SIGHTINGS
Page 52 •
Latitude 38
• February, 2016
puddle jump parties in Almost as predictable as the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano each spring, there's long been an annual westward migration of cruisers who set sail for French Polynesia from various West Coast anchorages — a crossing we call the Pacific Puddle Jump. The roster of entries for this loosely organized rally is near 100 and growing, with boats from at least a dozen countries. (See www.pacificpuddlejump.com.) As in years past, Latitude 38 will host PPJ Sendoff Parties in both Mexico and Panama, where each crew will be interviewed and photographed for their 15
2OCEANS1ROCK / RYAN FINN
ZACK CARVER
around the horn in a proa? One of the most unusual boats ever built on the West Coast came into the Latitude spotlight recently, as the 36-ft proa Jzerro passed through the Bay en route to Panama. Built by renowned Port Townsend, WA-based boatwright Russell Brown — who sailed her to Australia and back years ago — she was purchased last fall by New Orleans-based offshore racer Ryan Finn. He was attracted to Jzerro by her speed potential, upwind ability and ease of handling; all requisite features to attain his wildly ambitious goal of setting a solo New York-to-San Francisco record — a feat never before accomplished. Finn's campaign is aptly dubbed 2Oceans1Rock — the rock, of course, being Tierra del Fuego. As sailing record buffs know, the fastest time for that 13,000-mile route was famously held by the great tea clipper Flying Cloud for 135 years (89d, 8h), until 1989, when it was finally broken by Warren Luhrs' 60-ft monohull Thursday's Child (80d, 20h). The current multihull record was set in 2008 by Frenchman Lionel Lemonchois and a crew of nine aboard the The speedy proa 'Jzerro' romps upwind in the Pa- 110-ft catamaran Gitana cific Northwest. Builder Russell Brown smoked the 13 (43d, 3m). The monofleet in Leg One of last summer's Race to Alaska. hull record was broken in 2013 by Italian Giovanni Soldini and a crew of eight aboard the VOR 70 Maserati: 47d, 42m. If we've got our facts straight, the smallest crew ever to break the N.Y.-S.F. record on any type of boat was Luhrs' crew of three (total). Although Finn's proposed trip will certainly be punishing, he is no stranger to rugged singlehanded sailing. Since 2004, when he did the Singlehanded Transpac aboard the J/90 Surfinn, he's been active in the solo-sailing scene, including wins in the 2007 Bermuda 1-2 and the 2011 Atlantic Cup. And he's 'apprenticed' under battletested offshore skippers such as Rich Wilson and Mike Birch Inspired by the voyaging canoes of ancient Polynesia, Jzerro — which was cold-molded with wood and epoxy — is a double-ender in the most literal sense of the word, as she is perfectly symmetrical. That is, her two bows (ends) are identical, and she has two rudders, either of which will drop into place when needed. Her single ama, which is always employed to windward of the main hull, carries a changeable quantity of water ballast. Jzerro, like all proas, literally has to stop in order to tack (the mast must be rotated and the rudder swapped), but this ultralight (3,300-lb) multihull can point much higher than virtually any cat, most trimarans and many monohulls. Last month, we caught up with Finn by phone while he was preparing for a nonstop solo run from L.A. to the Panama Canal. His game plan is to deliver Jzerro to New Orleans, where — assuming he still thinks she is the right tool for the job — he'll make modifications that include upgrading the ama and installing a taller carbon rig in order to carry bigger spinnakers. He intends to set sail from the Big Apple late next fall. If computer models are correct — and Lady Luck is riding shotgun — Finn could make it around in 60-70 days. We can't wait to follow along via Jzerro's transponder track. To learn more about the campaign, see www.2Oceans1Rock.org. — andy
After a successful shakedown cruise from Port Townsend to San Francisco Bay, Russell Brown (left) officially hands off his finely crafted proa to adventurer Ryan Finn, who intends to challenge the New York-to-San Francisco record — solo!
