Wednesday, January 29, 2014

J/Newsletter- January 29th, 2014

J/88 sailing test review - Yachting WorldJ/88 @ Halifax Boat Show
World’s Hottest One-Design on Show Too- J/70!
(Halifax, Nova Scotia)- Sunnybrook Yachts will be displaying the Sailing World Boat of the Year- the J/88- at the Halifax Boat Show along with the hugely popular J/70; the hottest new one design under 23'.

The Halifax International Boat Show runs February 20th-23rd, 2014 at the Exhibition Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

J/88 interview with owner in ChicagoTo give you an idea of why people love the new J/88, check out Ben Wilson’s SA interview with Alan Block at the Strictly Sail Chicago Boat Show.  If that isn’t enough to get you enthused about the latest 29 ft speedster, here’s a sampler of J/88 videos to get the adrenaline pumping for the upcoming sailing season:

The Hull Story- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDDun32dKgo
Boats.com/ John Burnham- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5cIlgjAJEI
Yachting World On Test- Matt Sheahan- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-INjklcF_0
J/88 Newport Test- Rich Stearns- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8I1muxtz2Y
J/88 North Sails Testing- Kimo Worthington- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSch_u6jQYs
J/88 License to Thrill- Scott Spurlin- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwy8Ld2Kcyw

For more event information, please contact Jim Snair or Marcie Young via email or at http://www.sunnybrookyachts.com

J/70 sailing off Marstrand SwedenJ/70 @ Scandinavian Shows
(Marstrand, Sweden)- Peter Johansson and the Marstrand Yachts team will be attending three boats shows in Scandinavia in the next two months.  Be sure to check out the hot, hot, new J/70 on display at all three shows.
Please be sure to contact Peter Johansson at ph# +46 (0)735 430 800 or email- peter.johansson@marstrandyachts.com or Skype: peter.r.johansson.

Here’s the Batmassan.se overview of the J/70 (link is Swedish).  Story in English is below.

J/70 An All-Round Boat - review courtesy of Curt Gelin
“It is a remarkable story.  When talking actual sales figures, in just over a year the J/70 has sold hundreds of boats. It has become so popular to race, many event organizers cannot accommodate everyone who want to sail- the parking lots and all the logistics around are not enough! And in Sweden, the boat has won the hearts of many with more buyers than boats to sell!

The explanation for the unusual success today, with boat production not keeping pace with demand, can be attributed to several factors. Mainly, nice beautiful lines, simple, fun, sporty sailing qualities and particularly advantageous price. For the first time in many years, there is now a modern, sensible daysailer for the people.

These qualities are exactly what designer Alan Johnstone was up to when he began to plan for a successor to father Rod's formidable success with the J/24 (with 5,300 boats) and the J/80 (about 1,600 boats). Alan listened to the audience in the form of sailors who were in search of a new, great little day-sailor. He made ​​an effort to keep the price down, without compromising on construction quality. The solution was a highly specified hand layup of the laminate with strict weight controls. This was complimented by a high-tech, performance-engineered mast, spreaders, boom and bowsprit all built in carbon fiber epoxy laminate (the favorite of the aerospace industry), while the fittings on deck are kept as simple as necessary.

To be on the safe side with the concept, Alan asked experts and sailmakers to test the boat before the start of mass production and to comment or criticize on what they thought needed changes. Perhaps the evaluation was as much an opportunity for him to ensure that the marketing of the new J/70 was true- that it was a substantial, clever little sailboat that performed and feels genuinely comfortable just sitting at the dock.

The lines are beautiful, subjectively speaking, the J/70 is the neatest J as seen on the ocean's horizon. It has a fairly slim hull with low freeboard, modern flare breadth pulled all the way back to the stern.  She also has a straight stem with a narrow bow to effortlessly slice through waves.  The open stern, large open cockpit, rudder hung on the stern with a clever bump so the tiller ends up almost horizontally are all examples of good design. The J/70 is a symphony of aesthetic proportions and pleasingly elegant to the eye— no other sportsboat we’ve seen around the world comes close.

When the jury of the Sailing World Boat of the Year decided to nominate the J/70 in the “Performance one-design class”, it was precisely the lines and the promising sailing characteristics that determined its ultimate top boat award. And, expectations were met by far in connection with the test outside Karingon, Sweden with speeds in excess of 6-7 meters per second. With a full load (five people on-board without crowding in the cockpit) the boat easily sailed the half-ton crew without disruption to speed or stability.

The response on the long tiller and the deep rudder is excellent, the balance is neither too light and vague or too heavy and over-ruling. Meanwhile, the grip on the rudder is considerable, the J/70 responds fast when you want to fall-off and it requires negligence when sailing under the gennaker to get a broach. Acceleration is direct and fast, the mainsheet, together with the long mainsheet track, serves as throttle and brake. The boat is lively, but not wobbly, and therefore safe for regular Sunday sailing.

Speed, of course, is the fastest when you set the masthead gennaker and the J/70 almost imperceptibly slides onto a plane. But even for just main and jib the boat glides smoothly and quickly, making the J/70 a boat you can take out your near or dear ones in without scaring them.

The decor below is, for a small boat, nothing to comfort family cruising sailors- no headroom, no toilet, no kitchen, no dress code and no natural light. But that does not prevent older sailors approaching senior status from getting on a “back to basics” boat, it’s absolutely just right. For campers, the berths are long and the thick cushions make anyone sleep like a log. Ventilation is arranged by having the cabin door half open and using a “boom tent”.  In fact, the more “youthful” sailors can go camping on the boat with boom tent, sleeping bags and a bucket for a weekend on the J/70!

The trailer is well-designed and has a strong grip on the J/70 hull, all brackets are just right.  The mast sits on a hinging-bracket on the deck, which allows the mast to be raised and lowered with just two people. The lifting keel and the boat's light weight allows an ordinary car to pull the entire rig, thereby reducing transportation costs to exotic regattas at home and in Europe.

The bottom line is the J/70 is a fun, easy-to-eat “recipe” for almost every kind of sailor. It is nice and easy to sail regardless of whether you are new in the sailing world or an old hand looking for experiences to relive youthful days on the water. If any boat shall renew the sport and tempt new followers, this is it! All credit to Alan Johnstone in Newport on the other side of the Atlantic.”

J/24s sailing off Monte Carlo, MonacoJ/24 Primo Cup Preview
(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- Since 1985, the European elite has been gathering in Monegasque waters at the beginning of February to take part in the Mediterranean yachting season’s biggest event in terms of the number of participants.  With almost 1,000 sailors coming from all over Europe, representing some 15 nationalities, the Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse organized by the Yacht Club de Monaco, is one of the most important winter events in Europe, marking the start of the international racing season. The Yacht Club de Monaco is celebrating the 30th edition of the Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse.

The regatta is conducted over two weekends with the first weekend taking place from January 31 to February 2nd with J/24s participating and the second weekend running from February 7th to 9th with the J/70 class sailing.

The sailors will be treated to highly variable weather conditions for the next three days.  While Thursday and Friday will see a Low passing by to the south kicking out northeasterly winds of 20-30 kts diminishing by Friday afternoon to 10 to 17 kts northeast, the balance of the weekend looks a bit grim for breeze.  After the Low depression passes by to the southeast across the Mediterranean, a High pressure sits down across the region leaving light on-shore SSW sea-breezes of 4-7 kts on Saturday and slowly increasing winds again on Sunday from the NE at 8-12 kts.

This coming weekend’s J/24 division has nineteen boats sailing.  Hosted by the YC Monaco’s J/24 fleet, the J/24 has experienced the longest reign of participation in the Primo Cup; in fact, since the days that Prince Albert and friends used to regularly race J/24s off their Principality.

This year’s fleet is comprised of sailing teams from eight countries (France, Monaco, Sweden, Germany, Great Britain, USA, Greece and Italy).  Familiar names are amongst the entries like the three boat contingent from Great Britain’s Parkstone YC- Hitchhiker, Roger Morris and the duo of Duncan McCarthy & Steve Phelps.  Joining them from GBR will be Chris McLaughlin from Royal Corinthian YC.  Local top boats include Julia, Topo Too, Joker, Paget and St Andrews Securities from YC Monaco.  The lone USA entry is Caner Dinlenc from Manhattan Sailing Club in New York, NY.  For more YC Monaco's Primo Cup sailing information

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

Reflecting the diversity of events sailors can participate in literally every weekend of the year worldwide, it’s not often there’s a concentration of events in one region in one week for J sailors.  For this past week, it was the “Greater Caribbean Week” of sailing.

For starters, the famous “Woodstock” of sailing in the Americas recently took place in Key West, FL, the infamous island at the end of the Florida Keys— a.k.a. “the Conch Republic”.  J/Teams represented over 65% of the boats sailing in this year's Quantum Key West Race Week-- in short, the “new, new” version of J/Fest Western Caribbean.  A monster fleet of J/70s and a strong fleet of J/80s celebrated their Midwinter Championships while throngs of larger J’s (J/88, J/109, J/111, J/122, J/125) battled it out in the handicap world.  Feeding the festival of sails and evening festivities in Key West was the historic S.O.R.C. (Southern Ocean Racing Circuit) race known as the Lauderdale to Key West Race hosted by Lauderdale YC.  A J/122, J/111 and J/105 dueled in the classic dash down around the south of Florida and past the Keys.

