J/24 East Coast Championship Preview(Eastport, MD)- The Severn Sailing Association will be hosting its annual J/24 East Coast Championship this coming weekend in Eastport, MD. Twenty-six teams are participating and the crews will be sailing on the choppy, current-laden waters of the northern Chesapeake Bay.
Several past World, North American, and East Coast Champions will be present, hoping to add yet another title to their trophy shelves. Those teams include Tony Parker’s BANGOR PACKET from Washington, DC; Al Constants’ BLITZ from New York, NY; Trevor Boyce’s NO SKIRT REQUIRED from Hamilton, Bermuda; Erica Beck Spencer’s SEA BAGS WOMEN’S SAILING TEAM from Portland, ME; Mark Hillman’s crew from Bethesda, MD; Travis Odenbach’s HONEYBADGER from Rochester, NY; and Mike Marshall’s BOGUS from Jamestown, RI. For more J/24 East Coast Championship sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
In the European world, it was a busy week of sailing league finales in France, Switzerland, and Germany. On Lago Maggiore, the Tenero YC hosted twenty-one youth teams at Tenero, Switzerland. Then, the French J/80 Sailing League Finale took place at La Rochelle, France, hosted by Société des Régates Rochelaises for eighteen teams. Finally, the German J/70 Sailing League Champions were determined in a finale at Hamburg, Germany and sailed on the famously gorgeous Alster Lake; the regatta was hosted by the Hamburg SC for the eighteen teams. While the sailing league teams were spinning around 2nm courses in 15 minutes, the largest offshore event of the year in the Mediterranean took place- the Royal Malta YC hosted their 50th Anniversary 606nm Rolex Middle Sea Race. As usual, the fleet of fifty-five boats was presented with drifting calms and 40 kt squalls.Over in America, two events took place on the east coast, the Annapolis Fall Regatta hosted by the Storm Trysail Club and the J/70 Fall Brawl hosted by Eastport YC for the fleet of 18 boats. Then, out west the San Diego YC hosted another entertaining edition of International Masters Regatta, sailed in San Diego’s South Bay for a fleet of a dozen masters from America and Canada.
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:
Oct 26-28- J/24 East Coast Championship- Annapolis, MDOct 26-28- J/105 Lipton Cup Regatta- San Diego, CA
Oct 27-28- Swiss J/70 Women’s Cup- Tenero, Switzerland
Oct 27-28- J/105 Chesapeake Bay Championship- Annapolis, MD
Oct 27-28- The Great Pumpkin Regatta- Richmond, CA
Nov 1-4- French J/80 National Championship- Pornic, France
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Stormy, Gear-buster Rolex Middle Sea Race(Gzira, Malta)- The 50th Anniversary Rolex Middle Sea Race will go down in history as yet another stormy, challenging race. While not nearly as strong as last year’s mistral that clobbered the fleet with up to 45 kt winds and enormous 10-15 ft seas, this year’s 606nm blast around Sicily and the islands was no picnic. The fifty-five boat fleet started off Malta last Saturday and most of the fleet was finished in five days.
Countries represented in the 2018 Rolex Middle Sea Race included Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States. Amongst the fleet of nine J/Teams, eight countries were represented!
The J/109 Jarhead Young Sailors Malta rounded Favignana on the fourth day of the race, with 250 miles to go, the crew of teenagers backed by the Jarhead Young Sailors Foundation- a Maltese non-profit organization with the principal purpose of educating youth in the sport of sailing- was making the most of their testing experience. “Happy to be round Favignana.... And heading for home!” blogged Jarhead. “It has been a tough 36 hours, but the young guys are doing well and in high spirits, now we are blast reaching south!”
Yves Grosjean’s J/133 JIVARO called in while passing the island, 185 miles from the finish: “We are tired, but our spirit is good. Every year we do this race, it is never the same. We love coming back because it is a well-organized, magnificent race, with a beautiful course, which is always mysterious.”Then, George David on the Maxi RAMBLER 88 reports, “this was a challenging race. There were a couple of notable points including a big squall north-west of Trapani, about 40 knots for us, and a bunch of park ups when we were ahead of everybody. The summary for the race is zero knots to 40 knots and winds from east, west and north, but no south! South was the one direction we didn’t see on the compass rose this time!”
In the ORC 4 Division, Yves Grosjean’s J/133 JIVARO finished 4th on handicap scoring, followed by Matt Stokes’ Canadian team on the J/133 BLUE JAY III in 6th position, and then Andrew Hall’s British team on the J/121 JACKHAMMER took 7th.
