starbug wrote:

This is a little bit of old news, but a few weeks ago a J24 sank off
Shilshole marina in Seattle during the J24 nationals. I remember
waking
up that morning, looking out at the unsettled weather and thinking
there was going to be some excitement on the water today during the
races. I
did not think anybody's boat would sink...

This is actually the second J24 to sink in Seattle in the last year.
I
put some more info and a pretty disturbing (the water here is so
cold!) picture on my website: http://www.xs-adventure.com. I'm
trying to get
in touch with the captain for an interview. I'll post that when it's
ready.

This certainly isn't the first J24 to sink while racing. I know of 3 others,
and I'm sure there have been more. The problem is that during a knockdown, the
hatch is barely above the water. Or course that's in flat water -- in any kind
of waves the boat will fill up in no time. And where there's wind enough for a
knockdown there are waves. These days small keelboats are raced like dinghies.
Knockdowns and capsizes are common, and even an accepted part of racing. But
the J24 was not designed with this in mind!

Unfortunately there's a lot of really deep water around Seattle, where salvage
may be impractical or impossible.

Matt O.