SpritFest- Breakwater YC
(Long Island, NY)- Ok, so it is cold outside (yes, we are way North of the Equator), your boat is covered and the snow is once again on the forecast but do not fear! Breakwater Yacht Club is already working on Sprit Fest 2010 and we are proud to be sponsoring it once again!We will be returning to Noyack Bay on June 5th and 6th to battle it out! You can expect the same great racing as year's past and the same after race social events that Breakwater is known for! Limited dockage is available at Breakwater Yacht Club's Community Sailing Center in Sag Harbor. There is a Gin pole at the club and reduced rates for stepping masts and launching at the Sag Harbor Yacht Yard.
Party? Doh! Of course we are going to have a party! This is a Breakwater Yacht Club event! We always have a party! Details of the party to follow when our Entertainment Committee returns from Jamaica (with some new ideas, too)!
J/80 Hot Spot? This is a big year for the J/80 class and the racing calendar is full of amazing races all season long culminating with the North American Championships in September and the Worlds in October! Sprit Fest has been selected as the LI Championship as well as one of the 9 races of the J/80 2010 USA Tour! Boats coming from Annapolis can stop here on their way to Newport! Contacts for each of the Classes: J/80 Don Suter- vesail@aol.com / J/105 Bruce Tait- bruce@taityachts.com / J/109 David Betts- dab12355@gmail.com / J/120 Bruce Tait- bruce@taityachts.com / PHRF for Sprit Boats Chris Dowling- chris@taityachts.com For more regatta and sailing information at Breakwater YC.
J/109 East Coast Circuit
(East Coast, America)- In addition to Bill Sweetser's offering up the gorgeous trophy now hanging at Annapolis YC, US J/109 Class President Rick Lyall has outlined a proposed schedule of J/109 events for the 2010 season. The key one-design events are:- J109 Mid Atlantic Championship at the Annapolis NOOD (Part I- East Coast Series)
- American YC Spring Series
- Breakwater Yacht Club Sprit Fest
- Block Island Race Week
- J109 North American Championship at NYYC Race Week
- J109 East Coast Championship- Larchmont NOOD (Part II- East Coast Series)
- American YC Fall Series
- Storm Trysail Club Intercollegiate Regatta
I have also included a number of events where J109s are likely to sail under IRC, hopefully in the IRC 35 Class. These include:
- Larchmont YC Edlu Distance Race
- Roosevelt Cup
- Storm Trysail Club's Block Island Race
- NYYC Annual Regatta
- NYYC Race Week 2nd half: IRC National Championship
- Vineyard Race
- Long Island Sound IRC Championship
For more information on the J/109 East Coast Circuit.
J/80’s Are Back on Long Island Sound!
(NY/ CT)- J/80’s are one of the most exciting one-design boats to sail, but, previously, if you wanted to race one-design on the Long Island Sound, you either had to sail dinghies or buy a larger boat like the J/105. There always were a few J/80’s around, but split in two different groups: the one-design travel boats and the local PHRF racing boats. Among the travelers, some of the best crews in the country, if not the world, call the Long Island Sound their home. The more prominent boats are Kerry Klingler’s LIFTED and John Storck, Jr.’s RUMOR who probably both don’t need any further introduction to the readers of this newsletter. On the other hand, there have always been various J/80s scattered about in clubs like AYC, LYC and Centerport that mainly sailed PHRF in club races. But, until this year, the local boats did not come together as a fleet. This February, representatives from nine boats got together at Larchmont Yacht Club to meet each other, organize and reaffirm that western Long Island Sound was ripe for J/80 one-design events. Five more boats joined Fleet 17 since the word got out bringing the total count of boats in the area up to 14 and at least two more are expected to join soon. The newly invigorated fleet agreed on three local races for this year to complement the full 2010 USA Tour schedule. These events are:
May 22-23 Lloyd Harbor YC Spring Race for the Case (of Rum)- Lloyd Neck, NY
Jun 6-7 Cedar Point YC One Design Regatta- East Norwalk, CT
Sep 25-26 American YC Fall Series (1st weekend only)- Rye, NY
In addition, the fleet is planning to launch an annual J/80 Long Island Sound Cup – “J/80 LIS Cup” – which will be scored similar to the J/80 2010 USA Tour with a combination of qualifying local races. For more information on the fleet and how to get involved, please contact J/80 Fleet#17 rep Ansgar Chorhummel (ansgar@kiaora.us) of or go here- J/80 Fleet #17 website.
