Wednesday, July 27, 2011

J/Newsletter- July 27th, 2011

J/109s sailing with women/ girls teams sailing off Cowes, Isle of Wight, EnglandCowes Week- The Pinnacle of J-UK Summer 
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Since 1826 Cowes Week has played a key part in the British sporting summer calendar and is one of the UK’s longest running and most successful sporting events. It now stages up to 40 daily races for around 1,000 boats and is the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world.  Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, as the event is now known, is a fusion of many exciting elements, with its great mix of competitive sailing and social activities. The 8,500 competitors range from Olympic and world class professionals to weekend sailors.  In excess of 100,000 spectators come to watch the sailing, enjoy the parties and live entertainment, and to experience the unique atmosphere. It is genuinely a one-of-a-kind event.

In attendance are throngs of J sailors sailing on eighty-six J's ranging from J/80s to J/133s looking forward to the challenging racing on the capricious Solent, renowned for its wild currents and eddies, and engaging in the navigational puzzles every day of "what's the course and where's the bloody mark"!?  Many a Cowes Week has been blown either by misguiding the rounding of a mark in 5 knots adverse current or simply missing one altogether!

Leading the charge as THE large one-design keelboat fleet at Cowes are the J/109s.  At twenty-seven boats strong, you'll see many class leaders trying to avoid "the big mistake"  and stay in the hunt for five straight days-- not an easy task when one considers that the crew often find the Guinness Beer tent and seemingly disappear into the ether (perhaps their brains do).  Nevertheless, rest assured that J-DREAM, chartered by Peter Nicholson, will be in the limelight, as will be ME JULIE (Dominique Monkhouse), OUTRAJEOUS (Richard and Melanie Griffith), VELVET ELVIS (Richard and Helen Wright) and YEOMAN (the team from Malta is chartering with skipper Jon Calascione and perhaps Jon and Christian Ripard aboard?).

As they usually do, the J/80s all rally to celebrate the pinnacle of summer sailing and festivities by assembling a great fleet of sailors on the infamous Royal Yacht Squadron line. Amongst the twenty-two boats vying for honors will be two  TOE IN THE WATER boats- BIG TOE (Sam Thompson) and LITTLE TOE (Dave Chisolm).  In addition to them are past J/80 UK Champions like boats.com (Ian Atkins), SPITFIRE from the Royal Air Force Sailing Squadron (Tony Hanlon) and AQUA J (Bob Thompson).

For the first time, it looks like there will be a one-design sub-section of J/97s- six of them- all racing in IRC class.  Included amongst this exciting new fleet are McFLY (Tony Mack- previous winner of Queens Cup at CW, Nab Tower race, Tobago and BVI regattas), JIKA JIKA (Mike & Jamie Holmes), FEVER (Grant Gordon), JACKAROO (Jim and Steve Dick), JET (James Owen) and INJENIOUS (Dr Gillian Ross- 2nd fastest J/97 in its first outing- the Round Island Race!).

IRC Class along will have 32 J's sailing in a fleet of 207 boats, or about 15% of the fleet.  Sure to be a factor will be the two J/111s, SHMOKING JOE (Duncan McDonald and Phil Thomas- recent IRC Class winners in the Round Island Race) and the newly launched J-XCENTRIC (John van der Starre & Robin Verhoef who will also be sailing the Fastnet Race Double-handed!).  Then, the winning J/122 JINJA (Ian Matthews) will keep everyone honest and perhaps win a race or two and take a podium finish! Two other well-sailed J/133s- JINGS (David Ballantyne) and JIVARO (Yves Grosjean) have proven their capabilities to win races both around-the-cans and offshore.  This group is a tough one to put down a "betting line" on since just about everyone has won something in the recent past!   For more Cowes Race Week sailing information

J/105 class preparing for J/105 North AmericansMarblehead NOOD Mecca for J/Sailors
Huge J/105, J/24, J/30 Fleet Turnouts
(Marblehead, MA)- With the Sperry Top-Sider Marblehead NOOD Regatta kicking off on Thursday and the J/105 North Americans coming in August, the racing scene on Boston's North Shore is heating up this summer.  By Sunday afternoon, the overall winner of the Marblehead NOOD gets the final invitation to November's Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Championship, during which the overall winners from all eight NOOD locations will race comfy, slow charter-boats equipped with monster blenders and ice-makers in the British Virgin Islands-- pre-equipped with recipes for "painkillers" and "mudslides"?

For many J/105 sailors, the Marblehead NOOD will serve as a tune up for the class's North American championship, which takes place at Eastern YC from August 10 to 14. "Our local fleet of 17 regular competitors will grow to 30 boats," says class representative Jack Attridge. "They're coming from as far away as California, Texas, and Canada.  The local J-105 fleet has attracted about 20 boats on a regular basis for recent NOOD regattas," continues Attridge. "It's a very competitive, owner-driver friendly fleet. The J/105 North American's committee, headed by Doug Morgan of STEEL AWAY III, has been very busy putting together a first-class event and the week promises to be fun and very competitive."

Doug Morgan and his father, Peter, are stalwarts of Marblehead's J/105 fleet. "For years, the J/105 fleet has been growing and attracting some of the best one-design sailors in this area," says the elder Morgan. "It's likely that the J/105 fleet will be the largest in the NOODS this year and probably the most competitive, since the early arrivers for the NAs are serious enough about their racing campaigns to come here two weeks early to race in the NOOD regatta to gain some local knowledge."

The Morgans and other members of Marblehead's J/105 Fleet No. 2 will be rolling out the red carpet for their guests over the next few weeks. "We're working hard to assure that the J/105 visitors for both regattas have a great experience in Marblehead," says Morgan. "It's one of the best one-design racing areas anywhere."

Certain to be amongst the leaders of the J/105s will be champions like Brian Keane on SAVASANA from Beverly YC, past Marblehead NOOD Champions Stew Neff and Henry Brauer on SCIMITAR from Eastern YC, Bernie Girod from Santa Barbara YC on ROCK & ROLL, Kevin Grainger on GUMPTION 3 from New York YC, Bill Zartler on SOLARIS from Houston YC, Joerg Esdorn on KINCSEM from American YC and Ken Colburn on GHOST from New York YC (after his recent Swan 42 Nationals win he will be further testing himself against the best J/105 one-design sailors in the world as part of his New York YC Invitational preparations).

In addition, two very large contingents of "classic" J-racers will be on hand to have some fun of their own.  Amongst them is a strong J/24 contingent.  Will be it Caroline Ross's LONDON CALLING leading the pack, or Greg William's GRACE UNDER PRESSURE taking the HIGH FIVE from Matt Herbster or John Denman's AIRODOODLE just limping along in the front of the pack?  Time will tell.

In the J/30s, it's pretty clear this group not only has fun, but they've also anted up the stakes with the inclusion of "The Fat Lady Sings" led by former SAIL magazine chief Eric Cressy aboard.  Should be an interesting class to watch, anything can happen with this crew-- it all depends on which crew "won the party" the night before!!  Thanks for contributions from Sailing World's Michael Lovett.  For more Marblehead NOOD sailing information.

Old Spanish Days Fiesta Cup Race WeekSanta Barbara-King Harbor Race Preview
(Santa Barbara, CA)- This distance race spanning 81 nautical miles has been a tradition for Santa Barbara and King Harbor for nearly 40 years.  A fixture of SoCal racing that continues to enjoy increasing popularity in the July SoCal sailing schedule is the combination of sailing in Santa Barbara YC's Fiesta Cup (coinciding with some great Cal/Mex yummy food and drinks and Spanish heritage in the region) and the blast around the islands offshore down to King Harbor.  Never an easy race, could be fast, could be slow.  This year 86 boats are sailing, of which they're 20 J's sailing, nearly 25% of the entire fleet!

This year, there's a bevy of J's sailing that include a fleet of one-design J/105s looking forward to take a fast slide (hopefully) south including Santa Barbara YC's Mark Noble sailing ESCAPADE, Dan McGanty's AQUABELLA from Cal YC, Tom Bollay's ARMIDA from Santa Barbara YC, Chuck Spear's TWELVE BAR BLUES and Juan Lois's ROCINANTE.

J/29 sailing downwind- off Santa Barbara, CAIn the PHRF B Class will be Dr. Laura Schlessinger's beautiful J/100 PERFECT (Transpac wasn't enough for this girl, time for some local buoys wind-sprint stuff!), Eric McClure on the J/35 MACS from Alamitos Bay YC, Bill Webster on the J/37 SIDEKICK from Kings Harbor YC and Fred and Ann Cottrell on the J/33 TIGGER from Kings Harbor YC.

In PHRF C Class will be the champion J/29 RUSH STREET sailed by Larry Leveille from Santa Barbara YC.  Come hell or high water, it's hard to imagine how Larry and crew will simply "punt" and throw away this pickle dish for their living room shelves!

Sailing the Sprit PHRF Class is the J/122 SUNDAY TICKET sailed by Dan Scouler from Cal YC plus two fast J/124s, Seth Hall's MARISOL and Joe Simpkin's FORGIVENESS from Cal YC. Also sailing are three J/120s, Gary Winton's SHENANIGANS from Coronado Bay YC, Tom Cullen's BLUEBIRD from Santa Barbara YC and Peter Bretschger's ADIOS from Balboa YC.  Included in the mix are a tough trio of J/109s that include Tom Brott's ELECTRA from Seal Beach YC, Bryce Benjamin's PERSISTENCE from Cal YC and John Shulze's LINSTAR from Balboa YC.  Finally, the J/125 TIMESHAVER sailed by Viggo Torbenson from Dana Point YC will be pushing line honors and overall handicap in Sprit ULDB Class.    For more Santa Barbara-King Harbor Race sailing information

Bayview Mackinac race panoramaJ/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

In many parts of the world this past week, things got a bit hot, too hot for many, precipitating mass migrations to cooler places along lakes or the sea to cool off.  It also galvanized sailors to hop aboard boats and go racing in some of the cooler regattas in the cooler parts of the planet.  For starters, over in Asia the Phuket Race Week held in Phuket, Thailand had yet another fantastic turnout with the J/130 JING JING having a wonderful (and successful) outing.  In Europe, the J/22s had their European Championship in the beautiful seaside resort of Travemunde, Germany and the women sailors in the UK made their annual summer migration down to the Hamble to race keelboats on the Solent for one of their favorite Breast Cancer Care Charities, attending the Dubarry Women's Open Keelboat Championship, many were sailing in the large fleet of J/80s.  Over in the America's, Canadian sailors successfully invaded the Youngstown Level Regatta held on Lake Ontario and practically took off with all the silverware in the J/105 fleet, the J/22 fleet and in the handicap fleets!  Nearby, the J/105s held their West Passage Regatta in Wickford, RI on Narragansett Bay, a good practice event for their upcoming North Americans in Marblehead, MA.  Further west across the Great Lakes was the Bayview-Mackinac Race, a family tradition for many and the 35 foot J's (J/111s, J/105s, J/35s) all sweeping their classes (or nearly so).  Even further West on the Pacific coastline were three fun regattas- the High Sierras Regatta in Fresno, California high, high up in the cool Sierra Nevadas with J/22s and J/24s having a ball; the Whidbey Island Race Week in Whidbey Island, Washington with J/105s and J/80s sailing one-design; and, finally the Santa Barbara YC's Fiesta Cup playing host to a large J/105 one-design class.

Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north.   Check them out!  More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page!  Below are the summaries.

