J/One-Designs Sailing Rolex New York YC Race Week!(Newport, RI)- The upcoming Rolex NYYC Race Week promises to be a fun event for the thirty-six J/Teams participating in the regatta, representing about 44% of the total fleet of 82 sailing off Newport. J sailors will be racing one-design in J/109s, J/105s and J/111s while others are sailing in IRC handicap class.
The J/109s will be hosting their 2012 J/109 North Americans and with eighteen teams sailing the competition is sure to be tough. There are familiar names amongst the entries that may be factors on the overall leader board, featured amongst them are former champions like Ted Herlihy's GUT FEELING from South Darmouth, MA, Bill Sweetser's RUSH from Annapolis, MD and Rick Lyall's STORM from Wilton, CT. Challenging them will be teams like David Rosow's LOKI, Don Filippelli's CAMINOS, and Rob Salk's & John Sahagian's PICANTE, the top "local" Newport boat that sails often on Narragansett Bay.
The J/111s will be having their first one-design event in New England, with six boats participating. Dave & Mary Ellen Tortorello's PARTNERSHIP, Doug Curtiss' WICKED 2.0, Henry Brauer's FLEETWING, Sedgwick Ward's BRAVO, Rod Johnstone's JAZZ and Paul Strauch's ANDIAMO will surely have a great time racing while simultaneously learning how to get their boats going ever faster. By way of example, lots of dock chatter regarding tuning/sailing tips during the recent Block Island Race Week saw a number of teams sailing there improve their performance considerably over the course of the week. It should prove to be an exciting three days of sailing for these teams.
The J/105s are having their top New England event and the nine teams represented include amongst their ranks a number of past 105 champions, including some familiar names like Kevin Grainger on GUMPTION34, Nelson Weiderman on KIMA and Joerg Esdorn & Duncan Hennes on KINCSEM. This trio alone are highly competitive and it looks like there may be some new teams sailing that may upset the proverbial "pecking order" at the top of the fleet.
Sailing in IRC Class are some of the most competitive J/Teams on J/122s and J/44s. In the J/122s will be the Rolex New York YC Annual Regatta winner Mike Bruno on WINGS; a new J/122 owner from Annapolis, Don Shea, will be racing DOLPHIN and George and Carol Shaw from Denver, Colorado will be sailing TUMBLEWEED. Amongst the J/44s, Jim Bishop will be racing his IRC-optimized J/43.5 (sawed-off transom with carbon rig and modded keel) called WHITE GOLD and Bill Ketcham will be sailing his standard J/44 MAXINE. For more New York YC Race Week sailing information
CORK Week PreviewLarge J Contingent Sailing
(Cork, Ireland)- From 7th to 13th of July, a highly competitive fleet of eleven J/Teams are participating in this year's biennial CORK Week sailed in the large bay off Cork, Ireland. The regatta, which is hosted by the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven, County Cork, is a Grand Prix sailing event which is renowned, world wide, for exciting and challenging racing. Boats from all over the world participate and come from as far away as South Africa and Hong Kong. This year's fleet is significantly reduced from past years, with just 109 boats sailing, a far cry from the 400+ seen in some past events.
In addition to top-class racing, the fabled on-shore tented village lets all crews interact socially in a fun way, and it has become one of the main ingredients in the success for Cork Week. Bodega-by-the-Sea features some of the country’s best live bands and DJs, combined with the unique atmosphere of Cork’s Club Bodega in a setting like no other.
