J/70, J/97 & J/111 @ Newport BoatshowDiscover Sailing a J/70, J/80 & J/95 Too!
(Newport, RI)- From September 13th to 16th, J/Boats and J/Dealers will be displaying the NEW J/70, J/97 and J/111 at the traditional location on the end of the Newport Yachting Center just NW of the "gas dock", right on the waterfront- location NYC Dock N-O E.
As part of the "Discover Sailing" program offered by the Newport Sailboat Show and J/Boats, anyone attending the show can sign-up to sail the brand new J/70 speedster, International J/80 One-Design and the fabulous shoal-water performance cruiser/ daysailor- the J/95! Be sure to book your calendar now and take the opportunity to sail three fun J's around Newport Harbor! Please be sure to contact your J/Dealer now for an appointment and even a demo sail soon! For more Newport Sailboat Show information
J/70 @ HISWA Boatshow(Amsterdam, Netherlands)- Over the September 4th to 9th weekend in Amsterdam, J/Boats Netherlands will be displaying the J/70 on its trailer just inside the main entrance to the show at Stand Number- K110. This will be the first J/70 displayed in a European Boatshow in 2012, so be sure to contact Angelique Verhoef via email- angelique@jboats.nl- for an appointment or for a demo-sail after the show! For more HISWA Amsterdam Sailboat Show information
RORC Cherbourg Race PreviewThe J/105 As IRC Offshore Weapon?
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The final event of the challenging RORC 2012 sailing season is now upon us. The RORC's Cherbourg Race sets sail on Friday. For some, it's sweet solace that they can reflect on a remarkable season of sailing and simply enjoy a "romp" across "La Manche" (the English Channel) over to Cherbourg to savor some delicious French wines and cheeses in celebration of class wins already sewn-up. For others, it will be an outright battle, if not war, to secure a good score to factor into the season championship. For a certain J/105 sailing into history in the hallowed halls of an ultimate sailing champion, it will be a celebratory sail for one division win, but the ultimate fight for another class and overall! How can that be?? Well, read on to understand what an amazing season this J/105 has sailed to date-- for a double-handed crew, no less!
In recent years, the 75-mile-sprint to Cherbourg has always been the last hurrah of the RORC Season’s Point Championship. This year’s championship has been one of the most hotly contested for many years. Three yachts are contesting the overall championship and many of the podium places, in the seven classes racing under IRC, are still hanging in the balance.
“Most of the yachts will finish the race in time to enjoy a party atmosphere at the Yacht Club de Cherbourg,” commented RORC Racing Manager, Nick Elliott. “The end of the season is a time when a lot of the sailors really get a chance to meet up and share their memories of the season, the 2012 RORC Season’s Points Championship has been one of extremes with many very windy races but also barely enough breeze to keep going in others. The forecast for this weekend looks likely to give the fleet a downwind finale to the season with a north to north west moderate breeze and clear skies. However, it is highly likely that the wind will drop significantly on approach to Cherbourg and with a strong tide, we could see a exciting finish to the race and a dramatic end to seven months of racing.”
For the RORC Overall Championship, just 17 points back in second overall is Nick Martin’s J/105 DIABLO-J. Reigning RORC Season’s Points Champion, Piet Vroon’s Ker 46 Tonnerre de Breskens lies in third place just 2.4 points further back! How's that for a dichotomy in offshore racing boats-- a 1992 design (the J/105 now 30 years young!) sailed by an amateur family crew against the latest from Jason Ker's IRC drawing board just 2 years old sailed by a professional yacht-racing crew!
In IRC One, Tonnerre de Breskens will be fighting it out for the class win. Meanwhile, the J/105 DIABLO-J is currently leading in IRC Three, but an overall winner is far from settled. The IRC classes are decided upon by the best four scores for the season. Up to four boats can all snatch victory on the last race just in IRC Three.
In the Two-handed Division, the J/105 DIABLO-J has secured the class win-- an early "good on'ya'mates", but no time to rest on their laurels as Nick aims for the IRC 3 win and RORC Overall, too! Thanks for the contribution from Louay Habib/ RORC. For more RORC Cherbourg Race sailing information
Champion J/Teams Sailing Vineyard Race(Stamford, CT)- Labor Day weekend's Vineyard Race is a classic American yachting event; a 238-mile course stretching from Shippan Point, through the swirling currents of the Race or Plum Gut, past Block Island, and on to the light tower at the entrance to Buzzard's Bay, to return leaving Block Island to starboard en route to the finish in Stamford Harbor. Begun in 1932, it has attracted the finest sailors and fastest boats for over 70 years, and its intricacies and challenges bring them back time after time. Those who are successful nearly always credit local knowledge of these tricky waters and a good deal of luck. As one wag put it, "go through Plum Gut or die"-- while not always the case, it does have some merit of truth since primary breezes often are either sea-breeze or gradient weather system breezes from the southerly quadrants, most often from the southwest, so going up under the Long Island shore near Montauk Point often provides significant benefits in terms of both tidal currents and winds.