Regatta & Show Schedules:

Jul 28-31- Marblehead NOOD Regatta- http://www.sailingworld.com
Jul 28-Aug 1- Sydney Boatshow (J/80, J/111)- Sydney, Australia- http://www.sydneyboatshow.com.au/
Jul 29-31- Lake Dillon Open- Lake Dillon, CO- http://www.dillonopen.com/
Aug 5-7- Buzzards Bay Regatta- S Dartmouth, MA- http://www.buzzardsbayregatta.com/
Aug 6-13- Cowes Race Week- Isle of Wight, England- http://www.aamcowesweek.co.uk
Aug 10-13- Chester Race Week- Halifax, Nova Scotia- http://www.chesterraceweek.com/
Aug 10-14- J/105 Northamericans- Marblehead, MA- http://www.j105northamericans.com/
Aug 14- Rolex Fastnet Race- Cowes, England- http://www.rorc.org/fastnet/index.php
Aug 29- Sep 1- Rolex Women's Worlds- Rochester, NY- http://riwkc.ussailing.org/
Sep 16-25- Southampton Boatshow (J/97, J/108, J/111)- Southampton, England

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.

J/111 one-design sailboat- sailing the start of Bayview Mackinac RaceJ/111s Sweep Bayview-Mackinac
J/105s Sweep PHRF C Class!
(Mackinac Island, MI)- It was a fantastic tour'de'force for the 35 foot J designs in this year's Bell's Beer Bayview-Mackinac Island race.  Winds for the 221 boat fleet were as predicted for the 87th sailing of the Bell's Beer Bayview Race to Mackinac. They were light to non-existent at the starts, causing three delays in getting the boats off. Racers out on the race course reported  there was little or no wind, especially for the boats with earlier starts.  Most people were hoping that thunderstorms predicted for later tonight and Sunday night would bring more wind. Getting wet isn't a problem; they expect to get wet at some point during this race. But they also want some wind to help make the race more fun.  Earlier, it was a warm and overcast morning when the boats were leaving Port Huron's Black River for the annual Bells Beer Bayview Mackinac Race.  An announcer called out each boat as they passed on their way out to the race course on Lake Huron. A bagpipe band on the balcony of the Port Huron Yacht Club piped the sailors out on their voyage.

J/111 one-design sailboat- sailing start of Bayview Mackinac RaceAfter their terrific performance in the Chicago-Mackinac Race (3rd in class), Harbor Springs, MI native Dave Irish and his team also sailed their J/111 NO SURPRISE in this year's Bayview-Mac.  Said Dave, "After a slow start, boats enjoyed much better conditions for sailing in the early hours Sunday. Some thunderstorms did materialize late Saturday near the tip of the Thumb area (SW part of Lake Huron) but missed the vast majority of the boats headed northeast up the track.  But the storms did bring some much needed wind, which was welcome after an agonizingly still race day on Saturday.  Winds approached 15-25 knots for most of the day Sunday, from the east, which helped boats considerably.  We spent a whole lot of time in the light running on Saturday, mostly on starboard.  I don't recall that we saw SW, maybe during the night, but most of that was done with the wind backed into the Easterly Quadrant, which became brisk with jib reaching/fetching in a strong easterly breeze.  After the Cove Island buoy up near the Canadian Manitoulin Islands, we ran west towards Mackinac Island with fresh NE wind using our North 2A "middle chute" (the big one).  From there, with the wind shutting down gradually to a light NE, then light NW, then at dawn the Westerly filled for a two-sided beat into the finish line for us."

J/120 sailboat- from Canada racing Bayview Mackinac RaceOverall, J's did incredibly well, taking into account the fact that all boats had to sail in the variable winds beating, reaching and running-- the strong suit of good all-round designs. Leading the pack into Mackinac was the J/145  VORTICES sailed by Chris Saxton and crew, getting second in IRC B class and 5th overall IRC, covering the long Cove Island course in 37:49:17.  Not too far behind VORTICES were a trio of J/111s sailing in IRC C Class.  Remarkably, the J/111s swept IRC C class taking 1-2-3 on the podium and were led home by Dave Irish's NO SURPRISE in first (14th Overall IRC), followed by Steve Dabrowski's NIGHT HAWK in second and Tim Clayson's UNPLUGGED in third.  In IRC D Class, Jimmy Mitchell's crew on the J/109 VANDA III simply crushed their class, winning by a corrected time of 6:35:49 and finishing 16th overall behind the J/111 NO SURPRISE.

J/29 sailing doublehanded in Bayview Mackinac RaceIn the PHRF Doublehanded Class, J/105s proved yet again they're a wonderfully easy boat to sail in all-round conditions.  Finishing second in class was the J/105 PIRANA sailed by CJ Ruffing and Chris Ongena.  Third was the J/29 PATRIOT sailed by David and Lyndon Lattie.

In the one-design world, the J/120 class had a tough fight for first in class with Bob Kirkman's HOT TICKET taking line and class honors by just ten minutes over Bill Bresser's FLYIN IRISH.  Third was Commodore Frank Kern's CARINTHIA.

Like their other 35 foot J stablemates, the J/111's, the J/105s sailed as a sub-class in PHRF C and swept the top three places!  The J/105s were led home by Mark Symond's PTERODACTYL, winning class by nearly an hour!  Dean and Lana Walsh's GOOD LOOKIN finished second, just beating Larry & Brian Smith's SORCERY by four minutes.

In the Level 35 Class, it's about as competitive as it gets with a fleet of incredibly well-sailed J/35s.  Unsurprisingly, considering the level of experience on most J/35s, they nearly ran the podium like their stablemates the J/111s.  The winner this year was past J/35 North American Champion FALCON sailed by a family team.  FALCON is owned by Ed (42 PH Macs)and John Bayer (36 PH Macs) and brother-in-law Jim Barnes. All 4 Bayer children are involved. Mary Allen, the main trimmer, is Ed and John's sister and their other sister, Linda Barnes, is the wife of Jim Barnes, a co-owner and active participant. They dedicate this and all future races to their father Edwin Bayer Jr who recently passed away at the age of 85.  There is also another family tradition on the crew - brothers Rich and Ron Rossio (25 PH Macs) are racing together on the boat and who together have over 40 Bayview Mac's to their credit. Finishing third in class was MR BILL's WILD RIDE, also a past J/35 North American Champion and a family crewed boat- having four Wildner's aboard!

J/34 IOR sailing boat- starting Bayview Mackinac raceYet another 35 foot J, the J/34 IOR light air flyer, SEA FEVER finished fourth this year in PHRF E Class.  SEA FEVER is owned by Commodore Dean Balcirak and Tom Burleson. It was Commodore Balcirak's 48th Mackinac and Tom's 35nd. SEA FEVER is sailed by a family crew and friends. Their Mackinac Race highlight was a clean sweep in 2004 when they won their class, overall, and the Yacht Club Challenge Trophies!  As one might have guessed by now, the Mackinac Races are steeped in tradition with many family crews participating for over four to five decades!  Cool.  Wonderful traditions to look forward to every year.
Sailing photo credits- PhotoElements.com- Martin Chumiecki   For more Bayview-Mackinac Race sailing information

J/109 racer-cruiser sailboat- sailing Whidbey Island race weekJ-Fun @ Whidbey Island Race Week
DELIRIUM Wins J/105s
(Whidbey Island, WA)- Often referred to as "adult summer sailing camp", it's hard to argue with that premise as dozens of boats descended upon this summer playground for some fun and frolic around the buoys.  Nearly three dozen J's turned up ranging from J/24s to J/109s in the handicap fleets as well as one-design fleets of J/80s and J/105s.

Day one was one for the record books!  Sunshine and wind filled in from the west at about 10-16 knots for the entire day.  The race committee poured on the racing with 3 races for most everyone.  A few boats found out that the north side of Penn Cove gets a little shallow and did some deep roll tacks in the mud.  Only one boat had to be pulled off the muddy bar.    

J/30 racer-cruiser sailboat at Whidby Island Race weekDay two was Saratoga Passage day with 5-10 knot winds from the south. Races started right at noon and everyone got off to a light air race. Fun in the sun now as it has popped out for the later afternoon.  The fleet arrived home and, apparently, the Party started promptly at 6 pm, much to the delight of the madding throng.

After all the fun and merriment, the big winners in the PHRF P9 Division were the two J/29s, with Pat Denny's HERE & NOW easily securing a runaway first place with an awesome record of five firsts, one 3rd and one 2nd!  Behind him was Pat Nelson and Bob Mayfield's SLICK finishing second in class 11 points back.

In the PHRF P2 Division, the largest fleet in PHRF, the J/109 TANTIVY sailed by Stu Brunell finished 2nd overall in class.  Behind them in 7th was the J/33 HRAVN (Todd Koetje), in 12th the J/35 GRACE E (Brian White) and 13th the J/109 JEOPARDY (Ed Pinkham).

J/105s racing Whidbey Island Race WeekThe J/105s always have spirited racing amongst the fleet in Seattle and it looks like there was a "new kid on the block" that showed everyone how it gets done.  Sailing an extremely consistent series to take the gold was Jerry Dierks on DELIRIUM, scoring a 3-3-3-1-2-1-1 to finish on a strong note for 15 pts.  Jim Geros on LAST TANGO started out well, but slowed down towards the end, getting a 2-1-1-4-3-3-3 record for 21 pts to win on a tiebreaker.  Lying third was class perennial leader Lorenzo Miglioni sailing ALLEGRO VIVACE, losing the tie-breaker with a perhaps the most consistent scoring of anyone- getting a scoreline with all 2nds and 1sts and NOT winning the regatta!  Lorenzo's 1-2-2-2-1-2-2 for 21 pts was only good enough for third?  Ouch, fun but tough on the crew!

Following a pattern set in the Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD earlier this year were the J/80s sailing as a one-design class.  Chris White sailed his CRAZY IVAN into first with five 1sts, two 2nds and a third.  Second to Chris's commanding lead was Jerry Judd's GO FISH and third was David Schutte's TAJ MAHAL.  For more Whidbey Island Race Week sailing information

J/130 cruiser-racer sailboat- sailing Phuket Race Week in ThailandJ/130 2nd Phuket Race Week
(Phuket, Thailand)- Now in its eighth year, Six Senses Phuket Race week comprises four days of world-class yacht racing and five nights of magical, beachside parties at the 5-star Evason Phuket & Six Senses Spa – all captured for international TV broadcast to 140 million households throughout Asia.  The regatta is run over six classes, including cruising/ bareboat/ charter yachts. It’s competitive, high-octane racing for the serious boats and fun courses around the islands for the less serious racers.

The evening parties are legendary. According to one competitor, “It just gets better and better. It’s my favorite. We're very lucky to have such a regatta on our doorstep. What a great regatta Phuket Race week has turned into. Hard racing during the day and plenty of entertainment at night. What more could a sailor wish for? It does not get much better than this, anywhere in the world, I can assure you.”

It was a slow but good start to the regatta this year. After a four hour delay, racing finally got underway in six knots of SW breeze, that built up to ten knots during the afternoon and allowed PRO Simon James to fire away two short windward/leeward courses in quick succession. Several boats were eager to get going and jumped the gun at the start, then recalled for their efforts. The ones that did not return were disqualified. At the end of the day competitors were praising the race committee for competing two races in the trying conditions.  Only a few minutes on corrected time separated the entire IRC 1, eight boat fleet on both races. Rick Pointon's J/130 JING JING started off strongly with a 2-3 to be tied for second after the first day, just behind Neil Pryde's TP52 Team Premiere.