In the ORC 5 Division, Nicolas Ibanez Scott’s J/122E ANITA took 3rd on the podium, followed by Cascino Giuseppe’s Italian team on the J/122 JOY RC YACHTING in 5th place. In the IRC 5 division, Ibanez-Scott’s J/122E ANITA took 5th place, while Grosjean’s J/133 JIVARO placed 7th.
Then, in the IRC Doublehanded Division, the J/109 2HARD took the silver, sailed by the Austrian pair of Hartl & Wolf. For more Rolex Middle Sea Race sailing information
Perry Crowned 2018 J/105 Masters Champion(San Diego, CA)- A dozen international masters skippers from America and Canada assembled on the green lawn between San Diego YC and the Malin Burnham Sailing Center to pick up their spinnakers and get their boat rotation sheets for the first day of racing on the fleet of matched, one-design J/105s. The sailors were looking forward to three gorgeous days of sailing on San Diego’s South Bay- an oasis of perfectly flat water ringed by a barrier island on one side and miles of US Navy dock yards on the other. The weather forecasts held true to form in classic S.D. fashion, “marine layer/ fog” in the mornings, clearing by midday, with sea breezes building in from the southwest and varying from 6 to 13 kts. In the end, Dave Perry from Pequot YC won the day with a crew “borrowed” from Dennis Case’s old J/105 WINGS championship team in San Diego. Here is how it all went down to determine the 2018 International Masters Champion.
Day OneLight winds in the morning resulted in a 30-minute postponement, but the wind peaked at 12 knots by midday with temperatures in the low 80s. Cloudless skies and flat water made for ideal racing on the windward leeward course on beautiful south San Diego Bay.
Dave Perry and Tad Lacey, both International Masters Regatta veterans, held their position in the front of the fleet and finished with a tie of 12 points. However, Perry’s win in Race Three was a crucial element to his standing, moving him into first place and putting Lacey in second. Holding the third place position was John Andron, winner of Race Two.
Perry explained how he feels about coming in first on Day One. “It’s fun to be racing with really good people, not only my crew, but the other competitors on the course. Everyone on the boat knows the game and is always doing their job.”
SDYC Member John Reiter sailed onboard with Perry today. “Several of us have sailed together in this regatta on these boats five times. This year we put back together the old band, added Alex Camet, who sailed with us last year, and got together a great crew. Dave does not have to worry at all about what’s happening on the boat. It’s easy for him to just relax and sail.”
“There was more current than everyone thought. The boats that went out of the current were always gaining from the left. We remembered that eventually and did well. We had no real mistakes today,” he continued.
Newcomer Julian Bingham from Mobile, AL made an impressive comeback today winning Race Four after finishing towards the bottom of the fleet for the first three races. “The competition is extremely tough here and it really makes for nice sailing. We seemed to get going reasonably well at times, but the racing was so close, the mark roundings were difficult to manage and we lost a few boats… It takes a little while to get a feel for the boat, the guys were trimming a little better and everything started to go well for us in Race Four. Hopefully one time wasn’t luck!”
Day TwoThere’s an old adage in sailing: If you’re not over early every once in a while, you’re not pushing hard enough. Day Two was full of action, particularly at the start line. A handful of boats jumped the gun and were penalized with OCSs. At this point in the regatta, the Masters are looking to put points on their competitors by getting a good start and an early lead. But, this strategy took a toll on second place sailor, Tad Lacey.
Conditions for Day Two were variable compared to Day One. The races started on a course axis of about 250 degrees. The wind steadily backed 50 degrees to the left throughout the day with numerous mark changes. The Race Committee adjusted the weather mark three times before the start of Series Race Eight. By the end of the day, the breeze faded from a peak of 9 knots to an average of about 6 knots for the final race.
Dave Perry and his crew sailed competitive races, coming in first during Series Race Six and second in Series Race Eight. Perry continued to hold his first place standing at the end of Day Two with 26 points. Tad Lacey was in second with 38 points and Andy Roy was in third place with 44 points.
Watching from the sidelines was San Diego Race Director Jeff Johnson. “It’s really important at this point in a three day regatta to make moves on your competitors. With Perry and Lacey tied for first at the finish of yesterday, Lacey needed to gain points on Perry. The best way for him to have done that would be to get a good start and dominate the first leg. Unfortunately for Lacey, he pulled the trigger too early 50% of the time today. It’s really hard to come back from that.”
Another standout in the results was a three-way tie for third between Andy Roy, Bill Menninger and Jon Andron, all finishing the day with 44 points. Roy won the tie breaker by taking second place in Series Race Seven.
Bill Menninger, winner of the 2016 International Masters Regatta, explained how he was going to get pull ahead of the tie on Sunday. “The competition is getting stiffer every year… We’re going for all firsts tomorrow and with that we might have a chance to win. Our only strategy is to sail fast!”
