Wednesday, May 29, 2013

J/Newsletter- May 29th, 2013

Sailboats on the Round Island sailing race- Cowes, Isle of Wight, EnglandRound the Island Race Preview
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Hold on to your hats, bloomers and knickers!  This coming weekend the annual JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, organized by the Island Sailing Club is taking place.  The one-day yacht race around the Isle of Wight, an island situated off the south coast of England, attracts over 1,700 boats and around 16,000 sailors--  making it one of the largest yacht races in the world and the fourth largest participation sporting event in the United Kingdom after the London Marathon and the Great North & South Runs (in other words, more sailors participate than any of the famous Harrod's department store sales in downtown London!).

Competitors come from all over the United Kingdom, other parts of Europe and as far away as America to sail the 50nm course round the Isle of Wight. Starting on the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, the fleet races "westabout" to The Needles, round St Catherine's Point and Bembridge Ledge buoy and back into the Solent to the finish line at Cowes.

Since 1990, the J's have always been factor in this famous race, often winning class or overall.  It attracts the famous and not so famous and that's what's so fun about sailing the original "100 Guinea Cup" race course (e.g. the original infamous regatta where the yacht AMERICA "stole" the silver cup, took it home and renamed it the "America's Cup"-- using an entirely professional crew of sailors-- as our English sailing friends might say, "that's not cricket!").

One of the "not so clew-less" teams will be a J/24 called CLEWLESS (GBR4044).  Her three co-owners met at a cricket match in the Ship Science department at Southampton University. They decided they needed a distraction from their studies so they bought a 31 year-old J/24!!  She has had substantial refit work done over a number of years to reverse some years of neglect and is taking part in her 5th Round the Island Race!  Good on ya mates!

The balance of the J/Teams will be spread across multiple IRC Divisions, sportsboat and one-design classes.  At the top of the pack will be the IRC 0 Division with the two J/133's JERONIMO and JINGS sailing along with the American J/120 EL OCASO skippered by Rick Wesslund's Caribbean-dominating crew from Miami, FL.  In IRC 1A with 28 entries are five J/111s including JITTERBUG, MUNKENBECK, DJINN, JEEZ LOUISE and McFLY plus the J/122 JACOBS LADDER.  IRC 2A with 36 entries is nearly a J/109 division with seventeen boat sailing with most of the top boats participating and a lone J/39 XTREME hoping to keep them at bay.  IRC 2B with 37 entries will be an interesting crowd since it has a mix of J/105s, J/109s and a lone J/35- BENGAL MAGIC from Ireland.  IRC 2C has the J/105 KING LOUIE sailing by themselves in a fleet of 31 boats.  IRC 2D is one of the largest classes with 47 entries, with a raft of J/92S's and J/97's sailing with most of the notable teams sailing.  Two J/92's and J/32 are sailing the 42 boat IRC 3A division. In the "cruising" white-sails ISCRS 4B division with 46 entries are the J/120 ASSARAIN III, the J/122 SKY HUNTER, the J/109 SARDONYX IX and the J/92 JAMMIN.  A trio of J/100s will be dueling for IRC 5B supremacy.  Then, the classic J/24s have a trio hunting for silver in forty boat IRC 6C division. The fourteen boat IRC Sportsboat class has two J/70s and six J/80s sailing, all vying for "max speed, terminal velocity" on the largest breaking comber off the infamous St Catherine's Point bell.  And, finally, an eleven boat J/80 one-design class will be sparring for who's got J/80 offshore bragging rights.
Good luck to all!  Fair winds, clear skies and fair tide!  For more Round The Island Race sailing information

J/70 one-design fleet- sailing off starting lineJ/70 North Americans Update
(Annapolis, MD)-  The inaugural J/70 North American Championship will be hosted by Annapolis Yacht Club from September 25th to 28th, 2013. The Notice of Race is available at the regatta website- http://www.j70nac.com. At this time, interest is so high that it looks like nearly 100 boats could be attending the regatta.  However, because of space constraints and basic regatta management, registration will be limited to the first 90 boats that register (first-come, first-served).

Registration will open on June 1, 2013. If you have any questions, you can contact event co-chairs Kathy Parks (kathyparks10@gmail.com/ ph# 443-386-9057) or Will Keyworth (will@sales.northsails.com/ ph# 410-269-5662). Any questions about Annapolis YC should be directed to Regatta Manager Linda Ambrose (lambrose@annapolisyc.org/ ph# 410-263-9147 x106).  Sailing photo credit- Onne Vanderwal.  For more J/70 North Americans sailing information

J/70 one-design sailboat- sailing New England CircuitJ/70 New England Circuit
(Newport/ Marblehead)- The J/70 fleets in Marblehead and Newport in New England are looking forward to their summer-time circuit and invite all J/70 sailors to join in on the fun.  With two of New England's famous sailing venues on offer, the expectation is that sailors will be challenged by a wide variety of conditions in both Narragansett Bay and Massachusetts Bay.

Beginning with the Leukemia Cup Weekend on June 8-9, the sailors will be treated to a fabulous event hosted by New York Yacht Club in Newport on June 8th for the racing.  Come join the festivities in the evening to support the battle against leukemia.  Then, on Sunday the fleet will have top J/70 sailors from North Sails, Doyle Sails and Quantum Sails conducting a J/70 training/ tuning clinic on Sunday for all J/70 sailors!  For more info- http://www.leukemiacup.org/ri/

J/70s sailing off Newport, RIThe following weekend, the New York YC Annual Regatta will again host the J/70 sailors on a Narragansett Bay course north of the Newport Bridge from June 14th to 16th.  For the more adventurous sailors, be sure to include the famous "Around Jamestown Island Race" on Friday-- the PHRF Division was won last year by a J/70 sailed by a double-handed team! Furthermore, rumor has it that NYYC's Sailing Master Brad Dellenbaugh may be the J/70 fleet P.R.O. for the regatta.  Watch out, you may sail so many races so fast you may lose track of which leg on the "sausage courses" you're sailing! For more info- http://nyyc.org/yachting/racing/159th-annual-regatta

Then, July 12th to 14th is the Bacardi Sail Newport Regatta held off Fort Adams.  This is an enormous one-design regatta and an excellent turn-out is expected, especially with world famous host and Master of Ceremonies, SailNewport's Executive Director Brad Read, presiding over the awe-inspired masses.  This regatta is renown for being a fun time, with great sailing and race management, excellent entertainment onshore in the evenings and, of course, the extraordinary support of Bacardi Rum all weekend long. For more info- http://www.sailnewport.org

Two weekends later, from July 26th to 28th will be the J/70 New England's/ Marblehead NOOD Regatta.  Again, the red carpet will be rolled out for the J/70 fleet with tremendous support from the Sperry Topsider NOOD Regatta organizers and Sailing World sponsors, including Mt Gay Rum amongst others.  Like its predecessors, this regatta has excellent race management and the social/ entertainment in the evenings is second to none.  For more info- http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regattas/marblehead

For the Newport events, it's important to note that all J/70 sailors are welcome to rig and store their boats on trailers with "rigs up" at the Fort Adams Sailing Center and its parking lots.  In Marblehead, a similar arrangement will be available.  Please be sure to contact Morgan - fleetcaptain@j70fleet2.com.

J/24s sailling off Monte Carlo, MonacoJ/24 Europeans Update
(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- The Yacht Club Monaco recently sent out it's invitation to all J/24 sailors worldwide to participate in the J/24 Europeans, the first to be hosted in Monaco since October 1993 over 20 years ago.  Say's the Secretary General at YC Monaco, Bernard d'Allessandri,

"It's our great pleasure to invite all J/24 sailors close and far afield to join us this coming October to the J/24 European Championship in the unique and charming Principality of Monaco.

This regatta will be unique in many ways. For those of you who have never been to Monaco, our Principality, wedged between France and Italy, will enchant you. You will discover a magical country with a unique character. Small enough to give you a village atmosphere, yet big enough to host some unique events from the Formula One Grand Prix to the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters or even the Yacht Club de Monaco’s very own classic yacht regatta, the Monaco Classic Week, which brings back centuries of traditional yachting to life ashore and afloat. All this while surrounded by super yachts, fast cars, gorgeous people and unique sights.

So what can you expect from the Monaco J/24 Europeans?

J/24 one-design sailboats- sailing in MonacoFrom the unique atmosphere of our “Port Hercules” harbour where you will find a mixture of traditional fishing boats mingling with the world's largest yachts, you will be mooring your J/24’s amongst some of the most exclusive super yachts in the world in a harbour where moorings are near impossible to obtain! Not to mention, of course, the warm welcome from the Yacht Club de Monaco where you will immediately feel at home (please note- Prince Albert notably sailed J/24s for years in the local fleet! As did his gorgeous sister's on occasion).  For this high profile event, the Yacht Club de Monaco has assembled a very strong race committee to ensure smooth, fair and professional race management. Heading the Race Committee will be John Coveney, a veteran international race officer with excellent experience on the southern coastline of France!

The gorgeous bay of Monaco will be your race area, right outside the harbour, literally on your door step. No tide, little current, mainly just plain deep water! No sand banks or shallow parts to avoid or escape too! Just one large expanse of water in which the race committee will lay the course. Miss the windward mark and your next stop is Corsica!  In simple terms, the race area is a 2.5nm circle just outside the harbour, from dock to start line in less than 10 minutes! You simply can't beat that!

From the social events hosted by the Yacht Club de Monaco to those who wish to explore the Principality further afield, there are plenty of distractions!  From dancing in the "Rascasse" with its live band, or visiting the local brewery, eating the Provencal delicacies from the "Condamine market", gambling and "people-watching" at the world famous "Casino", or visiting the internationally reputed Oceanographic Museum on the cliff edge, there are plenty of activities to entertain family and friends while not out on the water racing!

By the time you leave Monaco at the end of the regatta, you may be suffering from sensory overload, but you will certainly be able to recount amongst other memories that you towed your J/24 down the start/ finish line of one the world's most famous Formula One race tracks! How is that for bragging rights at the bar?"  For those of you looking at the world of "bucket list" venues, that one may be one of the hardest one's to beat!  For more J/24 Europeans in Monte Carlo, Monaco

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

Perhaps one word could characterize the past week's worth of sailing around the world-- "epic"!  And, another phrase springs to mind- "Double's do it better"! With massive frontal systems sweeping North America and the European continent, the sailors had to contend with chilly, wet, windy conditions in many parts of the northern hemisphere.  With temperatures hovering in the mid-40s Fahrenheit with rain and mist enveloping the fleets, no one would've been surprised in their semi-frozen hallucinatory state camped on the frigid weather rail to see pink woolly mammoths rambling across the horizon with stark naked, hairy Neanderthal men hunting them down with spears! Incredibly, despite such nasty conditions, double-handed J/Teams crushed it everywhere!

In Europe, the J/80s sailed in the inaugural Cornerstone Cup and the weather Gods threw everything, including "the kitchen sink", at them over the course of their regatta sailed on the infamous Solent.  The Cornerstone Cup is a new event for a four-way team race hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, England.  The J/80s and J/24s both held their Italian Nationals on the western coasts of Italy not far from each other, facing near Biblical conditions that might have given even hardy sailors like Homer in the Odyssey some pause.  Also contending with the challenging conditions were the RORC Myth of Malham Race offshore teams sailing their "mini-Fastnet" training race from Cowes to Eddystone Light and back.

Facing somewhat similar conditions in America were three major spring-time events on both coasts.  What are supposed to be regattas that mark the traditional beginning of summer turned into a game of survival at the extremes.  On the windy, wet, cold, wild epic side of that coin were the two races in the Northeast, the Storm Trysail Club's famous Block Island Race that runs the length of Long Island Sound and the somewhat infamous, fun-loving FIGAWI Race-- the "pursuit-style" sprint race that goes from Hyannis, Cape Cod to the  famous whaling island of Nantucket. At the opposite extreme, though still cold and wet was the renown "Driftsure" Swiftsure Race, a "four-in-one" event that is hosted by Royal Victoria YC and has teams starting in Victoria, British Columbia and racing to various marks up and down the formidable Straits of Juan de Fuca.  The four races (Swiftsure Banks Race, Cape Flattery Race, Juan de Fuca Race and Inshore Race) all faced record DNF's due to the extraordinarily light winds and massive amounts of current.

Laughing all the way around the course and having a ball ashore was the growing J/24 fleet on Barbados down in the Caribbean.  While many of their friends were suffering from "cold to the bone" weather further north of the Equator, the Barbadian J/24 sailors were suffering from a "Mt Gay Rum hurricane" on the beach in sunny breezy weather.  Why? They just so happened to be sailing their annual Mt Gay Regatta with a record turn-out of J/24 teams!

Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who 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:

Jun 7-9- Chicago NOOD Regatta (105, 109, 111)- Chicago, IL
Jun 7-9- New York YC Annual Regatta (111, 122)- Newport, RI
Jun 14-16- J/Cup Celtic Regatta- Pwllheli, Wales, UK
Jun 14-15- Off Soundings Regatta (105, 109, 120)- Watch Hill/ Block Is
Jun 15-16- Cleveland Race Week (70)- Cleveland, OH
Jun 19-22- J/24 US Nationals- Wayzata, MN
Jun 23-28- Block Island Race Week- (80, 35, 105, 109, 111, 44)- Block Island, RI
Jun 27-30- Kieler Woche (70, 80, 24)- Kieler Segeln Club- Kiel, Germany
Jun 27-30- J/22 Europeans- Zierikzee, Netherlands
Jul 4-7- J/24 UK Nationals- Plymouth, England
Jul 6-13- J/80 World Championships- Marseilles, France
Jul 12-14- Bacardi Newport Regatta (22, 24, 70, 80, 105)
Jul 13-15- Chicago Mackinac Race- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Jul 25-28- J/30 North Americans- Barrington, RI
Jul 26-28- J/70 New Englands/ NOOD- Marblehead, MA
Jul 27-28- Youngstown Level Regatta (70, 24)- Youngstown, NY
Aug 9-11- J/109 North Americans- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Aug 9-11- Verve Cup Offshore (109, 111)- Chicago, IL
Aug 9-13- J/27 North American Championship- Oakville, Ontario
Aug 14-18- J/111 North Americans- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Aug 22-30- J/24 Worlds- Howth (Dublin), Ireland

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

J/35 Paladin leading start at Block Island RaceJ/120 ALIBI Doubles Block Island Race
J/Teams Sweep Double-handers, J/44s Crush IRC 2
(Stamford, CT)- For once, the forecasters were not very wrong.  With a powerful frontal system of Biblical proportions sweeping North America, spawning horrific tornados, overwhelming floods, massive thunderstorms and thousands of lightning strikes, the navigators and strategists on Storm Trysail's 189nm Block Island Race knew they were going to be in for one condition- wet, wild, cold (45 degrees), rainy & drizzly and windy (20-30 kts from the Northwest). In short, the 2013 version of the BI Race became the fastest on record for the entire fleet.

Past J/24 sailors George David (and navigator Peter "Pedro" Isler) took the 90 ft RAMBLER down around Block Island and back in just over 13 hours, rounding Block Island at midnight, and setting a new course elapsed time record.  A port gybe all the way down Long Island Sound, gybe around Block Island and starboard tack virtually all the way home to the Stamford finish line.  RAMBLER's time also was improved by the navigational choice of exiting and entering the Sound through “the Sluice,” a narrow passage rarely used as an alternative to Plum Gut and The Race, two current-ridden passages notorious for making or breaking a team’s performance in the Block Island Race.

Gary Grant, skipper of the J/120 ALIBI, won the IRC Double-Handed Class and the award for Best Overall Performance, leading a "J" sweep of the IRC Double-Handed fleet. “This is the second time we’ve won both our division and overall for this race,” said Grant, whose crew was Steve Fisk (Westport). “The last time was 2006, when it was the slowest race on record, and we won because we were the most stubborn and didn’t drop out. This was probably the fastest Block Island Race on record, so we’ve proven ourselves now in both fast and slow conditions. We are very honored to have won.” Amazingly, this was the second time that J/Teams won both IRC Double and Best Overall Performance in the race, the previous double winner was Peter Rugg's J/105 JADED.

Though the temperature “felt like it was freezing,” it hovered around 45 degrees and incessant light rain with occasional showers added to what most called “miserable” conditions. “I purchased ALIBI when I lived in London and sailed it in the English Channel,” said Grant. “This race was much like it was there— cold, windy, rainy. But I guess you could say we were well prepared for that kind of race.”  As predicted, various J/Teams have learned to master the course better than most-- one where keeping your "eyes wide open" and thinking "outside of the box" is an enormous help as the weather and current changes across the course.

J/44 sailing Block Island Race fast!The largest contingent of J's sailed the IRC Double-Handed class, also the largest class in the race.  With eight of thirteen boats, it's not surprising the talented and experienced "J" double-handed sailors swept their class and took home all the silverware. With tough conditions both down the track and back, there's no question the sailors appreciated having solid, all-around sailboats that can perform in challenging conditions. Behind the J/120 ALIBI were a few Bermuda Race veterans (class winners, no less), with Hewitt Gaynor's J/120 MIREILLE taking second and Jason Richter's J/35 PALADIN in third.  Newcomer to the BIR 2H fleet was Andrew Berdon's J/109 STRIDER taking fourth. Just missing out on making a clean sweep of the top five was also first time BIR 2H sailor Andrian Begley on his J/109 MAD DOGS & ENGLISHMEN.  Eighth was Todd Aven's J/92 THIN MAN.

Sailing as a one-design class, the five J/109s basically had a 189nm shoot-out.  Tough racing made even more challenging with your closest competitors working hard on every puff and every wave to gain a foot on you, especially from midnight to the dawn patrol when the biggest gains are often made by top crews.  Leading the fleet home was SKOOT (Jim Vos) taking the J/109 crown by only six minutes!  Just behind was LOKI (David Rosow) in second and in third was PAX 3 (Bob Siegel).

While the J/44s were not sailing as a class, their veteran offshore sailors certainly left their stamp on the IRC 2 Division.  Len Sitar's J/44 VAMP took class honors while "offshore newbies" Joerg Esdorn and Duncan Hennes sailing their J/44 KINCSEM quickly dispelled any notions they were still in training mode, sailing a solid race to take second overall. In fact, the two J/44s might as well have been tethered to each other on a rope they were so close around the entire track for 24 hours! Kudos to the KINCSEM gang for winning on elapsed time by four minutes, therefore bragging rights for being top J/44 on the water; they lost by 70 seconds to VAMP on corrected time (go figure!).  The real question on the line may be "who bought who what" at the bar afterwards at American YC between these two boats?  For more Storm Trysail Block Island Race sailing information

J/120 sailboat- sailing the Swiftsure RaceJ's Dominate "Driftsure" Race
J/160, J/105, J/30 Crush Fleets
(Victoria, BC, Canada)- Many said it couldn't be done, or was even possible in this year's Swiftsure, such was the forecast.  Yet, again J owners have proven beyond any reasonable doubt that no matter what weather conditions are tossed at them, the combination of tenacity, experience and a bit of luck yields more than their fair share of silverware for J owners.

J/109 sailing Swiftsure Cape Flattery RaceThis year's Swiftsure Classic race (the four-in-one event) may well go down in the record books as the single most memorable "Driftsure" ever.  With a record number of drop-outs and DNFs due to insanely challenging conditions, it was a wonder anyone finished. The difficult conditions made this year's event a race "down the mineshaft" to the insane asylum at the bottom- or was it to avoid having to cope with Alice's issues with the "Looking Glass" in that famous childhood fable. By late Saturday afternoon the winds went very, very light on the boats racing out the Straits of Juan de Fuca. The light winds, combined with strong adverse tides, made the job of keeping a sailboat moving in the right direction very difficult (if you look at some of the "tracking" information, you'll note most of the fleet was going backwards quite a bit of the time)!

J/160 JAM sailing offshore of Seattle in Swiftsure RaceIn those kinds of conditions boats seek out every small puff of wind they can find. With 5 or 6 knots of breeze, a puff of 1.5 knots is a 25% increase in power. Finding those little zephyrs is what sends the winners ahead of the pack.  On top of the difficulty of finding those zephyrs, is the challenge of keeping the crew motivated, and focused, in very frustrating and boring conditions. Each movement (particularly on a small boat) adversely affects sail trim as the boat rocks. The crew must be very still, watch for the puffs, and delicately trim the sails to take advantage of each puff. The helmsmen must steer carefully, because the rudder works like a big brake, dragging through the water. All this after 24 hours of sitting on the deck in wet weather, being cold to the bone, with minimum sleep-- could you do it?  Apparently not for a vast majority of the fleet.

Victoria, BC, Canada harbour before start of Swiftsure Classic RaceNevertheless, there were some extraordinary performances by J/Teams in the fleet.  For starters, the "big boys" in the Swiftsure Classic that sail out to the Swiftsure Banks and back, it was John McPhail's J/160 JAM that won the race in class and fleet!  They happened to beat some of the best Pacific Northwest big boat offshore teams, including a Santa Cruz 70, Ker 46, Wylie 70 and Santa Cruz 52.

Then, in the Cape Flattery Race, Lorenzo Migliorini's J/105 ALLEGRO VIVACE crushed it, with a 1st in class, 1st division and 1st overall.  Without a doubt the toughest class with 59 entrants.  Perhaps even more impressive was that fact that the whole race was light air with only five minutes of spinnaker work on a J/105-- yet they were still able to win overall!

In the Juan de Fuca Race, the J/30 CONRAD J sailed by Geoffrey Wolf won its class and division and was 4th overall!

Finally, in the Inshore F1 Division, the J/33 CORVO sailed by Tom Kerr managed a fourth in class and the J/35 INTREPID sailed by Bob McClinton sailed to a sixth overall.  Sailing photo credits- Randy Beveridge (Flash in the Pan Photography- http://www.flashinthepanphotos.com) and Brenda Jacques (bjart@shaw.ca)/ .  For more Swiftsure Yacht Race sailing information

J/109 Wins Myth of Malham Double Division
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The RORC Season's Points Championship continued over the May Bank Holiday weekend with one of the longest races of the season.  Starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line, the teams sail a 230nm race from Cowes, round the Eddystone lighthouse and back to the Solent-- it's often seen as a "mini-Fastnet" training session for many boats.

After last year's extremely windy Myth of Malham Race, this year's edition provided a far more tactical race for the 120 yachts competing.  Staying in the breeze and calculating the best route for tides made all the difference. The wind conditions ranged from zephyrs during the first night to 25 knot gusts on the last day of racing. Most of the fleet used the full complement of their sail wardrobe and, as many crews were exploiting the race route as a Rolex Fastnet qualifier, the Myth of Malham Race was a fine test of man and machine.

Prior to the start of the race, Todd Wells' J/109 JE VANTE observed, "The big entry shows that a lot of yachts are using the race as a significant part of training for the Fastnet. Depending on the weather, this will be a particularly sanitizing event for crews at all levels. Last year was incredibly tough but that is part of the attraction of offshore racing, you either talk about it in the bar or get on with it."

Another J/109 owner, John Allison sailing JUMBUCK, was sailing the race for the first time, though the vast majority of the crew are experienced offshore sailors. "In my honest opinion, the first 24 hours of any ocean race are easy, the next 24 the hardest, and then one normally settles into a pattern that gets progressively easier as each day passes. So maybe there is a case for saying overall, the Fastnet is not as hard as the Myth of Malham," commented John. "Having said that the race will be a good training exercise for the Fastnet, as it allows one to get familiar with that coastline in race conditions. As JUMBUCK is a new boat for us and for the race, it will bring the pleasure of bringing a crew and new boat up to speed, not just against other yachts, but also against weather and routing conditions."

As it was, the fleet set forth down the Solent from the Royal Yacht Squadron line and it was a choice between the island or the mainland shores to the Hurst Narrows to overcome adverse current.  Then, between Start Point and Eddystone, the fleet faced more foul tide and the wind faded. Once round Eddystone some boats went inshore at Start Point on the way back and it worked for them, especially as the tide changed in their favor a little earlier than predicted. The run to the finish was dead downwind.

Richard Palmer's J/109, JANGADA TOO, was second in IRC Two and won the highly competitive Two-Handed Class. With Jeremy Waitt as co-skipper, JANGADA TOO won against a 22 strong IRC Double fleet containing many proven race winners in past RORC and Transatlantic races. "A very tough race, I doubt whether either of us got more than two hours sleep," admitted Richard. "The wind was so fickle that we were constantly raising and dropping the spinnaker and we didn't use the autopilot at all. The race was very stop-start and required a huge amount of mental concentration to work out the ever-changing scenario, especially with regards to the tide. It is great to get our first win of the series."

A terrific battle for third place was won by Rob Craigie's J/122 J-BELLINO.  Nick Martin's J/105 DIABLO J was only seventeen minutes further back on corrected, good enough to take seventh in class.  The next J/109 was JAMIRA sailed by Mark Tracey and David Pritchard, taking tenth just a half hour in arrears of the J/105 on corrected. The racing in the Two-Handed class was incredibly close with less than an hour, after time correction, separating 2nd place from 10th!