The second day of sailing saw award-winning sailing conditions.  PRO Simon James wasted no time in laying a start line off Bon Island and after the AP was lowered, the fleet went into sequence. Rick's JING JING sailed well to stay in contention for second overall.

J/130 sailboat- leading Phuket RegattaThe third day brought with it an early shower, followed by light winds which filled in nicely for a 10am start.  PRO Simon James decided two races were in order for most classes today, and to shake things up, made it a mix of short windward-leewards and longer passage races. At the start of the sequence the wind was a steady 10 knots and built further as two rainstorms blew through the course, resulting in some great surfing for some and others opting for no spinnaker on the run to the line.  IRC Racing were off first on a windward-leeward and Rick's J/130 JING JING led the class off the start with Team Premier (Neil Pryde) slow to react. At the end of the day, JING JING had a strong overall day of sailing and finished with a third to remain in contention for second.

The final day of racing was a windy, competitive finale!  The rain blew through quickly leaving good winds and white caps for an action-packed final day.  It was a great test for the sailors.  According to round-the-world yachtswoman Dee Caffari who is sailing the Phuket Regatta for the first time with some friends,  “I'm loving the Regatta, it's a really good atmosphere. It's great to see so many boats on the water. The sailors are happy, the resort is beautiful. We're getting in some great sailing and I am enjoying the sightseeing as we sail around the islands.”

In IRC Racing the battle was on for second and third overall as Team Premier (Neil Pryde), having already wrapped up the series, decided not to go out. As winds grew to 13-15 knots, KukuKERchu (David Ross) lead off the start from with the J/130 JING JING (Rick Pointon) and Katsu (Ben Copley) close on her stern.  Katsu tacked early and lost ground as KukuKERchu and JING JING stretched out a small lead on-the-water and rounded the top mark ahead. After three loops JING JING took the win on corrected time from Katsu in second and KukuKERchu in third. In Race 2, JING JING took her second win of the day from Katsu in second and Babe (Mark Mizner) in third. Team Premier took the series win with Rick's JING JING in second! It was a terrific performance for Rick's team and his best finish so far in Phuket!

In summary, the DNA of 'Asia's Best Regatta' is professional race management, an onshore venue second-to-none, and challenging sailing conditions in some of the most scenic sailing grounds around. The fleet saw a full range of conditions throughout the four days of racing and it kept the sailors on their toes. This time of the year anything can be experienced- barely sailing in dead flat calms to bashing and crashing straight into the blustery teeth of an epic Southwest monsoon.  Over the years the sailors have grown accustomed to this and they come prepared for anything that can be thrown at them. The friendly and casual nature of the event, held in the elegant 5-star Evason Phuket & Six Senses Spa with free flowing culinary delights has made this regatta the best in the region.  Yet another one for your "bucket list"!
Watch the Day 1 and 2 YouTube sailing video highlights.  Full Phuket Race Week sailing results, race reports, news and photos

J/22 European Champions- the podium finishersVeraar Wins J/22 Europeans
(Travemunde, Germany)- Twenty five J/22s descended upon the beautiful, picturesque and fashionable German seaside resort of Travemunde for the 2011 J/22 European Championships.  Over the years, Travemunde has earned a reputation for great sailing conditions, wonderful hospitality and excellent race management-- no wonder it's so popular with many ISAF International classes for their championships.

Travemunde was originally founded as a small village at the mouth of the river Trave and for centuries survived from fishing and shipping. Over time it ultimately evolved into one of Germany's most fashionable resorts, in particular gaining enormous popularity with Danish visitors from Copenhagen and, during the Tsarist Empire, it also became popular with wealthy Russians from St Petersburg. Most intriguing, Travemunde has always attracted prominent writers and philosophers, such as poet Emanuel Geibel, Thomas Mann’s famous novel “The Buddenbrooks” (how high society spent their summer vacations in Travemunde) and the infamous Franz Kafka-- who, OMG, caused quite a stir in 1914 when he walked barefoot along Travemunde beach!

While it was evident that none of the J/22s experienced any Kafkaesqean issues of Biblical proportions or poetic Geibelian dramas, it was true the were faced with difficult weather conditions- a low pressure system went racing over the course area and caused endless havoc for the racers.  As a result the first day of racing went for naught.  Then, the second day the PRO managed to skillfully get off three races and by the third day managed to get off enough to complete a seven race series.

After the first day, it was a horse race neck-and-neck between two Dutch teams, Ron Veraar sailing NED 1450 to a 1-2-1 tally and Ivo Kok  sailing to a 2-1-3.  However, over the next two days, it was clear that Veraar's team was sailing beautifully, literally dominating the standings and extending their lead after the first day with scores of 3-1-1-3 to win with 9 pts (inc toss race).  His early competitor, Ivo's team on NED 1600 fell off the radar screen, ending up with a 7-6-10-OCS to finish fourth in the regatta.  Demonstrating good speed and tactics to hang in for second place was Wouter Kollman, sailing NED 1591 consistently to score 4-3-4-1-3-13-1 for 16 pts.  Third was the first German boat, Martin Menzner's GER 1327 racing to a 8-5-8-8-6-2-2-2, coming on strongly in the end to finish with 25 pts.  For more J/22 European Championship sailing results

ECLIPSE of J/105 West Passage Regatta?
(Wickford, RI)- As the third leg of the Narragansett Bay Championship, the J/105s had another competitive event and yet another win for the champion team aboard Damian Emery's ECLIPSE from New York.  Could it be a harbinger of things to come for the J/105 North Americans coming up shortly in August?  Damian's team simply did eclipse the fleet, just about winning every race, gathering five 1sts in seven races, dropping a 3rd and counting a 3rd to finish with a meager 8 pts.

Behind ECLIPSE was a good fight for the remaining podium finishes, with the final result not determined until the last two races.  In the end, yet another J/105 champion, Joerg Esdorn on KINCSEM sailed well enough to score 5-4-1-1-5-3-2 for 16 pts.  In a battle to the end was Bruce Stone on JOUSTER and Fred Darlington on TONTO, with Bruce getting the benefit of a tie-breaker in his favor to finish third with a 2-3-6-4-2-5-3 scoreline for 19 pts.  Fred's team sailed nicely and had a record of 4-2-2-6-3-4-4 to lose the tie-break with 19 pts, too.  For more West Passage Regatta sailing information

J/105 PLANET B Wins Youngstown Level Regatta
TWO WEEKS TILL VEGAS Crushes J/22s
(Youngstown, NY)-  A highlight of the summer sailing season for over a decade for both Americans and Canadians on the eastern end of Lake Ontario has been the increasingly popular one-design and PHRF handicap racing in the Youngstown YC's Level Regatta.  Great sailing in one-design classes for J sailors has always been fun for many and there were good turnouts for the J/105s and the J/22s.

This year, the Canadian teams in J/105s came on strong and simply swept the top five places overall!  In a fight to the end to determine the winner were two teams, Stu Kilpatrick's PLANET B and Peter Hall's JAMAICA ME CRAZY.  But it was Stu's other worldly performance in the last three races that won the PLANET B team the coveted J/105 Champion trophy, garnering a 2-3-3-1-1-2 tally to win with 12 pts.  Peter's crazy team started strongly but faded towards the end, finishing with a 3-1-2-3-4-1 scoreline for 14 pts.  Third was globe-trotting team of HEY JUDE sailed by the gentleman sailor Jim Rathbun from Toronto, accumulating a 1-2-7-7-2-4 for 23 pts.  Fourth was Terry Michaelson on THE USUAL SUSPECTS and fifth Ian Farquharson on SONIC BOOM.

Over on the J/22 one-design course, Bob Mendenhall's team cashing in on TWO WEEKS TILL VEGAS simply dominated their class with seven straight firsts for 7 pts (also a lucky number in Chinese folklore and Vegas!).  Ouch, talk about a "schooling" on the race course of sorts.  Adam Masters sailed TRAIN WRECK into second with 18 pts and Mark Stuhlmiller raced EUDAIMONIA into third place behind the train wreck!

In the PHRF handicap world, there were some new faces leading the crowd and sailing well.  Over in PHRF 3 Class, J sailors swept the top four places, with Don Seitz's J/27 SEITZ-SEER leading the charge with 11 pts.  Behind him was a closely fought race for the rest of the podium, with Dan Mather's J/30 CRUSADER taking second with 23 pts, Mike Seitz (yes, a family relation to Don!) racing his J/27 NORTHERN SEITZ to third with 26 points, narrowly beating out Fred White's J/34 SOUNDWAVE.  A bit off the pace was Peter Winklestein's J/27 SHADES OF AVALON finishing seventh with 54 pts.

In PHRF Main & Jib A class, the J/100 SQUIRMY sailed by Joe O'Brien finished third.  In PHRF 1, Jim Kondziela's J/35 POISON IVY II finished fourth.  In IRC Class, the J/109 MOCASSIN sailed by Ed Werner should've won the IRC class handily were it not for an unfortunate DSQ in race 2, ending up 6th instead with a record of 3-dsq-9-1-1-5 for 31 pts.   For more Youngstown Level Regatta sailing information

J/80s sailing Women's Open Keelboat Champs in UKJ/80 boats.com Wins Women's UK Keelboat Championship
(Hamble, Southampton, England)- Over one hundred women from all over the UK took part in the Dubarry Women's Open Keelboat Championship, which was hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble. Dubarry have been a supporting the event as race sponsor since the start in 2008 but this is their first year as title sponsor.  All proceeds raised over the weekend go to the event charity-- Breast Cancer Care.

Six races over two days were split into two classes - IRC and J80. Racing in the Solent was challenging with light winds on Saturday. Principal Race Officer Peter Bateson made the most of the Solent seeking out the best spots and a series of courses were set accommodating the range of boats participating, creating some exciting mark rounding's as the fleet mixed with other fleets on the Solent racing around the famous yellow buoys. Sunday saw similar conditions until the wind filled in during the second race providing gusts of up to 20 knots, testing conditions for even the experienced racers.

The IRC Class consisted of 9 entrants, third was Louise Makin on the J/105 JOURNEYMAKER 5.  The J/80 Class with a fleet of 6 had a number of close and competitive races with first in fleet going to the event organizer Jody Slater on Boats.com closely followed by Kirsty Skinner on J2X GUL in second and Sarah Allan on JUICY in third.

Pip Hare shared some amusing commentary on the racing on SA,  "I took the opportunity to race for the second year in the Dubarry Women's Open Keelboat Championships in the Solent this weekend, an event in it’s fourth year, comprising of one design racing in J80’s and handicap racing under IRC.

The organization of an all female crew is actually quite difficult to do; yes, there are plenty of very talented female sailors out there but the problem is they are busy. They stretch across the sailing disciplines often as the lone woman on a crew and summer is a hectic time, with many events clashing and not many spare weekends.

We started searching early and managed to find ourselves a crew of ten ‘up for it’ girls but had to invoke emergency babysitting when our helm Liz’s husband got stuck out in Cyprus with the army and couldn’t make it home. So what do you do with a boat load of strong minded, female sailors; surely this is a recipe for absolute carnage, or maybe just a massage scrap?? Not in our case.

We have one rule on the boat and that is there is only one voice (it’s mine!). We have all sailed enough to recognize that the key to winning is harmony and that is definitely what we had this weekend. Saturday gave us shifty and flukey breeze, and inconsistent results to match. It was a difficult day for all but we managed to come out of it with 10 points and lying 3rd on equal points with the boat in second.