Cork Week 2012 Event Chair Pat Lyons said, “Cork Week comes along every two years and offers an occasion to celebrate all that is best about how we can enjoy the wonderful facilities that our environment has placed on our doorstep. In Cork Harbour, we have a world class maritime playground and by hosting a sailing event of international quality, the Royal Cork provides an opportunity for both sailors and spectators alike to meet old friends, engage in a top class sailing competition, and enjoy the waterside hospitality and entertainment for which Crosshaven is renowned.”Featured in this year's event will be another strong turn-out of J/109s sailing in what amounts to be the Irish J/109 Championship. Returning from the 2010 J/109 Europeans Championships will be third-place finisher Ian Nagle & Paul O'Malley on their champion JELLY BABY from the host Royal Cork YC. In the IRC classes will be the new Irish J/111 WOW sailed by George Sisk from Royal Irish YC, the J/122 MINT JULEP skippered by David Cule, the J/92 VAGABOND sailed by Simon Fox Davies & Giles Stanely from Dovey YC and two J/24s, Aidan MacSweeney's MAXIMUS and David Lane's An t'Oileanach both from Royal Cork YC. Sailing photo credits- Ingrid Abery.com For more CORK WEEK sailing information
Bayview Mackinac Preview(Port Huron, MI)- Starting July 14th 233 boats will be sailing from Port Huron, Michigan north up Lake Huron to finish at the fabled summer resort known as Mackinac Island. The Bayview Mac is comprised of two courses, one is known as "the short course" and takes those classes up the Michigan shoreline on the western side of Lake Huron for 204nm. The bigger, faster boats sail the "Cove Island course" (e.g. the big course) and from the start head in a northerly course towards a buoy off the Canadian coastline called the "Cove Island Mark", whereupon the fleet then heads WNW towards Mackinac Island for a total distance of 254nm, just 45nm less than its "sister" race, the Chicago-Mac which runs 289nm.
Sailing the Division I Cove island course in PHRF B is the J/145 VORTICES sailed by Chris Saxton, they finished 2nd in class and 4th overall last year and hope to aim even higher! Sailing the same course in PHRF C will be two J/111s, NO SURPRISE skippered by Dave Irish and UNPLUGGED sailed by Tim Clayson (last year's winners overall in the Cruising Division) and the J/33 SHENANIGAN sailed by Dick & Dan Synowiec.
On the short course, the eight J/120s are sailing one-design with many familiar teams going for the gold! Included are the top three finishers from the 2011 race-- the famous CARINTHIA sailed by Frank Kern, FLYIN IRISH skippered by Bill Bresser, HOT TICKET sailed by Bob Kirkman and Don Hudak's CAPERS.
In the Level 35 Class, a record number of eight J/35s are racing, including the famous MR BILL'S WILD RIDE sailed by Bill Wildner, of course! Remarkably, Meme Carter's SPECIAL K will be sailing this year's race for the 19th consecutive year! Also sailing is FALCON is owned by Ed (43 PH Macs)and John Bayer (37 PH Macs) and brother in law Jim Barnes. Falcon was the 2005 and 2006 and last year's (2011) J-35 North American Champion and has won its J-35/T-35 One Design Class in the last two Mac Races. Falcon's experienced crew has over 250 Bayview Mac Races between them. This race will mark Ed Bayer's 44th Mac, John Bayer's 36th, Mike Welch's 29th and Ron Rossio's 27th! Newcomers WHIPLASH sailed by Gregg Whipple are on their second Mac Race and hope to have some fun in the Level 35 Class! In PHRF D Class is a J/100 and five J/105s. The J/100 BLUEJAY is sailed by John McVeety. She is normally rigged as a single handed daysailer on Alpena's (Ontario) Thunder Bay. Twice a year they add crew and go racing. She has participated 7 times in the Huron Double handed Challenge. Challenging them will be the fleet of J/105s with top boats like Mark Symonds PTERODACTYL, GOOD LOOKIN sailed by Dean Walsh and SORCERY sailed by Larry & Brian Smith-- the top three finishers from 2011 hoping to repeat their performances again!
In PHRF E, the J/44 SAGITTA will be sailed by its co-owners/skippers, both past Commodores of Bayview Yacht Club, Com. Larry Oswald (1990) and Com. Jon Somes (2000). They've been racing Port Huron to Mackinac races together for nearly 15 years. Previous to year 2000, they raced on Com. Oswald's NA 40 Disruption and since year 2000 on Sagitta, a J-44. While racing together, they have won their class two times on Sagitta and five times on Disruption.
For PHRF F Class, the J/35 RAGTIME is skippered by Allan Schmidt and the J/36 POLARITY will be sailed by Murphy Palmer. POLARITY has a rich history with its beginnings on the East Coast and is the last of its breed as hull #55 which was the last J-36 built.