J/22 Euro-League 2010
The J/22 class in Europe, led by class leaders from The Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy have announced their J/22 2010 Euro-League circuit. This year's Euro-League will include the following events:May 13-16 J/22 Open French Championship (Ecole Navale Lanvéoc, FRA)
Jun 26-Jul 4 J/22 World Championship (Scheveningen, NED)
Jul 30-Aug Travemünder Woche (Travemünde, GER)
Oct 15-17 J/22 Dutch Open Nationals (Braassemermeer, NED)
For more J/22 Euro-League Sailing information.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Mar 7–13- J/24 Copa Mexico- Puerto Vallarta Mexico - http://www.j24mex.com/copamexicoMar 8-13- BACARDI Cup- J/24s- Coral Reef YC, Miami, FL- http://www.miamisailingweek.com
Mar. 11-14- J/22 Midwinters- Southern YC, New Orleans, LA - http://www.j22mw.com/
Mar. 19-21- San Diego NOOD- San Diego YC- San DIego, CA- http://www.sailingworld.com
Apr. 8-11- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC- http://www.charlestonraceweek.com
April 9-11- J/Fest San Francisco- St. Francis YC- San Francisco, CA- http://www.stfyc.org
May 5-8- J/80 UK Nationals- Cardiff Bay YC, England- http://www.j-80.co.uk
Jun 5-6- Sprit Fest Regatta- Breakwater YC- Sag Harbor, NY- http://www.spritfest.org
Jun 20-26- Block Island Race Week- Block Is, RI- http://www.blockislandraceweek.org
Jun 25–27- Long Beach Race Week/ J/120 NAS- Long Beach YC- LB, CA- http://www.lbrw.org
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/Regatta News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The Caribbean winter sailing circuit officially kicked off this week with the start of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Caribbean 600 Race. Wow, what an event. A grand "figure-of-eight" tour of several dozen gorgeous islands dotting the azure blue seas bounded by St. Maarten to the NW and Guadeloupe at the SE end. Life is not bad. Next stop on that circuit is St. Maarten Heineken 30th Anniversary Regatta. In addition, the Europeans are getting their J/22s, J/80s and other larger J's (J/105s, J/109s, J/122s) cranked up for their Spring sailing seasons about to start. The America's saw the J/30s race their Midwinters at Mardi Gras in New Orleans (we hope they had fun!) and out West the San Diego-Puerto Vallarta Race took place as a lead-in to the fun-loving MEXORC (Mexican Ocean Racing Circuit) that starts next week with the Copa de Mexico Regatta- several hundred boats descend on the Mexican "Riviera" for lots of fun in the sun. 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.
RORC Caribbean 600 Race
Glimcher's J/122 CATAPULTs To The Front
(Antigua- Feb. 23)- This latest bluewater classic is both a navigational and tactical challenge. First, imagine that you are in blue waters sailing up and down an island chain in the Caribbean that spans about 250 miles. Start and finish a race of about 600 miles from none other than the infamous and renowned English Harbour on Antigua. Wake up one morning with a mild hangover realizing that for a few days you will experience extraordinary sunrises, sunsets, spectacular cloud formations, gorgeous island backdrops and have to sail in t-shirts and shorts heading first NW downwind towards St. Maarten, round a few marks then head back upwind through the middle of the chain up and around Guadeloupe, leaving it to port and head back downwind to the finish off Antigua. Yes, life doesn't suck if this is all you had to work for this past week.Near the head of the pack in this cool and very challenging ocean race is Marc Glimcher's J/122 CATAPULT, leading IRC 1 and potential for a podium finish Overall. Marc and his crew are all from the East Coast of the United States and compete in many regattas; often in a fleet of J/122s. Marc and his crew are having a great race and are currently amongst the leaders in the RORC Caribbean 600 overall on IRC handicap. Currently, they are making a critical rounding Wednesday evening of Guadeloupe in light, shifty, very spotty winds. If they escape, it's likely they can be one of the winners on the podium.
CATAPULT crewman, Brock Callen took a few minutes to talk about the ride: "It's freezing cold back home in Massachusetts right now and I am wondering why my sailing buddies at home aren't doing this race? The sailing conditions are just gorgeous. Last night as we were on deck, just in t-shirts, a Humpback whale came right up to the boat. Watching the sun go down with the spinnaker up and surf under the hull is a great experience. We have a good spirit on board and we all have specific jobs, especially on maneuvers. At Barbuda we gybe peeled from the 3A to the 2A and it was a smooth operation. It paid off, as we passed several boats shortly after the rounding. Things have been going really well and the skipper and the crew are enjoying this race, so much. The next leg looks like it will be a beat, possibly all the way to Guadeloupe and the wind may go lighter. We will be trying not to get too frustrated and concentrate on sailing the boat to the best of our ability."