On the way back from racing we made a true girly day of it, opening a Jeroboam of Champagne I had been given earlier in the season, and the boat buzzed with chatter and giggling which had turned to raucous laughter as the last of the bottle was emptied out. Once on shore it seemed our racing personas melted away and we again became incapable of deciding if we were going for a drink or to get changed, and what time we should all meet later for the legendary frocks and flip flops party, which went off with a bang - more champagne and a raffle for frilly knickers.

Sunday gave us another three races in very different conditions, and having all races to count in the series we took to the water with a mission on our hands. The breeze started around 12 knots and gradually built to over 20 in the gusts and gave us an interesting day of racing, the kind of day where maneuvers need to be tight and controlled and the gusty wind punishes any mistakes.

Together with the crew of RED EYE a J105 skippered by Libby Greenhalgh, weather forecaster to the British Olympic sailing squad and JOURNEY MAKER 5, the J105 we battled it out in building conditions, breathing down each others necks on mark roundings and hiking as hard as we could up the beat, trying to use some rather insubstantial weight to keep the boats upright.

A fabulous weekends sailing and a good result to end with; many thanks to my great crew Liz, Clare, Clare, Lou-lou, Sabrina, Pippa, Sally, Helen and Laura.  We are fully fired up for next year...that trophy will be ours!  Thanks for some contributions from Pip Hare and Sailing Anarchy.  For more Dubarry Women's Open Keelboat Championship sailing information.

J/105 one-design sailboat- sailing Fiesta Cup- Santa BarbaraFREE ENTERPRISE Wins Fiesta Cup
(Santa Barbara, CA)-  During the third weekend of July, Santa Barbara gears up for a colorful celebration of its Mexican, Spanish and American pioneers, called the Old Spanish Days Fiesta, that lasts for a week and brings in people from all corners of California, if not America, Mexico and Europe.  Coincidentally, many boats from around Southern California arrive in town to join the party and also prepare and gear up for the popular Santa Barbara to King's Harbor Race- a mad reaching/running dash out around the Channel Islands to King's Harbor near Los Angeles.

J/105 Fiesta Cup- spirit and entertainmentAs a result, it's a popular week to be in Santa Barbara for Californians, nothing else is on the racing schedule, kids are out of school (or at camp) and "the Fiesta" becomes a popular destination for friends and family for some fun and frolic on the gorgeous American "Riviera" known as Santa Barbara (one of five cities in America that claim that same title).  The main drag in town, State Street, seemingly turns into another version of New Orleans's infamous Bourbon Street in the French Quarter with thousands celebrating into the wee hours of the night (learn more about it here- http://www.oldspanishdays-fiesta.org).

J/105 one-design sailboat- Fiesta Cup party on beach at Santa Barbara YCSailors were greeted by the customary amazing hospitality from the host, Santa Barbara YC and were entertained for hours at the traditional beach party underneath the club's porch with free-flowing beer and margaritas as well as delicious tacos, enchiladas and other yummy Spanish-Mexican foods off the grills.  From the sailing perspective, the weather cooperated, too, with yet more of the region's renowned spectacular sailing conditions- sunny days, gentle warm breezes, cool water and great race management by SBYC's RC.  Liking the atmosphere and entertainment a lot are the SoCal J/105 sailors.  The J/105 fleet continues to grow for this event and is getting increasingly competitive.

This year, the eleven boat J/105 fleet had two great days of racing with westerlies blowing down the shoreline from 5 to 15 knots.  As usual, it was critical to get off the starting line, stay right upwind, avoid the big kelp lines (or force competitors into them!), and play the shifts as they come flying down off the bluffs on the right side of the course.

The four teams that made the migration north from San Diego YC were more competitive this year but were still no match for the local Santa Barbarian teams that swept the top three.

The racing was remarkably close for the top of the leader-board with the winners ultimately determined in the last race.  Four boats had a shot at winning, including three SBYC teams- Alex Rasmussen's FREE ENTERPRISE, John Demourkas' ROCKIN & GROOVIN, John Ziskind's PERFECT TIMING 2 and one SDYC team- Rick Goebel's  SANITY.

After the first three races on the first day of sailing, the top three were ROCKIN & GROOVIN with a 2-1-2, FREE ENTERPRISE with a 1-3-4 and third PERFECT TIMING 2 with a 4-6-1.

J/105 crew- Jon Ziskind, Heidi Ziskind and friendsSunday saw a fast turnover in the standings.  After the first two races, Johnny D's boys sailed to a 6-2 and Johnny Z's gang sailed to a 2-3.  As a result, it looked like it was going to be a stand-off duel at the OK Corral for these two teams to determine the winner of the regatta.  However, both teams either forgot, or ignored, the fact that Alex's FREE ENTERPRISE team also had a mathematical chance of winning, too.  As a result, in the 6th and final race of the regatta, the two Johnny's arm-wrestled themselves down into the dirt and way down the standings, with Demourkas getting the better of the two finishing 7th and Ziskind getting the short end of the stick and snagging a heart-stopping 9th!  Winning not only the last race and the regatta was Alex Rasmussen and Ted White's team on FREE ENTERPRISE!  Surprise! Losing the tie-breaker to Alex was Demourkas' ROCKIN & GROOVIN team.  Third was Ziskind's PERFECT TIMING 2 with 25 pts.  Rick Goebel's SANITY team nearly pulled off the ultimate coup by stealing third place, just missing despite being the only two race winner in the regatta with a 1-1-4 on the last day to finish 4th with 27 pts!  Watch out for the San Diego crowd next year, looks like they're figuring out the kelp patches and wind patterns in the Channel!

Thanks to all who donated their weekend to make it a successful regatta, Race Committee and volunteers and, especially, the sponsors including J/Boats Santa Barbara dealer Chandlery Yacht Sales managed by Bob and Ken Kieding, Harken, Ventura Boat Yard and sailing photos from Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing.  For more Fiesta Cup J/105 sailing results

J/22 sailboats- sailing on mountain lakes in summer time.J's Get High In Sierras Regatta
J/22s Roll in PHRF Fleet
(Fresno, CA)- This year's High Sierra Regatta was the 58th year of racing on beautiful Huntington Lake. The regatta spans two weekends, the first on July 9-10, and July 16-17.  The first weekend is Centerboard Classes, with the second featuring larger Keelboats. Because of its location and timing in the summer schedule (e.g. hot in Los Angeles), the High Sierra Regatta often  attracts Olympic sailing medalists and national champions from various classes.  Plus, the consistent winds and beautiful scenery attract sailors from all over the country.

For anyone that has never attended this Fresno Yacht Club event at Huntington Lake, in the Sierra Mountains of Central California, there are many reasons to add it to your “must-do regatta” list. For those of in the American Southwest, the excuse is very simple – it is a way to get out of the crazy heat.

The lake itself, at an elevation of 7200 feet, is spectacular, being surrounded by the tree-covered mountains of the Sierra National Forest. This year it was even more spectacular as there was still snow on some of the surrounding peaks. Said one sailor, " as usual the wind gods provided great sailing conditions by turning on great breeze each day prior to the start of racing and then promptly turning it off when we were done. Is there anything better than sailing in great winds (there were plenty of times it was white-capping) on fresh and clear water? The temperature dropped to a very cool 34 degrees the first night and from the cabin sites over-looking the lake it was so calm the following morning that I was convinced the lake had frozen over."  Spectacular sailing, indeed!

Amongst the many J sailors in attendance were a J/27 and J/80 racing in PHRF A-- yes, the lake is big enough to handle up to 30 footers!  Jim Powell's J/27 ended up 6th in class and local sailor Bob Crooks from Fresno finished 8th with his J/80.  In PHRF B, Patrick Bradley from St Francis YC towed his J/24 down to race- a good 7-8 hour trip!  They were rewarded for their efforts with a gorgeous, cool weekend and great sailing.  Patrick managed to get a 4th in PHRF B fleet, just in front of local Fresno YC member Ralph Wessel sailing his J/24 to a 5th overall.  In the PHRF C fleet, the J/22s really did roll and nearly pulled off a 1-2.  Leading the fleet home was the Monterey Peninsula YC team of Greg Greenlee and Cam Lewis with straight firsts!  Were it not for a slow start in race one, Art White's local Fresno YC team would've nailed second overall, instead taking home the 3rd place pickle dish with 13 pts.  For more High Sierra Regatta sailing information

J/Community

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

J/105 one-design sailboat- sailing Bayview Mackinac Race* Hockey Wins Battle of the Teams in Bayview-Mackinac Race?  Yes, it's true.  The Detroit Red Wings hockey team are winners, but not on the ice. They won on the high seas when their adopted boat, SORCERY, crossed the finish line first in the second annual Pro Team Challenge Cup, during the 87th sailing of the Bell's Beer Bayview Mackinac Race.

SORCERY, a J/105 owned by brother Larry and Brian Smith, of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, flew the Red Wings' colors during the three-day race that began Saturday in Port Huron, along the southern shores of Lake Huron.

The Pro Team Challenge, sponsored by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association, included all four major sports teams in Detroit: Red Wings (NHL), Lions (NFL), Pistons (NBA), and Tigers (MLB).

SORCERY crossed the finish line in Mackinac Monday at 3:13 a.m. EDT. The Pistons' boat, the Brandilee (X-402), finished second at 5:34 a.m., and the Limerick (S2 10.3), while flying the Tigers' colors, finished third at 9:15 a.m. The Lions boat, Shillelagh (Tartan 30C), withdrew from the race.  For more information on the Detroit Red Wings winning sailing team.

* Eric Irwin, US Military Sailing Team Captain, credits practice on J/World Annapolis J/80s for Bronze Medal finish at the World Military Games!  Here's Eric's report- "Happy to report that the US Military Sailing Team earned a Bronze Medal at the World Military Games.  The Women got the bronze in the women category and the men were 8th overall out of the 26 teams.  It was perfect racing conditions all week with 12 hour long races completed.  Top three overall were Ukraine, Brazil followed by Poland.  The top five boats were all crewed by professional sailors.  The men's finishes were all single digits except for one 14th due to a trash bag pick up along the way on the bulb keel taking then down from a 5th place rounding."  Prior to heading down to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Eric said that, "I have the honor to be the Team Captain for the US Armed Forces Sailing Team and get to represent the United States by leading a competitive multi service sailing team at the 5th World Military Games in Brazil.  I managed to recruit a male (4) and female (5) team comprised of sailboat racers from the Navy, Marine Corp and Coast Guard both Officers and Enlisted.  The team meets and practices at J/World Annapolis 6-11 July prior to departing to Brazil.  The Male Team is skippered by a Navy Commander who has a 1st and 3rd under his belt from previous international military sailing events and the female team is skippered by a Coast Guard LT who was in the 2000/04 Olympic Trials.

Overall all, the World Military Games had over 6,000 military athletes competing in 37 different sports.  There is a combined opening/closing ceremony on 16/24 July with sailing races 18-22 July.  The two US sailing teams (male/female) fleet raced against 23 other military sailing teams from 23 nations around the world.   More World Military Games Sailing information here.  And, more about it can be read here

J/122 offshore racer cruiser sailboat- Houston, Texas* What do you do when it's overbearingly hot outside?  Clean the boat, polish her up and make her fast and use lots of cool water!! The owner/tactician of the J/122 SECOND STAR (seen here) took the opportunity to "RejeX" polish her from the keel up last Saturday. Said on crew member, "Regrettably, that window of opportunity last Saturday in Texas was a bit toasty. To power wash, clean and RejeX took 14 hours. We never saw less than 98 degrees, and by 4 in the afternoon, the thermometer in the white gravel yard was showing 108 degrees. That's hot!"  So is her tactician!  Thanks for this contribution from Sailing Anarchy.


