Showing posts with label key west. Show all posts
Showing posts with label key west. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

J/Newsletter- January 20th, 2021

sunset sailing on the Solent
In the past week or so, a lot of progress has been made on J/Boats two latest projects- the introduction of the new J/9 daysailer being made in the USA (Bristol, RI) and the new J/45 offshore cruising yacht being made in France (Les Sables d'Olonne). Below are highlights of that progress for both boats. Interest in them has been very strong and the building teams are looking forward to their inaugural test sails in late spring.

The past week also saw two very exciting events take place. For starters, the J/111 Class returned to Key West, Florida and they enjoyed a nice weekend of sailing in the tropical paradise.  Simultaneously, over in Europe, the Yacht Club de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco hosted the second act of the Monaco J/70 Winter Series.

Finally, in the J/Community section we got a great report from good friend Hank Stuart about sailing his J/35c BLUE KNIGHT on Lake Ontario this past summer. And, sadly, we got news of another good friend- Ding Schoonmaker- of his recent passing…see the tributes below.

 
J/9 daysailer hull mold

J/9 Progress Update

(Newport, RI)- The J/9 hull mold was recently completed at CCF Composites and is now being waxed in preparation for the molding of hull #1 next week. In the picture, the contrasting boot stripe can be seen as well as the insert for the rudder post/bearing. The hull stripe is 100% flush with the hull surface so that the finished molded boot-stripe will also be flush with no marks visible. A separate transom mold fits on the back of the hull mold and is precisely aligned with 6 round keyways.

J/9 deck plug

Deck Plug Update

Symmetrix Composite Tooling recently applied a custom-mixed nonskid to all the horizontal surfaces of the J/9 deck and cockpit. Four different nonskid samples were tooled up, with molds taken from each and subsequent parts molded and tested, before the winner was selected. Symmetrix is now adding the final finishing touches to the deck plug before it is transported to CCF later this week. 

J/9 Specification Update

With the North American sailboat market recently importing more new sailboats than building domestically, we set out to reverse that trend with the J/9. Most of the content and key J/9 components are being supplied and supported by North American companies with extensive J/Boats experience.

Composite Materials

Quality composite construction starts with high-quality composite materials. The J/9 composites are sourced through Composites One, the largest North American distributor, whose regional office/warehouse is nearby in Bristol, Rhode Island. The fiberglass used in molding the J/9 is manufactured by Vectorply in Phenix City, Alabama. The Corecell core is produced by Gurit in Quebec, and the resins are made by AOC Resins from their facilities in Tennessee and Ontario.

J/9 keel profile

J/9 Keel

A key contributor to J/9’s exceptional stability is the all-lead, L-shaped, low VCG (vertical center-of-gravity) keel featuring a foil-shaped, wedge bulb that increases stability (vs. conventional keels) without increasing draft. The modest 4.9’ draft allows the J/9 to sail in most areas, and an optional 3.9’ shoal keel is available for even skinnier water access. The J/9 keels are being produced at Broomfield & Son in Rhode Island.

J/9 sailplan

Jib Furling System

The J/9 design philosophy of keeping things simple is carried through to the sailing hardware and systems. In-deck jib furlers might look great, but for less weight, less cost, easier maintenance and much less friction, nothing beats a high quality above-deck furler like the Mark IV Unit 0 from Harken, Inc. of Pewaukee, WI.

J/9 Spar Package

After carefully considering several spar options, Sparcraft USA (Charlotte, NC) was chosen to supply the J/9’s spar package. The Sparcraft extrusions (mast and boom sections) match the J/9’s performance profile, and the company’s ability to anodize and powder coat the spars provides the most durable painted finish available.  For more J/9 Daysailer information
 
J/45 hull demolding

J/45 Cruising Yacht Just Hatched!

(Les Sables d'Olonne, France)- This past week, the team at J/Composites in Les Sables d'Olonne, France is proud to present the first hull "out-of-the-box" of the brand-new J/45 offshore cruising yacht.  

Designed to be a comfortable offshore greyhound, the J/45 design is reminiscent of the remarkable heritage of J/Boats offshore cruising yachts of the past, such as the J/145, J/160, and J/65. Clean, crisp lines, fine entry, forgiving hull shape, and flat exit off the stern quarters all point to a cruising yacht that will reel-off the miles offshore, wherever the heart desires. 

J/45 offshore cruising yacht transom
Fulfill that dream, escape to world's unknown. As Sarah Frances Brown once said, "twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover!"  Learn more about the new J/45 offshore cruising yacht here
 
J/70s sailing Biscayne Bay off Miami, FL

J/70 Bacardi Winter Series II Preview

Miami, FL- Hosted principally by the Bacardi Event management team and Shake-A-Leg Miami's beautiful facilities in Coconut Grove (Miami), Florida, the second of the three event Bacardi Winter Series will be taking place this weekend from January 22nd to 24th, 2021.  

The forecast continues to improve for the weekend for the twenty J/70 teams that are entered from around the world. There are teams from Germany, Brazil, Cayman Islands, and USA. 

The first regatta in mid-December was nearly washed out due to no wind...a single, very marginal, race was held for the highly competitive fleet.  No question, everyone is looking forward to the classic breezes from the southeast that Biscayne Bay is famous for this coming weekend.  

By J/70 standards, the small fleet is deeply laden with talent across the board, counting well over two-dozen World Champions in various classes amongst them. Some teams that may be at the top of the leaderboard include Joel Ronning's CATAPULT (with Erik Shampain & Morgan Reeser on speed/tactics), Germany's Mike Illbruck on PINTA (including famous tactician John Kostecki), Peter Cunningham's POWERPLAY from the Cayman Islands, John Brim's RIMETTE (with Zeke Horowitz on tactics), Pam Rose's ROSEBUD (with Bill Hardesty on tactics), Steve Benjamin's SAINT (with 2 World Champion tacticians aboard- Al Terhune & Chris Larson), Ryan McKillen's SURGE (with Lucas Calabrese & John Wallace on speed/ tactics), Dave Janetti's VERY ODD (with Travis Odenbach on tactics), Buddy Cribb's VICTORY (with Greiner Hobbs & Malcolm Lamphere on speed/tactics), and Doug Newhouse's YONDER (with Jeremy Wilmot & Tomas Dietrich on speed/ tactics). That is a breath-taking collection of smart, fast sailors on those teams.  For more Bacardi Winter Series II sailing information
 
J/92 sailing Key West Race

Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race Started!

(Fort Lauderdale, FL)- The third event of the 2020-21 SORC Islands in the Stream Series, the 2021 Lauderdale to Key West Race, got underway today with a slow, light winds forecast for the 155 nm course. The 31 entrants are competing in four ORC divisions, PHRF, and Multihull. The four J/Crews are making tracks down the Florida Keys, right-turn signal blinking the entire way! 

You can watch their progress with the Kattack Tracker, click here and cheer on your buddies

Want to watch the weather in Key West and wish you were there? Check out the Key West Harbor webcam here   Follow the race here on the SORC Sailing Facebook page   For more Key West Race sailing information
 
J/Duffels for sale

January Special for a J/Duffel!

(Newport, RI)- Ronstan has been in the performance sailing business for years and they have designed a quality duffel that is perfect for racing or cruising. Ample space in the 24"x12"x12" dimension with wide grip carry strap. Inside wet pouch keeps the dry clothes separate. Rugged stitching and large top loading flap. Embroider with your class logo, boat name, and sail number.  We are offering a 21% discount for the month of January! Click here to order now!
 

Sailing Calendar

Jan 21- STC Lauderdale to Key West Race- Fort Lauderdale, FL
Jan 22-24- J/70 Bacardi Winter Series II- Miami, FL
Feb 4-7- Monaco J/70 Winter Series- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Feb 17- SORC Miami to Eleuthera Race- Miami, FL
Mar 4-7- J/70 Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Mar 5-7- J/111 Key West Winter Series- Key West, FL
Mar 5-8- St Maarten Heineken Regatta- Simpson Bay, Saint Maarten
Mar 10-13- J/70 Bacardi Cup- Miami, FL
Mar 19-21- J/70 Davis Island Winter Series III- Tampa, FL
Mar 19-21- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego, CA
Mar 26-28- St. Thomas International Regatta- St. Thomas, USVI
Mar 29- Apr 4- BVI Spring Regatta- Road Town, Tortola, BVI
Apr 2-4- St Petersburg NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg, FL
Apr 11-17- Les Voiles de St Barth Regatta- Gustavia, St Barthelemy 
Apr 8-11- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
Apr 24-30- Antigua Sailing Week- English Harbour, Antigua, West Indies

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
 
J/111s sailing off Key West, FL

RAMROD Takes J/111 Key West Winter Series I

(Key West, Florida)- The inaugural 2021 Key West Winter Series took place January 16-18 off Key West, Florida. Thanks to the efforts of Ryan and Rob Ruhlman and the entire team at SAILING INC (with J/Dealerships in Ohio and South Carolina) for pulling this together. 

J/111 winter series off Key West, FL
The five-boat fleet were chomping on their bits and could not wait to get back down to Key West and do some sailing in the gorgeous aquamarine waters and mild 70's temperatures with plenty of sun! They were not disappointed, as Key West delivered on some great sailing in the race course area just 2.0 miles southwest of Key West Harbor. 

After a thrilling, fun-filled three days of racing offshore, the regatta PRO Mark Foster managed to run a tight series of races, completing eight races by Sunday afternoon. 

J/111 Ramrod sailing Key West Winter Series
A well-known Chesapeake Bay sailor who has several offshore and World Championship titles to his name managed to win in his inaugural debut in the J/111 class. Rod Jabin's crew on RAMROD took the first J/111 Key West Winter Series event with the stunning record of three 1sts, four 2nds, and a 4th for total of 15 pts. While the RAMROD crew mastered their boat and the conditions, showing their transom to the fleet most of the time, behind them it was anything but clear which teams would make the podium. Sailing perhaps one of their best regattas in recent years was Andy and Sedge Ward's BRAVO posting five races in the top three and winning the last race to cement their hold on the silver. Finishing just four points behind them was another Chesapeake Bay team on Marty Roesch's VELOCITY, posting six races in the top three to take the bronze. 

