Wednesday, September 30, 2015

J/Newsletter- September 30th, 2015

J/122E offshore performance cruiserU.S. Sailboat Show In Annapolis Next Week!
(Annapolis, MD)- While you may have a passing interest in what’s happening off the Bahamas this week (baby Hurricane Joaquin being hatched), it’s time to plan for the upcoming US Sailboat Show in Annapolis over the Columbus holiday weekend- October 8th to 12th.  The show is the largest in the USA for sailboats and on hand will be five very exciting models from the J design team.  Featured will be the popular J/70, the new J/88 Oceanvolt, the new J/97E, the new J/122E and the classic Chesapeake shallow-draft cruiser- the J/95.

As in year’s past, North Point Yacht Sales and J/Boats will be hosting their famous “J/Party” on Friday evening at 6pm when the show closes.  All J/Sailors are invited to join us for refreshments and munchies and take a look at the recent additions to the J/Boats line.

J/88 Oceanvolt with solar electric powerThe three new models at the Newport Boat Show (J/88 Oceanvolt, J/97E, J/122E) were met with great enthusiasm by hundreds of passionate J sailors.  The styling of the new “Evolution” models was particularly captivating, with many people commenting on the bright, airy, spacious, Scandinavian-style interiors.  In addition, dozens of environmentally conscientious sailors were extremely enthusiastic about the first electric J with solar/ hydro regeneration capabilities- in fact, the first J in the world to offer the ability for dawn to dusk “solar sailing”!  Learn more about these (r)evolutionary boats down at the Annapolis docks soon!   For more U.S. Sailboat Show information

J/22s sailing downwindJ/22 North American Championship Preview
(Houston, TX)- The Houston YC and its extraordinary team of volunteers are ready to host the J/22s for their North American Championship, being held from September 30th to October 4th on Galveston Bay.

Nearly forty boats are forecast to be on the starting line on Friday.  Leading teams in the J/22 class seem to have a fondness for southern hospitality, as evidenced by the geographical cross-section of teams that have made the trek to Texas.  The Annapolis crews are well represented, with J/22 Class President Sandy Adzick sailing TILT and Brad Julian and Todd Hiller joining forces on USA 677.  The lone representative from the bastion of J/22 champions in upstate New York will be Travis Odenbach on SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM from Rochester YC.  Past J/22 Class President, Galen Freeman will be upholding the reputation of “good’ole boy” sailing from the Appalachian Mountain lakes in Tennessee.  From way up north, one team has made the migration south from Duluth, Minnesota, Susan Matti and David Turnham sailing STELLAR JAY from Duluth YC.  The lone New England representative will be Mike Marshall’s BAD NEWS crew from Jamestown, RI.

The balance of the teams are mostly from Dallas- Ft Worth, Austin, and Houston areas.  Past World Champion, Terry Flynn, is sailing TEJAS with friend Mark Foster from League City, TX.  Local home boy and rock star Taylor Lutz, a college sailing champion, will be sailing BLACK RIVER RACING with some Texas buddies.  Marvin Beckmann sailing THE MARTIAN will always be an enormous factor to contend with on any race course.  Finally, watch out for the duo of Marek Valasek and Jamie Gilman aboard EL OCHO from Lakewood YC, those guys actually know how to sail super fast in very tight one-design racing classes!   For more J/22 North Americans sailing information

J/88 sailing Hamble Winter SeriesGarmin Hamble Winter Series Preview
(Hamble, England)- Once again, the annual GARMIN Hamble Winter Series will be taking place from October 4th to November 29th over the course of several weekends.  The host, Hamble River Sailing Club, welcomes the support of title sponsor GARMIN- a global leader in satellite navigation.  GARMIN’s European HQ is located in Southampton ant they enable HRSC to continue to invest in the UK's premier winter sailing series and ensure it offers the mix of racing and warm welcome ashore that attracts large numbers of competitors to the popular event.

In 2014 more than 160 yachts took part in the GARMIN Hamble Winter Series.  The 2015 series and its associated events are open to IRC classes and one-design classes for J/111s, J/109s, J/88s, J/80s and J/70s.

Chrissy Winchcombe, Marketing Executive at GARMIN, said: "We are delighted to sponsor the successful Hamble Winter Series and partner with Hamble River Sailing Club throughout the year. We use the event to test and promote Garmin marine products and Garmin has enjoyed more than 10 years of successful sponsorship of the Hamble Winter Series.”

Trevor Pountain, Commodore, HRSC, said: "We are very pleased to welcome title sponsor Garmin back for an 11th year and are looking forward to working with them throughout 2015 and the years ahead. HRSC is very proud to run the Hamble Winter Series, now in its 34th year, and we are consistently recognized for running great racing with a broad mix of courses. Competitor footage shot on the Garmin VIRB camera we loaned to the sailors helped drive online and social media engagement to new heights. Club members and our army of volunteers work hard to ensure the event continues to go from strength to strength."

In the Big Boat Championship segment of the event, we find two J/111s participating (Chris Jones & Louise Makin’s JOURNEYMAKER II and Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG) along with two J/122s (JUNO and R&W).

For the Hamble One-Design Championship weekends, it looks like there will be fleets of J/70s, J/80s and J/109s.  Amongst the J/70s, crew like GILL RACE TEAM, JUGADOR (Jack Davies ), OFFBEAT (Dave Mcleman), COSMIC, HARLEQUIN, JENGA 8 (Andrew Barraclough), and ROYAL THAMES VI will be on the track.  In the J/80s, leading teams include J OUT-OF-THE-BOX (Yannig Loyer) and AQUA-J (Patrick Liardet).  The J/109 teams include known crews like DESIGNSTAR 2 (Roger Phillips), JACOBI, JOLLY JACK TAR (Adrian Wheal) and JYNNAN TONNYX (Owain Franks).

For the entire GARMIN Hamble Winter Series from beginning to end, the J/109s add the following boats to the mix, JYBE TALKIN’ (Chris Burleigh), JIRAFFE and RED ARROW (Jorg Lobbedey).  The J/111s will race in IRC 1 and include the aforementioned JITTERBUG and JOURNEYMAKER II.  Sailing one division above them will be the J/122 JUNO.  Then, the HRSC will have a hard time figuring out what to do with the masses of J’s in the 29 to 31 foot range!  Perhaps they will get one IRC class since no one else wishes to sail against them at all due to the preponderance of fun-loving talent.  There are a trio of super-fast J/88s at around 1.035 IRC, including JONGLEUR (Paul Heys), MAI TAI and TIGRIS.  Then, rating all about the same in the 0.974 to 0.983 range are the J/97s, J/92’s and J/92S’.  The J/97s are BLACKJACK II (Andy Howe), WINDJAMMER & ALAMARA B III.  The J/92S’ are UPSTART and BOJANGLES (James Bedford).  The J/92 is J’RONIMO (David Greenhalgh).  All familiar boats, right?  And, all fast and well sailed.  Finally, J/70s signed up so far for the season-long event are JUGADOR, OFFBEAT, DSP (Douglas Struth), HARLEQUIN and JENGA 8.  Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth- PWPictures.com   For more GARMIN Hamble Winter Series sailing information

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

No one can say that early fall sailing is not without its benefits!  In most places in the northern hemisphere, it seemed that last weekend was warm, sunny, somewhat benign and offered up beautiful breezes nearly everywhere.  In Europe, the Italian J/80 Open Nationals featured one of their best fleet turnouts in years and the sailing off Chiavari was simply beautiful all three days.  On the west coast of France on the Bay of Biscay, the J/80s were also sailing their penultimate regatta in Lorient, the J/80 Atlantic Telegramme Regatta- also with three fantastic days of sailing.

Hopping over the little pond to the Americas and Canada, it looked like the only light air, but sunny, series was held on Lake Ontario.  The Royal Canadian YC was hosting the J/105 Canadian Championship for a fairly substantial fleet of boats.  Just to their south, the J/30s were hosting their North Americans on Buzzards Bay.  West of them down Long Island Sound, the American YC held their Fall Series for two great days of sailing for J/Teams sailing one-design J/105s, J/70s, J/109s and J/44s.  Others, like J/88s, J/97s, J/92s and J/133s sailed in handicap classes for IRC and PHRF.  The previous weekend, the Riverside YC hosted the Long Island Sound Offshore Championship in similarly benign conditions.  Out West, the San Diego YC was quite busy hosting both the J/70 North Americans off the Coronado Roads as well as J/Fest San Diego for the 20th time!  Great fun was had by all!

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:

Sep 30- Oct 4- J/22 North Americans- Houston, TX
Oct 3-4- AYC Fall Series - Annapolis Yacht Club, Annapolis, MD
Oct 3-4- J/70 Chesapeake Championship - Fishing Bay Yacht Club, Deltaville, VA
Oct 8-12- Annapolis Boat Show (88, 97E, 122E, 95)- Annapolis, MD
Oct 9-10- J/22 (216) Regatta- Cleveland, OH
Oct 9-11- J/80 North Americans- Seabrook, TX
Oct 9-11- J/88 New England Championship- Greenwich, CT
Oct 10-11- J/FEST Southwest- Seabrook, TX
Oct 12-17- J/70 European Championships- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Oct 24-25- J/70 Fall Brawl- Eastport, MD

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

J/70 Green Flash sailing off San DiegoSmith’s AFRICA Wins GREEN FLASH J/70 North Americans
Raab’s SUGOI Crushes Corinthians!
(San Diego, California)– An epic regatta it was for the third edition of the J/70 North American Championship held on the sunny SoCal waters off San Diego’s Coronado Roads.  With host San Diego YC rolling out the proverbial “Green Flash” carpet for the fifty-odd J/70 crews that had gathered together for four days of racing, no one could have predicted the outcome with such a competitive fleet.  In the end, it was a New England sailor from Marblehead that is quite familiar with weeds, currents and lights airs that grabbed the brass ring and headed home with it.

Jud Smith and his crew on AFRICA overcame a 15-point deficit on the final day of the J/70 North Americans to take the title for 2015. Sailing with Smith on the mighty yacht AFRICA was Marc Gauthier, Victor Diaz, and William Felder. No stranger to winning regattas, “Juddy” is a highly regarded sailor that has won Etchells 22 World Championships along with friends like Bill Hardesty (Rolex Yachtsman of the Year) and others.  A top J/70 prize has been an elusive goal for this laid back, thoughtful sailor from Eastern YC in Marblehead.  Recently, the Smith family won their class in the ONE Regatta in Marblehead in August.

Smith’s road to the top was a rocky one at best.  In fact, that was the case for just about all the crews in the top ten!  Consider the fact that current J/70 World Champion Julian Fernandez Neckelmann’s crew on FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO from Mexico’s Valle de Bravo fleet could only muster a 13th overall!  That is tough racing!  It was also the third NA’s in a row that had little or no “planing mode” conditions— an interesting factor to take into consideration between the top teams. With everyone in “displacement mode”, everyone is finding out that everyone is going the same speed! That changes the game considerably for the fleet— all of a sudden, it changes the tactics to “college-style” sailing, fleet control and tactics that take into consideration working with “groups” of boats to consolidate positions.  Here is how it all took place on the light, weedy, roller-coaster swells off the southern end of Point Loma.

J/70 Zounds from Houston, Texas- sailing off San DiegoDay One
Coronado Roads gave a fickle start to the day, forcing the Race Committee to postpone the starting sequence and reset the course to adjust for significant changes in wind direction. With only 5.5 kts of wind blowing, finding the perfect pocket on the starting line was more crucial than ever. The most prime real estate on the line was on the starboard side, which wind direction and the occasional puffs both seemed to favor. A bit eager to get the regatta going, the first attempt ended in a general recall. After a second try, the fleet was finally off.

At the upwind weather mark, it was Africa, skippered by Jud Smith, that led the fleet, followed closely by Zounds (Doug Strebel), Helly Hansen (Tim Healy), Midlife Crisis (Bruce Golison) and 3 Ball JT (Jack Franco). For this first day of racing, this weather mark proved to be a strong indicator of the fleet's top competition.

By the second leg of Race 2, Tim Healy and his crew took over as fleet leader and led Zounds (Strebel), Africa (Smith) and Midlife Crisis (Golison) around the remainder of the course and across the finish line.

Winds began to fill in for the second race of the day, with speeds ranging from 7-9 kts across the course. The stronger winds were just the push that Strebel and his team needed to secure the bullet. The were followed closely by Savasana (Brian Keane) in 2nd, Catapult (Joel Ronning) in 3rd, Sugoi (Chris Raab) in 4th and Africa (Jud Smith) in 5th. Previous race winner Tim Healy finished in 13th, proving that with this competitive fleet, consecutive race wins will be no easy feat.

Ultimately, it was Doug Strebel who would finish the day as the regatta leader, with a fourth place finish in Race 3 securing his spot as the top overall boat. Strebel held a ten-point lead over second place overall finisher Jud Smith, who finished Race 3 in 9th place. The winner of Race 3 was Will Welles, a new name for the top of the fleet after finishing the first two races in 22nd and 25th, respectively.

J/70 woman skipper- Shannon Bush from Houston, Texas- sailing off San Diego, CADay Two
Although the shifty San Diego winds certainly made the day's three races very interesting, they were not strong enough to shake the fleet leaders from their top spots.

When the second day concluded, the top three positions remained unchanged: Zounds (Doug Strebel) in 1st, Africa (Jud Smith) in 2nd and Helly Hansen (Tim Healy) in 3rd.

The first race of the day began with winds blowing between 8-9 kts at a direction of 270. A temporary left shift at the beginning of the first beat seemingly gave left-side starters a significant advantage over the rest of the fleet. However, their puff disappeared before the fleet was halfway to the weather mark, leaving them in slower winds than the steady pressure on the right side of the course.