After the races, the sailors enjoyed the famous SDYC Banquet on Saturday evening. Race Chair Alli Bell talked about the traditions of the Banquet, “every year at the Banquet we hold a roast between all of the Masters. All of these competitors have known each other for so long. It’s fun for them to come and reminisce about old times in a way that sometimes is a little teasing. Plus, you learn a lot about them that you didn’t know before!”
Day ThreeThe breeze for Day Three started off similar to Days One and Two with light winds from the south. The morning’s foggy skies burnt off just in time for the regatta, but made for some unique photo opportunities on the way out to the course. The wind picked up and peaked at 9 knots midday, again making for ideal racing conditions on South Bay.
Two new sailors to the International Masters Regatta also proved themselves with smart, intense sailing this weekend. Andy Roy, coming from Royal Canadian Yacht Club, started off Day One in fourth place and moved one step up the ladder each day, finishing in second place and earning his spot on the podium. California Yacht Club’s Bill Peterson saw a similar climb finishing in third place by the end of the regatta. Both sailors were new to the J/105.
Roy returned to the docks after the races thrilled with his position. “We’re really blown away. I’ve never been in a J/105 until the regatta. I owe this success to the crew, these guys are really good and they made it all happen. It was a bit of a learning curve for me. I learned a lot the first day about handling the boat and picked it up the second day. If I get invited again, I’ll absolutely be back.”
The real win here at the 2018 International Masters Regatta was watching old friends sail and race against each other in friendly competition. In a SDYC Sailcast episode with Dave Perry a few weeks prior to the Masters, he touched on the event. “It’s all about people who have played the sport intensely in their youth. We all have families and businesses now, and this Masters event helps us all come back together. It’s like we’re all twenty again. We go out there, bash heads and sail hard. We’re all kids again, but we have a lot more stories to tell.”
After the final race, all twelve J/105s motor-sailed back to the Club to clean up before the Awards Ceremony where Commodore Dorgan presented the trophy. “The regatta was fantastic. It’s an honor to have twelve incredible sailors join us for this prestigious event at the San Diego Yacht Club. The volunteers around the Club made for a seamless weekend and the shore side crew did a fantastic job equalizing all the J/105s. Thank you to the owners of the Tug Tussler and the Dock Crew who managed the floating dock allowing for quick, easy rotations in between races.”
Five-time U.S. Match Racing Champion Dave Perry started the regatta off strong and in the lead on Day One. Then, on Day Two, Perry never let the momentum die. Numerous sailors jumped the gun and were forced to restart while Perry’s seasoned skillset and stacked San Diego crew got off the line clean and kept Perry at the top of the score sheet.
When asked about the most important aspect of his win, Perry responded, “The day I put together my crew.” Perry had several local SDYC members return from last year and added previous friends he has sailed with in the past. “When they all said yes was the best day of the regatta,” he continued.Perry came to the San Diego Yacht Club this weekend from Connecticut where he sails at Pequot Yacht Club. He is known all around the country as an expert on the racing rules of sailing and as a Match Racing guru. Perry is a member of the Sailing World Hall of Fame and has dedicated much of his career volunteering with US Sailing, currently serving on its Board of Directors. He is a true ambassador for the sport of sailing.
“I’m at the [San Diego Yacht] Club a lot, but I’m usually here to teach, not to race. Similar to match racing, there were so many situations just one-on-one in this regatta, like coming into the start and coming into the windward mark. If you teach something, you’re always thinking about it. I have a good visual image of the race course,” Perry explained.
Race Chair Alli Bell worked behind the scenes all weekend to put together an outstanding weekend for the visiting Masters and thought the entire weekend was phenomenal. “It’s pretty cool to see a home town crew win. Dave came pretty close last year and had an unfortunate breakdown in one of the races, taking him out of the top three. I think this is some really good vindication for him and I’m really happy to see someone who’s a big contributor to the sport of sailing do so well this weekend.” Interview with Dave Perry Sailing video highlights of Race 11 Follow the J/105 Masters Regatta on Facebook here For more J/105 International Masters Regatta sailing information
J/122 Dominates Annapolis Fall Regatta(Annapolis, MD)- The Annapolis Fall Regatta has developed into a Chesapeake Bay tradition since the Storm Trysail Club- Chesapeake Station founded the regatta in 2002.
Longtime Storm Trysail Club member Dick Neville served as principal race officer. The Annapolis resident is widely recognized as one of the best in the business, having served as on-water chairman for Block Island Race Week and Key West Race Week among many major regattas.