There are 85 boats sailing with 20 J/Teams racing. And, amongst those J/Crews, it reads like a "who's who" of the Northeastern offshore sailing fraternity-- collectively there are countless Overall and Class Champions in the Block Island Race, Vineyard Race, Bermuda Race, Key West Race Week and New York YC Race Weeks-- in other words, a "rogue's gallery" of teams that are all perfectly capable of grabbing their fair share of silverware!
On the "classic" Vineyard Course there are a combination of Double-handed teams plus IRC and PHRF classes. Leading the charge in the IRC Double-handed will be a trio of J/Duos, including the J/100 FLASHPOINT sailed by Adrian Little of Cedar Point YC and two champion teams- the J/35 PALADIN sailed by Jason Richter of Setauket YC (a Bermuda Race champion) and the J/120 MIREILLE skippered by Hewitt Gaynor from Pequot YC- another champion double-handed team. In the IRC 40 will be the champion family team on-board Andrew Weiss's J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON from Larchmont YC, they'll be challenged by yet another champion J/44 CHARLIE V sailed by Norm Schulman from Storm Trysail Club. In the IRC 45 Class, the J/133 MATADOR skippered by Dale & Mike McIvor from Pequot YC will be a significant factor in a class dominated by custom boats given the current weather forecast. The same will be true for the IRC 50 Class were the J/145 SWEET LORRAINE sailed by Mike Nasen from Larchmont YC could give some of the recent custom IRC offshore racers a run for the money! Finally, to round out the IRC world, the IRC 35 class has to be one of the toughest to win-- all well-sailed boats by
veteran offshore racers on Long Island Sound. A quartet of J/109s will be vying for class honors, including APSARA (Mike Sleightholme- Huguenot YC), ARIEL (Jeff Warren- Pequot YC), SKOOT (Jim Vos- Stamford YC) and RHIANNON III (Curt Schibli- Stamford YC). Not letting any of them off the hook will be another "classic 35 footer" from the J drawing boards, the J/35 BLUE MOUSE sailed by the team of Mark Parry & Lawrence McGrath from Riverside YC.Over in PHRF World, sailing in PHRF 7 Class is the J/105 STRATOS (Marcus Wunderlich from Jersey City, NJ) and in PHRF 8 Class are two J/120s, EAGLE (Steven Levy from Indian Harbor YC) and M-SQUARED (Bill Mack from Stamford YC).
On the Cornfield Point Course, sailing C2 Class will be the fast J/Cruiser, the J/32 AMY BETH II skippered by Dana O'Brien from Riverside YC.
Sailing the Seaflower Reef Course in the S2 Double-handed will be a past champion, the J/105 MORNING GLORY sailed by Carl Olsson from Larchmont YC. And in the S3 Class will be a quartet of J's that include the J/105 SYNERGY (David Spence- Manhattan Sailing Club), the J/33 SIRIUS (Mike Sullivan- Fayerweather YC), the J/92 RISK (Kevin Mackay- Riverside YC) and the J/92 THIN MAN (Todd Aven- Storm Trysail Club).The initial forecast for the Vineyard Race weekend looks very promising. Here's the NOAA "crystal ball" predictions for the weekend:
Fri: W winds 5 to 10 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. Seas 1 ft or less.
Fri Night: W winds around 10 kt...becoming NW after midnight. Seas 1 ft or less.
Sat: NW winds 5 to 10 kt...becoming NE. Seas 1 ft or less.
