J/70 New Jersey Tour(Cape May, NJ)- The J/70 will be available for viewing and sailing in New Jersey from June 1st to 8th. The first official stop of the New Jersey Tour will kick off in Cape May this weekend.
If you wish to experience the extraordinary, exhilarating performance of the J/70, then simply contact Burt Geiges of Custom Offshore at 215-275-6159 (cell), 856-764-8181 (office) or burtus@gmail.com. Burt and crew will be happy to give you a tour or book a test sail on the J/70. For more J/70 information, please call 401-846-8410 or email info@jboats.com. Plus, J/Boats is happy schedule a sail for you in lovely Newport Harbor. For more J/70 speedster sailing information
J/Sailors Racing Susan Hood Race(Mississauga, Ontario, Canada)- A tradition at the Port Credit Yacht Club since the mid-fifties, the Susan Hood Trophy Race, is known as the beginning of the offshore racing season at the western end of Lake Ontario. For 2012, racers' enthusiasm for the event appears to be taking the event back to it's glory days with nearly 100 yachts registered and eager to get to the start line.
Starting this weekend, there will be a strong fleet of J's sailing the event spread across both IRC and PHRF Divisions. In the IRC 1 group, Geoff Cornish is racing his J/124 ROULEUR for Royal Canadian YC. Also sailing is Jonathan Bamberger's J/145 SPITFIRE for National YC.
In IRC 2 will be some past race winners, including the J/109 BLUE STREAK sailed by Robert Eckerseley from Toronto. Other J/109s sailing are Denys Jones' CARPE VENTUS, Murray Gainer's LIVELY and Sheila Smith's PHOENIX. Two J/35s are also entered, local Port Credit YC sailor Leszek Siek's JEAGER and Stephen Trevitt's CRIME SCENE.
In PHRF 1 will be Geoff Clarke's J/105 CASUAL ELEGANCE. In PHRF 2 will be three J/105s, including Ed Berkhout's ALI-CAT, Bill Bevan's ENDEAVOUR and Bjug Borgundvaag's VOODOO MAGIC. In PHRF 3 is Andre Beese's J/27 MESSING ABOUT. IN PHRF Cruising 1 is Wendy Northcotte's J/30 NORTH CAUGHT. For more Susan Hood Race sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The end of May marks the start of many offshore sailing seasons across the northern hemisphere, in particular, North America. While the European sailors are well into their offshore seasons, the Americans are only just starting in California, the Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes and the Northeastern corridor. Memorial Day in America is generally seen as the "kick-off" weekend for "outdoor grilling and lots of steak and shrimp on the barbie with copious malted liquids" as well as lots of fun re-uniting with friends in the sailing community after a long winter off the water. Out West, several events took place simultaneously. In the Northwest, the famous Swiftsure Lightship Classic Race was sailed in challenging, cold, windy weather, starting off picturesque Victoria, British Columbia and racing around the infamous Straits of Juan de Fuca. South of them, the famously fast Spinnaker Cup Race, starting in San Francisco Bay and finishing in laid-back Monterey Bay ran in near ideal weather conditions with one J/125 team seeking a "hat trick" for the event. Then a bit further south in sunny, cool, gorgeous weather was the fun Around Catalina Island Race off greater Los Angeles, a blast around the track from Newport Beach to Dana Point YC's, leaving Catalina Island to port. Out East, the offshore sailors enjoyed a reasonably nice Block Island Race that starts off Stamford, CT, goes out the end of Long Island Sound towards the east, rounds Block Island to starboard and finishes back off Stamford. North of them hoping for the proverbial Nantucket Sleighride were a raft of J sailors racing in the famous FIGAWI Race from Hyannisport, MA on Cape Cod to Nantucket Island. Not to be left out of the fun, the J/24s were sailing on that gorgeous island of Sardinia having the Italian J/24 Nationals on the northern coast off Arzachena. Their friends further to the north concluded The Netherlands largest regatta of the season, the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta sailed off The Hague and Schveningen.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:
May 25-Jun 3- J/24 European Championships- Sardinia, ItalyJun 1-3- J/22 Canadians- Vancouver, BC- http://www.j24can.com/
Jun 1-4- J/24 UK Nationals- Poole, England- http://www.parkstoneyachtclub.com/
Jun 8-10- Chicago NOOD Regatta- Chicago, IL- http://www.sailingworld.com/sw_nood.jsp
Jun 9-15- J/80 Worlds- Dartmouth, England- http://www.j80worlds2012.com/
Jun 15- Newport-Bermuda Race- Newport, RI- http://www.bermudarace.com/
Jun 16-23- Kieler Woche- Kiel, Germany- http://www.kielerwoche.de/
Jun 24-30- J/24 US Nationals- Dillon, CO- http://www.dillonyachtclub.com/
Jun 26-29- J/22 Worlds- Le Crouesty, France- http://www.j22-france.com/world%202012/index.htm
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/Teams Factor in Epic Swiftsure RaceJ/109s Crush Juan de Fuca, J/80s Win Inshore
(Victoria, BC)- This year's running of the "Swiftsure" was another epic, challenging race, with all types of weather thrown at the sailors as they criss-crossed the Straits of Juan de Fuca seeking advantage over their fellow competitors. For many the race really starts once they past "Race Rocks", a symbolic, but not official mark of the course. The iconic black and white stripped lighthouse is the divide between the Juan de Fuca strait and the costal waters off Victoria and it’s where the true strategy and tactics of Swiftsure begin. The sailors then face open ocean swells, stronger currents, and hopefully, more wind. On the return trip back to Victoria, Race Rocks is the “almost there” point when the city lights of Victoria come into view.
