Blue J is the only Beneteau First 260 sailboat in North America. This site was originally dedicated to her story, but has since been widened to include topics of interest to any First 260, 25.7, or 25S owner.
Post-race analysis - 2025 Frostbite Cup
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I try at least once a year to present a detailed BlueJ race analysis, backed up with either pure analytics data and/or video. For 2025, I going to review of performance in the WYC Frostbite Cup with 360 video.
Date October 25 2025
Race WYC Frostbite Cup
Weather 50F, cloudy / clear mix
Wind 9-14 knots SSE (130T)
FLEET - WYC PHRF 1 Spinnaker
Crew: 4 Driver/tach, Main, Pit/Jib, Foredeck/Spin
Video Tech: DJI OSMO 360 with DJI BT/GPS remote, DJI 'invisible' selfie stick
Instrumentation Tech: Raymarine ST60+ Wind, Depth, Water Speed, ORCA Core sailing processor, ORCA Display 2 Mast Instrument, Sailmon MAX Start timer and lift/knock, Actisense NMEA2k/WiFi Gateway
PRESTART:
Wind pre-start looked even up the course, with no real line bias, We planned to go for a solid mid-line start, focusing on having room below. Competition wise, we have a J80 that can present problems, and a Santana 23TR and US-21 that are like rated and well sailed. And Impulse 26 that is much faster then us on the water, but we beat when we sail well. Also several First 235s that we generally do not worry about.
On time and on speed at the gun, and we got away pretty OK. And with decent gaps rolled the boat under us and pulled away from the boat over us, allowing us to tack when we wanted to. So ok, a B+ start.
Lap 1:
We get the boat settled in, and we are holding our own against the important boats. We generally make our move on the first down-wind, so we just work to not lose on the first beat. Rating B
Rounding and downwind 1:
We round right behind the Santana, but get our kite up faster and establish a windward position that they don't feel like attacking. After our gybe outside them, my goal is to get and stay over the top of them, and show them our transom; then they have zero options to pass. We nail it. Rating A
LAP 2:
After a much better rounding then the Santana, we have a great upwind and are now clear over every boat, with the exception of the Impulse 26 who is ahead but in reach handicap wise. With no boats around we settle in to NAIL the set, angle+trim, gybe, and douse. Rating A+
Final Upwind and finish:
Feeling good about our time-gap with the Impulse 26, we loose-cover the Santana and US21 on the upwind to stay clear of them. Solid stuff, and we finish on the favored boat side. Rating A
RESULTS
We discussed this on the ride back to the club, and we were pretty sure we took it. Happy that we were right!
UPDATE: This post is outdated due to the new fixed prod we have placed on BlueJ. This is left for archival purposes. More details on the new prod HERE . To make cruising with the asymmetrical spinnaker easier, we installed a removable, retractable Sparcraft bowsprit on BlueJ. The hardware is first class. The pole mounts to the deck with three hockey-puck shaped discs that the pole mounts clip to. Removing or extending the pole is a matter of moving the brackets. On BlueJ the pole extends about 16 inches. We did not get the pole to add extra J distance on the boat, but only to help the tack clear the bow, and to make gibes easier. It does this very well. Note the adjustable tack line extending through the pole and back to the cockpit. More information on the pole is HERE
If you are an American sailor with international sailing aspirations, you have probably heard of the ICC. Sometimes described incorrectly as an 'International Sailing Licence' or 'Global Charter Certification', its roots and purpose are more complex, and somewhat strange to Americans. I'll start with a little background. More ancient than automobile driving, mariners (in particular recreational mariners) have long enjoyed a tradition of loose or non-existent licencing of their activities world-wide. Even in well developed countries like the USA, there is very little in the way of formal requirements in order to operate a boat. This has led the world to view American charter skippers as 'Credit Card Sailors', due to the only thing needed with their name on it to sail is their credit card! As often happens in matters like this, the ICC got its start in Europe. The close proximity of countries and the mixing of languages, laws, and cultures made a mis...
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