A bit further east, the winter Caribbean circuit’s new “kick-off” event is the Mount Gay Barbados Round Island Series.  This is an important NEW event for your winter sailing calendar.  Completely overhauled to accommodate those looking for winter fun-in-the-sun events under sunny skies, azure waters, and classic trade-winds blowing 15-25 kts each day (that’s the postcard version), you will find it hard to beat the wonderful, embracing, warm hospitality of Barbadians who simply love to sail in their spectacular bays!  The J/24 fleet had a fabulously fun, windy, somewhat epic regatta sailing in “fresh to frightening” winds for the three days of the “coastal series”.  The local J/105 is looking for friends to join them not just on the buoy races, but on the “Round Barbados Race”, yet another classic round island race in the making!

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:

Feb 7-9- Quantum J/70 Winter Series- Davis Island YC- Tampa, FL
Feb 7-9- J/70 Primo Cup- Credit Suisse- YC Monaco- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Feb 14-16- Wells Fargo J/22 Midwinters- Southern YC- New Orleans, LA
Feb 14-16- St Petersburg NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg YC- St Petersburg, FL
Feb 19-23- J/24 Midwinters- Coral Reef YC- Coconut Grove, FL
Mar 7-9- J/105 Midwinters- Lakewood YC- Seabrook, TX
Mar 6-9- Bacardi Miami Sailing Week (70,80)- Coconut Grove, FL
Mar 14-16- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego YC- San Diego, CA
Mar 16-21- J/24 North Americans- Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Mar 16- Apr 27- Warsash Spring Series- Warsash, England
Mar 28-30- Quantum J/70 Winter Series- Davis Island YC- Tampa, FL
Apr 10-13- Charleston Race Week (22, 24, 70, 80, PHRF)- Charleston, SC
Apr 17-21- SPI OUEST Regatta- La Trinite-sur-Mer, France
Apr 26-May 3- J/22 World Championship- Deneysville, South Africa
May 2-4- Annapolis NOOD Regatta- Annapolis YC- Annapolis, MD
May 16-18- J/22 North Americans- Annapolis YC- Annapolis, MD
May 16-18- Seattle NOOD Regatta- Seattle, WA

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

J/70s sailing off Key West on sunny dayGorgeous Sailing Off Key West
(Key West, FL)- There was plenty of final day drama at Quantum Key West 2014 as the winners of several classes were determined during the last race. And, conditions could not have been better for those winner-take-all scenarios with the southernmost point of the United States delivering the strongest winds of the regatta. NNE breezes in the 18-25 knot range made for some spectacular racing on all courses and enabled all classes to complete 10 races for the five-day event.

J/70 Helly Hansen winning Key West MidwintersThe most impressive performance of the regatta was skipper Tim Healy and his team on HELLY HANSEN, which won the 60-boat J/70 class in convincing fashion. Healy, from Newport, RI, repeated as class champ in Key West by winning two races and placing second or third in five others. HELLY HANSEN clinched the regatta by finishing third in Race 9 and therefore did not sail the final race, using that as its throw-out. Geoff Becker and John Mollicone combined on tactics and trimming while Gordon Borges worked the bow for Healy, who is also a standout J/24 sailor.

“Obviously the biggest key to success is having a good team. My guys did an awesome job of boat-handling and tactics,” Healy said. “We sailed here last year so we had a real good feel for the race course. This team has also sailed J/24s together the past few years so we have a comfort level that makes a big difference.”

Tim Healy wins Key West Race Week OverallHealy and HELLY HANSEN came away with the biggest prize – capturing Quantum Sails “Boat of the Week” honors. “We had a huge class down here last year with a lot of really good sailors so it’s a great accomplishment to come out on top. Winning Key West is definitely one of the highlights of my career,” said Healy, a 42-year-old resident of Jamestown, RI. Eight different boats took first place during the week.

Behind them the standings were closely fought for the top five.  Other than having to drop a 28th in race 4, Brian Keane’s SAVASANA from Buzzards Bay, MA sailed a very strong series and were in the hunt as regatta leader until the 8th race when they had to count a 13th.  The SAVASANA crew reveled in the windy conditions on Friday and sailed to a 204 to wrap up second overall with 48 pts.

J/70 boats.com sailed by Ian Atkins and Rory ScottThe “come-back kids” had to be Ian Atkin’s crew on BOATS.COM with Rory Scott skippering.  After starting out slowly with an 11-10-OCS, the J/70 UK National Champions managed to get their act together and sailed strongly to jump into third overall for the regatta, finishing with an emphatic win in the very last race! That’s wonderful news for European J/70 teams to understand that top sailors in their region are every bit as fast as the top American teams.  Follow Ian’s and Rory’s J/70 experiences here on their BOATS.COM blog.

As a winner of some of the regional J/70 events over the 2013 sailing season, many expected Joel Ronning, a long-time Lake Minnetonka, MN sailor, and crew aboard CATAPULT to be contenders.  Indeed they were, sailing extremely well in the first and last days of the regatta to sew-up fourth place with 71 pts.

Another “come-back” story was wily veteran David Ullman sailing US 32 to a fifth place finish.  After starting with a 39-14 the first day, Ullman and crew clawed their way back into contention by winning a race and placing in the top ten six times.

J/70 MUSE sailed by Heather Gregg-EarlTop woman skipper, repeating the same feat from last year’s Key West, was Heather Gregg-Earl from Boston, MA.  Heather’s team on MUSE persevered and despite being over early in the last race and literally starting DFL about 300 yards behind the fleet, she climbed back into contention to capture a 19th in the last race and finish 14th overall.

HOT MESS, skippered by Rob Britts of St. Petersburg, Fla., was crowned as Corinthian champion of J/70 class. Britts posted six wins and three seconds within the 14-boat sub-class comprised of all-amateur crews.

As an illustration of fleet depth and competition, eight teams won races with, oddly enough, only two teams taking two wins in the total of ten races— Healy’s HELLY HANSEN and James Allsop’s MOXIE.  To finish in the top five would take at least an 8th place average and to finish in the top ten meant you had to average 12th or better!

Rob Ruhlman's J/111 Spaceman Spiff wins Key WestPHRF 1 Class was up for grabs going into the last race and SPACEMAN SPIFF, the J/111 owned by Rob Ruhlman of Cleveland, Ohio, seized the moment by winning. This was the 13th trip to Key West and the first class victory for the SPACEMAN SPIFF program. “We’ve been trying to win this regatta for a while and it feels good to finally break through. It feels even better because of the quality of competition we faced. This is some of the closest PHRF racing in which I’ve ever participated,” said Ruhlman, who had his wife and son aboard. “We really had a blast this week. It was great sailing and all the people in the class are so friendly. We passed TEAMWORK on the way into the harbor and their entire crew applauded us.”

J/111 Fireball sailing off Key WestTEAMWORK, a J/122 skippered by Robin Team of Lexington, N.C., came up short in its bid to three-peat in Key West – finishing 4.5 points behind SPACEMAN SPIFF.  In fact, Robin’s team had to win a tie-breaker over Eddie Fredericks’ crew on the brilliant orange J/111 FIREBALL to capture second overall.  Mid-week, the TEAMWORK crew were on a roll, rattling off four straight bullets to jump up the ladder into contention, however a seventh race 7th position hurt their chances at grabbing the brass-ring.  Sailing very strongly all week was “Fast Eddie’s” FIREBALL team, trading the lead with the SPIFFER’s until the last two races when a 5-4 tally dropped them into the tie-breaker with TEAMWORK.

J/122 El Ocaso sailing off Key WestPerhaps the “new kids on the block” award goes to Rick Wesslund’s champion crew sailing their “new”, gorgeous multi-hued aquamarine J/122 EL OCASO.  While not exactly “new” to Key West, having won class and overall in the past on their J/120 by the same name, Wesslund’s crew had one of the two best records in the last four races and best record in the last two with a 2-2 tally.  It was not enough to hop onto the podium, but it was certainly an indicator for the future.  Taking fifth was Jim Madden’s J/125 STARK RAVING MAD IV from Newport Beach, CA, indicative of how tough the fleet was since Madden’s team has won class more than three times in the past.

J/109 RUSH sailed by Bill Sweetser- class championSkipper Bill Sweetser has been bringing his J/109 Rush to Key West for 11 years and been runner-up on four occasions. The Annapolis resident sported a huge smile on Friday morning after clinching the class championship in PHRF 2 Class on Thursday. Sweetser steered RUSH to victory in five races and placed second or third in fourth others in building an insurmountable lead that allowed him to stay ashore on Friday.

“It feels fantastic to finally win here in Key West! You could say we got the monkey off our back, or maybe it was a gorilla. I was tired of going home and hearing people say ‘Too bad you got second again.’ The whole bridesmaid talk was getting old,” Sweetser said. “Everybody is so ecstatic. We can’t wait to get the whole crew up on stage at the awards party.”

Giving the RUSH team a run-for-the-money the entire week was Gary Weisberg’s J/109 HEAT WAVE crew from Marblehead, MA, sailing an excellent regatta to capture second overall.

J/80s sailing fast off Key WestSkipper Ron Buzil and his team aboard VAYU2 were wire-to-wire winners in J/80 class, which attracted 12 entries. A pair of highly-regarded professionals, Jahn Tihansky and Andrew Kerr, served as helmsman and tactician aboard the boat chartered from J/World Annapolis. This was the second straight year that Buzil had chartered the boat and the team repeated as class champs.

“We had our mojo going early and managed to build a fairly substantial lead. We never really had a bad race and I attribute that to being able to get off the line cleanly and go where we wanted,” said Tihansky, owner of J/World Annapolis Performance Sailing School. “Andrew Kerr knows these waters well and did a masterful job of playing the shifts.”

Scrambling hard to catch up to them were previous J/80 North American’s winners, John Storck Jr on RUMOR.  However, having to count all races, the first race 8th would come back to haunt them.  Despite having eight races in the top five, they simply could not gain on the VAYU2 gang ahead of them, having to settle for second overall.

