J's Killing It In The UK-
Home of the IRC
Read "Yachts & Yachting" February Issue
The J/80 UK Class Association is supporting Toe-in-the-Water as its official charity in 2010. This allows injured service personnel from the armed forces to take part in sailing and racing as part of their rehabilitation. In 2009, 3 J/80s were loaned to compete at Cowes, the Red Funnel Easter Challenge, J/80 National Championship and the Hamble River SC Autumn Champs.Andy Robertson, reported that the French are likely to preselect Phillipe Delaporte’s J/122 PEN AZEN for one of its 3 Boat teams in the 2010 Commodores’ Cup.
Y&Y described the 2009 Garmin Hamble Winter Series as ‘WET AND VERY WILD’ and ‘feisty’ where several races were lost to adverse weather and new meaning was given to the phrase ‘blowing dogs off chains’. The series kicked off October 3 with a SW breeze gusting up to 30 knots ‘making for a baptism of fire’. ‘Neil Martin’s J/133 JAMMY DODGER took full advantage scoring three bullets on the opening day and going on to win the IRC Class Big Boat series overall, despite close attention from Ian Matthews J/122 JINJA.’
"J-DREAMS" continue. The J/109 class was won by David and Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM with a string of bullets ...There was a close battle for 2nd with Luca Rubinelli’s ARIA holding off Richard and Valerie Griffith’s OUTRAJEOUS. “We see the Winter Series as the start of a new year, rather than the end of the year, commented David Apthorp. ‘Our goal is always to improve and to be awarded Yacht of the Series was a surprise...The J/109 is a fast and exciting boat downwind, at time the boat hits 16-18 knots which for a 5 tonne boat is pretty quick. The J/109s are set up for one-design, they enjoy close racing even in strong winds. Putting the spinnaker up in 30 knots makes for some great photo opportunities and keeps the crew on their toes. The more practice in those conditions, the better, as we know she can go faster.!”
In the one-design J/80 Fleet: John Cooper’s OI!!! Dominated, scoring 7 wins in a 16 race series and was awarded the Sportsboat of the Series. Ian Atkins BOATS.COM was second and Thor Askeand’s ELLE SAPELLE third. “It had been four years since I had been racing and this was our first season in a J/80 with an entirely new crew, we didn’t even know each other’s names at the start or the series!” Cooper commented. “We were delighted... We plan to do the Spring series, the J/80 Europeans in Lake Garda and Cowes Week.”
JOG- The Junior (or now maybe “J”) Offshore Group for IRC rated yachts runs both an Offsore and Inshore Series, starting in March with the North Sails Nab Tower Race and finishing in September with the Document Technology Cherbourg Race. Y&Y commented, “The J/109 fleet whether two-handed or fully crewed have had many race victories” JANGADA TOO (Richard Palmer) won the first race back from Cherbourg in both the 2-handed division and in Class 4. J/109s took the top 3 positions in the RS Divers St. Vaast Race: JAHMALI (Mike and Sarah Wallis); JUST SO (David & Mary Mgough) and J2EAU (Steve & Jody Maine. In the Document Technology Alderney Race saw JUST SO achieved their first victory then followed that up with a wins in the race to Le Havre, Dartmouth and Cherbourg Races. Read more at Yachts & Yachting.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Jan. 23-31- boot Dusseldorf- Dusseldorf, Germany- http://www.j22kv.de/boot2010.htmlJan. 28-31- Chicago Strictly Sailboat Show- Chicago, IL- http://www.strictlysailchicago.com/
Jan. 29-Feb. 6- Seattle Sailboat Show- Seattle, WA- http://www.seattleboatshow.com/
Jan. 28-31- San Diego Sunroad Boat Show- San Diego, CA- http://www.bigbayboatshow.com/
Feb. 6-10- J/24 Midwinters- Davis Island YC- Tampa, FL- http://j24d10.org
Feb. 14- St. Pete NOOD- St. Petersburg YC- St. Petersburg, FL- http://www.sailingworld.com
Feb. 18-21- J/30 Midwinters- New Orleans YC- New Orleans, LA- http://noyc.org/rc/2010MardiGrasNOR.htm
Mar 7–13- J/24 Copa Mexico- Puerto Vallarta Mexico - http://www.j24mex.com/copamexico/index.html
Mar. 11-14- J/22 Midwinters- Southern YC, New Orleans, LA - http://www.j22mw.com/
Apr. 8-11- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC- http://www.charlestonraceweek.com
Jun 20-26- Block Island Race Week- Block Is, RI- http://www.blockislandraceweek.org
J/Regatta News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The northern hemisphere midwinter racing schedule is beginning to get underway starting with the Ft. Lauderdale Key West Race and the Key West Race Week. The latter is considered an important fixture on the international regatta circuit and generally marks the beginning of many boats "midwinter tours" either down island or slowly inching their way back up the East Coast of America to include regattas in Charleston, SC and Annapolis, MD before the summer schedules kick in to gear. The Aussie contingent Down Under are preparing for more racing, including Victoria's renowned race week. Read on! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.
