UGA Sailing: FJ vs. 420

[@ugasailing9571]

Cringy intro because this was the very first video ever filmed and it was intended for internal purposes (hence the very specific apology for being busy that week with required concert attendance for my music major) - but this is where the channel kicked off and we recognized the value of filming chalk talks! Enjoy :) - 2021 Allison

[@shawnoconnor263]

Excellent video! The high school team I coach is sailing 420s in a few weeks when we normally sail FJs, very helpful to hear the differences. You’ve got FJs perfect!

[@screamingchicken9377]

Racing in an fj for the second time in like 2 hours and my first time I was in bad wind and had no idea how to use an fj so tysm you just saved me

[@tysenp8193]

Racing an fj for the first time tomorrow and this is the most informative video i’ve found on here!!! Thanks for the help :D

[@ugasailing9571]

Glad you found it helpful! How'd it go?

[@tysenp8193]

UGA Sailing Well, it was a cold and gusty weekend in Iowa City. Saturday the gusts were over 40mph so we had to postpone. Sunday morning, A fleet went out, 3 of the 7 boats capsized due to random sideways gusts on the downwind stretch, so they called the rest of the race off since not every team had drysuits. I didn’t get to race, but still had a fun weekend. I’ll definitely come back to these videos in the spring for all the post-ice-melt regattas my team plans on going to.

[@ugasailing9571]

@@tysenp8193 Oh wow! Sounds like the RC made the right call. Sorry the weather didn't work out for safe sailing, that's a real bummer. Spring will be here before you know it! -Allison

[@grantalias]

Great FJ tips. Sailed a Laser for 20 years but have been sailing my dads 1967 FJ the last few years in our club races and feel like I’ve forgotten how to sail 😂. Will put these tips into practice next season 👍.

[@matthewweber6145]

Great video Allison! Super informative and detailed

[@ugasailing9571]

Hey thanks, Matt! Sorry I didn't see this until now- appreciate it!!

[@phillange166]

What a great video, your students are fortunate. BTW, a gybing centreboard creates more lift to windward than a board that doesn't gybe, it literally moves the boat sideways to windward. As an example, in the Canada Cup in the 1970s, Don Green put a small gybing board at the bottom of his big ol' fin keel, whose lead keel was already humongous, heavy, and carefully designed to provide maximum lift. Even so, that tiny gybing board gave the boat advantage and she flew to windward and so was disqualified until it was removed. Historically, gybing centreboards started with work boats; some Netherlands sloops with leeboards had 'em, and one type of Southern US sailing garvey had daggerboards set at angles to get the same effect. So excellent your students can go back over these points. Good luck, UGA Sailing.

[@ugasailing9571]

Hi Phil, Thanks for taking the time to comment. This was our very first video before we even planned on doing a series (as evidenced by its contrast from the other videos) and I have learned more about gybing centerboards since then but unfortunately can't edit what's already been put up on the internet. That being said, I really appreciate the historical insight you provided that I didn't know! I'll be sure to share it with our team. As always, I try to encourage viewers to read the comments below as I don't claim to be an expert in anything and am doing my best to make content that's useful to other sailors. I hope folks will scroll down to read your comment! Thank you for your input! -Allison

[@barrywein2185]

I'm a casual sailor which is how I ended up on your video. I've never raced which limits my sailing knowledge. But, I think you are just awesome even if I don't understand the whole video.

[@gordonipock9385]

I now know to buy a 420 rather than an FJ.

[@ugasailing9571]

Both have their benefits! All depends on what you want :) -Allison

[@desmondjason6195]

I hate fj’s lol, but I’m really exited because I get to sail an I420 tommorow