Taking the next three spots were the “fun-loving” couples teams making the most of Key West’s gorgeous weather and spectacular night-life.  Third were Chris & Liz Chadwick’s CHURCH KEY with 43 pts, fourth were Bill & Shannon Lockwood on SHENANIGANS with 52 pts and fifth, just by one point, were Bob & Cheryl Howard on BLUE JAY with 53 pts.  Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal.

Sailing video interviews:
Tim Healy- Team Helly Hansen- J/70 Midwinter Champion & Overall Race Week Award winner.  Tim is also current J/24 World Champion. Tim Healy- J/70 champion
Rob Ruhlman- J/111 Spaceman Spiff owner and winner of PHRF 1
Terry McKenna- J/88 Dog Party owner- from Prince Edward Island in Canada.
Bill Sweetser- J/109 RUSH owner and winner of PHRF 2
Alan Terhune- J/22, J/70 boat owner, skipper & crew providing perspectives on sailing J/70s in Key West.  Alan is also current J/22 World Champion.
Robin Team- J/122 TEAMWORK owner, 2nd in PHRF 1 and past Key West champion.
For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

J/105 Loki sailing off start in Ft Lauderdale, FLJ/105 LOKI Tops Lauderdale- Key West Race
(Ft Lauderdale, FL)- This year's Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Race certainly lived up to the pre-race caveat of "Be Prepared."  The light VMG running of the past couple of years was a distant memory, as a stout northwesterly that built overnight and brought the fleet down and around the curve in rapid fashion, but made them work hard for the quick trip. When they reached the island, a slew of familiar names graced the top of the leader board.

David Bond’s gorgeous maroon-colored J/105 LOKI from Miami, a past class winner, laid claim to the PHRF B class title. LOKI was right on the edge at the start, took control of the class at the beginning and never looked back.  LOKI beat the Tripp 33 Main Squeeze for the class win, missing the PHRF Overall fleet win by a just few minutes but taking 2nd Overall silver.

In PHRF A Class, the heralded duel between Robin Team’s J/122 TEAMWORK, a past class and overall champion in the race, and Eddie Frederick’s J/111 FIREBALL lived up to expectations.  Their class encountered fast-reaching conditions for the first half of the race and, after turning past the “elbow” of the Keys, the sailing turned into somewhat of a reach/ power-beat waterline adventure for the latter half.  Initially, the FIREBALL gang loved the fast reaching in the beginning, however, as the race wore on the experienced TEAMWORK crew ground away to finish just 13 minutes in front but not enough to beat their stablemates on FIREBALL on handicap.  Consequently, FIREBALL took corrected honors with this match-up by just 2+ minutes and grabbing the silverware for 3rd overall.  TEAMWORK settled for fourth in class.  Sailing Photo credits- John Payne.  For the SORC Ft Lauderdale Key West Facebook page   For more SORC Ft Lauderdale Key West sailing information

J/24s sailing under colorful spinnakers off Barbados 
Mount Gay Round Barbados Race Series
J/24s Lovin’ It, J/105 Surfs It!
(Bridgetown, Barbados) – Billed as “Barbados’ Ultimate Sailing Challenge”, the new format Mount Gay Round Barbados Race Series was deemed a huge success; it incorporated a series of coastal races as well as the iconic Mount Gay Round Barbados Race, and a final 300-mile sprint to Antigua to tie-up with the Superyacht Cup.

Organized by the Barbados Cruising Club in association with the Barbados Tourism Authority and Mount Gay, this annual event (January 15-24), played its part in kick-starting the Caribbean racing season, and looks set to become an annual favourite.

J/24 sailing off BarbadosWith nearly 50 boats from all around the world (Great Britain, USA, Canada and New Zealand plus a strong Caribbean contingent from BVI, St Lucia, Antigua, Barbados) close competition prevailed throughout the week.

One of the strongest classes was the J/24 with 10 boats racing neck and neck throughout the series. Big winds and big seas really put crews through their paces but the impressive standard of sailing, made it extremely spectator-friendly.

Competitors couldn’t have hoped for better conditions for the opening day of the regatta. A warm east-north-east breeze reaching 28kts at times made for an exciting day for all with the potential of plenty of thrills and spills to keep crews on their toes right from the start.

First off at 1000 was the 10-strong, and highly competitive J/24 fleet. Both races were close with the fleet enjoying some thrilling downwind racing along the west coast. Although the racing was neck and neck particularly at the front of the fleet, it was consistency that really paid off today with two local Barbadian teams – Impulse (Neil Burke) and Banks Esperanza (Ian Mayer) – who had the slight edge with two firsts and two seconds respectively, leaving them in equal first place.

J/24 flying off Barbados in Mt Gay SeriesMayer and team, all in their 30s, who have been racing Banks Esperanza successfully over the last five years including finishing second at the 2013 J/24 national championship, said today’s racing couldn’t have been better: “We led both races but Impulse sailed well too. It seems that consistency is going to be important so that is what we as a team are going to work on this week. It was very exciting in the breeze on the plane, under spinnaker. The courses were great too with the race committee setting a 50-minute opening race, then a two-hour race which worked well.”

Day two of the Mount Gay Round Barbados Race Series produced big winds and big waves, which made for spectacular sailing. The biggest excitement of the day was in the first race for J/24s when gusts up to 30kts hit racecourse causing half the fleet to fall like dominos. Thankfully there was no serious damage and most of the fleet was soon on track again to complete a second race in slightly less gusty conditions.

After the first short beat in Carlisle Bay in race one, the fleet sailed round Needhams Point on a two mile beat to a mark along the south coast. Initial leader Team Sugar Beach Attitude from St Lucia sailed a good couple of legs but on the shifty beat to Tapas, Banks Esperanza (Ian Mayers and team) sailed well, improving their position from sixth to first at the windward mark.

J/24 sailing off Barbados
Swift mark roundings and kite hoists saw the fleet head off on a sleigh ride downwind in the constantly building breeze. Team Banks Esperanza continued to sail well and took advantage of their position in clear air at the front of the fleet while behind, fun and games were in full flow with boats broaching all over the course.

J/24 St Lucia Team sailing off BarbadosFortunately for one of the J/24s that broached, Yearwood and company aboard DIE HARD ISLAND WATER WORLD, made it back ashore and the entire crew all went back sailing the next day, none the worse for wear & tear.  “We were doing 13 knots of boat speed in over 25 kts of breeze, sailing by the lee towards the mark,” reported Yearwood about his J/24 experience. “There was another boat to leeward of us also sailing by the lee so we had to sail above the mark to avoid a collision. Consequently, we were forced to gybe and because I pointed up too high after the gybe we broached. She took ages to right because the spinnaker got tangled in the shroud.”

As for the sailors aboard other boats, Day Two's breezy conditions made for some spectacular racing conditions. “We had excellent conditions and we sailed well as a team,” said Peter Lewis, skipper of the J/105 WHISTLER. “We touched about 14 knots of boat speed in 25 knots of wind so our spinnaker runs added excitement to an already great day.”

Sailing conditions on the third and final day of Coastal racing at the Mount Gay Round Barbados Race Series was spot on once again with a good breeze, sparkling sunshine and courses set on the vibrant, turquoise waters of the south coast.

J/105 Whistler sailing Barbados Mt Gay Rum seriesThe J/24 fleet continued to produce some of the closest racing with plenty of swapping and changing of positions to keep the racing interesting throughout the day. Robert Povey and team on Hawkeye sailed a good first race and managed to beat Team Impulse across the line with, the consistently well-sailed Sugar Beach Attitude team from St Lucia, taking third place.

However, in the second and final race of the series, on a marathon of a leg along the south coast, it was overnight leaders Ian Mayers and team on Banks Esperanza who pulled ahead and led the fleet across the line at the finish, which was enough to secure an overall series win with 13pts. In second place overall was Neil Burke on Impulse, while Team Hawkeye had to settle for third. The Mount Gay-sponsored boat– BUNGA BUNGA– with Cyril Lecrenay at the helm started to improve their results as the series progressed and concluded with a final race win, which placed them in fourth overall.

Ian Mayers commenting on his overall: “We had a worrying long last run in the final race because of our broken boom. It failed just before the windward mark and it was a marathon of a run. However, we did it and held our position to the finish. The racing throughout the series was great and extremely competitive so we hope to encourage more J/24s from other islands next year. If we could have a charter fleet for the best sailors from American and Europe to use in the future, too, that would be amazing!”

J/105 Whistler sailing offshore from Barbados
After three days of intense Coastal racing in the new format Mount Gay Round Barbados Race Series, crews were happy to take time out and enjoy Mount Gay hospitality once again. This time is was in the form of a visit to the Mount Gay Rum Distillery for a spot of tasting, and a trip to the Barbados Polo Club for an exhibition match – the Mount Gay Surf & Turf Lay Day Polo Challenge. Competitors were able enjoy a fine colonial afternoon sitting under the terraces with tea and sandwiches while watching the fierce battles emerge on the pitch.

The next day, the fleet was off again on the Round Barbados Race of 60nm.  No J/24s sailing, but Lewis’s WHISTLER took the 35 and Under Class honors with an elapsed time of 7:37:06. WHISTLER also took second in CSA Racing Class during the three-day regatta held earlier— not bad for a weekend’s work to grab two “pickle-dishes” for the trophy cabinet!  For more Mount Gay Rum Around Barbados Race and Series sailing information
 

J/Community

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

Volvo Ocean Race sailor- Charlie Enright*  Newport J/24 sailor Charlie Enright sailing Volvo Ocean Race on TEAM ALVIMEDICA!  The dream goes back to their first meeting on the set of a Disney sailing movie. Seven years later, Charlie Enright and Mark Towill’s vision of a round the world race campaign is coming true as the two friends enter the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 with TEAM ALVIMEDICA.