PHRF G Class has the beautiful, classic J/34 IOR boat sailed by an incredibly experienced Mac Race team, led by Den Balcirak and Tom Burleson from Grosse Point Woods, Michigan. This is Commodore Balcirak's 49th Mackinac and Tom's 36th. It is sailed by a crew of family and close friends. Their Mackinac Race highlight was a clean sweep in 2004 when they won their class, overall, and the Yacht Club Challenge. This year grand-daughter Mackensie Balcirak and daughter-in-law Susie Balcirak will be doing their first Mackinac!
Finally, in the Double-handed Division IV group, the J/29 PATRIOT will be sailed by David and Lyndon Lattie and the J/105 PIRANA will be sailed by the team of CJ Ruffing and Chris Ongena. For more Bayview Mackinac Race sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
This past week seemed to be an epic one for two of the more famous "round island" races in the world-- the world's longest may be the 700nm Round Ireland Race and the world's largest fleet may be the 60nm Round Island Race (Isle of Wight- the original America's Cup course). In both island races, J/Teams were significant factors in the overall outcomes as well as in the various divisions/classes throughout the fleet. Concluding in Le Crouesty, France were the J/22 Worlds sailed off the gorgeous shores of Brittany on Quiberon Bay. And, over in the America's, the J/24s had their US Nationals on the "two mile high" Lake Dillon, perhaps the highest location ever for a J/24 event (still waiting for one on Lake Titicaca!). Closer to sea-level were the fleet of fun-loving J/120s sailing on Lake Huron in the offshore event called the Port Huron 100. Finally, there was a new milestone set in the Father's Day Race in Perth Amboy, New Jersey when a "kid" won the regatta sailing his Dad's J/30!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:
Jul 3-7- CORK Week- Cork, Ireland- http://www.corkweek.ie/Jul 7-8- J/105 EuroCup- Yarmouth, England- http://www.royalsolent.org
Jul 14- Bayview-Mackinac Race- Port Huron, MI- http://www.bycmack.com/
Jul 14-21- Copa del Rey- Palma Mallorca, Spain- http://www.regatacopadelrey.com/
Jul 14-22- Rolex New York YC Race Week- Newport, RI- http://www.nyyc.org/
Jul 15-20- Whidbey Island Race Week- Oak Harbor, WA- http://www.whidbeyislandraceweek.com/
Jul 21- Chicago-Mackinac Race- Chicago, IL- http://www.cycracetomackinac.com/
Jul 21- Lake Ontario 300- Port Credit, ONT- http://www.lo300.org/
Jul 26-28- J/Cup- Southampton, England- Royal Southampton YC
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/111 J-DREAM Wins Epic Round Island!(Cowes, IOW, England)- The post-race atmosphere in the sunny town of Cowes was mainly one of relief and immense pleasure after competitors enjoyed a challenging, lively and memorable day of racing, organised and run by the Island Sailing Club. The 81st Round the Island Race, the biggest yacht race in the world, this year attracted an entry of 1,647 boats across 25 classes. Of these, 1,198 crossed the finish line within the 10pm deadline; 247 retired, giving a 73% finish rate which is precisely the same percentage of finishers as in 2011 when the 80th Anniversary Race attracted a record entry of 1,908 yachts and welcomed home 1,345 finishers.
The wind conditions were as forecast with most of the fleets starting in a moderate south-westerly breeze. However, the forecast for the wind to increase dramatically meant a number of fleets would not start, including the J/80s. As a whole, the J/Teams faired well in this classic 60nm+ race around the fabled island. David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J/111 J-DREAM reveled in the conditions planing down the south side of the island after St Catherines Pt in 3-5 meter seas and 20-25 kts of wind to take the overall hours in both IRC 1A class and IRC Group 1, completing the course in just 6 hrs:21 min:54 secs! In fact, they were first J/Team home and led an enormous contingent of J sailors to honors in a number of classes. The double-win is a repeat of last year’s victory by fellow J/111 SHMOKIN JOE."We are absolutely delighted to have won and the J/111 is proving her versatility whatever the wind strength as we had 13-26 knots. My crew complained that they missed the spectacle of watching the spinnakers stretching as far as you can see in both directions, because we rounded the corner at Bembridge too quickly - there is no pleasing some! However to see Actual do a ‘flypast’ and to watch Eleanora was apparently consolation and particularly for crew member Herbie Harford (16) who was on his first trip round the island," said David Apthorp.