Ft Lauderdale-Key West Race
J/122 TEAMWORK Wins IRC
(Key West, FL- Jan. 16th)- The 160 nm winter classic was a fast one. The race starts off the Ft Lauderdale sea buoy and heads south, then slowly curving west, keeping the string of Florida Keys reef buoys to starboard, finished in the Key West channel off the old Truman Annex Navy Base. The race started in light to medium northerly breezes with everyone under spinnakers. Chasing down streaks and better gybe angles were the name of the game. Some boats doing better than others as they seek to maximize VMC down course, dodging the reef, playing wind streaks and avoiding as much as possible playing shifts that take you offshore into the teeth of the fast-flowing Gulf Stream just outside the reef lines.J's were well represented in both fleets. Robin Team, on the aptly named J122, TEAMWORK, won Divison B of the IRC class, and also was awarded the race¹s Seamanship Trophy for their assistance during the US Coast Guard rescue of another racing boat, Crosswinds. Once they heard the distress call on the radio and knew of Crosswind's proximity, TEAMWORK, without hesitation, went to their aid.
Frank Kern's J/120 CARINTHIA finished second in PHRF A and John Gehrig's J/46 FULL DECK finished third in PHRF B. Congratulations to all on a great performance and kudos to Robin's "Team" for performing mid-race heroics as true corinthian yachtsmen. For more Key West race and sailing information.
Key West Race Week
SAVASANA Leading J/105s, STARK RAVING MAD Dominating PHRF A
(Key West, FL)- This year's Key West is not unlike many others in the past. The typical cold front scenario that kicks into gear and flows across the southern part of America, sucking in the winds from the SSE, then shifting into the front with greater wind speeds out of the SW and, as the front passes over, shifts quickly into the NW then over a two-four day period moves back into the NE, E, SE quadrants. The fleet of 134 boats have been treated to a nice week of sailing so far, despite the buckets of rain poured onto the participants during Sunday. Despite a seemingly dour start, the clouds parted, a starry night greeted contestants dinners that evening and the week started off with a nearly postcard perfect couple of days. While the winds have not been the "dogs blown off chains" variety, it's made for pleasant cruising around the windward-leeward buoys courses set by the seasoned race committee veterans assembled by the Premier Racing organization.
On the Division 1 course, regatta leader in IRC2, David Murphy's J/122 PUGWASH is sailing very well and has been a fleet leader for the past four days...with any luck and two good races on the last day they should be vying for a podium finish. Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK faired a little worse in the weeks' shifty, streaky wind conditions and have dropped to fifth overall with a reasonable shot at a third overall. Jim Bishop's J/44 GOLD DIGGER has had an unusually variable week and lies seventh, but only six points out of third. The tale of the tape on Friday will certainly flip-flop the standings yet again.The Division 2 course with J/105s and J/80s has seen some incredibly competitive racing. For the J/105s, it's Brian Keane's SAVASANA that is leading the fleet by a significant margin of sixteen points....almost having to sail the last day their lead is so large. However, the next three places from second to fourth is completely wide open. Essentially, a three-way tie exists between Ken Colburn's GHOST, Scooter Simmons BLACKHAWK and Damian Emery's ECLIPSE. Who beats who on the last two races determines the top three. What has been heartwarming to see are good performances by a variety of J/105 class veterans and newcomers like Travis Weisleder on LUCKY DOG, Carter Williams much improved team on CREATIVE DESTRUCTION and Ed Palm's team on TENACIOUS. Special note- we wish our best to Ed and his team since the house they rented in Key West burned to the ground Wednesday night!