Sun: NE winds 5 to 10 kt...becoming SE. Seas 1 ft or less
If the forecast is anywhere near to what has happened in past Vineyard Races, the start of the race will be "fast & furious" with the entire fleet flying spinnakers in all their glory flying down Long Island Sound to the East in spectacular fashion, leading them through "The Race" at the end of Long Island Sound in a dying breeze. Then, the big question will be how to go around the "Vineyard buoy" and return back West to Long Island Sound in light winds-- perhaps the "right side/ north side" of the course headed back West may pay off big this year?? Time will tell. For more Stamford-Vineyard Race sailing information
Happy Days Sailing J/95s on Barnegat Bay(Barnegat Bay, New Jersey)- Since their introduction in 2009, J/95s are past the three-dozen mark produced and sailing worldwide. They've gained a whole new class of passionate sailors around the world who love them for their remarkable versatility and extraordinary performance in shoal-draft mode (3.5 feet) with centerboard up. Whether sailing in exotic locations such as the spectacular mountain lakes in the Swiss Alps, gliding across the shallow bays and inlets of Florida's western "Sun Coast", dashing around the riverbeds and shallows off the eastern shores of midland England, or simply enjoying a summer breeze darting around the shoals on wonderful Barnegat Bay, the J/95 is providing its owners a tremendous amount of fun with families and friends in areas that were simply inaccessible with deep-keel offshore sailboats.
One of those J/95 enthusiasts, Dr. Richard Eytel, has been sailing his J/95 on Barnegat Bay and passed along to designer Rod J some of the reasons why he loves his boat so much! "Dear Rod, I just want to tell you how much I enjoy the J/95. It is a perfect boat for the shallows of Barnegat Bay. Races great, day sails great, and has the potential to do overnighters. In addition it seems to be able to compete against deeper draft in other venues.
My crew is especially receptive to the large deck and room. Having only raced PHRF with cruising boats, the deck room on this boat has no comparison. With the average age of our crew being close to 60 and not exactly in great shape. I think this boat has extended our racing for another decade or more. The excitement is back. We were able to stay competitive with other J/95s with crews half our age. Don't get me wrong, I too wish we were half our age.Day sailing is a pleasure. I can single hand it, take out other inexperienced friends or relatives and everyone feels comfortable.
I am a firm believer of purchasing a boat as to how you are going to use it, and the J/95 does it all well.
There are now five J/95s on Barnegat Bay, of which three race. Having only raced PHRF, I find the one design aspect of the racing thrilling. We have had races where the lead changed hands 3-4 times. I can only hope you will continue to promote the boat as I would love to see the fleet grow. We brought two J/95s to Atlantic City Race Week on a Thursday in a 20-30+ kt Northeaster. We even had fun doing that!"
Richard then goes on to say, "I would also like to offer my assistance in making the fleet grow here in New Jersey, and elsewhere. I hope to see a large one design start someday at more regattas. Tri-Sail was a blast; hopefully it was just a taste of what is to come. I honestly think J Boats and the J/95 has only scratched the surface of the market for this boat in New Jersey and elsewhere." Sincerely, Richard- THE GRIN. For more J/95 shoal-performance sailboat information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
It has been a busy August sailing schedule and the last week in August is no exception. In Europe, the J/80s completed sailing their next leg in the J/Cup France season long series with a large fleet enjoying the Pornic Cup in Pornic, France. Their big boat friends at Cantiere Navale Pornic also enjoyed sailing the Pornic Offshore Race that goes across the Bay of Biscay to Gijon, Spain for some fun and frolic-- the French teams on the J/109s and J/105s had a rollicking good time enjoying Club Habana along with copious amounts of sangria and tapas. A bit farther east, the "girls" show how it gets done in Hong Kong, with an all-girl crew walking off with all the silverware in the Hebe Haven J/80 Typhoon series-- and they were dressed in style! On the North American side of things the Canadians hosted two large events. Kingston, Ontario played host to one of the largest one-design sailing regattas in the world- CORK Race Week- this year featuring the J/22 Canadian Nationals. Further west on Lake Ontario, the Etobicoke Yacht Club west of Toronto hosted the IRC Canadian Championship with a J/133, J/35 and J/27 featuring in the overall results. Simultaneously, the EYC also hosted the EYC Levels Regatta that saw very competitive fleets of J/24s and J/105s dueling for Lake Ontario supremacy and bragging rights for 2012! As for their sailing neighbors to the South, the PHRF New Englands were sailed in Marblehead, Massachusetts hosted by the three main clubs (Eastern YC, Boston YC & Corinthian YC) and along with a strong turn-out of J/105s sailing one-design, the J/Teams sailing PHRF (J/109s, J/100 and J/33) grabbed some serious silverware to add to their trophy shelves. Finally, out West, the J/105 and J/120 one-design fleets had an enjoyable time sailing in San Francisco YC's Summer Invitational on the beautiful, windy, San Francisco Bay.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:
Sep 6-9- J/70 New York YC IQS- Newport, RISep 6-9- Rolex Big Boat Series- San Francisco, CA
Sep 7-9- J/80 German Open- Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Sep 11-14- J/22 North Americans- East Tawas, MI
Sep 12-16- J/35 North Americans- Erie, PA
Sep 13-21- J/24 Worlds- Rochester, NY
Oct 18-21- J/30 North Americans- New Orleans, LA
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/109s Sweep PHRF New EnglandsJ/105 STEEL AWAY Takes Class
(Marblehead, MA)- The New England PHRF Championships were held this past weekend off the beautiful Marblehead and Salem coastline. The fleet was blessed with decent weather conditions with the PHRF Classes and nineteen J/105 one-designs enjoying good, competitive sailing-- most fleets managed to sail seven races over two days!