The majority of the fleet are entering another stage in this tactical race. At the moment light headwinds are forecast for the boats on the leg to Guadeloupe. After spending a long period with little rest, the sailors will begin to feel the effects. It is often easier to concentrate when the boat is flying along. In light airs, tiredness can become a big problem.
You can track the yachts and read the messages that are coming in by accessing the Tracker Page or the Boat Blogs page on the official RORC Caribbean 600 web site.
J/30 Midwinters
Ken Buhler's JALAPENO Wins
(New Orleans- Feb. 20-21)- Hosted by the amazingly charming and low-key New Orleans Yacht Club, this year's J/30 Mid-Winters regatta was held in the balmy 65 degree temperatures and persistent 10 knot plus breezes. The venue was Mardi Gras Regatta in New Orleans. It was great to shake off the icicles with some hot racing. As always, starts and mark roundings are critical in One Design J/30 racing. The fleet speed was very close with multiple leaders and three individual first place finishers; BLACK MAGIC, ZEPHYR V2 and JALAPENO. As a result, with multiple boats winning with a certain amount of braggin rights, it all culminated in great story telling at the bar. JALAPENO was lucky enough to hold off the hard pressing fleet to win the J/30 Midwinters for the third time since 2004. The crew gave credit to their newest crew member, Henrietta, for calling tactics. Second went to the tough team aboard ZEPHYR V2.0 and third just off the pace was GRITZ II not having won one race.The Gulf Coast will hold NA 2013 and the Midwinters again next year. New Orleans is a great venue for J/Boat sailing all year long. Come on down and join us next time! Here's a YouTube video of our NOYC "Welcoming Crew". For J/30 Midwinters regatta and sailing info.
St. Maarten Heineken Regatta
A Real GREEN Eco-Friendly Event, Too!
(Simpson Bay, St. Maarten)- This coming weekend will be the 30th Anniversary of this renowned event, a favorite for Europeans, South Americans and even a few Norte Americanos. Billed as the only "Serious Fun" event in the Caribbean circuit, it has also committed to the Sailors for the Sea Clean Regatta program as it strives to achieve Bronze level certification- the Regatta Organization tries to reduce our impact on our oceans and coastal waters and operate as environmentally friendly as possible. The use of reusable bow numbers, paperless registration, biodegradable products in the office and with the help of sponsors creates environmental awareness to all of those involved with the biggest sailing event in the Caribbean. Giving new meaning to the infamous description "have a Greenie", the title sponsor Heineken has ordered biodegradable cups that will be used at the parties during the event. And with the success of last year, the bracelets will be sold in order to raise money to protect the natural environment of both the French and Dutch marine parks on the island.After the racing is done, the partying can begin! Every night from the 4th up to the 7th of March fantastic parties will take place at different booming locations on St. Maarten. Heineken will make sure that the beer is cold and the music is superb. Make sure you don’t miss out the best four party nights of the year!
Amongst the J/Community participating in this year's event includes the first J/95 in the Caribbean, Tom Mullen's SHAMROCK VIII. Also in attendance will be renowned race winner BAD GIRL, Bob Armstrong's fire-engine red J/100 (pictured above in the regatta summary); Jonathan Berwin's J/160 BIG BEAR; Rick Wesslund's Key West Race Week winning J/120 EL OCASO (pictured here at KWRW); Dortmondt van Remco's warhorse, the J/35 SUNBELT REALTY; and Jorge Gorbea's J/105 UMAKUA. Good luck to all and hope to report good news next week! For more Heineken Regatta and Sailing Info.
San Diego - Puerto Vallarta Race
(San Diego, CA/ PV, Mexico)- This past weekend saw the San Diego Yacht Club’s Puerto Vallarta Race fleet head south, clear the Baja peninsula and cross the Sea of Cortez to a finish line at Punta Mita, just west of Puerto Vallarta. In the past, winners of this fabled 600 nautical mile race include Jim Madden's J/125 STARK RAVING MAD, hailing from San Diego YC (this year's winner of PHRF A in Key West Race Week). It was a very fast, record breaking race this year. Many boats reported speeds in excess of 20+ knots sustained power reaching under asym sails. For those who made early decisions to break out west after Division 1 boats had passed Ensenada proved to be a strong move as other boats caught one of the few flat points of the race near the shore.