Unusually, the weather conditions were close to what the Canadian weather services were predicting-- a steady wind filling in from the West with a high-wind warning for the Strait of Juan de Fuca with winds in excess of 25-35 knots overnight. Remarkably, they got this forecast and more, some sailors reporting gusts to 40 knots and breaking waves.
The race started off nicely enough, sunny, light winds, with the current pushing the fleet towards the first turning point, Race Rocks. Thereafter, with a strong ebb, the top teams sailed upwind into the Northwesterly breeze playing large shifts and staying in the middle of the Straits to take advantage of a strong ebb current pushing the fleet to their faraway turning marks. Most of the fleet ended up on the western shore about halfway up the Olympic Peninsula (that wild place where the famous "Sasquatch" man/animal lives). By midnight, most of the fleet in the Straits were sailing in 20+ knots of breeze and by morning many were sailing downwind under spinnakers flying down the waves and trying to avoid a massive broach or "sending it down the mine" in a submariner's dive into the trough ahead.In the classic Swiftsure Race division that goes out of the Straits of Juan de Fuca for 139 nm- the 24 boats participating from the start to Swiftsure Bank and return had to beat the "wind shutdown" that often happens at the opening of the Straits. The big boats made it, the small boats didn't. In the end, the gorgeous J/160 JAM sailed by John McPhail finished 5th in Class I and 6th overall. And the speedy lightweight flyer, the J/125 WARRIOR skippered by Greg Constable finished 2nd in Class 2 and 8th overall!
The popular Cape Flattery Race division that goes for 103 nm had 75 boats going from the start to Neah Bay and return. In the Unlimited Class, the J/145 DOUBLE TAKE sailed by Tom Huseby (his second J/145!) finished 3rd in class and was not far behind the leaders for the top of the podium.
The successfully campaigned J/122 ANAM CARA (Tom Kelly- from Portland YC in Oregon) sailed an incredibly good Cape Flattery Race despite breaking their boom in a 40 knot gust and gybe-broach downwind in the Straits with all the laundry flying! Reports Bob Ross who was a crew member aboard ANAM CARA, "we were winning our class boat-for-boat and on corrected time with about 40nm to go to the finish, when we tried to do an 'inside gybe' on the A3 spinnaker down big waves and a big puff. Broke our boom and broached. Not a good idea. It took awhile to wrestle in the mainsail after taking down the chute. We proceeded in under a smaller chute and jib to the finish-- quite an amazing and unexpected outcome to get 2nd in Class and 2nd Overall!" Always a top contender in class, and past winner, was the J/120 TIME BANDIT (Robert Brunius), sailing a great race to finish 4th in class and 6th overall. Sailing in their inaugural offshore race was the new J/111 ADALGISA (Lynn Adkins), sailing to a 5th in class and 11th overall!
In the Cape Flattery Heavy division, the J/46 RIVA sailed by Scott Campbell sailed a great race and managed to finish 2nd in class and 4th overall. Just behind them was the J/37 FUTURE PRIMITIVE sailed by Ron Mackenszie getting a 4th in class and 6th in fleet.
The Juan de Fuca Race division that goes for 80 nm had 44 boats sailing from the start to Clallam Bay and return to the finish off Victoria's waterfront. The J/109 teams simply cleaned house. Winner in class and overall in the Juan de Fuca Heavy Division was DIVA (Jim Prentice) followed in second by TIPPY (Peter McComb) and 4th was JEOPARDY (Ed Pinkham).
In the Inshore Racing along the waterfront, the much vaunted battle between SWISH and JOYRIDE, a pair of J/80's, saw SWISH beating JOYRIDE by just under a minute on a 22 nm course with a wind ranging from 3 to 10 knots all day long. Elapsed time for this pair was about 5 hours and 10 minutes. As a result, in the Battle of the Sexes, Commodores (men) vs. Commodores Wives (women), the boys prevailed. Congratulations to the Commodores from Royal Victoria Yacht Club (Jeremy Smith), Royal Vancouver Yacht Club (Guy Walters) and Seattle Yacht Club (Chuck Lowry) that raced SWISH. And, "good on ya gals" to their wives- Tara Smith, Barbara Picton and Pam Lowry that raced JOYRIDE to a solid second in the large class of competitors! For more Swiftsure Race sailing information on Facebook For more Swiftsure Race sailing information
J/Teams Snag FIGAWI Race HonorsJ/105 Teams Sweep Class S2- J/111, J/29, J/37 Win Class!
(Hyannis, MA)- The 41st Annual Figawi Race Weekend, renown as one of the world's largest "pursuit" races, was blessed with nice weather conditions that permitted most all 240+ boats to finish in time at the Nantucket Harbor entrance to clean up, dress ship and attend a fabulous evening of entertainment and merriment-- a dramatic improvement over last year's event that saw 95% of the fleet motoring into the harbor due to lack of wind!