The next regatta in Key West will be sailed on March 5th to 7th, 2021. 

Follow the J/111 class on Facebook here   For more information regards Key West Winter J/111 Series, presented by SAILING INC 

 
J/70s sailing off Monte Carlo, Monaco

PETITE TERRIBLE- ADRIA FERRIES Wins J/70 Monaco Winter Series Act I

(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- For the start of its eighth season, the Monaco J/70 Winter Series had twenty-one teams participating from Monaco, Switzerland, Italy, and France! As usual, the Yacht Club de Monaco rolled out the red carpet for the happy and enthusiastic J/70 teams, hosting a wonderful event despite all of the precautions put in place for Covid virus mitigation. 

Like their compatriots in the USA, the Mediterranean Sea also delivered relatively light weather for the duration of the three-day series. In the end, the YC Monaco PRO managed complete a five-race series.

J/70s sailing off Monte Carlo, Monaco
The fleet was deeply talented, including the past three-time European J/70 Champion- Italian Claudia Rossi's famous PETITE TERRIBLE- ADRIA FERRIES. Hopping aboard her boat with her familiar crew must have sent chills down the spines of the other top tacticians and skippers. Not surprisingly, it was pretty clear after the first day that Claudia had not lost her form, taking a 1-2 to easily lead the fleet. Thereafter, she posted a 1-7-5 to win the regatta with just 9 pts.  

Swiss sailor, Thomas Studer, started off slowly on the first day, then quickly made the necessary adjustments with his crew to sail smarter and faster the rest of the regatta. Studer's JERRY posted a 6-8-2-2-1 tally for a total of 11 net pts, nearly catching Rossi's PETITE TERRIBLE in the end. Sailing consistently from start to finish with all top 6 finishes was Giangiacomo Serena Di Lapigio's G-SPOT, posting a 4-6-4-5-3 tally for 16 pts net. 

Winning the Corinthians Division was Thomas Studer's JERRY. The balance of the podium was determined by a tie-breaker at 23 pts each. Taking the silver based on the countback was Ludovico Fassitelli's JUNDA- BANCO DEL SEMPIONE from Monaco. As a result, Cesare Gabasio's TINN J70 took the bronze medal. 

The next regatta will take place in Monte Carlo on February 4th to 7th, 2021. For more YC Monaco J/70 Winter Series sailing information
 

J/Community

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

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* J/Net Brokerage Specials! Check out our exciting new site for lovingly-owned J/Boats from around the world here.  

J/160 for sale on J/Net Brokerage

Dream Cruiser For Sale!

Here is one of those beauties, a newly listed J/160 cruiser down on Long Island Sound. A rare opportunity to own this beautiful and lovingly maintained J/160 built in 2000. 

The J/160 is a perfect "world cruiser"; they have truly sailed all Seven Seas since inception. Many J/160s have won famous offshore sailboat races worldwide, too.  

The J/160 combines excellent offshore performance with extremely comfortable accommodations in a four-cabin layout. This boat has an extensive inventory and is ready to cruise the Caribbean now! She's available for viewing in the water today and the owner is asking just $349,000 USD!   Learn more about J/160's here.   Learn more about this newly listed J/160 here and contact the broker


J/35c Blue Knight offshore

* Awesome Family Sailing on J/35c BLUE KNIGHT

The summer of 2020 was challenging for sailors on Lake Ontario. The Canada/ USA boarder closure prevented cross-lake travel. Many friends were left stranded on their side of the lake.

The area’s Regional Sailing Association (RSA) is Lake Yacht Racing Association that holds an annual regatta. Clubs from Canada and the USA make up the LYRA. Due to Covid restrictions, the usual regatta was cancelled. LYRA organizers instead created a handful of one race events all held on August 1st, both in the US and Canada.

LYRA organized a race from Rochester to Pultneyville and return, approximately 38.0nm. Eighteen boats from Rochester Yacht Club and Genesee Yacht Club participated in the race. BLUE KNIGHT, a 1992 J/35c from Sodus Bay Yacht Club also competed.

BLUE KNIGHT was built for Peter Pape of the Rochester Yacht Club. In 1994, Peter met Hank Stuart and the two began a lifelong friendship centered on racing BLUE KNIGHT on Lake Ontario. They also traveled with their team to events outside of the US, including Antigua Race Week in 1995.

The pinnacle of their efforts was Lake Ontario Boat of the Year honor in 2002, which offered them a chance to represent US Sailing Area E at the 2003 US Sailing Offshore National Championships (the Lloyd Phoenix Trophy) at the US Naval Academy. They won! The first and only time so far that Area E has won the national title.

Hank Stuart sailing his J/35c offshoreThe team was mixed, four men and four women. Hank Stuart (skipper), Mary Stuart, Mark Sertl, Annemarie Cook, Michael and Kristin Carbone, Michele Villani and Peter Pape. US Naval Academy Midshipman Evan Scott completed the crew.

The following summer 2004, BLUE KNIGHT was again named Lake Ontario Boat of the Year. In the years since she has continued to have a fun and successful cruising/racing career on Lake Ontario.

While not having raced as much in the past three or four years, the team dusted off their sunglasses and made their way to Rochester for the LYRA race on August 1, 2020.

The race started in a light southeasterly breeze, which persistently clocked to the right. By afternoon the northeast thermal had filled in and the fleet was hard on the wind for the leg to Pultneyville.

Once around the turning mark it was a reach, then run back to the bar at Rochester YC. BLUE KNIGHT had not lost her stride, she won her class and was best in fleet. The crew during COVID times was small, including Hank Stuart (skipper, now owner), Annemarie Cook, Michael and Kristin Carbone, their daughter Makyala, and Peter Pape.

The J/35c is an easily-sailed cruiser-racer. Both Hank and Peter commented on the balance between comfortable shorthanded sailing and a hull design that is easy to feel and make necessary adjustments for maximum efficiency while racing.

For most of the 2020 summer, Hank sailed BLUE KNIGHT singlehanded. But, don’t think that means he did not fly the spinnaker, because he did! 

Thanks for this story from Hank Stuart. Hank is a member at Sodus Bay Yacht Club, New York Yacht Club, St Francis Yacht Club, Bayview Yacht Club, Storm Trysail Club, Oswego Yacht Club and is Commodore of the Rochester Corinthian Yacht Club. When not sailing he provides race management services to sailors around the world. He is an International Race Officer. J/Boats sailors would have seen Hank most recently as PRO for the J/70 World Championship.

We wish BLUE KNIGHT continued success on the race course and fair winds wherever she goes cruising with family and friends.  For more J/35c sailboat information


Ding Schoonmaker sailor

* Eight Bells: Ding Schoonmaker

Bob Johnstone provided us some perspective on Ding's recent passing down in Naples, Florida:

"Ding and I raced against each other as teenagers in Lightnings on Little Narragansett Bay back in the 50s. Ding in Watch Hill and me in Stonington. Twenty-two years later in 1973, when Ding was NAYRU’s Director of Junior Sailing, he was able to persuade a fairly reactionary NAYRU Board of Directors to approve placing the “United States” label on an unproven invitational youth regatta to be called- U.S. Youth Championship! His friend (me!) was proposing the first regatta take place out in the boonies of the Midwest - Wilmette, IL.  That wasn’t an easy process to get "approval".

Back then, NAYRU (North American Yacht Racing Union) was mostly an Eastern establishment. Ding thus played a major role in the birth of that first United States Youth Championship at the Sheridan Shore YC in Lasers and 470s, bringing youth under 19 years of age together from all over the country. For this and his many other contributions, the sport and about 5,000 Youth Champs alumni owe Ding a huge debt of gratitude. Mary’s and my prayers go out to his wife Treecie and Ding’s many sailing friends worldwide."

How influential was the nascent US Youth Champs? Over the past 47+ years, it has helped create multiple World, North American, National, and European Champions, along with a number of Olympic Medallists. You may notice a number of America's leading sailors in this list:

Ed Adams, Tom Barrows, Steve Benjamin, JB Braun, Carl Buchan, Bruce & Glenn Burton, Andy Campbell, Amanda Clark, Peter Commette, Augie Diaz, Mark Foster, Neal Fowler, Kelly Gough, Bill Hardesty, Stan Honey, Peter Isler, Stu, Drake & Peter Johnstone, Brian Keane, Gary Knapp, Mark Laura, Pete Levesque, Tom Lihan, Andy & John Lovell, Chris Maas, Jonathan & Charlie McKee, Stu McNay, Pete Melvin, Andy Menkart, Stew & Terry Neff, Bruce Nelson, Dave Perry, Nat Philbrick, Chris Raab, Buzz Reynolds, Nevin Sayre, Russ Silvestri, Bob & Tom Whitehurst, Scott Young. An impressive list of sailors (if I missed anyone, please don't shoot the messenger). 

Yet another long-time friend of both J/Boats and Ding- Gary Jobson- wrote a nice tribute to him that appeared in Scuttlebutt Sailing News:

"One of America’s sailing heroes, James “Ding” Schoonmaker II, 87, passed away January 19 in Naples, Florida. His wife, Treecie, noted he had been feeling well until just two days ago, ultimately succumbing to lung cancer.

Ding, as his friends referred to him, was a Star Class World Champion and served as a Vice President of World Sailing, the international governing body of the sport.

He was a long-time steward of the sport of sailing and a generous supporter of the US Sailing Foundation, the National Sailing Hall of Fame, the United States Olympic Sailing Team, and the US Sailing Training Center in Miami, Florida.

