Command A Rocketship with Finger-tip Control!J/111 Wins SAIL's 2011 Best Boats Award
(Boston, MA)- "There’s a lot to like about the new J/111— an aggressive rig, racy good looks, a hull form that loves to be driven- and tying it all together is one of the best production-boat cockpits we’ve seen. J/Boats has had decades to improve on the simple trench it carved out of the aft deck of the J/24, and it hit the ball out of the park on this one." And, "to those lucky sailors who will have the opportunity to crew aboard a J/111 in the years to come: have fun, and make sure you get a chance to drive this beauty. It’s an experience not to be missed." Contact your J/Dealer for more information or a demo today. Out West, Jeff Brown at JK3 Yachts in San Diego or Norm Davant at Sail California in San Francisco have 111s in the water for those who dare venture into the twilight zone of joy, happiness and peace-of-mind at 20+ knots surfing offshore. Contact Jeff at jeff@jk3yachts.com (SoCal) or Norm at norm@sailcal.com (NorCal). Read more about SAIL's Best Boat Awards selection of the J/111.
J/108 Launched, Spectacular Sea-trials(Les Sables d'Olonne, France)- Launched this past week, the J/108 fulfilled lofty goals to continue the tradition of legendary J performance in a shoal-draft cruising boat. The combination of the J/108's twin rudders and unique keel/ centerboard design have proven so far to exceed performance expectations. In moderate to strong breezes and enormous three meter swell running from North Atlantic storms into the Bay of Biscay, the J/108 performed admirably, easily sailed upwind by two people (see photo) in what could be described as "difficult" conditions for shoal-draft boat going to windward. Reports from the builder Didier LeMoal and J/Boats' Florida dealer, CrossCurrent Marine's Craig Crossley, were that upwind "she steers like a dream, the twin-rudders permit you to point the 108 anywhere you want, instantaneously, with no lag in response to the wheel- a remarkable attribute of this particular shoal-draft design". Like her smaller twin-sister, the 108 can do a "hockey-stop", turning 90 degrees within half a boat-length. And, going backwards under power it's easy to "parallel-park" onto a dock or back into a slip with ease, inspiring enormous confidence in maneuvers that cause many anxiety.
The J/108 will be spending time in Florida and Key West during Race Week at the Galleon Resort. Learn more about it now, contact your local J Dealer or J/Boats- ph# 401-846-8410 or info@jboats.com. For demos you may also contact Craig Crossley at CrossCurrent Marine- craig.crossley@gmail.com or phone +1-401-330-6135. For more J/108 sailboat information.
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
As November sailing comes to an end, Americans have a lot to be "thankful" for, celebrating their Thanksgiving Holiday with family and friends- also America's busiest time of year to travel anywhere. A bit like "brownian motion" at the atomic level, Americans are seemingly scattering to the winds to get together with one another in huge tribal gatherings, eating a bit too much food and drink and being thankful that a crazy lot of people, known as "the Pilgrims", actually sailed for 66 days across the Pond from England, landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts; survived their first winter (thanks to some nice American Wampanoag Indians); and held a feast to honor the Indians in the autumn of 1621. From the sailing perspective, the top J's racing the San Diego YC Hot Rum Series have a lot to be "thankful" for, keeping their boats in one-piece, not running into anyone and not shredding a few too many sails on a chaotic day in San Diego Harbor. Also celebrating and being incredibly "thankful" for their remarkable success were the Japanese match-racing team in the Asian Games. And, perhaps most "thankful" of all are the English J/97 and J/109 teams sailing the Hamble Winter Series- JIKA-JIKA and J-DREAM-- with a bit of luck one of them may be top dog for the series! The J/Community and Cruising section below have some really interesting, and heart-warming, stories this week. Check them out! 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.Regatta & Show Schedules:
Oct 9-Dec 11- Hamble Winter Series- Hamble, England- http://www.garminhamblewinterseries.co.ukNov 6-Dec4- Hot Rum Series- San Diego YC, San Diego, CA- http://www.sdyc.org/
Jan 10-14- J/24 Australian Nationals- Sydney, OZ- http://j24australia.com.au/
Jan 17-21- J/80 Midwinters- Key West, FL- http://www.j80.org
Jan 17-21- J/105 Midwinters- Key West, FL- http://www.j105.org
Jan 17-21- J/95 Midwinters- Key West, FL- http://www.jboats.com/j95
Jan 17-21- Key West Race Week- Key West, FL- http://www. premiere-racing.com
Feb 12-16- J/24 Midwinters- Davis Is YC, Tampa, FL- http://www.diyc.org
Feb 24-26- J/22 Midwinters- Davis Is YC, Tampa, FL- http://www.diyc.org
Mar 9-11- J/30 Mardi Gras Midwinters- New Orleans YC, New Orleans, LA- http://j30.us/blog
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Hamble Winter Series 6th WeekendJIKA-JIKA and J-DREAM Bidding for Overall Title!