The J Cruising CommunityJ cruising directions- roll the dice and go!  Sailing to anywhere, anytime! J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers.  Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.

* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand.  Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/

* Prolific writers, Bill and Judy Stellin, sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER around the Mediterranean and Europe and back across the Atlantic for nearly three years.  Their blogs/journals can be found at- http://blog.mailasail.com/jaywalker.  The earlier journals have been compiled into two self published books which can be found at: http://www.blurb.com.  Search for "SEATREK: A Passion for Sailing" by Bill Stellin or William Stellin."  UPDATE-  Just a short note to update from Bill- "Our cruise began in May of 2000 and ended in May of 2008, some 8 years later. I have just finished and published my third and final book covering the last three or so years including our double handed crossing in 16 days and one winter in the Caribbean. Like the others, "Sea Trek- A Passion for sailing- Book III," can be found at www.blurb.com.  Thanks, Bill and Judy"

J/130 sailing ARC Rally arrives Portugal- leave a message on the sea wall!* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.

* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between.  Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins??  Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).

SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com).

-  Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun).  Check out there recent travels- now past Fiji!

- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com.  Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA)J/109 racer-cruiser sailboat GAIA- sailing off Java Sea cruising offshore, then to the South Pacific and New Zealand.  MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.

* The J/109 GAIA (seen right in the Java Sea) was sailed by Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay around the world. In February 2011, their cruising adventures came to an abrupt, sad ending.  As a tribute to them and their cruising friends worldwide, we hope their chronicles on their GAIA website remains a tribute to their warm-hearted spirits- read more about why many loved them dearly and will remain touched by their loving spirit forever- http://www.gaiaworldtour.net/

J/122 Gambler- one-design racer cruiser sailboat- sailing downwindFeatured Boats

J/122 GAMBLER For Sale

A 2008 J/122, Gambler has the three cabin layout, and the optional light grey deck.  White topsides and cherry interior.  The light grey deck really cuts down on the glare, the boat looks great and is in immaculate condition.

Gambler's owner has prepared this boat to race at the highest levels and her race results show it:

-2011 Charleston Race Week winner: PHRF Class B winner. 4 Bullets!!!
-2008 NYYC Annual Regatta-3rd
-2008 Sperry Topside regatta-1st
-2009 NYYC Race Week-2nd
-2009 J122 North American Championship-1st
-2010 Texas Race Week-2nd
-2010 Sperry Topside Regatta-2nd

Gambler may have the best winning record in the US topped by the 2009 North American championship!  In addition the owner has been on a scheduled sail program with North Sails and the inventory has been continually updated each year, including 2011.  For 2011 the owner has purchased the new 3Di carbon sails from North Sails.  This boat is also set up to race offshore and includes complete foul weather for 10, Gill life jackets for 10, along with offshore jacklines.

The factory options are:  light grey non-skid deck, Lewmar Carbon Wheel and Opening ports-aft face of cabin. Don't Gamble and miss out on this well prepared and race winning J/122. This is truly a step aboard and sail to the start line, or cruise across the ocean.  Please contact Scott Spurlin at J/Boats Southwest- email- scott@JBoatsSouthwest.com or phone- 512-335-2391

About J/Boats

Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors.  The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).

J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by:  15 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).

Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors and sailing the waters of 35+ countries around the world.  Sailing is all about friends.  Come join us and expand your social network everywhere!    For more information on J/Boats.

Read Kimball Livingston's SAIL update on the J/Boats story- A Band of Brothers<
  

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

J/Newsletter- July 20th, 2011

J/111 sailing in Australia- Sydney Harbour J/111 @ Sydney Show
(Sydney, Australia)- Next weekend, from July 28th to August 1st, YachtSpot will debut the first ever introduction of the J/111 Speedster for the Australian market.  For those of you Down Under, or will be traveling there soon, it's a great opportunity to chat with sailors who can describe that rare and unique experience that is J/111- a truly modern, fun, fast, easy-to-handle "offshore sportboat" that has 6 foot standing headroom and enough room to have a party comfortably in the main cockpit or down below around the enormous main cabin.  Take a peak, you won't be disappointed!  For those who've experienced 15-23 knots offshore downwind on a J/111, they simply cannot believe that comfort, speed and control like this could ever co-exist!  Truly a next-generation offshore speedster and one-design class (read more about it below).

Also on display at the Sydney Show will the initial debut of one of the world's most popular International One-Design keelboat classes, the J/80.  With over 1,600 J/80s sailing worldwide, strong local fleets sailing in over fourteen countries and World Championships that have averaged over 80 competitors in the last seven years running, take some time to visit the show and find out why so many people have so much fun sailing this one-design class worldwide.

For more information, please contact Ray Entwistle at ph# +61-2-9449-4976 or email- info@yachtspot.com.au.  For more  Sydney Boatshow information- http://www.sydneyboatshow.com.au/

J/111 one-design fleet startingUgotta Regatta 35' One-Designs
J/111, J/105, J/35 Racing!

(Harbor Springs, MI)- How do you spell fun?  Jump into one of three generations of 35 foot J racers in one of the prettiest regatta venues on the planet- Little Traverse Bay near Harbor Springs, MI.  Imagine pristine light blue Caribbean-colored waters, good sea-breezes most days and a great program for on-shore festivities and entertainment, you just can't miss.

The annual Harbor Springs Regatta, renamed to Ugotta Regatta, reflects the camaraderie and enjoyable spirit of Midwestern sailing on the Great Lakes.  With such a short summer sailing season of only three (max 4) months, Midwestern sailors absolutely make the most of any good weather and awesome sailing conditions Mother Nature dishes out for them.  More often than not, the town of Harbor Springs rolls out the red carpet for sailors and, coincidentally, the sometimes capricious Midwestern weather seems to cooperate.  Let's hope for more good stuff for this event.

For the first time,  there will be fleets of J/111s, J/105s and J/35s sailing as one-design classes in one event.  The same six J/111s that sailed the Chicago-Mackinac Race will also be lining up to determine who's the around-the-cans champion after their long offshore tests the previous weekends.  While KASHMIR won the Chicago-Mac Race (and the SW NOOD Regatta), expect to see IMPULSE, MENTAL, MISTY, NIGHT HAWK and, especially, local favorite and local sailing hero Dave Irish give them all a run for the money on NO SURPRISE.

In the J/35s, you'll see Larry Taunt's BAD DOG, Ed Baye's FALCON, Melia Carter's SPECIAL K, Larry Schell's TOUCH OF GREY and Gregg Whipple's WHIPLASH all fighting it out for the podium, all equally capable of grabbing the brass ring.

The J/105s will see Kevin Farrell's BANSHEE, Carter Williams' CREATIVE DESTRUCTION, Clarence Holman's EXIT STRATEGY, Bill Petzold's GREEN FLASH, Mary Symonds' PTERODACTYL and Richard Lehmann's WIND CZAR also having fun trying to overcome CREATIVE DESTRUCTION's and GREEN FLASH's local knowledge to bring home some silverware and pickle dishes.   For more Ugotta Regatta sailing information

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

It wan an epic week and awesome weekend.  In the Americas, it's not often that you get two of the premiere yacht races on the Great Lakes to not only have enormous challenges face the fleet, but to see J's sweep divisions in each race as well as set new standards (if that's even possible) for performance and reliability!  In the Chicago-Mackinac Race, it was both blessed and cursed with the best of times and the worst of times-- near postcard perfect sailing with record-shattering potential, but also fleet-destroying storms. In the Lake Ontario 300, it was a remarkable display of performance by 35 foot J's covering three generations of design.  Then, the Transpac Race saw near record-breaking conditions as well, with an awesome performance by a long-term J/145 team from San Diego.  Over on the East Coast, Chesapeake sailors enjoyed one of their summer-time rights of passage, the Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge and Solomon's Island Race in near idyllic full-moon sailing conditions.  Across the pond in Europe, the Gotland Round Island Race (renamed AF Offshore) simply showed that J/109s are nearly unstoppable in the Baltic Sea.  And, both the French and English enjoyed a spectacular J/Fest, called the J-Cup, in the fabulously quaint, picturesque town of St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands, United Kingdom-- trust us, the sailing was incredible, the host city was perhaps even better!

Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north.   Check them out!  More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page!  Below are the summaries.

Regatta & Show Schedules:

Jul 17-22- Whidbey Island Race Week- Whidbey Is, WA- http://whidbeyislandraceweek.com/blog/
Jul 23-26- J/22 Europeans- Travemunde, Germany- http://www.j22kv.de/
Jul 23- Port Huron-Mackinac Race- Port Huron, MI- http://www.byc.com/mack
Jul 23-24- Youngstown Level Regatta- Youngstown, NY- http://www.yyc.org/
Jul 28-31- Marblehead NOOD Regatta- http://www.sailingworld.com
Jul 28-Aug 1- Sydney Boatshow (J/80, J/111)- Sydney, Australia- http://www.sydneyboatshow.com.au/
Aug 5-7- Buzzards Bay Regatta- S Dartmouth, MA- http://www.buzzardsbayregatta.com/
Aug 10-13- Chester Race Week- Halifax, Nova Scotia- http://www.chesterraceweek.com/
Aug 10-14- J/105 Northamericans- Marblehead, MA- http://www.j105northamericans.com/
Aug 14- Rolex Fastnet Race- Cowes, England- http://www.rorc.org/fastnet/index.php
Sep 16-25- Southampton Boatshow (J/97, J/108, J/111)- Southampton, England

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.

J/111 sailing under 1a at sunset on Chicago Mackinac RaceJ/111 KASHMIR Wins Epic Chicago-Mac Race!
J's Sweep Double-handed Podium!
(Chicago, IL)- This year's Chicago to Mackinac Island 289 nm dash was a tale of two races, the "haves" (the big fast boats) and the "have nots" (the smaller boats).  For the 361 sailboats entered (about 1/3 J/Boats), the first 30 hours after the starts at noon Saturday were near postcard perfect, Chamber of Commerce sailing. No bugs, plenty of breeze from the right angle, a kindly sea-state, warm air and brightly colored spinnakers punctuating the horizon as far as the eye could see. Nothing broken about this picture at all-- yet.  However, about midnight Sunday/ early Monday the dogs came howling off their chains and the lights went out. At the time, the 18-22 knots southwest breezes saw a large part of the Mackinac fleet sailing on port gybe headed from the Point Betsie turning point up through the Manitou Island Straits and headed to Grey's Reef Lighthouse- a 50 mile stretch of water.  Then, all hell brook loose and the maelstrom struck. Sheet lighting started illuminating the sky and it became a mad scramble aboard most boats to get the spinnakers down and either batten-down the hatches (and crew) or hoist heavy-air sails and press-on regardless through the storm.

J/111 sailboat- sailing downwind during Chicago Mackina RaceSailing on the J/111 NO SURPRISE was legendary Great Lakes yachtsman (and winner of multiple Mac Races), Dave Irish from Harbor Springs, Michigan.  Dave's commentary is both insightful and helpful:  "The race started with 230 miles more or less of running, from light to over 20kts of warm and pleasant wind. In the higher wind, with good sea running, we heated the angle significantly up to 150-155 TWA, and using the waves, sailed at speeds in the teens. We made significant gains on boats sailing conventional downwind angles. Fun and active too.