At the 1975 Star World Championship, President Gerald Ford was invited by Chicago’s Mayor Richard Daley to welcome the 73 crews and guests to the Windy City. Said President Ford to the gathering, “One skipper and crew in particular has caught my eye, and I would like them to stand up and take a bow– the skipper of Star 5607, Ding Schoonmaker and his very talented and capable crew – Jerry Ford!”

Everyone got a good laugh, and Ding and Jerry Ford (the sailor) must have been inspired because they went on to win the 1975 Star World Championship.

Two years later, Ding returned to the Star Worlds with a new crew who wanted to get acquainted with the class, and learn from the master. The 47-year-old crew was named, Buddy Melges! Buddy must have learned a lot from Ding, because he went on to win the Star Worlds in 1978 and 1979.

Born June 10, 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, his name comes from his Grandfather, of the same name, who was a Medal of Honor recipient in the Civil War. Ding’s first race was in 1944 at the age of eleven off Watch Hill, RI. He spent his summers in Watch Hill and winters in Florida over the past 87 years.

Ding started out in the Star Class as a crew for Olympian Jack Price in 1946. He remarked during an interview for the National Maritime Historical Society in 2019, “I immediately fell in love with the boat. From the beginning I liked the class organization, the accomplished sailors who raced the boat, and the challenge to win.”

At the age of 19, he placed second in the Olympic Trials in the Star Class and was named the team’s alternate in Helsinki. He earned that honor again in 1964 at the Games in Tokyo. Along the way, Ding won World, North American, South American, Western Hemisphere, and European Championships in the Star Class. In 1962, following the Cuban revolution, he worked with Tito Bacardi and Frank Zagarino to move the Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta to Biscayne Bay off Miami, where it is still raced today.

In 1971, he raced with another Star World Champion, Joe Duplin, as his crew at an Olympic Classes regatta in Kiel, Germany. Ding noted, “It blew very hard the entire week. Thanks to Joe, we won every race.”

Ding was named US Yachtsman of the Year in 1971 for that accomplishment and a long list of other victories that year. In addition to racing a Star at a high level, he also raced Thistles, Flying Dutchman, Herreshoff 12 1/2s, X Dinghies, Finns, Lasers, and Soling’s (he placed third in the first World Championship in 1969).

In 1968, he was asked to join a committee working on class measurement and development issues for the International Yacht Racing Union (now World Sailing). Ding learned the value of service and how it translated into improving his beloved sport. He was a Board member on the US Yacht Racing Union (now US Sailing) and would serve on several international committees. He was elected to serve on the Board of IRYU for 14 years (1986-1994 and 1998-2004).

Ding observed that sailing has changed a lot over his lifetime. “One of the best changes is modern technology, but one of the worst is the high costs associated with Grand Prix racing. Unfortunately, the Olympics has become an arms race for some of the affluent nations.”

He added, “Talent and ability win medals. Sailing is a sport you can compete in for many years.” Looking toward the future he suggested, “I would like to see the sport like it was 25 years ago. Promote the fleet, club, recreational sailing, and racing. We need to keep grass roots (sailing) and club racing active. Also, we need to encourage young sailors to remain in the sport.”

For his distinguished career, he was awarded the Nathanael Greene Herreshoff Award, US Sailing’s highest honor, in 1988 and the Beppe Croce Award, World Sailing’s highest honor in 2011. In 2018 he was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame and in 2019 he was presented the Distinguished Service Award by the National Maritime Historical Society.

Notable among all of his philanthropic work was creating the US Sailing Center in Miami in 1987, establishing the World Youth Sailing Trust to help aspiring sailors in emerging countries and creating the US Sailing Foundation in 1990.

Ding Schoonmaker has been an important counselor to the leaders of the sport both in the United States, and throughout the world for decades. He will be missed, while his lifelong work will serve as enduring legacy for sailors in the USA and around the world." Again, thanks to Gary Jobson from Annapolis, Maryland for this tribute. 
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Wednesday, January 13, 2021

J/Newsletter- January 13th, 2020

J/70s at sunset north of Moscow

Now that we are approaching the midpoint of January, it is hard to believe that next week would have marked the start of the famous international "Woodstock" of sailing- Key West Race Week sailed off Key West, Florida. For sailors around the world, it marked the beginning of the sailing season sailing on the sunny, warm waters off the Florida Keys, and enjoying the warm breezes, heavily influenced by the 85 F degree Gulf Stream flowing north at 4 to 6 kts just a mile or two offshore.

However, all is not lost in this pandemic mayhem we have all been living with for nearly one year now. Perseverance combined with safe practices has resulted in two events that will be taking place in Key West this year! For starters, the next event in the SORC Islands in the Stream Series is the famous Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race! Thereafter, the passionate J/111 class organized the first full set of regattas to take place in Key West in three years- the J/111 Key West Series will be starting up this weekend! Then, across the Atlantic, the famous Yacht Club de Monaco will be hosting their first Act in the eighth annual J/70 Winter Series held off Monte Carlo, Monaco on the Mediterranean Sea.

Meanwhile, the J/99 fleet is growing in South America and the latest boat has landed in Chile, read the report below from Juan Reid in Algarrobo, Chile.  Also, the San Francisco J/105 Fleet continues to innovate and run their own winter series, safely sailing as doublehanded teams on San Francisco Bay. The fleet rendezvous at a specific mark, and off they go around government marks! Simple, sweet, and easy to administrate. This past week a big fleet of doublehanded J/105s enjoyed the inaugural "Bittersweet Chocolate Race", honoring "bittersweet chocolate day" last weekend! Guess what the awards were? Read on and find out!
 
J/111s sailing offshore

J/111 Key West Winter Series Preview

(Key West, Florida)- The inaugural 2021 Key West Winter Series will take place January 16-18 and then March 5-7, 2021. And, if you want to go, you need a J/111! Our hats off to Ryan and Rob Ruhlman and the entire team at SAILING INC (with J/Dealerships in Ohio and South Carolina) for pulling this together. 

When the difficult decision was made not to hold Key West Race Week in January 2018, it was a harsh blow to passionate, enthusiastic sailors from across the USA and the rest of the world that loved the amazing Caribbean-like tropical weather. It is hard to forget the roosters running amuck, the raucous night life, the amazing restaurants, and key limes in everything you eat or drink. Determined to overcome the lack of any sailing event in Key West, the Ruhlman family and SAILING INC. from Cleveland, OH decided to do something about it.  Here's an interview from Scuttlebutt Sailing Newsletter to give you a perspective. 

J/111's sailing at Key West
Where did the idea come from?
Rob Ruhlman: Key West Race Week had an epic 30 year run and being part of nearly every one of those years made it more than an annual event but a way of life. It was what January was dedicated to every year. The opportunity to reignite that flame, albeit on a much smaller scale, is worth pursuing in the hope that when properly fanned and fed the fire will once again burn brightly. The J/111 class has gotten together to organize an event this year and with the support we have and a little bit of luck, we can use this as a starting point for bigger and better events going forward.

Why Key West and not somewhere else?
Ryan Ruhlman: Key West is a signature destination in the United States, an honest-to-God tropical paradise. The opportunity to race on blue water, experience the island culture, and reconnect with our friends during the cold winter months is just too good to pass up.

J/111 sailing Key WestKey West had become less accommodating when KWRW ended. Has that changed?
Karl Felger: The City of Key West has graciously signed off on the event, and we’re going to have a lot of help from our friends and sponsors. The majority of the organized activity will be on-the-water, with our social gatherings leveraging some of the best spots in Key West. We appreciate the City of Key West’s cooperation and are happy to help support the local community and economy.

There is no infrastructure in Key West... how do you pull this off?
Karl Felger: Our goal is to provide a grand prix racing experience, while planting the seeds for the future. Our focus is on offering multiple great races each day over the two-weekend format, leveraging resources provided by the J/111 owners, and with the help of a world class PRO. We have secured the services of a full-service marina, allowing the fleet a venue to launch, haul-out, and store their boat between two events. Boat owners then have an option for dockage at any marina of their choosing.

Answering that siren song to participate across the J/111 world are the following teams; Andrew & Sedge Ward's BRAVO from Shelter Island, NY; Rod Jabin's RAMROD from Annapolis, MD; Ian Hill's SITELLA from Hampton, VA; Rob Ruhlman's SPACEMAN SPIFF from Cleveland, OH; and Marty Roesch's VELOCITY from Annapolis, MD.   Follow the J/111 class on Facebook here   For more information regards Key West Winter J/111 Series, presented by SAILING INC
 
J/70 Europeans logo

J/70 European Championship 2021 UPDATE!

(Skovshoved, Copenhagen, Denmark)- The Royal Danish Yacht Club is looking forward to hosting the J/70 European Championship in 2021 from June 4th to 12th, 2021. Please note the updated dates!

The event will take place at Rungsted Harbour approximately 15 km north of downtown Copenhagen. This harbour is one of three stations that Royal Danish YC manages. 

The RDYC has been a strong supporter of the growth of the Danish J/70 Sailing League and their efforts have led the way for well over eighteen sailing clubs to participate. As a result, the level of competitiveness for Danish sailors has improved considerably in the J/70 class. The KDY/ RDYC have been able to achieve strong success in the SAILING Champions League in the past few years (finishing in the top 10 every year out of 36 teams); an event that has been held at the YC Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy and St. Moritz Sailing Club in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

As in years past, the KDY/ RDYC are anticipating over 100 J/70 teams will be participating in the J/70 European Championships on the Baltic Sea in early June.  For more J/70 European Championship sailing and registration information
 
J/121 sailing Key West Race

Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race Preview 

(Fort Lauderdale, FL)- While nowhere near the record fleets of 100+ boats of the past, the remarkably strong turnout of twenty-seven keelboats for the 2021 pandemic edition of the SORC Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race is sure to be a fun time! The weather forecast looks promising, with a frontal passage promising 15-20 kts winds from the N/NW. That could mean an amazing starboard tack sleighride down around the Florida Keys reefs, right-turn signal blinking the entire way!