(Hamble, England)- With two more weekends to go in the 2010 Garmin Hamble Winter Series most classes will be fighting it out all the way, but in the IRC3 and J/109 classes two boats are dominating. With another win on Sunday Mike and Jamie Holmes’ J/97 JIKA-JIKA looks set to clinch their points series, as does David and Kirsty Apthorp's J-DREAM in the J/109s. If this form can be maintained they should both be strong contenders for the "Garmin Yacht of the Series" award for the best overall performance of all Black Fleet classes!
12-18 knots of cold north to north-easterly breeze coupled with a strong west-going tide made it a challenging day for both competitors and the race committees. The Black Fleet courses were cascaded down tide across the entire width of the Solent from a start on the Ryde Middle, while inshore the White Group was set a full trapezoidal course with a separate finishing boat, to cycle the three races with minimum delays.
The White Fleet points battle resumed after last week’s abandoned racing, with a small but keen fleet of J/80s braving another cold day. The J/80s continued to have a competitive series. Through race 14, the leader continues to be OI! sailed by John Cooper with 16 points after winning two more races. Second is AQUA-J skippered by Patrick Liardet with 26 points after getting two 2nds. Just 4 points shy is Gordon Craigen's SWALLOW with 30 points. The Royal Air Force team on SPITFIRE are lying fourth with 58 points. Mike Lewis' JESTER is hanging in fifth with 78 points.
In race 10 of the J/109s, J-DREAM skippered by Kirsty and David Apthorp reaffirmed their leadership at the top of the standings with a convincing win. Second was OUTRAJEOUS sailed by Richard and Valerie Griffith and third was ARIA sailed by Luca Rubinelli. Overall, the Apthorp's J-DREAM continues to strengthen lead with just 9 points followed in 2nd by Dave McLeman's OFFBEAT with 24 points, 3rd is OUTRAJEOUS sailed by the Griffiths with 29 pts, 4th is ARIA led by Luca Rubinelli with 32 pts and 5th AUDAJIOUS skippered by David Jobson with 45 pts.
In IRC Class 3 the J/97 JIKA-JIKA sailed by Mike and Jamie Holmes again crushed the competition and grabbed another victory over tough competition. Currently, the Holmes' J/97 has only 10 points for the series and leads by 12 points over the next closest boat. Hanging onto 4th place is Ed Holton's J/110 SHADES OF BLUE.