Renato Faria, skipper of To Nessa from Brazil, kept a tight tail on Jud Smith's Africa as he led the rest of the fleet around the upwind mark. Faria was quick to close that gap on the downwind mark and took over as fleet leader, finishing the races with his first win of the regatta.

As crews regrouped for the next race, winds picked up to a steady 13 kts. By the end of the upwind leg, a 17-degree shift in wind direction mixed up the beat's current leaders, and Allan Terhune's Ocho Cinco was quick to seize the opportunity in front of them. Terhune was able to hold his position throughout as he led Flojito y Cooperando (Julian Fernandez Neckelmann) and Cool Story Bro (John Brigden) to finish in the top three spots of the race. It was the first top three finishes for both Terhune and Neckelmann. By the time the rest of the fleet finished the race, the winds had slowed down to a light 7.5 kts.

The third race of the day was the longest and the last, with Race Committee opting to set up a 5-leg course with an upwind finish. Jack Franco and the 3 Ball JT crew secured their first bullet of the regatta early in the race, after taking the lead on the very first upwind leg. Jud Smith's Africa gained two boats after the first leg to finish in 2nd place. The current regatta leader Doug Strebel was overtaken by Kostanecki to finish Race 6 in 3rd place.

With 26 points, Smith was 5 points behind regatta leader Strebel and 21 points ahead of the 3rd place skipper Tim Healy.

J/70 NA Winner- Jud Smith- AFRICA- from Marblehead, MADay 3
With light winds and a 2:00pm deadline for the final day’s race start, Smith only had two races to shorten Doug Strebel’s 15-point lead. Winds blew at an average of 6-8 kts over the racing venue, set up just offshore from Coronado beach. The first race of the day was a four-leg course, with two upwind and two downwind sprints. Smith (Africa) finished in 9th place, while Strebel fell to the second half of the fleet, finishing in 25th.

Going into the final race of the regatta, a two-point spread separated Smith in 1st from Strebel in 2nd. Since competitors were not eligible for any throw-out scores, every race counted towards the final showdown.

The final race of the regatta was a 5-leg course with an upwind finish, whose original start was temporarily postponed to allow for consistent breezes to fill in.

By the time the fleet made it to the first upwind mark, Brad Rodi (Bl!ss) was leading the race with regatta leader Smith just four boats behind. Strebel was well behind the top third of the fleet during the second leg. He finished the race in 18th place, guaranteeing that Smith would take home the title.

Doug Strebel and the ZOUNDS/ BLACK RIVER RACING crew led for the first thee days of the event, posting all top six scores except for one race yesterday. However, while Smith gathered a 9-4 on the last day, Strebel’s team struggled with a 25-18 to slip to second. Tim Healy finished third, a position he held throughout the four-day event.  Showing significant promise was Brad Rodi’s team on BL!SS from San Diego YC.  Rodi is a former college All-American and College Sailor of the Year, so his familiarity with closed course, same-speed racing, was helpful in his excellent performance.  Fifth was John Brigden sailing with Chris Snow on COOL STORY BRO from St Francis YC.

Top Women’s Skipper Award went to Shannon Bush’s vibrant green crew on HOOLIGAN from Texas Corinthian YC.

In his first major J/70 regatta, top West Coast sailor Chris Raab and crew from Newport Harbor YC sailed SUGOI to the top of the Corinthians Division; they were also 15th overall in the regatta. Just behind them was a former J/24 North American Champion, Pat Toole and crew from Santa Barbara YC on 3 BIG DOGZ II.  Third was Steve Shaw’s SMOKIN J from Lake Norman YC from North Carolina.

Big shout out and “Thanks” to all the regatta sponsors, first and foremost the “GREEN FLASH” men, Jeff Brown and JK3 YACHTS, SD Boatworks, Coral Reef Sailing Apparel and many others for a wonderful event!
For more J/70 North American Championship sailing information

J/88 Wings- Mike Bruno- sailing Long Island SoundJ/Teams Dominate AYC Fall Series
(Rye, New York)- The American YC’s annual fall series was blessed with nearly perfect weather conditions for the first weekend of sailing on Long Island Sound.  Partly sunny days with fresh easterlies graced the fleet for both days, with 15-23 kts on Saturday and 8-14 kts on Sunday.  The epic event for the weekend, other than the simply fabulous sailing, was the simply mind-blowing “super moon” that rose over the eastern horizon of Long Island Sound that later evolved into the “super blood red moon” by 10pm on a beautifully clear Sunday evening.

The racing was highly competitive and there was little room for error for those leading their fleets on the East and South courses off Rye, New York.  As it turns out, it was the only weekend the fleet raced, as “little Joey” (a.k.a. Hurricane Joaquin) spoiled the party for the second weekend.  Consequently, the results from the first weekend stand for all fleets.

Starting with the world of J one-designs (70s, 105s, 109s, 44s), it was clear some teams had their “mojo” going while others did not.

In the J/44s, the “Big OD’s”, wielding massive spinnaker poles, even more massive genoas, and even huger mainsails, it’s a big person’s job!  Showing their massively muscular superiority over their winded brethren along with both technical expertise and Boris Kasparov-like mental agility and elasticity on the tactical front, was the hard to hold back MAXINE- Bill Ketcham’s gorgeous-blue machine.  With a sinuously snake-like scoreline of 5-1-3-1-4-2, MAXINE snuck in for the big score at the end with just 11 pts net.  No one saw them coming.  Nor, more than likely, did anyone on board MAXINE!  Vamping like a vamp she should, Lenny Sitar’s VAMP was happy to take home 1sts and 4ths to walk home with second overall.  Then, like a cat-outa-da-bag, it was Jim Bishop’s crew that scored a third place on the mighty and venerable GOLD DIGGER!  Notably, past AYC Commodores Joerg Esdorn & Duncan Hennes are sailing the next-gen KINCSEM quite well, winning the first race but not quite keeping up the pace to settle for 4th only one point back.  Fifth was Don & Dick Rave’s RESOLUTE (Saturday was not a good day for them).

The dozen boats sailing the J/109 class demonstrated what happens when there is relative “parity” amongst the top teams.  No one had any distinct advantage in the top seven boats; in fact, all had top three finishes!  It was remarkably close and fun racing for everyone.  After two days of parrying back and forth with their swords, it was Jonathan Rechtshaffer’s EMOTICON that just won the weekend battle over Bill Rogers’ BIG BOAT.  11 pts to 12 pts.  A 1-4-1-2-3-4 to a 3-2-4-5-2-1.  Neither team had a decisive edge, but it could be said that Rodgers’ crew was on the upswing on that pendulum!  Taking third was Carl Olsson’s MORNING GLORY with 16 pts and fourth was Jack Forehand’s STRATEGERY sitting on 20 pts. Fifth was Bengt & Marie Johansson’s ZIG ZAG with 24 pts, winning a tie-breaker over Steve Chronert’s ZUMA.

The largest fleet in the regatta was the J/105 one-design class with seventeen boats.  Several new J/105 owners were “in-medias-res” and quickly learned from class veterans what it takes to tweak their boats to extract that last 0.1 kts of boatspeed to break that 2-foot overlap at a mark-rounding. Such is the life of a one-design racer.  When the handicap guys are worried about minutes a mile, the one-design guys are worried about inches per second!  Such was the case with the 105s, as usual.  As if he was a phoenix rising from the ashes, Damian Emery’s ECLIPSE, again, decided to put the old blue boat on “cruise-control” and “send it”!  That’s just Damian’s way of doing it.  No questions asked.  Win the start. Disappear.  Simple. And, that he did.  1-6-1-1-1–3 for 7 pts net.  Wins the regatta. Second? Actually not that far back.  Given the fact that ECLIPSE had a 6th place in race 2, they were vulnerable to a vulture ruining their feast.  Paul Beaudin’s LOULOU was that vulture.  With a 4-1-2-2-2-1 they just lost out an opportunity to win, but settled their score for second in class.  Third in class was the Wilbanks’ REVELATION with 17 pts.  They just edged out David Greenhouse’s SKIPPERDEE in 4th and Jeremy Henderson’s CONUNDRUM in 5th with 21 pts.

So, if the 105s and 109s had good racing, what was it like for the J/70s? Frightening. Yes, I mean downright scary! Like zombies walking over the water from downtown New York over the waters of Long Island Sound towards American YC- - crazy, scary stuff.  Imagine this.  Big boys, win big stuff on big boats.  Then, sail small boats, but win BIG!  Not sup’ozd’2’happen’mon!  Well.  It did. When you lay down a 1-1-1-2-1-2 scoreline, you don’t often LOSE!  Doh! So, congrats to Scott & Alex Furnary on ANY COLOUR for laying some “wood” down on the local fleet in da’big’breeze to win with a convincing 6 pts net scoreline.  Yup, tossing a 2nd place can’t be all bad!?  The other big surprise was the awesome performance by Allan Stern & Bill Walker’s VICTURA, winning their last race as emphasis they’re on a steep learning curve and hope their 2nd place was only an indicator of things to come for the future.  Third were “the girls”- Madelyn & Megan Ploch on SUGAR DADDY- once again proving their capability to not only win races in tough conditions, but hang with the top boats overall.  Fourth on 26 pts was determined by yet another tie-breaker- Dave Florence’s BUZZ taking it over Scott Bursor’s SLINKY.

In the world of handicap racing, similar scenarios were playing out.  Close racing and any type of tactical or teamwork situation could hurt you or help you.  In the case of the J/111 PARTNERSHIP sailing in PHRF 1 Class, their three 1st place roundings in three straight races did not play out into those same results on Saturday.  Nevertheless, David & Maryellen Tortorello’s crew on PARTNERSHIP pulled it all together on Sunday to post a 5-4-1-2-2-1 scoreline for the weekend to overcome their initial deficit to win the weekend and the regatta!

Over on the “South Course”, an amazingly similar situation took place.  Scoring all bullets on the first three races, Iris Vogel’s J/88 DEVIATION ran the table and easily secured their lead on Saturday. However, on Sunday, Mike Bruno’s new WINGS team sailed “lights out” on their J/88 and won all three races.  Meanwhile, Doug McKeige’s Youth team sailed all weekend in the top five and could not crack the top three!  In the end, Vogel’s crew took three 2nds on Sunday to secure the win overall, with Bruno’s WINGS crew taking third and McKeige’s JAZZ Youth team in 4th position overall.  A great showing for the J/88s against very tough competitors!

The PHRF 3 Class was besieged yet again by the litany of J designs in the 26-32 ft range.  In fact, it was an all J/Boat class!  Tom & Julie Sinatra’s J/29 SMOKIN J sailed a beautiful series to take first with all 2nds and 1sts for 6 pts net.  Second was John Krediet’s J/97 PARTICIPANT II with all top three scores for 10 pts net.  Third was Jason Viseltear’s J/80 UPSETTER with 13 pts net.  For more American YC Fall Series sailing information

J/30 cruiser-racer sailing Nationals on Buzzards BayWILD CATS @ J/30 North Americans!
(Marion, MA)- The Beverly YC of Marion, MA, hosted the 2015 J/30 North Americans on Buzzards Bay for a weekend of spectacular racing.  There was plenty of sun, wind, current, & big waves.  What else could anyone imagine for the premier event for the J/30 class??

J/30s sailing off starting line on Buzzards BayAfter an eight race series, it was Russ Atkinson of North Cape Yacht Club from La Salle, Michigan that won the 2015 J/30 North American Championship with an astounding record of six 1st and two 2nds to win with a wildly low score of just 8 pts.

There was a spirited competition for the balance of the podium between Ken Deyett’s JEROBOAM from host Beverly YC, sailing extraordinaire Bill Saltonstall on ARBELLA and John McArthur on SMILES from Long Island Sound’s Cedar Point YC.  After the smoke cleared, it was Dyett’s JEROBOAM that managed all top three finishes to take second place with 15 pts.  Taking the bronze on the podium was Saltonstall’s ARBELLA with 20 pts net.  Rounding out the top five was McArthur’s SMILES in fourth and Mark Rotsky’s NEMESIS in 5th position.   For more J/30 North American Championship sailing information

J/105s sailing Canadian Nationals off Toronto- Royal Canadian YCMcLaughlin Eclipses J/105 Canadians
(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)- Eighteen teams competed in the 2015 J/105 Canadian Championship, held September 25-27 in Toronto, Ontario at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.  Sailing in the typically variable Lake Ontario conditions, the Canadian 105 sailors had to contend with some incredibly talented crews with more than their fair share of “local knowledge” tucked under their belts.

In the end, it was Terry McLaughlin’s team on MANDATE, the 2014 J/105 NA Champion that dominated the event; the MANDATE crew won eight of the nine races to take the title by 44 points over Peter McDermott Hall’s JAMAICA ME CRAZY. Just two points back to take the bronze was a past J/105 NA’s Champion- James Rathbun’s HEY JUDE.

Rounding out the top five was Gavin Disney’s THE USUAL SUSPECTS in fourth position with 61 pts and in fifth place was Mike Mountford’s LEADING EDGE.  Mountford’s team had to win a tie-breaker over top women skipper Felicity Clarke on ROUNDING ERROR. Notably, in 7th was the second women’s’ skipper- Emily Sale on SONIC BOOM.  For more J/105 Canadians sailing information

J/80 Voilerie All Purpose- winner of France Atlantic TelegrammeVOILERIE ALL PURPOSE Takes J/80 Atlantique Telegramme
(Lorient, France)- CN Lorient hosted their popular fall event, the J/80 Atlantique Telegramme, for thirty-one enthusiastic teams over the weekend of the 25th to 27th September.  The fleet was blessed with great sailing conditions and they enjoyed the always warm and gracious hospitality of the CNL members.  After the eight race, two throw-out series, it was Sylvain Pellissier’s VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE TEAM (Mathieu Fountaine, Victor Barriquand & Loig Leon) that counted three 1sts in their finally tally to win with just 11 pts net.