The real story of the race was the weather at the north end of the lake. The whole middle of the fleet, maybe over 100 boats, were hit with severe weather in the middle of the night, which resulted in the loss of two lives.  My call is that we had a 60 knot hit. The wind would move your body, it was necessary to hold on. The big wind was preceded by an hour of incredible electrical activity. It was clear we were in for a "pasting", but as usual it is difficult to tell when it will hit, especially when it's pitch black outside, and in the meantime there was racing to be done.

As the inevitable neared we got the spinnaker off, the #3 jib on, and of course Spinlock deck-vests on with tethers. The wind came and the boat laid down, rig near but not in the water. Lots of white water in the air and no clear line between. I won’t claim actual control, but the boat took care of us until there was a little moderation and it was possible for the crew to move and act.

Chicago Mackinac finish line tentReefing: We have only one mainsail reef, and it is 2.5 meters deep, big enough to make a difference. So two crew members proceeded to pull in the reef, one easing the halyard (on a winch), and one grinding in the single reef line, (also on its own winch). We had opted for the Antal cars on the luff so that part of the sail was under control as well. It is just a routine operation to reef the boat in those conditions, with no-one outside the cockpit. I think we partially rolled the jib. But within a short period of time the boat was all snugged down and we were back at work sailing towards Grey's Reef.

I have known fear on the water, but not this time, and not in this boat (have sailed over 60 years).  The J/111 was amazing.  It was under us, did not demand that we do dangerous things to manage it, and only had to be taken out of race mode for a few minutes. This weekend we race the Lake Huron Mac race, the boat arrived in Port Huron last evening, and we are ready to go. Bring it on, we have the weapon to play this game!"

From another perspective was the team on the J/111 IMPULSE sailed by George Miz, Peter Dreher and Mark Hatfield.  Said George, "This boat certainly had the fun meter pegged in the 'red' all of Sunday afternoon on the Mac. We had 3 consecutive drivers hit 18+ kts in 20-25 kts of breeze and in full control. The boat just likes to go fast with none of the drama we've dealt with on previous boats (George is a former Farr 395 owner)."

Adding to George's commentary was Karl Brummel on KASHMIR, stating that "the boat was fantastic in a variety of conditions. Saturday we were doing 6-7 kts boat speed in 4-5 kts wind with Code Zero. Sunday we were killing it 10-15 kts downhill in 20-28 kts wind with the 2A asym up.  Sunday, after we went storming by a well-sailed Farr 395 at 11-15 kts boat speed/ 155-165 TWA, I said, 'We should have named this boat HORIZON JOB.'"

Mackinac BridgeDuring the early stages of the race, it was apparent the strategies that were unfolding for the sailors headed north were the following:  a) sail the classic rhumbline of 21 degrees from Chicago to Pt Betsie,  b) sail West and up the Illinois/ Wisconsin shoreline in a "thermal" scenario based on various forecasters prognostications, or c) toss everything out the window (ignore all forecasts) and sail at least as high as rhumbline and head east overnight to be on the eastern lake/ west Michigan shoreline to take advantage of southerly breezes accelerating along the shoreline due to the massive heating of the Michigan sand dunes during Sunday's sailing.  Post-race analysis showed the best scenario was a combination of the 1st and 3rd options-- a very bizarre circumstance considering the pre-race forecasts from leading offshore weather routers that recommended staying west of rhumbline and away from the middle of the lake at night!  The boats that worked further east saw more easterly breezes (75-110 degrees) with more pressure until it went light, swung south and accelerated Sunday morning.  The boats that worked west saw the forecasted SSW winds of 7 to 14 knots and sailed mostly 6.5 to 8.5 knots all night long (albeit on a much longer routing).

J/109 one-design sailboat- sailing Chicago Mackinac RaceOff the starting line for the J/111's it was clear the fleet was split on strategy as outlined in the 3 approaches to the race above.  KASHMIR sailed by the team of Brummel/Henderson/Mayer that won Class 3 started at the starboard end with a Code Zero and simply sailed down rhumbline and ultimately worked further east.  Near them was Steve Dabrowski's and Tom Edman's team on NIGHTHAWK that finished 7th.  Going north/northeast just west of rhumb was NO SURPRISE sailed by Dave Irish that finished 3rd, but Dave made it pay by sailing more aggressively downwind (as mentioned above) when the wind hit the high teens/ low twenties and they moved into "planing mode" to pass other boats like they were pylons on a race course.  Near them was Thomas and Carol McIntosh's team on MISTY that finished 10th, sailing a bit more conservatively than most and apparently not taking advantage of "planing mode" to make large gains.  Headed the most westward, heading due north after the start were MENTAL and IMPULSE.  MENTAL was sailed by Paul Stahlberg, Richie Stearns and father Dick Stearns, taking the northernmost route and finished 14th (modified based on a time award for helping with the rescue efforts of the capsized boat WINGNUTS).  IMPULSE, sailed by George Miz, Peter Dreher, Mark Hatfield started north, but bailed at Sheboygan and played gybe angles across the lake to Pt Betsie, ultimately sailing for over 80 nm on starboard gybe at speeds up to 18 knots before having to gybe down the Manitous Islands channel northeast of Pt Betsie, finishing 11th in class.

The story was much the same for most other classes as they all faced the same trade-offs.  In the J/105s, Marty Symond's PTERODACTYL was 1st, followed by Mark Gurney's BUZZ in 2nd, Clark Pellet's SEALARK for 3rd, Tom Petkus' VYTIS in 4th and Mark Nichols' CERTARE in 5th. A very strong class showing overall.

The J/109s had a tough fight for first overall. In the end, it was MERENGUE's David Southwell and Jack Dau 1st.  VANDA III's Jimmy Mitchell was 2nd, yet again getting top 3 division finish over multiple Mac's in a row.  Third was David Gustman's NORTHSTAR.  Fourth was Don Meyer's CERTAINLY and fifth was Peter Priede and Roy Stewart's FULL TILT.

J/105 sailboats sailing Chicago Mackinac Race doublehanded winnersThe Double-handed Division saw an epic performance by a group of 35 foot J's (seen right).  Amongst the three J/105s, OCH! (Brendon Docherty and Patrick Lindenhurst) won the class, followed by GONZO (Ken Ganch, David Pikowitz) in 2nd overall and PHANTOM (Scott Vukovich and John Kalanik) was 7th.  The J/29 TFWB RELENTLESS (George and Kimberly Petritz) was third overall and a J/35 NEMESIS (Timothy Kent and Dana Felton) was 8th.  A remarkable performance for these J sailors considering the challenging conditions for two people to race full-on for 289 nautical miles.

Section 1 had the J/125 and J/145 speedsters (seen below).  They saw the right conditions for outright speed and they took advantage of that fact, sailing their fastest possible VMC angles while headed up the track to Pt Betsie.  The J/125 JEANINE III sailed by Jack Roeser was 6th and the two J/145s, Bill Schanen's bright red MAIN STREET finished 4th and Chris Saxton's VORTICES was 5th.

Section 2 saw the J/133 RENEGADE sailed by Thom Papoutsis finish 12th.  Also sailing in this tough group were two J/130s, Pete Stott's SALSA that finished 14th and Doug Petter's WILLIE J that sailed well to get 8th.

Also sailing in Section 3 with the J/111s was Mitch Padnos' beautiful J/124 SUFFICIENT REASON, getting 5th in a very tough class--- as we said before, this team sails hard, fast and have fun doing it!

J/145 sailboat- Main Street sailing Chicago Mackinac RaceAmongst the Section 4 fleet were four J/120s, including Matthew Songer's PERSEVERANCE that ended up a well-deserved 2nd, Tim Matheson and Glen Estill's ELUSIVE was 7th and Robert Klairmont's SIROCCO 2 was 12th.  Included amongst the 120s was the J/46 WINDRUSH sailed by George Hender, sailing perhaps more comfortably than all of us put together to get a respectable 11th in class.

Section 6 was the "J/35 class" and, sure enough, the "clowns" led everyone home.  Bruce Metcalf's BOZO'S CIRCUS was 2nd, leading the other J/35s.  Larry Taunt's BAD DOG was 7th, Larry Schell's TOUCH OF GREY was 10th and Jack Andree's HOUQUA was 16th.  The J/100 JUST MESSIN sailed by Adam Esselman was 4th.

For the Section 7 gang, you just can't keep a good woman down.  Yet again sailing a great race was the J/110 LADY K sailed by Mike Stewart to a well-earned 4th overall.

Finally, in Section 9 the two J/30s had a rough go considering the storm elements.  Nevertheless, persevering like their Disney movie namesakes, RAFIKI's Greg & Stephanie Moll from Milwaukee, WI finished 6th while INNISFREE's John Nesling from Toronto, ONT ended up 13th overall.  For more Chicago-Mackinac Race sailing information

J/145 BAD PAK winning Transpac RaceJ/145 BAD PAK Wins Transpac
(Honolulu, HI)- It takes awhile to cover 2,225 nautical miles sailing, even in the fabled Transpac Race where you spend more than 90% of the time sailing downwind in tradewind/ synoptic winds of 15-20 knots at various reaching and running angles, optimizing your VMC down course to ride the "passing lane" around the southern portion of the Pacific High past your competitors.  Those "lanes" can be capricious, they keep changing, some fast, some slow, some the wrong angle, too.  Nevertheless, it's what makes the Transpac the enduring challenge that keeps sailors coming back for more.  As they say, it's not often the winning that counts, it's the adventure and the voyage of getting there that makes it so memorable an experience.

In addition, says Kimball Livingston, "there's one great thing the Transpac has going for it. The big finish. The Molokai Channel. Maybe you got stuck in the fog off Catalina and spent what seemed like weeks getting out of town. Maybe the Pacific High Pressure Zone pulled a gotcha and reached down and swallowed the lane that you thought was going to sweep you to glory, but instead you watched the little transponder blips that represent the competition just walk away on a different latitude line.

And then you get to the opening of "the Channel"-- perhaps one of the best in the world to see pop up over the horizon for many reasons. The islands rise on the horizon, clear and lovely. The breeze rises behind you and funnels down the Molokai Channel and there you are on the ride of a lifetime, and the water is white-capped and tropical blue, and the sky is tropical blue with puffy trade-wind clouds, and ahead lies that iconic Diamond Head finish line that has beckoned racing sailors for over a century, generation after generation. This is the ride of the legends."  Even current J/100 and J/105 owner "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger, first-time Transpac sailor was ecstatic, "What can you say when the wind is 30 knots and the waves are boiling eight feet high, and I'm driving? The water was coming down the deck, and sometimes I couldn't even see out. And I didn't lose the boat. I...did...not...lose...the...boat! (we sure it's due to her J/125 and J/100 training!)."

And, there are those who've seemingly got it in their blood and keep coming back for more.  For more of that adrenalin rush experienced by Dr Laura, "newbie Transpac racer".  With a great team, great navigation and a really fast, fun boat to sail, it was Tom Holthus' team from San Diego YC that repeated yet again another Division 4 win on their J/145 BAD PAK.  Starting on the "second start" on Friday with all the big sleds, BAD PAK seemingly sailed a textbook race, start first and increase your lead!  Seriously?  Sure enough, they did exactly that.  Blasting out past Catalina Island soon after the start, holding a conservative line south of rhumb and making judicious choices in terms of distance versus wind, the J/145 BAD PAK sailed that fine line to perfection. Blasting down the Molokai Channel after literally leading the entire race, they finished in 18 days 17:56:24 to win their class on corrected time by over 4.5 hours- and an average speed of 9.4 knots for 2,225 nm!  Needless to say, the BAD PAK crew were jubilant, especially for becoming part of an exclusive club-- that rarified air of being a repeat winner in the Transpac Race.