The STEEL AWAY team led by Peter Morgan sailed a great regatta, leading the charge amongst the large J/105 one-design fleet with a 12 pt win! Peter's fast crew amassed an incredible consistent record of 3-3-4-2-2 for just 14 pts. Just behind him, it was an all-out dogfight for the next two positions on the podium. Emerging from the dust in the ring was Matt Pike's GOT QI! with a roller-coaster-like 1-4-9-1-11 record for 26 pts. Third was past NE-PHRF champion Fred deNapoli sailing ALLEGRO SEMPLICITA to a 2-6-8-9-6 tally for 31 pts. Just one point back in fourth was Mark Masur's TWO FEATHERS with a 6-1-12-8-5 for 32 pts, falling off into the deep end of the pool after a strong start! Rounding out the top five was George Lowden & Rich Hill's DARK HORSE 2, sailing a "barbell" shaped score of 13-5-3-3-10 for 34 pts.
In the PHRF handicap world, it was pretty clear the J/109 fleet had a handle on the race course as well as their competitors, simply smoking fleet and taking the top FIVE spots in PHRF 3 class! Chris Zbailo's SUPERSTITION started slowly and finished with a flourish, scoring a 6-2-1-3-2-2-1 for just 11 pts in seven races! Giving them a serious run-for-the-roses was Gary Weisberg's well-traveled HEAT WAVE, proving that their Key West Race Week 2012 and Charleston Race Week 2012 were good warm-ups for a strong summer sailing season by his team. Gary managed to score consistent top five finishes to finish 2nd overall with a 4-1-2-1-5-1-4 record of 13 pts-- they were the only three race winners! Third on the podium was the Feeley family sailing LADY LOVE to a 1-3-7-2-1-5-3 scoreline for 15 pts. Rounding out the top five were Dan Boyd & Mitch Wiest's WILDTHANG in 4th with 27 pts and 5th was John Doub's RESOLVE with 28 pts.
In the rest of the PHRF world, the J/100 MOOSE DROOL sailed by Adam Saidla was 4th in PHRF 4 class, finishing in 5th behind them was Ward Blodgett's J/33 SCIROCCO. In PHRF 5 class, the J/29 UNO MAS sailed by Jon Desmond finished 2nd and another J/29 APEIRON skippered by Tom Zampini was 5th. In PHRF 7 class, the J/24s still got it and, sailed well, are always extremely competitive in PHRF racing-- witness SPEED JUNKY's 3rd in class, job well done by Rob Petersen and crew! Sailng photo credits- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com. For more PHRF New Englands sailing information
QUANTUM SAILS wins J/80 Pornic Cup(Pornic, France)- As the next leg in J/Cup France 2012 series, the Pornic Cup hosted by the Cantiere Navale Pornic saw twenty-six boats participate in the hopes of securing good results to end the season-long championship in the top five. It has been a battle all year to determine which teams would emerge unscathed from the battle to survive and command the podium positions at the end of the 2012 series. New actors on the stage are introduced all the time and this regatta was no exception. Sailing to a well-deserved victory was the QUANTUM SAILS team led by Jean Queveau along with team-mates Axel Trehin, Damien Iehl and two women- Veronique Soule and Claire Pruvot.
