SW NOOD Chicago- 111 Video(Chicago, IL)- The Sailing World gang produced a nice video on the J/111 one-design class that was sailing in this past weekend's Sperry Topsider Chicago NOOD Regatta. Learn more about what makes this such a fun, one-design sailboat to compete on with family and friends. Fast, easy-to-handle around the race-track by a family crew, the J/111 is proving that sailors from J/24s to J/105s and J/125s to J/145s can compete successfully across a wide-range of conditions. Check out this YouTube video on the J/111.
Rolex Big Boat Series- #47 Strong As EverJ/105 and J/120 Classes Expect Good Turnouts
(San Francisco, CA)- Rolex Big Boat Series (RBBS) was established in 1964 and takes place annually on San Francisco Bay, this year taking place from September 8-11th. 'With the America’s Cup now coming to town, there is a whole new energy on the water and people are more eager to sail in the same venue,' said Chairman Norman Davant, J/Boats California dealer. 'We are forecasting an excellent turnout.'
Having raced as a class at the RBBS for over a decade, the J/120 fleet will also be back to continue its tradition of making the event a final hurrah of the sailing season. 'We are a very competitive fleet, and there are superb sailors that come to this event,' said Donald Payan, who has been attending the regatta since the 1980s and was the J/120 class winner in 2010 on DAYENU. 'It’s all about consistency. Any little slip can drop you from first to fourth in the blink of an eye. There is a premium on execution, and like a tango, every step has to be right.'
Many sailors return year after year for not only the strong competition but also the overall atmosphere of the event. 'The Rolex Big Boat Series is a fun regatta to be a part of,' said Payan. 'It’s a family reunion for the sailing community, and with the America’s Cup activity coming to the Bay we are going to see more people showing up to sail.'
The local J/105 fleet has also brought some serious talent in previous years, including Bruce Stone, President of the San Francisco Marina Harbor Association and class winner in 2010 aboard ARBITRAGE. Stone predicts that like most years, weather is everything, and an early September date can dish up anything from gales to zephyrs.
'The past few years have had some interesting conditions with either foggy days or some lighter winds, which made the tide calls quite significant,' said Stone, who has been participating in the regatta since 1985 and looks forward to another spirited year of racing. 'It’s a wonderful event, with great race management and a perfect venue, which brings out more competitors so we have a full line-up of the best J/105s on the San Francisco Bay.'
The Rolex Big Boat Series annually attracts many world-caliber sailors, all of whom are eager to win one of the six specially engraved Rolex timepieces given to winners of the St. Francis Yacht Club’s Perpetual Trophies. From its inception, the Rolex Big Boat Series has showcased top sailing talent and boats, it has continued to be the West Coast’s premier regatta where top sailors meet for four days of challenging racing. For more Rolex Big Boat Series sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
While the West Coast of America often experiences a phenomenon known as "June Gloom", where the fog rolls in early in the morning and simply sticks around all day long, the East Coast is experiencing "wrong" conditions for sailing in the summer of 2011. Rain, Northeasters, enormous epic thunderstorms, cool then muggy, it seems to cover the range of conditions for sailing anywhere. Nevertheless, sailors always prevail and no matter what Mother Nature seems to throw at them, sailors make the most of the situation. Whether it was the "epic" conditions for the Vancouver Isle 360 Race on Leg 8 or the enormously variable conditions for the bi-annual "Woodstock" gathering of sailors at America's Block Island Race Week, everyone was undeterred. Kieler Woche took place on the Baltic Sea and provided sailors with equally challenging conditions, the J/80 fleet seeing some new class leaders as the German teams gear up for the J/80 Worlds in Copenhagen, Denmark. The J/22s played host to their Ontario Championships in Canada. Finally, Cleveland hosted yet another fun-loving Cleveland Race Week.Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Jun 23-26- Bacardi Newport Sailing Week- Newport, RI- http://www.newportsailingweek.comJun 24-26- Long Beach Race Week- Long Beach, CA- http://www.lbrw.org
Jun 25-26- San Francisco STS NOOD Regatta- San Francisco, CA- http://www.sailingworld.com
Jun 29-Jul 2- J/80 Pre-Worlds- Malmo, Sweden- http://bit.ly/mRZVdv
Jul 3-8- J/80 Worlds- Copenhagen, Denmark- http://www.worlds.kdy.dk/