J/130 BEBE finishing Transpac Race off Diamond Head, HawaiiFellow J sailor, Santa Barbarian Charles Browning, started out the race strongly, smartly, but with a bit of a handicap.  As part of the first fleet to start on Monday, July 4th, Browning's team on the J/130 BEBE from Santa Barbara YC sailed one helluva race for the first third, overcoming lighter than forecasted winds, a receding synoptic trade-wind that was supposed to blow stronger and a class spread over 300 miles of ocean.  Even then, Browning's BEBE led their Division 6 for nearly a week straight!  Then, some equipment issues apparently threw a monkey wrench into their race navigation, forcing them to fly "blind" for awhile until such time they could square it all away.  Nevertheless, they sailed with great determination and ultimately finished sixth in class.  As said earlier, in this case the adventure and experience is what keeps them all coming back for more.   For more Transpac Race sailing information and Facebook link   Sailing Photo Credits- Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing.com

J/92 sailboat- winners of 2011 J-CupThe J-Cup 2011 – A Channel Island Idyll
J/92 BLACKJACK Wins Overall
(St Peter Port, Guernsey)- The J-Cup 2011, our tenth anniversary regatta, was brought to you by the principal event sponsors B&G, Dubarry of Ireland, Lombard Marine Finance, North Sails, Universal Marina and Nautical Guernsey, and was supported by Ray and Scott, Zenith Watches and Harken. The indisputable stars of the show were, as ever, the 350 J Boat owners and crew who made it happen. The J-Cup 2011 was won by Andy Howe, Annie Kelly and the crew on the J/92 Blackjack. The 2011 Lombard Marine Finance J/97 UK National Champions are Grant Gordon and his team on Fever.

J's sailing J-Cup 2011The final day of racing at the J-Cup 2011, hosted by the Guernsey Yacht Club, took place on Thursday in The Little Russell just off St Peter Port. The breeze was a light 6 to 10 knot north westerly. Whilst the PRO had planned to run three races for each of the four competing classes but the dying breeze and the fact that the fleet had their monster J-Cup Prize-giving Party scheduled for later in the day meant that two races were sailed and the fleet were sent home in good time for tea and medals at 1300 hours.

Grant Gordon’s J/97 Fever had established a strong lead in the Lombard Marine Finance J/97 UK National Championship by the final day or racing and no doubt left the dock after having giving his crew the ‘sail our own regatta’ pep talk. Money would have been worth parting with for an ear in on Tony Mack’s team talk to his crew on McFly who were lying second on Thursday morning or indeed on board Mike and Jamie Holmes Jika Jika, in third, each of whom would be racing to change the course of their regatta. After the final two races Fever’s 1,2 scoreline, and Jika Jika’s 2,1 sealed the overall positions. Grant Gordon’s Fever is the Lombard Marine Finance J/97 UK National Champion for 2011. Jika Jika took second and McFly was third overall. Jika Jika won the North Sails Boat of the Day Prize.

J/122 sailing J-Cup regatta in EnglandThe two top boats in IRC 1 as set off for the two final races on Thursday were Nigel and Donna Passmore’s J/133 Apollo 3 in first place and Rob Craigie’s J/122 J Bellino in second, each tied on nine points. Key Yachting’s J/111 J Spirit was in third with twelve points and Colin Wall’s J/111 True Love had fourteen points. Tricky, sticky, light stuff for two races and it was ‘All Change’ in IRC 1 at the end of the seven race series. True Love won both races on Thursday which shot them into the top slot for IRC 1. Apollo 3 finished second in class, on equal points with the winner and only losing out to True Love on the count-back for number of race wins! J Bellino took third in class. The North Sails Boat of the Day Prize for IRC 1 was presented to David Cule’s J/122 Mint Julep.

Just two points separated the top three boats in IRC 2 at the start of racing on Thursday. William Newton’s J/105 Jelly Baby sat at the top of the fleet on five points as the mainsails went up. The J/92 Blackjack owned and raced by Andy Howe and Annie Kelly and Marc Noel’s J/92 Dr Jeckyll were  tied for second and third respectively on six points. The adage goes ‘show me the man who has had his last bad day on the water’, but for IRC 2 on Thursday it was more like ‘show me the man and woman who have had their best day on the water, ever!’ and Blackjack went out to bang in two race wins, securing them the Class win in IRC 2. Second overall was Dr Jeckyll and Jelly Baby took third. Daniel Sheehan and Peter Sandover’s J/105 Jacana won the North Sails Boat of the Day prize.

J/109 one-design sailboat- sailing off St Peter Port, GuernseyThe J/109 One-Design Class was chock full of new faces to the fleet but the competition was as tight here at the J-Cup as at any National Championship that the Class has ever enjoyed. Going in to the final two races of the seven race series, Bruce Huber and Johnnie Goodwin’s Alexabelle was leading the class but from pole position to fifth place overall there were only five points separating the key contenders. It must have been lip bitingly tense out on the J/109 race-course, but it was Tony De Mulder’s crew on Victric who kept themselves ‘the coolest of the cool’ and their 1, 5 score on Thursday propelled them into the top slot overall. Seamus Fitzpatrick’s Mermaid V showed the J/109 fleet some proper Irish attitude and took second place whilst St Peter Port local superstars, Roger Martel and the crew of Moojo, climbed up to third place in class. Blue Jay, the J/109 of Greg Burgess won the North Sails Boat of the Day prize.

As the 350 J-Cup 2011 prize-giving party-goers took their seats at their dinner tables on Thursday night, everyone of course knew who had won each of the competing classes, and the champagne duly flowed freely. However, those who have never attended this epic event in the past were blissfully unaware of the sheer number and variety of seriously significant prizes and awards that were yet to be presented to a whole host of winners.

J/111 one-design sailboat- sailing past rocks in EnglandAs supper commenced so did a game of ‘Heads and Tails’ the like of which most of us had never previously experienced. Ray and Scott (a specialist jeweller and diamond specialist on Guernsey) had arranged with Zenith Watches to offer a beautiful and extremely valuable Zenith Watch in response to donations from the J-Cup fleet for their chosen charity, Toe In The Water. Everyone present made a donation to Toe in the Water by way of an ‘entry fee’ to the game  and then 350 sailors stood on chairs to make their ‘heads or tails’ calls as the coin was tossed by Jeff Fox of Ray and Scott. After much hilarity, Paul England of the J/122 Majic won the Zenith Watch. However, the real winners here are the injured servicemen and women whom Toe in the Water help to rehabilitate through the sport of Sailing. Toe in the Water is £1773 better off today, thanks to the generosity of Zenith Watches, Ray and Scott and the J-Cup fleet. What a way to go!

J/109 one-design sailboats- sailing downwind at J-Cup Guernsey, EnglandThe presentation of the main prizes commenced at 2130 hours and all of those who had achieved third or better in their class were presented with silver, glass and goodies. The beautiful, silver Lombard J/97 UK National Championship Trophy was presented to Grant Gordon and his crew on Fever. The Dubarry Boot for Endurance went to Andrew Given and his crew from J/109 High Tension, long term stalwarts and supporters of the J/1089 fleet and Martin Pound of the J/92 Moby-J was presented with the Dubarry Boot for Outstanding Achievement. The Best Newcomer Trophy went to Stuart Sawyer and his Cornishmen on the J/97 Black Dog. The best two boat team was that of J/109 Victric and J/111 True Love and they took home the Musketeer Trophy, a double champagne ice bucket. Jackie Dobson and the crew from J/133 Jeronimo won the stunning Ray and Scott Prix d’Elegance Trophy. Universal Marina gave away a year’s free berthing at their exquisite facility at the top of the river Hamble to Jamie Arnell for his J/109 Jeez Louise, who was the eventual winner of their photo competition.

And so, that just left the presentation of the J-Cup itself, the overall and most coveted prize of the whole regatta. In ten years of running the J-Cup regatta, the J-Cup has never been awarded to the same boat or the same team, twice. It’s just a very simple piece of silverware but it embodies the soul of the J-Cup regatta and of the unique spirit of friendship, competition and camaraderie which exists between J Boat owners. The winners of the J-Cup in 2011 were Andy, Annie and the crew from Blackjack: for their win in IRC 2, for their support of the J/92 Class over the years and for their unfaltering friendship to all newcomers to the J Boat family. Isn’t that what our sport should be about?

The J-Cup 2012 will be hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble from Wednesday 18th July to Saturday 21st of July. You have to be in it, to win it.   For more J-Cup sailing informationSailing photo credits- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com

J/109 sailors wins Lake Ontario 300J/109 BLUE STREAK Wins Lake Ontario 300
35 Foot J's Clean Sweep IRC Overall/IRC 2/ PHRF 1!
(Port Credit, Ontario, Canada)- It's not often that one brand can command clean sweeps in separate classes in two premiere Great Lakes offshore races in a single weekend.  But, that's exactly what happened.  Other than the Double-handers in the Chicago-Mac walking off the podium with all the pickle dishes, the 35 foot J's swept IRC Overall and IRC Class 2 and PHRF 1 in both the long course and Scotch Bonnet short course to take home all the silver.

J/109 Blue Streak winning Lake Ontario 300For starters, "congratulations" to Sperry Cup winner Robert Eckersley and the J/109 BLUE STREAK crew from Queen City Yacht Club, winning the not just the coveted Sperry Cup, but IRC 2 Class Overall.  Not only did they sail one heck of a race to beat their closest rivals, it was fellow J sailors who were giving them a run for all the marbles.  Just behind was the J/35 JEAGER sailed by Leszek Siek to get 2nd class and 2nd overall!  Then, as if to ice the competition altogether, the J/109 LIVELY sailed by Murray Gainer got 3rd class, 3rd overall!  Astonishing.  Awesome. Unprecedented?  Perhaps.  Then to add insult to injury to all their competitors, yet another J/109, Denys Jones's  CARPE VENTUS finished 4th class, 7th overall!

As if to prove their stablemates in IRC were not the only ones to show the fleet the way home, in PHRF 1 the J/35 SHORTHANDED sailed by Michael Pietz was also 1st class, 3rd overall!  Remarkable, nearly total domination of 35 foot J's in the long-course 300 mile Lake Ontario race.

J/35 sailboats starting Lake Ontario 300 sailing raceOn the shorter Scotch Bonnet Course, it was clear that yet another 35 foot J set the pace, to be the first boat into the marina after all had taken off the day before.  In PHRF 1, the J/35 ABRACADABRA sailed by Klaus Noack and team were not only first boat to finish in fleet, but 1st Class, 2nd overall!  In short, like their 35 foot counterparts on the Chicago-Mac, the Lake Ontario crowd also demonstrated why they are a force to be reckoned with offshore-- easy to sail and awfully damn fast in nearly all conditions on all points of sail.   For more Lake Ontario 300 sailing information   For full LO300 Sailing results

J/109 sailing in SwedenAF Offshore/ Round Gotland Runt Race
(Stockholm, Sweden) - The J/109 MATADOR sailed by Jonas Grander from the Royal Swedish YC (KSSS) finished third in SRS Bravo Class after sailing the 364 nm race course.  The Gotland Runt race is considered the Baltic Sea's premier offshore race for most sailors in norther Europe and Scandinavia.