Amongst the J's participating, the J/145 BAD PAK (2009 Transpac Winner) sailed well to garner a 3rd in Division III and 8th overall. Just off the pace by virtue of running into one of the flatter spots near shore was Stephen and Cyndy Everett's J/160 SALACIA, getting 5th in Division III and 10th overall. Steve and Cyndy just picked up SALACIA and were using the PV Race to bring along an Aussie and American crew, then continue on their delivery across the Pacific to Sydney, Australia! There was a nice interview after the race with Jeff Brown, principal of JK3 Yachting, who sailed aboard SALACIA- see it on YouTube.com. Photo credit: Bob Bentancourt For more Puerto Vallarta race info.
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* Annapolis Yacht Club announced the re-launch of the Intercollegiate Sailing Alumni 'All-American Regatta' on May 15-16, which was last hosted in 2000 by Washington College of Chestertown, Maryland. In an effort to combine great competition with camaraderie, this event will be sailed in two divisions: J/22's or AYC's C420's. All past ICYRA/ICSA All-Americans, whether Crew, Skipper or Honorable Mention are welcome to enter in either division. More ICYRA Alumni Regatta details here.* Dr. Laura- the renowned radio talkshow psychologist, has entered her J/125 on the Cabo San Lucas Race and offered some good thoughts for those people (women in particular) as to why she enjoys racing offshore on her J's. Sailing Anarchy's Editor, Scot Tempesta, had this interview with her recently: "We like Dr. Laura. No, not her politics, nor her radio show, but the woman? She's a delight who we have spent some quality time with and gotten to know fairly well. So when we heard she was racing her J/125 on the 600 mile Newport to Cabo race, we had to ask her why. She explains...
Six or seven years ago when I bought my first sailboat (J/80 THE DOC) I had no intentions to race. I just wanted the wind in my face and the quiet swoosh of a sailboat's wake soothing my ears. I got dragged into racing by being told, "If you want to really learn to sail well - racing is the way to do it." And that was correct. It took two years for my heart to not race in total fear steering the starts with boats going every which way and me not even having a great sense of where the start line was. From that to steering in frequent 6-8 foot swells and gusts to 30 knots two weeks ago...and I only rounded up twice in several hours! I was so excited and proud of myself - as the first time I was in those conditions I relinquished the helm and cried all the way to Ventura Harbor - totally terrified.
I enjoy a challenge. I never considered myself an "inshore racer" - those are just the races that can be squeezed in on an afternoon or weekend and then back to the Yacht Club for wine and home for a shower. I saw the movie, "Bucket List" and decided (having just turned 63) that I didn't want to have anything on mine. And the imagery of sailing the open sea with the stars above and critters below seems thrilling. When I mentioned Transpac to my crew and sailing buddies they all told me..."Yeah, on a bigger boat!" Well, I don't have a bigger boat - so I went to a smaller race: Cabo.
As far as changes on the boat: we had to fulfill all the requirements so we have satellite radio/phone, water maker, etc. but I drew the line at the freeze dried dinner - tried it and my stomach threw up a protest flaq! I guess it is good I love hard-boiled eggs and peanut butter and jelly...
My crew: Kevin Miller, Kit Forbes Will (Remember the Disney movie 'Morning Light'? ...that Kit Will!), Paul Wolthausen, Sam Solhaug, Eric Bohman and me.
I am very excited about this...I am the only ocean racing newbie on the boat...I am sure I will have some rude awakenings...but I bet when we arrive in CABO I'll be ready to do it again.
The main point is to have an adventure. I'll let you all know how it went! Jump in the J/Boat Anarchy forum to comment.
* Susan and Paul Herer from Chicago, IL, proud owners of J/100 #6, J100 WHAAT'S UP? have been sailing their J/100 quite actively the past few years on Lake Michigan. Here's what they had to say: "This photo was taken during the Belmont Yacht Club There & Back 50 nm Race off the Chicago lakefront. In 2009, it was a double-handed race from Belmont Harbor to the Gross Point Outer Shoal light to the 68th Street Crib and back around the Wilson Avenue Crib to Belmont Harbor. The winds were 15 to 25 kts West and Southwest with gusts up to 40kts and the seas were 3-4 ft. Like a true J Boat, it performed well, even when using our small asymmetric reaching chute downwind in these conditions. We took 1st place and line honors and set the record for fastest time for this race over the 5 year period that this race has been held. We plan to do four double-handed races in 2010 on Lake Michigan.We love our J/100 that we purchased from Rich Stearns about five years ago. This back to basics performance daysailor and racer can sharpen your skill level. The J/100 is easily sailed solo or short-handed for day sailing and port to port racing, or with a crew of five for racing around the buoys or port to port.