The first day of racing was simply gorgeous; a sunny day with good breeze greeted the fleet and the CNL PRO, Eric Bournot, managed to run two races on Friday.  The racing was aggressive and for the second race of the day, there were 11 BFD’s!  In the first race, Simon Moriceau’s INTERFACE CONCEPT dominated the fleet, with Capucine Vitel’s VITEL SAILING TEAM in 2nd and Luc Nadal’s GAN’JA in 3rd.  Then, in the second race, Eric Brezellec’s COURRIER JUNIOR won with Herve Leduc’s PIERRE OCEANE in 2nd and Sylvain Pellissier’s VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE in 3rd.

J/80 VITEL sailing team- racing off FranceSaturday morning dawned with great promise and the weather gods cooperated fully, dishing out a recipe of wonderfulness for the sailors- lots of sun, 10-15 kts winds and four races!  The offshore winds from the ENE produced enormous shifts and fluctuations in the breeze, but the masterful orchestration of the CNL RC and mark boats by the PRO Bournot resulted in close, fair racing for all.  By the end of the day’s sailing, the only winners were Pellissier and Nadal with two each.  Overall, the VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE team leapt into the lead followed by GAN’JA and COURRIER JUNIOR.

For the final day of racing on Sunday, the fleet was met by yet another beautiful day- bright sunshine and more 12-15 kt winds from the ENE!  PRO Bournot managed to run two more races in the shifty, offshore breezes, much to the delight of all the sailors.  “Bravo” to the CNL, their RC and PRO for wonderful organization ashore and on the water!  Pellissier’s team closed the regatta with a 3-1 to win it with relative ease.  Taking second was Brezellec’s COURRIER JUNIOR crew (Nicolas Richard, Julie Richeux) and third was Nadal’s GAN’JA team (Pierre Mousselon, Gilles Corcaud, David Nadal).  Rounding out the top five was Moriceau in 4th and Leduc’s PIERRE OCEANNE in 5th.

Tom French J/80 woman skipperAfter taking 2nd place in her previous regatta and 5th in Normandy Race Week, Capucine Vitel is a rising woman’s sailing star in French J/80 sailing circles (seen at right).  After a strong second day with a 4-7-7-4, Capucine’s VITEL SAILING TEAM had risen to 5th place overall in the regatta.  However, two double-digit races on the last day dropped her back into 6th place overall but still good enough for 1st Women’s skipper team for the regatta; her crew included Mathieu Layus, Damian Michelier, Jonathan Touyer and Kevin Bloch.  Second women’s skipper and 11th in the overall standings was Maxime Rousseaux’s team on CN St Cast GRAND OUEST (her crew was comprised of Matthieu Legrand, Luc Legrand & Benjamin Le Scornet).

The next regatta for the French J/80 season series will be in St Cast for the French J/80 Nationals from the 7th to 11th of November.  For more French J/80 Class sailing information

J/80 Italian Open Championship off Chiavari, ItalyPolti Takes Italian J/80 Nationals On Tie-breaker!
The Fashionable Loro Piana Takes Silver
(Chiavari, Italy)- This year’s Open J/80 National Championship in Italy returned to YC Chiavari’s lovely location along the Mediterranean coastline after four years of absence.  Chiavari is considered "the home base" of the Italian J/80 fleet. The company Blue Project, which owns the fleet of nine, matched, one-design J/80s, has chosen the beautiful Ligurian town and Marina di Chiavari as its home.

The Championship took place from the 25th to 27th of September; YC Chiavari hosted it in collaboration with Blue Project and the Italian J/80 Class Association. Alongside Blue Project was the sponsor Chanteclair with its new line of “Vert" products- green eco-detergents that are 100% biodegradable. In fact, at registration, all of the teams received Chanteclair Vert, a high performance washing product that is also excellent for the boats.

Winning J/80 teams at Italian NationalsWith fast, clean boats and with sets of matched North Sails, the teams took off from the docks on Friday morning expecting close, friendly competition.  The fleet experienced gorgeous weather, calm seas and a west wind of about 5-7 kts. After three races, the top five teams probably recognized they got more than they expected, they were all in for a real dogfight!  Leading the fleet was Stefano Polti’s MARYLOU team from YC Marina di Loano with a 4-1-2 for 7 pts.  Second was Marco Tafi’s JINK BIO BASIC EUROPE crew from CN Cavo with a 1-4-3 for 8 pts.  Then, in third was Giacomo Loro Piana’s MARY J team from CN Porto Cervo with a 6-2-1 for 9 pts.

In the first race of the day, it was Tafi’s JINK crew that was fast out of the gate, winning it comfortably while others were untwisting their knickers and making spinnakers actually went up and down.  Second in that race was Massimo Rama’s JENIALE EUROSYSTEM for LNI Sestri Levante, a long-time supporter of the class.  Third place went to Marco Rayneri’s J9 from YC Marina di Loano.  In the second race, Polti’s crew got their act together and won with Giacomo Loro Piana’s MARY J from CN Porto Cervo taking the second position and his brother Franco Loro Piana in JAMMING taking the third spot- yes, it was a family affair that race!

J/80s sailing Italian Nationals off Chiavari, ItalyFor the racing on Saturday, the YC Chiavari PRO could only manage to conduct two races for the fleet.  With the west wind of 5-6 kts and flat seas, the wind dropped off considerably in the afternoon, preventing the running of further races.  With a quick 2-3 on the day, Giacomo’s MARY J jumped into the regatta lead with a total of 8 pts followed by Tafi’s JINK in second as a result of a 5-2 tally for 10 pts.  One point back was Polti’s MARYLOU with a 4-4 on the day.

There was another new winner in race four, Franco Loro Piana on JAMMING beat his brother Giacomo on MARY J across the line while the latter settled for second place.  Third was Rama’s JENIALE EUROSYSTEM.  For the fifth race, things went a bit topsy-turvy for some boats.  Rayneri’s J9 won the race, followed by Tafi’s JINK in second and Giacomo Loro Piana’s MARY J in third.

On Sunday, a nice north wind between 8 and 12 knots permitted three more races to be held.  After an eight race series over the three days, it was Stefano Polti on MARYLOU that won the regatta in a heart-stopping final race battle against Giacomo Loro Piana’s MARY J.  With one race to go, Loro Piana’s MARY J was leading the regatta by two points by virtue of winning the second to last race.  In the last leg of the last race, Polti somehow managed to pull off a race win while Loro Piana finished third.  As a result, both teams were tied on points at 15 each and the tie-breaker was broken in Polti’s favor! Third for the regatta was Tafi’s JINK, fourth was Franco Loro Piana’s JAMMING and fifth was Rama’s JENIALE EUROSYSTEM.

Giacomo Loro Piana and friends celebrating 2nd at Italian J/80 NationalsIt could be said the Italian J/80 Nationals was a family affair for the famous Loro Piana family and fashion house (https://www.loropiana.com/en/) based in northern Italy.  The Loro Piana brothers, Franco and Giacomo (seen at right), are the next generation in the family business; their father is Pier Luigi.  Pier Luigi and his late brother Sergio were the sons of Pietro Loro Piana- the founder of the business at the turn of the 20th century.  In addition to enjoying sailing with friends and against one another at such a high-level of racing, the Loro Piana family also enjoy sponsoring and promoting the sport- such as their highly regarded LORO PIANA SUPERYACHT REGATTA held each June at YC Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo, Sardinia.

Finally, there was an Award for the youngest helmsman- Alessandro Garibotto on J-BES (Group Vela LNI Chiavari and Lavagna).  For more Italian J/80 Open Championship sailing information

J/120s at starting line off San DiegoJ/Fest San Diego Report
(San Diego, CA)- The San Diego YC hosted the 20th Anniversary of the J/Fest regatta in Southern California! This year’s one-design fleets included the J/120s and the J/105s.

The racing consisted of a Fun Bay Pursuit race on Friday afternoon followed by windward/leeward courses in the Coronado Roads area on Saturday and Sunday.  The SDYC PRO, Summer Greene, managed to provide five races for the sun-worshipping lovin’ J sailors off the big green Point Loma and south of the US Navy’s North Island.

The J/120s were out in force, with many teams focused on displacing “the Commodores” on Chuck Nichols’ CC RIDER off their perch atop the J/120 fleet.  Try as they might, it was much, much tougher than anyone could have imagined.  With two bullets in the first two races, it looked like Peter Zarcades team on MELTEMI was well on their way to a triumphant, walk-away win on their hands.  However, the Godz must be Crazy, as the next two races saw the MELTEMI gang dig deep and hard into the bottom of the cellar to produce a 5-4.  Only a last race 2nd kept them in the hunt to hang onto 2nd place.

After a slowish start for them, a 3-2-4, Nichols’ crew on CC RIDER got the old train wound up and running downhill awfully damn fast.  Mirroring MELTEMI’s start, the CC RIDER boys knocked it out of the park with a 1-1 in the last two races to close out the weekend and win the regatta with 11 pts!  Sunday’s are for good boys, Saturday’s are for bad boys?  Something my Sunday school teacher told me once, who knows!?

With the top two boats were struggling to determine their final outcome, the next three boats had nothing but the “fog of war” to guide them.  Such was their records, at one point  all three boats were tied.  Mike Hatch’s J-ALMIGHTY, Ernie Pennell’s MAD MEN, and Rudy Hasl’s HASL FREE were literally playing rope-a-dope with each other race to race.  Like the leaders, the outcome hung in the balance of the 5th and final race of the regatta.  Drama?? Yes, lots of drama.  Plus, anxiety?  Plus, most likely a few bets placed on the side that needed to get settled at the SDYC “refreshment stand” afterwards.   After their hard-ridden horses were put away and the dust settled, it was Hatch’s J-ALMIGHTY that grabbed the bronze while just one point back was Pennell’s MADMEN in 4th and Hasl’s HASL FREE one more point back in 5th! Fun sailing, to be sure.

The trio of J/105s enjoyed their weekend on the race course watching Dennis Case’s WINGS sail off to five straight bullets!  Trading places most of the time were Steve Howell’s BLINK! and Stew Cannon’s J-OK.  In the end, Howell got the better of Cannon and took the silver.   For more J/Fest San Diego sailing information.

J/88 sailing fast on Long Island SoundJ/88s Sweep Long Island Sound Champs
Wilbanks Tops J/105s, J/109s Take Silver
(Riverside, CT)- Storm Trysail Club and the Riverside YC in Connecticut hosted this year’s Long Island Sound Offshore Championship.  It was a strong turnout of nearly 40 boats with a J/105 one-design class participating along with a J/100, a trio of J/109s and a trio of J/88s sailing in their respective PHRF handicap divisions. The fleet was treated to a nice cross-section of sailing conditions; a mix of light air on Saturday 6-10 knots and more breezes on Sunday at 12-20 knots.

Starting with the half-dozen boat J/105 class, it was the family affair of George & Alex Wilbanks that “laid some pipe down” on the fleet in the first four races, scoring three 1sts in the process. But, they nearly lost the regatta!  Howzat??  Simple, finish nearly next to last in the last race to throw it all the way, or almost.  As it was, Randy Bourne’s STRANGE BREW also sailed super consistently, winning the last race and, as a result, put himself into a tie for first place with the Wilbanks bro’s.  Well, it was not enough to overcome the three bullets that REVELATION had banked earlier in the regatta.  Scorecard?  Wilbanks 1st, Bourne 2nd.  Watching the histrionics from the safety of the bleachers was Bob Zannetti’s VENTURESOME.  The “Z-man” and crew did venture forth with a great performance, they managed to post all top three scores, but not enough to overcome the “revelation” that any “strange brew” of finishes in front of them would end up with anything but the bronze for themselves!

Over into the world of even stranger brews was the PHRF 2 Class Time-on-Time division.  Can you imagine an all carbon C32 rocketship and super-carbon everything rocketship MC38 (both with super narrow fins and massive lead bulbs slung 20 feet deep) and an over-canvassed Farr 30 sailing against the family cruiser-racer J/109s in the same class? Talk about a bizarre combo of boats!  Yes, the J/109, a boat that has a bathroom, shower, living room table, refrigerator, teak & holly flooring, ice-maker, freezer, a stainless steel wheel, an aluminum mast, heater, AC (some of them), an owner’s stateroom, and lots of mirrors for lookin’ good at the awards ceremony!  Incredibly, while the “bro’s” on the C32 won the regatta, the J/109s faired OK.  In fact, better than OK!  Second place in this “hot boat” class went to MORNING GLORY sailed by Carl Olsson and third place to SWEET CAROLINE sailed by Christopher Ercole.

While we are still walking that fine line of bizarre-ness, let’s talk about PHRF 4 Class.  Consider this.  Three brand new J/88s against three MORC World Champion Soverel 33s?  Well, that was the promise.  29 footers against 33 footers?  That’s an interesting contrast from the 80s offshore state-of-the-art from well-known designer Mark Soverel from Ft Lauderdale, Florida up against the latest from the J design team.  In the end, the J/88s swept the class.  Remarkably, in their first regatta ever, it was Mike Bruno’s brand new WINGS that just nipped Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION for the win, by just one point.  It was a nip and tuck battle all weekend long and between the two boats they won every race!  Taking third was Kevin Marks’ J/88 VELOCITY.