Aged 29, Charlie Enright recently married, lives in Rhode Island. Mark Towill is 26, a kid from Kaneohe, Hawaii. They attended university together. Both are friendly and easy-going - they could be your next-door neighbors. Except, these guys are going to race around the world in the next Volvo Ocean Race. That’s something your neighbor will not be doing – and these two have dreamt about it and worked to make it happen for a long time.

“We were part of the Morning Light project with Walt Disney in 2006,” said Enright. “I met Mark during the trials for that – we both considered that project to be the beginning of our ocean sailing dream, which is the Volvo Ocean Race.”

Morning Light finishing off HawaiiThe reality film “Morning Light” followed a group of young sailors on their cross-Pacific boat voyage on an old TP52. Inspired by their Volvo mentors, the two friends then went on to set up their own company, All-American Ocean Racing. To build their Volvo Ocean Race profile, they sailed transatlantic and Fastnet races as an all under-30 American syndicate.

Their dream began to take shape when the race CEO Knut Frostad invited the pair to Alicante for the start of the last edition in October 2011. “It’s not been easy by any means despite the great start we had with the Disney movie,” said Towill. “We’ve spent long hours treading the sidewalks trying to get a break and it’s been all about making our own opportunities. We’ve also had a lot of help from many, many people making this become a reality.”

After dropping most other commitments in the search for a title sponsor, Enright and Towill finally found an innovative medical devices company from Turkey – ALVIMEDICA – to back up their project.  This ambitious young company is the perfect match for a team that aims to have a crew mostly drawn from a pool of sailors under 30.

Volvo 65 one-design for Volvo Ocean RaceNow that the entry is officially announced, it’s time to start building a team and to launch their Volvo Ocean 65. Together with their greatly experienced CEO Bill Erkelens (who recently raced J/70s in the Rolex Big Boat Series in San Francisco), they need to recruit a crew and start training.

A seven-year dream is coming true for American sailors; it’s exciting news for the USA sailing community which will carefully follow the American Team, who also will be the only "under 30" team in the ocean marathon.

Sail Newport, supported by Fidelity Investments, will have a presentation to be held on Thursday, February 13 at 5:30 p.m. to debut the team's plans to prepare for the grueling "Mount Everest of sailing" ocean race which will circumnavigate the globe.  The event takes place at the Jane Pickens Theater on Washington Square, Newport, RI. Tickets can be purchased online at sailnewport.org.  You can also contact- katie.barker@sailnewport.org

The event will feature dynamic on-screen footage of the race, information on the team, the boats, the stopovers and how the Newport community can plan a homecoming for the predominantly American team.

Team ALVIMEDICA will be joining Team SCA (with fellow American Sally Barkow onboard- also a J/22 & J24 sailor), Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Dongfeng Race Team and Team Brunel in the race which will be contested over 38,739 nautical miles and nine months. The race starts in October in Alicante, Spain and finishes in Gothenburg, Sweden in June of 2015. The only North American stop over will take place May 5-17, 2015. The boats will arrive in Newport from a stopover in Itajai, Brazil and will depart Newport on May 17, 2015 for the Transatlantic race leg to Lisbon, Portugal. For more Volvo Ocean Race sailing information.

* Youth sailing program evolution in the past decade or three have often reflected both the needs of the sailing community as well as the socio-economic demographic trends that affect society worldwide.  What works in Mexico may not work in San Francisco, coincidentally the best for Solent RYA sailing programs isn’t a fit for Newport (either RI or CA).

An excellent commentary has evolved on this subject over recent times on the subject.  No matter what, all productive with good intentions and with the hoped for result that more people get involved in the sport of sailing.

For one, Peter Becker at American YC oversees their Junior Offshore program (email- pbecker@rockgrp.com) and comments that, “Three years ago we developed a format to get kids interested in and exposed to non-racing big boat sailing.... a junior over-night cruise which we call "Back to Basics".  The entire point was to get juniors to experience all the really great things you get to do on a big boat when you're not racing.  It has been a huge success with the juniors.  The JSA-LIS picked up the idea and now has our format presented on their website as a template for others to follow.”  Contact Peter because his kids recently sailed a J/122 offshore and beat some of the world’s best offshore racing programs in last fall’s 2013 Block Island Race classic— a mere 189nm race!

Along the same lines, a long-time J/24 and offshore sailor from Maine/ New England, Geoffrey Emanuel, had some excellent perspectives on youth sailing development.  After 49 years of racing and sailing, Geoffrey is not too impressed with what he has seen.  His sailing roots are New England, and his racing spans from singlehanded dinghies to 12 meters, offshore, coastal and lake sailing throughout the U.S., plus four years as a junior sailing instructor. After observing over time the evolution of youth sailing, Geoffrey describes how he believes it has negatively impacted the sport:

“I am thoroughly convinced that what sailing needs is a grenade rolled into the room I see full of ‘Status Quo’ thinking.

The vast majority of U.S. junior training evolved from a balanced effort to teach a love for sailing, seamanship and racing skills in the 1960s-1980s, to today’s disproportionate emphasis not only on racing but on winning. Junior sailing mimics the winning-is-everything mantra of almost all youth/school sports.

The unintended consequence of our current state is a rapidly declining interest in sailing by former junior sailing participants that have moved into adulthood. Most of the explanations for this phenomenon come across to me as excuses or defense of the Status Quo rather than an objective attempt to question everything with the sole interest to identify and solve the problem.”  Read more here about a timely article on youth sailing.

Cat Evans relaxing on J/70 off Key West* J/70 Class rallies to rescue Key West dream!?  Here’s an amazing story, starting out sad & shocking, but ending in a celebration of the human spirit.
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Months of planning and preparation were close to culminating with a great week of sailing as Catharine “Cat” Evans began driving to Key West the week before the regatta.

The Annapolis resident spent considerable time and effort getting ready to race her J/70 at Quantum Key West 2014 and had successfully trailered the boat from Maryland to Florida. Evans took a side trip to Tampa to compete in a warm-up regatta hosted by Davis Island Yacht Club.

Enroute from Tampa to Key West, Evans stopped in Naples to visit a friend and stayed overnight, one of the poshest and wealthiest retirement enclaves in all the world on the west coast of Florida. She was in for quite a shock the next morning.

Returning to the parking lot where she had left the boat and trailer, Evans discovered the J/70 had been thoroughly burglarized. Thieves had cut the lock that protected the 23-foot sport-boat and had pretty much stripped it bare.

“It was absolutely devastating. I was in tears,” Evans said. “I’m not a weepy type of person, but I just could not believe this had happened. It was like some sort of nightmare.”

Among the items taken were the engine, three spinnakers, the running and standing rigging, tools, a dehumidifier and the navigating system. About all that was left was the mast, boom and rudder.

“I was completely wiped out. I just sat there thinking that everything I had done to get ready for Key West was now wasted,” she said.

While waiting for Naples police to process the crime scene by lifting fingerprints and such, Evans called her agent with Nationwide Insurance. Former North Sails professional Matt Beck now works with the Boudreau Agency that specializes in marine insurance.

Beck reassured Evans that Nationwide would cover the loss and encouraged her to not give up on doing the regatta. Beck then helped Evans put the pieces back together by calling the companies that would be needed to replace the gear and equipment that was stolen.

“I was ready to just drive back to Annapolis, but Matt convinced me that I could still pull this off,” she said.

Remarkably, Evans was able to rebuild due largely to the kindness and generosity of people associated with the J/70 class. Ned Jones of J/Boats provided new rigging while Allan Terhune of North Sails brought some new spinnakers with him to Key West. Atlantic Rigging replaced the tools while Annapolis Performance Sailing provided new instruments and equipment.

Arriving at Truman Annex in Key West, Evans then had to deal with the monumental task of re-rigging the boat and otherwise getting it prepared for racing. Other J/70 sailors on site, who had heard of their classmate’s plight, pitched in and helped set up the boat.

“The fact that I am here in Key West and able to sail three days after having my boat totally ripped off is just amazing,” Evans said. “I am just so thankful to everyone who came together and helped me go sailing. This gives me a new appreciation for the people in the J/70 class.”

A truly terrible story had a happy ending on Sunday when Evans launched her, hoisted the sails and went out on the water to practice along with crew members Ian Gordon and Shane Zwingleberg.

“They could steal all her stuff, but they couldn’t steal her spirit,” Gordon said when asked about Evans’ determination to still compete at Quantum Key West 2014.”  Thanks for the contribution from Bill Wagner/ Capital Gazette and sailing photo credits- Steve Lapkin/ h2omark.com.

J/World Sailing School team- racing off Key West* J/World Annapolis Annual Vacation? Key West!! J/World Annapolis rents sailboats and provides sailing instruction. There isn't a whole lot of business in mid-January so owner Jahn Tihansky decided many years ago to close the office and move the entire Performance Sailing School to Florida for a week.

"We were sitting up there in Annapolis looking at all of our assets covered with snow and it was like a coconut dropped on our head. We asked ourselves, 'Why don't we go down to Key West?' It made too much sense to not do it," Tihansky said.

Since 1996, J/World has been hauling boats and its entire staff to the southernmost point of the United States to compete in the annual midwinter regatta commonly known as Key West Race Week.

J/World Annapolis has four entries in Quantum Key West 2014 with Tihansky leading the way as helmsman aboard the J/80 Vayu2. That boat is being chartered for fourth straight year by Ron Buzil of Chicago, who won J/80 class at the 2013 event.

