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