Showing posts with label j27. Show all posts
Showing posts with label j27. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

J/Newsletter- November 23rd, 2016

J/121 offshore speedster- hull plug at SymmetrixJ/121 Project Update #3
(Newport, RI)- The J/121 hull plug is taking shape at Symmetrix Composite Tooling in Bristol, RI as the Poseidon 5-Axis milling machine performs its first “pass” this week.

Next week the foam hull form, supported by its steel backbone frame, will be reinforced with glass/epoxy before a thick epoxy milling paste is applied over the hull surface. Once the milling paste is cured, the Poseidon will perform a second and final precision machining operation to take the hull to its final surface. This is followed by a multi-stage sanding process to achieve 800 grit finish and a final buffing to a mirror shine. Just in time for the Happy Holidays! One big 40 ft present from Santa for passionate, offshore J/sailors!  You can watch this fascinating process here on J/Boats YouTube page.
For more J/121 Offshore speedster sailing information

J/70s at Sailing Champions LeagueSAILING Champion Leagues 2017 Program
(Hamburg, Germany)- All thirteen National Sailing Leagues have finished racing for 2016 and planning for next season is in full swing. Three events have been scheduled for the SAILING Champions League 2017. The provisional dates are as follows:
  • Act 1: 4 – 6 August or 11 – 13 August, St. Petersburg Yacht Club, St. Petersburg, Russia
  • Act 2: 1 – 3 September, Segel-Club St. Moritz, St. Moritz, Switzerland
  • Final: 22 – 24 September, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Porto Cervo, Italy
Due to the high demand for places in the SAILING Champions League, the International Sailing League Association (ISLA) has decided on a modified qualification mode for the 2017 season. Sixty-four clubs will have the chance to qualify for the Grand Finale in Porto Cervo, Italy in September– only the hosting club and the reigning SCL champion will automatically qualify for the SCL final.

J/70 Sailing Champions League scheduleOver 300 clubs are now competing in the thirteen National Sailing Leagues that have been established all over Europe since 2013.  Here is how the SCL championship breaks down for next year:
  • 52 clubs, being the top 4 clubs from each 2016 national league, qualify for the SAILING Champions League 2017. These clubs will be assigned by lottery: 26 (2 from each nation) to each Act.
  • 32 clubs will compete in each Act.
  • 1 place at each Act is given to the hosting club (St. Petersburg Yacht Club in Russia and Segel-Club St. Moritz in Switzerland).
  • 5 places at each Act are wild card spots that will be awarded to clubs from nations that are currently founding their National Sailing League, plus additional states (e.g. Malta and Monaco).
The finale in Porto Cervo will be for 32 teams: the top 15 clubs from each Act, plus a team from the host club (Yacht Club Costa Smeralda), and the current SCL champion (Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club from Germany).  For more SAILING Champions League sailing information

J/122 Jackpot sailing off AustraliaJ/122 Sailing Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race
(Sydney, Australia)- In less than 39 days, ninety-seven boats from Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK, Sweden, Germany, China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Korea will be lining up in Sydney Harbour for the 2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.  The YouTube video sailing preview can be found here.

One of the competing yachts is the J/122 JACKPOT, skippered by Adrian van Bellen. Their team has been practicing a lot as a work-up to what is famous for being one of the world’s toughest yacht races anywhere. For the past 71 years, the Rolex Sydney Hobart has become an icon of Australia's summer sport, ranking in public interest with such national events as the Melbourne Cup horse race, the Australian Open tennis and the cricket tests between Australia and England. No regular annual yachting event in the world attracts such huge media coverage than does the start on Sydney Harbour.

The weather can be benign or treacherous.  In most cases, it is the later.  Like the two current round-the-world record attempts with 130 ft trimarans (one a singlehander, one a fully-crewed team) and the leading boats in the Vendee Globe Race, experienced sailors are well-aware of how quickly forecasts can change in the southern latitudes, particularly in the infamous Bass Straits, the relatively shallow body of water between the southeastern tip of Australia and the northernmost point of Tasmania.  It’s where the southerly flowing Australian current rolling at 2 to 4 kts often meets strong west to southwest winds in the 15-25 kts range, sometimes in the 40-60 kts range!  To say the least, seas can be steep and nasty with the wind on the nose!  A winning combination for a fast, well-sailed J/122, like van Bellen’s experienced crew on JACKPOT.  More news around Christmas-time!  For more Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race sailing information

J/World Sailing SchoolNew J/World Training Programs for 2017
(Annapolis, CA)- The J/World team has created some exciting new programming for 2017.  It all starts this winter with coaches on both coasts heading south for racing and cruising training in Florida, San Diego and Puerto Vallarta. Most of the programs dovetail with prominent race weeks or cruising rallies, giving students the unique opportunity to learn new skills and immediately apply them.  Learn more about their respective training programs here:
J/World New Boat Training Option!
Now available for any new J/Boats orders is a “J/World training option” for new J/Owners!  J/World will custom-tailor a training/orientation program for a new owner aboard their new boat!  The coaching fee is $600/day (not including travel and housing). The program can range from a thorough boat orientation of onboard systems and basic docking/sail handling skills to a full-on race-prep training session for the whole team.   For more J/World boat owner training program ideas

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

The final week of November was full of action around the blue planet Earth- east, west and Down Under in the Americas and Australia.  For starters, a J/111 sailed the Lipton Cup off Melbourne, Australia while off to their east in South America, the J/24s in Chile were sailing their National Championship in Talcahuano, a town near Concepcion on the west coast of Chile that was infamous for being the epicenter of the massive earthquake/ tsunami in 2010.

Up north in the Americas, several events took place east and west.  On the Pacific, the San Diego YC hosted their second Hot Rum Series “pursuit race” off Point Loma, in San Diego, CA.  Simultaneously, San Diego YC hosted the College Sailing National Match Race Championships for ten teams in their matched fleet of one-design J/22s.  Then, out east the ISSA (Interscholastic Sailing Association) National Keelboat Invitational Championship was held at St. Petersburg Yacht Club, in St Petersburg, FL with sailing taking place on Tampa Bay in a matched fleet of one-design J/70s.  Meanwhile, the J/22’s held their annual Turkey Bowl at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, MD.

Off to the east in the middle of the Atlantic, Royal Bermuda YC on the Great Sound of Bermuda hosted the J/105 Bacardi Keelboat Invitational.

Over in Europe, the Hamble Winter Series, hosted by Hamble River Sailing Club on the Hamble River, sailed their sixth weekend on the Solent and the Southampton Water for a one-design fleet of J/88s and IRC classes for J/92s, J/97s, J/109s, J/111s, and J/122s. On the Continent, the Italian J/24 Winter Series continued with events taking place in Taranto, Anzio & Nettuno near Rome, and Portoferraio.

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:

Dec 3- Hot Rum Race III- San Diego, CA
Dec 3-4- J/22 Jammin’ Jamaica Regatta- Montego Bay, Jamaica
Dec 10-11- Quantum J/70 Winter Series I- Tampa, FL
Jan 7-8- Quantum J/70 Winter Series II- Tampa, FL
Jan 15-23- Quantum Key West Regatta- Key West, FL
Feb 4-5- Quantum J/70 Winter Series- Tampa, FL
Feb 10-12- J/24 Midwinters- Indian Harbour Beach, FL
Feb 17-19- St Petersburg NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg, FL
Feb 23-26- J/70 Midwinters- St Petersburg, FL
Mar 9-11- Bacardi Miami Sailing Week- Coconut Grove, FL
Mar 17-19- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego, CA
April 20-23- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
May 5-7- Annapolis NOOD Regatta- Annapolis, MD

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

J/111 Joust sailing Lipton CupJ/111 JOUST Wins Lipton Cup Australia
(Melbourne, Australia)- Despite earlier results, indicating that the winner of the Lipton Cup Trophy was another boat, a scoring review was taken on Monday morning following the announcement of the results on Sunday. It was determined that there was an anomaly in placings - this was then rectified, subsequently changing the overall results.