Finally, in the more benign PHRF 6 class, the J/100 NEVERMORE sailed by Kevin & Drew Hall sailed to a wonderful, almost perfect, 2nd place finish overall.  That boat is pretty & fast!  For more Long Island Sound Offshore Championship sailing information

J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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J/105 sailing San Francisco Bay* Championship Debrief: What does it take to win the J/105 North American Championship?? This report from Quantum Sails came from their customer debrief on the format, the competition, and what it took to win.  The J/105 North Americans had a variety of courses that included reaching legs, gates, and a couple of trips under the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as short-tacking duels up the City Front and the tactical decisions about whether or not to seek current relief in the cone of Alcatraz. All of this made for a rather unusual North American Championships format, but a welcome one, certainly for the Bay Area boats with local knowledge.  We checked in with some of the top J/105 skippers on the format, the competition, and what it took to win.

Phillip Laby, Godot, 6th Place — On Getting Good Starts
“There were a lot of good sailors in the fleet, so I expected it to be tougher competition than usual. I figured we’d go out and do as best as we can. Our goal was the top three, we ended up sixth, partially because there is more talent out there, and partially because we didn’t execute our starts, we didn’t get good starts on the first day. So, we were playing catch up for the rest of the race, but we kept ourselves in the game.

The key to doing well in this regatta was getting good starts that set you up for going in the right direction on the first leg, and knowing where you were going. They’re all bay tours; it’s a big picture thing. In the beginning, my idea was that it was more important to get a start that sent you in the right direction. I changed my philosophy after a while, and looked for a good spot on the start line focusing on an open lane rather than being closer to the side that I wanted to go.”

Ryan Simmons, Blackhawk, 5th Place — On Preparation
“The goal going in was to win. We thought we had a really good opportunity, a fast boat, a great crew, new sails, and we totally thought we could win the regatta. It didn’t workout that way but that was the goal.

We put a lot of time and pride into our preparation going into the race. We’ve been sailing together for two years, working on different maneuvers and different settings for the boat, so that when we got into these situations with variable conditions and long legs, we could adjust to them, but once you’re out on the water sailboat racing is sailboat racing.

The finish of the first race was without a doubt the apex of the regatta for us. We crossed the line overlapped with Donkey Jack— it couldn’t have been more than five feet. To win that race was pretty exciting.”

J/105s sailing San Francisco BayJason Woodley, Risk, 3rd Place — On Consistency
“A top-five finish was what we were trying to accomplish. We felt with the level of competition—there were 10 boats that could have won. There were a couple boats that are respected in their own fleets. In San Francisco, we have a little bit of an advantage being local.

We wanted to take it one race at a time, try and get into the top five for each race, that was our focus. We knew it was going to be a light year and we’re actually a heavy-wind boat; we like to have bigger air, so we really tried to keep the sails powered up, that was our real focus with our Quantum sails.”

Jeff Littfin, Mojo, 2nd Place — On Climbing Back
“The plan was to sail conservative. We felt like we had the boat speed as long as we minimized mistakes. We actually had poor starts and were able to dig back through the fleet. That was probably the most impressive thing of the regatta—to be in a deep position and end up with a top-five finish. We put ourselves in tough spots off the line and were able to dig back.

It was disappointing that missed two races. Once the wind came in it was a pretty awesome Big Boat Series. It wasn’t too windy; it was probably one of the best weather-wise. The tides played a part, but they weren’t mammoth tides. It was spectacular. It was probably best Big Boat Series I’ve been to, conditions-wise.”

Shawn Bennett, Jose Cuervo, 2015 J/105 North American Champion — On the Challenge
“What’s nice about Big Boat Series, is that there’s a different course every time for a new challenge, but for a North Americans, that’s a little different because you’re used to having your own racecourse. We found it enjoyable actually with all the different features, colliding with the other fleets, but it certainly adds a layer of difficulty—free and clear and ahead doesn’t mean some other fleet isn’t going to come along and pin you out, force you in another direction, or even cut in on your air or roll you. You’re not only managing your own fleet, in terms of covering them if you’re ahead, you’re also trying to manage the lay line and traffic management.

There were a couple of moments of sheer, stark terror.  Like, when we were going upwind on starboard and we were doing a back-and-forth trying to get around Kialoa III- the 78-foot IOR maxi. We thought, if that thing hits us, we’re done.”  Sailing photo credits- Pressure-drop.us  For more information on these J/105 teams and their perspectives.

J/105 BoatShare- J/World San Francisco* J/105 BoatShare- an exciting concept for J/Sailors!  How about a J/105 for $550 per month?

J/World San Francisco’s Wayne Zittel has pioneered “boat sharing” programs for J/105s for quite a few years.  Wayne shares his perspectives on how it works:

“For starters, we generally aim to have up to eight partners on each boat. However, I think the most we have ever had at any one time is six 'share' owners.

It is setup very similarly to SailTime and WindPath.  Members book the boat via an online calendar.  I think the model makes a lot of sense for a good cross section of recreational/leisure boaters.  We like this business model since the members and boats are far more self-managing than simple bareboat charters: only members sail each specific boat, and hence they have an interest and incentive in taking better than average care off their boat!!

The model struggles a bit when trying to address the needs of racers who need to be able to book whole weekends at a time and have specific equipment needs (sails, bottoms, etc.).  But, the more advanced sailors can simply use their own sails.  Also, we did an interesting thing with the SF members the past couple of years during the SF Winter Series, in which four of the members got together, shared the cost of a J/World coach, and entered the races sailing together.

Beyond the fact that J/105 BoatShare creates an ongoing and predictable revenue stream for J/World, it also gives us access to an expanded instructional fleet!  I really believe that this type of program is great for J/Boats sailors! 
  1. We introduce new sailors to J/Boats, at a time when they are not-yet-ready-to-buy;
  2. We open communications with these sailors so that as they evolve towards ownership, we are in a position to assist; and
  3. We create an opportunity for brokers to sell boats into such a program where an owner realizes revenues and/or offsets expenses.”  
To learn more about J/World San Francisco’s J/105 BoatShare program, click here.

J/105 Antigua sailing race weeks!* J/105 BoatShare in the Caribbean?
There are three J/105s currently in the Caribbean that are actively sailing the major events in the winter.  Today, there is a lightly used J-105 that is laying in Antigua, asking $85,000.  Why not “share” this with 4-5 people and rotate regattas!?  A professional boat management team can take care of it for the owners.  This would be much, much cheaper than chartering a boat- typically $8,000 per regatta.

J/105 Caribbean eventsThe “Fab Five” events are the following:
1. St. Maarten Heineken Regatta- Early March-  http://www.heinekenregatta.com/
2. St. Thomas International-  Late March-  http://stthomasinternationalregatta.com/
3. BVI Spring Regatta–  Early April-  http://www.bvispringregatta.org/
4. Les Voiles de St. Barth– April 11-16 2016-  http://www.lesvoilesdesaintbarth.com/site/us/
5. Antigua Race Week–  April 23-29, 2016-   http://www.sailingweek.com/v4/

The J/105 on offer has always been “dry-sailed” in Antigua.  It is a French-built J/105 and since 2001 has only sailed 5 Heinekens and 2 Antigua Sailing weeks.  You can learn more about it here- http://www.caribbeanbrokerage.com/2002-j-105-cruiser-racer/

For more information on this concept, please contact Paul Murphy at Cell# 443/600-7400 or Email- Paul@PaulMurphyAnnapolis.com
 

J/Cruisers
J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers.  Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.

* The J/40 HERON REACH sailed by Virginia and Jerry is participating in the Blue Planet Odyssey project and have recently joined them in the Marquesas Islands in the Eastern Pacific.  Learn more about their adventures and experiences here- http://heronreachodyssey.blogspot.com/
Giant whale breaching in front of J/160 SALACIA off  Australia's Whitsunday Islands* J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands.  Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination?  A giant whale!  Look at this amazing photo!

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, September 23, 2015

J/Newsletter- September 23rd, 2015

J/70s sailing fast down reachJ/70 North Americans Preview
(San Diego, CA)- The fast-growing J/70 class is holding its first major championship on the Pacific Ocean this week. With fifty boats participating, the San Diego YC will be hosting one of the more competitive fleets the J/70 class has seen to date.

Greg Koski, a veteran in the J/70 class and owner of Ullman Sails Cleveland, provides his perspective:  “The J/70 class is gearing up for their third North American Championship, this year in sunny San Diego, California. The event, which will take place September 24-27, will be hosted by none other than the prestigious San Diego Yacht Club, which has set the standard in terms of race management and accommodation. The 50-boat fleet is substantial. While it is not the biggest North Americans held by the class to-date, it might well be the most competitive.

The fleet in general has gotten stronger and stronger since the class was founded in 2012, and now any of the top 20 boats has the potential to win. Not only will the event see the 2015 and 2014 J/70 World Champions, Julian Fernandez Neckelman and Tim Healy, in attendance, but they will be pressed hard by others ready to take the title.

On the start line will be Jud Smith (Etchells World Champion), J/70 newcomer Bruce Golison (sailing with five-time Olympian Richard Clarke), Joel Ronning (second place at the 2014 World Championship), Allan Terhune (J/22 World Champion), Brad Boston (two-time Olympian), and Brian Keane (third place at the 2014 J/70 North Americans), etc.. etc. And the list just goes on and on. Brace yourselves for some close racing.

The event’s weather forecast looks pretty much like your typical San Diego forecast with a sea breeze setting in around noon or so, but the system that is currently flowing through Southern California could mix things up. With starts scheduled for 11:30AM the fleet might be waiting on the water for the breeze to fill before they get going.

There are two possible sailing areas, either inside the harbor on the South Bay course or offshore at the Coronado Roads racing area, and am assuming that both venues will be used depending on weather conditions.

The inside course, which can have very tricky winds and currents, could be a little tight for the 50 boat fleet, but would showcase more exciting, close-quarters racing. The good thing about sailing inside is that there is NO kelp!

The outside course offers pretty straight-forward sailing – the challenge is to understand the wind and the tide. That being said, the kelp will be a huge problem. Keep your eyes open and be on the constant lookout. Having your kelp stick ready at all times is a must, as is backing down before every race, no matter if you’re sailing inside or out.  We look forward to some great weather and tight racing.”

The weekend before the NA’s, the SDYC hosted the J/70 Tune Up Regatta.  Many boats participated as it gave teams a chance to test their speed and setup for the conditions many expected to face in the NAs.  The winner was Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT, followed by Brad Rodi’s BLISS and Al Terhune’s DAZZLER, in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.  Other teams that had top five finishes included Chris Snow & Mary Bridgen’s COOL STORY BRO, Brian Keane’s SAVASANA, Dave Vieregg’s SOGGY DOLLAR, Chris RAAB’s SUGOU, Jeff Brown’s J70 (his business JK3 Yachts is a regatta sponsor), Neil Senturia’s CACHONDO and Peter Vessella’s RUNNING WILD.  It will be tight competition for the NA’s!  Thanks for partial contribution from Scuttlebutt News.  For more J/70 North American Championship sailing information

J/30 cruiser racer family sailboatJ/30 North Americans Preview
(Marion, MA)- One of America’s oldest and most prestigious yachting clubs, the Beverly YC of Marion, MA, will be hosting the 2015 J/30 North Americans on the waters of the notorious Buzzards Bay this coming weekend.  If there’s one thing the J/30 sailors can count on, it’s that no matter what wild and crazy conditions are thrown at them by the weather Godz this coming week, the BYC team will ensure the nine J/30 teams assembled from across the northeastern seaboard will have fun and get in some good racing.

With so many fresh faces appearing in this year’s edition, it’s difficult to determine some of leading teams.  Nevertheless, based on their reputations in other classes, watch out for one of the true “hot shot” locals, Bill Saltonstall on ARBELLA.  Then a “foreigner” in these parts of New England is the Dan Mather/ Dave Irwin team from Oswego YC on the crusading CRUSADER.  Based on previous J/30 NA’s, you can count on Charlie Stoddard’s FALCON from Barrington YC in Rhode Island and also John McArthur’s SMILES from Cedar Point YC to be a factor on the leaderboard.

Based on the upcoming weather forecast this weekend, on Friday the J/30s will face stronger ENE/Easterlys building during the day. Those ENE winds fade a notch Saturday before refreshing and veering further Easterly on Sunday.  High pressure remains in control through the extended period as it slowly slides E from Canada, causing NE'rly winds to veer more ENE Friday through Sunday. Sunday is now looking to show strongest values as High pressure slides offshore, wedging a trough from the S into the coast.  Should be fun, very very shifty racing with lots of puffs and streaks sliding down Buzzards Bay!
For more J/30 North American Championship sailing information

J/120 colorful spinnakers sailing offshoreJ/Fest San Diego Preview
(San Diego, CA)- The San Diego YC is proud to host the 20th Anniversary of the J/Fest regatta in Southern California! One design fleets included in the event are J/105s and J/120s.  The racing consists of a Fun Bay Pursuit race on Friday afternoon and windward/leeward courses in the Coronado Roads on Saturday and Sunday.

This year J/Fest San Diego will coincide with the J/70 North American Championship. The social events will be fabulous- a Beer/Food pairing party on Friday evening, a Mexican Fiesta with musical J/105 Wings sailing off San Diegoentertainment on Saturday night, and the awards party on Sunday after racing.  JK3 Yachts is proud to sponsor not only the J/70 NAs, but the 20th Anniversary of J/Fest!

Joining the festivities in the J/105 class are Steve Howell’s BLINK!, Dennis Case’s WINGS, the Hurlburt/Driscoll duo on JUICED and Stew Cannon’s J-OK.  The J/120s are out in force, with Ernie Pennell’s MADMEN, Rudy Hasl’s HASL FREE and Peter Zarcades’ MELTEMI hoping to overcome the historical dominance of Mike Hatch’s J-ALMIGHTY and Chuck Nichols’ CC RIDER.  For more J/Fest San Diego sailing information.