J/111 sailing Key West RaceA fleet of twenty-seven keelboats will be starting on Friday afternoon hoping to pop their Code Zeros or spinnakers as they head south down the Florida coastline. The largest class is the nineteen-boat ORC Class. Participating will be the J/121 WINGS sailed by Ashley Maltempo & Bill Wiggins from Johns Island, SC; Chris Lewis's J/44 KENAI from Seabrook, TX; the J/109 HARM'S WAY skippered by Andy Wescoat from Galveston Bay, TX; and the J/92 HILLBILLY sailed by Brad Stowers from Melbourne, FL. Have fun! Thousands of J/Sailors will be dreaming of their virtual sleigh ride, too!  For more SORC Key West Race sailing information
 
Monaco J/70's sailing off Monte Carlo

J/70 Monaco Winter Series Act I Preview

(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- For the start of its eighth season, the Monaco J/70 Winter Series will have around 20 boats on the water this coming weekend. Due to the current pandemic health situation, the teams present at this first official meeting of the race season will mainly comprise local teams. Virtually all the teams will be focused on preparation for the 37th Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse organized by the Yacht Club de Monaco from March 4th to 7th, 2021. 

Among the favorites for Act I of the winter series will be the leaders that started their winter season with the Christmas Regatta in December 2020. Winning that event was Ludovic Fassitelli's JUNDA- BANCA DEL SEMPIONE. Challengers should include teams like Stefano Roberti's PICCININA, Herve Maino's SOPWITH CAMEL, Jeremy Moutot's LOKOMOTIV, and the French team on Guillaume Charon's KISS & FLY.   For more YC Monaco J/70 Winter Series sailing information
 
J/Duffels for sale

January Special for a J/Duffel!

(Newport, RI)- Ronstan has been in the performance sailing business for years and they have designed a quality duffel that is perfect for racing or cruising. Ample space in the 24"x12"x12" dimension with wide grip carry strap. Inside wet pouch keeps the dry clothes separate. Rugged stitching and large top loading flap. Embroider with your class logo, boat name, and sail number.  We are offering a 21% discount for the month of January! Click here to order now!
 

Sailing Calendar

Jan 14-17- Monaco J/70 Winter Series- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Jan 16-18- J/111 Key West Winter Series- Key West, FL
Jan 21- STC Lauderdale to Key West Race- Fort Lauderdale, FL
Jan 22-24- J/70 Bacardi Winter Series II- Miami, FL
Feb 4-7- Monaco J/70 Winter Series- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Feb 17- SORC Miami to Eleuthera Race- Miami, FL
Mar 4-7- J/70 Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Mar 5-7- J/111 Key West Winter Series- Key West, FL
Mar 5-8- St Maarten Heineken Regatta- Simpson Bay, Saint Maarten
Mar 10-13- J/70 Bacardi Cup- Miami, FL
Mar 19-21- J/70 Davis Island Winter Series III- Tampa, FL
Mar 19-21- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego, CA
Mar 26-28- St. Thomas International Regatta- St. Thomas, USVI
Mar 29- Apr 4- BVI Spring Regatta- Road Town, Tortola, BVI
Apr 2-4- St Petersburg NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg, FL
Apr 11-17- Les Voiles de St Barth Regatta- Gustavia, St Barthelemy 
Apr 8-11- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
Apr 24-30- Antigua Sailing Week- English Harbour, Antigua, West Indies

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
 
J/99 sailing off Chile

J/99 Chile Update

(Algarrobo, Chile)- In July 2019 Eduardo Capdeville was very interested in the new J/99 when it was first introduced. He was looking for a boat that his family could enjoy, one that he could race with them, and have the ability to do some doublehanded coastal sailing.

As a result, Eduardo decided to visit the J/Composites factory in Les Sables d'Olonne, France. He wanted to see how the boat was built and to take a test sail. Thanks to the efforts of Fred Bouvier, a day of sailing and taking a J/Composites factory tour was organized for Eduardo and friends.

J/99 family sailing off Chile
One year later, in June 2020, Mr. Capdeville placed an order for J/99 hull #60 (pictured skippering with family crew).

After the confirmation of the order, the J/Boats dealer in Chile- Juan Eduardo Reid- started the process of organizing all the details and logistics for Mr. Capdeville to complete the boat in France, ship the boat from France to Chile via the Panama Canal; and commission the boat in Algarrobo, Chile.

The optional equipment was finalized, including the big wheel J/111 pedestal option. ONE SAILS were selected for the entire set of sail, the first J/99 worldwide to have them. Additional items included a 12" chart plotter for the wheel pedestal, a long list of West Marine safety equipment, covers, cradle, mooring, proper anti-fouling bottom paint and so forth.  As Juan exclaimed, "I soon realized I was configuring this boat like it was for me, but keeping the customer's desire in mind for all things onboard.

J/99 sailing offshore of Algarrobo, Chile
The boat arrived safely on November 22nd, 2020 and, amazingly, we were ready to go sailing on the 9th of December with very light winds!"

As Juan described the occasion, "I wanted to make it a real sea trail for our owner. So, I got together with a famous and very experienced South American sailor- José Muñoz- and we did some test sailing on January 10th, 2021 as the weather would be the right ones.

The conditions were perfect- 12-14 kts, sun, and gentle rolling swells from the southeast (e.g., storm swells from the Roaring Forties down by the Antarctic Ocean).

"During the current pandemic, with the daily cases going up again, going to sail a brand-new J/99 with a great sail inventory and my friend José with the perfect sunny and windy day, was kind of a miracle", commented Juan. "Also, we got Yanko to film with his DJI Drone and Choncho to rent his nice FE 580 RIB.  Sailing was perfect! The IFS A4 asymmetric spinnaker fit and performed perfectly, as well as the rest of the ONE Sail inventory. Flavio Formosa from design and Slovenian Loft 
did a great job."

J/99 sailing with doublehead rig
Juan continues describing their experience, "the J/99 is amazing. The wheel is sensitive and transmits the sensation from the rudder perfectly. With 14 kts of breeze, the boat was going 6.8 to 7.1 kts with no crew on the rail. Very stable, similar to the J/105. And, the hull going through the waves was smooth and strong... hard to describe, but easy to understand for a J/Boats owner. The V shape section and the good hull, sail plan, foils and ballast make the whole combination perfect and the boat just flies through the water."

He added, "downwind, we were making 8 to 9 kts, with a breeze of just 12 to 14 kts. There was no planing condition, but you can see that the boat will go planing very easily with winds over 15 to 16 kts.  Very stable, very easy. Nice, nice, nice.

Other aspects that surprised us was the nicely appointed interior, nice headroom (almost 1.8 meters) and simple, but good distribution. This is a big step ahead of the J/105, a boat that we are very used to in Chile, with a fleet of thirty boats.

J/99 sailing upwind offshore- Algarrobo, Chile
For the J/99, another really nice aspect is the nice aluminum mast with an integral mainsail luff track (for sliders), that makes mainsail handling very easy. Also, the trimming system for the jib (with up- down and in-out) makes it very easy to tune the jib shape to any wind/wave condition. This gives you the opportunity of having only one all-purpose jib, as we did for "Lady Chopper II", with Harken furler and vertical battens.

Congratulations to Al Johnstone for the nice design, J/Composite for the good construction, and the entire J/Boats team to achieve more than 60 J/99's built to date. We are happy to have two already in South America; one in Chile and one in Perú.

Now, we look forward to racing doublehanded regattas in IRC, a TCC of 1.005 is very promising.

And, we are also looking forward to sailing the bigger brother of this boat, the new J/45. We see in both models the same design considerations; we believe the J/45 will be a rocket in the water; an easy to sail, soft, stable, well-built, comfortable rocket offshore."   To learn more about the J/99 shorthanded offshore speedster
 
J/105 sailing upwind offshore doublehanded

"Bittersweet Chocolate" J/105 Doublehanded Race Report

(San Francisco, CA)- On Sunday, January 10th, nine J/105s gathered informally near Golden Gate YC’s X buoy for some fresh air and double-handed sailing in what has become a monthly event for the fleet. The occasion for this past weekend was the National Bittersweet Chocolate Day; therefore, the inspirational name for the race (the kicker, of course, was the awards were Bruce & Nicole's bittersweet chocolate brownies!). 

With a 4-7 kt northeasterly and a few knots of ebb, expected to build significantly, several skippers wondered whether we could even make it around the course.  The current was strongly flooding INSIDE SF Marina’s West Harbor and drove Bruce Stone’s J/105 Arbitrage sideways into the corner of the guest dock, earning a severe scrape of the hull.  After Co-owner (and spouse) Nicole Breault applied a healthy amount of duct tape, the team headed out to the starting area.

With the wind starting to clock north just before the start, and the windward mark being YRA 8 (channel marker R “4”), most boats started at the wind-favored X buoy, while Akula, skippered by Doug Bailey, started on port at the Wave Organ, the shoreside end of the line, in less adverse current.  Akula heading along the shore all the way to Pier 39, and looked way behind, especially when the wind shifted further north and both Ne*Ne and Arbitrage were able to set their spinnakers while still on the first leg.  With most of the fleet gaining current relief by passing Alcatraz to the north, Akula seemed to be a mile behind.  The northerly then ramped up to 12 kts and the “leaders” were sailing on a tight spinnaker reach, barely under control since they were missing 800 pounds of crew!  All of a sudden, Akula poked out into the ebb exiting from South Bay and achieved a massive VMG as he headed north toward the mark, arriving there a half-mile ahead of Ne*Ne, Russian Roulette, Arrived! and Arbitrage rounding together in that order.  Akula then headed southwest (with the westward flowing ebb) in a fast close jib reach to Blackaller, and the next four boats traded places behind her.  It was quite tactical as Ne*Ne and Russian Roulette sailed high so they could reset their spinnakers, while Arbitrage sailed low with the jib barber-hauled to the rail and Arrived split the difference.  Approaching Blackaller for the final rounding to finish at Golden Gate YC, Arbitrage moved up to third by passing Roulette and Arrived!, while Ne*Ne held on for second behind Akula in first.  