As a result of the review, the finish time of the J/122 JAKE was altered for race 1, and there was a net effect on the fleet results. As a result, Dr Rod Warren's J/111 JOUST wins the Lipton Cup Regatta off Melbourne, Australia!  Congratulations on the great sailing to the JOUST team!

The 2016 Lipton Cup Regatta came to an end after a weekend of gorgeous, beautiful blue skies and light winds.  Needless to say, the racing was very close.

Official Lipton Cup photographer- Bernie Kaaks- was hard at work over the course of the regatta. The images are  available for viewing and purchase through Bernie's Flickr page.  If you'd like a copy of any photographs, please contact Bernie by email (berniekaaks@bigpond.com), quoting the name and details of the photo you'd like to order or go to the website.  For more Lipton Cup sailing information

J/70s sailing high school nationals- ISSASea Kings Win High School Nationals
(St Petersburg, FL)- The inaugural ISSA (Interscholastic Sailing Association) National Keelboat Invitational Championship was held November 19 - 20 at St. Petersburg Yacht Club in St Petersburg, FL with sailing taking place on Tampa Bay. Ten high school teams from across the country competed in a new fleet of matched J/70 one-designs for the Mendelblatt Trophy. Conditions ranged from 10–18 knots over the weekend and the fleet was able to enjoy a full rotation for ten races in total.  In the end, the two teams from Newport Beach, CA dominated the regatta.  Winning was the Corona Del Mar High School “Sea Kings” with the team of Robert Garrett, Max Mayol, David Wood and Cameron Wood; second was taken by their cross-town rivals, the Newport Harbor “Sailors”.

The regatta started out fast for the Sea Kings, winning the first race and closing out their first four races with two more bullets for a clear lead in the overall standings.  Behind them, it was a pretty radical games of “chutes & ladders” for the top five, with the “Sailors” posting a 3-4-5-4, the Falmouth Maine High School “Yachtsmen” a 5-BFD-3-5, the Archbishop Spalding High School “Cavaliers” a 4-1-4-8, the Annapolis High School “Panthers” an 8-3-8-3 and the Severn High School “Admirals” a 2-9-2-6.  In short, after the first four races, these five teams were virtually tied on points.

ISSA J/70 High School Nationals winners- Sea KingsHowever, the “tale of the tape” changed quite dramatically for the balance of the six races.  The Sea Kings continued to dominate, despite a fifth race 7th place to close the regatta with mostly top three finishes to win the overall title with just 28 pts- a 2.8 average for ten races- that is quite an accomplishment!  Behind them, chaos ruled for most teams.  The exception was the “Sailors” from Newport Harbor, the only team to post all top four finishes to secure second place overall, but not without some anxious moments.  Here’s the reason why- the “lobstermen” from Maine went on a tear starting in race 5, rising like a phoenix from the ashes.  They posted a 1-1-1-2 over the next four races to scream up to the top of the leaderboard and were hoping to maintain that pace.  In fact, had the Yachtsmen been able to post that average going into the last two races, they might have won!  However, the “song of the sirens” befell them, dramatically crashing onto the proverbial shoals, and closing with a profoundly earth—shattering tally of 8-9 to end up just three points back from second.  Despite those anxious final moments, the Falmouth Maine HS Yachtsmen team, consisting of Daniel Denison, Hanna Brydon, Kurban Ali, Cameron Delgado, were proud of their ability to bounce back and take the bronze.

Rounding out the top five were the Annapolis HS Panthers in fourth with 45 pts and the Severn HS Admirals in fifth with 46 pts.  What was interesting was that many teams had their chance at basking in the limelight, with schools placing all the way down to eighth place in the field of ten to have at least one or more top three finishes; that was a great indicator of each team’s potential!  In fact, the 8th place St Ignatius College “Wolfpack” had to be ecstatic with their closing races, posting a 3-1 in their last two races- a great way to close the regatta!   For more ISSA High School Keelboat Nationals sailing information

J/105 sailing Hot Rum Series- San DiegoHot Rum Race II Report
(San Diego, CA)- It was more fun and games for the enormous fleet of 140+ boats that have been racing the infamous San Diego Yacht Club Hot Rum Series.  The second race that took place on Saturday, November 19th proved to be an excruciatingly slow light air affair.  It was a case of “haves” and “have not’s” just about everywhere on the racecourse in the various divisions.  The PHRF “pursuit style” race meant that the small boats (with highest PHRF handicaps) took off in light airs going out the Pt Loma channel to the first mark offshore.  The larger boats that started later, however, were not much better off; they, too, took off in light airs but had just enough extra to play with to dominate the top of the leaderboard.  Having started off so slowly, the small boats took a beating in the early light air going.

As a consequence of the weather conditions, the top J/Teams in the overall standings were the bigger J’s.  Leading the J/crews home was Mark Surber’s J/125 DERIVATIVE in 11th overall, followed by Viggo Torbensen’s J/125 TIMESHAVER in 14th overall, just 45 seconds behind DERIVATIVE and only 8 seconds behind Dennis Conner’s MENACE XXIV.  Third J/team home was John Laun’s J/120 CAPE about 45 seconds back.

J/120 sailing Hot Rum seriesThe current standings in each fleet now see the two J/125s sitting next to each other in the top ten in Class I.  DERIVATIVE’s 8-9 for 17 pts sits in 9th place while TIMESHAVER’s 9-11 for 20 pts is in 10th.

In Class 2, four J’s are in the top ten.  John Laun’s CAPER has a 14-3 for 17 pts to hang onto 5th place.  They are leading on a tie-breaker over Rudolph Hasl’s HASL FREE that has a 9-8 also sitting at 17 pts.  Next is Chuck Nichols’ J/120 CC RIDER with a 10-11 for 21 pts in 9th place.  Finally, Tim Harmon’s J/124 CIRRUS has a 12-10 for 22 pts to hang in at 10th position.

J/105 Wings sailing Hot Rum seriesThe “J/105” division, Class 3, continues to have four J/105s in the top ten.  Lead boat is Rick Goebel’s SANITY with a 1-5 for 6 pts to hold 2nd overall.  Dennis Case’s WINGS has an 11-3 for 14 pts, good enough for 5th place.  Tim Fuller’s STEADFAST has a 7-10 for 17 pts and is in 7th position.  Then, “Dag” Fish’s VIGGEN is 10th place with a 4-16 for 20 pts.

The “J/70” division, Class 4, also sees near class domination by three J/70s in the top five placings.  Top banana is Fabian Gomez-Ibarra’s VAGAZO with two bullets for just 2 pts.  Dave Vieregg’s SOGGY DOLLAR has a 5-3 for 8 pts in third position.  And, Steve Wyman’s NUNUHUNU has a 4-6 for 10 pts to hang in for 5th place.

In Class 5, the overall top five has a pretty remarkable scenario developing going into the third and final race next weekend.  While David Cattle’s J/27 BLACK ADDER is sitting in 8th place with a 7-6 for 13 pts, they are just three points out of third place overall!  Anything can happen in this class, so it will all be on the line next week for the top ten boats overall!  Crazy stuff, that’s for sure!  For more San Diego YC Hot Rum sailing information

J/92 sailing Hamble winter seriesHamble Winter Series VII Report
(Hamble, Great Britain)- Saturday's miserable autumn rain cleared up in time for the weather gods to deliver a day of champagne sailing for Sunday's Hamble Winter Series race.

A very shifty northwesterly welcomed competitors to a game of “snakes and ladders”, with oscillating windshifts providing plenty of opportunity for position changes in the large fleets. From a start line near “hamblewinterseries.com buoy”, fleets beat up towards the Hamble, with the bigger boats using Hamble Point as their windward mark. IRC 3 and 4 rounded Bald Head as their first mark, with the nearby shoreline adding some extra tactical challenges.

In IRC 1 class, Simon Bamford’s J/111 KESTREL and Christopher Daniel's J/122 JUNO are still neck-and-neck in the standings, with KESTREL sitting in 6th overall and JUNO now dropping to 8th position.  At this stage, with two good races left, it is still possible for Bamford’s KESTREL to crack the top five, sitting just four points back from fifth position.