Jun 23-26- Bacardi Newport Sailing Week- Newport, RI- http://www.newportsailingweek.com
Jun 24-26- Long Beach Race Week- Long Beach, CA- http://www.lbrw.org/
Jun 25-26- San Francisco STS NOOD Regatta- San Francisco, CA- http://www.sailingworld.com
Jun 29-Jul 2- J/80 Pre-Worlds- Malmo, Sweden- http://bit.ly/mRZVdv
Jul 7-10- J/24 Canadian Nationals- Mississauga, ONT, Canada- http://pcyc.net/
Jul 7-10- J/24 UK Nationals- Weymouth, England- http://www.weymouthregatta.co.uk/
Jul 9-10- J/22 Canadian Nationals- Kingston, ONT, Canada- http://www.cork.org/
Jul 9-10- SailNewport Regatta- Newport, RI- http://www.sailnewport.org/index.html
Jul 16- Chicago-Mackinac Race- Chicago, IL- http://www.cycracetomackinac.com/
Jul 23-26- J/22 Europeans- Travemunde, Germany- http://www.j22kv.de/
Jul 28-31- Marblehead NOOD Regatta- http://www.sailingworld.com
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Serious Sailing, Laid Back FunBlock Island Week update
(Block Island, RI)– The Storm Trysail Club’s (STC) biennial Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex is underway for its 24th time since it was first held in 1965, and by all indications, it hasn’t lost one bit of charm or competitive appeal in a history that spans more than four and a half decades. In fact, the five-day competition, originally patterned after Cowes Week, is one of the last true Race Weeks remaining in America, with a dominant theme of hard racing and fine competition supported by a subtext of daily camaraderie in complete informality. The event is hosting 134 boats sailing in IRC (four classes), PHRF (five classes) and One-Design (J/44, J/109 and J/122) and is serving as the J/109 East Coast Championship.
For three days, light wind caused a delay ashore. On the first two days the fleet was rewarded for its patience in the late afternoon when the breeze generated enough horsepower for up to three races total. Wednesday racing was canceled due to no wind and an enormous thunderstorm frontal system booming down the length of Long Island Sound.In the J/109 class, the largest one-design class at the regatta with 15 boats, it was Bill Sweetser (Annapolis, Md.) who got the most bang for his buck so far by winning two races for a tally of 2-1-1 with his crew aboard RUSH. The performance gives him an eight point lead over Skip Young’s (Guilford, Conn.) DRAGONFLY in second with a 6-2-4 record. Lying third only one point back is Don Fillipelli's CAMINOS with a 7-4-2 thirteen points.
“Today, we had reasonably comfortable leads with no last-minute scrambling to try to finish first,” said Sweetser, “as opposed to yesterday, when we had several boats on our heels, and when we finished we were asking ourselves ‘did we come in second, third or fourth?’” Sweetser added that he has to watch all the boats, not just one or two. “There are a lot of newer boats here that we have not had the occasion to sail against. It’s exciting and almost a record for these boats in one place for one regatta.” Sweetser, who bought his J/109 in 2003, remembers 2005 Block Island Race Week as the time when the class rules were first put together, and he hasn’t missed a Race Week since.The four J/111s in PHRF 1 are having a great time racing one-design for the first time as a fleet on the East Coast. Currently leading the pack are David and MaryEllen’s (Fairfield, Conn.) J/111 PARTNERSHIP with a 2-2-2 record for six points. Just three points back is Doug Curtiss' WICKED 2.0 with a 4-4-1 for nine points. Third is Paul Strauch's ANDIAMO with a 3-3-4 for ten points.
As for the overall experience to be had here, Andrew Skibow (Ocean City, N.J.) sailing his J/122 PLUM CRAZY II in IRC 3 yesterday, said, “This is the biggest regatta we do now; it’s serious sailing but a family atmosphere—I’ve brought my whole family and we are staying in two houses. I like the whole mix of serious sailing with the laid back let’s-have-fun mentality. I don’t’ know if it’s the island or just the history of the event itself but it has always been that way; you can come to have fun or to see if you’re the best IRC boat out there.” Leading the J/122s is the trio of Bruno/ Callahan/ Boyle with Skibo's PLUM CRAZY II in second and George Marks' GEORGETOWN III in third.
Mark Ploch (City Island, N.Y.), the first J/24 Midwinter Champion in 1978 who is a world and North American champion in several different classes added, “The reason they can get away with a full week is that half the people here are on vacation. If my kids were out of school I’d have them here, too, because it’s a great destination and Block Island wants us here. It’s easy to get to, and the diversity of the crowd is much greater and more interesting than at any other regatta; there is more old-style fun mixed in with high end serious racing.”