"I've sailed a Beneteau 40.7 down here in the past, but it's a lot easier and tidier to charter. J/World does a great job of prepping the boat and I get a couple great crew members as a bonus," said Buzil, who laughed when asked if he was enjoying himself. "I wouldn't keep coming back year after year if I didn't enjoy it. I'm out here on blue waters wearing shorts while back home in Chicago it's about zero degrees."

Jeff Jordan and Kristen Berry, co-directors of J/World Annapolis, are both skippering entries at Quantum Key West 2014. Jordan is steering the J/80 Wild Horses while Berry is helming the J/70 Danger Mouse. Dave Manheimer, a longtime coach at J/World Annapolis, is skippering the J/80 Willy T. All three boats are being crewed by J/World students with Jordan, Berry and Manheimer operating more like coaches than skippers.

Many of the clients are repeat customers in terms of coming to Key West with Canadian Tom Case competing in the regatta for the fifth straight year aboard a J/World boat.

"Key West has really provided a great opportunity for our company and our clients. This is a spectacular sailing venue and the regatta is always so well-run," Tihansky said. "Our entire team really looks forward to coming down here every year and our customers have really enjoyed competing in such a great event." Thanks for contribution from Bill Wagner/ Capital Gazette.

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.

J/42 cruiser- sailing across Atlantic Ocean* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR.  Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now.  We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their  well-documented blog here:  http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html

J/160 sailing offshore to US Virgin Islands- rainbow over ocean* 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.   Alan 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/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.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

J/Newsletter- January 15th, 2014

J/88 Yachts & Yachting Boat of the Year AwardsJ/88 Yachts & Yachting Boat of the Year!
And “Cover Girl” for Sailing World Jan/Feb issue!
(Newport, RI)- Corks were popped, champagne sprayed (or drunk) and victors toasted as the 2014 Yachts & Yachting Awards were presented on Thursday, 9th of January at the London Boat Show.

There was a great turnout to the event, as sailing enthusiasts gathered to celebrate the efforts and achievements of nominees and winners alike. The public had voted for winners in their droves and the J/88 on Sailing World Jan/Feb album coverreaders were clearly excited about the future, and some of the most innovative new launches got the giant “thumbs-up”.  Amongst those receiving awards was the J/88 family speedster, garnering the Best Performance Boat under 40ft award. Here’s Paul Heys, J/UK & Key Yachting Ltd’s Managing Director receiving the award. For more Y&Y Boat of the Year Award for J/88 family speedster.

Other exciting news is that J/88 was featured as “cover art” on the beautiful new graphic design layout for Sailing World magazine- as Sailing World's Boat the Year Winner-   Check it out, a nice progressive, refreshing approach for the “new media” world.  Celebrating its 50-plus years in publication, Sailing World debuted the sleek and modern new look with the release of its January/February 2014 issue. Emphasizing performance sailing’s sophisticated and technical content, the magazine’s new aesthetic features a revamped design and layout while reflecting the sport’s unique blend of cutting edge technology and classic beauty.

J/70 at Providence Boat ShowJ/70 @ Providence Boat Show
(Providence, RI)- Having a bit of the winter blues?  Dreaming about sailing in faraway places after the last few weeks of crazy weather?  Why not take a hike down to the Rhode Island Convention Center to see the latest and greatest from the stable of J high-performance designs— the J/70!  The show runs from January 31st to February 2nd.

“The Providence Boat Show is the prime venue this winter for discovering what the Ocean State and its surrounding region offer to boaters—  whether you want to learn more about our stunning coastline,  our excellent marinas and service facilities, or the many marine businesses located in this part of the country,” says RIMTA CEO Wendy Mackie.

The Providence Boat Show is a prime venue for regional boaters who want to take advantage of Rhode Island’s “no-sales-tax policy” on boats that are delivered and registered in the state, as well as on boating services such as mooring and slip fees, winter storage, and refit and repair work. Show-goers considering Rhode Island as their new boating home can do their homework on marinas, boats, cruising grounds and service providers while at the show. For more information on the Providence Boat Show.
For more J/70 sailboat information

Seattle Boat Show with J/70 and J/88J/88 & J/70 @ Seattle Show
(Seattle, WA)- Sail Northwest will once again be at the Big Seattle Boat Show in the exhibition center- from January 24th to February 2nd.

Swing on by their Booth# West 8 and learn more about the fancy, new, super fast J/88— perhaps the ultimate “beer can” boat.  Plus, you’ll get to talk to two of the Pacific Northwest’s most laid back, knowledgeable sailors, Ben Braden and Bob Ross from Sail Northwest.  If you got a question about J’s, they’ll have an answer for sure!

Furthermore, they’ll have a J/70 on display and will have information on the complete J/Boat line.  Everything from what you've seen on the race course to some new really cool designs you've never heard of yet.

And, to entice you to stop by, here are two nights Ben & Bob know you’ll want to be aboard for:
Wine tasting January 24
NW Brewery Night January 31
For more Seattle Boat Show information

J/70 sailing Key WestAnother Epic Key West Forecast In the Cards!
(Key West, FL)- This year’s Quantum Key West Race Week is gearing up for its trademark week of racing on the aquamarine waters off the coast of the Conch Republic. As the sailors make their way down the Florida Keys by air, water and land over the weekend, it looks like they will be greeted by either the tail feathers of another “polar vortex” spinning madly across America or they’ll be hammered by a “clipper system” ripping SSE across the continent spinning up all kinds of winds.  By Monday, the “good word” from the colorful Key West Chamber of Commerce is that sunny, benign weather will caress the fleet with near-perfect Caribbean-like conditions all week— some forecast!  Realistically, various weather forecast models (GFS, NAM, ECUWF) show 8-12 kts from NW to NE quadrants for Monday, Tuesday followed by increasing winds from the NW to NE in the 10 to 20 kts plus range from Wednesday to Friday’s closing day.

There will be nearly 130 boats sailing, but what’s different, like a lot different, about this year’s Key West is that J/Teams comprise two-thirds (66.0%) of the fleet with 85 J’s sailing.  In other words, Key West is now the de-facto “Winter J/Fest”!  That’s a good thing since the new regatta HQ at Kelly’s Caribbean Bar & Grill, situated on Caroline St between Whitehead St and the infamous Duval St will be over-run by members of the J/Tribe sailing J/70s, J/80s, J/88, J/109s, J/111s, J/122s, and J/125!

J/122 Teamwork sailing off Key WestThe PHRF fleets 1 & 2 will be sailing with a variation of Rod Johnstone’s J/PHRF ratings, meaning all J’s will be rated quite fairly against one another.  Robin Team (Lexington, N.C.) and the boys aboard the J/122 TEAMWORK will look to repeat in PHRF 1 while going against another J/122 and four J/111 designs in this incredibly competitive eight boat class.  In fact, the TEAMWORK gang may be in for the fight of their lives against the “rogue’s gallery” of J teams in the class, many whom have won Key West Divisions in the past.  For starters, Jim Madden’s J/125 STARK RAVING MAD will have an all-star team from San Diego, CA ensuring he’s going fast in the right direction.  Challenging them will be Rick Wesslund’s “new” EL OCASO, a J/122 that’s quite fast and no question will include many of his past Key West winning teams.

J/111 Fireball sailing off Key WestJoining the PHRF 1 class will be four J/111s, any one of which are capable of winning.  Consequently, they’re also the hardest to handicap as everyone continues to improve significantly.  FIREBALL’s crew will be led by tactician Kristen Robinson from Annapolis. Rob & Ryan Ruhlman from Cleveland, OH are back in Key West with their new SPACEMAN SPIFF (watch out, they improved dramatically at the J/111 NA’s in Chicago after taking delivery of the boat just 3 days beforehand!).  Brad Farber’s UTAH from Macatawa Bay YC has several Chicago-Mac winning crew aboard. And, three-time Key West participant and multiple podium finisher, Doug Curtiss, has the colorful WICKED 2.0 sailing with his champion Buzzards Bay crew aboard.

Rick Wesslund was a regular at Key West from 2004 to 2010 with his J/120 EL OCASO program and returns after a three-year hiatus with his newly-purchased J/122. "This is our debut regatta and we are really eager to put our best foot forward. We are cautiously optimistic, but know this will be a real good performance test for the boat. Robin has a terrific team and that is always a well-sailed boat so we will have to be on top of our game in order to win," said Wesslund, who earned the PHRF Boat of the Week honor in 2006.

J/109s match-racing while sailing off Key WestPHRF 2 will again see the twin-terrors going at it hammer & tong for division bragging rights, the J/109s sailed by multiple Key West champion Bill Sweetser on RUSH from Chesapeake Bay and Gary Weisberg’s HEAT WAVE from Massachusetts Bay.  Challenging them will be Terry Mckenna and crew from Prince Edward Island (Canada) on the new J/88 DOG PARTY, hoping to get a nice mix of weather to test out their “new wheels” on the race track.

Newport-based Tim Healy will be back to defend his title in J/70 class aboard TEAM HELLY HANSEN, which has attracted a whopping 62 boats. Runner-up Brian Keane’s SAVASANA (Weston, Mass.) and third place finisher Bruno Pasquinelli on STAMPEDE (Dallas, Texas) will also be back as the J/70 class contests its second Midwinter Championship.  They’re up against a formidable array of teams from across the world, not just top Americans, but also teams from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Great Britain, Canada and Bermuda.  The top boats from the Tampa Bay Quantum Winter series will be attending, including the top three- Jud Smith on AFRICA, Rob & Sandy Butler on TOUCH 2 PLAY and Rob Britts’s HOT MESS.

The balance of the J/70 fleet is deeply talented with any number of teams capable of top ten finishes.  Amongst the top foreign teams could be one of Great Britain’s top J/70 crews, Ian Atkins sailing BOATS.COM; from Puerto Rico is Marco Teixidor skippering CACHONDO; from Bermuda is Chuck Millican racing ELUSIVE; and from Mexico is Julian Fernandez Neckelmann’s FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO.
J/70s sailing under spinnaker off Key West
Several Etchells 22 World, North American and Jaguar series champions are sailing J/70s, namely Jud Smith as mentioned, but also Peter Vessella sailing RUNNING WILD, Peter Duncan helming RELATIVE OBSCURITY and Jim Cunningham on LIFTED.

Other contenders that have won or were “in the chocolates” in various J/70 regattas in the past year include Brian Elliot’s B-SQUARED, Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING, Mike Sudofsky’s CARLOS, Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT, Bob Hughes’s HEARTBREAKER, Kerry Klingler’s MENACE, James Allsopp’s MOXIE, Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE, Dave Franzel’s SPRING and Dave Ullman’s US 32 from Newport Beach, California.

Designers Rod and son Alan Johnstone will be sailing the latest RAGTIME and welcoming other renown class newcomers like Johnny Demourkas sailing GROOVEDERCI from Santa Barbara, CA (Farr 40 and J/105 West Coast Champion); John Brim from Fisher’s Island skippering a “baby RIM” called RIMETTE; Johnny Wynacht sailing STRANGE BREW from Nova Scotia (Canadian J/24 champion and J/29 sailor); Richard Bergmann on ZUNI BEAR II (of J/105 Zuni Bear fame); John Arendshorst on 20/20 RACING from Macatawa Bay; Chris Whitford sailing a baby HOT LIPS (top Farr 40 team from Chicago); Stu Williams on CLOUDSOURCED from Whitefish Bay; Malcolm Gefter sailing CELERITAS from Newport (long-time M32 and Swan 42 sailor); and Tim Molony skippering JOUST (with his New Orleans friend, Olympic medallist Johnny Lovell, as tactician!).

The dynamic match-racing duo of Taylor Canfield (current World Match Racing Champion) and Stephanie Roble (USA #1 Women Match Racer) are sailing as tacticians and could be the proverbial “dark horses” in the fleet. Taylor is sailing with Dan Cheresh’s EXTREME team from Macatawa Bay and Steph is helping Juddie Smith’s Marblehead team on AFRICA.

J/70 champion Heather Gregg-EarlAmongst the record nine women J/70 skippers (15% of the class!) will be current J/70 North American Champion Heather Gregg-Earl skippering MUSE along with Suzy Leech sailing JUNKANOO, Catharine Evans steering MOJITO, Maegan Ruhlman on SPACEMAN SPIFF, Kathy Parks on SUNDOG, Amy Neill on NITEMARE, Kirsten Berry sailing DANGER MOUSE, Carrie Austin skippering CHINOOK and Tris Worth sailing ALIBI.

Dave Franzel attended what was known as Key West Race Week way back in 1981 as crew for a J/24 program. The founder of the Boston Sailing Center returned 32 years later as a J/70 skipper and was crowned as Corinthian champion after finishing eighth overall in the 39-boat fleet.  "I had an absolute blast. It was one of the best regattas I've ever been to. It made me wish I hadn't waited so long to come back," said Franzel, a resident of Somerville, Mass. "I was very impressed with the race management. The courses were sound and the starting lines were solid. We got in 12 races in five days and you can't ask for more than that."

The Demourkas family from Santa Barbara, CA are back again.  This time, John Demourkas will be racing his new J/70 GROOVEDERCI in the class as the couple makes their annual winter pilgrimage from Santa Barbara.  His wife Deneen is sailing her M32 GROOVEDERCI, commenting that, "John and I have been attending this event the last 14 years and we love the relaxation Key West affords, particularly after a hectic holiday season.  And then there is Race Week, which always delivers. You can pretty much guarantee great sailing conditions, beautiful weather and good competition. Why wouldn't you be here?"

NOTE- the North Sails J/70 team is providing FREE pre-regatta clinics in Key West— come one, come all! Here's what’s happening:
  • Saturday 1-4 pm- North On-the-water clinic (run by Tim Healy, Allan Terhune, Andreas Josenhans and Chuck Allen) with starting drills and short course races with complete photo and video coverage.
  • Saturday 5:30 pm- Clinic Debrief at the North U. Regatta HQ (725 Caroline St, formerly West Marine)- review photos and videos and pick the brains of top J/70 sailors in a relaxed and casual environment. Refreshments courtesy of North Sails.
  • Sunday 10 am- North Dockside clinic- will be held at Tim Healy's boat located near the ramp at the Truman Annex. Bring your questions and a notepad to get the latest, hands-on, tuning tips
J/80s sailing off Key WestNo question, the re-bound one-design class at Key West this year are the J/80’s, which will have thirteen boats on the starting line for their J/80 Midwinters (it’s also part of their season series leading up to the 2014 J/80 World Championships in Annapolis, Maryland). Skipper Ron Buzil and his VAYU 2 team will try to repeat as regatta winners against a deep fleet that includes former North American champion RUMOR (John Storck) and several other accomplished programs like Chris & Liz Chadwick’s CHURCH KEY, Gary Panariello’s COURAGEOUS, Bill & Shannon Lockwood’s SHENANIGANS, and Henry DeGroot’s WIRED.  "Our owners love coming to Key West and we're thrilled to have a very competitive fleet this year," said Chris Chadwick, National class secretary for the J/80. "Premiere Racing always puts on a quality regatta and the racing is second to none."

Finally, the lone wolf representing the J gang in IRC 3 will be perennial Key West contender Jim Bishop on his IRC-modded J/44 WHITE GOLD sailing for American YC in Rye, New York.  Nevertheless, Jim’s up against dozens of J “alumni” sailing other boats, like Phil Lotz and Jeff  Madrigali on ARETHUSA, Marc Glimcher and Geoff Ewenson on CATAPULT, Andrew Weiss and Butch Ulmer on CHRISTOPHER DRAGON, Jack Slattery on MAHALO, Bill Coates and Jay Lutz on OTRA VEZ and Mark Reynolds on VITESSE.  Without question, Bishop or J alum’s in one form or another will be on the podium at the end of the week in this class!  Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal Photos and Tim Wilkes.com Photos.

For Key West sailing video entertainment, look at this beautifully produced summary from Chris Odom @ Chris Odom Photos- nice sequences of J/70s, J/80s, J/109, J/111, J/44, J/122 in the 3-minute clip.   For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

J/105 Loki sailing off Ft Lauderdale, FLSORC Ft Lauderdale- Key West Race Preview
(Ft Lauderdale, FL)- A full moon will greet the fleet in the 2014 Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race.  Thirty-seven teams are sailing the famous 165nm race down the Keys.  The fleet represents a healthy mix of past winners, race veterans, and new faces, looking to find their way onto the podium at Kelly’s Caribbean Bar and Grill on Friday the 17th.  If you wish to join them, you would be well advised to heed the Boy Scout motto: “Be Prepared.”

The Race to Key West promises to be a classic, with strong NNW breezes at the start with a gradual shift into the NNE by the time most boats finish.  The PHRF Fleet is chock-full of former class and race winners.  Former class winners participating in this year’s race include Robin Team’s J/122 TEAMWORK from Lexington, NC sailing PHRF A.  Joining them are Kristen Berry sailing the J/111 FIREBALL.  In PHRF B, past winner David Bond is sailing his J/105 LOKI from Miami, FL and Gary Weisberg’s J/109 HEATWAVE from Gloucester, MA will be with them every step of the way.

All of these competitors know that it takes more than just being able to turn right, to win the Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race.  Which will sail the shortest distance? Which boat and crew will be able to handle the challenges one can confront when racing offshore to Key West in January?  We will know soon enough.  One thing is certain.  To beat them takes great preparation, solid teamwork and propitious navigation.

A frequent J/122 and J/111 crew on Long Island Sound, Wes Bemus, mused about this year’s race: “On paper it looks deceptively simple: Win the start outside the Fort Lauderdale cut, leave the Florida Keys to starboard and finish off of the fort at Key West. In reality the SORC Lauderdale to Key West Race is a perpetually vexing navigational challenge that often isn’t decided until the last few miles of the race. Do you step out into the Gulf Stream in search of more breeze and risk getting swept back on a conveyor belt? Are you willing to risk your boat and crew by dodging coral reefs in the hopes of sailing a shorter distance? Can your race survive a potentially grueling trip up “Heartbreak Alley” on the last 5 miles to the finish? The course lends itself to fierce duels between closely matched competitors, but nothing is certain until you cross the line. It’s not uncommon to see pre-race favorites drop out in sight of the finish or wind up high and dry on coral reefs after cutting a turn too close.

What is certain is that, breezy or light and wet or dry, the race is always a good time. As I write this at the nav station of beautiful Swan 53 DragonFly Plus, it’s 79 degrees and a warm breeze is blowing through the rig. There’s a Mt. Gay rum pour being set up at the Lauderdale Yacht Club and back home in Connecticut the forecast for race day is for snow and below-freezing temperatures. Anyone with a trailerable boat should be here to enjoy an awesome race and tropical winter sailing conditions. Regular competitor (and multihull class favorite) Tom Reese drives his Corsair 28R Trimaran Flight Simulator down from upstate New York virtually every January just to be present for the race and there are teams from Marblehead, Virginia Beach and Annapolis who have thrown their boats onto a truck just to get down here. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love Florida in January?

This year is shaping up to be yet another stellar race. Early forecasts have moderated from a fresh downwind sleigh ride to a more reachy race with big breeze coming through overnight Wednesday into Thursday. Although the fleet is slightly down (you can thank flagging non-sportboat attendance at Key West Race Week for that) there is every indication that it will still be a bloodbath for silverware in many of the diverse classes.

PHRF will be a ‘tooth-and-nail’ fight. PHRF A boasts the largest contingent of traveling boats and potential winners. Robin Team and family is back with their J/122 TEAMWORK and will be tough to beat in all conditions. If conditions are right, planing boats capable of winning PHRF A include the J/111 FIREBALL. We, on the mighty 60,000 lb Swan, will be hoping for a breezy waterline race and windward beat “to hell & back” (not happening, of course).” Thanks for Wes’s contribution from SA.  The SA race thread is already full of predictions and smack talk; check it here.  For the SORC Ft Lauderdale Key West Facebook page   For more SORC Ft Lauderdale Key West sailing information

J/24 North Americans and Regata Copa MexicoMexico Hosting 2014 J/24 North Americans!
(Puerto Vallarta, Mexico)- Warm waters, winds from 12 to 25 knots, plenty of sunshine and the already famous parties await you at arguably one of the best sailing venues worldwide. The J/24 North American Championship will take place on the waters of Bahia de Banderas (Vallarta) from March 16th to 21st, 2014.

This is definitely a regatta not to be missed, so mark your calendars and make plans to attend this event which will be part of the  Copa Mexico in its third edition. Those of you who have attended the past two editions or the 2007 Worlds there can attest to the excellent sailing conditions at Bahia de Banderas (Vallarta).  The bay is one of the largest in North America and is easily accessible by many of the large airlines with direct flights from most major hubs in the USA and Canada, as well as, Latin America and Europe— making it convenient to get to & from wherever you are visiting Puerto Vallarta.

The host club will again be the Marina Riviera Nayarit located at the Cruz de Huanacaxtle on the north side of the bay— they’re ready to receive all of the participants with their accustomed excellent hospitality. The town itself, not long ago a sleepy fishing village, has seen tremendous growth recently due to the marina. Now with many great restaurants catering to every palate from international cuisine to real authentic Mexican food from both the region and the country. There is also a chandlery and spare parts store with a huge selection within walking distance! Close by is the town of Puerto Vallarta offering a taste of a real Mexican town with its cobblestone streets and buildings hundred of years old,  art galleries and exquisite food for all tastes, plus night life that is unparalleled!

All this alone would be reason enough to visit beautiful Banderas Bay, but if you add the superb sailing and weather conditions, plus friendly people and great parties, it’s a hard combination to beat.  Last time, the Brazilians “won” the dance contest, the party AND the regatta!  Can you top that!?

There are already 53 teams registered with many of the world’s top sailors in attendance.  Mauricio Santa Cruz from Brazil and five other teams are coming from Brazil. Mike Ingham, Tony Parker, Chris Snow and many of the USA’s best sailors are also coming. And, there are teams from Monaco, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Peru, Canada and many others also participating, totaling over ten countries.  The regatta organizers are expecting a fleet of around 60 to 70 boats!

For more J/24 North Americans sailing information, please contact Leopoldo Farias, President of the J/24 Class Mexico, at email- leopoldo_farias@hotmail.com  For more J/24 NA’s sailing information

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

The winter sailing season in the north is starting to ramp up with some “hot rum” series, “icicle series” and the even hotter one-design/ offshore events in Florida and southern California. The J/70s just completed the first of their Quantum Winter Series, a three-weekend event from January to March, at Davis Island YC in Tampa, FL.  In the Pacific Northwest, the awards for the third annual PNW Top 25 Intergalactics saw numerous J/Teams garnering recognition amongst 557 boats that “competed” for the 2013 sailing season.

Meanwhile, the folks Down Under have recently completed their J/24 Australian Nationals hosted by Royal Prince Edward YC in Sydney’s spectacular harbour.

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:

Jan 19-24- Quantum Key West Race Week- Key West, FL
Feb 7-9- Quantum J/70 Winter Series- Davis Island YC- Tampa, FL
Feb 7-9- J/70 Primo Cup- Credit Suisse- YC Monaco- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Feb 14-16- Wells Fargo J/22 Midwinters- Southern YC- New Orleans, LA
Feb 14-16- St Petersburg NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg YC- St Petersburg, FL
Feb 19-23- J/24 Midwinters- Coral Reef YC- Coconut Grove, FL
Mar 7-9- J/105 Midwinters- Lakewood YC- Seabrook, TX
Mar 6-9- Bacardi Miami Sailing Week (70,80)- Coconut Grove, FL
Mar 14-16- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego YC- San Diego, CA
Mar 16-21- J/24 North Americans- Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Mar 16- Apr 27- Warsash Spring Series- Warsash, England
Mar 28-30- Quantum J/70 Winter Series- Davis Island YC- Tampa, FL
Apr 10-13- Charleston Race Week (22, 24, 70, 80, PHRF)- Charleston, SC
Apr 17-21- SPI OUEST Regatta- La Trinite-sur-Mer, France
Apr 26-May 3- J/22 World Championship- Deneysville, South Africa
May 2-4- Annapolis NOOD Regatta- Annapolis YC- Annapolis, MD
May 16-18- J/22 North Americans- Annapolis YC- Annapolis, MD
May 16-18- Seattle NOOD Regatta- Seattle, WA

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

J/24s sailing Sydney, AustraliaCONVICTS Overcome J/24 Australian Nationals
(Sydney, Australia)- This year’s J/24 Nationals were sailed on the fabulous Sydney Harbour and the teamwork at the host club, Royal Prince Edward YC, was nothing short of amazing.  Though the fleet had thirteen teams participating, the depth of talent was huge and great skippers were back in the pack.  Midway through the regatta, Ben Lamb, Dave Suda and Steve Girdis all had a mathematical chance of winning the regatta.  It was incredibly close racing all the way until the end.  In fact, big changes could (and did) happen on the final day of racing in the middle of the pack where just 6 pts separated six J/24s sailing Sydney Harbour, Australiaplaces!  In this group, Rolex Sydney-Hobart winning tactician Sean Kirkjian, Vlad (Singapore), Doug Watson, J Spot, Ron Thompson, Dave West, are all great skippers and would be treated to a “roller-coaster” ride of ups & downs all the way to the end.

Steve Girdis sailing CONVICTS REVENGE was crowned the Australian 2014 J/24 National Champion in an ultra-tight battle in the last two races, winning by just one point as a result of winning the last race! It was not an easy title to come by with so many tough cowboys vying for the podium.  It was consistent sailing that ultimately won the day for the CONVICTS, posting a 3-3-3-6-2-3-1-2-4-1 scoreline for 23 pts net.  Early regatta leaders, Ben Lamb’s KAOTIC crew, surely must’ve “blown a fuse” after winning four of the first six races J/24s sailing upwind on Sydney Harbour, Australia(maybe it was too much grog?).  In races 7, 8, 9 they posted a disastrous 6-5-10 and basically had to win the last race to gain the title. Alas, that was not in the cards for them, watching Girdis’s CONVICTS win the finale and bragging rights as “Top Gun” in the Australian J/24 fleet.

Dave Suda’s gangsters on PACEMAKER were lying second after eight races with a very consistent scoreline of 1-4-2-4-4-2-3-1.  But, like their colleagues on KAOTIC, they also experienced a bit of chaos with the “wheels falling off their shopping trolley” in the last two races.  PACEMAKER’s 5-7 in races 9 & 10 dropped them into third overall, taking the bronze in a tough, tough fleet.  Rounding out the top five were BY THE LEE and Kirkjian’s SAIL PAC in 4th & 5th, respectively.  For more J/24 Australian Nationals sailing information

J/70 one-design sailboats- sailing off Tampa, FLAFRICA Dusts J/70 Quantum Winter Series
(Tampa, FL)- The J/70 Winter Series got off to a strong start with thirty-nine boats competing at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, FL. The three-weekend series kicked off on January 11-12, with Jud Smith of Eastern Yacht Club snagging the victory. Jud and his wife Cindy sailed with their daughter Darby and Rick Myers. It was a unique milestone in the J/70 class as not one, but two couples, placed 1st and 2nd overall!

Davis Island YC race committee- starting J/70 sailboat raceThe hosts, Davis Island YC, did a terrific job of running the six races over the two-day weekend event.  The fleet was blessed with awesome sailing weather.  On Saturday, winds started at 12 knots and built to 20 kts by the end of the day. With the breeze out of the south, waves increased to 1-3 feet. Sunday dawned with lighter northerly winds that flattened the wave action; breezes began at 8-10 kts but dropped to 4-6 kts at the end.

The Smith’s AFRICA team sailed a very consistent series, finishing with a 1-5-1-10-2-6 record for 25 pts, winning by a comfortable nine point margin.  Canadian sailors Rob & Cindy Butler, yet another couple team, took second overall on TOUCH 2 PLAY, sailing to a 5-4-3-13-1-8 for 34 pts total.

J/70 sailing with woman skipperThird place was anything but a “walk in the park” for the next six teams, with just five points separating them and 3rd to 5th places determined by a three-way tie-breaker (Britts, Brauer & Dressel- sounds like a law firm, eh?)!  All six teams displayed “Phoenix-like” track records, rising to the sun with thrilling performances then (suffering a nose-bleed perhaps, plus losing their wings) crashing to Earth and cratering their scores with some “soon to be forgotten races”.  Winning this war of attrition and taking the bronze was local Rob Britts and company on HOT MESS from DIYC, compiling an impressive 9-1-8-17-16-2 for 53 pts.  Fourth was Marblehead’s Henry Brauer sailing SCAMP with an equally unusual “stop & go” record of 17-2-12-14-3-5 for 53 pts.  Getting the short end of the trio’s tie-break to take fifth overall was Ft Lauderdale’s Mike Dressel with a 14-8-7-4-7-13 tally for 53 pts.

