J/100 Brilliant Completes 2007 Transpac - Double-Handed

California J/100 owner Tim Fuller and crew/navigator Erik Shampain completed the 2007 Transpac in just over fifteen days, finishing fourth in both class and the doublehanded division. Afterward J/Boats asked Tim a few questions.

J/Boats: Congratulations on sailing to Hawaii on a 33 foot boat! What made you decide to do the Transpac in a daysailer?

Tim Fuller: "The J/100 is very easy to sail, which is one of the reasons I originally got it. I walked away from top tier ocean racing in the early 90's to concentrate on work and family. I have a six and a nine year old and I wanted to teach them to sail, so I bought the 100. Then I couldn't help myself so I got a PHRF rating. I've done well locally in 24 hour doublehanded races, so 2200 miles wasn't really that much of a stretch. And seaworthiness was never a concern."

J/B: Competition for the doublehanded trophy included an Open50 purpose built for short-handed racing. What was the biggest challenge distance racing the 100?

TF: "The Open 50 has a very sophisticated navigation system. All we had was an autopilot that didn't understand weather helm or waves. So we had to hand steer all the time. For navigation we used two handheld GPS's, which meant we couldn't plot positions on enough of a regular basis to see the trends in our track."

J/B: How did you divide up the watches?

TF: "We tried to stick with a three hour watch schedule. But by the time the position reports were plotted every morning, I was on helm between 4-5 hours. Fortunately the boat tracked and sailed really well, so fatigue was never a factor."

J/B: Did you make any modifications to the stock boat?

TF: "We added a ten percent longer pole so we could fly bigger spinnakers, and we also added a high clewed blast reacher. And we installed a thirty gallon water bladder. I added the autopilot when I first bought the boat two years ago. That should be stock equipment on the boat since it does a great job in flat water."

J/B: Any gear failures? TF: "Just one shackle that held the mainsheet block on the boom. It twisted off so we pulled in the boom and replaced it."

J/B: What was your favorite part about sailing this boat in this race? TF: "The boat came alive in 25 knots of breeze and overpowered the sea state. We had a couple of 30 knot squalls and in the first one we were caught with a big kite up, but we never rounded up once. Close to the finish we were surfing down huge waves in 24-26 knots, and we hit our top speed of 23 knots! Even at that speed once we bottomed out, the kite just pressed back into the rig. Then we bottom-turned out of it and went looking for the next ride."

J/B: Is there anything you would change about the boat? TF: "I'd like to be able to put on a bigger headsail for lighter air."

J/B: Would you do the race again on the 100? TF: "Yes, except my new J/122 arrived while we were on our way to Hawaii! I'm putting the 100 up for sale and plan to sail the 122 doublehanded in the 2009 Transpac. It might be a bit more difficult to handle with two people, but the waterline length will be better suited to the distance."