Race winner Doug Bailey on AKULA describes their experience:

"Racing on The Bay in winter is always a crap-shoot with respect to the wind. Sometimes it shows up, and sometimes it doesn’t. The forecast for Sunday did not look promising, with a high-level Northerly flow in relatively stable air, leading to predictions of just 5kts max across the race course. Couple that with a vicious ebb, and I was in half a mind to stay home, cook brownies for myself, settle down on the couch and watch the wildcard games in comfort. There’s nothing worse than hanging out at the Wave Organ for 2 hours in just enough wind to get to it, but not enough to poke your nose out into the current and pass it. Been there, done that. As this was an informal race, Bruce communicated the course – X (start) to Red 4 to Blackaller to X (finish); my crew Roberto Giramonti and I discussed our options.

As luck would have it, we were blessed with 4 kts wind at 11:00 AM and what looked like better air out in the central part of the bay. However, I was not sure that there was enough breeze to overcome the central bay ebb and I was particularly concerned about the wind shadow of Angel Island because of the northerly component. I wanted to try to get our nose out into the long fetch down the bay quickly to avoid parking or worse, getting washed backwards to Harding and beyond. We decided to take the long way around and hide from the ebb along the city front, before making the call to cross the (stronger, but shorter distance) ebb flow to relief at the back of TI.

Surprisingly, no-one came with us, and by the time we figured that out, there was no way to get to the boats that were already well out into the wind line – we were stuck with our plan. It did not look good for a while as we made 0.1 kts SOG past Ft. Mason. The breeze in there was very light – I speculate that it was coming undisturbed at 4kts or less down the bay and the laminar flow was lifting up over the land leaving us with just zephyrs to use to make progress in the more or less slack water behind Aquatic Park. What kept us motivated was the flags flying strongly on Pier 39 – we were pretty sure that if we could make it past the ebb on the marina wall and into the next section of relief, we would be in good shape.

The money decision was when to head out into the current and go for the mark. It was already easily “fetchable” in the absence of current and so the decision rested on the relative strengths of the wind and current on the run up to Red 4. In the end, it was clear that we stayed on the city-front too long – we never had to go above 40 degrees apparent on what turned into a fast white sail reach past Blossom and Red 2. We saw the central bay fleet coming fast carrying kites (and staysails in some cases) at fine angles, but we were pretty sure that we would get to Red 4 with plenty of gap, which is what happened. At that point it was simply a matter of covering the fleet on the way back out to Blackaller and home to X. We had a kite ready to go and we were watching to see if anyone took a flyer south of Alcatraz, but no-one did, and we felt that the guys that did launch would not be able to catch us. We elected to keep it simple and reduce the risk of a mistake by holding our kite in its bag. We won with a few minutes to spare, followed by Ne*Ne, Arbitrage and Arrived!

Bruce handed over our prize – the eponymous Bittersweet Brownies, much better than I would have made if I’d stayed home. A delicious, but nerve-wracking and somewhat lonely, day on the Bay.”

Next up will be the Valentine’s Day Race on February 14th.
 

J/Community

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

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* J/Net Brokerage Specials! Check out our exciting new site for lovingly-owned J/Boats from around the world here.  

J/160 for sale on J/Net Brokerage

Dream Cruiser For Sale!

Here is one of those beauties, a newly listed J/160 cruiser down on Long Island Sound. A rare opportunity to own this beautiful and lovingly maintained J/160 built in 2000. 

The J/160 is a perfect "world cruiser"; they have truly sailed all Seven Seas since inception. Many J/160s have won famous offshore sailboat races worldwide, too.  

The J/160 combines excellent offshore performance with extremely comfortable accommodations in a four-cabin layout. This boat has an extensive inventory and is ready to cruise the Caribbean now! She's available for viewing in the water today and the owner is asking just $349,000 USD!   Learn more about J/160's here.   Learn more about this newly listed J/160 here and contact the broker


SmartTune readout

* Load Data is Key When Margins Are Tight Racing One-Design

One-design racing is all about those tiny margins when gaining and losing positions in a race. A skipper that knows this better than most is Tony Mack who retained the J/111 National Championship and was awarded the J-Cup at the helm of McFly back in September last year. Cyclops Marine proudly sponsored the event and gifted the winner of the J-Cup a SmartTune load sensor.

Cyclops were excited that Tony should be the recipient of the device, not just as a worthy winner after his crew’s performance, but because they knew that he was a competitor who would get the most out of it. The owner of McFly is well respected not just for being fast on the water, but for the effort and diligence put in in preparation and fine tuning.

Tony Mack- owner of J/111 McFly“As with our J/111 one-design class the margins are very close, technology that can help us go a little faster can be invaluable”.

McFly leaves nothing to chance, because their skipper knows what all the best do: that you can always get faster, tighten those margins and know more about your boat – that resting on your laurels is the first step toward letting your upper-hand slip.

“Last year we lost a Cowes Week race by just 12 seconds after almost 5 hours sailing. Having been able to test SmartTune we can already see that it is an essential product that will provide us with the next competitive edge”. 

Easily swapping in for existing turnbuckle (forestay/backstay/shrouds/diagonals), the device sends live lSmartTune on J/111 headstayoad data to your phone via the SmartFittings manager app, and to existing on-board displays, allowing you to learn your fastest settings, set up to match them, make real time adjustments to conditions, and see immediate results in the numbers – finding that winning gear time and time again.

The app also logs data integrated with GPS, ready for export to sailing analytics software – maximizing the value of time spent in training and taking post-race analysis to new levels of detail. (Unsurprisingly) this excited McFly’s owner: 

“During the winter we are looking forward to developing our base setting numbers and continual improvement through the 2021 race season to hit our fast numbers quicker and more reliably.”   Learn more about the SmartTune Load sensor here. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

J/Newsletter- January 25th, 2017

J/97E sport cruiser/ racerSeattle Boat Show- Displaying J/70 & J/97E!
(Seattle, WA)- Seattle Boat Show Indoors and Afloat starts this Friday January 27 and runs through Saturday February 4.  Sail Northwest will have a J/70 on display at the indoor portion of the show and a J/97E on display at the floating in the water portion of the show.

The wildly popular J/70 continues to expand across America, Europe, and the rest of the world.  In just 3 1/2 years, the class is pushing past 1,300 boat owners and is attracting sailors from all across the spectrum of sailing experience- beginners to Olympic Medallists, women’s teams, kid’s teams and crew from 8 to 80 yrs old!  Learn more about this exciting one-design class from the knowledgeable sailors at Sail Northwest.  For more J/70 information.

The gorgeous new J/97E may be the perfect “pocket rocket cruiser/racer” for the Pacific Northwest.  Fast enough to go upwind or offwind with many modern 40 footers, plus she has the expansive room and comfort inside for a couple to be “gunk-holing” in some of the most sought after anchorages in the San Juan Islands.  For more J/97E informationFor more show information, please contact Bob Ross @ Sail Northwest- mobile- 206-979-3291/ Bob@sailnorthwest.com  For more Seattle Boat Show information

J/70 sailing off St PetersburgSt Petersburg NOOD Regatta Update
(St Petersburg, FL)- The largest national sailboat racing circuit in the United States, the Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta series, returns to St. Petersburg, Fla., for its first stop of the season February 17-19, 2017. The event is organized by Sailing World, hosted by St. Petersburg Yacht Club, and sponsored by HELLY HANSEN.

Hundreds of local and visiting sailors in eleven classes of sailboats will compete for individual trophies and the top prize, an invitation to race in the Helly Hansen NOOD Caribbean Championship Regatta, presented by Sunsail in the British Virgin Islands in October.

J/88 sailing St PetersburgThe annual three-day event features one-design racing (J/70, J/24, J/88), where teams compete in races against identical boats. Points are accumulated based on finishing position in each race, and the team with the fewest total points at the conclusion of the regatta wins its class. For competitors in the regatta’s one handicap class (PHRF), time allowances are used to score boats of varying sizes and designs.

Regatta organizers then calculate an overall winner based on the strongest individual finish in the most competitive class. The overall winner earns a berth in the championship regatta, held October 22-29, 2017 in the British Virgin Islands. In addition to winners from each of the five NOOD events this year, interested sailors can charter and compete against the overall winners at the championship.

The Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta is a spectator-friendly event; races can be seen from private yachts on Tampa Bay. Start times are dependent on wind and weather, but racing is scheduled to begin at 10 AM each day.  For more St Petersburg NOOD sailing information.

J/111's sailing San Francisco for WorldsGame On For J/111 Worlds @ San Francisco!
(San Francisco, CA)- Registration is open for the 2017 J/111 Worlds hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, CA.  The J/111 World Championship is scheduled for August 22–27, 2017, including two days of measurement.

The West Coast already has a highly competitive J/111 Fleet and the World Championship will expand on that with entries from the Midwest, East Coast, Australia and Europe, making this a truly world-class event on one of J/Boats’ most exhilarating rides.

If you are thinking of sending your J/111 to San Francisco to race in the Worlds, consider sticking around for multiple weeks of great racing at the St. Francis Yacht Club. The Aldo Alessio and Phylis Kleinman Swiftsure Regattas take place on the Bay August 18–20, and can serve as an excellent warm-up to Worlds. Following, the 2017 Rolex Big Boat Series is September 14–17 and has proven year after year to be the crown jewel of West Coast regattas.  Sailing photo credits- ROLEX/ Daniel Forster. For more 2017 J/111 World Championship registration and sailing information

Marblehead to Halifax raceMarblehead to Halifax Ocean Race Announcement
(Marblehead, MA)- Registration is now open for the biennial Marblehead to Halifax Ocean race July 9.  “With more than 1,500 ‘likes’ on Facebook we are excited about the early interest,” said Jennie Aspinall, Vice Commodore-elect of the Boston Yacht Club and chair of the 2017 event. “We are looking forward to a full fleet of competitors at the starting line in July,” she continued.