Neville sent the fleet on a nice tour of the Chesapeake Bay during the Friday distance race, which will be divided into two parts. The distance race started off Greenbury Point, with a scoring gate at the mid-point, providing competitors with an opportunity to recover from a poor start or bad leg to still earn a placement. “Effectively, it was two races, a fun formula for the sailors,” Neville said.
Then, Neville managed to run three more races (for five total) off Thomas Point Lighthouse to complete the regatta. In the end, it was Robin Team’s famous J/122 TEAMWORK that virtually ran the table on the fleet, scoring a 1-1.5-2-1-1 for just 6.5 pts in the five races to win the ORC Division; no one else was even close.
Robin Team has fond memories of the annual regatta organized by the Storm Trysail Club and held each October. The North Carolina skipper entered the 2008 edition and placed second in class, making the maiden competition for his J/122 a rousing success.
“I will always remember that regatta because it started the current TEAMWORK career 10 years ago,” said Team, a resident of Lexington, N.C. “The boat was commissioned there in Annapolis and we entered that regatta to get a feel for how she sails.”
TEAMWORK has made a name for itself up and down the East Coast in the decade since, capturing the prestigious Palmetto Cup as overall winner of Charleston Race Week four times and securing class championships at Key West Race Week four times. Most recently, TEAMWORK topped its class at Block Island Race Week in 2017.
Team came back to the Chesapeake Bay for the first time since making his debut, hoping to add the Annapolis Fall Regatta to his long list of accomplishments- they succeeded in spades.
“We love Annapolis and racing on the Chesapeake Bay is pretty good during that time of the year,” Team said.
TEAMWORK is a family-based program with Robin sailing alongside his brother Adam and sons Alston and Coleman. Bill Fuqua, who has been best friends with Robin Team since they met at Camp Seagull as youngsters, might as well be family.
Truth be told, three Annapolis-area sailors are also adopted Team family members after racing aboard Teamwork for almost 15 years, dating back to when Robin owned a J/120 that earned PHRF Boat of the Week honors at Key West.
North Sails- Chesapeake professional Jonathan Bartlett is the long-time tactician aboard TEAMWORK while Kevin Ryman is the mainsail trimmer and Jeff Reidle the headsail trimmer.
“Jonathan, Kevin and Jeff have been integral parts of our program and we would love to come up there and win that regatta in their hometown,” Team said.
Jabin's once again served as home base with Storm Trysail Club- Chesapeake Station serving drinks and appetizers in the gazebo following Saturday’s action. For more Storm Trysail Annapolis Fall Regatta sailing information
NRV Crowned German J/70 Sailing League Champions(Hamburg, Germany)- The Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) from Hamburg were crowned as Champions for the 2018 German J/70 Sailing League for the fourth time! After their title wins in 2013, 2014 and 2017, the Hamburg team kept their nerves in front of the home crowd, defend their championship title and collecting the fourth star for their jersey.
"The event here in Hamburg, as well as the whole season, was nerve-racking and every time a tough fight. Everything can happen and, therefore, it was exciting to the last second. But, that's what's special about the league. In the end, it went perfectly for us and we are super happy and satisfied," explains Tobias Schadewaldt (helmsman). His NRV teammates included Johann Kohlhoff, Klaas Höpcke and Malte Päsler.
The NRV team record was Friedrichshafen (1st), Tutzing (8th), Travemunde (1st), Berlin (1st), Kiel (5th) and Hamburg (1st) for a total of just 17 pts in those six events. Another 8 pts back, taking the silver on the podium was Bayerischer YC with 25 pts total and the bronze went to Wurttembergischer YC with 34 pts. The balance of the top five included Wassersport-Verein Hemeligen in fourth with 34 pts and Verein Seglerhaus am Wansee in fifth with 40 pts.SAILING Champions League
In addition, the final regatta in 2018 was also about qualifying for the SAILING Champions League. The four best clubs get hold of a starting place in the SAILING Champion League Semifinals for the 2019: Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, Bayerischer YC, Wurttembergischer YC, and Verein Seglerhaus am Wansee.
A big thank you to KRAFTWERK, Audi, SAP, Gazprom, Nord Stream, Marinepool, BAY, Dusseldorf, FSE Robline, Budweiser Budvar, North Sails and Mittelmann's shipyard. The sixth season of the German Sailing Bundesliga would not have been possible without the support of these strong partners. For more German J/70 Sailing League information
CVSAE Win French J/80 Sailing League Finale(La Rochelle, France)- Three and a half months after the first stage in Brest, the eighteen sailing clubs gathered in La Rochelle for the 3rd edition of the French National Sailing League, sailing in a fleet of matched J/80 one-design class sailboats. Host for the regatta was the Société des Régates Rochelaises.