J/24 East Coast ChampionshipJ/24 East Coasts Announcement
(Annapolis, MD)- The J/24 East Coast Championships has traditionally been one of the most competitive J/24 regattas in the world.  With an average of over 35 boats in the past 10 years, competitors have been challenged and excited by the event.  Make sure to join us for the 37th year October 30th to November 1st.  Great Fall Breezes in Annapolis, MD and nice fall temps create an excellent playground for some sharp racing.  Make sure to not miss the average of 8 races over three great days.

Plus, here are the Top 10 Reasons why you shouldn't miss this event:
  1. Excellent Competition; most of the top boats compete in this event.
  2. Join the ranks of America's Cup and J/24 World Champion sailors that have competed in this event- like Terry Hutchinson, Brad Read, Tim Healy, Will Welles, Dave Curtis and Jim Brady.
  3. Easy In & Out - with multiple hoists you are sure to get in and out of the water fast!
  4. Extend your season. If you are from the Northeast, its starting to get cold. Come down a few hours south and get in on more super-hot J/24 sailing.
  5. Adult Halloween in Annapolis- its FUN, maybe even insane!
  6. Free hosted Housing- we can make this event inexpensive for you- just ask (see below)
  7. Great Value- Early Entry fee is just $150 and includes sailing, beer, drinks, food and more.
  8. Experience Annapolis- home of the Naval Academy, National Sailing Hall of Fame, great food and nightly entertainment
  9. Expert Race Management by the team from Severn Sailing Association.
  10. Its FUN!
For more J/24 East Coast Championship sailing information, housing reservations, entertainment guide, click here!

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

With the northern hemisphere experiencing the first cool breezes of the fall “shoulder season”, the racing world is also transitioning into the fall/winter series and events that mark the end of the northern sailing season.

In Europe, the most dramatic and largest season finale was the SAILING Champions League that recently took place off Porto Cervo in Sardinia, Italy.  The YC Costa Smeralda was the host for the top thirty teams in Europe, with racing taking place in their brand new fleet of matched J/70s!  They were blessed with simply spectacular sailing conditions all weekend long.  Not far away on the “inner Baltic”, the Badnytt magazine and the Svendborg Sailing Club hosted the famous Silverrudder challenge- an enormous single-handed race that starts/finishes off Svendborg, Denmark, then sails 134nm around island of Funen- a challenging race for a famous J/111, J/109 and J/80.  Then, hopping across the North Sea to the United Kingdom, three “regattas within a regatta” were taking place on the Solent with the Royal Southern YC being host to the J/111 UK Nationals, the J/80 UK Nationals and the AVEVA September Regatta that featured a large J/70 class.  Finally, we got a report from friends in Ireland regards the offshore success of various Irish J/Boats teams.

Heading still further west to Canada, we find the J/24 Canadian Nationals were held at Ashbridges Bay YC off the eastern beaches of Toronto, Ontario, Canada; one of their largest turnouts in years!  Then, way, way out west on the Pacific Coast, the St Francis YC was hosting their 51st annual Rolex Big Boat Series, it featured the J/105 North American Championship along with racing for fleets of J/111s, J/120s and handicap racing for J/88s and J/125s.

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:

Sep 18-20- J/22 Dutch Open Nationals- Medemblik, The Netherlands
Sep 18-20- J/70 SAILING Champions League- Porto Cervo, Italy
Sep 19-20- The HOOD- Houston Open One-Design Regatta- Houston, TX
Sep 21-27- J/70 North Americans- San Diego, CA
Sep 24-27- J/30 North Americans- Marion, MA
Sep 25-27- J/105 Canadian Championships- Toronto, ONT, Canada
Sep 25-27- J/80 Atlantique Telegrame- Lorient, France
Sep 25-27- J/FEST San Diego- San Diego, CA
Sep 30- Oct 4- J/22 North Americans- Houston, TX
Oct 3-4- AYC Fall Series - Annapolis Yacht Club, Annapolis, MD
Oct 3-4- J/70 Chesapeake Championship - Fishing Bay Yacht Club, Deltaville, VA
Oct 8-12- Annapolis Boat Show (88, 97E, 122E, 95)- Annapolis, MD
Oct 9-10- J/22 (216) Regatta- Cleveland, OH
Oct 9-11- J/80 North Americans- Seabrook, TX
Oct 9-11- J/88 New England Championship- Greenwich, CT
Oct 10-11- J/FEST Southwest- Seabrook, TX
Oct 12-17- J/70 European Championships- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Oct 24-25- J/70 Fall Brawl- Eastport, MD

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

J/70 Sailing Champions- Royal Norwegian YCRoyal Norwegian YC Is Best Sailing Club in Europe!
(Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy)- Royal Norwegian YC (Kongelig Norsk Seilforening- KNS) wins SAILING Champions League 2015 and claims title of “Best Sailing Club” ahead of hosts YC Costa Smeralda of Italy and, the most surprisingly fast team at the event, YC Navigator from Moscow, Russia.  A fleet of 30 club teams from 14 nations participated in the regatta with the top sailing clubs from all across Europe.

The second SAILING Champions League finished Sunday after three days of thrilling racing, a range of challenging sailing conditions during the last three days, ranging from lots of wind the first day, where races were sailed without spinnaker, to relatively light and shifty winds on the last day.

The final day of racing brought a change from the strong mistral breeze that teams had faced over the previous two days. As the wind moved to a more northerly direction and turned lighter and more shifty those competitors who thrive in light airs had a chance to shine in today’s 12 races. There was little hope, however, of ousting the reigning KNS team of Kristoffer Spone, Christen Horn Johannessen, Sigurd Paulsen and Erik Kongshaug who deservedly held on to first place thanks to seven victories and two second places out of 10 flights raced.

“We were a bit excited today, because we didn't know how it would go,” commented Royal Norwegian skipper Kristoffer Spone, “but now we have the trophy, we are very happy. The level of competition at the SAILING Champions League was very high, so it’s a very good feeling having won against the best clubs in Europe. It has been a terrific event here in Porto Cervo.”

J/70 Sailing Champions- YC Costa SmeraldaSecond-placed YC Costa Smeralda (with a superstar team of Flavio Favini, Branko Brcin, Filippo Molinari & Federico Michetti) flew the home flag high by chalking up six victories over the weekend.  Meanwhile, Yacht Club Navigator of Moscow (Igor Rytov, Anton Sergeev, Konstantin Besputin, & Nikolay Kornev) claimed five wins to take third place overall.

YCCS team captain Federico Michetti commented on the club-centered ethos that is at the heart of the Sailing Champions League concept: “It was an honor to compete here for my club together with the team. These were great races with a superb organization behind them. It’s a format where you can really feel how everyone is fighting for their Club and I think that is important.”

“As always our thanks go to everyone who made this event possible: the race committee, jury, umpires and the sponsor Audi as well as all of the teams who travelled from across Europe to participate in this first event in our waters,” commented YCCS Commodore Riccardo Bonadeo, during the afternoon’s prize giving ceremony.

In addition to the Robbe & Berking Trophy for the winning Club, trophies were awarded to the second and third-placed yacht clubs. Special prizes were also awarded to the Royal Malta YC, whose team was entirely composed of members of the Ripard family (Sebastian, John, Thomas & Julia) and the Royal Danish Yacht Club (KDY) that fielded an all-female team- Lotte Meldgaard, Tina Gramkov, Helle Ørum, and Anne Sofie Munk.

Coming just a year after the premiere of the new, international club competition, the SAILING Champions League, this is the second showdown of the best sailing clubs from Europe. The 30 clubs have travelled from all directions to Sardinia, from Finland in the North and from Italy in the South, Great Britain in the West and Russia in the East, to fight for the title currently held by the Royal Danish Yacht Club.

J/70 Sailing Champions- Royal Danish YCThe only all female crew on the starting line was the title defender from Copenhagen. Skipper Lotte Meldgaard and her crew were the reigning World and European Champions and have a great deal of experience in match racing. However, they were looking forward to the challenge of competing in fleet races at the event. “We always want to be at the top of the ranking, whenever we are sailing – also at the Champions League, of course. At the Danish league events that we sailed for the Royal Danish Yacht Club (KDY) this year and in the previous year, we were always on the podium. This is what we want to achieve here in Porto Cervo as well,” explained Meldgaard.

Being the strongest nations as regards the number of league clubs, the Danish Sailing League and the German Sailing League each had four participating clubs each. The Austrian Sailing League, the Italian Sailing League and the Swedish Sailing League sent three clubs. Two clubs came from Poland, Switzerland, Russia and Norway. The Netherlands, France, Malta, Great Britain and Finland were all represented by one club each.

During the training session, Porto Cervo offered perfect sailing conditions, with wonderful late summer weather and great breeze. The weather forecast for the three racing days promised sailing action at its best for sailors and spectators.

J/70s - Sailing Champions League- YC Costa Smeralda, ItalyDay 1- Windy Start
The first day of racing was spectacular, with racing in survival mode with seven races completed. The sailors were facing a typically brisk Sardinian mistral breeze.  After 7 races were completed, the wind reached 25 knots and a postponement was called for the day.

Promising early performances were put in by the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) of Hamburg who chalked up victories in both of their races today. Norway’s Kongelig Norsk Seilforening (KNS) also performed well, claiming a first and a second place. The Russian Team of Yacht Club Navigator (YCN), took a third and first place while the young crew representing the Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club (DTYC) who boast an average age of just 23 years – won their first race and came third in their second. With a possible 41 races left to run the games have only just begun however and the leaderboard tomorrow could well tell a different story.

“It was a pretty good day for us,” confirmed NRV helmsman Carsten Kemmling. “Our first race was dramatic because it was more survival mode in these conditions. It was a tough fight and a photo finish with the club from Geneva. In the second race we sailed without the gennaker so the boat handling was more important than tactics.”

The crew representing host club the YCCS also got off to a good start as they took victory in the first race of the event. “It was a good feeling,” commented team member Filippo Maria Molinari, “the team has trained well and we won with a good lead which is very encouraging even though we have only completed one race so far.

J/70s starting- Sailing Champions LeagueDay 2- More Mistrals!
The second day was an intense one for the teams. A lively Mistral wind once again put teams to the test over the course of 21 fleet races, bringing the total number of flights completed to 7.

The provisional rankings at the conclusion of racing saw Norway’s Kongelig Norsk Seilforening (KNS) heading the fleet of clubs from across Europe with five victories and two wins in the seven races run. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda team followed hot on their heels with four wins. The Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club (DTYC), one of four German teams present, continued took look strong despite a sixth place in one of today’s races, as does Switzerland’s Société Nautique de Genève (SNG).

“It was a terrific day on the water,” commented Kristoffer Spone, skipper of Kongelig Norsk Seilforening. “My guys did a great job. Maybe from outside it looks perfect but we made a lot of mistakes. Normally, we are better in light winds, so we’re excited for tomorrow. This format of league sailing is what we want to do.”

Julian Stückl, skipper of DTYC was also pleased: “It was a great day for us but tricky, as well. On the top it is very tough sailing. We know the guys from other regattas. In the league sailing it is more about maneuvers than speed. Tomorrow we want to have fun again and do our best and try not to be too nervous.”

J/70 Sailing Champions League teamsDay 3- No More Drama
After the conclusion of racing on Sunday, it was clear the Norwegian team was not going to be displaced from the top of the podium.  By closing out the last three races of the regatta with a 3-1-1, Norway’s KNS team won by over 8 pts- a landslide in this extremely talented fleet.  Proof of their steep learning curve, the host club’s YCCS team won three of their last four races, but a last race 7th hurt their chances to stand atop the podium in their first major sailing league finale.  In the end, the Italian YCCS team was extremely happy with their results, happily taking home the silver.  Third was the remarkable YC Navigator Team from Moscow, Russia, talk about a fast ascent up the leader board!  They also closed with a 1-1-3 to take the bronze overall.  The balance of the top five included the Societe Nautique de Geneve (the former America’s Cup winner) in fourth place and in 5th was Deutscher Touring YC- the top German team at the event.  Sailing photo credits- SCL/YCCS/Francesco Nonnoi   Facebook/SailingSCL- https://www.facebook.com/SailingCL

J/70 sailing video- Sailing Champions LeagueSAILING Champions League sailing video summaries:
Day 2- Highlights- https://youtu.be/lY0Zwd6fQig
Day 2- Replay- https://youtu.be/SNBcyitG21E
Day 3- Replay- https://youtu.be/VJSzERSt23o
Regatta Summary- https://youtu.be/ycQ5tUQUJ_E

For more SAILING Champions League information
 

J/105 sailing on San Francisco Bay 
JOSE CUERVO Blitzes J/105 NAs!
(San Francisco, CA)- No, the crew on JOSE CUERVO may not have been totally blitzed after the regatta.  But, they sure did blitzkrieg their J/105 comrades in what may have been one of the most dominating performances ever in a J/105 NAs.  Counting four bullets straight Shawn Bennett and crew on JOSE CUERVO threw down a 4 of hearts on the table for their opening gambit then simply aced the rest, much to the chagrin of their buddies on San Francisco Bay.

As the largest fleet of boats in the Rolex Big Boat Series, 27 in all, Bennett walked off with his first Rolex Submariner stainless steel chronometer in his life.  He was a happy camper.

J/105s sailing past Alcatraz Island on San Francisco BayThe first day of racing was somewhat prophetic in terms of who was going to rise to the top after some early tough going.  On Thursday, the unthinkable happened, when the club’s race committee – known for expertly conducting more than its fair share of regattas thanks to San Francisco’s ideal winds (consistently strong), challenging conditions (currents aplenty) and superior setting (stadium sailing at its best) – had to postpone the morning race for all classes by two hours, due to lack of breeze. It left the J/105 sailors champing at the bit, but in the end nothing was missed when both of the day’s scheduled races were completed in 15-plus knots of westerly breeze.