J/92 sailing off Hamble, EnglandThe “J/109 division”, e.g. IRC 2 class, close racing continues between the top boats. After posting second place last weekend, Simon Perry's J/109 JIRAFFE still lies in second overall, four points back from the lead with 14 pts total. The second J/109 is Chris Burleigh’s JYBE TALKIN and the third is Rob Cotterill’s MOJO RISIN, respectively, with 42 and 50 pts each.

The “Cinderella story” of the HWS IRC 3 class (and the overall series) so far has to be Robin Stevenson’s J/92S UPSTART.  His team continues to sail brilliantly, maintaining their overall lead, 3.5 pts clear of the next boat.  The top five saw a “flip-flop” occur in the standings between the next two J/teams.  By virtue of taking a 4th place in their last race, Annie & Andy Howe’s J/97 GBR 97X- BLACKJACK II- has 31.5 pts total to stealthily move into 4th place overall, just a half-point clear of David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’RONIMO with 32 pts!  The drama and excitement are building steadily race-by-race as these two also have a chance for the top three in the series!

Sailing in Hamble Winter Series, EnglandFinally, “los tres amigos” leading the highly competitive nine-boat J/88 class continue to do battle with a bit of a dramatic twist this past weekend!  Kirsty and David Apthorp's J-DREAM won the race to lengthen their lead to a somewhat comfortable 12 pts total, now 6 pts clear of the next two boats.  However, the anxiety is brewing like a tempest in a teapot for the silver and bronze.  Gavin Howe's TIGRIS posted a 2nd place to close-out the weekend with 19 pts total for the series, just one point back from Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT.  ESJR had a battle with Richard Cooper’s JONGLEUR in the last race, dropping to 4th place and, thus, holding onto second place for the series with 18 pts, but closing the gap quite dramatically with TIGRIS.

There are two races remaining, and everyone is hoping that the gales currently forecast for next weekend abate in time!  Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth/ pwpictures.com and Hamo Thornycroft  For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information

J/22 College match race champions- GeorgetownGeorgetown Wins College Match Racing Nationals
(San Diego, CA)– The 2016 College Sailing Match Racing Nationals, hosted by San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC), concluded last weekend on San Diego Bay. After three days of competitive racing on SDYC’s fleet of matched one-design J/22 class sailboats, Georgetown University won the Cornelius Shields Sr. Trophy, emblematic of the college match-racing champion.

The final day of racing consisted of a knockout round for 9th and 10th place, Quarter Finals, Semi-Finals, Petite Finals and Finals. Race Committee was able to pull off all races with winds at 5-7 knots.

After the Semi-Finals, Dartmouth College and College of Charleston raced for the first to 2 points in the Petite Finals. Dartmouth won the first two races and was first to two points, making them the third place finishers and College of Charleston fourth in the overall standings.

Georgetown University and Hobart & William Smith Colleges faced off in the Finals. Due to slow winds at the end of the day, Race Committee changed the format to declaring the first team to 2 points as the winner. Since Georgetown won the first race and HWS Colleges won the second race, it came down to the 3rd race where Georgetown University finished first, and ultimately won the overall championship.

Coach Janel Zarkowsky reflected on how it felt when Georgetown won. "It feels great. We realized that Georgetown has won 3 out of the last 5 match racing championships. It feels good to be developing a team with that many wins. One of the takeaways from this weekend is that the fastest boat always wins. So if you put 90% effort into being the fastest, the match racing becomes really easy.”

Georgetown alumnus Nevin Snow joined Zarkowsky on the water today to support the Hoyas. Snow, a San Diego native, won this title twice during his college career and is currently the #2 match racer in the country. Georgetown University won the Coed Nationals in May that was also raced in San Diego Bay.  The winning team consisted of AJ Reiter '17, Meaghan MacRae '18, Sean Segerblom '20, and Roger Dorr '18.

HWS Colleges, coached by Scott Ikle, finished second overall. Ikle was proud of his team for placing second after the exciting last three races of the weekend against Georgetown. “Collegiate match racing has come a long way and this weekend's top teams were all great competitors. All of the teams here were well prepared, which made it even more fun to be a part of."  Sailing for HWS Colleges was Greiner Hobbs '18, Sam Hallowell '16, Noah Barrengos '18, and Maya Weber '20.

Dartmouth College also had another great day of sailing, focusing on good handling and boat speed throughout each race. Though they were not able to beat Georgetown in the Semi-Finals, Coach David Thompson was happy to finish third after winning against College of Charleston in the Petite Final.

“It was bittersweet. We have three seniors on the boat; so placing in the top 3 was a good way to cap their season. I'm 90% positive that our skipper, Charlie, is going to keep match-racing in the future.  So, the match-racing world has not seen the last of him, that’s for sure!”

Representing Dartmouth College for the weekend was Charles Lalumiere '17, Nathaniel Greason '17, Rebecca McElvain '19 and Madeline Cooney '17. McElvain is currently the #8 women's match-racer in the U.S. and Lalumiere is the #6 match racer in the U.S. Sailing Match Race National open rankings.  For more College Sailing Match Race Nationals information

J/105s sailing BermudaDark’n’Stormy J/105 Bacardi Bermuda Invite
(Hamilton, Bermuda)- The prognosticators who sail Bermuda’s Great Sound (e.g. local knowledge) were convinced the weather forecast was perfect for this year’s Bacardi XL Catlin Bermuda Keelboat Invitational.  From November 17 to 19, Bermuda Weather Service, as well as the European Community Model Weather Forecast service (ECMWF), were in agreement that winds would be near gale force from the westerly quadrants for most of the weekend.  A “nice breeze” for locals, by the way, is 15-25 knots in this beautiful little island community about 635nm offshore southeast of Newport, RI.  For J/105 sailors, especially for those familiar with San Francisco Bay conditions, such breezes are just a “walk in the park” on a Sunday afternoon.  It really only begins to get a bit challenging when puffs start to peak into the 30-35 kts range, like that experienced in the recent J/105 North Americans in Larchmont, NY.

As the teams wandered down Thursday morning for the 0930 hrs skipper’s briefing at the Royal Bermuda YC regatta HQ, it was abundantly clear that weather conditions were bordering on the extreme end of the range.  The Bermuda Weather Service has four AWOS (automated weather observation systems) spread across their island nation from the west (little Pearl Island in the Great Sound) to the east (Bermuda Airport in St David’s).  Both locations were reporting steady 15-25 kt winds, gusting to 32 kts by 0930 hrs.  The forecast was for the breezes to increase to 20-30 kts, gusting to 40 kts by midday and abating back to 15-25 kts, gusting 30 by mid-afternoon.  After a harbor postponement was posted for the J/105, IOD and Etchells 22 classes, it became abundantly clear it was (a) a good decision to postpone and (b) the weather forecasts were, as usual, wrong.  By 11am, gusts at Pearl Island were in excess of 45 kts with intermittent rain squalls flooding the streets and there was no indication the “micro-low” positioned just north of Bermuda was slowing down anytime soon. So, by noon, the RBYC PRO canceled racing for the day.  Most teams made the most of their newfound “tourist pass” and went exploring all over the island, with many headed over to the famous Dockyards to take a tour of some America’s Cup bases- ORACLE Racing Team and Team SOFTBANK JAPAN. 

The regatta is a unique format.  It’s invitation-only.  Local Bermuda J/105 teams “invite” a non-Bermuda team to join them, so three “foreigners” join three “locals” to form a team of six crew.  Then, the skippers of each group (Bermuda/ foreigner) take turns skippering each race.  Awards are given for the top three Bermuda skippers, the top three foreign skippers, and for the overall team leaders.  It is a fun regatta format that produces copious amounts of camaraderie between the crews, particularly since the event sponsors include Bacardi.  In fact, the welcoming Captain’s Reception on Wednesday evening is truly a bacchanalian festival of feasts at Bacardi’s World Headquarters on the front street next to Royal Bermuda YC.

After Thursday’s race-day cancellation, the crews were anxious to get in some good racing since the forecasts had actually taken a turn for the worst.  There was a distinct possibility that a three-day event might turn into one-day’s racing only!  Friday dawned partly cloudy and sunny with a 10-12 kts westerly breeze caressing the Great Sound.  As the teams took off to get some early practice, it was evident it was going to be a difficult day to get in 4 to 5 races (the race day’s schedule).  The weather radar showed large cumulous formations with rainy, squally conditions beneath them marching across the horizon towards Bermuda, a by-product of two fronts colliding as they moved east.  Over the course of the day, the wind direction changed 70 degrees at least twice, and during the racing there was little rhyme or reason to the wind shifts as the cloud lines passed by, often producing 30-45 degree shifts per leg and at least twice per race!  Needless to say, it was a dilemma for most teams as the fleet kept splitting into “wolf packs” heading into corners of the race course upwind and downwind.

After four races on Friday, local Star World Champion, Peter Bromby’s team on AIRFORCE from the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club posted a very consistent 1-2-3-1 to take the lead with 7 pts total.  Just behind them was Jon Corless’s MAYHEM from Royal Bermuda YC posting a 4-3-2-3 for 12 pts and James McDonald’s PASSION from RBYC in third with a 3-7-1-2 for 13 pts.

Saturday dawned with one rain squall after another sweeping the Great Sound, truly another “dark’n’stormy” morning.  It was a rather foreboding weather forecast for even the most jaded offshore sailors.  Again, BWS and the ECMWF showed a Low depression 100nm to the north deepening and heading south (!) towards Bermuda over the course of the day before it took its “hockey stick” course off to the east by early evening.  Forecasted was a rapid increase of breeze from 10-20 kts to 20-35 kts, accompanied by massive rain squalls.  The RBYC PRO took no chances and simply postponed for one hour.  As expected, the weather did not improve at all and simply got dramatically worse, again.  At that point, the gig was up and it was time to put the boats away and celebrate the coronation of the winners of Friday’s racing by early afternoon.    For more Bacardi Keelboat Invitational sailing information

J/24 sailing off ItalyJ/24 ITALY Winter Series Report
(Taranto, Italy)- The J/24s in Italy continue to enjoy their annual winter series in the various fleets spread across the peninsula.  This past weekend, racing continued in Taranto, Anzio & Nettuno, and Portoferraio.  Here are their updates.

TARANTO
It was a good winter series start for Puglian J/24 sailor- Nino Soriano; he returned to racing after a brief absence with his ITA 427 JEBEDEE (co-skippered with Luca Gaglione).  At the end of the first day, they shared the lead with the same score (3 pts) with Thomas De Bellis Vitti’s ENG 304 FIVE FOR FIGHTING.

The racing on Sunday was, in fact, the first of the eight days scheduled (November 20, December 4 and 18, January 22, February 5 and 19, March 5 and 19, for a total maximum of 24 tests).  Eleven J/24 crews are more determined more than ever to contend for the title.

Already, the protagonists for the winter series are rising to the top.  Nino Soriano explained, ”In 2016 ITA 304 FIVE FOR FIGHTING, skippered by Thomas De Bellis Vitti, is riding a wave of wins and are hoping to continue that streak in the 2016/2017 winter series. They are a considerable force, have gotten expert training, and have become a more cohesive team with the highly-acclaimed Andrea Airò at the helm and are currently leading.  They are being chased hard by ITA 450 MARBEA, owned by Marcello Bellacicca and skippered by Tony Macina with 6 pts. Then, not far off the pace is ITA 429 DOCTOR J skippered by Sandro Negro, ITA 301 PICCOLO DIAVOLO sailed by Nando Capobianco, ITA 429 AMBRA skippered by Marc Arata, and ITS 355 BESTIA NERA skippered by Fabio Indovina.

The ideal weather conditions for the first day of the winter series in the Mar di Grande was well-organized and managed by the Circolo Velico Ondabuena Academy with assistance from Molo Sant'Eligio.

“Two beautiful races, lots of adrenaline and fun for the fleet, thanks to the short courses chosen by CVOA PRO,“ commented Nino Soriano.

J/24 sailing off Rome, ItalyPORTOFERRAIO
It was a great start for the second weekend of the Elbe Winter Cup, the offshore sailing championship organized by the Yacht Club Portoferraio.  For the first time, three J/24s are participating from the two historic clubs in Elba- Marciana Marina and Porto Azzuro.

For the first weekend there were many new faces, with several young crews arriving in Elba that were looking forward to the winter series.  At the start of the day, the racing was postponed due to the fact it was barely reaching 5 kts of breeze. However, by noon it had risen to 12 kts to produce great racing for the teams.

Sailing in the fleet is BE-BEEF skippered by Enrico Gamelunghe; getting the better of ZIO CELESTE sailed by Marco Marmeggi.  As always, BE-BEEF is leading the overall standings.  After a very nice day of racing, the fleet enjoyed their traditional spaghetti dinner at PIER G, accompanied by Elba Bianco Doc La Fazenda, partners of the event.  The next event is Sunday, December 4th.

J/24 sailing off Roma, ItalyANZIO & NETTUNO
The Anzio & Nettuno J/24 fleet in Rome sailed the third stage of their winter series, competing for the IX Memorial Stefano Pirini Trofeo.  The regatta PRO, Mario de Greneti, was able to provide the twenty-three boat fleet with two most excellent races.  The day’s wins were taken by ITA 447 PELLE NERA sailed by Paolo Cecamore and by JUKE BOX skippered by the Hungarian Miklos Rauschenberger.

Provisional results after the first day or racing (compiled after the first 2 races) saw JUKE BOX leading with a 2-1 for 3 pts with PELLE NERA in second.  Third place belonged to ITA 358 ARPIONE sailed by Michele Potenza with a 3-4 for 7 pts.  They are followed by two teams tied on 10 pts each- ITA 333 DAIQUIRI sailed by Fabrizio Sabatini with a 4-6 and ITA 487 AMERICAN PASSAGE with a 5-5.

The following day, it was a milder day with nearly calm seas.  The steady breeze of 10 kts from the southeast permitted three races to be sailed.  Three bullets by Ignazio Bonanno’s ITA 416 LA SUPERBA (with crew of Simone Scontrino, Alfredo Branciforte, Francesco Picaro and Vincenzo Vano) jumped into the overall lead for the regatta.  An increasingly determined ITA 447 PELLE NERA, owned by Paolo Cecamore and skippered by the 2014 Soling World Champion Farkas Litkey from Hungary, consolidated their second place position with a record of 1-4-3-4-3 for 11 pts net.  Leaping into third from sixth place the day before was ITA 428 PELLE ROSSA, skippered by Gianni Riccobono and sailing with tactician Sergio Strippoli, garnering a record of 10-5-2-2-4 for 13 pts.  Meanwhile, slipping from 3rd to 4th place was ITA 333 DAIQUIRI sailed by Fabrizio Sabatini and sitting in 5th place was Rome J/24 fleet captain Paolo Rinaldi.

The racing in the Gulf of Anzio will continue for the Trofeo Lozzi on December 4 & 18, January 15 & 29, February 12 & 26, and March 12th.  For more Italian J/24 class sailing information

J/24 ChileSeguel’s GURU Crowned Chilean J/24 Champion!
(Talcahuano, Chile)- Over the weekend of November 19th & 20th, the Chile J/24 class held their National Championship and it also served as the qualifying event for the J/24 South American Championship being sailed later in December in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

The J/24 fleet in Talcahuano hosted the regatta out of the Chilean Navy Base in Marina El Manzano.  Of note, this harbor was located at the center of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2010 that flooded coastal cities and harbors up to 8,000nm away!  The fleet and harbor have since recovered and have a growing fleet of J/24s in the last few years, now numbering a dozen boats!  Participating in this year’s event were several famous South American sailors, including Patricio Seguel, Matias Seguel, Vernon Robert, Raúl del Castillo and Carlos Pérez.

Racing started on Saturday for the fifteen-boat fleet that had participants from Talcahuano (10 teams) and Concepción (5 crews). The fleet was challenged by tricky, shifty northerly all day.  The wind was shifting from due north to the west and then back again during the course of three races held during the day.

From the very beginning, Matias Seguel’s GURU and Raul el Castillo’s LA BANCA were dueling for the top of the leaderboard. At the conclusion of racing, GURU was leading with a 2-2-1 for 5 pts with LA BANCA in second with a 3-4-2 for 9 pts.  Third position was held by Patricio Seguel’s MACH POINT with a 6-1-4.  Vernon Robert’s JOYITA could have been amongst the leaders with all top three finishes, but was DSQ’d in the second race to end up with a 1-DSQ-3.

At the end of the long day a burgers & beers party was offered at the Chilean naval base by the local fleet and with support of Navy people- led by Ricardo Vío, who is in charge of sailing development at the Marina, and Fernando González, owner JOTE, a local J/24.

For the second day of racing on the famous Talcahuano bay, well known for their strong thermal seabreezes, the fleet ended up having to camp out on the shoreline until the breeze built to a sailable level.  Around noon, the southwesterly seabreeze built quickly with winds blowing form 10-15 kts, gusting to 17 kts.  Three very good races were sailed to determine the championship.   Seguel’s GURU continued to dominate the regatta, sailing away with a 1-2-1 for an easy win with 7 pts net, throwing out a 2nd as his worst score!  The balance of the podium was a battle between el Castillo’s LA BANCA and Robert’s JOYITA.  Robert closed with a 2-4-4 but it was not enough to overcome el Castillo’s 4-1-6; both were tied at 14 pts each with LA BANCA taking 2nd overall and JOYITA third.  Rounding out the top five was Patricio Seguel’s MACH POINT in 4th just 1 pt out of third with 15 pts and fifth place was taken by Carlos Perez’s BUFFALO.

J/22s sailing Chesapeake BaySOLSTICE Eclipses J/22 Turkey Bowl
(Annapolis, MD)- The Severn Sailing Association held their annual pre-Thanksgiving regatta- the Turkey Bowl- in Annapolis, MD for the local J/22 fleet on the weekend of November 12th to 13th.

After enjoying a weekend of delightful racing on the Chesapeake Bay, the SSA PRO managed to run four races.  Taking the honors as Chief Turkey was the team on the mighty SOLSTICE, comprised of David Waiting, Natalie Burls and Pedro Espina with a record of 2-1-1-1 for 5 pts- a virtual eclipse of the fleet.  Second overall was determined on a tie-breaker at 12 pts each!  Taking the tiebreak was the crew of HOT TICKET with Jason Goscha, Jonah Seiger and Dan Wilson.  Losing based on having just all 3rds was Team VENTUS, with Scott Gelo, Jennifer Bickford, and Grant Beach on the rail. Sailing photo credits- Dan PhelpsFollow the J/22 Turkey Bowl social media here on Facebook  For more J/22 Turkey Bowl sailing information
 

J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
-----------
Ben Ainslie's America's Cup AC45 Land Rover BAR team winners* J/sailors leading America’s Cup!??  What do Ben Ainslie and Jimmie Spithill have in common?  Both have sailed various J/Boats over time.  Ben has raced J/80s and J/109s in the United Kingdom on the Solent (off Cowes) as well as down in Plymouth.  Jimmie moved to San Diego, CA after the last America’s Cup in San Francisco to settle down with his wife and friends.  In that process, Jimmie bought Dennis Conner’s J/105 #3 and renamed it “17”, Jimmie’s lucky number for all his sailboats.

In Fukuoka, Japan, Land Rover BAR, the British challenge headed by Olympic legend Ben Ainslie– won the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series with a first place finish at the final event in Japan. Ainslie’s team sailed extremely well to secure the overall title with a race to spare.

ORACLE TEAM USA and skipper Jimmy Spithill pushed hard, finishing ahead of BAR in the first race of the day, but Ainslie was able to post a 4, 2, 3 scoreline, and into the overall series win.

“This has been a goal for us for the whole season and for this event,” said Ainslie. “The guys have done an incredible job,” Ainslie said from the water following the second race of the day. For us as a new team it sends out a strong message for all our supporters that we can do it.”

For the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Fukuoka, it came down to a tiebreak with Land Rover BAR clawing into a tie with Artemis Racing in the final contest, and taking the regatta by virtue of a better result in the last race.

However, with attention shifting to Bermuda and the America’s Cup racing next year, the focus was on the overall title and bonus points it confers.

By taking first place on the overall Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series leaderboard, Land Rover BAR has collected two bonus points to carry forward into next year’s Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers in Bermuda. With a second place finish on the overall leaderboard, ORACLE TEAM USA secured one bonus point for the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers next year.

America's Cup AC45 foiling catamaransSir Ben commented on the weekend's racing, “It’s been an incredible day of racing and for our team, Land Rover BAR, to come out on top here in Fukuoka, Japan in the final race of the series, and to win the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series, that was our goal and to achieve that is special for us. We are a completely new team, two and a half years ago we were a blank sheet back in Portsmouth in the UK and now, for our designers, our shore team and everyone back in the UK, it’s a real boost, so now we set our sights on Bermuda for the America’s Cup.

“Looking at this weekend, I think for all of us it’s what we love, when it gets aggressive. We had really good battles with Jimmy and with Emirates Team New Zealand and to go into that final race with the overall series sewn up, we were trying to get that bonus point off ORACLE TEAM USA and make life hard for them, but to their credit they did a good job of recovering.

“So, now we go ahead to next year. It is going to be neck and neck and I can see it being incredibly tight. I think the bonus points are going to be a factor next year. They’re 20% of the points on offer in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers so it’s definitely worth having them, but also, for a new organization like ours, we need to show that we can perform at the highest level, for our own team, or our partners and our supporters, to show them all that we have a team with the capability of winning the America’s Cup, and I think we’ve shown that.

“I think this series has showcased just how tight it’s going to be in Bermuda next year. The level of competition and the skillsets of the sailors have been phenomenal, and now we move into our own race boats, our own designs, and I think that’s going to be fascinating for all the fans to see.”  For more America’s Cup sailing information

Thomson's Hugo Boss IMOCA 60 sailboat* J/Sailors leading Vendee Globe!?  It’s all “glam” at the front of the fleet.   The phrase 'the rich get richer' has rarely been more fitting than when describing the current state of the Vendée Globe fleet in the third week of the solo round the world race.  Experienced J/sailors at the top include race leader Alex Thomson (HUGO BOSS), Morgan Lagravière (SAFRAN), and now up into 7th place- Jeane-Pierre Dick’s St MICHEL-BIRBACK.

The gap between the seven frontrunners and the 21 skippers trying desperately to keep up with them has turned from a gully into a chasm.  Life could not be much better for those at the head of the fleet; with winds of more than 30 knots transforming their 60ft IMOCA yachts into waterborne rockets blasting southeast at top speed. The frontrunners, led by Alex Thomson's Hugo Boss who had the biggest 24 hour tally of 492.4 nm, are due to arrive at the Cape of Good Hope, the southern tip of South Africa and the gateway to the Southern Ocean, on Friday, four days ahead of schedule.

Nevertheless, while the rich get richer, it stands that the poor get poorer. And those in the middle of the Vendee Globe fleet are among the hardest up, snared by the St Helena High with little sign of her relinquishing her grip.  Continue to follow these intrepid adventurers on the high seas here.
 

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 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again, for 2015/ 2016!  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 regards their various improvements and refit to the boat (see above).  They will again be based at Proper Yachts in St John, US Virgin Islands.

Bill & Judy Stellin- sailing J/42 Jaywalker* Bill & Judy Stellin were interviewed 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, February 24, 2016

J/Newsletter- February 24th, 2016

J/111s sailing off BelgiumBenelux J/111 Series Announcement!
(Scheveningen, The Netherlands)- 2016 will see the start-up for J/111 One-Design Racing in the Benelux region with three events scheduled:
  • April 23-24- Van Uden Reco Regatta- Stellendam
  • May 13-16- North Sea Regatta- Scheveningen
  • August 26-28- Breskens Sailing Weekend- Breskens
The best scoring boat over these three events will win the Benelux Championship. Besides, this all five boats competing (Sweeny, Red Herring, Top Job, Djinn & Lallekonig) will also participate in the J/111 Worlds at Cowes, United Kingdom in the first week of August!  In fact, some of those teams will also join in the fun and frolic for the J/Cup in Hamble.

Exciting times coming up! Please, any boats are welcome to join us! Feel free to contact us for more J/111 Benelux Class sailing information- Paul Gladdines- paul@jboats.nl   For more International J/111 Class sailing information.  For more J/111 sailboat information

J/70s sailing FloridaQuantum J/70 Midwinters Preview
(Newport, RI)- The St Petersburg YC is hosting the J/70 Midwinters from February 25th to 28th!  Many of the leaders in the J/70 class will be present.  However, missing will be the last three Midwinter champions, Tim Healey’s HELLY HANSEN and Carlo Alberini’s CALVI NETWORK from Italy.  In fact, the leading the charge at this years Midwinters may be an entirely new contingent of top teams that may be ushering in a welcoming changing of the guard.  There will be familiar faces in the crowd of veteran J/70 skippers, including J/22 World Champion Al Terhune on DAZZLER from Annapolis, MD; Joel Ronning’s champion crew on CATAPULT from Wayzata, MN; Tim Molony’s JOUST from New Orleans, LA; Kerry Klingler’s MENACE from Norwalk, CT; Joe Bardenheier’s MUSE from Boston, MA; Tom Bowen’s REACH AROUND from Charleston, SC; John Brim’s RIMETTE from Fisher’s Island, NY; Will Welles’ SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM (recent St Pete NOOD Regatta J/70 winner); Dave Franzel’s SPRING from Boston, MA; Geoff Becker’s USA 25 from Annapolis, MD; and Jay Lutz’s ZOUNDS HEARING from Houston, TX (the Pan Am Games Gold Medallist in the Lightning class).

In addition, there are new teams that have started to assert their presence, most notably some from “days of futures past”.  For example, closing the last Quantum J/70 Winter Series with two bullets was Glenn Darden & Reese Hillard’s HOSS from Fort Worth, TX- these guys ain’t no spring chickens, that’s for sure.  Watch out as this veteran crew has J/80 and J/105 North American Champion belts hanging on their trophy shelves at home, not too mention a few J/24 championships of various types in the Texas Circuits and elsewhere.  Don't forget, there's a friendly “transplant” from the West Coast one-design wars, that happens to be Jacko Franco on JT 3 BALL from Kemah, Texas. Plus, a J/109 Great Lakes Champion will be joining them in the form of Leif & Laura Sigmond’s NORBOY from Chicago, IL.  Then, you have a top J/111 Great Lakes and North American skipper (top 3!), Dick Lehman from Harbor Springs, MI that will be sailing WIND CZAR, winner of one of the St Pete NOOD races. Finally, the foreign contingent includes Chuck Millican’s ELUSIVE from Bermuda, Antti Luhta’s LM INFORMATION DELIVERY from Finland; and Haroldo Solberg’s OCEANPACT from Brazil.   For more J/70 Midwinters sailing information

J/120 sailing RORC Caribbean 600RORC Caribbean 600 Race Preview
(English Harbour, Antigua)- A record fleet with a record number of big boats were ready to take flight off English Harbour on Monday.  The weather models are predicting 14 knots of wind from the southeast at the start on Monday, freshening to 20 knots in the early hours of Tuesday morning with the wind in the east. By Wednesday morning the wind speed is due to increase and by Thursday weather models predict 25 knots of wind from the east. By the afternoon, the wind is forecast to move to the southeast and decrease.

That kind of Caribbean weather should enable the trio of J sailors participating in this year’s event to demonstrate their all-around capabilities, from light to heavy and from broad-reaching to a long uphill slog.  Sailing in IRC Doublehanded is the Trans-Atlantic Race duo on the J/120 NUNATAK- Elin Haf Davies and Chris Frost.  This team is highly experienced and should have a good race in store for them.  One of their competitors will be the new J/11S SLEEPER sailed by Jonty Layfield.  In the larger boat IRC 1/ CSA 2 division will be David Ballantyne’s J/133 JINGS, another veteran offshore team with thousands of miles under their belts— they are a bit like a train rolling down the tracks, takes them a good bit of steam to get rolling but do not be surprised to see them on the podium at the end of the race!  For more RORC Caribbean 600 race sailing information

J/120 Nationals posterJ/120 Nationals Announcement
(Detroit, Michigan)- To all J/120 Owners, Crew and Enthusiasts- Save the dates August 19-21 to attend the J/120 National Championship Regatta that will be hosted by Bayview Yacht Club and sailed on Lake St. Clair.

Known as "The Heavy-Weight Title Fight on the Lake"! The regatta will be a brawl of the biggest one-design boats on Lake St. Clair. Who will win the title as the champion? The competition will be intense, the happy-hours filled with fun, and at the end, we will all enjoy throwing the winning skipper off the J-Dock!  That could be Frank throwing himself in??  The NOR is available as is registration here.  For more J/120 National Championship sailing information

J/80 women's regatta ItalyWomen’s Sailing Cup Italia 2016 Announcement
(Chiavari, Italy)- The Blue Project in Italy have launched the Women’s Sailing Cup Italia 2016 and they are experiencing a lot of success and positive feed back.  Many women teams from all over Italy have answered enthusiastically. They are very keen and proud to sail and support AIRC- a famous cancer research organization in Italy that supports, in particular, women’s breast cancer research.

The regatta will be sailed onboard the J/80s in Chiavari from the 18th to 20th of March 2016.  The Blue Project is committed to support female sailing, solidarity & research.

During the Regatta Blue Project, in coordination with the women participants, will raise funds for AIRC, the most important Italian Cancer Research Foundation, it was founded in 1965 by a world famous doctor and researcher- Umberto Veronesi, MD.  Learn more about their work here- http://www.airc.it

The media coverage and promotion of the event in Italy will be quite impressive.  Covering the event will be Linea Blue RAI Channel 1, the most important TV channel in Italy.  In addition, top correspondents from La Republica.it and Saily.it will be in attendance covering the event. 

Italian women J/80 sailorsIf that wasn’t enough publicity, the world famous trail bike World Champion- known simply as “Brumotti”- will be in attendance in Chiavari to support the women’s regatta and AIRC’s mission.

Finally, one of the most prominent women in Italy, Mrs Evelina Christillin, will grace the event with her presence at the Gala Dinner and will hand out the awards on the 19th of March.  She had been President of ENIT, the organizer of the Italian Olympic Winter Games in Torino 2006.  For more information, please contact Ivana Quattrini- Ph# +39-335-8093904/ email- ufficiostampa@blueprojectsailing.com/ www.blueprojectsailing.com
 

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

The sailing seasons continue to expand in both the northern and southern latitudes.  Down in Chile, it’s still the height of their summer that far “down under”.  Several J/24s and a J/70 enjoyed their version of the New York YC Annual Cruise; in their case it’s called the “Vuelto al Lago Llanquihue”- the around the Lake regatta that includes four ports of call on one of the most spectacular, and largest, lakes in the Patagonia region of southern Chile.

Up in North America, there were two events taking place on either side of Mexico.  One is the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race that has a famous J/125 sailing the event.  And, the other was the J/24 Midwinters being sailed at Davis Island YC on Tampa Bay.

Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north.  Check them out!  More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page  Below are the summaries.

Regatta & Show Schedules:

Feb 25-28- J/70 Midwinter Championship- St. Petersburg, FL
Mar 10-13- J/70 Miami Sailing Week- Coconut Grove, FL
Apr 16-19- Charleston Race Week– Charleston, SC

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

J/24 Canadian- Rossi MilevCanadian Milev Tops J/24 Midwinters
(Tampa, Florida)– Having been the proverbial “brides-maid” for several J/24 Midwinters over the course of time, it was a tremendously relieved, and excited, Rossi Milev, the skipper of ANGEL OF HARLEM, that levitated onto the podium at Davis Island YC to receive the J/24 Midwinter Champion award.  The regatta took place from February 19th to 21st, with DIYC hosting 25 teams from across the United States, Canada and even Japan.