After the Brest regatta, it was the APCC Voile Sportive Team from Nantes that was leading, just ahead of the Normans of the CV Saint Aubin Elbeuf (CVSAE). The teams were recruiting top talent to help them improve their performance, including such French sailing superstars like Kévin Péponnet (470 World Champion), Maxime Mesnil (3rd in the European Open Match-Racing Championship), and Pauline Courtois (World No. 1 in Women’s Match-Racing)!
Day 1- FridayRacing started as scheduled at 12:30pm sharp in ideal conditions, with an East/ Northeast breeze of 10-15 knots and great sun.
The racing took place at the foot of the Dike du Nouveau Monde Port des Minimes of La Rochelle. The Normans of CV Saint-Aubin Elbeuf (led by Cédric Chateau and Pauline Courtois) took the best start, with 3 victories in 4 contests. But, the Nantais of the APCC Voile Sportive and the Parisians of the CV Saint-Quentin were close behind in a formidable battle for the podium.
Day 2- SaturdayAs yesterday, the weather conditions were perfect, with a 15- 20 knots blowing from the northeast. The leaders from the first day- APCC Nantes, CVSAE and CVSQ took control of the day.
The Nantais of the APCC sailed well in the morning, by winning this first big meeting against the CVSQ and the CVSAE. But, the Normans, led by Cédric Chateau had the answer, with 4 more victories in 5 races thereafter. It was a performance that propelled them to the top of the standings on equal points with, amazingly enough, the APCC! At home, with their Olympic duo of Mathilde de Kérangat & Kévin Péponnet, the crew of the Société des Régats Rochelaises was very consistent throughout the day, and they just behind the APCC and the CVSAE after the day’s racing.
Day 3- SundayAfter six more races were sailed for each team on Sunday, it was clear the trio leading the regatta were not going to let up in their battle against each other. Each of the teams continued to score top three tallies, with CVSAE closing out the series with two bullets to wrap up their win in La Rochelle as well as for the overall series win on a tie-breaker over APCC Voile Sportive Nantes. Sailing well to take third was SR Rochelaises in La Rochelle, but ended up in 4th for the overall title. CV Saint Quentin finished 4th in the regatta and, thus, took 3rd in the overall series.
Day 1 highlights- https://www.facebook.com/lnvoile/videos/275177796442653/
Day 2 highlights- https://www.facebook.com/lnvoile/videos/905486076318626/
Day 3 highlights- https://www.facebook.com/lnvoile/videos/194644768094550/
French Sailing League- Q&A interview of top teams (in French) For more French J/80 Sailing League information
YC Bielersee Tops Swiss Youth J/70 League(Tenero, Switzerland)- Twenty-one Swiss sailing clubs sailed their first ever Swiss Sailing League Youth Cup on Lago Maggiore. The host was the Locarno Yacht Club together with the Tenero National Youth Sport Center (CST). The teams sailed with a crew of five teenagers on the matched fleet of J/70 one-design sailboats.
In dreamlike conditions, the Swiss Sailing League Youth Cup was launched on Lake Maggiore. With southerly winds of 8-12 kts, the fleet enjoyed nine races on the first day racing. After the first day of the
regatta, the Bielersee YC was leading the fleet by just one point ahead of the Regattaclub Oberhofen, 3rd place was the Zurich Sailing Club.In excellent wind conditions, the fleet had a great set of races on the last day of the competition. With five victories and a second place, the YC Bielersee won the regatta; their team included Damian Suri, Alissia Mueller, Chantal Suri, Léo Chassot and Florian Geissbühler. Taking second was the Zurich YC team led by skipper Lukas Looser and third place went to Regattaclub Oberhofen with helmsman Nick Zeltner. For more Swiss J/70 Sailing League information
JOINT CUSTODY Dominates J/70 Fall Brawl(Annapolis, MD)- The Eastport YC hosted the annual J/70 Fall Brawl for a fleet of eighteen boats on the Chesapeake Bay. The fleet was treated to a total of five races in nice sailing conditions.
Winning the regatta with four deuces and a bullet was Ray Wulff’s crew on JOINT CUSTODY for a total of 9 pts. Taking second was Henry Filter’s team on WILD CHILD with a 6-5-3-3-3 for 20 pts. Third was Dan Goldberg’s BAZINGA with a tally of 3-6-4-7-7 for 27 pts. Rounding out the top five were Peter Firey’s PHOENIX in 4th and Peter Bowe’s TEA DANCE SNAKE in 5th place. For more J/70 Fall Brawl sailing information
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