The J/80s are conducting their Midwinters and is a harbinger of which American (and British) teams will be competitive at the impending J/80 Worlds in Newport later in 2010. The top four is a true horse race with only nine points separating the group. Each day brings a new leader to the top of the pack. Currently, Glen Darden on EL TIGRE is showing their transom lights to everyone else by a six point margin. Fighting it out for the top four spots include Rod and Jeff Johnstone in second racing LITTLE FEAT, Will Welles on RASCAL and Al Minella on RELENTLESS. Just off the pace is past World Champion and current North American Champion Kerry Klingler sailing LIFTED in fifth place. Also, you can read more about what's happening on the J/80 race course by reading Chuck Allen's Sailing World blog at http://tinyurl.com/j80chuckallen
The Stock Island located Division 3 course for PHRF boats has seen two fantastic performances by two enthusiastic J Owners. In PHRF 1, Jim Madden's J/125 STARK RAVING MAD and his merry bandits from the San Diego/ LA area (including Gary Weisman and Benny Mitchell), have simply had a wonderful time in Key West and sailed away with PRHF A with eight straight bullets! In PHRF 2, Bill Sweetser's J/109 RUSH continues to be a fleet leader and is sitting just one point out of first place Thursday afternoon. Their four firsts are and average of just over second place is testimony to their consistency.
In PHRF 3, the three J/24s continue to have fun, close racing amongst themselves despite the variable wind conditions. Mark Milne's BLAH BLAH BLAH is currently in second and just behind is Naroski/LeBlanc's NOJOE in third. Stay tuned! For regatta information and sailing results, please go to KWRW Sailing Results.
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* After four races Chuck Allen's J/80 team is holding a narrow lead in Key West 2010. Here he reveals a tip from his post-day review: "In today's second race we killed the start off the third to pin end, we had the opportunity to tack and cross the fleet. I got falsified into how the left had paid for us in the first race and hung it out there a bit longer than we should have. Sure enough, boats that had had poor starts and cleared right behind us were back in the game. We literally went from top two to top ten. It really helps to get to the weather mark in the J/80 class out in the top group, clear air, lanes, etc... all help the first few boats extend and sail almost their own race. We got pin balled around during this race, falling back into the teens fortunately grinding some back finishing eighth. Lesson Learned: Tack and cross when you can - this was also our college motto." -- http://tinyurl.com/j80chuckallen
* John and Colette Storck- "Antithesis of Helicopter Parents"- Presented annually by Premiere Racing, John Storck Jr. was recognized at Key West 2010, as the recipient of the Paul Washburn Award - For The Love of the Sport. Steve Washburn, a Long Beach, Cal., resident and long-time race committee volunteer for Key West, created the special award to honor his youngest son, who passed away suddenly three years ago. Here is a story published in Race Week News:---------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Storck Jr., has said on many occasions that it is truly a blessing that his four children have taken to sailing with such enthusiasm. Storck, a resident of Huntington, N.Y., is a lifelong sailor, so it is certainly rewarding to see his kids enjoying spending time on the water capturing the wind as well. However, it is no accident that John III, Erik, Kaity and Ian Storck have come to love sailing as much as their father. All four were introduced to the sport in a positive environment that fostered a passion.
John Storck Jr., and wife Colette, brought each child aboard the family cruiser-racer Jonrob, when they were babies. The kids learned the basic fundamentals of sailing while cruising Long Island Sound aboard the Ericson 39, and were later introduced to the competitive side of the sport as crew for their father when he raced in local events sponsored by Centerport Yacht Club or Lloyd Harbor Yacht Club. "Our kids literally grew up on the Jonrob doing summer cruises and were able to experience sailing in its purest form," Storck said.
All four children attended sailing school to further hone their skills, learning how to steer and trim in the Optimist dinghy and Club 420 classes. During those years, John Jr., and Colette were the absolute antithesis of the infamous "helicopter parents", who push their kids to compete and focus solely on results. "When my kids were junior sailors, I rarely ever went to the regatta unless I was working on the race committee," Storck said. "If John and Erik were doing a big regatta, I would take Kaity and Ian to the zoo. My wife and I never wanted to put any pressure on the kids." -- Read more in Tuesday KWRW Sailing News
Featured Boat
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Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors. The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by: 15 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).
Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors and sailing the waters of 35+ countries around the world. Sailing is all about friends. Come join us and expand your social network everywhere!
For more information on J/Boats: http://www.jboats.com/intro.htm