“I’m very happy to have finally won it, but it really wasn’t me, it was my crew,” credited Milev of Mark Liebel as tactician, Jim Traun on mast, Ron Hyat on bow and Arthur Blodgett as trimmer (picture above). The team came on strong on day two with a pair of bullets to come into Sunday with a three-point advantage, which held up when a lack of breeze kept teams ashore all day.

Woman J/24 sailors at MidwintersMilev will take home The Lambert Lai Trophy, named in honor of the previous USJCA President who passed away in December 2014. John Mollicone with Tim Healy on BLIND SQUIRREL collected second place with 19 points, and Carter White’s SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM placed third with 21 pts.

Milev noted that the Tampa Bay venue is “very challenging, and we ended up being lucky a bunch of times.” The event attracted a who’s who of J/24 sailors, making the competition very tough. “At least five other boats could have won it,” conceded Milev. “The top boats were here…maybe five out of the top 10 in the world!”

It’s a solid start to a year that sees his home club of Port Credit Yacht Club in Mississauga, Ontario Canada host the 2016 J/24 North American Championship from September 8-11.

First day report
It was a beautiful and pristine opening day with the teams enjoying mostly sunny skies, warm temperatures and breeze between 10-15 knots throughout the day.

White’s SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM from Portland, Maine may not have won any of the first four races, but steady scores in the top three put them at the head of the 25-boat pack. Jim Lampman’s HOT CHOCOLATE rebounded from a nine in the opening contest to add a 1-3-2 for 15 points and hold on to second place. Milev’s ANGEL OF HARLEM was resting in third with 18 pts.

J/24 sailor- John MolliconeClass stalwart John Mollicone with Tim Healy on BLIND SQUIRREL began the Championship with a bullet, followed by St. Petersburg NOOD J/24 winner Nobuyuki Imai on SIESTA in second place and White in third. Behind Lampman’s HOT CHOCOLATE in race two were White and Milev. These same boats juggled the standings in the next contest: Milev in 1st, followed by White and Lampman. Mike Ingham closed Friday with the victory, as Lampman and White kept their teams in the top three.

Second day report
The standings were juggled dramatically after the second day of sailing in variable winds between 6-8 knots with some higher puffs. Seven races were now completed for the event.  Milev’s ANGEL OF HARLEM leapt from third place to first after another three races went in the books. With a 3-1-1 on Saturday, Milev dropped a 7th in the opening race and had 16 net points.

Also moving up in the standings was the Mollicone/Healy duo on BLIND SQUIRREL, they notched a 1-2-3 for 19 net points and second place.  The SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM dropped to third place but was still in the mix, just two points back.

J/24 sailors at MidwintersMollicone began the day with a victory, ahead of White and Milev. Milev secured only bullets for the remaining two contests. Behind him in race six were Mollicone and Christopher Stone’s VELOCIDAD. Ingham grabbed the silver spot in the final duel with Mollicone in third.

And, with not much wind on the final day, that’s how it all ended on lovely Tampa Bay.  The ANGEL OF HARLEM soaring into the heavens while the BLIND SQUIRREL found its nuts to survive and the SEA BAGGERS packed all their bronze hardware into their kit and left!  Next!

Notably, while having a bit of a familiarization issue with the notoriously capricious Tampa Bay, Erica Beck Spencer with her all-women’s team on SEA BAGS WOMEN’S SAILING TEAM from Portland YC got it going on Saturday and posted some awesome results- an 8-16-4 was good enough for the fifth best score for the day!  Next time, ladies!  For more J/24 Midwinters sailing information

J/125 sailing Puerto Vallarta racePuerto Vallarta Race Update
(San Diego, CA)- The 32nd running of the Vallarta Race, a 1,000nm course from San Diego, USA to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, began with staggered starts on February 19 and 20 for the 21-boat field. Here’s an update on February 21 from Peter Isler, a navigator on a 70 ft sled:

“A beautiful 24 hours of sailing out here on the Pacific and the fleet is tearing up the ocean, VMG running in 20+ knots of wind, 6 foot swells and beautiful skies. Last night was epic – (nearly) full moon running… you didn’t need a flashlight on deck it was so bright.

Everyone agreed it was one of the greatest nights of sailing ever! Tonight, we are looking for another beautiful moonlight ride – as the winds are still over 20 and the temperature should be one notch warmer (there was definitely a chill to the air last night). About 24 more hours of fun before the tricky bit comes up – the approach to Cabo and figuring out how to get through the sizable windless hole that often stretches south from Cabo for up to 50 miles.  For now, we’ll appreciate the good conditions and keep riding those waves on this endless summer day & night!”

J/125 Timeshaver- winning the raceAnd speaking of February 19 starters, the J/125 TIMESHAVER skippered by Viggo Torbensen, this little piece of optimism was included in their 0600 report on the morning of February 21st, “Maybe (our) fastest run to the Cape- - ever! Never letting up on the pressure with a 12 knot average for the last 24 hours, the YB Tracker shows early Sunday morning, we ducked the RP 50 Blue Blazes’ stern and took a seven hour hitch out to sea, then gybed. Blazes appeared to be doing the same on the opposite gybe. When they came back together around 1600 PST, TIMESHAVER had the edge by approximately 10 miles. As the sun goes down Sunday evening, we are both pointing southeast again doing 12 knots and playing hard to catch for the big sleds.”

On-board crewman, Keith Magnussen, had this to report February 22nd: “Spectacular sunrise and moon set off Cabo San Lucas this morning. Looks like we will be first boat around the tip of Baja on our way to our destination of Puerto Vallarta and we are sitting well in class and amongst the Saturday starters.

Great sailing so far in epic conditions. The crew is working out just like I thought.. hard work, good sailors and lots of laughs. The Hippy reports he is not in a bad mood which means he is in an amazing mood!

Had our hurdles to overcome but we did so and are positive about the race. The boat is performing well and we have seen speeds over 20kts many times. Viggo is in a great mood and enjoying the friendly banter. He is rolling with the punches and having fun bailing the boat out every off shift.. Yes we leak.

We are currently 35 miles from Cabo and hoping and praying that the wind keeps up. Last thing we want is 4 days to get to PV after knocking off 300 mile days! The Rasta kite is blazing in the sunrise and I am looking forward to getting some bronzing in today.”

Torbensen’s J/125 TIMESHAVER is racing against some turbo’d Farr 40s and their annual arch-rivals, the SC 50 HORIZON.  At the moment, the J/125 is an odds-on favorite to beat just about all boats into the finish except for Manoush Mosayedi’s RIO 100 super-maxi!  For more Puerto Vallarta Race sailing information
 

J/70s sailing Patagonia, ChileJ/70 SANTANDER Wins Regatta Vuelta al Lago
(Frutillar, Patagonia, Chile)- Imagine the setting, as you daydream away, resplendent upon your deluxe Lay-Z-Boy recliner, Pabst Blue Ribbon super-micro-brewed hand-crafted lager in hand (from south Milwaukee), watching your 900th game of football (soccer or rugby or cricket, etc) this season.

The lake is huge.  Huger than huge.  And, it’s over 5,000 feet deep.  In the distance, you can see five massive snow-capped volcanoes across the lake.  “Where are we going to setup the marks,” one wisecracking sailors asks?  “We’re not”, says a wise old sage (some guy named Jaime). “Instead, we just race point-to-point where there are great harbors, even better restaurants, vinos deliciosa, and comfortable places to stay, like PATAGONIA VIRGIN!”  Believe it or not, such conversations do take place in the quaint little pubs and restaurants along the shores of a truly remarkable body of water in Patagonian Chile.

J/70 sailing on Lago LlanquihueLago Llanquihue is the biggest lake in Chile, 1,000km south from Santiago, just 40 kms north from Puerto Montt.  It is 22 miles (35 km) long and 25 miles (40 km) wide with depths of 5,000 feet (1,500 m).  Some local myths believe Loch Ness Monster’s sister lives here.  Its western shores are bordered by farmlands and rolling hills; to the east rise steep, forested Andean foothills.  In the distance rise the snowcapped volcanoes Osorno and Calbuco, and beyond them on the Argentine border towers the great, glaciated Mount Tronador (11,660 feet/ 3,554 m). The setting of the lake and good fishing have made the lakeside towns- especially Puerto Varas, Frutillar, and Puerto Octay- popular resorts for tourists.

