Sailing on Splash Dance J-120

Most of the people who know me well know that I have been heavily involved in sailing over the last ten years or so. From 2003 -2005 I was part of the crew on the J-120 Splash Dance which was a 40 foot racing sloop homeported here in Seattle. This was a fantastic crew to be a part of, the boat was managed very well and the crew was a real who's who of Seattle sailing. We did most of the major races in the northwest including the south sound series, tri-island series, PSSC as well as some distance races such as the bi-annual Smith Island (one of my personal favorites.) Splash Dance had an outstanding record and we did really well in most races. My position was as Bowman and/or Mast-man. I would also grind/trim on the spinnaker during longer downwind legs. In 2005 the owner decided to sell the boat in order to pursue other things, because of this the "crew" has spread apart. Before the boat was sold, the owner stated that he would be looking to make a comeback in 2007 with a newer,sporty boat. If that should happen, I would be pretty excited. I would love to sail with that crew again- that were high performers and really fun to work with. You may be wondering why I am bringing this up now? Recently the local sailing magazine 48 Degrees North ran a special anniversary issue and highlighted the top boats of the last 25 years. Splash Dance was one of the top boats in 2002, 2003 and 2004, so needless to say they ran the picture above of her and a small article. It was exciting to see this as it brought back a lot of good memories. I am actually in this picture, you cannot see me, but my feet are hanging over the starboard side. I do believe it was taken at the up-wind mark rounding during the 2003 winter vashon race. It was right after we hoisted the chute. I am excited to see what the future holds, as I would love to sail with this crew again. Ah, so many boats to sail, so little time.....