The series continues on November 28th with one race for the Black Fleet classes, while three races are scheduled for the sportsboats in the White Fleet. Report contributions from Jontey Sherwill. Full sailing details of the 2010 Garmin Hamble Winter Series. Photo courtesy- Tim Wright- photoaction.com
Japan Wins Gold Match-racing J/80s(Guangzhou, China/ Shanwei Sailing Center- Nov. 20th)- Japan won the Gold Medal in Open Match Racing of Sailing at the 16th Asian Games in co-host city Shanwei. This is a tribute to the long-term focus of the Japanese Sailing Team in the match-racing arena, no doubt helped by the presence of Peter Gilmour and his influence on the Japanese America's Cup programs over time. A surprise Silver Medalist was the Indian team skipper by Balraj Balraj. Third was Korea getting the bronze led by Sungmin Cho. Here are the standings for the Asian Games Sailing medalists and their crew:
1. Gold- Japan- OKAMOTO Yasuhiro- skipper, SAKAMOTO Wataru, WADA Daichi, YOSHIFUJI Hiroaki
2. Silver- India- BALRAJ Balraj- skipper, HELEGAONKAR Trunal, SINHA Atool, TARAPORE Farokh Fa, YADAV Shekhar Sing
3. Bronze- Korea- CHO Sungmin- skipper, KIM Sungwok, LEE Dongwoo, NAM Yongjin, PARK Gunwoo
Read more about their in the Sailing section here on the Asia Games 2010 site.
Rough and Tumble Hot Rum SeriesJ's Hanging Tough On Nasty Saturday
(San Diego, CA- Nov. 20th)- Saturday dawned grey, cool, hazy and wet. Intermittent showers and a nasty WNW wind gusting from 8 to 25 knots was the order of the day. San Diego postcard sailing weather? Not. More like what Seattle's Puget Sound is renowned for with grey days and frenetic breeze. With a ginormous swell pounding the surf beaches around Point Loma, the SDYC PRO wisely kept the fleet "inside". For the uninitiated, that simply means blasting around the inner San Diego Harbor, getting huge wind bends (or mind bends), massive hell-holes created by monster cruise ships and even more massive US Navy aircraft carriers and avoiding a strong outbound ebb current up to 1.5 knots to further spice things up a bit. Sounds like fun? Sure, for those not intimidated by a 1,001 port starboard situations and moving packs (sidewalks) of spinnakers entangled en'masse downwind squeezed along the shoreline trying to stay out of the current.
After two races, the J/105s again proved they're hard to beat in these crazy "pursuit-style" races, where the slowest start first and the fastest last. First boat across wins. By virtue of where they start, the J/105s often get "launched" on the rest of the fleet and this is reflected in their consistent placings near the top of the fleet. Overall J's have 8 of top 15 spots. The J/105s are 3rd, 5th, 7th and 11th. J/120s are 6th and 13th. And the J/125 9th and J/111 10th so far. Leading the J/105s in Class 3 is WINGS sailed by Dennis and Sharon Case. Second in J/105s is Dave Vieregg's TRIPLE PLAY and third BLINK! sailed by Steve and Lucy Howell. In Class 2, the J/120 CC RIDER sailed by Chuck Nichols is leading Jeff Brown's J/111 by 2 points. Class 1 has the J/145 BAD PAK and a bunch of J/125s battling it out in the top 10. For more San Diego YC Hot Rum Series sailing information.
Bacardi National Keelboat Championship
J/105 MAYHEM Repeat Winners
(Bermuda- Nov. 22nd)- The Bacardi National Keelboat Championship was completed this past weekend for the J/105 class. The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club was the host club for the annual Bermuda Sailing Association (BSA) event. Winds eased throughout the day on Saturday forcing the sailors to continue to change gears and adjust equipment to deal with the constantly changing conditions. Defending National Champion Jon Corless and the crew of MAYHEM prevailed by a slim margin and were re-crowned National Champions. Sailing with Corless were Jen Quinn, Rebecca Roberts, Craig Scott, Jeff Roach and Jordan Smith. All six of Bermuda's fleet of J/105s made it out to the Great Sound. MAYHEM edged out her nearest rivals by two points, leaving a tie-breaker to determine second place. James Macdonald's PASSION ended up taking second while Chuck Millican and his crew onboard ELUSIVE were third. For more J/105 Bermuda Fleet sailing information.
Happiness Is The J/24 Circus Regatta(New Braunfels, Texas- Nov. 19-21)- The last stop of the Texas Circuit took place on November 19-21, 2010 at Lake Canyon Yacht Club in Canyon Lake. It was a triumphant win for the "happy" gang on-board Bob Harden's MR. HAPPY. They not only won the last regatta, they won the whole bloody season and join the ranks of other famous Texas sailors like John Kolius, Scott Young, Jay Lutz who've preceded them as winners of this epic, season long series held at some of the best watering holes in Texas. Ever popular, this year's J/24 Texas Circuit continues to see strong, competitive fleets and rarely does the same boat win successive events-- must be too much tequila and salsa during the previous victory celebration that might have something to do with that issue.
While Bob and crew won, it was not without a strong challenge from Bryan and Vicki Dyer on RUMLINE. They started out strong with a 1-2-4, throwing down the challenge to the others to match them. However, they could not keep up the pace, falling off the proverbial cliff in the last two races with a 5-3 to drop them out of content for the series against the HAPPY crowd. Third overall was Stuart Lindow racing TROPICAL AGGRESSION, finishing strong with a 2-2 to cement their claim to the bronze. Fourth was Doug Weakley sailing AMBASSADOR with 26 points and fifth was J/24 Southwest Champion Kelly Holmes-Moon racing BADMOON with 32 points. For more J/24 Texas Circus Regatta sailing information.
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* The Cleveland SAIL BAB Team Ready To Roll at KWRW 2011- Skipper Jim Sminchak of Cleveland’s Lakeside Yacht Club and the crew of his J/105 IT prevailed over a strong field in SAIL’s 2010 Best Around the Buoys (BAB) contest and will be heading to Florida in January to take part in 2011 Key West Race Week.
Team IT received the nod based on its outstanding performance this past year in a number of regattas on the Lake Erie, including the Mentor Harbor Yachting Club Regatta; the Lakeside Yacht Club Regatta; the 73rd Annual Falcon Cup, organized by the Mentor Harbor and Cleveland yacht clubs; and the offshore portion of Edgewater Yacht Club’s Cleveland Race Week. In each case, it took first place in its PHRF division and, in all but Cleveland Race Week, won first overall as well. The crew also competed in a number of one-design events, including ILYA Bay Week and the Detroit NOOD regatta. In both cases, it took first.
According to SAIL publisher Josh Adams, the crew of it won out over the other 70 entries in this year’s BAB due to a combination of its performance on their local racecourse and its cohesion over the years. “With Best Around the Buoys, we aimed to reward a team for its local PHRF racing performance with a berth on the national stage at Key West Race Week,” Adams said. “Jim Sminchak and crew stood out as a winning team committed to performing around the buoys in their region. Their success and the impressive volume and quality of entries to BAB serve as a testament that PHRF racing is alive and well across the United States.”
Adams added that the BAB selection panel was particularly impressed by the team’s involvement and success in a wide range of events, including handicap racing, one-design racing and point-to-point races. Over the year’s, team it has also competed aboard a number of different boats, including a Tartan Ten, a J/22 and a Farr 30. Sminchak said his crew’s wins are no accident, but come as a result of “countless hours of practice, boat preparation and team bonding. Our training has us ready to compete at any regatta”.
Sminchak said he’s been sailing on Lake Erie all his life, after being introduced to the sport by his parents. He added that he and his crew are doing the same with their kids to keep the tradition alive. “Most of the crew has been sailing with us for more years than I can think of. We think of our group as family and we are competitive, love to sail and most importantly like having fun,” Sminchak said. “We take our kids or other young sailors along as much as possible, as we do believe that we need to show or teach them the world of keelboat sailing.” As for Key West, Sminchak said he and his crew are looking forward to the opportunity, but know they have a lot of work to do. “We will get to grips with [the regatta] in the next couple of weeks when I know of all the plans. With the J/111 being so new, we will have a hill to climb in learning what will make it go,” he said. Photo courtesy of David Mathias. For more information on the SAIL BAB winner.
* Now and Zen- We sail for a lot of different reasons. Some people like to win races, but they don’t even really like the pure act of sailing. Some people never win a race in their life, but they just love being out the water. Then, there are those of us for whom sailing can become an act of personal salvation. Lee Carlson has an excellent story to tell about how sailing gave him back his life through his book “Passage to Nirvana”.
You can read the whole version of the events in Lee’s life that led up to his need to write this book, but the short version is that a culmination of some pretty negative things – a nasty divorce, his mother falling down a flight of stairs and dying, topped off by being hit by a car and sustaining a traumatic brain injury – gave the net result of his book. Somehow, Lee found the resolve to recover his life and did so largely because of the support of his fiancé Meg, and their boat, aptly named “Nirvana”. Toss in some Zen, and you have a book not so much about Lee’s life, but lessons that can be applied universally. Here’s a quick Q & A with a guy who has had more than his share of bad luck, but who has also had the good fortune to have the ability to turn it around. Scot Tempesta at Sailing Anarchy did one of his famous "SA InnerViews" with Lee--- here's the intro, you gotta read the rest. Absolutely amazing and inspiring story.
SA - What is your background in sailing? Where, and on what, have you sailed?
Lee - I was born on the Navy base in San Diego when my father was on a destroyer there. I started sailing soon after I was born, going out with he and my mother in a Star. I grew up at the Buffalo Canoe Club on Lake Erie. I raced with some of the top Lightning sailors in the world, and I also raced the usual and not-so-usual assortment of dinghies and small keelboats: Tech Dinghies, Lasers, 420's, 470's, Albacores, Sharks, J24's. Then I graduated to larger keelboats: Ted Hood's fantastic centerboard one tonner “Abino Robin”, an Ericson 39 “Warlock” on Lake Erie and LIS, Eight-Meters on Lake Ontario (changing headsails in the middle of the night in freezing 8-ft. seas while clinging to a knife-edge bow with no lifelines is not something one ever forgets), and other bigger custom keelboats. Those were the days of the SORC and I raced on the maxi Windward Passage, on a mini-maxi that was a Doyle team boat, as well as racing captain of a Dubois 46 and as crew on assorted other boats. I also cruised fairly extensively, first on my family's Islander 37 on the Great Lakes, with a few charters in the Caribbean. My father bought part ownership of a 34-footer with a family in Miami, and we used to do family vacations in the Bahamas, before the drug scene got too bad. For my honeymoon my wife and I bareboated in the Virgins. When I moved to New York City to become a magazine editor, I raced a number of different boats on Long Island Sound, such as an Evelyn 32. Before my accident I was crewing regularly on a J/80. Read the rest of Scot's SA InnerView here. For the book, you can get it here.
* Ken Read, Russell Coutts, Paul Cayard, Tom Leweck and participants in the Bitter End YC's annual Pro-Am Regatta always have a good time. A fascinating element of the event is to listen to what the top sailors have to say about many facets of the sport of sailing. Tom Leweck has attended for years, as has Rodney Johnstone from nearly the beginning of the event on J/24s over 25+ years ago. This year Tom had some rather interesting interviews. This interview is led by Ken and Russell with audience participation- interesting YouTube video to watch.
* The Editor's Tufts Jumbo Sailing Team classmate, Nevin Sayre, has long promoted the need to grow youth sailing and broadening the scope of those youth programs. Nevin not only understands the competitive side of sailing, he understands that competition isn't what sailing is all about.
So it is no shock to him that the sport in the U.S. is struggling to turn youth sailors into life sailors, because the focus in most junior programs is to turn youth sailors into youth racers. From his position with BIC Sports, Nevin provides his observations in the second half of this two part series:
Sailing could learn a lot from the history of the snow industry. There was a time when archaic long skis were strapped on to a kid's boots and he/she was shown primarily one option. If they made it through basic training, most kids were introduced to gates and racing was the one game to play. Snow sports at that time were on the fringe. Then came a revolutionary new era in
the mountain industry, inspired by snowboarding, technology, innovation, and new materials. A combination of modern equipment, new formats, and style made snow sports (boarding and modern skiing alike) attractive to kids. The gear and culture was COOL and junior programs started to offer new alternatives for free riding, freestyle, etc for the kids who weren't inspired by the same one format their parents were weaned on.
And you know what? There was still probably the same number of racers, but snow sports became attractive to "other kids", and participation numbers went through the roof! Would the explosion of snow sports have happened if kids were introduced to skiing with gear from 50 years ago and racing gates was the only focus of every junior program?
So why is sailing so popular in, say, a country like France? One of the reasons has got to be that kids in France are as likely to learn to sail on a windsurfer or multihull or skiff as they are in an old school dinghy. Kids are given modern gear and can choose alternative formats that they find attractive. More kids become passionate about sailing.
The U.S. has been particularly slow in changing its one-dimensional thinking, but it is encouraging to see more junior programs are finding new alternatives that strike a chord with the "other kids". More and more programs now offer windsurfing and recreational "Reachers" programs with low emphasis on race results and a stronger focus on sailing a variety of different modern boats. Instead of going around buoys until the kids are dizzy, on a given day they might borrow a big boat, try windsurfing, practice freestyle sailing, or "adventure sail" to a different harbor for ice cream. They are getting a wide range of valuable sailing skills, and, like at the mountain, the experience is more about hanging with their buds - doing the sport with each other and not always against each other. -- Read more about Nevin's interview on Scuttlebutt here.
* Vincenzo Onorato- another former J/24 and J/39 sailor from Italy (and leader of the famous MOBY Lines providing ferry service to the islands of Elba, Corsica and Sardinia)- is now the leader of the MASCALZONE LATINO AC34 Challenge. Vincenzo was a good sailor when he was racing his J/24 and J/39 and was always an honorable and fun-loving person that loved the sport of sailing and, most importantly, included many of his friends and family. Recently he wrote Michele Tognozzi, editor of FareVela (a leading Italian sailing publication): "Dear Michele, I read Fare Vela Online with interest, every day. I have also read the criticism leveled at my club, seen as a sleeping partner of the Defender rather than a Challenger of Record worthy of its name. I partly feel responsible for these opinions as a direct result of our scant communication on the work we are carrying out. Oracle and Mascalzone, and their respective yachts clubs, inherited a disastrous Cup in terms of image, a result of the long and, I point out, legitimate litigation with Bertarelli. Russell and I meet almost every week and our teams are in daily contact.
All decisions taken are thoroughly discussed and thought through. It is also true we are going through an international economic environment, to say the least disastrous, and this is a further incentive to act with utmost care and caution. My silence doesn't mean I'm not doing anything, but that we are humbly working, among other things, on carrying water to our mill. I'm Italian and my mill is called Italy, I would like to take to our country a series of events of the next Cup, just like I did last summer in La Maddalena. A Jesuit priest that taught me in school used to say: Look at the substance of things, not their form. That's what I'm doing. Your faithful and devoted reader, Vincenzo Onorato". Full story can be read on Scuttlebutt USA here.
The J Cruising Community
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.
* ARC 2010 Starts - 233 Yachts Cross the Line in Sunshine- the J/122 SKY HUNTER II (bow# 205) is participating with renowned English sailor, Peter Bainbridge from Southampton, England, sailing Division I Cruising. SKY HUNTER 2 is a cruising version of the J/122 with more accommodation and less sail area. This will be her first Atlantic crossing. There will be 5 crew on board and with the average age of the 3 'seniors' nearly 70 years old, means they will avoid too much foredeck work by not using a spinnaker.
The 25th Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) started in spectacular style with 233 yachts from 26 nations sailing across the start line off Las Palmas de Gran Canaria heading for their final destination, 2,700 nautical miles away in Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia. The early morning rain and dark clouds cleared away, to be replaced by bright sunshine and the light NE wind filled to provide a reaching start. For the thousands of spectators ashore and afloat it was a picture perfect start to the 25th ARC. After crossing the start line in 8-10 knots and light swell, a colorful display of spinnakers were hoisted to help the yachts on their way. The forecast is for the light north easterlies to continue for the next few days.
News from the fleet can be found on the official ARC website where daily yacht position reports will be displayed and visitors can view individual route maps for each yacht. Each yacht is fitted with a Yellowbrick iridium tracker, with positions updated automatically every 6 hours. Crews will also contribute daily logs and images direct to the site which can be viewed here.
* Glen Gustaffson is sailing his J/46 this year in the Caribbean 1500. He says, "There are two J/46's and I believe one J/40 in the event, which has a record turnout this year. We are pumped up and looking for a fast ride to the Islands. I'll see if I can get a story together on the J's in the event, and send it on after we reach Tortola. There is live tracking on the website- http://www.carib1500.com
* 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. A recent update from Bill and Kathy- "Hello, all! We have safely arrived in Opua, New Zealand from Tonga. It was a remarkably fast passage. Some statistics: Time: 6 days, 3 hours. Total distance: 1023 miles. Distance sailed: 1020 miles. Distance motored: 3 miles. Average speed: 7.0 knots. Fuel used: 3 gallons (12 hours of engine idling for power generation). Best memory: sailing into the Bay of Isles, hand steering in 25 knots of breeze, watching the sun rise behind us, lighting Cape Brett up in a warm red glow. Next is New Zealand!" Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/* Prolific writers, Bill and Judy Stellin, sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER around the Mediterranean and Europe and back across the Atlantic for nearly three years. Their blogs/journals can be found at- http://blog.mailasail.com/jaywalker. The earlier journals have been compiled into two self published books which can be found at: http://www.blurb.com. Search for "SEATREK: A Passion for Sailing" by Bill Stellin or William Stellin." Fun reading when rocking back in a chair watching your storm-lashed windows take a beating in the gale roaring outside and listening to the crackle of a roaring fire. It is winter "down under" you know. The Argentineans are freezing.
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary will have just 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/.* 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).
- SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com). A recent excerpt- "Stephen and Ross were enthralled by Roger's "Willies 1942 WW2 American jeep". Both boys took it for a burn and one is now at the top of Stephen’s wish list. When Roger was restoring it he was delighted to find a genuine WW2 American Hard hat under the back seat...."
- 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). Check out there recent travels- now past Fiji! A recent excerpt- "Things Unplanned Run Amuck in Tahiti- Boats have feelings, don’t you know? They do not like to be left alone, unattended and seemingly unloved. This is a fact of which both The Captain and The First Mate are well aware, but given their lifestyle, they have no choice. Avante must go it alone every once in a while, and they know they eventually will have to deal with nautical hurt feelings and the consequences which follow." The rest of the thread is both humorous and quite educational- many lessons learned!
* Long-distance cruising communications advice for those who wish to be connected beyond a cell phone/ WiFi connection (10 miles) anywhere on the planet- try SailMail.com- a remarkable SSB communications network good for up to 5,000 Nautical MILES of connectivity! How cool is that! Founded by renowned superstar navigator Stan Honey and friends, here's good info for long-distance datacomm fanatics. Stan says, "SailMail has worldwide coverage, but as with any HF propagation, you have to be knowledgeable about selection of which station to use, what time of day, and what frequency. The only holes in coverage worldwide would be a very noisy marina where battery chargers on nearby boats prevent SailMail use. In those situations most folks use WiFi or GSM anyway, and use SailMail when they are at sea, or in most remote anchorages. There is lots of information on the website at www.sailmail.com about SSB choice and modem choice. The Icom M802 radio and AT140 tuner are currently the best choice."
Featured Boats
J/95 #1 Available in Florida!
J/95s are on a roll in the southeast with five boats sailing in the area by this fall (at least four planning to participate in the January Key West Race Week). Sarasota Yacht and Ship is the brokerage side of the J/Southeast dealer CrossCurrent Marine, and they are thrilled to have landed the first brokerage listing for this wonderful shoal draft performance daysailer. Boat is fully optioned with carbon sails, mast, V boom and sports an extension electronics suite. Please contact Craig Crossley at 401-330-6135, craig@crosscurrentmarine.com (or craig.crossley@gmail.com) for more information.About 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.
Read Kimball Livingston's SAIL update on the J/Boats story- A Band of Brothers.