The “Vuelta al Lago” (around Lago Llanquihue) is an event that takes places over four days.  It’s a very popular event for sailors that are fortunate enough to enjoy the lake’s bountiful assets.

The Cofradía Nautica de Frutillar is the principal yacht club on the lake with around twenty boats.  Surazos in Puerto Varas is the second largest club in size and very important in terms of number of boats.

For the XIII version of the "Vuelta al lago Llanquihue (Around Lake Llanquihue) Race”, all of the lake’s boating clubs join together for what amounts to a local version of the New York YC Cruise each August.   During the four days of sailing, the fleet of thirteen boats included a J/70, two J/24s and a smattering of other boats up to 34 feet.

The 55nm race-track was divided into four legs/ races:
  • Frutillar- Puerto Varas
  • Puerto Varas- Puerto Oscuro
  • Puerto Oscuro- Puerto Octay
  • Puerto Octay- Frutillar
For this year’s event, the winds were mainly light from different directions, especially East and South East.  The wind shift and wind holes where changing pretty radically around the different courses, so the fleet needed to handle those changes and look for the wind across the lake.  Notably, the conditions were unusual as during this time of year the sailors usually enjoy SSW breezes all day long— chalk it up to another monstrous “El Nino” off Chile’s Pacific Coast!

J/70 sailing Patagonia, ChilePuerto Varas is the most developed city on the cruise, 12 miles south from Frutillar, as the southernmost point of the lake that is closest to Puerto Montt.  This time the fleet congregated at the “Mesa Tropera Restaurante,” recently opened in the last few years and offering one of the best “micro-brew” beers in Chile. This beer is produced in Cohaique, but in the future it will be produced locally in Puerto Varas.

The cruise to Puerto Oscuro on the second day was especially nice. It was a 19nm race from Puerto Varas, with winds from the southeast of 0 to 5 kts during the first third of the leg, then afterwards a fantastic 10-15 kts wind into the finish for the final two-thirds of the race! Fantastico!!

J/70 Santander Crew- Juan Eduardo Reid and Francisca!All crews slept on their boats.  For the J/70 crew on SANTANDER, that included Juan Eduardo Reid and Francisca Cordero who slept onboard J/70 #1. “Great rest on the V-berth of this wonderful little boat!”, said Juan.

That evening’s anchorage, at Puerto Oscuro at the base of Volcán Osorno and inside the Perez Rosales Park is an amazing place to stay. “You can just feel the nature and beauty of this part of Chile,” said Francisca (pictured here having a laugh about their enormous v-berth in the J/70)!

The third leg to Puerto Octay also had light winds, but ending with a 10-15 kts breeze from the southwest. The boats arrived on a tight reach to Centinela Peninsula and raced to the bottom of the bay into an amazing natural fjord where Campo el Molino is situated.  The J/70 managed to beat the M24 boat-for-boat on this leg.  At the beginning of the race going at TWA 50 degrees with the gennaker, the J/70 kept sailing with it until the very end of the leg, going as close to the rhumb line as possible, but keeping an eye on the wind in the middle of the lake.

The final leg to Frutillar was the shortest and, after 4 days, this was most appreciated by the smaller boat teams!  Notably, the first two boats to finish in all races were the J/70 and the M24.

The final results saw the J/70 SANTANDER sailed by Juan Eduardo Reid and Francisca Cordero winning with a 2-1-1-2 record for 6 pts. Another J/Team on the J/24 DRAKE took third place- Cesar Contreras with a 4-3-2-1 scoreline for 10 pts!  For more Regatta Vuelta al Lago Llanquihue sailing information on Facebook here.
 

J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
-----------
J/24s sailing off Boston, MA* Winter Sailing: Keep It Simple and Sweet!  At the Boston Sailing Center with the J/24 Midwinters series!  For most of North America, racing during winter months is a bit of lottery. Consistency and tolerable conditions is no lock. If this is your sailing venue, you can only limit the risk and hope for the best.

Keeping it simple and sweet is the idea behind the J/24 Frostbite Racing in Boston Harbor. Now in its 24th year, the concept centers around Boston Sailing Center and their fleet of 18 boats. Entry fee includes the boat charter, and racing extends from early November to late March in Boston’s Inner Harbor.

J/24 crews frostbiting in BostonWith racing just minutes from the dock, the first race is at noon and boats are typically back to the dock before 4pm. Post-race wrap-ups feature video review of the day’s racing and a de-brief with race committee or guest speakers, along with spirits and chili. Simple and sweet.

Living in regions with real winters, keeping skills sharp is the challenge, as is limiting any boat maintenance and storage issues. Leveraging the assets of a community sailing center, which are likely less used in the winter, is a brilliant solution.

Ken Leger report-
We had snow on February 7 and ice on February 14. Conditions both days were good for racing, about ten knots SW and ten knots SE. When the wind backed to ESE the ice on the East side of the harbor drifted onto the race course. It was a slushy ice so you could sail through it but at a reduced speed.

J/24s frostbiting off Boston Sailing CenterFrostbite Racing-
Keep your sailing skills sharp in the off season. We offer J-24 fleet racing Saturday afternoons from 12 to 3pm. There will be 18 boats on the line from November 7, 2015 through March 26, 2016. Post race wrap-ups feature video highlights of the day's racing and along with spirits and chili. The match racing eliminations and finals will be held on the last two days of the season.

If you are near Boston and want to get involved, or if this sounds like something that might work in your region, check out the information here.

J/105s sailing San Francisco Bay 
* J/105s in San Francisco Bay continue to stay busy year-round.  Here’s their latest report from the Bay by Bruce Stone, owner of the J/105 ARBITRAGE:

“The racing season for SF Bay J/105s never stopped last fall as it rolled right into Jeff Zarwell’s monthly RegattaPro Series, with a record turn-out of up to 22 J/105s.  The fleet just gained a few new owners and this was their chance to build teams and learn the boat. A few veteran skippers crewed for them and offered coaching, and were even seen forward of the traveler, trimming sails and doing bow!

The fleet now kicks off its regular season schedule on March 5-6 with the St. Francis YC’s Spring One Design.  Dave Perry, 5-time US Match Racing Champion and the premier racing rules advisor of our era, has been invited by Fleet #1 to be on-the-water with a video camera, taking notes for dock-side commentary at the end of the day raft-up, and a more thorough presentation at dinner. While attention will no doubt focus on the fleet’s notoriously tight action at starts and mark-roundings, to support the many new members in the fleet and assist the under-achievers, the National J/105 Regatta Committee provided a one-time exemption to its rules so that Dave can approach boats in between races and offer some general advice and tactical pointers.  Usually, support boats have to stay away until after racing so as to have a more level playing field, so this is an experiment that will be watched closely by the other J/105 fleets around the country as a potential model for their early season regattas.”

* Here’a a “J/105 How To” from Rock-Star German Sailor- Philipp Berner.  He sails on Bruce Stone’s J/105 ARBITRAGE in San Francisco Bay.  Philipp put this “how to” together to not only help J/105 crews in general, but also provide an insight on how to handle any larger asymmetric J/Boat in any wind conditions- it’s a very helpful guide.  Please go to this link to learn more.

J/27 sailing Midwinters off New Orleans, LA* More J/27 videos from the J/27 Midwinter Championship recently sailed on Lake Ponchartrain off New Orleans YC and Southern YC.  These videos are classic “home-made” amateur videos that give you a great flavor for what it is like to sail one of the classic J’s.  Enjoy!
Day 1 from DEMITASSE - https://youtu.be/iOEXsV_f21Q
Day 2 from CURVED AIR - https://youtu.be/Tq16Gqk_0ng
 

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 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again, for 2015/ 2016!  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 regards their various improvements and refit to the boat (see above).  They will again be based at Proper Yachts in St John, US Virgin Islands.

Bill & Judy Stellin- sailing J/42 Jaywalker* Bill & Judy Stellin were interviewed 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.