J/70 Scamp- sailing with Henry BrauerJust behind the top five were the other teams that could easily have cracked third position, but for one reason or another just missed the podium.  In the group was Doug Strebel on BLACK RIVER RACING with 54 pts in 6th place, Mark Ploch on SUGAR DADDY with 57 pts in 7th and Kris Werner sailing SUPERFECTA to 8th with 58 pts.

Nineteen boats competed in the Corinthian Division with Rob Britts’s HOT MESS winning followed by  Peter Tuite on CURRAGH in second and Joe Colling’s USA69 in third.

An interesting observation of the J/70 fleet competitiveness is that Smith’s AFRICA team counted just two bullets to win with a 4.2 average finish position. In fact, five of six races were won by different teams, including Britts, Butler, Bennet Greenwald and Kris Werner.  To finish 2nd overall, Butler averaged 5.7 and to get a top five, those teams averaged 8.8!  And, to get into the top ten you had to average better than 12th!  More thrilling racing on Tampa Bay continues at DIYC on February 7-9 and March 28-30.
 For more J/70 Quantum Winter Series sailing information

Top 25 sailboats in Seattle/ Pacific NorthwestPacific Northwest Top 25 Intergalactics
J’s Dominant Brand Offshore
(Seattle, WA)- The Best of 25 Intergalactic Championship is a comprehensive look into the large group of sailboats that race throughout the Greater Puget Sound area between Seattle, Victoria and Vancouver.  Here is Ben Braden’s report:

“For starters, we wish to “thank” Jan and Skip Anderson once again for taking the time to be out on the water taking these amazing photographs of the boats and sport we all love! These two not only get their boat out to take photo’s, they assist the race committees with course issues, they put boats in distress under tow and have even been known to deliver sailors with medical emergencies to the shore for care.  Thank you for all you do out there Jan and Skip! We’re blessed to have you on the water!

Please be sure to swing by the Sail Northwest booth (J/Boats Northwest dealer) at the Big Seattle Boat Show (just look for the J/70) and pick up your photo’s!

So, the Best of 25 Intergalactic Championship is based on the following: we picked 25 different races from the South Sound, West Sound, East Sound and even way up North to Whidbey, Anacortes and the San Juan Islands. 25 different races that put 556 different boats on the list. Think about that for a second, 556 different sailboats are out racing in Washington’s & British Columbia waters– that is an amazing amount of boats!

Each boats score is developed by adding up their finish places, by class, in each and every race. No boat did all of the 25 races so a “DNE” score (Did Not Enter) was developed and is simply the worst class score in the particular race +2. Encouraging and rewarding participation, combined with doing well, of course, is the plan for the Best of 25. Nothing is thrown out in the Intergalactic Championship– everything counts!  Participation is key– the most active consistently well-sailed boat comes out on top every year.  Ties are broken by the number of races entered and then the number of first place finishes.

For 2013 the races of the Best of 25 include Winter Vashon, Duwamish Head, Toliva Shoals, Blakely Rock Light, Islands Race, The Tulip Cup, Blakely Rock Benefit, The Puget Sound Spring Regatta, Protection Island, Race to the Straits, Vashon Island, Three Buoy Fiasco, The West Sound Sailing Association Series, Whidbey Island Race Week, Down the Sound, the new T-town Regatta, Northern Century, The Pacific International Tonner Championship, Star & Bar, Round Bainbridge, Foulweather Bluff, The Puget Sound Sailing Championships, Grand Prix, Round the County, & The Snowbird Series.  Buoy racing, mid-distance races, weekend and season series along with shorthanded races and two day events– basically, everything Puget Sound sailing has to offer.”  Thanks for contribution from Ben- for any questions contact him at- ben@sailnorthwest.com.

Of the Top 25 boats, J’s took eight places (32% share), by far the dominant brand in the Intergalactic series.  Taking the #2 slot was LAST TANGO, a J/105 owned by Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle’s Jim Geros.  Normally thought of as a One-Design racer LAST TANGO garnered 192 points after doing 14 of the 25 races while taking home only one 1st place finish.
 
In the #6 position was SLICK, a J/29 owned by Corinthian Yacht Club of Tacoma’s Pat Nelson and Bob Mayfield; they sailed 10 of the 25 races with 6 first place finishes and a total of 217 points. J/29 Slick sailing Seattle
Garnering the #8 finish was the famous TANTIVY, a top J/109 owned by Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle’s Stuart Burnell; TANTIY sailed 11 of the 25 races with 2 first place finishes and totaled 230 points. J/109 Tantivy sailing off Seattle
Taking #10 position was yet another J/105.   DELIRIUM is owned by Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle’s Jerry Diercks; DELIRIUM sailed 9 of the 25 races, winning 8 races for a total of 231 points. J/105 Delirium sailing off Seattle
And yet another J/105 took the #12 spot! DULCINEA is owned by West Sound Corinthian Yacht Club’s Mathew Gardner-Brown; they sailed 10 of the 25 races, with 2 first place finishes and a total of 235 points. J/105 Dulcinea sailing off Seattle
In the #15 slot was HERE & NOW, a J/29 owned by Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle’s Pat Denny; they sailed 10 of the 25 races with 1 first place finish and 237 total points. J/29 Here and Now sailing off Seattle
Rounding out the Top 25 were the two big J’s in the fleet.  In the #22 position was the beautiful navy-blue JAM, a J/160 owned by Gig Harbor Yacht Club’s John McPhail; they sailed 8 of the 25 races with 5 first place finishes and had a total of 245 points. J/160 JAM sailing off Seattle
The other was the J/145 JEDI, taking the #23 finish.  She’s owned by Seattle Yacht Club’s John & Edie Tenneson; they sailed 10 of the 25 races with 2 first place finishes and 246 points total, just one point back from stable-mate JAM! J/145 JEDI sailing off Seattle
For more Top 25 Intergalactics sailing awards information
 

J/Community

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

J/70 sailing on lake in Chile's Andes mountains*  J/70s continue to pop-up in some of the most amazing places to sail in the world and are also doing some amazing things in even the most common places to sail in the world.  On the highest order of magnitude of “coolness” has to be the two J/70s that are sailing on Vichuquen lake, 350 kms south from Santiago, Chile way, way, way up in the spectacular, breath-taking Andes Mountains.  Here we find J/70 #76 sitting safely high and dry on her “dry-sail” cradle on a dock- “sweet” to have this baby sitting behind your “crib” a mile high on this gorgeous lake!

J/70 sailing on Galveston BaySailing on the ever-popular Galveston Bay is a rapidly growing fleet of J/70s.  While not sailing one-design events, some have been sailing the Galveston Bay Icicle Series in the PHRF handicap fleet- a series of “pursuit-style” races over several weeks.  Recently, Michael Byrne posted a YouTube sailing video of their J/70 flying a Code Zero in this PHRF handicap pursuit race!  Apparently, the J/70 was simply flying!  According to Mike:

“We were in the PHRF staggered start race, we used a Code 0 built from the Galveston Bay UK loft.  The race started off pretty tight with an apparent about 50 degrees, but ended up around 60-65 degrees.  The pole was out just about 2.5 feet.  Wind was around 6-10 kts true.  Boat speed averaged about 7.5 knots C.O.G in flat water with no current.  A J/109 with a Code 0 took forever to overhaul us, they ever so slowly rolled us to leeward with an extra 0.5 knots of boat speed, but chalk that up to the extra 13 feet of waterline!”

It sure looked like it was a fun day on the water. Last week the J/70 was the first boat across the line.  Enjoy their YouTube J/70 sailing video here.

* Calling All J/22 Owners!  Sarasota Youth Sailing Program needs used sails, equipment, stuff for their J/22s!  The Sarasota Youth Sailing Program, a local charity in Florida serving under-privileged youth, has a fleet of four J/22s and in November 2013 they started a youth keel boat program. Please make donations of used sails and equipment. If shipping is an issue, they can pick up whatever is available in the New England area this summer and bring it down to Sarasota by trailer at the end of the summer.

Their program runs from “community learn-to-sail” to “USA Olympic sailing team” development. Two of their juniors, Sam Armington and Ravi Parent, have been named to the USA Olympic Sailing development team.  You will see that Sam got started sailing in the Sarasota sailing summer camp after 4th grade.
To make J/22 sailing equipment donations, please go to their website

Sally Barkow sailing Volvo Ocean Race on SCA Team* Congratulations to Sally Barkow- she’s the latest women sailing superstar to be sailing Volvo One-Design 65s on TEAM SCA- the only women’s Volvo Ocean Race team! The former Olympian, long-time J/22 and J/24 sailor, and match-racing ace has been selected to sail aboard the all-women's TEAM SCA in the next Volvo Ocean Race. According to reports, Barkow and the other members of TEAM SCA have undergone rigorous tryout and team-sailing sessions to ensure both the right set of sailing skills and the correct blend of personalities make it onboard the team's race boat.

Volvo 65 one-design - Team SCA with Sally Barkow“This is definitely really exciting,” commented Barkow. “I feel that SCA is providing an incredible opportunity here to compete on an equal level with the other teams in this race. There are only nine months left to the start, so we are really now on the home straight and have everything to train and play for.”

'Team SCA' is slated to remain at their training base in Lanzarote, Spain, where they are enjoying a two-boat program, a great coaching staff and other training resources. Also, the team plans to enter some longer distance races prior to the start of their around-the-world adventure this fall.  Sailing photo credit for Volvo 65 one-design- Rick Tomlinson.

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.

J/42 cruiser- sailing across Atlantic Ocean* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR.  Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now.  We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their  well-documented blog here:  http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html

J/160 sailing offshore to US Virgin Islands- rainbow over ocean* 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.   Alan 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/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.