The 363-nautical mile Marblehead to Halifax is one of the oldest races on the eastern seaboard. It began in 1905 and has continued every other year except during wartime. It is cosponsored by the Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron in Halifax. Major support comes from the Steele Auto Group of Nova Scotia.

“Marblehead is the idyllic place for the start of this race,” Aspinall declares. “There will be a round of parties and social events throughout the weekend before starting the race.”  The race has been a popular one for J/sailors across the northeastern seaboard, with class and overall wins taken by some over the course of time- J/35s, J/40s, J/44s, J/120s, J/111s all have garnered silverware in this famous race.  For more Marblehead Halifax Race registration and sailing information

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

The third week in January was a cause for celebration for sailors around the world.  It was the 30th anniversary of Key West Race Week, an event that was ultimately born from fun times had by all during the first three J/24 Midwinters in Key West.  First created by Yachting Magazine, Key West Race Week has unfolded over time to celebrate the joy of racing in gorgeous Caribbean waters with world-class regatta management.  In recent years, Quantum Sails has sponsored the event and it has slowly evolved into a “de facto” Winter J/Fest, with nearly 64% of the fleet represented by J/sailors participating in large one-design classes (J/70, J/88, J/111) and offshore handicap classes (J/105, J/122, J/44).

Further east across the Caribbean, the Mount Gay Barbados Series at Bridgetown took place for their fleet of J/24s and J/105s.  The format is focused on fun and games; with a three-day coastal series, followed by the traditional Round Island Race.

Hopping across the Atlantic, we find the Italian J/24s continuing to partake in their Winter Series around various points on the southern parts of the Italian peninsula- Portoferraio, Anzio & Nettuno and Taranto.

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 4-5- Quantum J/70 Winter Series- Tampa, FL
Feb 10-12- J/24 Midwinters- Indian Harbour Beach, FL
Feb 14-19- Hong Kong Race Week- Hong Kong, China
Feb 17-19- St Petersburg NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg, FL
Feb 20- RORC Caribbean 600 Race- English Harbour, Antigua
Feb 23-26- J/70 Midwinters- St Petersburg, FL
Mar 2-5- St Maarten Heineken Regatta- Phillipsburg, St Maarten
Mar 3-4- Monaco J/70 Winter Series- Act V- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Mar 2-5- J/27 Midwinters- New Orleans, LA
Mar 9-11- Bacardi Miami Sailing Week- Coconut Grove, FL
Mar 17-19- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego, CA
Mar 24-26- St Thomas International Regatta- St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Mar 27-Apr 2- BVI Spring Regatta- Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Apr 10-15- Les Voiles de Saint Barth- Gustavia, St Barthelemey
April 20-23- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
Apr 30- May 1- Antigua Sailing Week- English Harbour, Antigua
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/70 sailing Key WestEpic Quantum Key West Race Week!
J/Sailors Revel in Spectacular Sailing Conditions
(Key West, FL)- The 30th anniversary Quantum Key West Race Week will go down in history as one of the most beautiful weeks of sailing in recent memory.  For once, the weather forecasters staring into their crystal ball were nearly correct.  It was an epic week of sailing, with postcard sailing conditions for all five days- sunny, good breezes from the east, and gorgeous moon-lit evenings ashore.

The 30th anniversary Quantum Key West Race Week saw the seven racing classes complete 10 or 12 races, all as scheduled. The Performance Cruising Class also completed five races, as scheduled. The week started with a windy and wavy northeasterly that faded over the course of four days before swinging J/88 sailing Key Westaround to a light southeasterly for Friday’s conclusion. Many sailors felt the conditions were “typical of Key West Race Week” and they complemented the race committee’s judgment.

“The race committee work this week was very good,” said Peter Colby (North Kingstown, RI), the North American Service Manager for North Sails and mainsail trimmer on the J/111 Velocity. “Yesterday we had the harbor delay and as a racer you get it in your head that racing’s going to be blown off. Then, when they took us out there I wasn’t sure it’d be good racing, but it was. We had two good races yesterday that were part of a great week of sailing. The race committee got it right this week.”

J/70 Tim Healy Key WestTim Healy’s (Jamestown, RI) NEW ENGLAND ROPES won the J/70 Class, the largest class at race week. New England Ropes finished 11 points ahead of Marty Kullman’s (St. Petersburg, FL) second-placed NEW WAVE, which won a tiebreaker for second over Carlo Alberini’s CALVI NETWORK from Italy. CALVI NETWORK, the series leader through 10 races in the stronger breezes, stumbled in the final two light air races, placing 22-12.  The rest of the top five included Brian Keane’s SAVASANA in 4th place and Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT in 5th (the reigning 2016 World Champion).

The Corinthian Boat of the Week was awarded to Rob Britts’ (Tierra Verde, FL) HOT MESS, which finished 15th in the J/70 Class.  Behind them in Corinthians was Henry Filter’s WILD CHILD in second place and in third was Andrew & Melissa Fisher’s BUTTON FLY.

J/70 time lapse sailing videoWatch this cool J/70 time-lapse YouTube sailing video!

Phil Haegler’s CLOUD NINE of Brazil, the winner of the final race in the J/70 Class, won the Quantum Sails Boat of the Day trophy on Friday.  The Sailing World Youth Trophy, for the crew with the youngest average age, was presented to Gannon Troutman’s (Gloucester, VA) PIED PIPER, which placed 12th in the J/70 Class (Troutman is current 2016 Mexican National Champion).

Peter Wagner’s (Atherton, CA) SKELETON KEY won the J/111 Class for a second consecutive year with the low score of 25 points. SKELETON KEY won Friday’s race to score a 6-point victory over Rob Ruhlman’s (Cleveland, OH) SPACEMAN SPIFF. The rest of the podium was filled out by Marty Roesch’s VELOCITY from Annapolis, MD.  Fourth place was a new team sailing at Key West, Jeff Davis’ SHAMROCK and fifth position was taken by Brad Faber’s UTAH.

Marine Partners’ Day (Thursday) was won by Peter Wagner’s J/111 SKELETON KEY. After posting finishes of 2-1, SKELETON KEY was named Boat of the Day and they also took over the lead in the J/111 Class with the low score of 24 points.

J/111 Skeleton Key at Key WestSkeleton Key won the class last year but got its defense off to a slow start with an 8th in Race 1. Since then, the crew from Northern California steadily climbed the leaderboard while the early series leader, Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF, continued to slowly fall back. In races 6-7-8-9, SKELETON KEY finished 1-3-2-1 while SPACEMAN SPIFF finished 3-9-3-5.

“Today was all about being flexible. It was a very challenging day,” said Wagner, a two-time All-American sailor in the late 1980’s. “We’re always very confident in our boatspeed, the trick is to put ourselves in position to use it. We didn’t see a bias on the racecourse to one side or the other, so we tried to maintain tactical flexibility. That allowed us to benefit from boatspeed.  I have a lot of respect for the Spaceman Spiff guys. They sail their boat very well.  The conditions were so challenging today that it was easy to come out on the wrong side of events. We were fortunate to be able to improve our position today and that’s all that we could hope for.”

J/88 Hijinks sailing Key WestThe J/88’s saw tight fleet racing over the course of ten races and, in fact, each boat’s performance changed depending on the weather.  How close??  5 of 7 boats won races in the 10 race series!  In the first two days, it was breezy out of the northeast at 14-20 kts.  The third day the breeze backed off to 9-15 kts from the east.  Then, Thursday/Friday the wind shifted into a “classic” southeast direction and considerably lighter- 5-9 kts, full of streaks and holes.  Weyler’s HIJINKS posted 5 bullets in 6 races in the first 3 days, then dropped off that pace in the lighter breezes.  Other race winners included Rob Butler’s TOUCH 2 PLAY, Ryan Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF, Gary Panariello’s COURAGEOUS, and Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION.

In the end, Laura Weyler’s (Williamsville, NY) HIJINKS won the J/88 class and also earned a coveted “Boat of the Day” on Lewmar Day (Tuesday).  After that win on Tuesday, Kris Werner, tactician for HIJINKS, commented that “It was another challenging, windy day, but these are the conditions you expect down here. We’ve had two perfect days of sailing and couldn’t ask for more. It’s been great.”  HIJINKS is Weyler’s first boat. She has never competed at race week before and Tuesday was a day that will live in her memory forever. “This is very exciting,” said Weyler. “I have an outstanding crew.”

Mike Bruno’s WINGS team from American YC in New York, started the regatta off slowly and steadily improved as the week unfolded to take the silver.  Sailing a solid series all week was Ryan Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF, taking the bronze to close out the podium.  Rounding out the top five were Gary Panariello’s COURAGEOUS from San Francisco, CA and Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION from Long Island Sound, finishing 4th and 5th, respectively.

J/122 sailing Key WestIn the ORC Class, J.D. Hill’s (Houston, TX) J/122 SECOND STAR took the class victory. Earlier in the week, it was Chris & Karen Lewis’ J/44 KENAI that was leading the class after the first two days with a 2-1-1-3 tally, with Hill’s SECOND STAR in second place.  However, KENAI faltered a bit in the final races while Hill’s SECOND STAR collected two more firsts along the way to winning class by 2 pts.  Ultimately, KENAI finished tied for third and settling for 4th on the tie-breaker. Having fun all week long was Jon Weglarz’s J/105 THE ASYLUM from Chicago, Illinois.