As is the hope for these pursuit style races, bunches of boats finish together at the finish line as both little and big vie for line honors, faster boats overtaking earlier starting slower boats and the little guys vainly trying to maintain clear air as the monsters from behind descend upon them at great rates of speed, massive bow waves boiling in their teeth. For the Spinnaker Class cruiser-racers, the race committee sent them all sailing the longer course #7 that took them around a few buoys for 27.9 nm race to the finish line, it was indeed a spectacle at the end of the line. Over a ten minute time period, twenty-plus boats in the Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker Classes finished ranging in size from a Baltic 52 to J/24s! The J/Teams clearly loved the course, with 10 J's placing in the Top 20 and winning 3 of the 6 Spinnaker Classes. Amongst the winners were the J/29 SEEFEST sailed by Ira Perry from South Dartmouth, MA; the J/105 DARK'N'STORMY skippered by Andrew Reservitz from Easton, MA and the J/111 WICKED 2.0 sailed by Doug Curtiss from South Darmouth, MA.
It was a fun race for all, with a mix of jib-reaching and spinnaker reaching, much to the liking of the various J sailors racing a mix of J/24s, J/29, J/100, J/42, J/105, J/111, J/160, J/35, J/37c, J/120 and J/46 models.
The Spinnaker Classes were comprised of six divisions, two of which were Sprit Class I and Sprit Class II. In the "big boat" Division A (PHRF ratings of -75 to 33), the J/46 VANISH sailed by William Jacobson from Boston, MA finished 3rd in class and 10th overall. Fifth in class was Kevin McLaughlin's J/44 SPICE from Fairhaven, MA.
In Division B (PHRF rating of 51 to 81) the J/40 JAZZ sailed by Kirk Brown from Hingham, MA was 5th in class and 18th boat to finish overall.
In Division C (PHRF 84 to 117), the J/29s pre-dominated, with Ira Perry's SEEFEST from South Darmouth, MA finishing first by over eight minutes (!) and finishing 17th overall. Third in class was Tom Zapini's APEIRON from Boston, MA.
Class D (PHRF 132-174) had the venerable, "classic yacht", the J/24 showing its stuff after thirty-five years of legendary performances. Tops amongst the J/24s was Jonathan Wenderoth's DRAGIN-Z-BALZ from West Mystic, CT, finishing 2nd in class and 9th overall, just 6 minutes off the pace from winning the whole thing! Next up was Rick Bishop's J/24 ZIPCODE SUPERSTITION finishing 4th in class and 12th overall! Great showing for these two boats!
In the sprit divisions, the J/111 WICKED 2.0 won Class S1 and was fourth boat to finish overall! They were followed by the J/120 URSUS MAXIMUS sailed by Jim Maseiro from Sterling, MA, finishing second in class. Fourth in class was Dave Follett's J/120 GLORY. If there were about another 1-2 nm of "ramp" left in the race, it's likely the J/111 and J/120s may have won the whole race overall given how fast they were catching the boats in front of them, just 3 minutes ahead at the finish!
It was the J/105 teams in the Class S2 division that perhaps did the most serious damage to the trophy collection on offer for the race. The J/105 sailors swept the top five in their class and four of the top 16 overall! Leading them all home was Andrew Reservitz's DARK'N'STORMY just narrowly beating out the J/111 WICKED 2.0 right at the finish line to win Class S1 but also be third boat to finish overall! Behind them was the Nantucket High School sailing team from Nantucket, MA sailing an amazing race to garner 2nd in class and 5th overall! Cool. Great offshore sailing experience for the kids, too! Third in class was Lisa Schmitt from Bourne, MA sailing HARDTACK, also managing a 13th overall. Fourth in class was Jonathan Bloom on BEAR SPIRIT from North Falmouth, MA, getting a 16th overall. And fifth in class was Chris Lund sailing WHOMPER from South Dartmouth, MA.
In the Non-Spinnaker Classes, there were J's sitting on the podium in three of the classes! In Division E, Alan Fougere's J/160 AVATAR from Pocasset, MA finished 3rd in class, followed by Rick Eagan's J/46 WINGS from Osterville, MA in fourth. The winner of Division F was the J/37 DESTINY sailed by Andrew Davis from Groton, MA. Finally, third in Division G was the J/40 SMITTEN sailed by Bill Jones from Marblehead, MA. Good fun for all and an enormous haul of silverware for the numerous J/Teams both in Class and Overall. Sailing photo credits- Blake Jackson For more FIGAWI Race sailing information
LA SUPERBA Wins Italian J/24 Nationals(Arzachena, Sardinia, Italy)- The great island of Sardinia, famous for its fabulous sailing conditions, gorgeous azure blue Mediterranean waters, and incredibly delicious hospitality simply delivered in spades for the four dozen J/24 teams sailing the J/24 Italian Championship. In the end, the reigning Italian Champions, Ignacio Bonanno on LA SUPERBA won the event for the second year in a row. Meanwhile, the American team of Mike Ingham on JULIA/ 11TH HOUR RACING and recent J/24 World Champion Brazilian Mauricio Santa Cruz on BRUSCHETTA finished 1st and 2nd in the overall Open competition. Just behind them was American Keith Whittemore from Seattle, WA sailing FURIO to 3rd.
It was tough sailing amongst the highly competitive teams participating in the four day event. Half the fleet was comprised of Italian J/24 teams from all over the country vying for National honors, while the other half of the fleet were participating as part of an Open Regatta that was, in essence, a "pre-Europeans" for them-- great practice for the European Championship following the Italian Nationals. After the first day of racing on Saturday, Alberto Gai's KIMBE led the Italian fleet and Brazilian Mauricio Santa Cruz sailing BRUSCHETTA was first amongst the Open fleet. The fleet was treated to a nice northeast wind varying in intensity from 8 to 10 knots with gusts of 15 knots. For the most part, those who favored the left side of the course performed better than those trying to play the middle or right hand side of the windward legs. "It was a good test for the crews" said Giorgio Battinelli, PRO of the RC. Adding that, "races were very technical, difficult for the shifts, and it highlighted the qualities of the best sailing teams in the field."
On Sunday, the second day of sailing, the fleet had three good races. The first race was the slowest of the day. With only 5 knots of northeasterly wind, the teams took over thirty minutes to get to the first windward mark. The air started to blow on the downwind leg at around 13 kts. The second and third races were conducted with a more constant wind, the same direction, but with an intensity of 7-8 knots. The fleet, in both cases, were clearly divided between those who had chosen the right side and left side of the race course. The two compact groups arrived at the windward mark in very tight formation, much to the delight of the many enthusiastic spectators who followed the race from the beaches of Arzachena. The last race was the most beautiful of all, especially in the among the top four contestants, with the winners selecting the right side of the course. After five races the standings saw the 2011 National Champion Ignazio Bonanno, representing Marina Militare Italiana, in first place with LA SUPERBA.
Monday's sailing, the third day of racing, saw the LA SUPERBA team continue to consolidate their position atop the leader board for the Italian J/24 Championship. Two more races were sailed with Bonanno's team taking two more 1sts. "We are quite pleased with the results obtained so far, given that we are racing against three of the world's strongest foreign boats. We had a little difficulty starting, the winds have been very shifty, but tomorrow, hopefully we have more good conditions. Foreigners are leading the overall standings, but we will not press on them, for now we try to defend the National title," said Francis Linares, a member of the LA SUPERBA team. Foreigners dominated the overall standings in both races. The first race of the day (race #6) started in a west wind around 14-15 knots. Always in the lead from the first beat was FURIO, skippered by Keith Whittemore, followed by the German team on ROTOMAN sailed by Kai Mares and the Brazilian Maurizio Santa Cruz on BRUSCHETTA. In the second race (#7 overall), Ingham's JULIA/ 11TH HOUR RACING took line honors, followed by the Greek team on EVNIKI sailed by Athanasios Pachoumas in 2nd and Santa Cruz's BRUSCHETTA notching up another 3rd place.
The last day of sailing was simply "classic Sardinian" sailing conditions. Two quick races were sailed in 12-15 knot Easterlies on the bay, making for nearly perfect sailing with a slowly oscillating wind. In the end, LA SUPERBA dominated the Italian competition, winning the Italian J/24 Nationals quite handily. Second on the podium was ALVOTORE sailed by Francesco Cruciani. Third amongst the Italian teams was BOTTA DRITTA skippered by Pasquale Mario di Fraia. Fourth was BOOMERANG sailed by Filippo Masia and rounding out the top five was the early regatta leader, KIMBE sailed by Alberto Gai. Amongst the Open Regatta winners were American Mike Ingham on JULIA/ 11th HOUR RACING in 1st, Brazilian Mauricio Santa Cruz on BRUSCHETTA in 2nd and American Keith Whittemore on FURIO in 3rd. Fourth was German Kai Mares on ROTOMAN and 5th was Greek Athanasios Pachoumas on EVNIKI. There were two well-sailed women's J/24 teams sailing in the event, including one Italian and one German team. Winners of the Top Women's Team were the German VEGA RAGAZZA team skippered by Stephanie Koepcke, leading her Italian sisters on EXPRESSIV sailed by Claudia Speziale. For more J/24 Italian Championship sailing information. Or, YC Arzachena sailing information.
J/122 & J/35 Winners In Block Island RaceCHRISTOPHER DRAGON & PALADIN Repeat Winners!
(Larchmont, NY)- The 186 nm Block Island Race, which has been held annually for 67 years, is a staple on the calendar of many New England competitors starting their summer of offshore sailing. It is notorious for the “fork in the road” decision that Plum Island forces after 60 miles of sailing: competitors must decide to take either Plum Gut, “The Race” or even Fishers Island Sound while leaving Long Island Sound. This decision often determines the outcome of the race. Then, after rounding Block Island to starboard (the normal course), it's back through the same "fork in the road" and a choice of which part of Long Island Sound to sail through, the Long Island shore, the Connecticut shore or simply rhumbline down the middle of the Sound. A total of 84 boats participated, with nine classes (seven IRC and two PHRF) sailing the traditional long course while a third PHRF class tried out this year’s new “all inside” Plum Island Course (126 nm) option.
“The first two-thirds of the race was medium air so it provided good fair sailing for everyone,” said one skipper. “We even sent a guy up the mast looking for wind bands,” he explained. It's a trick learned long ago by the fast clipper ships when they sent crew up into the crow's nests, often for days near the tops of their masts. Said another skipper, "it was all about calling the breeze, which was higher than expected but incredibly variable within even short distances.” While typically this race is won or lost on making the correct call on exiting or entering Long Island Sound through either Plum Gut or “The Race” or even Fishers Island Sound, this was not so much the case this year. “We kept extremely close to shore to minimize current on the way out (through the The Race),” said another navigator. “Coming back (through Plum Gut), the current was on the nose but just changing, so we really never had to worry about it. We 'parked up twice' because of no breeze. Generally, it was nice sailing, but it was fairly miserable fog-wise, so it’s nice to have decent sailing when you have to endure those conditions.”There were two excellent performances by J/Teams sailing the classic race around Block Island. A repeat winner of the IRC 40 Class was the J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON sailed by Andrew Weiss and his family crew from Mamaroneck, NY. Finishing fourth in class was the J/120 ROCKET SCIENCE sailed by Rick Oricchio.
The other repeat winner was Jason Richter's J/35 PALADIN sailing in the IRC Doublehanded Class. Also sailing well was Hewitt Gaynor's J/120 MIREILLE capturing a well-earned third place in this highly competitive division of twelve boats. J sailors were 50% of the fleet! Filling out the top five was Mike Lachance's J/105 DARK'N'STORMY in 4th place.
The IRC 35 Class saw the J/42 cruiser GLIDE sailed by Tanner Rose of Palm Beach, Florida finish in third place overall.
The J/44 One-Design class had a nice turnout of five boats. This time is was BEAGLE taking line honors for Phil Gutin and his team. Second was CHARLIE V sailed by Norm Schulman and third was Len Sitar's VAMP.
In the IRC 45 class, the J/130 DRAGONFLY sailed by Colin McGranahan from Larchmont sailed a good race to land their first podium finish of the season with a third overall in the largest class in the race.
Finally, the J/109 DRAGONFLY sailed by Skip Young from Guilford, CT sailed a solid race to finish second in PHRF 2 Class. For more Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race sailing information
J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER Wins North Sea Regatta(Scheveningen, Netherlands)- The Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta in Scheveningen had a brilliant start on Friday, May 25 under a clear blue sky with more than 250 yachts ready to go racing. The sailing conditions were perfect, although the strong, gusty northeasterly played many tricks on the sailors. With gusts up to 27 knots, there was a lot of damage to several boats-- sails torn, genakers and spinnakers blown out, big shots broke booms and blocks ripped off decks! Yes, a lot of carnage on day one, but a lot of fun sailing for those who could handle the spectacular, sunny conditions. However, the perfect conditions persisted for just one more day, with the last day being "fogged out" with little wind for any of the fleets. In the end, John Van der Starre's J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER dominated IRC 2/3 Class. In the J/22s, it was Kolleman Wouter's team that ran away with top honors. And, in the J/24 class it was Erik Jeuring's team that also ran away with the gold.
For the first day on the IRC 2/3 course, the gang on the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER made it known they were going to be a factor in their twenty-one boat class, by far the largest and most competitive offshore class at the North Sea Regatta. XCENTRIC's skipper John Van der Starre immediately led the team to two bullets today. Co-captain Robin Verhoef said, "We had some dangerous situations at times. We hit 13-15 kts at times as we simply flew away from the rest of our fleet. We practiced a lot in April at the SPI Ouest Regatta in La Trinite-sur-Mer and learned a lot. There we sailed one-design class and we learned how to be more competitive and much faster sailing against other J/111s. We discovered the very subtle differences, e.g. in the settings of the mast and the boat and sails to extract maximum performance. It helped us a lot!"
For the J/22 class, it was a day with more and less wind pressure across the course. In a field of eleven J/22's, Kolleman Wouter's team ran the table, getting two first places. It was difficult sailing, especially because sometimes the waves came from all sides. "It was a sloshing wave," says Kolleman. "This increased the difficulty. We do like a lot of wind, so we had no problems. But because he always had massive changes in wind strength, you had a lot of pressure and then suddenly no pressure. Usually we sail on inland lakes, but we are quite used to power sailing."After the first day of sailing, it was quite the festive closing. Entertaining musical performances by the bands "Kissing the Girl" and the "Crazy Pianos" with great spinning of disks by "DJ Ruben" later in the evening. The sailors played late into the night enjoying the beautiful weather and a festive atmosphere.
The second day of inshore races were characterized by nearly perfect sailing conditions. There was less wind than the day before, so there was less damages too! During the day the wind averaged 5-15 kts and was very shifty. For the offshore classes, the second day was traditionally an offshore course around the buoys. But, with lighter wind conditions that could die-off, the RC decided to hold only inshore races around the buoys. For IRC 2/3, the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER continued to dominate their class. And in the one-designs, the J/22s saw Wouter's J/22 team rattle off a few more firsts to also consolidate their lead. And, in the J/24 class, Erik Jeuring also posted some more firsts to extend their lead in their fleet.
One of the highlights of the second day was the J-Class RAINBOW visiting Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta. This forty-meter classic sloop went sailing Sunday, May 27th with guests from the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta.
On the final day of sailing, the shores were dense with fog hanging over the Hague without a breath of wind, forcing the RC to cancel sailing for the day. As a result, the regata results for the first two days that included seven races counted for the final results. Congratulations go out to the J/22 team of Wouter and the J/24 team of Jeuring for near perfect scores, winning their classes by significant margins. Congratulations also go out to a phenomenal performance by the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER team led by John Van de Starre and Robin Verhoef, winning the most competitive IRC division by a whopping 10.5 points, counting five 1sts in their scoreline. Kudos also to the J/109 CAPTAIN JACK sailed by Bert Visser. For more North Sea Regatta sailing information
J/125 "DT" Three-Peats Spinnaker Cup(San Francisco, CA)- This year's annual running of the Spinnaker Cup saw another strong group of the "downwind flyers" that love to go ripping down the California coastline in a hurry from San Francisco to Monterey just 90nm south-- a day race for some! Andy Costello's J/125 DOUBLE TROUBLE was sailing with the hope to be the first team ever to win three Spinnaker Cups overall in a row. In addition, sailing in other divisions were the J/35c BRAINWAVES, the J/35 PEGASUS and the J/42 TIKI-J, all hoping to win-place-show in their respective classes.
For starters, here's a breakdown of what took place after H20shots.com founder Erik Simonson interviewed Andy Costello shortly after the finish.
As Andy described it, "The Spinnaker Cup continues to deliver. Three years in a row of just awesome sailing conditions. This race was a bit tricky, there were a lot of ways to exit the bay and we usually get it right but the conditions at the start were very shifty and we ended up on the wrong side of the bay. This was a tough way to start the day watching our competitors sail away. Usually we are the ones up front. Mark Howe's and his team on War Pony did an excellent job starting in the division behind us and beat us more than half way to R8 as the race committee had opted for course 2. I think a wise move given the conditions outside the bridge.
The slight hitch to R8 was pretty lumpy and the wind was gusting as high as 32. The breeze definitely had a punch to it and felt a bit denser than our usual wind the puffs came on hard and fast. Keeping the boat flat and rumbling was key. We sailed most of this leg with a reefed Main and # 3 jib.
At R8 we rounded third with Tai Kuai and Condor Ahead by maybe 10 minutes and 5 minutes, respectively, with Pony nipping at our heels. We set a Jib top with the reef in the Main and reached along for a good 8 or 9 miles until we were able to unleash the A5-- that's when DT started to show her stuff. We reeled Condor back in to even. It was important for us to stay with them as we knew it was boat for boat contest with us both rated at -12 for this race. As we progressed down the coat the breeze lightened back to the High teens to low 20s. Condor and us both peeled to larger kites for us this was our A4.
Trevor (Baylis) was not happy with our exit of the bay and was not happy just sailing along next to the Condor and was going to find away to get us back up front so we could pull off the "Hat Trick" (three overall Spin Cups Wins in a Row on corrected time). He made the gutsy call to leave the competition & jibe back towards Ano Nuevo, hunting for more pressure as DT really hits her stride in 21 and up TWS. Leaving Tai Kuai and Condor to stay offshore and maybe give them the race. We were either going to win this or loose a ton on this next move. At least that's what was going thru my mind. If your going to trust somebody's judgement on racing down this coast I had the right guy making the call.Jibing down the coast, blue water, sun and great wind pressure! What a place to race a sailboat. Inshore our breeze steadily increased as we sailed the rim of the marine layer, jibing back and forth as we followed the coast to Santa Cruz. Our ride across Monterey Bay was another epic one, 23 to 27 knots of breeze under full main, A4 and spin staysail. We were averaging speeds no lower than 18 and highs to a bit over 21 for the last 25 miles. I won't give all Trevor's secrets away, but he called our final jibe lay line from 22 or 23 miles out and we nailed it with the kite up all the way thru the finish, sailing at optimum polars the whole way.
Another favorite for me on this race is watching your competition as you blast across Monterey Bay, waiting to see who will get to the finish first. We saw Condor come out the fog from offshore and with 8 to miles to go we had gotten ahead-- they crossed behind us about 1 mile back, jibed and were essentially on our line for final approach. We continued to pull away from them and then we saw Tai Kuai, they crossed just in front of us on the opposite jibe with 5 miles to go. They sailed a bit more inshore before jibing on to there final approach to the finish.
Now it was on! A drag race between us and Tai Kuai for the last 5 miles to see who would take line honors. We were able to stay very close and in the end Tai Kuai beat us over the line by 4 seconds for first boat to finish!
Our team was very happy with our performance and we also knew we had accomplished beating Tai Kuai and Condor on corrected time. Now it was a waiting game to see if the Pony or a slower boat from the later starters would take us out on corrected. Pony ended blowing a kite with 8 miles to go or they may have won, or at least it would have been a lot closer than 8 minutes on corrected.
We put the boat away had an awesome dinner together laughing at all the little things that went well or didn't on the race down the coast. BTW, they have great food" at the MPYC.
My Crew was wet and tired but as always rocked it. Matt Noble and Ben Landon were under water on the bow more than they were dry. I joked that next year I will just get them team wetsuits and a snorkels ! Jody Mc Cormack and Molly Robinson were awesome and did everything the boys could Grinding, Trimming, Packing Kites. They are both extremely athletic women who love the sport and are awesome to be around! Trevor Baylis- what can I say? He's pretty good. Shaun Hagerman- my Finance Director from the dealership who owns a J/105 and thought he had a fast boat. Talk about wide open eyes! I wanted him to see what Coastal Sailing can be like when you have the right boat, the right crew, great conditions, and awesome competition from some really good sailors with well prepped race boats!On a safety note, I will have to say the "Low Speed Chase" incident definitely impacted our team. Our discussion for safety before the race was much more in-depth. All of the team was clipped in at different points most of the day, even if the conditions didn't merit it. The team would just clip-in to clip-in. The bow guys never went forward not clipped-in. There was never a call to clip-in by me as the conditions were not that extreme except for the upwind portion. My boat program has always been very safety oriented. We push the DOUBLE TROUBLE to its limits and that's even more reason to make safety the number one priority. I'm extremely proud of my crew for making the effort to clip-in and wear their harnesses and tethers all day. On my program there is a point where a call is made by the skipper to clip in and it is mandatory to do so but this day was not one of those days. If we would have done this exact race before the Low speed Chase incident the crew probably would have been clipped-in unless I asked. The loss of friends has changed the way all these excellent sailors race with or without the skipper telling them too. That's an awesome feeling. Of course, when we docked in Monterey, who would be the first boat to be safety inspected?? DOUBLE TROUBLE, of course! We passed having carried more safety equipment than needed including a life raft. Thanks to SFYC and MPYC for another Awesome Spin Cup !!"
In addition to Andy's fast downhill sleigh-ride, others in the J/Clan were having fun, too! Amongst them was the J/35c BRAINWAVES sailed by Jim Brainard. Jim's crew managed a 4th in Class C, just 5 minutes off a third place podium finish! That must've been a bit frustrating. Another fast J/cruiser was the J/42 TIKI-J sailed by Scott Dickinson, managing a well-earned 2nd in Class D! Finally, going "two-up" in Class E Doublehanded division was the J/35 PEGASUS sailed by Mark Sykes and friend, getting a 3rd in class! Congratulations to all!
For the NBC News Affiliate- KSBW Monterey, take a peak at this sailing piece of news reporting- shows Andy and crew on DOUBLE TROUBLE just getting nipped at the finish line by a few feet!
For more Spinnaker Cup sailing information and results Sailing photo credits- Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing and Eric Simonson/ h2oshots.com/pressuredrop.us.
J/124 MARISOL Wins Catalina Race(Long Beach, CA)- This past weekend the Long Beach YC to Dana Point YC "Around Catalina Race" was sailed in reasonably fast weather conditions with many J/Teams participating. Here's a report from Seth Hall, owner & skipper of the J/124 MARISOL.
"The boat is a blast. Too much fun all the time. We have two J/124s in Newport harbor and it looks like a 3rd might be on the way from Marina Del Rey which would be great for a little boat for boat racing. Busy summer as we are racing harbor races, Catalina races and lots of random legs.
Our J/124 races a few times each week. On Monday nights for the American Legion Races, we have a farm team on board for the crew. Average age of the farm crew is 14. Pretty cool as they all shift positions each week and the adults try to do as little as possible. Just a testament to the versatility of the boat.
Regards the Around Catalina Race, MARISOL was first to finish in our class and 2nd on corrected. We sailed with a crew of eight, which came in handy soon after the start. Winds were 15-20 kts in Long Beach harbor so we started with the #3 and a reefed main. We then exited the "LA Gate" marks and tacked up the breakwater wall towards Point Fermin Buoy to take advantage of the current.We then sailed out toward the West end of Catalina where we ultimately flushed the reef and changed to the Genoa for the 18 miles to the west end. After round the top of the island, it was spinnaker reaching down the 23nm backside (west) and cleared the east end by Sunset.
To keep going fast, we then "stair-stepped" the lee shadow of Catalina until we could cut across to Dana Point. It was blowing 15 kts and when we hit the island's big shadow the winds dropped to 10 - time to jibe! We had a few more sail changes as the breeze died down and became off-shore from Dana Point. Crew was very active with all the sail changes and jibes.
For us, it was nice to finish right behind the incredibly fast, well-sailed J/125 TIMESHAVER at 3:00 a.m. Our efforts weren't' all for naught. The DPYC/CBYC are going to have a Perpetual J-Boat Trophy for this race and MARISOL was the first winner!! In addition to the trophy, the Marisol crew was very happy that we won a case of Mount Gay Rum. Is this a great Race Committee or what? Good stuff, eh? Seth". One of Seth's crew members, John Drayton, also provided his perspective on the race for a local Newport Beach Newspaper-
"Over Memorial Day weekend I had the pleasure of racing around Catalina Island on Seth Hall’s J124, Marisol. This is one of my favorite local races because it’s long enough to feel like you’ve gone somewhere, but you are typically back home and in your own bed the next day.
The “Around Catalina Race” is a 75-mile sprint that that starts in LA Harbor, runs around Catalina Island, and wraps-up with a finish just off the entrance of Dana Point Harbor. This year’s race started off in LA Harbor with brisk 20-plus knot breezes, but there were still more than 40 boats out for this year’s event.
We started conservatively, with Marisol flying her No. 3 jib and a reefed mainsail. About halfway across the Catalina Channel the wind started to drop off, so we shook out the reef and changed up to our bigger No. 1 jib. After we rounded Catalina, the wind would continue to drop, but our crew worked hard to keep the boat moving and the bow pointed at Dana Point. A midnight tacking duel also helped energize our crew as we repeatedly crossed tacks with Wes Selby’s TNT most of the way back from Catalina.Based on our 2:59 a.m. finish, the final results show that we were second in Class B, and won the inaugural J-Boat perpetual for this event. A half-model of Marisol is now being made to serve as a new perpetual trophy, and the Marisol trophy will be given annually for the first J-class boat in this event.
But the best part of the event is that even after a really fun 75-mile race, I was still back home in time to watch the sunrise."
