West Coast now? No interest in a Singlehanded Transpac?

Not a fat head, just a bit more roach. It's possible that with the big masthead crane that is standard on a 99, that it gets to code 6, due to the roach that is easy to add. Not much downside to being powered up in 12 knots. Pretty easy to keep flattening sails and depowering above that, but if you race where it is often less than 12 knots, no real downside. I mentioned elsewhere that we've raced 18 times this year. I can count on zero hands how many times the average wind speed has been above 12 knots. Also, One Life has water ballast.

Interesting data point. One Life is getting a 3 second credit for your smaller than "normal" kite (code 4), and a 3 second penalty for the your larger than "normal" main (code 6). Normal being the PHRF definition based in IJPE. It would be interesting to know if your kite is max code 4, or somewhere in the middle of that range. Also curious if your main is max code 6, or actually just barely over the max code 5. If I had to guess, I would wager your kite is small in the code 4 range and your main is just barely big enough to code 6. Translation, you could increase the size of your kite and reduce the size of your main slightly, get a 3 second credit and go faster around the course. If I were speccin'g J/99 sails for the PNW I would get a max code 6 main, and a max code 5 spinnaker, rate 75, instead of 78 and be significantly faster in light air. Something to look into when it comes time to replace sails in a few years.

Sounds like it would rate something like 12 sec/mile slower than a J/125 then? That's not bad considering it would be easier to shorthand and more comfortable in general. Isn't the base rating of a 121 closer to 30?

Exactly. We just finished our 18th double-handed race of the year on our J/111. At least 12 more planned for the remainder of the year.

Any idea the rating impact of the new rig and sails?

Where? Boat name?

I feel like they could just turbo the 121 and be there. The 121 hull is all that, but the rig is so conservative, that it rates basically the same as a 122, despite being much lighter and having water ballast. Put a decent stick on it, and watch it go.

Well, we have a 57 boat double-handed race tomorrow. Forecast is 2.5-3.5 knots gusting 3-4, so pick your poison. Race Committee extended the time limit from 5 hours to 6 hours in hopes that some boats will finish.

Turns out Valkyrie is rated for an even larger Kite (Code 5) than 143m2. Ours is exactly 143 (max Code 4), so we are getting a 3 second credit. That said, it didn't look like either of Valkyrie's kites were 143 or larger, but I could be wrong. Something I had in mind to mention to Cathy. I think she is giving up 6 seconds to us for no speed benefit. Apparently her main is larger than ours, but I bet it is only a bit larger and doesn't justify the 3 second hit.

Not the answer you are looking for, but it is interesting that in PHRF NW the 130m2 kite for a J/111 is actually a 6 sec credit and up to 143m2 is a 3 sec credit. My translation is that a 115m2 is by no means a big kite for the J/99.

Yes, 115m2 sounds like a normal size kite. For reference the J/111 OD kite is 130m2, and around here in PHRF land we all have 143+m2 kites on the 111s. I would want as big of a kite as the sailmaker can make efficient on a 99.

Polars only go up to 20 knots of wind speed. What happens above that wind speed is where the fun really starts.

So, we had a French built J/120 and now have a US built J/111 and a good friend has a J/99 getting commissioned right now. We thought a lot about the J/99 vs. J/111 (see thread here) before going with the J/111 and so far the new boat has exceeded our expectations. We primarily race(d) both boats DH and were reasonably successful with both. We had some success on the J/120 DH against fully crewed J/109s. The J/111 is a better race boat. The J/120 is the better cruising boat. That said, the J/120 is a fantastic all arounder in PHRF. I can't figure out what the J/109 is good at in comparison. A J/120 is faster, a better cruising boat, and generally cost less. It is also a better shorthanded boat upwind in a breeze because the J/120 is just a stiffer boat than the J/109 and doesn't care much about crew weight. We always raced our J/120 at least 500 pounds under normal crew weight and still had success upwind in 20-25. The only time the J/109 gave us trouble was upwind in light air, in part because we ran a smaller genoa for easier DH sailing.

There are two in the Pacific Northwest.