Race week was more than just the action on the water. All shoreside activities were held at the Waterfront Brewery, which was a gracious host. The nightly debriefs and panel discussions covered a host of topics pertinent to the sport. Morning weather briefings with Ed Adams (presented by Quantum Sails and Gowrie Group) got everyone ready for the day’s racing. The daily prize-giving ceremonies gave all winners a chance to celebrate their day on the water.

The next major event for the Storm Trysail Club is Block Island Race Week, scheduled June 18-23 off the coast of Rhode Island. For more information, visit the event website.

Sailing photo credits- Max Ranchi, Sarah Proctor, Sharon Green/UltimateSailing.com, Alan Clark/ Photoboat.com   For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

J/70 sailing off Punta del Este, UruguayDuarte Crowned J/70 South American Champion!
(Punta del Este, Uruguay)- With the advent of a new J/70 builder in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the momentum for the class continues to grow across South America.  Building on that enthusiasm, the YC Punta del Este in Uruguay hosted the inaugural J/70 South American Championship in the spectacular waters off the famous resort- known as the “Riviera” of Latin America.

J/70s sailing off Punta del Este, UruguayTen boats from Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay participated in the five race series. It was clear the Brazilian team BRA 757, led by Rodrigo Duarte, was comfortable in the local wind and sea conditions, posting an unassailable record of 4 1sts and a 3rd for a commanding win.  Not far off their pace was the top Uruguayan team URU 780, skippered by Aldo Centanaro, posting a very consistent 2-3-4-1-3 for 13 pts to easily take the silver.

However, who was going to fill out the final bronze position on the podium was another story altogether! Remarkably enough, six teams were in contention going into the last race separated by just 4 pts!!  After the furious thrash around the race track, the winner of that battle was URU 75 sailed by Sebastian Rana on a tie-breaker over URU 759 skippered by Matias Garcia on 28 pts each.  And, only one point back, the balance of the top five was also settled by a tie-breaker; with URU 779 skippered by Philippe Umpierre taking the 5th spot over URU 777 helmed by Felix Leborgne at 29 pts each!  For more Uruguay J/70 fleet sailing information

J/105 sailing BarbadosFabulous Mount Gay Barbados Series
(Bridgetown, Barbados)- The Mount Gay Round Barbados Series organized by Barbados Cruising Club, in association with Barbados Tourism Marketing and Mount Gay, got off to a spectacular start with the first race of the three-day Coastal Series blessed with glorious sailing conditions.

A good 17-20 kts of north-easterly breeze and relatively flat seas resulted in exciting close racing for the five fleets, which ranged from Windsurfers and Foiling International Moths, Cruising classes, to the CSA Racing class.

The courses started in Carlisle Bay and took the fleets generally out to the southeast, round South Point to Tapas, a mark just off the beach up the east coast. The CSA Racing Division, the largest fleet in the Coastal Series, enjoyed exciting racing along the south coast.  Local hotshot Peter Lewis, and team on the J/105 WHISTLER sailed well and managed to clinch the opening race on corrected time.

The second day produced spectacular competition once again. Although it was an unusually damp day with rain squalls passing through for most of the race, the wind built under the clouds to 15-16kts, which made for really exciting racing along the west coast of the island.

J/105 sailing off BarbadosAccording to Steven Kern, tactician aboard the J/105 WHISTLER and winner of the day’s CSA Racing division, this week is one of the most competitive he has experienced in the event’s recent history. “The starts and the close racing throughout have been fantastic. It has been consistently competitive, which is what we love.”

Kern, sailing with skipper Peter Lewis and team, who are seasoned Caribbean circuit sailors, added another win to their race win yesterday and were now looking good for an overall Coastal Series win. They say their secret weapon this week is a new flat spinnaker.

“The new spinnaker worked beautifully going up the west coast. It is a smaller spinnaker we can fly for longer. I think we also managed to stay focused even when we dropped up the coast. The wind dropped to less than 2kts at one stage off Holetown, but we popped the kite and gained a lot.”

The final day of the Coastal Series concluded in spectacular style with sunshine, a good working breeze up to 17-18kts, and a relatively flat sea. The 15nm course took the fleet out to the west, followed by a long windward leg to Oistins, not far off South Point.  The conditions made for a particularly exciting conclusion to the Series with results in some classes going down to the wire.

Peter Lewis and his seasoned local team aboard WHISTLER clinched the series today with three straight wins. This super-tuned team demonstrated their impressive kite handling skills once again, so it wasn’t particularly surprising to see them take overall honours. Their closest rivals throughout the series were Stimson 42 and a local TP52 race team.

Interestingly Calvin Piggott & Mark Mostovac on the J/24 PADDINGTON sailed a storming first beat and led round the windward mark. With clear air, this team looked set to challenge for the win in the early stages but sailed a long way out to the right on first reach and, unfortunately, were overhauled.  Had they won the race, they might have earned silver!  However, their risky move did not pay off and ended up in 3rd for the race and 4th overall in Non-CSA Racing Class.

Following the Coastal Series Awards and the Round Barbados Race Skippers’ Briefing, teams enjoyed the party at Copacabana Beach Bar, just along the beach from Barbados Cruising Club. With a planned lay day, crews have a chance to recuperate before the lay day Regatta Polo Match, which was taking place in the afternoon at Holders Polo Field, St James.

J/24s sailing BarbadosRound Island Race
The 60nm Mount Gay Round Barbados Race took place on Saturday 21 January.  The wind was generally light from the east-north-east, reaching no more that 12-15kts so it was never going to be a big record breaking day, but those who took part raced hard for a chance to smash one of the 14 records up for grabs, all of which offered a chance to win the skipper’s weight in Mount Gay Rum.

Following on their success in the Coastal Series, the J/105 WHISTLER continued her winning ways, taking CSA 35 ft Under Division and taking 6th overall in the fleet of fifteen boats.

Meanwhile, the local J/24 sailors Cyril Lecrenay on BUNGA BUNGA and Gus Reader on GLORY DAZE enjoyed close racing at the head of the fleet, despite the extremely light airs at the 0700 start. As they rounded the top of the Island three hours into the race, they were still neck and neck and reveling in the breeze that had built to 10-12kts. A close race continued down the east coast but it was GLORY DAZE that finally took the One-Design Division win.  For more Mount Gay Rum Barbados series sailing information

J/24 sailing off ItalyItalian J/24 Winter Series Report
(Anzio & Nettuno, Italy)- After celebrating the New Year, the Italian J/24 sailors are back at it again sailing around the various picturesque bays punctuating the gorgeous coastline of the Italian peninsula.  Races took place recently in Anzio & Nettuno (near Rome), Portoferraio (northeast bay on Isla Elbe) and in Taranto (down south inside the “heel”).

Anzio & Nettuno- Trofeo Roberto Lozzi
After the fifth weekend of sailing, the crew of the Hungarian J/24 JUKE BOXING (Miklòs Rauschenberger, Balmaz Litkey, Tamas Peter, Akos Pecsvaradi, & Tamas Richter) drove fast and sailed smart to be leading the famous Trofeo Roberto Lozzi.

The fleet was treated to good racing despite it being a cod winter day.  There was a residual storm swell from the west of around 4-5 ft (1-1.5m) that was overlaid with a NNW wind of 10-15 kts; making for a confused wave/chop sea state for the drivers.  Nevertheless, the fleet was treated to two more races for their series.

The Provisional results (compiled after the first 8 races) sees the Hungarian JUKE BOX team leading with 11 pts, followed by ITA 447 in second with 19 pts and ITA 358 in third with 24 pts.

"The race course was very gusty as the J/24 crews struggled with the ‘fiocco’ winds,” explained Federico Miccio, crew on JUMPING JACK FLASH. “In addition, with the breeze constantly shifting right and a significant current flowing southeast, meant the J/24 crews were having difficulties judging the starting line. The day started right away with two general recalls; that prompted the race committee to hoist the black flag in the third preparatory.  We opted to go with the jib that gave us greater stability in the big gusts.  This decision combined with going right on the first beat enabled us to take advantage of the shift and finish third in the race behind Spear and the Hungarians.”

J/24s sailing off Taranto, ItalyTaranto- Winter Championship
Unlike their friends to the north in Rome, the J/24 crews down south in Taranto had a beautiful weekend of sailing, with racing hosted by the Sailing Club Ondabuena Academy.

“We were fortunate to have nice conditions to get three races,” explained Chief of the Puglia J/24 fleet- Nino Soriano, helmsman and co-owner of JEBEDEE. “The difficult interpretation of the course, with different pressure zones of wind and frequent changes in direction are what characterized this day.  Apart from the first race, in which they recorded an OCS, Thomas De Bellis Vitti and Elia Masi sailed FIVE FOR FIGHTING fast and dominated the day with two first places in the last two races.  Also having a good performance was Sandro Negro’s DOCTOR J, winner of the first race, and Massimo Ruggiero’s CANARINO FEROCE, taking second in the last two races behind FIVE FOR FIGHTING.”

In the overall standings for the series, FIVE FOR FIGHTING continues to lead the fleet, followed by JEBEDEE in 2nd, DOCTOR J in 3rd, MARBEA (Marcello Bellacicca) in 4th and LITTLE DEVIL (Ferdinand Capobianco) in 5th.

J/24s sailing off Portoferraio, ItalyPortoferraio- Elbe Winter Cup
Henry Gambelunghe’s BE-BEEF continues to lead the Elbe Winter Cup, sailing off Portoferraio on the northeastern coast of the island of Elba.  According the Gambelunghe, “the weather conditions were not the most heartening; the forecast was for up to 25 kts of wind and rain.  But, the crews were not discouraged and at 1030 hrs, the PRO onboard the famous S&S 1971 design WA WA TOO, managed to send us off in two good races.  The wind started out strong, with gusts hitting 25 kts, but it soon diminished after the first two legs of the first race and a light rain, as expected, started to fall.  When we were finished after a wet, but exciting day of sailing on our beautiful bay, all the crews found themselves in front of huge plates of homemade pasta cooked by the President of the Italian Naval League in Portoferraio- Alessandro Schezzini!!  Good pasta and our delicious Italian red wines- fantastico!!”