In the J/105s, Damian Emery skippering ECLIPSE is schooling the fleet on both speed and tactics. With three bullets, he's leading by five points over past Block Island J/105 Champion Bruce Stone with tactician Nicole Breault sailing JOUSTER with a 2-3-3 for eight points. Third is Jordan Mindich sailing one of his best BIRW's ever with a 5-2-2 record for nine points.
In the J/44 class, the racing is always close as the J/44s long-time ago decided to race with "class sails", a fleet purchase program that bought complete inventories and are selected by a draw out of a hat. As proof of the pudding, the J/44s race around the course with a very tight fleet, it's rare to see a boat "launched" unless someone hits a corner hard (rarely the case). Midweek, Jeff Willis' beautiful CHALLENGE IV is winning with a 1-3-1 for five points and is tied with Bill Ketcham's gorgeous 44 MAXINE with a 2-1-2 record also for five points. Lying third is Don and Rick Rave's RESOLUTE with a 4-2-3 record for nine points. Just two points back is the perennial 44 class leader Jim Bishop on the pretty electric aquamarine boat called GOLD DIGGER. In PHRF 4 the J/80 RUMOUR sailed by the Storck family from New York are lying third with a 1-2-6 record, essentially tied for first with two other boats.
In the PHRF 3 fleet, the J/29s are ruling the top of the class. At the top of the leaderboard is past BIRW Champions John and Tony Esposito with a 1-2-5 record for eight points, just two points clear of the other two J/29s, Steve Thurston's MIGHTY PUFFIN with 5-1-4 for ten points and John Lavin's DIRTY HARRY with a 6-3-3 record for twelve points. For more Block Island Race Week sailing information
Menzner Wins Kiel Week J/80s(Kieler Woche, Germany)- Kieler Woche, as it's called, is promoted as the the greatest sailing event in the world and the largest summer festival in northern Europe. A nine-day program packed with over 1,800 events to entertain three million guests from all over the globe. As one of the oldest regattas in the world, they're celebrating the 129th Kieler Woche in the "sailing city". It's not surprising that year after year the event draws over 5,000 yachtsmen and women from 50 countries, with 2,000 yachts, 40 sailing events and more than 400 planned regatta starts on ten race courses. The "Who's who" of sailing often line up at the start for this famous event, some winning, some not doing so well.
What's remarkable about the event is that it combines sailing events with their "Festival Week", "Culture Week" and "Maritime Week". That means so many music stages it's considered Germany’s longest open-air festival with folk, pop, rock and classical music on offer. It also means comedians, clowns, magicians, acrobats and pantomimes - the whole range of small-scale performing arts on the streets, while Kiel’s museums and galleries open with special exhibitions. It also brings in literary and world-renown political and economic thinkers for The Kiel Institute for World Economy-- it rewards the Global Economy Prize in cooperation with the Kiel Chamber of Commerce and Land Capital Kiel. On the water, over one hundred windjammers and traditional sailing boats are moored on the quayside. The tall ships do a parade that includes the Navy destroyers, frigates, corvettes, minesweepers and high-speed launches from a whole host of countries starting in Tirpitz Harbour. And, if that was not enough, there are competitions for 30 sports, including cycling, golf, basketball, lawn bowling (bocce ball), canoe polo, handball, hockey, rugby, roller-skating, and chess!!In case you get tired of sailing, you have a lot of distractions and entertainment to keep you and the family busy. The J/80 class is one of the premier sportboat classes in Germany and this year they had a good showing for Kieler Woche. This year it seemed that the host team from Kieler YC of Martin Menzner, Mika Rolfs, Carsten Hopps and Frank Lichte simply dialed up the meter a bit higher than the other J/80 teams, winning by an astounding 16 points, winning 9 of 11 races and dropping a 3rd for 11 points! Behind them was a very closely fought match between Jork Homeyer and Sven Vagt was not determined until the last day of racing, in fact the last race determined the ultimate finish position on the podium. Jork's team sailed to a consistent 2-4-1-3-3-1-2-4-3-4-4 for 27 points, winning the tie-breaker with Sven's team that got a 4-2-2-2-2-3-dns-2-2-2-6 also for 27 points. A special mention should be made of Boksa Pawel from Poland, sailing their POL 1187 to a very respectable fourth place overall. For more Kieler Woche sailing information
FREE SANDWICH Wins Big In Cleveland
(Cleveland, OH)- Like some other famous race weeks, one that continues to endure in the American midwest happens to be Cleveland Race Week, hosted by the very gracious host Edgewater YC. This year saw one-design teams from all over the Midwest participate in three one-design divisions, J/22s, J/24s and J/105s.