The weather forecast was quite promising, with strong winds for sailing on Friday and Saturday with winds diminishing into the single digits for Sunday with warm weather and sun! Sailed over the August 24th to 26th weekend, the teams couldn't have asked for better sailing conditions. After sailing six races, the QUANTUM SAILS team managed to post a 1-2-1-1-4-6 record for a net of 9 pts. Top French J/80 team INTERFACE CONCEPT II sailed by French Champion Eric Brezellec also managed to sail a consistent scoreline, his 3-3-2-7-1-2 for 11 net pts was good enough for the silver and an improved position in the top three for the overall J/Cup France trophy. Perhaps the most frustrated team was that led by Vincent Vandekerkhove, their DUNKERQUE PLAISANCE team sailed the most consistently of the top three, scoring a 2-1-3-3-2-3 for a 14 pt gross total and 11 net total to not only lose the tie-breaker to Brezellec's IC-II team, but also lose the win on gross pts to end up third overall! The balance of the top five included Jacques Hubert sailing EOS to a 6-4-6-8-3-1 score to finish on a high-note with just 20 pts net to secure 4th overall and lying fifth was Paul Chiron sailing JULES to a 4-8-7-5-5-4 for 25 pts net. Sailing photo credits- Pierrick Contin/ France. For more J/80 Pornic Cup sailing information
Doyle's Dominate CORK Race WeekChris Doyle Wins J/22 Canadian Championship
(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)- In 1969 a group of enthusiastic sailors decided to establish CORK to host international sailing events off Kingston. The area offers some of the best fresh-water sailing in the world, excellent wind and wave conditions, and a short distance from shore to the race courses. Leading up to the 1976 Olympics, the CORK regatta offered excellent training for sailors, coaches and officials and has since become a fixture on the international calendar. CORK has hosted championships for international classes out of the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour for the past 36 years.
Working closely with the Ontario Sailing Association and the Canadian Yachting Association, the annual CORK Regatta has a total participation of more than 1,000 boats, it is a magnificent two week sailing festival, attracting sailors not only from North America but from all over the world.
This year's event pretty much served up what most expect of Kingston's fabled sailing conditions. Located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario and the head of the St. Lawrence River, the combination of land mass, islands and thermal effects produce excellent wind and wave conditions with very little current. Winds during July/ August are predominantly from a south-westerly direction, with an afternoon wind range of 10-15 knots. The J/22 sailors were got what they expected for their 2012 J/22 Canadian Championship held as part of CORK Race Week. Sailed from Aug 24th to 26th, the nineteen J/22 teams enjoyed six races over Saturday and Sunday on Lake Ontario. In the end, Chris Doyle, Will Harris and Adams Burns finished in first, Michele Cimon, Johan Koppernaes and David O’Sullivan in second and Kevin Doyle, Victor Snyder and their crew in third. Chris Doyle's team was just smokin'hot, scoring five 1st and dropping a 2nd to win the regatta by a landslide with only 5 pts. Hard to beat a perfect score, eh!? Michele Simon's Canadian team wished they could take back their first race, but she and her team fought back hard to hold off yet another member of the Doyle family from Rochester, Kevin Doyle, to grab 2nd overall with a 6-4-2-2-3-1 scoreline for 12 pts net. Third was Kevin Doyle's gang from Rochester sailing to a 2-3-2.5-4-2-17 to finish with 13.5 pts net.
The Canadian teams sailed well, showing they're no pushovers by the top American teams. Other than the two Doyle family teams, the Canadians grabbed three of the top five slots. In fourth was Trevor Collins sailing with Doug Mair and Alexandra Leus and in fifth was Ron Harris sailed with Pete Amos and John Marten. For more J/22 Canadian Championship and CORK Race Week sailing information
J's Sweep Pornic Offshore Race(Pornic, France)- In the beginning of August, the sailors of Pornic look forward to their annual "pilgrimage" (a.k.a. race) over to Gijon, Spain for some fun, sun and frolic with their friends across the big, boisterous Bay of Biscay. It's a race that can be an easy, fast reach across the southeastern corner of the Bay of Biscay, or it can be nasty, wet, extremely lumpy blast under reefed sails in yet another notorious Biscay gale. For the eighteen sailing teams that participated this year, it was very much benign summer conditions with light winds and sunshine on the water- "thanks" the the race organizers (Ville de Pornic, the League of Pays de la Loire and NPC) for the "postcard-like, chamber of commerce" conditions!
It's a challenging race no matter how you slice it. Leaving Pornic (a quaint seashore village near Nantes) you basically sail due south-southwest towards the spectacular northern coast of Spain, aiming for Gijon (a sweet seaside town west of the famous town of Santander). This year, the J/Teams swept IRC Overall taking the top three and five of the top ten!