In IRC IA class alone, J teams were 8 of the top 20, an amazing achievement in the incredibly challenging conditions. After J-DREAM, the J/111 MANIC was 8th, the J/122 JOULOU was 11th, the J/111 OJE was 12th, the J/122 JOLLY JELLYFISH was 13th, the J/111 MUNKENBECK was 14th, the J/122 GHOST was 16th and the J/122 MINT JULEP was 18th. Were it not for a DSQ, the J/111 JEEZE LOUISE would have been 7th! In IRC 1B Class, the J/122 NUTMEG IV from France finished 3rd in class were 7th overall in IRC Group 1! A fabulous performance for all these J/Crews!A similar scenario played out in IRC 2A Class with J's taking 9 of the top 20! Leading the group home was a classic and incredibly well-sailed J/35 KNIGHT BUILD LTD, finishing 4th overall but just missing overall honors to win by just six minutes! Amazing for a 25+ year old design. Next up on the board were a slew of J/109s, with OFFBEAT (6th) leading home the rest of their colleagues- JAHMALI (7th), BASIC INSTINCT (8th), BLUE JAY (9th), HIGH TENSION (14th), JUMUNU (16th), JOUSTER (18th) and JOLENE (19th). A good show for 35 foot J's in this class! But, it was IRC 2B Class in Group IRC 2 that took home the overall honors in the group. Nine of the top 15 were J/Teams, led home by the J/105 JELLY BABY taking a 3rd in IRC 2B class and 5th overall in IRC 2 Group. The J/105 KING LOUIE was next with a 4th in class and 8th in the group. The J/109 JIBE was 5th in class and 11th in the group. The balance was filled out by J/105 NEILSON REDEYE (7th), J/109 JAGERBOMB (9th), J/105 JOS OF HAMBLE (10th), J/109 JUKE BOX (11th), J/109 J'TAIME (12th), J/109 JUMPING JELLYFISH (14th) and J/109 J2EAU (15th).
In the highly competitive 30 footers division, IRC 2D, there were a strong mix of J/97s and J/92s participating in "class" configurations. Most of them found the conditions to their liking and the results speak for themselves, with J/Teams taking 13 of the top 20 places!! Holy smokes. Finishing 3rd was the J/97 JJ L'AMOROSSO, followed by the J/97 MCFLY (5th), the J/92 JUST ENOUGH (6th), the J/92 WHO'S TO NO (8th), the J/97s INDULJENCE, INJENIOUS, JIKA JIKA and JEOPARDY 2 in 10th, 11th, 13th & 14th, respectively, the J/92s BOJANGLES in 15th, the J/97 JACKAROO in 16th and the J/92s JAMMIN, BLACK JACK & MOBY J in 17th, 18th and 19th respectively. Incredible. For the 30 footer J teams this was quite a dominant performance as a group, no other brands or boats were even close.Of note, in ISC Division 4, the J/120 ASSARAIN III loved the powerful reaching and running conditions on the south side of the island, St Catherines Point and east in particular, and pulled of a well-deserved 2nd in class and 4th in ISC 4 overall. Sailing Photo credits- Patrick Eden and Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com. For more Round Island Race sailing information
French Team Rules J/22 WorldsNetherlands & Cayman Islands Strong Factors
(Le Crouesty, France)- With a dominating nine first-place tallies in 11 races, Jean Queveau of France won the 2012 J/22 World Championship at Crouesty Arzon Yacht Club in Brittany, France. Held from June 26-29, team Julie discarded a 14 and kept a sixth for a total of just 15 overall points. Racing with Queveau were Pierre Laouenan, Damien Iehl and Pierre Le Clainche. Two Netherlands teams followed in second and third—Wouter Kollmann with 33 points and Ivo Kok with 35.
Teams from France, The Netherlands, Germany and the Cayman Islands participated in the championship, which featured 24 boats. Next year, the J/22 will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a World Championship in the birthplace of the boat, Newport, Rhode Island, from October 1-5, 2013.
The top five in the event were 1st Jean Queveau (France) - 15 points, 2nd Wouter Kollmann (Netherlands) - 33 points, 3rd Ivo Kok (Netherlands) - 35 points, 4th Mike Farrington (Cayman Islands) - 50 points and 5th Serge Raphalen (France) - 80 points. For more J/22 Worlds sailing information For J/22 Worlds sailing photos- Bernard Andre on Google/Picasa
J/Teams Crush Round Ireland RaceJ/109s Sweep & J/105 Win Class & Double-handed!
(Wicklow, Ireland)- Here's the short story on the RORC Round Ireland 700nm dash from J/109 SGRECH owner, Stephen Tudor- "We achieved 1st in Class 3 and 5th overall. We started from Wicklow, Ireland on Sunday and finished the 700 mile race on Friday having experienced all types of wind conditions and I am pleased to say our J/109 SGRECH was a delight to sail in all conditions - light and heavy. Thanks!
Stephen". To prove a point, Stephen's team lead a tour'de'force of J/Teams in the overall standings, with J/109s, 105, J/122 and J/133 taking six of the top 15 overall places- nearly 50% of this leading group!
The Round Ireland Yacht Race is Ireland’s premier offshore sailing race and is held every two years by Wicklow Sailing Club in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club. The 704 nautical mile race was first held in 1980 and still retains the original course; “leave Ireland and all its islands excluding Rockall to starboard.” It's one helluva tough race most of the times and the teams will see everything the North Atlantic and the infamous Irish Sea can throw at them- light air fog, heavy air fog and lightning, gales and near-freezing temperatures, to sun and glorious runs under chutes in 70 deg F temps.
In addition to Stephen's success on his J/109 SGRECH, the long-time successful short-handed sailor Nick Martin sailed with his daughter Niki on the J/105 DIABLO-J- sailing Class IRC 3 and Class IRC 8 Double, finishing 4th and 1st respectively-- quite a showing for this tough duo!
As for the rest of the IRC 3 Class, it was packed with a bunch of J/109 trouble-makers, JOKER 2 skippered by John Maybury from Royal Irish YC helped lead a sweep of the class behind SGRECH, finishing 2nd with the JEDI team sailed by Andrew Sarratt from Royal Irish YC in third.
Finally, the J/133 SPIRIT OF JACANA sailed by Bruce Douglas from Carrickfergus YC finished 4th in IRC 1 Class and the J/122 AQUELINA sailed by Jim Tyrerell from Arklow SC finished 4th in IRC 2 Class. For more Round Ireland sailing information
Mollicone Wins J/24 US Nationals
(Dillon, CO)- The "Two-Mile High" J/24 Nationals took place this past weekend in Dillon, Colorado. Answering the call to race in true "nose-bleed" mountain high territory were an amazing range of thirty-six J/24 teams from across America. World, North American, National and Regional Champions in the J/24 class made the migration to the Rockies for some fun and frolic.
Over the course of the regatta, the conditions ran the full gamut from sun and 80 degrees to hail and 55 degrees, not atypical of the sailing experience on Dillon-- where "pop-up thunderstorms" materialize in hours, go around the mountains one way and come back at our in a curve-ball on the other side of the range!!
Eight races were completed, but John Mollicone only needed the first seven of them, building a 21-point lead to lock up the title. Pat Toole's 3 BIG DOGS team from Santa Barbara, CA were second with Chris Snow's BOGUS from San Diego, CA in third. For more J/24 Nationals sailing information
J/120 NIGHTS MOVES Wins Port Huron 100(Port Huron, MI)- Frank Kern and crew on their J/120 CARINTHIA have been doing a lot of traveling and sailing on their boat over the past few years. After winters in the Bahamas, Florida and Gulf of Mexico, they all head back home to sail in the home waters of Lake St Claire and Port Huron. Here's Frank's blog report on their recent experiences sailing the Port Huron 100 Race-
"The Lake Huron 100 is a circle trip with 5 legs. Last year 33 boats sailed this race and with many more out of town boats there was a growth to 43 entries, proving that this race is starting to become popular. From the start at the base of the lake we traveled to the northern red channel buoy, northeast to Kettle Point buoy, north to the weather buoy, west to Port Sanilac, and south to the mouth of the Black River in Port Huron. We had a Saturday start at 17:10. The wind was gusting up to 15 knots out of the northwest with temperatures in the high 80s. The starting line was unfortunately misaligned with the buoy side nearly pointing toward the first mark. We had 7 J120s in the start so it created near havoc at the gun with the winner of the start gaining the valuable real estate at the pin. Flyin Irish and Carinthia got caught barging and had to spin out. Night Moves was on the pin side in the trap and fouled Hot Ticket. Soon after NM had to do her 720 penalty spin. At the start the wind came directly from the mark but soon went northeast. In fact the boats on the west side of the rhumbline got lifted and rounded in the front of the fleet.With the wind shift the next leg was again a weather beat to Kettle Point. Halfway through the leg the wind again shifted, giving an advantage to the boats on the left side of the course leverage. Night Moves was the farthest north so she rounded ahead of the other J120s with a solid lead. With the new wind shift it was another beat to the weather broadcast buoy. At the bottom of the leg it was an even split but again the boats on the left side of the course were lifted to the mark when the wind shifted to the northwest again. Night Moves with their soothsayer navigator was on the correct side and bagged the lead again. Nautiboys, Carinthia, Flyin Irish, and Jayhawker were in the middle of the course and rounded close together. Hot Ticket and Irresistible had gone right and got the big suck rounding last. The top leg was a lot more fun. Carinthia put up our code 0 and went fast across to Port Sanilac. We managed to put Nautiboys and Jayhawker away but as the sun came up after Port Sanilac the wind took a vacation.
We tried to sail with our spinnaker but it got really slow....The wind shifted again from the Michigan shoreline and all boats were going south still slow. At this point FlyinIrish and Jayhawker had a solid 2nd and 3rd.
This is where Carinthia took a flyer. Reasoning that as the sun comes up there may be a onshore breeze, she went right toward shore. The farther south she went, the more of a lift she got. Eventually she put up a spinnaker and entered the St. Clair River ahead of the other two J120s and held the lead to the finish for second place. Irresistible followed Carinthia in and managed to pass Nautiboys in the end. Most of all Night Moves was so far ahead of everyone else all she had to do was not go aground.
This was a slow challenging race and at times very discouraging, but in the end it was a great typical experience on the Great Lakes!"
Kid Wins Father's Day J/30 Race!?(Perth Amboy, NJ)- Yes, in the cooler than fiction category, an 11 year old helmsman dominated the field in Father’s Day Regatta victory down in New Jersey.
Off Perth Amboy, Will Lusty took the helm of BELLE FASTER under brilliant skies and 15 kts of breeze and sailed the family J/30 to an impressive win over a number of top competitors. The young star and front runner for 2012 Rookie of the Year honors drove her true to her name; she was the belle of the ball and faster than everybody else. Proud papa Michael, sister Sophie (age 10) and mom Teri (age withheld on request) served as crew and were instrumental in the overall effort making the victory a family affair. “That was fun!” Lusty beamed at the post race press conference. Race officials suspect at least one anxious moment as anonymous sources reported the young skipper was heard at one point to bark, “Dad, take the tiller. No, wait! I need your weight on the rail!”
Chief Race Officer Chris Shaughnessy took advantage of the east breeze sending the fleet to Keyport One for their upwind mark then back to R2 before heading to Z for a cupola finish; making for a lively jaunt ‘round the bay. “We have it on good authority that young Will helmed the whole way around the course” said Shaughnessy noting the decent breeze had built quite a chop on the 8 nm course. “That was no walk in the park.”
“I, for one am impressed”, said Steve Scanlon, RYC Race Chairman for Life, “the kid beat some of the top competitors out there today. His stock is going through the roof.”
Scanlon noted that RYC has a long history of family dynasties including such notable clans as Myer, Mackevich, Rebovich and Macan. Could this be the start of a run that adds the Lusty moniker to that list?
“The kid’s got skills, no doubt about it. He showed us all something today.” said Jim Mackevich, future hall of famer and patriarch of his own Father’s Day dynasty. Katie Mac, the other half of the For Sail Father’s Day duo agreed. “I love it! It demonstrates that you don’t necessarily have to weigh more than 100lbs to drive a race boat!”Jeremy Macan, former child star, sailing prodigy and prodigal son of House Macan echoed Mackevich’s sentiments. “I’ve seen a lot of sailing kids come of age, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a young dude emerge onto the scene so quickly.”
When asked by this reporter if the youngster’s success might prompt a change in his Wednesday crew alignment owner/father/skipper Michael would only offer, “No Comment”.
Notes from Dad! "We had a blast this weekend. Our club runs a Father’s Day race. Non spin, so we entered as a family with William (11), Sophie (10). Teri (age withheld) and myself. Competition included 2 mast-head J/29s, a Beneteau 10R, a J105 and an S2 9.2.
William took the helm while Teri and I hoisted the sails and didn’t give it up until after the finish. With a beat of just over 4nm to the first mark and winds building from 8 to 12 kts, we were delighted to be have only one boat (a J/29) ahead of us. We were ahead for most of it, and only gave up the lead in the last couple of hundred yards to round second. The other J/29 was pretty close behind.
All of us wing-on-wing, the lead J/29 pulled away somewhat on the major downwind leg, and the other one caught up with us, but William was psyched when we called for (and were given) room at the penultimate mark. Over-powered somewhat on the last beat home in 15kts wind and only 2.5 of us on the rail, the second 29 did pass us. No sign of the others. We knew that we easily had the closest one on corrected time, but only learned at the bar afterwards that both 29s were toast! What a Father’s Day!"
For more J/30 Father's Day Race sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
The three boats chosen are the J/122 NUTMEG IV sailed by François Lognone and Beelzebuth 3, the Grand Soleil 40 and Eleuthera, the Grand Soleil 44R. The French trials took place over a much longer series of regattas than the British ones, including Spi Ouest France, the Course des Trois Iles, Obelix Trophy, Grand Prix IRC Manche Ouest, Cervantes Trophy, Grand Prix du Crouesty along with Normandy Sailing Week. The result is the cream of the French IRC will be heading for the Solent in the last week in July to compete against the six other international three boat teams. As a last warm-up prior to the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup, all three boats in the French team will be competing in the Cowes-Dinard-St Malo race over the weekend of 13-15th July. For more RORC Commodores' Cup sailing information
* In the America's Cup World Series Newport sailed on the AC 45 cats, it was past J/24 World Champion Terry Hutchinson that won the Match-Racing Series overall. Congratulations to Terry and crew on Team ARTEMIS for winning what amounted to the prologue to the America's Cup Match Race that will take place on the monster AC 72 catamarans with their towering 125 foot tall wing sails on San Francisco Bay in the summer of 2013. If you're the type that slows down to look at car accidents, this may be THE sailing event for all you rubber-neckers! Flying bodies, broken boats, equipment and sails may be the norm if these 72 ft cats have to sail in 20-30 kts nuking out on the Bay. For more America's Cup World Series sailing information
* The Volvo Ocean Race had an unpredictable outcome for the last race from Lorient, France to Galway, Ireland. After winning about 85% of the race and leading the fleet into the turn towards Galway Bay, Newport's Ken Read sailed into a massive hole and finished 3rd on Leg 9, thus finishing 3rd overall. The big winner were the French team led by Franck Cammas on GROUPAMA, finishing 2nd on Leg 9 to "seal the deal" and win the Volvo Ocean Race on their first attempt! A rather unprecedented outcome for GROUPAMA, surprising not only themselves but the rest of their competitor and pundits, too! With a bit of luck, Ken may be able to use some of his J/24 World Championship and one-design experience to pull the proverbial "rabbit out of the hat" and win the Inshore Series for the Volvo Ocean Race this coming weekend. Best of luck from the J/Crew! For more Volvo Race sailing informationThe 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/