In the J/22 fleet, 26 teams made it to the event, making it great practice for some of the women teams practicing for the Rolex Women's Worlds in Rochester later this year. It was local competitors Lee Sackett, Dave Kerr and John Zelli that raced FREE SANDWICH to victory with 18 points overall, winning three of the seven races. Chris Doyle on OPB also won three races, but trailed Free Energy by 5 points at the conclusion of the regatta. Travis Odenbach on INSTIGATOR rounded out the top three with 32 points.
The winner of Key West Race Week on the J/111 KONTIKI V proved yet again they've got the goods to win in big events. Jim Sminchak's crew on Team IT! won the J/105 class by winning six of eight races! Just behind them were Robert Mock sailing UNBRIDLED and in third were the Uhliher Brothers sailing TRIO.
J/24s were won by HALL PASS and Dean Reidy's team with three firsts and four seconds. Second was Kevin O'Brien on FUGUE SATE and third was Nancy Zagarle. For more Cleveland Race Week sailing results.
J/109 Crushes Van-Isle 360(Victoria, BC, Canada)- No matter how many times teams have sailed the Around Vancouver Isle race, they know they can expect at least one or two epic passages on one of the nine legs and most of the time that would be on the desolate western coast offshore into the Pacific. This year's Leg Eight- from Winter Harbour to Ucluelet - is a 138 miler that can make or break the entire event for some boats. It can best be summed up as epic. It was a very hard leg. One sailor stated, "it was the toughest race I have ever been in." Seasickness was rampant in the fleet leaving many crews shorthanded to deal with the tough conditions. With wind in the high 20's and square confused waves, the consensus was it was the waves and not the wind that made the leg so miserable. All but the first few boats made an immediate transition from SE to NW winds as they got down the course and most finished under spinnaker. Nevertheless, after surviving the leg, the awards ceremony held at the new community center in Ucluelet was a huge success. The fleet raised over $8500.00 for the Coast Guard Aux. Unit 38, who stood by all day and night to escort the boats into Ucluelets' inner harbour. A salmon BBQ was enjoyed as the stories from this leg grew and the waves got bigger!
J/109- Team Mojo account of this epic leg: "The west coast of Vancouver Island is a graveyard to boats and beside the other boats competing in this race, a very lonely place. There is nothing else out there but whales and big rocks until the end of this leg. By 2300, we were thirty miles offshore, beating into a gale. We were fully powered up with a double reefed main, traveller down and a small no.3 jib. Seas were 2-3 meters. Going out, we would hit the waves and slam very hard from time to time. Every wave you smash into sends a wall of water and spray at the guys on the rail and over the boat and slows you down. At times you think the boat will break in half. At 1800 I decided to go down and start to get dinner ready to feed the guys. I lashed myself to the stove in order not to get sent flying across the cabin, boiled water and poured it into those adventure meal packs. I managed to do all seven meals without injury and without getting sea sick. Being down below for an hour in those conditions is tough. I am quite happy to say we managed to do the race without anybody getting sick. Many boats were not so lucky and some had most of the crew incapacitated.""We accelerated with each wave and it felt like we were flying. It was dark so visibility was poor since it was raining, but we were going like hell. The next 5 hours were just insane. I would rotate two guys to rest and warm up down below. Per and I have developed a little system for driving Mojo hard in breeze so we stayed together till morning, keeping Mojo upright and watching the speedo hit 9 knots as we seemingly launched off the waves in the dark. From time to time, I would doze off to be awakened by the lurching motion as we launched yet again off another ramp. So that's what we did until sunrise. It was a cold, wet, and difficult night. I just wanted to go to sleep so bad, but had to keep fighting to stay awake and warm. It's not natural! You have to stay awake, you cannot leave and go hide in a warm spot. Just 4 more hours...just two more...the sun will come up in one hour... And then it's light and your body chemistry comes back to normal. You are tired, but the struggle is over. That is the nature of night racing."