As all classes in the RBBS must do, the J/105s rotate from the “Treasure Island” circle to the “Alcatraz” circle (named for the famous island that sits precariously in the middle of the Bay) during the day. On Thursday, the J/105s started with Treasure Island, sailing a 10.9 mile race that Ryan Simmons' BLACKHAWK won in a photo finish with Shannon Ryan and Rolf Kaiser’s DONKEY JACK, which had led over much of the distance.

“Our original plan was to play the ‘cone’ (an area east of Alcatraz Island that shelters from the current), but we changed our mind mid-leg and decided to go to the city front,” said Simmons. “We came out well, but it was a very long beat: all the way from Treasure Island to the Golden Gate Bridge in a flood tide.”

J/105 Blackhawk sailing San Francisco BayBLACKHAWK finished fourth in its second race, an 11 miler, held on the Alcatraz circle; Simmons was happy about that, since it involved a mediocre start and a “super high powered boats-wiping-out-everywhere reaching leg” where the wind indicator showed 18-20 knots. The performance put him at the top of the scoreboard, tied on points with Shawn Bennett’s JOSE CUERVO and one point ahead of Jeff Litfin’s Mojo.

“Everyone gears up for this regatta,” said Simmons, who sailed the J/105 North Americans once before when it was part of the Rolex Big Boat Series in 2009 and skippered to second in last year’s Rolex Big Boat Series after having crewed for his father, two-time winner Scooter Simmons, 15 times in the event. “Our goal going into this season has been to win this regatta, the North Americans, and get that Rolex.” (Rolex timepieces accompany St. Francis Yacht Club perpetual trophies as prizes in six of the 11 classes here.)

After two more days of racing, the cat was out of the bag.  After racing J/22s for much of the season in the match-racing world, Bennett’s crew were simply unassailable in the tricky SF Bay conditions- demonstrating a mastery that was far, far beyond their wise years.

“Winning means a lot to us, because we’ve tried a few times at the North Americans and have fallen short of winning a few times at the Rolex Big Boat Series,” said Bennett. “It’s two things in one: checking boxes that we weren’t successful at checking in the past.”   As for winning a Rolex timepiece for his efforts, he added, “Hands down, it’s the nicest trophy I’ve ever won.”

J/105s sailing under Golden Gate Bridge- San Francisco BayWith the top of the podium pretty much determined by day two, the fight for the balance of the top five spots was typically worse than a sorority pillow fight- can’t see anything until the feathers clear!  In other words, no obvious winners at all until the very last leg of the very last race.  Roller coaster rides everywhere when everyone seeks the ultimate goal of just plain, simple, consistency on the Bay.

When the feathers & down settled from the fields of battle, it was Jeff Litfin’s MOJO that succeeded in nearly the same degree of proficiency as Bennett’s crew, pulling together a 3-3-2-4-5 for 17 pts to secure second.  Behind them, and just staying free of the dust-up, was Jason Woodley & Scott Whitney’s RISK with another all top 10 tally of 8-9-3-2-3 for 25 pts.  Perhaps the biggest disappointment may have been felt by past J/105 NA Champion and RBBS Champion, Bruce Stone on ARBITRAGE; a last race 12th torpedoed their chances at a silver on the podium, instead settling for 4th place with 26 pts.  In 5th place was early regatta leader Simmons on BLACKHAWK only 1 pt back.  Exciting racing for all! Kudos to Regatta Chairman Bruce Stone and Fleet #1 Captain (Shannon Ryan) for wearing about 12 hats to help pull off this exciting regatta with a host of sponsors and volunteers far too numerous to mention here!   Watch J/105 NAs sailing video summary.   For more J/105 North American Championship sailing information

J/111 Aeolus- sailing San Francisco BayTheis’ J/111 Two-Peats Rolex Big Boat Series
Halliwill’s PEREGRINE Tops J/120s
(San Francisco, CA)- While the J/105s were dueling for class honors in their North American Championship, the J/111s, J/120s were racing one-design in the Rolex Big Boat Series, also striving for that ultimate prize- the famous Rolex Submariner stainless steel chronometer watch.  In addition, two J/125s in HPR Class were hoping to win the same “wrist candy”, as were a pair of J/88s and J/90 in the PHRF section.

The San Francisco Bay J/111 is growing nicely and the competition could not be any closer for the top of the leaderboard.  The racing was not without its dramas!  After rolling off a 3-1-1, Dorian McKelvy’s MADMEN suffered a scoring penalty in the 4th race to make their bid to win the coveted prize that much more difficult.  On Sunday’s famous “Bay Tour” race, they pretty much had to win it to guarantee win based on a tie-breaker with AEOLUS, presuming the latter finished 2nd.  Unfortunately, for the “MADMEN”, that scenario did not play out— but it sure came close!  Instead, Rob Theis’ Team RINGCENTRAL-AEOLUS took the crown by finishing 2nd for a total of 11 pts.  McKelvy’s crew took 2nd with 12 pts and Peter Wagner’s fast-learning crew on SKELETON KEY took third- posting an impressive scoreline of 2-5-3-2-1 for 13 pts.

J/111 Aeolus skipper- Rob Theis- winning Rolex Big Boat SeriesAbout their victory, Rob Theis said: “This was tough, very fun racing.  Hats off to all our competitors for some great sailing on the Bay!  At the end of the day, the familiar orange & blue colors on the sails of Team RINGCENTRAL-AEOLUS were hoping to repeat our victory of the internationally recognized Rolex Big Boat Series.  That we did it was amazing! Team RingCentral finished one point ahead of the fleet securing our place as the 2015 champions.

The Rolex Big Boat Series attracts over one hundred boats from around the United States, and world, to come take on the notorious San Francisco Bay waters that played home to the 2013 America’s Cup where Team Oracle took home the crown. The J111 class of boats are a high-performance, elite sailing machines that require perfect coordination and communication between the skipper (boat driver) and crew in making sail adjustments, and strategically navigating the course.  Our RingCentral team was able to outwit the unpredictable winds, currents that make San Francisco Bay one of the most sought after venues in the sailing world.

J/111 fleet sailing San Francisco BayIn the end, strong teamwork, experience, and endurance lead to a wonderful victory on the bay this weekend!  Thanks to our crew and, again, congratulations to our fierce competitors and thanks to the amazing program run by Rolex and the St Francis YC!”

As an interesting perspective, this was the first Rolex BBS for skipper Peter Wagner (Atherton, Calif.) and his team aboard the J/111 SKELETON KEY.  Peter started as a junior sailor, racing dinghies on Long Island Sound. He went on to become captain of his college sailing team at Harvard University, where he was twice named a Collegiate All-American. Wagner knew he would be racing one-design in one of the toughest classes at the RBBS this year.

J/111 Madmen sailing San Francisco Bay“What has always attracted me to the sport of sailing is how it draws on four challenging elements; it blends both a technical and physical component while also calling for strategic thinking and organization,” said Wagner, a founding partner of Wing Venture Capital. This year, he was included in Forbes Magazine’s top-100 list of “World’s Smartest Tech Investors” and has been part of a number of IPOs, 16 of which have exceeded $1 billion in market capitalization.

“Being a part of the innovation economy in the San Francisco Bay Area today is like being in Florence during the Renaissance. It’s a gathering point for the world’s most talented and ambitious individuals,” said Wagner. “As far as sailing goes, I think the sport and the Rolex Big Boat Series in particular benefit from that group of people. Even if they aren’t specifically involved in technology, that mindset pervades the whole region and definitely manifests itself on the race course!”  Wagner’s 3-2-1 in the last three races was unmatched by the eventual regatta winner’s scoreline of 5-1-2, is that a bit of foreshadowing of what’s to come in this exciting class?  

The rest of the top five in the J/111s were Dick Swanson’s BAD DOG in fourth place and taking fifth on a tie-breaker was Gorkem Oszcelebi’s DOUBLE DIGIT over Nessrin Basoz’s SWIFT NESS.

J/120s sailing San Francisco BayLike their J/111 colleagues, the top slots in the J/120 class were contested very tightly over the course of the four-day regatta.  The class leaders were tied with identical records of two 1sts and two 2nds after the first three days of sailing- Dave Halliwill’s PEREGRINE and Barry Lewis’ CHANCE.  The last day, the epic “Bay Tour” was going to determine the outcome for class bragging rights for another year!  In the end, it was Halliwill’s PEREGRINE team that won the watch by winning the last race over Lewis’ CHANCE that finished 2nd!  Tough hombres these two are!  Third was Ludovic Milin’s SAETTA with 17 pts, fourth was Timo Bruck’s TWIST and fifth was Steve Madeira’s MR MAGOO.

J/125 Double Trouble sailing San Francisco BayIn the HPR Class, the two J/125s went head-to-head for class honors and nearly cleaned up across the board.  Greg Slyngstad’s HAMACHI from Seattle, Washington, simply could not overcome the tremendous local knowledge advantage and good boatspeed of four-time Rolex BBS winner, DOUBLE TROUBLE skippered by Peter Krueger.  Counting three 1sts and two 2nds for a total score of 7 pts, there was no one holding back the “local boys” from getting their FIFTH Rolex Submariner- not surprisingly, skipper Peter Krueger was grinning that cheshire-cat grin from ear to ear- proud of his “DT boys” for having done the job well, again!

J/88 Courageous sailing San Francisco BayThe new PHRF Sportboat division was full of surprises, as anticipated beforehand.  Local knowledge on two old Farr 36s played a hand in the outcome, that’s for certain.  Nevertheless, Gary Panariello’s J/88 COURAGEOUS was learning the ropes quickly on SF Bay, sailed steadily to start out with three 4ths in a row, won the 4th race, but then “tanked” the Bay Tour with a 5th place to drop from 2nd place into 3rd overall.  Still, a great performance for their first outing in a major regatta and with lessons learned the hard way on the Bay, will be looking to return with a vengeance.  Having a roller-coaster of a ride was Trig Liljestrand’s J/90 RAGTIME, firing off a 2-4 in the tally to ultimately secure 6th overall.  For more Rolex Big Boat Series sailing information

J/80 women skipper- sailing Silverrudder ChallengeSilverRudder Challenge Report
(Svendborg, Denmark)- The singlehanded sailing event, the Silverrudder Challenge of the Sea, started in 2012 and has gone from being a national Danish event with 15 entries to become an international event where 330 skippers from nine nationalities compete.

“The event is no longer only Danish. This year it has for real gone into international waters. I have just been to Croatia, where I attended another singlehanded sailing event and down there all know about Silverrudder Challenge. The same goes for Germany, where it has become talk of the town which is clearly reflected in this year's list of participants. Here the group of German participants is the greatest,” says the man behind the event BÃ¥dNyts editor Morten Brandt.

Silverrudder Challenge in numbers
The largest group is the German sailors, with 163 entries. Then comes the Danes, with 141 sailors. The next major group is the Swedish sailors who entered 15 teams.   The next biggest group, surprisingly, are the five skippers from Slovenia!

A detailed analysis of the entries shows that it primarily consist of recreational sailors, a pattern that highly comparable to the crowds that enjoy marathon running and Ironman triathlon.

Silverrudder Challenge course- Island of Funen off DenmarkAccording to BÃ¥dNyts’ Brandt, “From the beginning, my aim was to make a kind of extreme sport for skilled recreational sailors. An event in adventure-racing style, where the participants get close to their own boundaries, which was new in a Northern European context at that time. Participants leave their comfort zone to go into a zone where it's all about coping with the situation and the elements in the best possible way by demonstrating good seamanship. We also made the rules very simple and abolished the hypothetical measurement rules. The course has only two marks that have to be respected - the marks that constitute the starting and finishing line. This means that it has again become a challenge to navigate the boat safe and fast!”

The event even brought good-natured competition in the Keelboat Large-class; it featured a duel between two of Europe's dominant yards- X-Yachts and Dehler Yachts. During the European Yacht of the Year prize-giving party at the BOOT Dusseldorf boat show in January, the CEO of the German Dehler Yachts, Karl Dehler, made a direct challenge to the Danish yard X-Yachts, who accepted the duel a month later. Karl Dehler in his Dehler-38 will himself face Torsten Bastiansen from X-Yachts in his XP-38.  More on that outcome shortly.

The Silverrudder Challenge is a 134nm singlehanded race around the Danish island of Funen, it is really a navigational and tactical challenge since the channels are narrow and the wind is often shifty and full of massive holes.  BÃ¥dNyts magazine is the promotional partner and the local yacht club, Svendborg Amateur Sailing Club, provides the logistics and support.

According the J/111 BLUR skipper, Peter Gustafsson, “it's hard to pinpoint what it is that makes Silverrudder so attractive for all types of sailors.  At one end, we have the "factory drivers" (or lap owners) from Dehler, Dragonfly, Elvstrøm, Kolhoff, Seascape, X-yachts and many others. We have Olympic medalists. We have serious amateurs who typically perform well with a full crew. We have dedicated solo sailors in specially built Minis or open-boats.  At the other end, we have experienced sailors and ordinary sailors that have not raced in many years (but which may be cruising solo during the summer months).  The youngest participant was 19 years. The oldest was 81 yrs old.  In short, a spectrum that spans our whole sport.

Most importantly, the organizers have been careful to address all sailors.  Everyone can find their own challenge, whether it is pursuing, beating a teammate, or going home with a Silverrudder. Everyone has their own reasons to sail around Funen. Everyone can find their "fight to fight". And, all harbor enormous respect for each other, since it is an enormous accomplishment to just take your boat 134 nautical miles around Funen.”

Gustafsson goes on to say, “the objectives this year are more difficult, especially because of the weather forecast.  Last year it was easy. The goal was to get around in a good way. That my J/111 BLUR was the fastest monohull round was a bonus. Plus, it was completely unexpected and fun!

