[J22-Fleet 1]Relocated sailor looking for a ride this summer

[Jason Balich]

Hi, let me introduce myself.  I'm a 27 year-old sailor who just moved out to
St. Paul this past October.  For the past 8 years I've owned and raced my
J/80 "OverAchiever" on the east coast and am pretty accomplished in the
class including a 9th place finish in the Worlds in 2001 and winning the
J/80 northeast circuit this past summer.  I'm also currently the treasurer
for the J/80 Class Association USA (www.j80.org), so you might have seen my
name as a contact in our Sailing World Ad.  Although I've only sailed the
J/80 in recent years, I sailed for Princeton in college (both fleet racing
as well as team racing and match racing): FJs, 420s, Vanguard 15s, Larks,
etc, and was a team racing coach for 3 years, so I'm not a stranger to
smaller boats.

I relocated to this area for work but have left my boat back in
Massachusetts.  Although I'm planning on flying back east for the major J/80
regattas this summer (including the NAs in Houston, TX this May), there are
only four of those, so I'm also looking to get actively involved with a
class out here on Lake Minnetonka.  I've raced J/22s a couple of times
before and have been told that the J/22 class is one of the most competitive
fleets out here, which is why I'm interested in finding a ride for the
summer.

I'm especially interested in the Thursday sunset series and match racing on
Mondays, but would be around for most, but not all, weekend races.  I'm 6'3"
and 190 lbs.  So, if you or someone you know is looking to fill a vacant
crew position with an experienced racer (especially thinking toward having a
consistent crew through the J/22 NAs in 2006), give me a call or shoot me an
email, or pass along my name.

Jason Balich

978-337-2278 (cell & home phone)
jwbalich at hotpop.com