Congratulations to Seth and crew, they've been having a very successful 2012 offshore sailing season, with more to come! Sailing Photo Credits - Bronny Daniels/ JOY Sailing
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* Americas Cup World Series Celebration- Governor and Mrs Lincoln Chaffee and the ACWS Host Committee invite you to join them for a celebration of the ACWS Newport event on June 8th, 6:00 PM at Fort Adams- North Lawn. It will be a fun, festive affair. Enjoy lots of hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and live entertainment. You can buy America's Cup sailing celebration tickets here.The World Series races are being held in locations around the globe; Newport's race will be the final stop before next year's America's Cup in San Francisco. Newport last hosted an America's Cup event decades ago-- back in 1983. The upcoming ACWS regatta at Fort Adams State Park features top international sailors competing in 45 foot all carbon catamarans with massive wing-masts. As many of you probably know by now, many of the top America's Cup teams feature skippers, tacticians, team managers that have sailed J/22s and J/24s and won numerous World Championships over time. Included in that group are John Kostecki (tactician on ORACLE), Terry Hutchinson (skipper on ARTEMIS), Francesco d'Angeles (manager of PRADA). Plus, looking out for both the AC and Golden Gate YC's interests is Vice Commodore Tom Ehman (top J/24 sailor for years in the hot, local J/24 fleet in Newport!).
The event is scheduled for June 23 to July 1 and will include four days of exciting racing right between Ft Adams and Jamestown's Ft Wetherill across the Bay-- it promises to be extremely tight, thrill-a-minute racing. Skippers will be playing "rope-a-dope" as they challenge each other for maximum gains on every turn at NASCAR closing speeds! For more ACWS sailing information.
* New Carbon Composite wheel exclusive for J-Boat Owners. The J/111 has garnered a lot of attention in its first full year of sailing, and one of the most eye-catching features is the new composite wheel. This 60" Carbonautica wheel is made from carbon and glass fiber, is 60 per cent lighter than stainless, and is stiffer, stronger and feels better than other wheels. A monocoque structure with no seams, joins or welds, was created exclusively for J Boats and has been tested everywhere from Finland to the Gulf of Arabia.“With Proteus Marine, we developed the new Carbonautica wheel with an elliptical cross-section that’s more comfortable than most composite wheels to grip, and thereby less fatiguing on the driver. The lighter weight also reduces inertia in the steering system – and further enhances the fingertip control our boats are known for," said Jeff Johnstone.
Proteus director Craig Dymock commented, “We’re delighted to have J-Boat's engineering, design and marketing support. We believe this wheel gives more precise feedback, so the helmsman is more likely to get the critical sail/rudder balance right most of the time.” Delivered as standard in black, the Carbonautica wheel is available in custom colors and it can be retro fitted. J-Boats dealerships have more details of the new exclusive steering wheel, available on J models over 36’ (11 meters).
* For J/97 sailors in England- Led Zeppelin rules! Falmouth, UK has been in the news in recent weeks with Ben Ainslie's domination of the Finns, so here’s a video of a bunch of local Falmouth Anarchists on a typical club night from the same host club RCYC - we're not quite as glamorous as the Finn boys, we've got less hair and we're older and wider, but heck we're just as keen - check out the goose wing kite action at 3:57 to earn our slot at the mark. Music is all Led Zeppelin, as is the boat, a J-97 called BLACK DOG (Beware of the Growler), keep it coming SA and thanks for keeping us sane at work, when the first thing we log into is some Anarchy. Signing out- elder Dog of the Dogs, Skipper Stuart Sawyer, Falmouth, UK. See their amusing sailing video here courtesy of Sailing Anarchy.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). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".
- 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/
The first recorded sailboat racing in the Victoria area was in the late 1850′s, between boats of the British Royal Navy and the early Colonists (about the same time the yacht AMERICA was eviscerating the Queen's fastest loyalists in the Around Isle of Wight Race- e.g. the 100 Guinea Cup-- a.k.a. America's Cup). Interest in the sport grew in the following decades, and by 1930, a long distance race from Cadboro Bay around the Lightship on Swiftsure Bank, at the entrance to the Juan de Fuca Strait was proposed, and there were six entrants! By 1960, forty-five boats were entered in this now-classic race. In 1962, after considerable grumbling by skippers of boats that were too small to go to “the Bank”, Royal Victoria Yacht Club introduced a shorter-course race to Clallam Bay, some fifteen miles west of Port Angeles, and called it the Juan de Fuca Race. Later, with increased participation and faced with only two courses, one of 137 miles and the other of only 76 miles, the race organizers and many skippers found themselves in a dilemma. The solution was the introduction in 1988 of the Cape Flattery race, of 100 miles in length, halfway between the Swiftsure Bank and the Clallam Bay courses. This has proved to be a very popular race, attracting some of the very largest boats. Imagine the Rolex RORC Fastnet Race today, it could have over 1,000 boats with a similar format!
In the earlier years of Swiftsure, Eaton’s Department Store major-display window at the corner of Douglas & View (the equivalent of HARROD's in London, England) in downtown Victoria was set up as “Swiftsure Headquarters”. A large map of the race course was installed, and the progress of the race was shown by moving miniature boats across the map. As the numbers of boats increased this became a daunting task. The event, and this way of graphically displaying progress, was very much appreciated by Victorians. “Thousands of people used to line the sidewalks, sit on the curbs. There was a feeling of excitement right there, in the middle of town”! And, Ladbrokes betting parlor could not have been far away!
The wind Gods smiled at last on the final day of racing, where the fleet enjoyed two final races in a 12-16 knot north-north-easterly. An ebb tide kept the sea relatively flat and conditions were near perfect for the final showdown. Again the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club's Race Committee took their race courses up onto the Hillhead Plateau and with the stronger winds they were able to set longer windward leeward courses using a mix of laid and permanent marks.