"The front had also passed in the night and all of a sudden we went from sailing upwind to sailing downwind. The guys were tired but after a terrible attempt to put up our spinnaker, which ended up in the water, we finally got it up and managed to sail down wind the next 65 miles. The sea state was very confused for the first two hours because of the change in wind direction 180 degrees but we finally got Mojo going and racing to the finish. What a leg to be remembered."
For the final Leg Nine headed back to Victoria, the long awaited westerly breeze finally showed up, in spades. A solid 20 knots and big swells on the start line at Amphitrite point made for perfect surfing conditions as the 38 boats remaining in the race headed for home.
For Division 2, Jim Prentice on his J/109 DIVA won their class overall and another J/109 ASTRAL PLANE sailed by Adam Corbin finished third. For more Vancouver Isle 360 sailing results
Love Wins J/22 Ontario Champs
(Toronto, ONT, Canada)- The 2011 J/22 Ontario Championships were held at National Yacht Club during the Toronto Area Hospice Regatta. The TAHR is a one-design regatta to benefit Perram House, one of the few true hospice facilities in Toronto. As part of the National Hospice Regatta Alliance, there is a chance that the regatta winner will be invited to the Hospice National Championship.
Clearly, it was a tennis-like 6-Love game for the team on STAMPEDE sailed by Jeff Love- winning with 4 firsts and 2 seconds to win by five points after six races. Second was Stephen Jones sailing THE BOAT, starting out strongly with 2 firsts, then ending up with a 2-3-4-2 to finish with 13 points. Third was Paul Davignon's THREE'S COMPANY with a 5-8-4-2-2-4 for 25 points.
For more J/22 Ontario Championships sailing information.
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* Ken Read's Mar Mostro is getting fine-tuned for their mad-dash around the globe for a few dozen miles. Not only were they sailing last week's New York YC 157th Annual Regatta, they were also taking numerous local Rhode Islanders out for a sail as part of their community-building efforts to support sailing for disadvantaged kids, women and noble sailing programs-- auctioning off rides on Mar Mostro to help support SailNewport, local charities and St. Michael's School.
* The J-Class had a few good days of sailing with many J sailors amongst the crew of only 30+ people that were man-handling these 140 foot giants around the race-track. What's interesting is that the big J-Class sailboats have taken a page out of the asymmetric crowd and have started to use the asymmetric gybe, tacking one corner of the chute to the bow and simply doing an outside sheet gybe (where the sheet is led in front of the boat), therefore making it a much safer and easily controlled gybe-- the loads on these 300,000 lb boats are only a few dozen tons or more--- so avoiding any sudden loadings are a good thing.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.* 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. 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." UPDATE- Just a short note to update from Bill- "Our cruise began in May of 2000 and ended in May of 2008, some 8 years later. I have just finished and published my third and final book covering the last three or so years including our double handed crossing in 16 days and one winter in the Caribbean. Like the others, "Sea Trek- A Passion for sailing- Book III," can be found at www.blurb.com. Thanks, Bill and Judy"
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.* 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).
- 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!
- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA)
, then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.* The J/109 GAIA (seen right in the Java Sea) was sailed by Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay around the world. In February 2011, their cruising adventures came to an abrupt, sad ending. As a tribute to them and their cruising friends worldwide, we hope their chronicles on their GAIA website remains a tribute to their warm-hearted spirits- read more about why many loved them dearly and will remain touched by their loving spirit forever- http://www.gaiaworldtour.net/
Featured Boats
J/122 SKYE- Triple Mac Race Winner Seriously For SalePossibly the best equipped and fastest short-handed 40 foot racer-cruiser in the world! SKYE is the Chicago-Mackinac Race Winner in 2008 (fully crewed) and the 2009 and 2010 Double-handed winner overall! This IRC-friendly 40 footer offers a perfect, completely furnished interior with all the canvas protection covers for the bright-work while racing. As a fresh-water boat it has been immaculately maintained to "Bristol" condition. It features two flip-up pilot berths in the main cabin and gimbaled LPG stove/oven. The B&G 3000 system includes a Garmin 3210 chart plotter, three 20/20s on the mast, lots of readouts everywhere, plus a Hercules H3000 autopilot system with the H3000 gyro- an awesome short-handed sailing system! Sail inventory is all North Sails 3DL carbon, including 2 mains, 6 jibs, Code 0 and 2 spinnakers (Norlite runner and AirX reacher)- blue and white colors. Hull is white with double-blue boot-stripe and white racing bottom paint. For more info call Richie Stearns at Stearns Boating- ph- +1-847-404-2209 or email- rich@stearnsboating.com