This year, if the wind blows more that forecast, there are some big trade-offs. Plus, I will be competing against bigger boats that will do well in a bigger breeze.  The biggest trade-off is to first, be safe, and second, to sail conservatively. I think it is possible to beat the course record of 19:20:27 that I set last year, we’ll see!  That would mean 7 kts average, which is not at all impossible.

I think I will try to sail the boat as close to 100% as it will go until it gets dark. Conservative choices and low risk are needed to keep all options open. Then, facing the longer “ocean” leg on the north/eastern side of Funen, an assessment on the status board and how it looks in fleet and determine how hard to push at the time.  In any event, it should fun as hell and a real challenge- as always!!”

It turns out that after 20 hours of sailing, Peter’s prediction was not that far off.  First, the record was broken by Andreas Rhode on Ratzfatz3, in the time of 19:02:16, just under 18 minutes faster than Peter’s 2015 time on his J/111 BLUR.  While Peter was hoping to repeat his performance from last year, winning both class and overall, the conditions were less favorable for that to happen.  However, a shift here and a shift there and Peter could not hold off his competition.  It’s a challenging race and the J/111 BLUR managed to finish 4th in the Keelboat Large Class, completing the circumnavigation in 20:05:08, about a 6.7 kts average.

Behind Peter, the J/109 JONA sailed by Jochen Rieker, took a total of 23:28:39 to finish 21st in class and overall (330 boats!).  Remember that duel taking place between the Dehler and X-Yachts yards?? Well, Karl Dehler sailed his Dehler 38 to 6th in class, 35 minutes behind Peter’s J/111.  And, both beat Andreas Wulfes sailing the XP-38 that took 13th overall, 2:21:00 further behind.

J/80 women sailor- Silverrudder ChallengeBadnytt editors talked with the youngest sailor in the race, the 18 yr old woman skipper- Helle Jespersen- who hoped to make it around on her borrowed J/80 One-design class sailboat.  Morten Brandt spoke to her shortly after she missed her attempt to participate in this years Silverrudder Challenge. It was a disappointed, but still cheerful Helle who came into the harbour.

According to Brandt, “While we where waiting for the crane to get her small J/80 boat out of the water, she explained what went wrong. It all started with a hectic morning, everything took a little longer than she had expected and she was stressed.”
Brandt: “Well, Helle, please tell us what happened?”
Helle: “I had a hectic start and I didn’t really have enough time to come up to the start in good time, I had a Code Zero sail hanging wrong and problems with the mainsail, but I still made it to the starting point. There were five boats at the northern tip of TÃ¥singe in Svendborgssund and the boat in front of me hit the sand bed, and a second later I did the same! Aaaggh!”
Brandt: “What did you think about at that point?”
Helle: “There where a lot of thoughts going through my head at that point, but I thought that I had to make sure I got the boat heeled, so I could get away from the sand bed, I was thinking that I simply would not give up, I just hadn’t seen it coming!”
Brandt: “How did you get your boat out?”
Helle: “I was lying there almost an hour before a motorboat came up to me and helped me, the only thing I was thinking there was that I had to get the boat back without any damage, because it’s a boat that I have borrowed, luckily there weren’t any critical damages.  It has been painful for my inner pride to give up because of such a stupid thing, but now I look forward to the next time I get the chance to participate! Meanwhile, I will come back for the party on Saturday. And, I am sending now good thoughts off to all my friends out on the water!!”

Brandt goes on to say, “This year’s Silverrudder went according to plan.  However, there was- unfortunately for some of the sailors- quite shallow water in the starting area.  So, many boats grounded close to the Circle harbour.

The wind was a challenge for most sailors, until they reached the Lillebælt, where it calmed down. Despite the relatively weak wind Saturday, there was no wind, like the two previous years.

For most sailors the wind has been good and we have had remarkably few accidents. Many others came off the seabed safely, all by themselves.

On behalf of BÃ¥dNyt, I whish to thank all participants, sponsors, partners, associates and friends of BÃ¥dNyt and Silverrudder Challenge of the Sea.

This year's event was a great success, and there was plenty of positive mood and energy Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the harbor, at sea and in the Meeting Point as the town of Svendborg had made available for the event.

The event is unparalleled and more die hard sailors from both Denmark and abroad dropped by to talk about their experiences and about Silverrudder Challenge as among the best if not the best sailing experience they have ever attended. We hope that the cooperation with Ole and Per Ingemann and all the other volunteers from Svendborg Amatørsejlklub will continue in 2016 so the event once again will set new standards for how a sailing event is held.  I hope to see you all back in 2016!  Fair winds, Morten Brandt.”   For more Silverrudder Challenge sailing information

J/80 sailing UK NationalsJESTER Crowned J/80 UK Champ
(Hamble, England)- The Royal Southern YC, proudly sitting on the incredibly busy, sailor-friendly, Hamble River, played host to the 2015 J/80 UK National Championship.  A nice turnout of fifteen boats participated and enjoyed every minute of the fabulous sailing conditions and the enormous social festivities that took place each night at the club.  Coinciding with the J/80 Nationals was the AVEVA September Regatta that also hosted the J/111 Nationals and the J/70 Fall Regatta.

After ten races over three days, Mike Lewis’ JESTER sailed the most amazing series, posting all top five finishes and, in fact tossing out a 5th place to win the regatta with just 21 pts net- just over a 2nd average!  Thundering along behind and shadowing them every step of the way was Yannig Loyer’s J-OUT-OF-THE-BOX from the host RSYC, nearly pulling off the regatta win save for two nasty surprises in the form of non-top-10 finishes in races 7 & 8.  Instead Loyer’s team held onto the silver in a thrilling tie-breaker situation with the third place finisher- Jon Powell’s BETTY from Warsash SC.

J/80s sailing spinnakers- UK NationalsDay One report
The first of three days competition for the J/80 UK Nationals was held in highly changeable conditions in the Eastern and Central Solent.  PRO Stuart Childerley and his team delivered four excellent race courses to the J/80 fleet. After two races, an angry sky manifested to the west bringing thunder and rain. Once the vicious squall had passed, the wind settled in the southwest for the third race and by the fourth and final race, a sea breeze kicked in to enhance the gradient wind to a good 15 knots.

The first race was held in a light northwesterly breeze and with a positive tide, the first start was a conservative one for most. However, Yannig Loyer's French team, racing J out of the Box, nailed the pin end and extended on the first beat to lead from start to finish. Terence O'Neil's Aqua J showed great pace downwind, finishing second with the J/80 Raymarine Championship leader, Jon Powell's Betty, in third. Race Two was won by Mike Lewis' Jester, with a great start at the committee boat end aiding their performance. Ray Apthorp's Jezebel from the West Mersea YC was second with Craig Niven's Isle of Wight based Jasmine in third.

After the first two races, the skies darkened over Southampton Water and the heavens opened up. Race Control informed the fleet that there would be a short postponement to let the new breeze settle. The second half of the day's racing was blessed with superb conditions; watery sunshine and a building southwesterly breeze.

J/80s sailing on Solent- UK NationalsYannig Loyer's J out of the Box continued to impress, winning the last two races to establish a four point lead for the championship. Mike Lewis' Jester finished the day in second place, having notched up a consistent 4-1-3-3. Jon Powell's Betty was second in Race 3 but a fifth in the last race of the day, pushed the team down to third after four races. Laurence Orchard's young team racing Boysterous finished the day's racing with a second, lifting the Royal Southern Academy Team to fifth, just a point behind Terence O'Neil's Aqua J.

"We are all from France but work in London,” commented Yannig Loyer, skipper of J out of the Box. "We moved the boat to the Royal Southern about two years ago, so we know the J/80 fleet well. The racing today was extremely well managed with great courses in very shifty conditions. I would say that the main reason for our success today was getting good starts and at the right end of the line."

"The team has only been together for a weekend, so we are chuffed to bits,” smiled Jester's mainsheet trimmer, Jeremy Troughton. "We had good speed today, both upwind and downwind, and the winning race today was about getting the start right and nailing the first shift. The courses are quite short, so it is very important to get away well on that first beat."

J/80 sailing UK Nationals- Solent courseDay Two report
On the second day of racing, three teams were coming to the fore. Yannig Loyer's French team racing J out of the Box, scored a win and a second today to retain the championship lead. However, Jon Powell's Betty and UK Class Captain, Mike Lewis racing Jester were tied for second place, just six points behind J out of the Box. The French team was off to Twickenham in the evening to watch France play Italy in the Rugby World Cup and hope to be fresh tomorrow to wrap up the championship.

Day Three report
As if it was pre-destined, Lewis’ JESTER walked off with the last two races, winning them and the regatta in the hotly contested 15-strong fleet. “It’s been an excellent few days with really good racing,” said Mike. “For us consistency paid off. J out of the Box were leading early in the regatta but were OCS on one race and had to go back, which was their discard, and then in the first race on Sunday they got buried at the pin and couldn’t recover which dropped them out of first place.”

Racing the J/80 since 2010, Mike is the class captain and is looking forward to 2017 when the Royal Southern is hosting the J/80 World Championships. He added: “We do a lot of racing here and we have twice won a Royal Southern series. I would like to move the home of the J/80 to the Club so we can incorporate the Academy boats while sailing out of here. There is just a really good atmosphere.”

In addition, Powell’s BETTY won the overall, season-long Raymarine Championship, a series of seven regattas over the season.   For more J/80 UK Nationals sailing information

J/111 McFly sailing UK NationalsMcFLY Zooms To J/111 UK Title
(Hamble, England)- Jumping into the fray and jumble of boats participating in the AVEVA September Regatta were a half-dozen J/111s competing for their 2015 UK National Championship.  After the two-day affair in rather sparkling weather conditions, it was Tony & Sally Mack’s McFLY that took home the title of J/111 National Champion for the 2015 season.  Behind them it was an absolute dust-up for the balance of the podium, indeed the top five positions overall.

There was quite the tussle among the ever-competitive J/111 fleet, with three different winners from three races on the Saturday.  In the first race, McFLY won, followed by Stu Sawyer’s BLACK DOG in 2nd and Chris Jones & Louise Makin’s’ JOURNEYMAKER II in 3rd.  The second race was Martin Dent’s JELVIS win followed by Sawyer’s second 2nd of the day and McFLY in 3rd.  For the third race, Jones & Makin’s JOURNEYMAKER II won the final race of the day, followed by Chris Body & Andrew Christie’s ICARUS in 2nd and McFLY collecting another third.  As a result, five of the teams had a podium finish in three races!  McFLY led with a 1-3-3 on 7 pts, followed by BLACK DOG in 2nd with a 2-2-5 for 9 pts and sitting tied on 3rd place at 10 pts each were JOURNEYMAKER II and ICARUS.

J/111 sailboats- sailing UK Nationals on SolentSunday would become the proving ground for this white-hot close racing.  However, overnight it was clear one boat got their “mojo” going and would not look back.  A pair of bullets on the Sunday – to add to a win in the first race – saw Tony Mack’s McFly take the J/111 UK National Championship title ahead of Martin Dent’s Jelvis and Chris Body and Andrew Christie’s Icarus.

“With three winners from the first three races all credit to the J/111 class, they are all terrific sailors,” said Tony. “Sunday saw more solid breeze and we found it a little easier – if you can make the windward mark first it’s a lot easier than having to battle your way through the fleet. We were delighted, but even if we had not done well what a brilliant weekend to go sailing. It was lovely.”

And he was full of praise for the race organization and the atmosphere within the Club itself: “The courses have been marvelous and really clear. Some places you think they are trying to catch you out, but here it’s been really clear over the radio about what was going on. It’s worked really well.” He added: “In business you get a feel, a smell, an atmosphere of success, and you can also go to businesses and you find the opposite feeling, but the club has that vibrant feel about it everywhere.”   For more J/111 UK Nationals sailing information

J/70 RAN sailing UK NationalsZennstrom’s RAN Wins J/70s @ AVEVA Regatta
(Hamble, England)- Over the course of the September 18th to 20th weekend, the Royal Southern YC hosted the AVEVA September Regatta for a host of classes, both IRC handicap as well as J/70 one-designs.  The fleets were split into the Black Group handicap racing teams and the White Group one-design class fleets.  Winning their first regatta in the J/70 class was Niklas Zennstrom’s J/70 RAN, sailing with his wife and friends.  Then, in the IRC 3 Class, the J/92 J’RONIMO sailed by David & Libby Greenhalgh sailed home with the silverware.

After the first day of racing for the Black Group start, Greenhalgh's J/92 had straight bullets and their friends Annie Kelly & Andy Howe on the J/97 BLACKJACK II had straight seconds!

Greenhalgh's J’RONIMO is crewed by friends from Hamble and nearly all girls. “My dear wife Judith is a volunteer on the Committee Boat, so she could keep a good eye on me,” laughed David. “The crew work was really good today and we started pretty well and didn't make too many mistakes. The crew complain that I only provision the boat with pork pies but it is the only food you can eat with one hand and not make a mess. Great racing today, thoroughly enjoyable, and we will be looking forward to much of the same tomorrow."

J/70s sailing UK Nationals- startOver in the White Group, it was Zennstrom racing RAN that led the J/70 Class having scored a 3-1-1 for the day.

“We could have got a second in the first race but we are very happy with our performance today,” commented Zennstrom, who was enjoying a celebratory drink with his wife Catherine and the racing crew in the Royal Southern Yacht Club. “The J/70 is very easy to race, we just launch the boat, pull up the sails and go racing. The class is very competitive and no one boat is dominating so it is a lot of fun. With a TP52 or MiniMaxi 72, things are much more complicated, racing the J/70 only requires four people and there is no time spent on working out sail development and modifications to the boat, so it really is a lot of fun, but at the same time very challenging!”

In the J/70 Class, Simon Cavey’s JUST4PLAY won the first race and finished the day in second place behind RAN. Ian Wilson's GILL RACE TEAM is in third place, but only a single point ahead of two yachts; Patrick Liardet's COSMIC and Team Juicy racing ESF Energy.

