| Schock 40 |  |
Owner Testimonials | |
|
2002
CHICAGO/MAC A
Letter from Ron Nolan - Schock 40 #5 I'd
like to give you a recap of our recent participation in the 2002 Chicago
to Mackinaw Island race July 20/21. We
started the race in an 8 to 12 knot easterly. Since the rhumb was
approximately 23 degrees, much of the fleet set a jib and held pretty
tight. We
set a Code O as soon as we were well clear of the start line and sailed
somewhat east of the rhumb anticipating a southerly back with more
velocity. For
the first five hours we stayed in the moderate winds and maintained boat
speed in the 8 to 10 knot area.
By late afternoon the wind began to back and increase in strength.
From approximately 1700 hrs on Saturday until 1300 hrs on Sunday we
were sailing in 15 to 25 knot wind out of the south/southwest.
For the first 225 miles of the race we averaged over 13 knots of
boat speed. During
this time we had peak winds of 28 to 30 with waves in the 3 to 5 ft range.
Our top speed was 18.5 knots.
We endured one knockdown, but the boat popped right back up when we
centered the keel, and we lost no time. At
that point of the race we were well ahead of our competition (closest
class boats were 15 miles behind). Unfortunately, we ran into a patch of
light winds (4 to 6 knots) that lasted for approximately 2 hours.
This allowed the boats behind us to catch up.
Finally, the wind picked back up for us and we were able to pull
away again. We
continued to sail in 15 to 25 knot winds at high speeds for the next 4 to
5 hours. We
blew up our AP spinnaker but put another back up immediately without
hesitation. At
about 1700 hrs Sunday we were approximately 5 miles from Grey's Reef, a
narrow channel 1/2 mile wide by 2 miles long with 5 ft depth of water on
each side. We
had weather confirmation of a major storm front moving through the area at
approximately 50 miles an hour toward us.
Reported winds were 50 to 70 knots.
We saw the black wall of the storm approaching us from the North
and were able to get our spinnaker down before it hit.
The front edge hit us at 50 to 60 knots with our main fully up.
We sheeted fully out with the ballast fully canted to weather and
took the blast.
The boat shuttered but took the blast and started planing toward
the reef opening at 20 knots. I couldn't believe how well the boat was
taking the conditions but I knew that if we hit the reef we were in big
trouble so I ordered the main down to ride out the storm.
The high winds only lasted 15 to 20 minutes but what a blow! We
pulled ourselves together and got our sails back up and finished the race
at approximately 2300 hours Sunday night.
What a ride! During
the storm, several boats suffered major damage.
The 78 ft yacht SASSY lost its entire rig and was pulled in.
I saw much carnage at the dock Monday morning as I walked around.
It was not a pretty sight.
But I can't say enough about how well J SWIFT held up.
There was never a time that I had any doubts about how solid our
boat was and how well it took the constant pounding of this high wind
race. You
can be proud of your product. Keep up the good work, pal. Best... Ron EX-YASSOU
IN WAIKIKI Posted
on SailingAnarchy Web Site by SR CHIEF Tuesday,
July 2, 2002 Took the twins down to the YC
today to check out the Schock 40 which arrived today from Long Beach. My
buddy delivered it; and I literally had to beat the grin off his face for
two hours after they arrived. The trip took 12 days (slow) because of
light air, although they
shook the reef out of the main last night to make an early eta and enjoyed
some surfing. Tom Schock spent an entire day with the delivery crew on his
coin, walking them through the boat. Dave could not say enough of T.S.
I crawled through the boat and jumped in the water for a closer
look, and I am thoroughly impressed! The crew reported a smooth ride, and
the boat was incredibly stiff. Can't wait to go for a sail! Clearly an
awesome boat. Wish I had a 100 grand.
Paul Parks had this to say about his Schock 40:
Jim & Nancy Demetriades explains why they ordered Schock 40 hull #6:
| |