It was one of the fastest around Gotland Island races in a long time.  As always, the difficulty is the capricious wind. Sometimes the wind is strong and steady, and other times there's nothing.  The goal for all the boats is to keep running the boat and not park too often.  The first part of the race was fast, but then came the doldrums soon after rounding the southern tip of Gotland.  For more AF Offshore/ Gotland Runt sailing results

J/111 sailing Screwpile Race/ Solomons Island RaceScrewpile Lighthouse Challenge
J/111, J/105s, J/109s, J/80s Summer Fun on Chesapeake
(Solomon's Island, Maryland)- Every summer, sailors on the Chesapeake Bay all look forward to one of their favorite summer time classics, the Solomon's Island Race that takes you 55 miles down the Chesapeake from Annapolis to Solomon's Island. That race is then followed by four days of racing around the buoys for even more fun and frolic.

This year, the combination of extreme heat, mushy fronts and lighter winds tested the mettle of even the more hardened Chesapeake Bay sailors-- a rare breed to say the least.

It was on Friday night of last week when Eastport Yacht Club started the 120 boats competing in the 31st edition of their annual point-to-point race from Annapolis to Solomons Island in Maryland. With a healthy fleet spread among PHRF and one design classes, it would seem to make this overnight race a success. And based on this report by Bryn from APS, it may be popular because of the attitude...even on grand prix boats.  Said Bryn, "Five minutes before the start of the 2011 Solomons Island Race, the crew on-board Yellow Jacket were busy cooking up burgers so they'd be "smoking gas and on fire at the start"!  Literally!  They were clearly having a bit too much fun."

J/80s sailing Screwpile regattaThe wind gods were kind for the 55-mile trek down the Bay. A steady southerly breeze kept the fleet upwind the entire race. The fleet were guided by a full moon that may or may not have caused a little craziness on board some boats.  About nine hours after the start, some of the leaders reached Solomons.  North Point Yacht Sales friends and staff enjoyed a great night of racing on the J/111 VELOCITY. The team finished with impressive 3rd place in the PHRF 1 Division with a great fleet of competitors.

For the J/80's present at the 2011 Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge: John White, Angry Chameleon, White Lightnin', Dragonfly, Rakali & Mango battled it out on the water for 1st in an exciting 3 day event, proving that the J/80's know how to sail fast and have fun.

For more Screwpile Light Challenge and Solomons Island Race sailing information

J/Community

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

Lorenzo Berho- J/24 sailor racing Transpac on big boat* Lorenzo Berho- a Mexican J/24 and former J/145 owner sailed the 70 foot PELIGROSO in the Transpac Race this year.  Being the unflappable gentleman that he is as both a sailor, a person and as a competitive racer, it was more than amusing to hear about Lorenzo's spectacular finish off Diamond Head, Hawaii.  As described by Kimball Livingston who was present as it all happened---

"Another hundred yards and it would have been right out of the movies, the A4 spinnaker blowing up dead-on the finish line of an eight day race. But, she blew a hundred yards short, and PELIGROSO finished Transpac 2011 under the main that had been reefed since the night before, when that sail blew out in a gybe. Then, they blew big time, both of them-- at the finish!  We can honestly report there was no apparent dampening of spirits aboard.  Sorry, we don't have that shot, or at least, not yet.

Mexican J sailors celebrating 2nd in Transpac aboard Berho's 70 footerThe PELIGROSO crew was the second to arrive at Ala Wai Harbor and the first to tie up on Transpac Row-- the crew sang for the waiting crowd before they stepped ashore. According to navigator Ben Mitchell, they sang all the way across, 2,225 measured miles, from Los Angeles to Honolulu!

Once ashore and into the party tent, it was not long before young Eduardo Saenz - third generation sailor from the Club de Yates de Acapulco - fielded a bottle of rather fine tequila for the boat's owner, Lorenzo Berho, and that kicked off a round of 'put your head back, open, I'll do the pouring' celebration.

Lorenzo, grateful for his youth sailing and J/24 sailing in his early racing career, recognized the need to support youth sailing.  As part of his long-term interest in supporting youth sailing, Lorenzo bought PELIGROSO to bring big-boat racing to the talented youth of Mexico, and at second in Division One of the 46th Transpacific Yacht Race, it would appear he's moved the ball."  Sailing photo credits- Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing and Kimball Livingston/ Blue Planet Times.

* Congratulations to long-time J/105 sailor Ken Colburn for winning the Swan 42 US Nationals.  As a result, his team qualify to represent the New York YC in the upcoming NYYC Invitational Cup!  And, thanks also to ED's friends Jack and Bob Slattery for helping Ken get across the finish line as his tacticians in grand fashion, themselves accomplished J/22, J/24 and J/105 champion sailors.

Noteworthy was that dominating the leader board in the Swan 42 Nationals were J/105 and J/80 sailors who've cut their teeth on tough one-design competition sailing various J's.  Second was Phil Lotz from Newport sailing ARETHUSA who learned one-design racing in offshore boats on J/105s, winning a number of regattas over time.  Fourth was J/80 World Champion and J/105 North American Champion Glenn Darden from Ft Worth, Texas sailing HOSS.  Fifth was Jim Madden's STARK RAVING MAD IV who's won class in the Bermuda Race on his J/65 and also numerous Key West and West Coast events sailing his J/125 STARK RAVING MAD III.

The NYYC's Harbour Court will host 22 yacht club teams - representing 16 nations from six different continents - with racing on NYYC Swan 42s September 10-17.  As has been demonstrated for the American NYYC representative, there are several foreign teams that have champion J/22, J/24 and J/80 teams on-board as tacticians and skippers-- should be an interesting fireworks display of top corinthian skippers and tacticians in September!

J/109 Realt Na Mara Chicago Mackinac storm video* As sailors, the J/Family's hearts go out to the friends and family of Mark Morely and Suzanne Bickel, both of whom drowned in an unfortunate incident in this past weekend's Chicago-Mackinac Race.  Both were highly regarded and loved in their community in Saginaw, Michigan.  Our heartfelt condolences to all and best wishes and prayers go out to the families of those who were lost.

Answering the "call of duty" to a Channel 16 emergency/ distress call were several J/Teams- including the J/111 MENTAL sailed by Paul Stahlberg and Richie and Dick Stearns as well as the J/109 REALT NA MARA sailed by Tom and Joe Londrigan. Tom and Joe's crew member, Greg Alm was wearing a helmet cam about the time at 12:40 a.m. Monday, when the storms capsized the winged Kiwi 35 WINGNUTS, and two of the eight crew members drowned (Mark and Suzanne).  Alm describes the scene in the description that accompanied the video on YouTube:  "Here's edited footage shot from a helmet camera aboard the J/109 REALT NA MARA during the 2011 Chicago to Mackinac Race in 50-60+ knots. The worst of the storm hit just after midnight which made bolts of lightning our only light source. The evening's weather reports indicated winds were not expected to exceed 30 knots. As the wind built, our tack line exploded; we were knocked down immediately and stayed horizontal from winds of 54 knots for about 15 minutes. Shortly after being knocked down, with no steerage, lightning flashed and another boat, just to weather, without sails was planing right towards us. Thankfully, they managed to alter course and avoid a collision. Once the winds calmed a bit, lights shined on our boat followed by the release of an emergency flare. We approached the vessel we now think was SOCIABLE who was first at the scene of the capsized WINGNUTS. They told us there were 8 people in the water. We began searching the area immediately. In a short period of time, more than a dozen boats were at the site; and, after about 45 minutes, the rescue helicopter joined the search as well." Greg's video is compelling.  Note, it's exactly what the ED's team on the J/111 IMPULSE saw, too, 52-63 knot winds over the deck, Zeus's' lightning bolts thrown everywhere, horizontal sheets of water blowing across the deck and 4-6 foot wave tops blown flat by violent winds (not 100 knots, but easily 50 to 60 knots plus winds).   You can see the J/109's REALT NA MARA YouTube video here

The J Cruising CommunityJ cruising directions- roll the dice and go!  Sailing to anywhere, anytime! J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers.  Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.

* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand.  Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/

* Prolific writers, Bill and Judy Stellin, sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER around the Mediterranean and Europe and back across the Atlantic for nearly three years.  Their blogs/journals can be found at- http://blog.mailasail.com/jaywalker.  The earlier journals have been compiled into two self published books which can be found at: http://www.blurb.com.  Search for "SEATREK: A Passion for Sailing" by Bill Stellin or William Stellin."  UPDATE-  Just a short note to update from Bill- "Our cruise began in May of 2000 and ended in May of 2008, some 8 years later. I have just finished and published my third and final book covering the last three or so years including our double handed crossing in 16 days and one winter in the Caribbean. Like the others, "Sea Trek- A Passion for sailing- Book III," can be found at www.blurb.com.  Thanks, Bill and Judy"

J/130 sailing ARC Rally arrives Portugal- leave a message on the sea wall!* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.

* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between.  Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins??  Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).

SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com).

-  Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun).  Check out there recent travels- now past Fiji!

- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com.  Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA)J/109 racer-cruiser sailboat GAIA- sailing off Java Sea cruising offshore, then to the South Pacific and New Zealand.  MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.

* The J/109 GAIA (seen right in the Java Sea) was sailed by Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay around the world. In February 2011, their cruising adventures came to an abrupt, sad ending.  As a tribute to them and their cruising friends worldwide, we hope their chronicles on their GAIA website remains a tribute to their warm-hearted spirits- read more about why many loved them dearly and will remain touched by their loving spirit forever- http://www.gaiaworldtour.net/

J/122 Gambler- one-design racer cruiser sailboat- sailing downwindFeatured Boats

J/122 GAMBLER For Sale

A 2008 J/122, Gambler has the three cabin layout, and the optional light grey deck.  White topsides and cherry interior.  The light grey deck really cuts down on the glare, the boat looks great and is in immaculate condition.

Gambler's owner has prepared this boat to race at the highest levels and her race results show it:

-2011 Charleston Race Week winner: PHRF Class B winner. 4 Bullets!!!
-2008 NYYC Annual Regatta-3rd
-2008 Sperry Topside regatta-1st
-2009 NYYC Race Week-2nd
-2009 J122 North American Championship-1st
-2010 Texas Race Week-2nd
-2010 Sperry Topside Regatta-2nd

Gambler may have the best winning record in the US topped by the 2009 North American championship!  In addition the owner has been on a scheduled sail program with North Sails and the inventory has been continually updated each year, including 2011.  For 2011 the owner has purchased the new 3Di carbon sails from North Sails.  This boat is also set up to race offshore and includes complete foul weather for 10, Gill life jackets for 10, along with offshore jacklines.

The factory options are:  light grey non-skid deck, Lewmar Carbon Wheel and Opening ports-aft face of cabin. Don't Gamble and miss out on this well prepared and race winning J/122. This is truly a step aboard and sail to the start line, or cruise across the ocean.  Please contact Scott Spurlin at J/Boats Southwest- email- scott@JBoatsSouthwest.com or phone- 512-335-2391

About J/Boats

Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors.  The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).

J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by:  15 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).

Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors and sailing the waters of 35+ countries around the world.  Sailing is all about friends.  Come join us and expand your social network everywhere!    For more information on J/Boats.

Read Kimball Livingston's SAIL update on the J/Boats story- A Band of Brothers