After racing hundreds of competitors and guests enjoyed the Royal Southern Pirate Party with a Caribbean BBQ and a welcome dark’n’stormy refreshment. For those with enough energy left after a great day's racing, Ed and Al provided live music into the early evening.

For the second day of sailing, the weather provided a spectacular conclusion to the AVEVA September Regatta!  It was simply perfect late season Solent racing.

And if the on-the-water action delivered, so did the onshore atmosphere in the club, described as ‘vibrant’ by a number of racing sailors!

For the Black Group Line racing on Sunday, it was Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’RONIMO that ended up tied on points but winning on countback from Annie Kelly and Andy Howe’s J/97 Black Jack II in IRC 3 division!

In IRC 1 Division, the J/122 JUNO sailed by Chris Daniel placed 5th, even after not sailing the first day.  In IRC 2 Class, the J/109 JIRAFFE sailed by Simon Perry took the bronze also after not sailing the first day!

J/70 sailing upwind- UK Nationals on solentFinally, over on the White Group start line, it was someone well versed in high-performance racing, but successfully choosing the J/70 class for the AVEVA September Regatta, that ended up winning overall-, was Niklas Zennstrom aboard RAN.

“What’s great with these small J/70s is that they are so easy to sail,” said Zennstrom. “You just launch the boat, hoist the sails and off you go, so compared to the TP52s and the Maxis it’s a very different thing – quite nice actually to just go out sailing from the Royal Southern.  It is our third regatta with the boat and I think we have now figured out how to sail them, so we had a pretty good weekend with a 3-1-1-1-2,” he added. “Downwind we have improved quite a lot, and also our boat handling and just our speed, just putting it all together really. The summer series here at the Southern has been really good, a great atmosphere with good race management, it’s been a great success!”

RAN finished ahead of Patrick Liardet’s COSMIC, who won the last race, and Simon Carvey’s merry crew of bandits aboard JUST4PLAY that finished third.  For more AVEVA September Regatta sailing information

J/24 Rossi Milev- Canadian NationalsMilev wins J/24 Canadians
(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)- It was one of the best turn-outs in years for the J/24 class in Canada.  Twenty teams competed at the J/24 Canadian Championship, held September 18-20 in Toronto, Ontario.  The regatta was hosted by Ashbridges Bay YC, known for its spacious clubhouse with bar and restaurant in the heart of Toronto’s Eastern Beaches community.

Rossi Milev’s COUGAR AIR dominated the 9-race event, posting all top three scores to win prior to the final race, in fact they did not sail the last race.  Taking 2nd place as well as the Women’s J/24 Canadian Championship was Katie Coleman Nicoll skippering QUICK NICK from Port Credit YC at the western end of the lake (same club that Milev is a member of).  To round off the podium, Nick Jako’s TAZ was third overall, one of the only other boats to grab two wins off the bullet-hunting COUGAR AIR team!  The balance of the top five included Ted Bartlewski’s DRIVERS WANTED in 4th and Kevin O’Brien’s FUGUE STATE in 5th position.   For more J/24 Canadian Nationals sailing information

J/109 winning offshore Irish ChampionshipIreland Offshore Report
(Dublin, Ireland)- The J/crews in Ireland continue to demonstrate their extraordinary resilience sailing the wild & wooly Irish Sea.  The 2015 season was yet another very successful one for the J clan simply messing around their boats off Dublin, points north and west!  Here’s a report we just received from Maurice O’Connell of North Sails Ireland about how the J/Navy is doing:

“The all-conquering IRC-optimized J/109 fleet in Ireland is showing no signs of releasing it's grip on cruiser-racing in Ireland.

Firstly, the 300 miles offshore classic in June - the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race - was won by Liam Shanahan's J/109 RUTH.  In fact, J/Boats took the top four places overall, triumphing against a super-competitive fleet that included Tony O'Leary's Ker 40 ANTIX.

J/109 sailing off IrelandAt the IRC Nationals in beautiful Kinsale on the southcoast in June, J/109's took 1st, 2nd and 4th in the super competitive IRC 1 division- led by John Maybury's JOKER II with quadruple Olympian Mark Mansfield aboard.

The J/109 Irish Championships were held during Volvo Dun Laoghaire Week. 12 boats contested the event under the one-design rules. JOKER II again triumphed after a last minute gate mark selection decision saw them take the title in the dying minutes of the last race from Pat Kelly's STORM II.

It was then out to the west coast in August for the annual WIORA inshore series, hosted by Galway Bay SC. Glenn Cahill's J/109 JOIE DE’VIVRE triumphed against the IRC 1 fleet in Galway Bay.

Irish J109 sailing offshore- Irish SeaThe annual ISORA offshore series finished in early September in Dublin. This is an offshore season-long series consisting of long day and overnight races across the Irish Sea. J/Boats filled the first five places overall under IRC. RUTH won the series for the second year running, successfully defending her title after a strong challenge from Andrew Hall's J/120 JACKKNIFE and Peter Dunlop's J/109 MOJITO. Liam races with his family and friends and their latest win was celebrated long into the night in the National Yacht club!

The J/24 here continues to attract a loyal championship and IRC following, with the Under-25 "kids" from Howth YC winning the title for the second year running!

The J/80's are continuing to have fabulously close IRC racing on Dublin Bay.

2016 sees a new J112E arriving on our shores and some more J/109’s!  Wow, they are multiplying like wild rabbits over here! Hopefully it will be the best season yet!  Cheers, Big Mo”

J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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J/70 family sailors in New York* Families Sailing J/70s Competitively!  According to Tim Finkle at RCR Yachts in New York, “We had a nice turnout at our signature one design event in Youngstown- the Can-Am Challenge.  With 17 boats, we had the largest fleet in the regatta.  There were many very good sailors in the fleet, but there were also a lot of family crews.  The winning boat was Thom and Anne Bowen, third place team was Morgan Paxhia with sisters Emily and Jordan.  Corbo and Donna Corbishley in 4th, The McKennas family, Tony and Patrick Byrne, The Weibels, and Winkelsteins, all with family crew.  We also had some boats travel to their first ever J/70 regatta, which was a fun learning experience for them and hopefully we were hospitable and they will come back.  We would like to continue this trait in future CanAms and we will do whatever we can to support the teams interested in attending, just let us know what we can do to help.”

Here is a quote from one of the competitors, Marty McKenna who sails his boat with his wife, his kids and brother, which is what the J/70 is all about: 

“For me it is an intense chess match played out on a changing board.  And the struggle to compete has been important to share with my family and to teach my children.  I have enough activities that pull me away from family, so when we bought the J/70 it was with the intent of sailing as a family.  Others have come to the same place - you will see multiple Weibel children on "Tigress" and three siblings on Paxhia's "Penny Pincher" just within the competitive J/70 class.  We have sailed both CanAm Challenges with just McKenna's on board.

A family team from Pittsburgh competing well against a strong class with many top pro’s is a great story.  We were thrilled to compete well Sunday in very light air winning the last two races.  For me it was interesting to see the journey my brother and I have taken in Youngstown, my wife sailing very well and my 12 year-old daughter that named the boat after her favorite My Little Pony flying spinnaker all weekend and having the opportunity to fly the purple spinnaker across the line to close out the regatta.  Many thanks to the YYC team and surrounding clubs for making this weekend a huge success...for a very long period of time.”

J/36 sailing off Plymouth, England* The J/36 JAZZ is at it again. Norm Curnow was completing their summer-long cruiser-racer series in Plymouth, England.  Here’s what he had to say:

“We were first in the Round Scilly Isles Race, over the water and on handicap!  Plus, we were simply steaming over to the islands, flying actually!

On the way home, we were gently outboard motoring JAZZ.  She has no smelly inboard sense 1982!  She has done more then 50,000 miles since with nothing more than an outboard motor!  She's sailed New York to Caribbean at least 3 times; up and down the Caribbean at least 5 times; gone to Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba; 5 trans-Atlantic’s; 5 Lands End, Bay of Biscay’s to the Mediterranean; at least 5 trans-Mediterranean’s, most of them far has the Greek island of Crete; lots of this was achieved single-handed, including  the trans-Atlantics.  Cheers, Stormin Norman!

Joe Woods sailing his J/70 RED- winning Dartmouth Regatta with straight 1sts!* Eight Bells: Joe Woods-  The Royal Torbay Yacht Club in Devon, England, is mourning the unexpected loss of one of its staunchest and most generous members. Joe Woods, who was also one of the club’s most successful international sailors, died after on Friday 18th September after a very brief illness.

Joe will be remembered by the international sailing community for his string of successful campaigns in his various boats called “RED”.  Most recently, Joe had been sailing a J/70 one-design for two years at Key West Race Week, Bacardi Sailing Week and Charleston Race Week during the winter time.  In the summers he sailed his J/70 in the UK and Europe. In this photo- he won Dartmouth Week with straight 1sts!

Joe started his sailing career in International Cadets back in the sixties at Royal Torbay Yacht Club, going on to be one of the great ambassadors for the club and the bay as a sailing venue. Successful in business, he was always happy to use his wealth to help and encourage local youngsters to achieve their goals.

His favourite regatta was Key West Race Week, which he has contested fourteen times since 1999, frequently finishing on the podium, and winning his class in 2012 and 2015. He was also a top competitor on the European circuit, and as usual keen to try something new, finishing third in the first J70 European championships.

The core of team “Red” was always Corinthian sailors from the Torbay area, though the list of top British Olympic sailors who joined him as tactician included Paul Goodison and Chris Draper. Draper, who is now with the Japanese SoftBank America’s Cup team said, “People like him are such an incredibly rare breed, so successful yet so very humble. He was such a lovely guy and awesome person to spend time and sail with.”

J/29 Wildkat sailing offshore* J/29 WILDKAT- the story of why she is for sale- by Harvey & Kathleen (a.k.a. “Kat”) Ford from St Petersburg YC in Florida.

“We are very excited about getting a J-112e (hull #7) via Craig Crossley who has been great to work with.   This was not an easy decision because we had loved our J/29 WILDKAT so much.  For starters, how did we end up with her in the first place so many moons ago?

Credits to Denny White of Annapolis for selling us the J/29 in 1999 (then a medium-blue boat named “Bravo”). I figured out that the masthead J/29 was the right size and draft for us and we basically got new sails (North Sails) and went sailing while rearing 2 small kids. We have wet sailed it the entire time and between kids soccer matches, we could be from our office to the slip and to the starting line in about 25 minutes year round.

We entered all of the local PHRF events winning the 2001 PHRF Boat of the Year, with 9 firsts in 14 offshore races over 9 months, and about 8 different NOOD Regattas. We had mixed results in the NOOD and did win our class in I think 2007 and were second in 2015. We won first overall in Suncoast Race Week in 2008 and have entered dozens of races since.

J/29 Wildkat sailing with spinnakerOur kids’ soccer careers continued through college, so the boat hobby was on the back burner. In 2013 we launched into a complete re-fit, that was finished in the fall of that year. As most J owners know, these boats are almost indestructible and the 29 particularly so. We smoked that boat though some bad / exciting conditions over the years, including one particularly steep wave in the Gulf that I failed to snake through and the masthead instruments (ST-60 and Windex) were launched into a different county. As expected, with 8 stout crew on the rail, a full main, a #3 jib and a balanced helm, in 28 knots of cold breeze, that 29 just shook its head and asked for another helping. The crew claimed they hated it, but I (shielded from most of the forward anarchy) will never forget that particular 20 miles of my life doing 7 ½ knots straight upwind. We had our way with our rival Semper Fi (Ray Mannix) that day, but he much more than evened the score over the years. We tied up at the dock, pumped out a few gallons of water and that was it. There were broken parts and hearts elsewhere all over the marina that day. But, not us!

J/29 teak and holly interiorOne of my best memories is of one of our awesome USF student sailors who was in charge of my nice Garmin GPS that day in high wind (~25 knots). He returned from the foredeck looking awful and told me that he thought the GPS had gone below with the jib they had just taken down. He was scared. We were bashing along in the Gulf about 5 miles off Fort DeSoto Beach and I hollered to forget it.  @#$34%& stuff happens. We borrowed another GPS for the next 2 days. On Monday, the Park Ranger at Fort DeSoto called my office to ask if I owned a GPS. Incredibly, they float!  Even more amazing was that it blew/drifted 5 miles and washed onto the beach, a tourist picked it up, it turned on, my name and number came up and they kindly gave it to the ParkRanger! That student was so happy to hear all this. I still use it- even 7 years later. Maybe not a J/Boat story, but part of the good J/Boat karma.

J/29 launchingHighlights of the refit were the dark blue Awlgrip hull, red Vivid bottom, white Awlgrip spars, two tone deck (gray/ white), 4 new Lewmar ST winches, new forward hatch, carbon pole, 4 new North Sails and a designer interior w new teak and holly floor (dubbed the “lounge” by our competition) courtesy of Kat. So, off we went sailing again. 2 years later we have decided (with our friends “the Misteles”) to buy a J-112e due here in February. The virtually new WILDKAT is now looking to be adopted and we will be very sad to say good-bye!”

Contact Stanton Murray @ Murray Yachts for more information on the J/29 WILDKAT- smurray@murrayyachtsales.com or ph# 504-283-2507
 

J/Cruisers
J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers.  Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.

* The J/40 HERON REACH sailed by Virginia and Jerry is participating in the Blue Planet Odyssey project and have recently joined them in the Marquesas Islands in the Eastern Pacific.  Learn more about their adventures and experiences here- http://heronreachodyssey.blogspot.com/
Giant whale breaching in front of J/160 SALACIA off  Australia's Whitsunday Islands* J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands.  Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination?  A giant whale!  Look at this amazing photo!

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.