He went on to say, “Thanks to all, the organization, the jury, and to the Italian Naval League for their supports.  Elba Winter Cup will continue on the Sundays of 19 February and 5 March. The final stage of the championship will be held Sunday, March 19."  For more Italian J/24 sailing information
 

J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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J/44 Kenai sailing Key West race* Chris & Karen Lewis, proud owners of the J/44 KENAI from Houston, Texas, are having fun sailing their gorgeous navy-blue yacht on the Gulf of Mexico, in the Northeast and the Gulf Stream Series.  Chris commented on their recent experiences this past year:

“In 2016, the J/44 KENAI won 1st in IRC class and the Rolex Cup in the Around Conanicut Island Race, 1st in the NYYC Annual Regatta IRC 3 Class, 3rd in NBR ORR class, 2nd in the Onion Patch series to High Noon, first in IRC Overall in the Stamford Vineyard Race winning the Vineyard Lightship Trophy,  then 1st in the SORC Nassau Cup and now 1st in the Key West Feeder Race in ORC. Pretty good for a 25 yr old J/44!! Only slightly modified with a 1.5m sprit, all A-kites and a deeper, skinnier rudder.”

Competing in their second SORC event, the 2017 Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race, the Lewis' J/44 KENAI took first place in ORC and won the best performance award of any boat entered that was 25+ years old.   Crewed by a mix of Texas and East Coast sailors, KENAI completed the 161 nm course in 16 hours 56 minutes and corrected 27 minutes ahead of the second placed boat.  Here is more of Chris’ perspective on the Key West Race:

“The opposite watch captain to me on board was Lenny Sitar, owner of J/44 VAMP, and Commodore of Storm Try-Sail Club who are organizing Quantum Key West Race Week.  With another J-44 owner, H.L. DeVore navigating, there was a huge breadth of J/44 experience onboard.

The winds were 20 to 30 knots out of the east making for a course record run of 10 hours 18 minutes for Wizard, a 74 ft mini-maxi.

KENAI saw speeds of 17 knots, and at one point, before our Code Zero sail split in two during a gust, we were catching 56 and 57-foot boats ahead of us.

Running down the reef that was a lee shore, it looked like everything was fine until we were hit by a 30-knot squall in front of the beam with the A4 spinnaker up. Suddenly, we were charging at the reef at night with a big kite to dowse!!  Thankfully, we survived that drama to tell the story!"

KENAI is now leading the SORC Islands In The Stream series that concludes in March with a race from Miami to Havana.

J/22 sailing Midwinters* Maintaining a Successful Mental State means successful racing! Mental state has a lot to do with performance. Races can have unexpected twists that result in situations you weren’t expecting, and maintaining a positive mind state can be tough when your days on the water are long. North Sails Expert Mike Marshall, 2016 J/22 World Champion and nominee for the 2016 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year award, shares advice on maintaining a successful mental state:

“Getting plenty of rest, staying hydrated, and staying organized are all key components to a fun, successful regatta. When tensions are high and competition is tough, you have to remember the big picture – for every race start there is a finish, and getting stuck on the details can affect the entire team.

Here’s a list on how to maintain intensity while keeping the mood light:

1. Move on when something goes wrong.
No matter how good the sailors are, things sometimes go wrong during a race. When they do, it’s important to manage the situation so that you can move on smoothly. What’s gone wrong is over and is in the past. Yelling about it or harping on it will only do more harm. These behaviors are distractions that will interfere with mounting a comeback. That’s why one key to maintaining intensity on the racecourse is to keep your focus forward, not backward.

2. Take a break between races.
You can’t maintain the intensity needed during a race for an entire day of sailing. It’s therefore important to take a break from high intensity after a race ends. If there’s nothing pressing that needs to be fixed, it’s good practice to stop and refresh. Eat some food; drink some water; recharge. This will put you in much better shape to gear up your intensity as the next race begins.

3. Focus on the positive.
Even when some things have gone wrong on your boat, there are also things that have gone right. Focusing on the positive things, while still acknowledging the negatives, can boost a team’s morale and help maintain focus. People in general tend to give up and not perform at their peak when their outlook is largely negative. This is why it’s important to keep a positive outlook overall.

4. Don’t worry about things that are out of your control.
Whether it’s traffic getting to the venue or an issue with the crane in the boat park, your team can’t stay positive if they fret about problems they have no control over. Lamenting the lost time that you could be practicing or prepping the boat only leads to frustration. And frustration is counterproductive when it comes to achieving the focus and intensity needed for top performance.

5. Limit stress through preparation and sticking to a routine.
Stress is the number one culprit causing you to get frustrated, become negative, and make bad decisions. Through good preparation, you can eliminate a great many of the things that cause stress. Have a well-thought-out routine and stick to it. This routine will help you avoid having to make decisions on the fly. The more you refine your routine and prepare your boat and team in advance, the more ready you’ll be for anything that comes your way. This, in turn, will help eliminate distractions that can reduce your focus and intensity on the racecourse.”  Thanks for contribution from NORTH SAILS ONE-DESIGN/ Craig Leweck at Scuttlebutt.

SailAhead J/105 sailors- all veterans* American Veterans Want a J/105!  Kilian Duclay from SailAhead, a nonprofit in Long Island, is hoping to get more veterans suffering from PTSD and/or depression into sailing as a form of therapy.  Here is Kilian’s appeal to J/105 sailors/owners:

“In the winter of 2013 I started, with my younger brother Sean, the nonprofit called SailAhead. I was 16 years old at the time. This year I will be 20, and this is how 2016 was such a moving year for me.

Before I begin, let me tell you a bit more about SailAhead. First off, what do we do really? We introduce the therapeutic powers sailing has to offer whether it is cruising calmly and happily, or racing like intense maniacs in short or long distance races. So yea, SailAhead has been basically consuming all of my free time. Don’t get the wrong idea, we don’t just put wounded veterans on our boats and take them for a joy ride, we actually teach them how to navigate and sail with the goal that they teach other fellow veterans.

Being a civilian that I am, I can only connect so much with veterans when we sail. Our goal is to teach veterans to sail sufficiently so they can in turn, teach other fellow veterans to sail. Of course, because of the veteran-to-veteran contact instead of civilian-to-veteran contact, the bond they create will be infinitely more profound than if it was just me, because they can relate more with each other’s struggles and experiences. The bond veterans create through sailing is a large factor that contributes to the therapy we try to provide.

Aside from PTSD awareness and networking events we organize with our partners, SailAhead has five core teams/programs that work in conjunction and are designed to get veterans of different interests, needs, and abilities, involved on the water. So, after countless hours behind the computer, on the phone or on the water, I am proud to say that we are responsible for taking 1,000 veterans to the water in just 3 years! If you are interested in what we do more specifically then I invite you to visit our website at www.sailahead.org for more info on our programs and events.

Finally, I will tell you why 2016 was such an immensely moving year for SailAhead and myself. Upon reading the rest of this article, I wish you feel just as motivated as I did after realizing my new reality. It shook me, it motivated me, and I am pushing myself forward in positive ways for the sake of our veterans and humanity.

So, like I said, 2016 was a very moving year for SailAhead because 219 new members, identified as our mates, have joined our ranks. These 219 mates have at least two things in common. One, they were once soldiers, and two; they each took their own lives.

According to the VA, at least 22 veterans commit suicide daily in the United States. The “22 a day” reality is what inspired Sean and I to create SailAhead, so with the permission of the families of these 219 veterans, we had the nametags of these veterans duplicated. These name tags come along with us when we sail with PTSD suffering veterans and we are honored to carry the spirits of our 219 mates every time we set sail. Because of the nametags, I designed a “219” flag which has become our banner. When this flag is up, you know our mates are on board sailing with us.

At least 22 a day means 220 veterans every ten days, which is the size of a USMC size company lost. So why 219 as opposed to 220? This is because the one missing in that equation is the life saved. The lives SailAhead are trying to save. The flagship of our fleet flies a white flag with the number 219 in black in the center. In addition to the 219 mates that it represents, the number 2 on the flag symbolizes how SailAhead was started by two brothers, and the 19 represents the age of Michael Blanco, a Long Island local US marine who was only 19 when he took his life on Monday, February 15th, 2010. The black of the numbers and white of the flag symbolize the fight SailAhead is in, like in a storm at sea, when the water is turned white by the frothy swells as they rise and crash, and the sky’s turned black by the ominous menacing clouds overhead, trying their best to sink and derail those who sail beneath them. But we don’t sink. And we continue to sail, sail ahead…

The camaraderie and intensity that racing and sailing has to offer is why in 2017, SailAhead appointed a Green Beret Special Forces Veteran in charge of the SailAhead (offshore) racing team, and is why we are currently looking for our own race boat. If you know anyone looking to sell or possibly donating a J/105 racer/cruiser (or any boat like a J/105), please send them our way or contact us! You can contact us through our website. Thank you for reading!”  Learn more about SailAhead 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

J/42 sailing off France* 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 and points further around the Blue Planet Earth.  Here is their latest update (December 2016) from Bill & Kathy:

“We completed a three year tour of the south pacific and sailed from Hobart Tasmania back to Seattle in the fall of 2012.  After two seasons of local cruising, we decided to truck the boat to Rochester NY.  In the summer of 2015, we sailed out the Saint Lawrence seaway and down the east coast of Nova Scotia and the US, with a few months in the Bahamas that winter.  This past summer, we crossed the Atlantic with stops in Bermuda and the Azores, making landfall in Falmouth, UK.  We have worked down the coast of France, Spain and Portugal and are now in Lagos Portugal.  We plan on passing through the Straits of Gibraltar and spending a couple seasons in the Med.”

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.