The J/100 receives many compliments at the dock and on the water due to its’sleek, simple, and modern design and its’ ability to sail beautifully in light, moderate or heavy air conditions while keeping everyone dry! Let’s step aboard.
This J/100 is hull # 6 and has a ten horsepowered Volvo Penta engine with saildrive and a two-bladed fourteen inch Gori folding prop. Maneuverability under motor is absolutely the best, both in forward and reverse; the boat never pulls to either direction. All lines lead aft to the spacious cockpit. The 105% jib is easily rolled out or up on a Harken furling system. The mainsail is easy to hoist or take down on Harken sailslides on a carbon fiber mast which is supported by rod rigging. The best part? The mainsail can be flaked by one person! On our boat, the mainsail has a single, continuous line reefing system, an 8:1 mainsheet system and a 4:1 fine tune. This enables anyone to control the mainsail even under heavy air conditions.
The tiller, autohelm controls, Sailtech hydraulic backstay lever, Harken windward sheeting traveler, primary winches, engine controls, and cockpit waterproof VHF remote mic are all within the easy reach of the helm. And, our Raymarine ST4000 Plus autohelm is hooked into the belowdeck rudder post assembly and does not need to be disconnected in light air conditions. It's wonderful to have this degree of control within reach of our finger tips!
Under sail, heading upwind in Lake Michigan’s stiff, choppy waters with short frequency waves, the plumb bow, fine entry and powerful rig push the J/100 thru the water gracefully while keeping you dry. J/Boats large spade rudder and fin bulb keel offer great stability and tracking. For reaching, hull # 6 uses a 1.5 oz Mylar reaching sail on a Harken furler with continuous line and a 2A running asymmetrical spinnaker tacked to a bow turning block on a padeye in front of the headstay and bow pulpit. This chute is easy to launch from a bag at the rail. Gybing both these sails is easily done by one person, and there is no spinnaker pole or sprit to deploy. An ATN snuffer works well for solo or short-handed sailing and racing.
This J/100 has a bow pulpit and lifelines which do not detract from the sleek appearance and add a good measure of safety whether sitting in the cockpit or on the rail. The Thurston dodger is easy to fold down for racing and is wonderful in inclement weather or for sun protection. The raised sea hood that accommodates four Tacktic instrument displays over the companionway is a good option because they are visible to anyone in the cockpit. And the cockpit lockers offer good storage.
Down below, the interior might be considered spartan, but it is bright, uncluttered, and clean with some attractive teak framework and lighting fixtures in the head and cabin. There is ample storage for necessary items in the lockers under the cabin settees and under the v-berth. The shelves in the cabin, as well as the toiletry cabinet in the head are very nice finishing touches....
The J/100 was the next generation for J/Boats and a departure from the sprit boat. The concept of basic, simple, performance sailing should be embraced by the sailing community."
Featured Boat
J/109 Race-ready for 2010
A 2005 freshwater J/109 ZEITGEIST is a proven winner. She has only raced in the big events in Chicago/ Lake Michigan. The record speaks for itself- First in Sailing World NOOD Regatta- 2007, 2008, 2009. First 2007, 2008 Chicago-to-Mackinac Island Race. Third Overall 2009 North Americans. ZEITGEIST is in perfect condition. Looks like new, good updated sail inventory. For more information, please be sure to contact Rich Stearns at Stearns Boating- rich@stearnsboating.comAbout J/Boats
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
* J/80s at J/World Annapolis were used for a USSTAG/ GEL program with US Olympian Graham Biehl. Donna Berry from GEL had this to say about the program- "I wanted to share the following sailing story with you involving the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, sailing experiential learning company Group Experiential Learning, J World Annapolis and Olympian Graham Biehl. 
* J/35: Pimped Super-fast Family Cruising Classic-- Dan Moll- from Puerto Rico took an old J/35, now renamed CAVALLINO, and "pimped" their ride into the ultimate cruising, sailing "crib". Here's Dan's story:
