J/80 Class Continues Worldwide GrowthNew 2011 J/80 Special Package
(Newport, RI)- You know a class is strong when two months after a World Championship you can't find a used boat. The J/80 Class momentum keeps building with the next stop Key West, Florida. New production is back-logged to February-- still time to get a boat for the 2011 season! For J/80s ordered in the next 60 days (prior to February 1st), the special program is: 2011 Model US Watercraft J/80 for $53,900 USD with a Waterline Systems faired keel and Triad tandem axle galvanized trailer. For more J/80 Special Package information. Contact J/Boats at P- +1-401-846-8410 or email at info@jboats.com. Sailing Photo credit- Allen Clark/ photoboat.com
Gorgeous 2011 J/Calendar(Newport, RI)- This year's beautiful 2011 J/Sailing Calendar is for sailors who love the joy of sailing a J in spectacular harbors and waters around the world. Whether you are a cruising, racing or armchair sailor, these stunning sailboat photographs will transport you to wonderful sailing experiences in far away places. The 2011 J/Calendar features more photos of flying J/22s and J/80s, a J/122 powering upwind, serene scenery off the Spanish Balearic coast, J/105s and J/120s dueling in the Rolex Big Boat Series, J/24s crowding a start on Banderas Bay, Puerto Vallarta, and some gorgeous shots of J/109s and a J/30 on sun-splashed seas. There are two formats this year- the standard size (11.5" W) is perfect for home, school or office where space may be limited and the large, wide format (17.5" W) is a spectacular feast for your eyes! For those who love the sailing lifestyle, it's the ultimate sailing gift for your friends and family. Sailing photo credit- Paul Todd/ Outside Images. For more 2011 J/Sailing Calendar information.
Unique J/24 Prints(Newport, RI)- Just in time for the holiday season, WG Sofrin Fine Prints of Newport, RI is pleased to announce the introduction of a customizable J/24 sail and lines plan print.
This print was developed in conjunction with the J Boats design team using the original design data from Rodney Johnstone. This classic keepsake is perfect for any office, home or club.
The print is produced using archival inks on acid-free select print stock. WG Sofrin Fine Prints specializes in customizable print services. Sofrin's work is collected around the globe, and his original work can be viewed upon prior appointment at the MIT Museum in Boston, MA. Visit http://www.willsofrin.com for all the details or email will@willsofrin.com.
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
It's hard to imagine the close of November the beginning of December (winter in the North!) would see so much sailing activity going on worldwide. In Europe, it seems that no matter what the weather, no matter how cold and blustery, no matter how crazy it might seem, the sailors all venture forth undeterred, determined to "have a go" at it and tell a few war stories afterwards in the pubs. On that note, it's no wonder the Vikings found America "first" (e.g. not Pilgrims nor the vaunted Columbus) in their open, double-ended boats powered by square sails and oars. Keeping up that tradition is the Swedish Ice Cup. Not far behind their Scandinavian friends are the English, still sailing the Hamble Winter Series in 0 C. weather! And, just south of them in the sunny Mediterranean, the Spanish are still perfecting how to sail J/80s faster in famous watering holes like Palma de Mallorca, Bilbao and Santander. This week, the San Diego Hot Rum Series winds down with it's final set of races. Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below have more 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. Sailing photo credit- Paul Wyeth/ PWPictures.com
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Oct 9-Dec 11- Hamble Winter Series- Hamble, England- http://www.garminhamblewinterseries.co.uk
Nov 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.
Nov 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.
Wintry Hamble Winter SeriesJIKA-JIKA and J-DREAM Contending for Overall Title!
(Hamble, England)- A week to go in the series with one or two interesting battles to watch, and as mentioned below even those who have already won their classes will be gunning it to improve their chances of winning the overall trophies, the Garmin Yacht of the Year and Garmin Sportsboat of the Year. These are not just lowest points trophies, but also factored against size of class and a competitiveness factor, and worked out by Race Director Jamie Wilkinson. At this stage, the J/97 JIKA-JIKA and the J/109 J-DREAM are vying for overall honors.
With the air temperature barely climbing above zero degrees on this penultimate day of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series, thankfully the north-easterly breeze never got much above 10 knots. Even so it was shifting widely, and enough to delay the Black Fleet starts by ten minutes while the committee re-laid the start line near the Sunsail racing mark on the Ryde Middle.
Having picked Fastnet Insurance buoy as a first mark the IRC and one-designs were set windward leeward courses, but with a breeze that was gradually dropping, and mindful of the many pairs of cold hands, the race committee made a popular decision in shortening the races after 100 minutes of sailing.
The J/109s had a very tactical race Sunday. The Black Fleet committee boat was on station on Ryde Bank and gave the preceding classes a long race of windward/leewards with an initial beat almost all the way to the north shore, followed by a good down wind back to Ryde Bank. When the J/109 Class course was announced with similar legs to the earlier starts, it was obvious that the day was going to be dominated by tidal tactics.The fleet headed upwind with an even split on port and starboard only to converge again at the windward mark. This mark rounding saw OUTRAJEOUS (Richard & Valerie Griffith) judge the tide perfectly to lead from ARIA (Luca Rubinelli), JAGERBOMB (Paul Griffiths), RED ARROW (Marcus Wilson), DESIGNSTAR 2 (Roger Phillips) and last week’s race winner, OFFBEAT (David McLeman). Season leader J-DREAM (David and Kirsty Apthorp) was buried back in the pack.
A spinnaker run of nearly two miles saw many position changes as OUTRAJEOUS extended her lead from ARIA and J-DREAM pulled through to third. RED ARROW with her new crew were delighted to be in the pack and determined to protect their position.
Halfway up the next beat ARIA was overhauled by J-DREAM and within metres of the mark OUTRAJEOUS ducked J-DREAM, who was on starboard. Another long run back across the Solent saw OUTRAJEOUS take better advantage of the tide to round the leeward mark first.
The leaders had an uneventful leeward mark rounding, buy the majority of the fleet arrived at the mark at the same time. A starboard rounding had thrown some and with strong tide, there were a few interesting calls for mark room.
The final beat saw J-DREAM once again lead at the windward mark and as they did not repeat the mistake of the previous downwind leg, OUTRAJEOUS was unable to pass. A beat back to the finish saw J-DREAM extend the lead from OUTRAJEOUS to take the win by 30 seconds, their seventh victory of the series.
ARIA retained 3rd place, whilst some of the fleet rounded the leeward mark and set off for the wrong finish line. JAGERBOMB and DESIGNSTAR were losers in this maneuver, whilst RED ARROW benefitted to finish 4th —only 9 seconds off 3rd and 5 seconds in front of OFFBEAT in 5th. Overall, the results still are: 1st- J-DREAM (David & Kirsty Apthorp), 2nd- OFFBEAT (David McLeman) and 3rd- ARIA (Luca Rubinelli). What's interesting to note is that in the 11th race, all top five took all top five places! Now that's tough racing!
In the White Fleet, racing in the relative shelter of the mainland shore, an amended windward leeward course was in use to reduce time between the three races. With the finishing committee boat near the start line it worked well, with the J/80s getting three start sequences cycled in two hours. Despite a soft breeze and some huge wind shifts, plus one black flag start in the J/80s in race 2, the fleet was heading for the crane by 12:45 pm after a 35-minute final race. Overall, the results still are 1st OI!- John Cooper, 2nd AQUA J- Patrick Liardet, and 3rd is SWALLOW- Gordon Craigen.
Over in IRC Class 2, there have been four J/105s racing and they are 7-8-9-10 in class dueling with one another for one-design "Top Dog". In the fray are JACKPOT sailed by Vernon Bradley in 7th, JOS OF HAMBLE skippered by Professor Roger Williams in 8th, JOURNEYMAKER 5 sailed by Chris Jones in 9th and JOLENE with Ivan and Peter Trotman leading the charge lying 10th.
IRC Class 3 has simply been dominated by the J/97 JIKA-JIKA (seen here) sailed by Mike and Jamie Holmes, they have seven 1sts, a 3rd and two 4ths! Tough "hombres" these guys might be called in Texas/ Spanish slang. Call it a "schooling" or simply a good old-fashioned "spanking", but Mike and Jamie simply set a new standard of performance with their well-sailed J/97 in this year's Winter Series. Proof positive it's a tough boat to beat, often sailing as fast as the J/109s in lighter conditions downwind! Sailing a nice series and not far off the pace lying 4th is the J/110 SHADES OF BLUE sailed by Ed Holton-- just one point out of 3rd!The series concludes next Sunday, December 5th, and day sponsor will be Elvstrom Sails. One race for the Black Fleet and three races for the White Fleet are scheduled, and as well as finalizing the points series for the ten classes these results will help determine the Garmin Yacht of the Year and Garmin Sportsboat of the Year that will be awarded at the overall prize giving on Saturday December 11th. Report contributions from Jontey Sherwill. Full sailing details of the 2010 Garmin Hamble Winter Series. Sailing photos courtesy- Paul Wyeth/ PWPictures.com.
J/92 Ice Cup SwedenA Snow-Filled Fun Fest
(Stockholm, Sweden)- Photographer Oskar Kihlborg covered the 10th edition of Ice Cup in Sweden (aka "Viking Cup") and provided a quick report for frost-bite, snow-loving sailors. As Oskar reminds us all, "It was -10 degrees C but the snow was not a big problem for the 120 Vikings who turned up for the start. However spinnakers were not allowed due to too much ice on foredecks and winch handles were used to hack off ice from deck.
The 25 teams raced in J/92 boats and on Sunday six teams contested the final. The normal coin flipping between 'Dream Team' and Australian Tim Shuwalows 'Sweden Racing' was decided in a saucer or sledge race down the snowy slope to the water. Tim won that race but overall winner of the final was Team Tham.
J/92 Ice Cup Sailing Photo credits- Oskar Kihlborg
ECC VIVIENDAS Wins J/80 Autumn Championship(Santander, Spain)- The Spanish J/80 teams are at it again. No matter how many J/80 World Champions they have, their fellow J/80 sailors are simply having fun getting out on the water and thrashing around the buoys before retiring after the race for some great Spanish paella and vino rojo.
The wavy conditions and good southwest 10-20 knot winds, combined with the flexibility of the Race Committee, allowed three good sets of races to play out on Santander Bay for the weekend. It was fortunate that three sets of six races were completed, it's been a nasty few weeks for storms that have lashed the coastline. The winner Pichu Torcida on ECC VIVIENDAS sailed to a very consistent 3-3-5 score. Second place went to NEXTEL ENGINEERING sailed by Ignacio Camino and Armando Gutierrez and bronze was won by the BANCAJA-AVIVA, raced by Javier Lopez-Vazquez and Alvaro Mazarrasa. Rounding out the top five were MABLE in 4th sailed by Alberto Padron and Jose Miguel Oriol, winning on a tie-breaker over Jaime Piris on FONESTAR (5th overall). For more J/80 Autumn Championship sailing information. Sailing photos courtesy of Chapifoto.com
Torcida Awarded As Spanish National Sports Hero
(Santander, Spain)- In the Cantabrian region there are many excellent, world-class sportsmen. Many are cycling, soccer and basketball stars that win medals at an Olympic level or play professionally on such teams as Real Madrid or Barcelona. In that rarified air is none other than Pichu Torcida. A jury of the board of the Sports Press Association of Cantabria (APDC) and the heads of the major sports media in the region, selected eleven winners across a range of sports. Pichu's team is recognized as the "Best Team of Cantabria 2010" for their victory in the J/80 Worlds in Newport, RI. The entire team won the award, including his team-mates Carlos Martinez, Javier de la Plaza and Juan Gonzalez of Real Club Maritimo de Santander. For more info on Pichu's awards for sailing.
Santander J/80 Mundialito Regatta
SLAM RACING's Gorostegui Wins
(Santander, Spain)- Last Saturday it was a freezing cold November day, but the sailors were undeterred. They headed out for their version of a "mini-J/80 Worlds" (e.g. "mundialito"). Hosted by the Real Club Marítimo de Santander, the event is a traditional friendly and festive trophy "Mundialito" which brought into Cantabria many renowned Spanish sailors.
On Saturday afternoon the race committee sent the 27 teams around windward-leeward courses for a series of good, tactical racing. By Sunday morning, the PRO's instead ordered a special tour and unusual hitch, starting with coastal stretch down the coast and back and finishing off the RCMS after a final double windward-leeward laps halfway between Santa Marina and Camel Beach. The conditions were tough, because a strong hailstorm struck the sailors when sailing against upwind to the first mark. It was in this race that SLAM RACING took control of the regatta, winning by a comfortable margin. Unfortunately, one of the contenders in the race, current J/80 World Champion Pichu Torcida, had to retire due to some painful muscle injuries in the difficult weather conditions. Overall, the results were SLAM RACING in first sailed by Tonio Gorostegui and Harry Lavin, 2nd was Fernando Rita and Jaime Piris sailing the picturesque FONESTAR, 3rd was Ignacio Camino racing his familiar NEXTEL ENGINEERING, 4th was a new face amongst the leaders, Chuny Bermudez de Castro sailing COMPESCA and tied for 5th were Jesus Amaliach on RAITA and Angel Herrera on GROUP RHIN, the latter getting 6th on the tie-breaker. For more J/80 Santander sailing information. Sailing photo courtesy of Chapifoto.com
On Saturday afternoon the race committee sent the 27 teams around windward-leeward courses for a series of good, tactical racing. By Sunday morning, the PRO's instead ordered a special tour and unusual hitch, starting with coastal stretch down the coast and back and finishing off the RCMS after a final double windward-leeward laps halfway between Santa Marina and Camel Beach. The conditions were tough, because a strong hailstorm struck the sailors when sailing against upwind to the first mark. It was in this race that SLAM RACING took control of the regatta, winning by a comfortable margin. Unfortunately, one of the contenders in the race, current J/80 World Champion Pichu Torcida, had to retire due to some painful muscle injuries in the difficult weather conditions. Overall, the results were SLAM RACING in first sailed by Tonio Gorostegui and Harry Lavin, 2nd was Fernando Rita and Jaime Piris sailing the picturesque FONESTAR, 3rd was Ignacio Camino racing his familiar NEXTEL ENGINEERING, 4th was a new face amongst the leaders, Chuny Bermudez de Castro sailing COMPESCA and tied for 5th were Jesus Amaliach on RAITA and Angel Herrera on GROUP RHIN, the latter getting 6th on the tie-breaker. For more J/80 Santander sailing information. Sailing photo courtesy of Chapifoto.com
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* All of us at J/Boats and the J/Community want to express our deepest sympathies in regards to the recent passing of Allen Brill, president and CEO of Rolex USA. Thanks to Allen’s leadership and vision, Rolex is one of sailing’s strongest champions worldwide. The impact goes far beyond the events, partnerships and programs Rolex so generously supports. We're grateful for Allen’s support of sailing as a family sport and activity- as evidenced by their long term sponsorship of events like Block Island Race Week, Big Boat Series, Fastnet Race and the Middle Sea Race- all events where hundreds of J sailors participate and have fun with family and friends. Sailing will miss his warmth, friendliness and enthusiasm.
* Louis Vuitton Cup For AC34- Bruno Trouble (J/80 sailor extraordinaire from France), Russell Coutts, Yves Carcelle, Richard Worth, and Pietro Beccari celebrated their new partnership between Louis Vuitton and the 34th America's Cup! Amazing, from the ashes a Phoenix yet rises again-- gotta hand it to Bruno, brilliant man and a French gentleman who knows how to get the job done. Continuing its 30-year long association with the America's Cup, the Paris-based fashion house will present the prize, the Louis Vuitton Cup, to the winner of the America's Cup Challenger Series, as well as serve as Official Timing for the 34th America's Cup. "We are thrilled to announce today the continuation of our 30-year partnership with the America's Cup. Having met with the team several times, we believe that the 34th edition will be the best America's Cup yet," said Yves Carcelle, Chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton Malletier.
* Speaking of AC34, LVT and sailing personalities, what do Larry Ellison and Hasso Plattner have in common?? J's they've both owned, sailed and raced-- Larry with J/105s and J/109s. Hasso with a J/100 he loves to go daysailing on with buddies and family, other than his beloved 505s. Other than that, they both run database software companies (Larry's is ORACLE and Hasso's SAP), both sail quite a bit, both have a mutual dislike for one another but grudging respect as sailors/ businessmen.
* Chicks dig it, especially Nicole Scott and Kitty Logan-- remember this photo? Of the J/24 J-SPOT in Sydney Harbour, Australia dragging one of its crew members who'd fallen overboard for a few yards (they luffed head to wind shortly thereafter and pulled him aboard)? See more about how this happened-- they love the J/24 fleet down in Sydney. Nicole and Kitty started SailingImages.net and ply their trade with a "network" photographers in Australia. There's a cute story on the infamous Sailing Anarchy site about Nicole and her friend Kitty. Another Scot Tempesta "SA InnerView"- "Sailing is one of the great sports, it is has grown to encompass all walks of life and is one of the rare recreational pursuits that is not age or gender specific. In particular so many women are now so intricately involved, not only in the sailing but in associated marine trades. A group that you will be seeing a lot of are Nicole Scott, Kitty Logan and the team at Sailing Images.net. These girls spend most weekends plying their trade of marine photography on Sydney Harbour and at all the major sailing events. They will go to any length to get the ideal angle, hanging out of boats and constantly striving for the magic shot for your office or mantelpiece.This company in its short life has already made a significant impact with its photographs featured on international websites and magazines. It is expanding quickly and notably with acquisitions of the highest order. Two more Sydney based female photographers, Beth Morley and Michele Rogers have joined the team along with Greg Maunder in Victoria, Aaron Goldwater in Canada/US, Lisa McMenamin Personal Assistant and Daryl Hill, the chase boat driver. All this is the space of three months!
The birth and success of this company is a testament to the drive and dedication of Nicole Scott. She has had to overcome personal loss of the highest order. Three and a half years ago she lost her partner to a rare form of aggressive Leukemia. Her life was turned upside down overnight and the ensuing stress and emotional turmoil took its toll. However out of this difficult time came a new zest to live life to the fullest. She embraced her favorite pastimes, photography and nature, her 10th birthday was a milestone in her life with the gift of her first camera and she was clicking the shutters from that day." Continue to read more about Nicole's adventure here on SA.
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. 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/44 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. Here's the latest update from Glenn- "Three J/Boats participated in the Caribbean 1500 this year. Our boat, WINDARA, a J/46 owned by Glenn & Elsa Gustafson of Chicago, SKITTERY GUSSETT a J/46 owned by Chris Holm of Wayzata, MN and ZAFU a modified J/44 owned by Mike Scott of Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
The Caribbean 1500 is a "rally" that runs from Hampton, VA to Tortola, BVI. This year was the 21st running of the event. 66 boats participated this year, 27 in the "rally class" which means they were being timed, and 39 in the cruise group, which means they were not being timed. Being a rally, you are allowed to run your engine in gear in the light stuff, with your engine hours added to your time.
After a weather delay for Hurricane Tomas to decide where it wanted to go, we finally left Hampton on November 8th. Weather was dominated by a large offshore atlantic low to that was slowly moving in a southwest direction toward Bermuda. As a result, we had strong winds from 20 to 35 during the first 5 days of the event, as we raced south trying to stay ahead of the really big swells further north. The J/46 was really in her element, surfing down the 10' to 15' swells at speeds up to 14 knots at times, using a poled out 100% jib and full main or single reefed main when it piped up over 28 to 30 knots. Never saw any nasty weather, just a few rain squalls with +5 knots of wind and some rain.
6 days of downwind sailing was a blast. We averaged 220 miles a day for the first 5 days, with our largest day being 239 NM. The wind lightened up to less than 10 knots the last 2 days so we flew the Asymmetrical and heated up a little from rhumb line to keep the speed up.
We ended up second in Class 2, 4 hours behind a Leopard 46 cat, and with the 6th fastest elapsed time in the fleet. Avg speed was 8.4 knots and averaged over 200 nm per day for the entire trip.
After a day to unwind, we took the crew to the Baths and Virgin Gorda before they headed back home. All in all, we had a terrific time. Plan to spend the winter in the Caribbean, and will head south from the Virgins in another week or two. Best Regards, Glenn"
* 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."
* 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. 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/44 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. Here's the latest update from Glenn- "Three J/Boats participated in the Caribbean 1500 this year. Our boat, WINDARA, a J/46 owned by Glenn & Elsa Gustafson of Chicago, SKITTERY GUSSETT a J/46 owned by Chris Holm of Wayzata, MN and ZAFU a modified J/44 owned by Mike Scott of Kingston, Ontario, Canada.The Caribbean 1500 is a "rally" that runs from Hampton, VA to Tortola, BVI. This year was the 21st running of the event. 66 boats participated this year, 27 in the "rally class" which means they were being timed, and 39 in the cruise group, which means they were not being timed. Being a rally, you are allowed to run your engine in gear in the light stuff, with your engine hours added to your time.
After a weather delay for Hurricane Tomas to decide where it wanted to go, we finally left Hampton on November 8th. Weather was dominated by a large offshore atlantic low to that was slowly moving in a southwest direction toward Bermuda. As a result, we had strong winds from 20 to 35 during the first 5 days of the event, as we raced south trying to stay ahead of the really big swells further north. The J/46 was really in her element, surfing down the 10' to 15' swells at speeds up to 14 knots at times, using a poled out 100% jib and full main or single reefed main when it piped up over 28 to 30 knots. Never saw any nasty weather, just a few rain squalls with +5 knots of wind and some rain.
6 days of downwind sailing was a blast. We averaged 220 miles a day for the first 5 days, with our largest day being 239 NM. The wind lightened up to less than 10 knots the last 2 days so we flew the Asymmetrical and heated up a little from rhumb line to keep the speed up.
We ended up second in Class 2, 4 hours behind a Leopard 46 cat, and with the 6th fastest elapsed time in the fleet. Avg speed was 8.4 knots and averaged over 200 nm per day for the entire trip.
After a day to unwind, we took the crew to the Baths and Virgin Gorda before they headed back home. All in all, we had a terrific time. Plan to spend the winter in the Caribbean, and will head south from the Virgins in another week or two. Best Regards, Glenn"
* 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.
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.