For IRC 2 Class, the top J/team happened to be Craigie's J/122 J-BELLINO, taking an amazing sixth overall against fully-crewed boats.  Just minutes behind them on corrected time was the J/111 BRITISH SOLDIER, sailed by Henry Foster from the British Army Sailing Association.  The SOLDIER's performance was a tremendous improvement over their initial outings on the Solent, in fact finishing 2nd boat-for-boat in this enormous class of 33 boats!

Like their compatriots in the 2H class, Palmer's J/109 JANGADA TOO led the fairly substantial J contingent home in IRC 3  Class, taking second overall.  Behind them were a "rogue's gallery" of fast, experienced offshore J teams.  With J's taking 11 of the top 20 positions, it was anyone's ball game from Eddystone Light back to the finish, especially having to deal with the Hurst Narrows passing the infamous Needles and again having to make wind versus current choices heading down to the finish line off the Yacht Squadron.  Taking third in class was Robin Taunt's J/109 JIBE.  They were followed by Tom Hayhoe's J/105 MOST HARMLESS in fourth, the J/109 JE VANTE (Todd Wells) in 8th, the J/105 DIABLO J (Nick Martin) in 9th, the J/109 JOLENE (Phil Nelson) in 10th, the J/109 J-T'AIME (Chris Palmer) in 11th, the J/109 INSPARA (Tor McLaren) in 12th, the J/109 JAMIRA (Mark Tracey & Dave Pritchard) in 14th, the J/109 JAZZY JELLYFISH (Kevin Armstrong) in 15th and the J/109 JUMBUCK (John Allison) in 17th. The level of competition in this fleet was equally as tight as the double-handers, with just over two hours separating the top fifteen.  Thanks for contribution from Louay Habib.  For more RORC Myth of Malham sailing information

J/80 Italian Champions 2013- JENIALE!- Massimo RamaJENIALE Three-Peats J/80 Italian's!
(Sestri Levante, Italy)- This year's J/80 Italian National Championships hosted in Sestri Levante saw a good fleet of eleven teams participating from Italy, Poland and Germany.  The three day regatta saw an enormous variety of weather conditions challenge the fleet, from 15 to 30 kt winds on the first day to freezing cold on the second day to epic, beautiful weather for the finale on Sunday.

Friday's racing saw southerly breezes gusting over 20 kts with tough conditions sailing upwind in the puffy winds, but fantastic planing conditions downwind for the fleet!  After three races the fleet was exhausted.  After the first day's racing, it was RAPISARDI skippered by Taito Sanchez that was leading, following by the Polish team on MOONRAKER and in third was BLUE 8 (their first regatta in J/80s).  After all the heavy duty sailing, the crews retired to the nearby Yacht Club Chiavari for the evening for excellent local Italian food, delicious wines and evening entertainment.

J/80 international one-design sailboat- sailing Italian National ChampionshipsThe second day of racing was very special for many sailors.  It was overcast, cold, with snow on the mountains in the hinterlands.  And, the big waves/swell came from the southwest with 15-18 kt winds at approximately 300 degrees. In the end, it became a perfect day for sailing! Three races more beautiful and more competitive than the one before. The first race was won by JENIALE skippered by Massimo Rama, followed by RAPISARDI and the Polish team of Pawel Boksa.  After three races, the team of Taito Sanchez was still leading, chased by a group of teams that included MOONRAKER, JENIALE!, J-BLUE 8 and MONTPRES PAUL MONTEDONICO.  After the second day of sailing, the evening dinner on the promenade of Sestri for all crews was lots of fun.

For the final day of sailing on Sunday, the Tigullio Bay was amazing- sun, waves, gentle southerly breezes of 10-12 kts.  Perfect.  The Race Committee started on time and managed to produce three races!  In the end, JENIALE! managed to get three firsts to secure their third J/80 Italian Championship.  Congratulations to Rama's crew with Anne-Soizic Bertin, Eva Gonzalez, Pier Giorgio and Cristina Matteini.  Next step for the top Italians teams is the J/80 Worlds in July sailing in Marseille, France!  For more J/80 Italian Nationals sailing information

J/24 Italian Championship Open WinnersAmericans Win Epic J/24 Italian Open
Ravioli's STOCKFISH Win Italian Championships
(Anzio, Italy)- The village of Anzio is a wonderful setting for the J/24 Italian Championships, famous for its micro-climate that often borders on the tropical, with plentiful sunshine, cool breezes blowing onshore and a gentle Mediterranean swell rolling into the golden beaches along the shores.  However, this year's event was nothing like what anyone anticipated.  As a monstrous frontal system swept across the Italian peninsula, it generated giant, breaking waves, 20-35 kt winds and plenty of cloud cover with chilly temperatures-- epic sailing for sure, testing the determination and limits of endurance for all the J/24 teams.

J/24 one-design sailboats- sailing Italian National ChampionshipsWith forty-five J/24s attending this year's event, it was clear Italian sailors love their favorite sailing spots, creating one of the largest turnouts in years for the event.  In the end, it was the American Keith Whittemore sailing FURIO that won on equal points with Luigi Ravioli in an epic battle on the high seas.  As a result, Whittemore won the coveted "Open Championship" title and Ravioli sailing STOCKFISH wins the Italian J/24 Champs as first Italian.

Finishing second overall was Avoltore, third was defending champions Ignazio Bonanno on LA SUPERBA, fourth was Mariolino Fraietta (Italian class President) and fifth was Peter Diamond.

"In the end, fortunately, we were able to compete in at least five races.  It would really have been a shame to thwart the extraordinary efforts of all with fewer races.  Conditions were about as bad as we've ever seen it in this magnificent town of Anzio", said Luigi Ravioli (past J/24 European Champion in 1999 and 3rd in J/24 Worlds in the United Kingdom).  "With friends we began to prepare the boat (rather dated and with several problem areas) back in October 2012.  We participated in the Winter Championship where we realized that we could be competitive and, above all, we had a great team spirit on board."

"It's been a great championship, challenging but very rewarding, with spectacular 10-15 ft waves, wind never below 20-23 kts, conditions that put a strain on all but now that it's all over, we can say we have enjoyed it all," said Massimo Mariotti. "I want to thank my crew for an amazing job!"

The sailors credited the local sailing clubs and the Italian Navy for a job "well done" despite the capricious conditions. In fact, the weather was so difficult, racing had to be canceled one day because the harbor mouth was virtually impassable due to breaking 15-20 ft waves and 25-35 kt gale-force winds.  For more J/24 Italian Championship sailing information

MUTINOUS DOGS & DUCK SOUP Win Epic, Wet FIGAWI
(Nantucket, MA)- This year's famous FIGAWI race was perhaps one for the record books.  It was wild, wet, cold, rainy and windy.  The several thousand sailors in the race faced the same conditions as many of their sailing friends who were participating in the Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race just a bit further east of Nantucket-- powerful NNW winds of 15-25 kts and mountainous seas drove the fleet fast across Nantucket Sound from Hyannis to Nantucket in an epic, wet & windy roller-coaster ride.  Of the 210 boats that registered, about 75% of them completed the race due to the crazy conditions.

The pursuit-style race with quartering seas and winds were fun conditions for most of the J teams planing and surfing like mad all the way across Nantucket Sound.  Many of the teams performed quite well, especially the classic old J/24s!  Winning their Division D by a landslide was an astonishing performance by the J/24 MUTINOUS DOGS sailed by Marc Holdaway.  Also sailing like a "mad dog" in conditions only suitable for ducks, was Stephen Lipman's J/37 DUCK SOUP, taking their Division F Non-Spinnaker by a landslide.

The balance of J sailors all had fun, placing in many of their divisions.  At the top of the heap was the J/44 BEAGLE with Phil Gutin at the helm taking 5th in Division A.  Next was the J/40 JAZZ skippered by Kirk Brown, taking a 3rd in Division B.  Also sailing fast and liking the conditions was the classic J/29 masthead SEEFEST sailed by Ira Perry, taking 2nd in Division C.  The J/40 SMITTEN sailed by Bill Jones was 5th in Division G Non-Spinnaker.

Finally, in Division S were lumped all the fast asymmetric spinnaker sprit boats, essentially a J/class division with thirteen boats vying for being the "big banana" amongst the deck apes bragging at the Charity Ball.  First boat home was the J/105 DARK'N'STORMY sailed by Andrew Reservitz.  Second into the harbor was the J/120 M-SQUARED skippered by Bill Mack and third home was the J/111 PRAVDA 2 with Ed Kaye at the helm (proud of their inaugural effort in the FIGAWI).  Fourth home was the J/105 BEAR SPIRIT sailed by Jonathan Bloom and, remarkably, the fifth boat home was the J/105 PRIMA sailed by the Nantucket High School Sailing Team and led by their skipper Diana Brown-- congratulations to all!

It was interesting sailing for the J sprit boats, after about 4.5 hours of sailing, less than fifteen minutes separated the top ten!  That's close sailing and a pretty reasonable job on handicapping the boats in PHRF, too.   For more FIGAWI Race sailing information

J/80 Cornerstone Cup winners- St Francis YCSt Francis YC Dominates Cornerstone Cup
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Cornerstone Cup is a new, prestigious team-race challenge sailed in matched, one-design J/80s on the famous waters known as "the Solent". It's a four-way international team racing event between the New York Yacht Club, St Francis Yacht, the Royal Yacht Squadron and Royal Thames Yacht Club.

Starting out strong the first day with a 3-0 record, the St Francis YC team never looked back, nearly sweeping the entire event from beginning to end. Here is the report from one of the St Francis YC team members, Nicole Breault:

Sailing classic English wet weather at Cowes, on Solent, England"I am loving the tradition and plucky English sailing culture of the Isle of Wight. Our team came off today with three wins and no losses, after a long delay and a single flight of light air, rainy races. Shawn Bennett is driving our boat with me, Rolf Kaiser, and Ralph Silverman as crew and our other boat is skippered by Craig Healy, with Harrison Turner, Tom Ducharme, and John Collins as crew. Mark Ivey is coaching us, and just in time for racing today, our commodore Jim Cascino and his lady Lilly arrived to cheer us on. Standing in second is New York YC followed by the Royal Yacht Squadron and Royal Thames YC.

We are sailing in the Bay of Oscar, just east of the harbor. There has been strong current making for tricky lay-lines and pass-backs, especially in the light air. Tomorrow slightly stronger winds are forecasted and the RC is planning to sail us an extra hour into the evening. Racing is tough and with point values increasing each flight, there is still much regatta competition to come."

St Francis YC team racing sailing team enjoying sunny day at Cowes in front of Royal Yacht SquadronNicole continues here report for the second day of racing, "Today we were greeted by a 'brilliant' English morning. Brisk, blue sky with fluffy white clouds and birds chirping happily. We sailed out in a light easterly and then sat for several hours basking in the sun. Luckily, the westerly filled just as the ebb was establishing and we managed one flight of racing. StFYC finished 2-1 on the day, a long debrief afterwards on the call that cost us the race. The Royal Thames came on strong today with 2-1 and handed StFYC our first loss to win the day! Tomorrow wins are 1.5 points and the regatta is still up in the air. Forecast is for better wind, however, we fear the English rains will return with it. We are off to an evening of drinks on the Royal Yacht Squadron platform, then a carving station dinner in the pavilion out back. Having a great time, for sure!"

In the end, despite best efforts by the local sailors on the Yacht Squadron and Royal Thames teams to engage the American's in "extended evening entertainment" at local pubs, the St Francis YC team went on to win in "classic Solent spring conditions", rain, wind and cool weather.  For more Cornerstone Cup sailing information

J/24 sailors in paddleboard race to determine who wins!J/24 Barbados Mt Gay Regatta Comes Up Roses
(Barbados, The Caribbean)- The Barbados J/24 fleet continues to grow by leaps and bounds, springing from one success to another.  This year's Mt Gay Regatta saw a tremendous, enthusiastic turn-out for the J/24 class with fourteen boats participating in the event, essentially all the J/24s in Barbados!

J/24s sailing one-design off Barbados, CaribbeanSailing like a pro was Bailey's team on FULLY COVERED, taking the regatta counting three 1sts and three 2nds for 9 pts in the seven race regatta.  Talk about a "schooling", seems to many they need to be handicapped!  The dog fight for the balance of the top five made for some spirited racing within the fleet.  Coming out on top was Povey's HAWKEYE with 23 pts to take second overall.  Mayers's ESPERANZA finished third with 25 pts, Burke's IMPULSE took fourth with 26 pts and Sweeney's ATTITUDE took fifth.  On the short end of that stick in the last race was Rostant's team on JABULANI, finishing 5th and losing an opportunity to finish on the podium.  For more J/24 Barbados sailing information

J/Community

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

J/70 SUNDOG- women's sailing team- skipper Kathy Parks* A women's perspective on sailing the J/70-- we asked Kathy Parks, proud owner of the J/70 SUNDOG from Annapolis, Maryland to offer her views on what it's like to sail the J/70.  Here's her commentary:

"I think it all started with the Rolex Women's International Keelboat Regatta in Annapolis in 2001.  I sailed all season with a friend on her J/22 in preparation for the big event in September.  Shortly after that regatta I realized I was hooked on big fleet one design racing and my husband suggested we buy a J/22.  I raced it for 12 years including five more Rolex's, two world championships and numerous North American Championships.  My husband, Paul, a great sailor in his own right has been a wonderful ground support for my sailing adventures.

Last spring I caught sight of the J/70 in the parking lot at Charleston Race Week and sailing around the harbor.  I began daydreaming about the sport boat with the asymmetrical spinnaker.  I had crewed for my husband on numerous sport boats we owned over the years but I was concerned that they would be too much boat for me.  The J/70 seemed to be a great option-- speed, ease of handling yet more stability than usual in a sport boat.   And, I loved the idea of sailing in a brand new fleet.  The next thing I knew I was ordering a J/70 and was asked if I needed it by Key West Race Week.  Guessing that it might mean I would get one sooner, I committed to KWRW which was a blast and provided a fast start to my learning curve.

I guess because I started out racing in a Women's Regatta I just kept on racing mostly with women over the years.  Every once in awhile we'd fit a guy in without going over the weight limit on the J22 but typically I raced with four women.  Now, the J/70 is "not your father's Chevrolet" and with no weight limit it requires bigger people.  In Charleston I raced with my good friend Nancy Haberland who has been generous in assisting me in learning the boat and getting up to speed.  Nancy is a former Olympic sailor and Offshore Coach at the Naval Academy and without her help I would have been overwhelmed.  In addition I had Regan Weaver and Lisa Simpkins, two wonderful sailors who have raced with me for years.  All three of my crew are fit, strong and competitive athletes (think "Triathlons").  They inspire me and I work out twice a week with a trainer at the gym just to keep up with them.

We showed up at Charleston Race week weighing a scant 565 pounds and hoping for light winds.  In retrospect, it just doesn't work in heavy winds like we had.  My crew handled the boat beautifully and we had literally no problems when others were crashing, losing chutes, rounding up, etc.  Their strength, fitness and sailing talent was impressive throughout the regatta.  The discouraging thing is that you just can't compete without more weight.  Since my women crew are not interested in gaining 50 pounds each it was easy to conclude that I need to get some big guys on the boat.

Fortunately with such a fun boat as the J/70 it's suddenly easy to find crew!  So, I've been adding one or two guys to the mix and we are all enjoying it.  My husband has encouraged me to increase my racing to take my sailing to a new level.  That is easy to do in Annapolis.  I'm racing Wednesday nights with Annapolis Yacht Club and Thursday nights with J/World plus the weekend regattas which come fast and furious.  With over 20 J/70's in Annapolis there are plenty of activities and lots of room for additional crew to fill out the schedule.

What I like the most about the J/70 is how well she handles in heavy air.  In Annapolis we typically have lighter air during the summer so I never really got comfortable sailing my J/22 in big wind.  This year between Key West, Charleston and some local heavy wind regattas I've had more experience than ever and the boat does amazingly well.  For instance, one day at Key West  before the first race we put that chute up and flew down the course in the heaviest air I had experienced under spinnaker.  It was easy to control the boat and I felt both comfortable and exhilarated.

The J/70 is attracting lots of women skippers and one day there will surely be a women's championship regatta held in J/70's.  Until then I plan to add big guys along with my women crew and I'm finding it's really fun!"

J/22 one-design sailing Delta Lloyd North Sea Race Week* The J/22 TEAM "IRON MAST" - NED 1455- from the Netherlands provided their report sailing the recent Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta.  Here's their commentary:

"It's Thursday evening, the NSR is finally beckoning at our door. The boat is properly prepared but we still have to make a few adjustments to the outhaul and, especially, our GoPro video attachment to the boat (must record all good deeds and bad deeds!). Around 1700 hrs we leave for Scheveningen, where we launch the boats into the water. The weather doesn't help, but for the real diehard sailors, this doesn't matter (note- it was raining and blowing like hell!).

Friday:  The first race starts. Expectations were high, this puts a lot of pressure on us, especially since the North Sea waters are unknown to us. We do not know what awaits us. We sail out of the harbor mouth with an army of boats behind us in a beautiful spectacle. The waves are not so bad, they're not really high but this is nothing like sailing on our "flat water" lake! After some minor problems we still have a beautiful day for sailing, unfortunately our performance was not so beautiful!  We had many problems with the currents and were very focused on the waves!  It blew hard all day, so it cost us a lot of in terms of physical strength, we were quite tired and exhausted.  But, we still managed to get eighth place for the day!  Not bad for virgin ocean navigators on the high seas off the Netherlands!

Saturday:  After the tough first day, we went back with good spirits on the water. It was quite helpful there was less wind. We learned a lot. It was a beautiful day with good and bad moments and finally, we maintained our position of 8th in the fleet-- a good thing for us!

Sunday:  Sunday was a beautiful day. The sun was simply spectacular, and warm!  This gave us a nice tan after three days of the North Sea's brutal weather. The sun helped us sail better! The first two races we were twice 5th. Then it began to blow harder, again this did not work in our favor as we slowly fell back in the field. In the end we were able to grab 7th place in the overall standings. This day was physically very tough for us.

Monday:  After three hard days of sailing, we faced the final day of racing in Scheveningen with great courage and determination to do better!  But, this time the wind completely failed us!  We rigged the boat and went out hoping to race.  When we were offshore, we found out to our surprise that we had some damage to the side of our boat-- apparently we had a collision with an object in the water on Sunday's sailing.  Good grief!  It was not too bad, but enough for Stephan on our boat to take a dip in the chilly North Sea to fix it with emergency repairs (tape).  Sadly, there was no wind for the day, and with racing canceled we head for home.

Team IRON MAST finished 7th overall.  We gained a mountain of experience that we can build on for the next challenge-- the upcoming J/22 European Championship.  In the meantime, we'll have to fix the boat, fix our bodies, fix our brains and fix our bruised egos!"  For more J/22 Delta Lloyd Regatta sailing information

* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again!  We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR.

J/160 sailing offshore to US Virgin Islands- rainbow over oceanAlan sent us an email update commenting on their passage south this winter, "In mid-December AVATAR completed her sixth transit to her winter Caribbean home, Grand Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI (seen above)  from her home port in Quissett (Falmouth), MA.  A crew of three, Captain Alan (e.g. me), Crew Pablo Brissett and Mark Conroy, covered the 1,500 nm trip in in her best time to date- 7 Days 5 Hours, averaging 8.7 kts, that's about 208 nm per day!  Amazing passage it was!  Rainbow at right far offshore was some of the amazing phenomenon we experienced on this fast offshore passage.

AVATAR will participate in the BVI Sailing Festival/Regatta again in 2013, where last year she won the Nanny Key Cup Cruising Class race around the Island of Virgin Gorda.  Here are some photos for you to share with the J/Community at-large.  Enjoy!"
Best, Alan Fougere/ AVATAR

Bill & Judy Stellin- sailing J/42 Jaywalker* Bill & Judy Stellin recently had an interview about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea".  The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:

Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety

Wall St Journal interview- Stellin's Offshore cruising/ sailing retirementThe article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers.  We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.

WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"

Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.

Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.

People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."

READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE 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/

* 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/.

J/130 sailing ARC Rally arrives Portugal- leave a message on the sea wall!* 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).

-  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).  Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".

- 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), 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.


J/Brokerage

J/65 Maitri- offshore performance cruiser for saleJ/65 MAITRI For Sale

Custom build, sloop-rigged, J/65 is long and lean with low wetted surface, allowing the boat to be easily driven with a moderate sailplan in light airs. To make target cruising speeds of 9-10 knots, J/65 won't be as dependent upon auxiliary diesel power as most vessels in her category. A graceful sweeping sheerline and flared topsides allow for a sleek and purposeful silhouette and a dry, comfortable ride. The large, protected aft cockpit offers plenty of space to get comfortable as well as great protection offshore.  MAITRI was built in 2006 and currently resides in San Diego, CA.

Contact:  Jeff Brown- JK3 Nautical Enterprises. Work- 619-224-6200 or Cell- 619-709-0697

J/46 Questar offshore performance cruising sailboat- for saleJ/46 QUESTAR For Sale

Questar is an immaculate and extremely well maintained J/46 built in 2000. Commissioned for an avid and seasoned yachtsman, she is thoughtfully outfitted and well equipped and currently resides in San Diego, CA.

J/46 may be the only investment grade sailing yacht of its size not requiring professional crew to sail at designed performance levels-- or to maintain. Two people can easily manage her upwind and down to achieve the same 8 knot passage-making speeds under sail that is possible when motoring with 76hp diesel auxiliary. The joy of sailing the perfect boat is, after all, a goal we believe every owner ultimately seeks. To insure that good sailing days are spent sailing rather than scrubbing and varnishing, J/46 is designed to be virtually maintenance-free. Her exquisite joinerwork is protected from the sun-- belowdecks where it’s beauty can be preserved.

Contact:  Kenyon Martin- JK3 Nautical Enterprises- wk- 619-224-6200 or cell: 858-775-5937

J/122 Pen Azen cruiser racer sailboat- for sale usedJ/122 PENN AZEN For Sale

One of the world's most successful J/122s is for sale- hull #6 built in March 2007 by J/Europe.

PENN AZEN has been very successful since her launch in 2007:
- 2007 RORC IRC Class 1 season winner
- 2008 RORC IRC “Yacht of the Year”- plus 8 season’s awards
- 2009 Winner of UNCL Trophée Atlantique in class 1
- 2010 French Rolex Commodores Cup team and 2nd at Trophée Atlantique
- 2012 Cowes-Dinard race: 3rd in IRC Class 2 and 4th IRC Overall

Inside arrangement- 3 cabin version plus folding sea berths in the saloon – 10 berths in total

J/122 Pen Azen racer cruiser sailboat- for sale usedDeck/ Rigging includes- Varnished Hall spars high modulus mast and boom, Rod rigging and dyneema backstay on hydraulic adjuster, Tuff-luff Forestay and Carbon steering wheel

Sails- X-Voiles France- complete inventory for any offshore racing, including RORC Fastnet Race.

Electronics- Full set from NKE Electronics including carbon wind indicator, 3 mast displays and 2 cockpit displays, gyroscopic compass, gyro autopilot, plus Icom VHF with ASN and AIS receiver and Furuno GPS.

Please contact- Gwen THOMAS from Ouest Greement-
P: +33 (0)2 40 82 66 65
E: tgreementpornic@free.fr

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

J/Newsletter- May 22nd, 2013

J/70 one-design sailboat- sailing with women's teamJ/70 @ Sanctuary Cove Show 
 (Sanctuary Cove, Australia)- This coming weekend, the J/70 will debut at the 25th Anniversary Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show from May 23rd to 26th. Located on the gorgeous "Gold Coast" of Queensland in eastern Australia (just south of Brisbane), be sure to take a hike with your family and friends to enjoy the fabulous beaches, islands and learn more about how the J/70 can be your next trailer-sailer for your "mates, kids and the ladies".

Women sailing on water- J/70 is the ultimate choice for women sailingIn fact, speaking of the ladies, the show features "Women on Water- High Tea on the High Seas" on Saturday and Sunday!  Ladies, leave the men at the Boat Show and embark on one of two special cruises full of fun and frivolity! Hosted by Channel 7 personalities, Kimberley Busteed and Liz Cantor, enjoy two hours cruising, complimentary bubbles, a light lunch, pampering sessions, on-board entertainment, prizes and gifts! "WoW Seminars" for the women also include Women J/70 sailors can win silver, too!"How to Furnish you boat" hosted by BoatStyle, "Basics of Sailing" hosted by Sunshine Sailing Australia, and "Look Your Best on Your Boat" hosted by Hypoxi Body Botique.  Sorry guys, none of this is for you.

In fact, the perfect W.O.W. sailboat is the J/70 trailerable speedster!  Easy-to-sail even in 20+ kts breeze racing, a frolic for the ladies for a bubbly champagne evening sunset sail.  Like this gorgeous, fashionable woman seen here winning silverware sailing her J/70!

Please be sure to contact J/Dealer Yachtspot at "info@yachtspot.com.au" or telephone- +61-2-9449-4976 for a demo sail or appointment at the show!   For more J/70 and Sanctuary Cove Boat Show information

J/105 JADED sailing Block Island RaceBlock Island Race Preview
(Stamford, CT)- Ushered in with snow and rain, a messy spring in the Northeast looks to be giving way to more acceptable conditions for Memorial Day Weekend and the Storm Trysail Club’s 68th Block Island Race that coincides with it. An end of spring classic, this 186nm race going sailing out of Long Island Sound to Block Island and return is an annual rite of passage for many racing yachts.

The course itself is both elegant in its simplicity, but maddeningly devilish in how to execute the right tactics and strategies based on the weather and currents.  Basically, you start in Stamford, go out of Long Island Sound, rounding Block Island clockwise (leaving it to starboard), then back through The Race to Stamford.  The BIG issue is where to go through the infamous "Race"- Plum Gut south of Plum Island, through the middle, or along the Connecticut shore and Fisher's Island to the north.

J/35 Paladin leading start at Block Island Race“The natural obstruction of Plum Island, which lies about 60 miles off the start, forces navigators to decide whether to take the passage of Plum Gut or The Race (or in some rare instances, Fishers Island Sound), and the decision often determines the outcome of the race,” said Event Chair Ray Redniss.  He added that Long Island Sound, an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, is situated between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south and that with eight million people living within its watershed, it’s no wonder that the Connecticut cities of Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, Southport and Stamford as well as the New York cities of Bay Shore, Brooklyn, Larchmont and New York City are well represented by the 63 boats signed up, thus far, in six IRC and two PHRF classes as well as a one-design class for J/109s and en enormous contingent of J/sailors in the Double-handed Division."

Rambler’s Project Manager, Mick Harvey, also adds that the race is extremely challenging for a number of reasons. “Firstly it is very early in the season, late spring really, so the race is subject to cooler seawater temperature and relatively fast passage of weather systems across the course. The land mass in Connecticut is relatively cool this time of the year; however, in the right weather conditions, it can become quite warm during daylight hours. You can have situations where there are two sea breezes fighting each other, one on the Connecticut shore and one on the Long Island shore.”

Harvey also mentioned the “big tidal features” at Plum Gut and The Race as contributing to an “interesting, tricky race. Every time we do this race it's different, and no doubt you will learn something new, however, what you learn most likely will not be applicable to the next edition of the race,” said Harvey. “It’s like a long day race where you have a basic plan based on forecasting and tides, but then you have to be able to change your plan and adapt quickly to changing conditions during the course of the race.”

Over the course of time, various J/Teams have learned to master the course better than most-- one where keeping your "eyes wide open" and thinking "outside of the box" is an enormous help as the weather changes across the course.  Races have been won and lost everywhere on the course, including the first 10 miles and the last 10 miles!

J/44 sailing Block Island Race fast!The largest contingent of J's will be participating in the IRC Double-Handed class.  With eight of thirteen boats, it's likely that one or more J/Teams will be taking home some silverware.  The smallest J, Todd Aven's J/92 THIN MAN, is also one of the most experienced and can be dangerously quick if there's any prolonged reaching involved.  Multiple Block Island Race and Bermuda Race One-Two winner, Jason Richter, will certainly be a factor on his famous J/35 PALADIN.  One of the "sleepers" in the race that could lead the pack is Adrian Little's J/100 FLASHPOINT.  The class as well as the overall IRC teams will also have to contend with the J/105 JADED sailed by Peter Rugg-- both a class and overall winner in the Block Island Race in the past.  Two J/109s are sailing, Andrew Berdon's STRIDER and Adrian Begley's MAD DOGS & ENGLISHMEN, both well-sailed boats in the fully-crewed events, so time will tell if they can translate that experience offshore.  Two J/120s are participating including Gardner Grant's ALIBI and Hewitt Gaynor's MIRIELLE, as proven offshore winners, the 120s themselves could lead all the J's home.

The J/109s are sailing as a one-design class and the five boats sailing have all proven themselves around-the-cans.  It would be hard to handicap this gang which includes ARIEL (Jeff Warren), PAX 3 (Bob Siegel), LOKI (David Rosow), APSARA (Mike Sleightholme) and SKOOT (Jim Vos).

The J/44s are not sailing as a class, but some of their veteran offshore sailors are participating in IRC 2.  Len Sitar's VAMP is almost always amongst the leaders.  And, "offshore newbies" Joerg Esdorn and Duncan Hennes, are sailing their new and much more comfy KINCSEM (a J/44) against some of Long Island Sound's best offshore teams.  Nevertheless, no shrinking violets they are, Joerg and Duncan are veterans of hundreds of races winning on their J/105 KINCSEM and with a good crew (and navigator) may prove to be quick learners of the offshore trade!

Finally, in IRC 3, the custom J/120 AVRA will be sailed by its new owner, Leo Vasiliev from New York and they're hoping to duplicate some of the good performances offshore that she's had in her past.  For more Storm Trysail Block Island Race sailing information

J/120 sailboat- sailing the Swiftsure RaceSwiftsure Race Preview
(Victoria, BC, Canada)- For Pacific Northwest sailors the start of their offshore sailing summer is marked by the rituals associated with preparing for the premiere offshore race, "the Swiftsure."  Hosted by Royal Victoria YC, the race takes place over the Memorial Day Weekend, starting May 25th and finishing May 27th.

The Swiftsure's a rugged, exacting, colorful, and international competition. Or, it can be quite the boring "Driftsure," sometimes accompanied by fog and drizzle.  Every year, the Swiftsure becomes a major community event and is the premiere long distance sailing race in the Canadian/ American Pacific Northwest. It's a race in which yachts, both racing and cruising, and crews capable of adventure in exposed waters are encouraged to compete and test their skills. Swiftsure has drawn boats and sailors from California, Hawaii, New Zealand and even Russia.

J/122 sailing Swiftsure Race- Straits of Juan de FucaThe nature of the course and the potential variety of sailing conditions are a significant test of good seamanship. Swiftsure is now actually five different races over three separate courses, plus an inshore regatta. The "classic" Swiftsure Lightship Classic course goes out to Swiftsure Bank and return for 139nm.  The Cape Flattery Race goes to Neah Bay and return for 103nm and the Juan de Fuca Race sails to Clallam Bay and return for 80nm.  The inshore race courses are determined based on wind/ weather conditions the day of the race.

Leading the J's into the Straits may be John McPhail's J/160 JAM in the Swiftsure Lightship Classic Division, the only J/Team participating in that division.  And, nipping at their heels sailing the Cape Flattery Unlimited Class will be Tom Huseby's J/145 DOUBLE TAKE.

J/105 sailing offshore in Swiftsure RaceIn the Cape Flattery Division, it will be a duel for line honors with Tom Kelly's J/122 ANAM CARA, Lynn Adkins J/111 ADALGISA and Scott Campbell's J/46 RIVA.  Giving them a run for the money on handicap honors will be the J/120 TIME BANDIT (Bob Brunius), the J/109 ILLUSIONIST (Dave MacLean), the J/35 TAHLEQUAH (Don Leighton), the J/37 FUTURE PRIMITIVE (Ron Mackenzie), the J/42 VELOCITY (Tom Keffer) and two J/105s-  ALLEGRO VIVACE (Lorenzo Migliorini) and FREE BOWL OF SOUP (Doug Schenk & Eric Hopper).

Sailing the Juan de Fuca Race will be the J/109 TIPPY (Peter McComb) and two J/30s- CONRAD J (Geoffrey Wolf) and IMPULSIVE (Ulf-Georg Gwildis.

Finally, doing the day-sailing portion of the event, the Inshore Flying Sails Division will be the J/35 INTREPID skippered by Bob McClinton and the J/33 CORVO sailed by Tom Kerr.  Sailing photo credits- Brenda Jacques (bjart@shaw.ca)/ Andrew Madding (bowhshot@shaw.ca).  For more Swiftsure Yacht Race sailing information

J/105s sailing FIGAWI RaceFIGAWI Race Preview
(Nantucket, MA)- The 42nd Annual Figawi Race Weekend is recognized as a top sailing event not only on the east coast but is known worldwide. Figawi Race Weekend kicks off the the Cape Cod and Nantucket summer season. Participating this year are 210 boats with over 3,000 sailors and friends attending the event, one of the world's largest "pursuit-style" races.

The folklore associated with this race is legendary-- far too too many stories, many that will remain buried forever, while others thrive and are retold hundreds of times.  Needless to say, the race had its origins as a friendly competition with a few sailors from Hyannis and Nantucket.  A long time ago, four sailors started out from Baxter's Boathouse in Hyannis to race their sailboats to Nantucket.  That race would be the first of the Figawi Race Weekends, and the beginning of what has become a Cape Cod tradition.  And, an enormous Memorial Day Weekend party celebration for dozens of notable charities.

Whether it was the charm of a race to Nantucket, or maybe just the personal appeal of the early founders is really not clear, but Figawi began to grow by leaps and bounds.  In the early eighties, some notable skippers calling the Cape their summer home-- names like Kennedy and Koch-- began to sail with the fleet and spread the Figawi news all around New England, indeed across the world.

Figawi Charity Ball- NantucketIn 1987 the Figawi organizers decided they wanted to create a means of giving back to their home communities and what better way than to develop a charity ball. So they invited sailors, local businessmen, and friends to the first Figawi Ball. With around a seven hundred guests, money was raised with the commitment to support only local charities.  Over the last twenty years the Figawi Charity Ball has become the largest single night of fund raising for local charities. Now each year, "THE BALL" attracts 1,200 passionate supporters and is considered to be the premier social event of the season. It's not only famous as a great night out (no need to elaborate here), but thanks to the generosity of sponsors and proceeds from raffles and the silent auction, Figawi Charities generates nearly $200,000 each year and has provided over $2.2 million in support to local organizations who would otherwise go without.

This year, the weekend begins with a "Kickoff Party" at Hyannis Yacht Club on Friday, May 24th, 2013.  It's for competitors, friends, family, and Figawi fans. Beginning at 3 pm, there is a cash bar, coveted Figawi merchandise for sale and great entertainment.

Early Saturday morning, crews begin gathering. Skippers and boat owners prepare their boats, gather their crews, and head out to the start line. The first boat (the slowest from a PHRF rating standpoint) officially begins at 10 am off the Hyannis Port Jetty and by noon, when the fastest boats finally start, there are 13 divisions sailing majestically across Nantucket Sound.

Depending on the course conditions, the theory of the Pursuit Race format is that all competitors should reach the Nantucket Harbor buoy at around the same time. Over the years, there have been in fact rather remarkable finishes with enormous clumps of boats in all size ranges flying past the finish line (out West, the San Diego and Santa Barbara sailors have their Hot Rum Series and the San Francisco sailors have their Three Bridge Fiasco-- all the same basic idea).

After the Saturday evening Competitors Party and general R&R on Sunday, the afternoon Awards Ceremony Party is then followed by the Charity Ball. For those still capable of sailing, Monday has the "Redux" race back Hyannis. The gathering at Hyannis YC in the afternoon includes entertainment and one last time to enjoy the Figawi camaraderie until next year.

J/Teams have done quite well in the event, often winning class and on several occasions winning the entire race boat-for-boat overall!  The J's range in size from J/24s up to the gorgeous J/160.  Sailing this year are two J/24s- MUTINOUS DOGS (Marc Holdaway), DRAGIN-Z-BALZ (Jon Wenderoth); the J/29 SEEFEST (Ira Perry); six J/105s including PRIMA sailed by the Nantucket High School Sailing Team; two J/109s including SPITFIRE (Dan Grossman) and DEJRA VU (Jim Bello); two J/111s including PRAVDA 2 (Ed Kaye) and EAGLES DARE (Mike Piper); the J/37 DUCK SOUP (Stephen Lipman); two J/40s- JAZZ (Kirk Brown) and SMITTEN (Bill Jones); two J/120s- M-SQUARED (Bill Mack) and GLORY (Dave Follett); the J/122 URSUS MARITIMUS (Jim Masiero); the J/44- BEAGLE (Phil Gutin); and the J/160 AVATAR (Alan Fougere).
For more FIGAWI Race sailing information

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

May is fast coming to an end with a furious pace around the world, especially with a holiday weekend arriving in Europe and Memorial Day celebrations being observed in various parts of America, Canada and the rest of the world.  Starting in the United Kingdom, the Royal Corinthian YC hosted its popular Vice Admiral's Cup Regatta that had great sailing and competition amongst the J/109 and J/111 classes.  Across the Channel in The Netherlands, the Delta Lloyd North Sea Race Week was a hosted offshore for one-design classes like J/22s, J/24s,  and J/109s along with an IRC division.  In France, the Yacht Club Crouesty Arzon hosted one of the premiere one-design events for French sailors, the Grand Prix Crouesty- which saw fleets of J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/80s sailing along with an IRC handicap class.  Over in Germany, the J/24s held their German Open in the beautiful location of Glucksburg, on the Flensberger Fjord on the Baltic Sea.  The Swedish sailors got their sailing season rolling with the immensely popular Lidingo Runt, an around the island race for hundreds of boats that included J/70s and J/80s one-design sailing.

Across the Atlantic to America, a lot was happening on the Left Coast.  In the Pacific Northwest, offshore sailors completed their Oregon Offshore Race from Portland to Victoria, BC, Canada.  Sailing quite well were a J/122, J/46, J/105 and J/42.  Some of them managed to head down to Seattle and sail the Sperry Topsider NOOD the following weekend, an event that had J/24s, J/80s and J/105s sailing one-design.  Down in the middle of the coast, the San Francisco sailors saw Richmond YC host their season opener, "The Big Daddy Regatta" in which a certain J/125 had fun with the locals.  Then, across the Bay the venerable St Francis YC hosted their Aldo Alessio Regatta with one-design sailing for J/105s and J/120s as well as hosting an IRC class.  Not to forget the famous Cinco de Mayo weekend celebrations, the local Santa Barbara Sailing Club hosted their popular Cinco de Mayo Regatta for a large fleet of J/24s.

Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who 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:

May 23-26- Sanctuary Cove Boat Show (70)- Sydney, Australia
May 31-Jun 2- Southern Bay Race Week (24, 70)- Hampton YC, VA
Jun 7-9- Chicago NOOD Regatta (105, 109, 111)- Chicago, IL
Jun 7-9- New York YC Annual Regatta (111, 122)- Newport, RI
Jun 14-16- J/Cup Celtic Regatta- Pwllheli, Wales, UK
Jun 14-15- Off Soundings Regatta (105, 109, 120)- Watch Hill/ Block Is
Jun 15-16- Cleveland Race Week (70)- Cleveland, OH
Jun 19-22- J/24 US Nationals- Wayzata, MN
Jun 23-28- Block Island Race Week- (80, 35, 105, 109, 111, 44)- Block Island, RI
Jun 27-30- Kieler Woche (70, 80, 24)- Kieler Segeln Club- Kiel, Germany
Jun 27-30- J/22 Europeans- Zierikzee, Netherlands
Jul 4-7- J/24 UK Nationals- Plymouth, England
Jul 6-13- J/80 World Championships- Marseilles, France
Jul 12-14- Bacardi Newport Regatta (22, 24, 70, 80, 105)
Jul 13-15- Chicago Mackinac Race- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Jul 25-28- J/30 North Americans- Barrington, RI
Jul 26-28- J/70 New Englands/ NOOD- Marblehead, MA
Jul 27-28- Youngstown Level Regatta (70, 24)- Youngstown, NY
Aug 9-11- J/109 North Americans- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Aug 9-11- Verve Cup Offshore (109, 111)- Chicago, IL
Aug 9-13- J/27 North American Championship- Oakville, Ontario
Aug 14-18- J/111 North Americans- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Aug 22-30- J/24 Worlds- Howth (Dublin), Ireland

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

J/111 sailing upwind on Solent off Cowes, EnglandSHMOKIN & JELLYFISH Top Vice Admirals Cup Regatta
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club recently hosted the ninth Vice Admiral’s Cup Regatta with MUSTO as its principal sponsor.  Since its introduction the Vice Admiral Cup has gone from strength to strength with it’s close racing format and fun social programme making it enjoyable for all the competitors.  Strong turnouts of J/111s and J/109s made for fantastic racing across a broad spectrum of conditions-- shorts & shades to something "good for ducks on a cool, damp day".

On the first day, with four frenetic races there was plenty of action for the competitors taking part in the opening round of the 2013 Musto Vice Admiral's Cup.  Race Officers Bob Milner, officiating for the bigger boats, and Robert Lamb, on the small boat course, kept their customer's good and busy with some great windward leeward racing on Central Solent courses in a variable 8-15 knots from the north east. The smaller boats managed three races whilst the larger boats pushed through and went for a fourth.

J/111s starting off line in Vice Commodores Cup- Cowes, EnglandClass 2s six J/111s proved to be a three way battle between James Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE, David and Kirsty Apthorp's J-DREAM and Duncan McDonald & Phil Thomas's SHMOKIN' JOE. The only boat that was able to challenge the trio all day was Tony Mack's MCFLY who made the podium twice with a second in race two and a third in race four, which put them into fourth overall at the end of the day. With a 1-3-3-1 scoreline it was JEEZ LOUISE that took J/111 of the day by a single point from J-DREAM. SHMOKIN' JOE showed great speed, but a lost protest in the fourth race, which means that although they still hold onto fourth place they are now four points behind J-DREAM and only a single point ahead of MCFLY.

What the fleets on the small boat course lack in size they more than make up for in numbers. Class 3 featured thirteen J/109s with a different winner for each of their three races. First to show was David Richard's JUMPING JELLYFISH who claimed race one and went on to add a third and a fourth to their scoreline to take the overall lead with eight points. Andy Johns and David Rolfe's SHADOWFAX got her regatta off to a slightly wobbly start with a seventh place but won race two and took third in race three to claim second place overall on eleven points. Just one point behind them was Steve and Jody Maine's J2EAU who won the final race of the day.

The second day of racing brought a mixed bag of weather. Morning saw very light airs and weak sunshine forcing the race committee to postpone. After an hour's delay racing began under steely skies in a shifty and patchy breeze of circa five knots from the west-south-west. As the day wore on the wind built slowly, maxing out at around ten to twelve knots by mid afternoon, and the sun eventually put in a most welcome late appearance.

With the Solent jam packed with dozens of events and classes, Bob Milner elected to take the big boats west for clear air and set up shop off the entrance to Beaulieu River. Meanwhile Robert Lamb managed to find a nice corridor for the small boat fleet up and down the Bramble Bank. Both fleets completed three races today.

James Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE hung onto the overall lead in J/111s by the skin of his teeth. He went into the day with a single point lead and added a pair of seconds and a bullet to his score so now counts 10 points overall. Top performer of the day was Duncan McDonald and Phil Thomas's SHMOKIN' JOE with a pair of first followed by a second, which jumps them up for third overall into second on count back sharing equal points with JEEZ LOUISE. David and Kirsty Apthorp's J-DREAM had a mixed day with a third and fourth followed by a did not finish and they drop down from second overall to third, six points behind the leaders.

J/109 one-design sailboat- sailing upwind at Vice Commodore's Cup- Cowes, EnglandDavid Richards' JUMPING JELLYFISH put in another very conservative day with a four, two, four score and continues to lead the J/109s in Class 3 with a seven point margin. Paul James's JIGSAW turned the tables after yesterday's mediocre performance and jumped from ninth overall to second with the help of a pair of wins and a sixth place. Tony Dickin, helming JUBILEE, moved up from fourth to third and is now tied on equal points with JIGSAW. Last night's second placed SHADOWFAX, owned by Andy Johns and David Rolfe, struggled in the light airs finishing ninth and tenth before recovering with a second in the windier last race. As a result they drop down from third to fourth overall, but are only one point behind JIGSAW and JUBILEE. Top J/109 performer today was FARDONYX, helmed by William Edwards, with a pair of thirds and a first, however they were unable to sail yesterday so currently lie ninth overall.

"Good weather for ducks" is probably the best way to describe conditions on the final day of sailing where grey was the predominant color and oilskins were the preferred attire (good news for sponsor Musto!). Fortunately nothing could dampen the spirits of the competing teams who took on two final races to decide this hugely competitive series. Winds were predominantly from the northeast, but with some very big shifts and velocity ranging from sub five to around ten knots the tacticians and trimmers certainly got a strenuous workout. Once again Rob Lamb took the small boat fleet onto the Bramble Bank and Bob Milner returned to the Ryde Bank area with the big boats.

The final result of the J/111s went down to a protest between Duncan McDonald and Phil Thomas's SHMOKIN' JOE and Tony Mack's MCFLY regarding a pair of incidents on the run into and rounding of the leeward mark in the final race. The Protest Committee elected to hear both protests together and ultimately found that SHMOKIN' JOE had not infringed. A very relieved SHMOKIN' JOE were delighted to claim overall victory in the class from James Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE. Having had to pull out of yesterday's race seven David and Kirsty Apthorp's J-DREAM was back in the hunt today and a third and fourth place put them into third overall, just one point ahead of MCFLY.

J/109s sailing off start- Vice Commodores Cup- Cowes, EnglandIn the J/109s, William Edwards' FARDONYX and David Richard's JUMPING JELLYFISH battled it out for supremacy with each boat adding a second and a first to their totals. For JUMPING JELLYFISH the hard work paid off with overall victory by a confident twelve-point margin, but FARDONYX had to settle for fifth overall having been unable to compete on the opening day. The battle for second and third was incredibly close with half a dozen boats in contention for a podium place going into the day. Paul James of Jigsaw had held second place on count back from Tony Dickin aboard JUBILEE, but just couldn't seem to find traction in the difficult conditions and after two disastrous results dropped down into sixth. JUBILEE meanwhile played it conservatively taking a third and fifth and put themselves onto the second step of the podium. Thanks to a third place in the final race Steve and Jody Maine's J2EAU snatched third overall, just one point ahead of Andy Johns and David Rolfe's SHADOWFAX.  Thanks for contribution from Fiona Brown.   For more Vice Admiral's Cup sailing information

J/22s sailing one-design off The NetherlandsFun Sailing North Sea Week
J/22, J/24, J/109s Enjoy Close Racing
(The Hague, Netherlands)- The major summer regatta in the Netherlands, Delta Lloyd North Sea Week, saw some great competition, nice weather and one of their best turn-outs for participation in recent years.  Teams from all over Europe migrated down to the beautiful seashore off the Hague, including the J/22, J/24 and J/109 one-design classes.

J/22s sailing the Netherlands around markThe J/22s saw some new faces at the top of the podium this past week, a refreshing change in this ever evolving fun class in the Netherlands, Germany and France.  Sailing an amazing series and counting only top three finishes after ten races was the FRAPORITA team led by Jean-Michel Lautier, Giuseppe D'Aquino and Denis Neve-- 13 pts net for 10 races!  Showing flashes of brilliance with three bullets in their shoreline was the all-women XJE team led by Misja Adamczyk, Lilith Michaelis and Marion de Ha.  Starting out in the lead after four races, the girls faded in their last four, never finishing higher than fourth.  Nevertheless, they maintained their composure and with 22 net pts secured second overall.  Third overall on the podium was JABBADABBADOO sailed by Stan Heltzel, Nadine Fritz and Audrey Paterson with 23 net pts.  The balance of the top five was Sander Brinkhuis's DJINN in fourth and fifth was Ivo Jeaukens's DE KANTOORBUTLER.

The half-dozen J/24s sailing saw NED 49 take the silverware by a significant point margin. The team of Erik Jeuring, Calijn Muller, Jeroen Horts and Merk Meester ran away with the regatta counting straight firsts in eight races!  Second was NED 51- DE JANS sailed by Nils Jannichsen, Nina Hagoort and Peter Jannichsen followed by BED 68- AS IS helmed by Dirk de Brouwere.

With nine boats sailing, the J/109s had some awesome one-design racing.  Like some of his fellow J sailing colleagues in other fleets, Tom van der Vecht's EXPECTO nearly swept the class counting eight 1sts in ten races to be crowned North Sea Week J/109 Champion.  Second was A van Leeuwen's JOULE finishing second overall with 16 pts.  Third was Niels Groothuizen's TAXATION with 19 pts.  Fourth was BIG TIME (Rein Bakker) and fifth was the offshore veteran sailing team on YETI (Paul van der Pol).

In IRC Class, an initial contender was the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER sailed by John van de Starre and Robin Verhoef.  After flirting with the lead sailing a 2-2 on the first day, their hopes vanished for a podium finish after struggling to regain their "mojo" and momentum, ending up an uncharacteristic 5th in their class.  For more Delta Lloyd North Sea week sailing information

J/24 one-design sailing- Seattle NOOD regattaClassic Cool Seattle NOOD
J/24, J/80 & J/105s Sailed Dozen+ Races!
(Seattle, WA)- Yes, it was an amazing fact.  Long known for its famous late spring monsoon season with next to no wind, the Pacific Northwest version of the Sperry Topsider NOOD regattas can also produce some spectacular sailing conditions with the mighty, snow-capped Cascades Mountain range in the background.  While perhaps not postcard perfect sailing conditions, the sailors didn't care (see J/24 team at right)!  Wind was all that mattered, not the wet & wild variety, but just good breezes; the type of conditions that permitted the PRO's on the various course to seriously crank out some fast turn-arounds and dozens of starts. For the J/24s that meant an exhausting sixteen races and for the J/80s and J/105s a dozen races!

J/24s starting at Seattle NOOD RegattaAs anticipated, some of the top local J/24 teams managed to sail solid, consistent series to lead the pack of eighteen J/24s-- the largest fleet at the regatta.  Scott Milne's TREMENDOUS SLOUCH fired plenty of finishes into the top three to secure the top spot with 56 pts.  Mike Johnson's PEARL closed rapidly on the leaders after a slow start, counting 1-1-1-2-1 for his last five races to snag second overall with 62 pts.  Mark Laura's and Craig Suhrbier's BABA LOUIE were sailing the roller-coaster version of the top two leaders, winning some races, getting top three's, then bombing a race or two.  Net, net, BABA LOUIE's veterans hung tough and fought off challenges from others down the ladder to get the bronze on the podium with 81 pts. Fourth was Brad Miller's HAIR OF THE DOG and fifth was Jeff Bond's JOYRIDE.

The J/80s saw two veterans dueling for the top prize in their fleet, Bill McKinnon's SKYE ROCKET and Dave Schutte's TAJ MAHAL. However, even after closing the last six races with three 1sts and three 2nds, the TAJ gang couldn't muster enough momentum to overcome their early deficit.  Consequently, SKYE ROCKET took the win with 21 pts with TAJ in second with 23 pts.  Third went to Bryan Rhodes's CRAZY IVAN with 33 pts.

J/105s sailing Seattle NOOD RegattaWhat appeared to be the only "schooling" taking place at this regatta was the fact that Jerry Diercks's DELIRIUM team sailed deliriously well-- smacking their J/105 classmates with all finishes in the top three for 19 pts in 12 races.  Starting off with three bullets must've been a bit mind-numbing for their fellow J/105 sailors.  Nevertheless, taking a beating early but closing with a vengeance in the last six races as Erik Kristen's JUBILEE, snapping off four 1sts and two 3rd in the end to score 29 pts total to take a solid second overall.  Third was Eric Hopper's FREE BOWL OF SOUP, fresh off their most excellent performance in the Oregon Offshore Race.  The balance of the top five included Jim Geros's LAST TANGO in fourth and Lorenzo Migliorini's ALLEGRO VIVACE in fifth.   Sailing Photo credits- TimWilkes.com.  For more Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD Regatta sailing information

J/122 Anam Cara sailing on Oregon Offshore raceJ's Sweep Oregon Offshore
J/122 ANAM CARA Wins Class + Overall!
(Portland, Oregon)- It was a "Banner Year" for the 35th Edition of the Oregon Offshore Race.  Twenty seven entries, the most in over a decade or two.  The event has been a classic "feeder" taking enthusiastic offshore sailors from the friendly confines of Portland, Oregon up to the Seattle/ Victoria, BC region for some excellent sailing in the summers-- e.g. Vic-Maui, Seattle NOOD, Swiftsure Race and so forth.

J/46 RIVA crew showing how to get'er done offshore!The Oregon Offshore can be challenging, especially the long stretch from the start to the first turn at Cape Flattery.  The race goes 193 nm race, starting off Astoria, Oregon at the mouth of the famous Columbia River, then head north up around Cape Flattery at the opening of the Juan de Fuca Straits, then down ESE to the finish line at Victoria, BC, Canada.

Veterans of the race continue to demonstrate their knowledge of the capricious conditions that can confound the "newbies" who've not experienced the vagaries of storms, calms, whirlpools, massive eddies and currents and which shore to pick going down the Straits of Juan de Fuca!

J/42 sailing fast in cruising mode off Portland, OregonFor this year's edition, Tom Kelly's beautiful navy-blue hulled J/122 ANAM CARA swept the entire race, taking both A2 Class honors as well as 1st Overall!  Second in class and third overall was Scott Campbell's J/46 RIVA (crew seen above relishing their amazing performance).  And, completing the sweep of A2 class was the J/42 VELOCITY sailed by Tom Keffer from Hood River, OR (seen here to right practicing "fast cruising").

Taking B Class honors was the J/105 FREE BOWL OF SOUP.  She was 1st in Class and 5th overall sailed by the trio of Portland, OR co-owners Doug Schenk, Matt Davis and Eric Hopper.  Congratulations to all, fantastic performance in this challenging race!   For more Oregon Offshore sailing information

J/105s sailing on San francisco bayARBITRAGE & CHANCE Dominate Aldo Alessio
J/111 MADMEN Debuts First Regatta
(San Francisco, CA)- It was nearly perfect, classic San Francisco Bay sailing conditions for the weekend.  A bit of fog in the morning, clearing soon after everyone had their first cup of coffee, then turning into gorgeous sunny weather with a solid westerly blowing through Golden Gate Bridge!  A recipe that many sailors love and will never tire from-- it has to be one of the world's most reliable "thermal breeze engines" (50 deg bay waters + 100 deg valley desert = 20-30 kts!).

With the largest fleet in the regatta, the eighteen J/105s had some spirited competition.  The winner, Bruce Stone on ARBITRAGE, sailed a constant series with a 3-1-6-5-1 record for 16 pts.  Adam Spiegel's JAM SESSION was second with a 4-3-2-6-3 for 18 pts.  Third was Scooter Simmons on BLACKHAWK with 5-4-rdg-1-5 for 19.5 pts.  Fourth was Jason Woodley and Scott Whitney on RISK and fifth was the DONKEY JACK trio- Shannon Ryan, Rolk Kaiser, Steve Kleha (might've been regatta winners had they not taken a dive down the rabbit hole in race 2 with an 11th).  Here's the report from the front of the pack- Bruce Stone on ARBITRAGE:

J/105 champions- N Breault and B Stone on Arbitrage- San Francisco Bay"Despite it being among the lightest ebbs of the month, the Aldo Alessio course was heavily tidal influenced, with typical city front conditions on Saturday.  There was a pronounced counter-clockwise favored course - go outside upwind in the stronger ebb and hug the city front downwind in less ebb.  You needed a good start and then tack immediately to get out the stronger ebb outside.  There were significant passing opportunities downwind as some folks stayed tight inshore and missed shots of extra breeze just a bit out, while others jibed out for that breeze, missed it and ended up sliding back in the ebb - the typical arbitrage of wind and tide!

On Sunday, the RC set up a Big Boat Series-type course with a starting line on the face of Treasure Island, exposing the fleet to an ebb running northerly along the line from the pin to the committee boat. This race course made more work for the tacticians, with the winners legging over toward downtown where the river running from south bay would then curve to the northwest into the channel between Alcatraz and the city front.  Those who spent time on port tack rode the ebb toward Angel Island probably hooked into a stronger ebb on the north side of Alcatraz, but in planning the day we felt the "lefty-lifty" conditions as one passed the south side of Alcatraz would trump the better ebb on the north side. And, anyone going right for more tide would then be coming back on a header to the windward marks at Presidio Shoal.

J/111 sailing San Francisco BayIt was also a great day for active trimming because the ebb made for choppy conditions as the wind built into the low 20's.  Nicole was constantly easing and trimming the main going upwind, and since we cross-sheet, she has the jib sheet on the winch right next to her and can do the final trim when we get up to speed from tacks, and ease when we encounter a particularly nasty wave set from the ferries.  Downwind there were gainers from catching waves through coordinated work on spin and mainsheet.  It was an exhausting weekend for the crew as everyone worked hard to get every extra bit out of the boat.  Second place Jam Session sailed an excellent regatta with some great starts and competitive tactics."

The half-dozen J/120s have historically had very tight racing, with no team simply dominating the events they sail together.  However, this may haven the first time in recent memory where that did happen! First was Barry Lewis's CHANCE with a strong three 1sts and two 2nds scoreline for 7 pts.  Second was Dick Swanson's GRACE DANCES with a 2-3-1-3-2 for 11 pts.  Third was John Wimer's DESDEMONA with a very consistent 3-4-3-2-3 for 15 pts.  Rounding out the top five were Steve Madeira's MR MAGOO in fourth and Timo Bruck's TWIST in fifth.

The IRC Class saw the debut of the J/111 MADMEN sailed by Dorian McKelvy.  Even with their "non-IRC optimized" rating, they sailed very well to score 3-3-3-6-6-6 for 27 pts and place 4th overall.  The wind was right in the 14-17 kts range, not enough wind to send the J/111 down the Bay in a full-on plane.  Nevertheless, post-race analysis shows that MADMEN's team did a great job sailing and using a "standard UK/French IRC certificate" for J/111s, it's clear the J/111 would've won IRC Class!   Sailing photo credits- Pressure-Drop.us   For more Aldo Alessio sailing information

J/80s sailing in French regatta at Crouesty ArzonJ/80 ELECTRA Electrifies Grand Prix du Crouesty
J/111 J-LANCE VIII Scores in IRC
(Crouesty Arzon, France)- One of the classic late spring, early summer events on the French sailing calendar is the Grand Prix du Crouesty sailed in southern Brittany. It's traditionally been a very strong one-design regatta with additions of handicap fleets over the years.  The GPEN is hosted by Yacht Club Crouesty Arzon and sponsored by the Yacht Club de France. The event is always sailed the weekend of Pentecost on the beautiful bay bordered by Presque'Ile Rhuys and the islands of Houat Hoedic called Mor Braz.

With over 130 boats and 600 sailors competing for three days literally just off the beaches and cliffs, the general public have an exceptional view of Petit Mont on the Bay of Mor Braz.  And, with magnificent conditions blessing the fleet for most of the weekend, the sailors got in some fantastic sailing and some spirited competition.

J/80s sailing downwind- Grand Prix Crouesty, FranceLike the first major J/80 event, this one also produced yet another "new kid on the block" at the top of the fleet. After sailing eight races, Quentin Ponroy's team on ELECTRA never finished out of the top five, scoring three 1sts and three 3rds to win with 12 pts net, a clear 16 pt margin of victory.  Sailing nearly as smart and fast was Simon Moriceau's INTERFACE CONCEPT, however, two "soon-to-be-forgotten" finishes of 12-18 in races 6 & 7 damaged their efforts to finish atop the podium, settling for second overall with 28 pts net.  Third was Nicolas Lunven on GENERALI, suffering a similar fate as Moriceau, having to face a 17-13-13 score mid-series to otherwise enable them at shot at the top, too.  Fourth was Phillipe Guigene on FAIS TOI PLAISIR MARINE LORIENT and fifth was the familiar team on Luc Nadal's GAN'JA.

J70 sailing Grand Prix Crouesty, FranceIn the Monotype Division, the combination of J/22s, J/24s and J/70s made for some interesting racing as the scoring was based on handicap.  While the J/70s were miles ahead crossing the line on elapsed times, they could only wait until they got to the dock at the end of the day to know how they performed on corrected.  Nevertheless, the J/22s swept the division based on handicap.  More importantly, on a class-by-class basis there were clear leaders as described below.

For the J/22s, top dog was Patrick Huet's EUROPEAN HOMES sailing to nearly straight firsts amongst J/22s.  Second was Charles Michaux's JAZZY and third was Claire Pouteau's SOFFE.

J/24s sailing Grand Prix Crouesty- FranceThe J/70s were led by Gerard Chapelot sailing ALBERTO sailing very consistently.  Second was Luc Lajoye's EXIUM and in third was Jean-Marc Gosset's VOILERIE SAILS CONCEPT.

In J/24s, the leader was Aorelian Garcia's INSULARIS followed by Charles Gury's JINETTE.

The IRC handicap division saw Didier Le Moal's J/111 J/LANCE VIII take third on the podium despite having a very slow start to finish with a 3-1-4-3 for 23 pts net.   For more Grand Prix du Crouesty sailing information

J/125 sailing on San Francisco BayJ/125 Takes Big Daddy!
(Richmond, CA)- One of the first major regattas of the summer sailing season on San Francisco Bay is generally Richmond YC's Big Daddy Regatta.  Richmond is home to the famous J/125 DOUBLE TROUBLE, sailed by co-owners Peter Kreuger and Andy Costello.

Their boat has a full summer program, including Bay inshore regattas as well as offshore classics like the Spinnaker Cup (a race from San Francisco down the coastline to Monterey Bay) and the Santa Barbara- King Harbor Race (a race from Santa Barbara, out around the Channel Islands and down to King Harbor off southwest Los Angeles).

J/125 Double Trouble- co-owners Andy Costello (L) and Peter Kreuger (R)DOUBLE TROUBLE started her inshore series this past weekend with a "bang". With Peter Kreuger at the helm and his DOUBLE TROUBLE Big Boat Series 2012 winning crew all aboard, including tactician Jeff "Madro" Madrigali. DT was blazing fast using her new North 3DI Inshore sail Inventory.

The team had great boat speed and solid boat-handling.  Along with Madro's tactics their excellent team effort put them in the top spot with 6 points in the best of 3 series.  They held off some other great teams, including the new MC 38 Whiplash and Big boat series winner from 2012 IRC B- TNT, the custom Tripp 43.  For more on the J/125 DOUBLE TROUBLE's sailing escapades

J/24 German Open- girls rule!J/24 German Open Success!
Top German Women's Team Take Silver
(Glücksburg, Germany)- The J/24 class in Germany continues to have fun sailing competitive regattas across the many inland lakes as well as on the Baltic or North Seas.  Recently, their J/24 German Open Regatta was hosted by Flensburger Segel-Club sailed in the Flensburg Fjord on the Baltic Sea, a beautiful and challenging place to sail for anyone.

A fleet of 28 J/24s showed up en masse to enjoy the event.  Despite difficult weather conditions for the weekend of sailing, the PRO managed to conduct four races for the fleet of the nine that were planned.

J/24 German women's team leading sailing on Baltic Sea!In the end, the team of GER 5420 took first place by the narrowest of margins.  With Simon Grorteluschen as skipper and crew of Justus Kellner, Tobias Peters, Jan-Marc Ulrich and Mattias Wallentin, their team started slowly and finished with a flourish, scoring 8-6-2-3 for 19 pts to take the regatta by one point.

Second overall was the top women's German team that sailed extremely well in the event (pictured above).  GER 513 skipper by Ragna Thonnessen with crew of Laura Hatje, Ann-Kathrin Frank, Lisa Raschdorf, Janne Hopken and Venita Damm sailed to a 3-1-9-7 for 20 points.  Sadly, they started fast out of the blocks leading the regatta but couldn't hang in there for the overall win.

J/24 German Open winners on podium!Taking the third position on the podium was GER 5281 skippered by Jan Kahler.  His crew of Roland Bohm, Tim Becker, Olaf Zeitz and Ole Harder sailed the best last three races for the entire fleet! However, their first race killed their chances for the top of the podium.  They scored a 12-4-1-4 for 21 pts, to narrowly miss out taking the regatta overall.

Rounding out the top five finishes are the GER 4230 team lead by Peer Kock in fourth and GER 5440 skippered by Matthias Garzmann in fifth.  Congratulations to all for such a great turnout!  Sailing photos- Ingvild Buchholz and Hajo Andresen.   For more J/24 German Open sailing information

J/80s finishing LidingoRunt race off SwedenJ/80s & J/70s Challenge Lidingo Runt Race
(Lidingo, Sweden)- The Around Lidingo Island Race was first organized by the Lidingo YC in 1949 as a small competition amongst friends to have some fun in the early part of the Swedish summertime.  The start is below Foresta / Millesgarden and the finish is at Old Torsviks lighthouse, north of Lidingobron.

For the first few years around fifty or so boats sailed, but the numbers began to increase quite rapidly. During the 2000s, the race had about 400 to 450 participating boats. The event is the start of the season for many East Coast sailors in Sweden.  In fact, the race has grown in such popularity that even Super Maxi 100 footers, Open 60s and 80 ft trimarans have participated for honors of "first around Lidingo"!

This year, a modest fleet of 280+ boats registered to sail the event, including a very strong class of a dozen J/80s sailing one design.  It also marked the debut of the first J/70 to participate in this famous "round island" race.

The J/80s saw the event as the first part of their training program to get teams ready to sail the J/80 Worlds in Marseilles, France as well as the J/80 Europeans.  Leading the pack home were the HAPPY team led by Johannnes Bergh.  Second was the DYNAMANT Consulting team with skipper Anders Rosenberg several minutes behind.  Third was MK-PRODUKTER sailed by Lars Gellerhed. Fourth was the HEAVY DUTY crew doing heavy duty work for skipper Pontus Tornlund. Rounding out the top five was TEAM SEGER led by Andreas Seger.

Sailing in by far one of the largest classes in the fleet was J/70 JULIA!  With next to no practice and little knowledge of how to make the J/70 go fast, it was amazing the Jan Nillson managed to skipper the J/70 to a third overall in their SRS-1 Handicap class against 23 other competitors.  For more Lidingo Runt sailing information

J/24 sailing off Santa Barbara, CA in Cinco de Mayo RegattaTHREE BIG DOGS Snatches Cinco de Mayo Regatta
(Santa Barbara, CA)- One of the highlights of the Santa Barbara sailing season is always the Cinco de Mayo celebration.  The event always attracts a good fleet of one-design classes.  In fact, Cinco de Mayo and the Fiesta Cup celebrated later in July are the highlights of the summertime sailing season for locals due to the enormous influx of sailors looking forward to the time-honored celebrations associated with each event.

Host of the Cinco de Mayo Regatta is the Santa Barbara Sailing Club, a wonderful "home-grown" sailing organization dedicated to promote primarily one-design class sailboat racing in the Santa Barbara area. Perhaps most importantly, it primary objective has been to provide affordable access to the sport of sailboat racing for the general sailing public.

J/24 sailing upwind offshore Santa Barbara, CA in Cinco de Mayo RegattaAttending this year's event was one of the strongest J/24 one-design turnouts in quite some time.  Sailing were a dozen J/24s with hot competition, especially for the top of the leaderboard.  Past J/24 North American Champion, Pat Toole and crew on THREE BIG DOGS, just barely managed to hang on to win the J/24 crown on a tie-breaker with identical scores!  The 3BD crew took a 3-1-1-3-2-2-1-2-1 scoreline for nine races to win. Giving them a serious run for the money was Klatt's JADED with a 1-2-3-1-4-1-2-1-2 tally for equal 13.0 pts for their eight counter races.  How was the tie-breaker broken?  Well after identical counts for 1st, 2nd and 3rds, it goes to who-beat-who in the last race!  Great racing to all!  Taking third overall while watching the histrionics taking place in front was Zimmerman sailing the mighty SVENJA. Fourth was Baurley's CRITTER and fifth was Susan Taylor's TAKE FIVE.   For more Cinco de Mayo Regatta sailing information

J/Community

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

J/100 Aura sailing on Chesapeake Bay off eastern Maryland* Last week we highlighted a fun "winter project" making a J/100 wind-driven "whirligig".  The owner of the J/100 AURA- Bob Gallagher- passed along to us the "recipe" on how to make it for those who wish to duplicate it for their own boats or make them as gifts for family and friends.  Here's Bob's commentary:

"The secret is a turntable bearing for a "Lazy Susan" that I bought at Lowe's for $7.50. It provides a stable low friction platform for the arms of the whirligig to connect to.  Also, I used the drawing of the J/100 from your website to make scale models of the boats.

I took the video at our vacation home here in Cambridge, Maryland. Cambridge is on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay across the Bay Bridge and about one hour south of Annapolis. The sailing here is great.

I am a member of the Eastern Shore Sailing Association. We do Wednesday night races and special distance races on Saturdays throughout Summer and Fall. I've single-handed my boat to Annapolis and to Solomon's Island from Cambridge. Both sails are about 40 miles.  I've always felt safe sailing the J/100 even when the wind starts blowing hard and the seas kick up.

My J/100 is hull# 91. It was originally a dark gelcoat which I spruced up about three years ago with an Awlgrip finish -- it's a head turner!  Here's a photo of us sailing in the waters off Cambridge area during a Wednesday night race."  Best, Bob

* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again!  We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR.

J/160 sailing offshore to US Virgin Islands- rainbow over oceanAlan sent us an email update commenting on their passage south this winter, "In mid-December AVATAR completed her sixth transit to her winter Caribbean home, Grand Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI (seen above)  from her home port in Quissett (Falmouth), MA.  A crew of three, Captain Alan (e.g. me), Crew Pablo Brissett and Mark Conroy, covered the 1,500 nm trip in in her best time to date- 7 Days 5 Hours, averaging 8.7 kts, that's about 208 nm per day!  Amazing passage it was!  Rainbow at right far offshore was some of the amazing phenomenon we experienced on this fast offshore passage.

AVATAR will participate in the BVI Sailing Festival/Regatta again in 2013, where last year she won the Nanny Key Cup Cruising Class race around the Island of Virgin Gorda.  Here are some photos for you to share with the J/Community at-large.  Enjoy!"
Best, Alan Fougere/ AVATAR

Bill & Judy Stellin- sailing J/42 Jaywalker* Bill & Judy Stellin recently had an interview about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea".  The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:

Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety

Wall St Journal interview- Stellin's Offshore cruising/ sailing retirementThe article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers.  We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.

WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"

Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.

Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.

People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."

READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE 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/

* 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/.

J/130 sailing ARC Rally arrives Portugal- leave a message on the sea wall!* 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).

-  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).  Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".

- 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), 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.


J/Brokerage

J/65 Maitri- offshore performance cruiser for saleJ/65 MAITRI For Sale

Custom build, sloop-rigged, J/65 is long and lean with low wetted surface, allowing the boat to be easily driven with a moderate sailplan in light airs. To make target cruising speeds of 9-10 knots, J/65 won't be as dependent upon auxiliary diesel power as most vessels in her category. A graceful sweeping sheerline and flared topsides allow for a sleek and purposeful silhouette and a dry, comfortable ride. The large, protected aft cockpit offers plenty of space to get comfortable as well as great protection offshore.  MAITRI was built in 2006 and currently resides in San Diego, CA.

Contact:  Jeff Brown- JK3 Nautical Enterprises. Work- 619-224-6200 or Cell- 619-709-0697

J/46 Questar offshore performance cruising sailboat- for saleJ/46 QUESTAR For Sale

Questar is an immaculate and extremely well maintained J/46 built in 2000. Commissioned for an avid and seasoned yachtsman, she is thoughtfully outfitted and well equipped and currently resides in San Diego, CA.

J/46 may be the only investment grade sailing yacht of its size not requiring professional crew to sail at designed performance levels-- or to maintain. Two people can easily manage her upwind and down to achieve the same 8 knot passage-making speeds under sail that is possible when motoring with 76hp diesel auxiliary. The joy of sailing the perfect boat is, after all, a goal we believe every owner ultimately seeks. To insure that good sailing days are spent sailing rather than scrubbing and varnishing, J/46 is designed to be virtually maintenance-free. Her exquisite joinerwork is protected from the sun-- belowdecks where it’s beauty can be preserved.

Contact:  Kenyon Martin- JK3 Nautical Enterprises- wk- 619-224-6200 or cell: 858-775-5937

J/122 Pen Azen cruiser racer sailboat- for sale usedJ/122 PENN AZEN For Sale

One of the world's most successful J/122s is for sale- hull #6 built in March 2007 by J/Europe.

PENN AZEN has been very successful since her launch in 2007:
- 2007 RORC IRC Class 1 season winner
- 2008 RORC IRC “Yacht of the Year”- plus 8 season’s awards
- 2009 Winner of UNCL Trophée Atlantique in class 1
- 2010 French Rolex Commodores Cup team and 2nd at Trophée Atlantique
- 2012 Cowes-Dinard race: 3rd in IRC Class 2 and 4th IRC Overall

Inside arrangement- 3 cabin version plus folding sea berths in the saloon – 10 berths in total

J/122 Pen Azen racer cruiser sailboat- for sale usedDeck/ Rigging includes- Varnished Hall spars high modulus mast and boom, Rod rigging and dyneema backstay on hydraulic adjuster, Tuff-luff Forestay and Carbon steering wheel

Sails- X-Voiles France- complete inventory for any offshore racing, including RORC Fastnet Race.

Electronics- Full set from NKE Electronics including carbon wind indicator, 3 mast displays and 2 cockpit displays, gyroscopic compass, gyro autopilot, plus Icom VHF with ASN and AIS receiver and Furuno GPS.

Please contact- Gwen THOMAS from Ouest Greement-
P: +33 (0)2 40 82 66 65
E: tgreementpornic@free.fr