In the reaching conditions, the J/105 proved it can still hang in there with the latest IRC hardware, with J/Y CROIS PAS (in sympathy for the Tostivint family) winning. Second was the J/109 TILI-K sailed by Alain Belveze with guest star Paul Chiron (of French multihull fame aboard). Third was another J/109- J'VOLE CN PORNIC sailed by Philippe Barouch. Sixth was yet another J/109, GUEFFIER IMMOBILIER skippered by Cyrille Gueffier and Antoine Gouin. Then, ninth was the new J/111 ALPHALINK led by Alain Duvivier.
As anticipated, the teams were treated to amazing hospitality in Gijon. The fleet enjoyed an evening soiree at Habana Club, well known to sailors, and an evening at the Casino de Gijon with plenty of delicious Spanish "tapas" and tasty, chilly sangrias! Sailing photo credis- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com. For more Pornic Offshore Race sailing information
J/133 Smokes IRC CanadiansROO Wins J/24s, SENTIENT Wins J/105s
(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)- This year the Etobicoke Yacht Club along the Toronto shoreline of Lake Ontario did a masterful job hosting the IRC Canadian Championships as well as the EYC Levels Regatta that included large J/24 and J/105 fleets.
Sailed over the August 25th and 26th weekend, the team on-board John McLeod's J/133 HOT WATER simply blew-away their IRC competition in IRC 0 Fleet, including the latest, greatest IRC speed machine, the newest McConaghy 38 CARBONADO sailed by Rob Butler (remember, they first sailed this boat in Key West Race Week 2012 to much acclaim and hype by the media). John's team also knocked off another radically-modified boat, the square-headed 1D35 GAME CHANGER that also sailed in this year's Key West event. In the end, it was a bit much for their competitors for the J/133 to win 5 of 6 races, taking a 2nd on the last race after a bit of early celebration!
In IRC 2 Fleet, the J/35 CRIME SCENE sailed by Stephen Trevitt sailed an impressive series for this 30+ year-old classic "J". CRIME SCENES record of 2-4-1-2-3-1 for 13 pts was good enough for a tie-breaker for first, but lost on most 2nds!
In the hot IRC 3 Fleet, the J/27 CURVED AIR sailed by Andrew Reim, fresh-off sailing the J/27 Canadians, managed to sail a solid 2-3-1-3-3-2 record for 14 pts to take home the 2nd place trophy.
The J/24s saw one team simply dominate the proceedings to take the overall win while others fought like mad for the balance of the top five. Simply walking off with the top trophy was Phil Williamson sailing his J/24 ROO to a magnificent performance with a 2-1-2-3-4-1-3 record for a total of 16 pts to win class by 13 pts. The battle as it turns out was for 2nd and 3rd. Peter Dixon sailed m2W well enough to win a tie-breaker with Brandon Lambert's WHIPLASH. Both had identical totals of 29 pts, but it was Peter winning with a 1-6-6-4-1-2-9 by virtue of having more firsts. Brandon's 7-2-4-6-2-4-4 came up on the short end of that stick. Matt Kenny's team on CLUSTER took 4th and Nick Jako's crew on TAZ finished 5th.
Perhaps the tightest fleet competitively in the entire event were the J/105s. There both familiar and new names in the top five overall. The battles broke out into the top two vying for the lead with the next three boats crossing swords to determine who'd get the last parry to take 3rd on the podium. Remarkably, the lead was determined on a tie-breaker after seven races! Close and tough racing, to boot. In the end, it was Mike Chapman's SENTIENT that took the title with more 1sts to win the tie-break. Mike's record of 2-1-1-5-3-8-1 for 21 pts bettered Peter Hall's JAMAICA ME CRAZY with a 1-2-19-2-2-1-3 record. Third went to Gavin Disney's team on THE USUAL SUSPECTS with a very consistent scoreline of 4-5-3-4-4-3-4 for 27 pts. Just behind in 4th was the Bullock, Farrand, Irving team on TRIDENT with a 5-7-4-1-6-2-5 tally for 30 pts. Top Canadian J/105 sailor Jim Rathbun (top 3 in J/105 NA's in the past) sailing his well-traveled and fast HEY JUDE could manage a only a fifth against this tough group with a 3-10-7-6-1-4-2 for 33 pts. Sailing photo credits- John Crawley For more IRC Canadian Championship sailing information
ARBITRAGE Wins J/105s @ Summer InvitationalMR MAGOO Tops J/120 Fleet
(San Francisco, California)- Over the August 17th weekend the San Francisco YC’s always popular Summer Invitational is often seen as the final regatta for the larger one design classes on SF Bay leading into September’s St. Francis Rolex Big Boat Series.
Winds blew 18-24 kts on the Berkeley Circle, such that one of Bruce Stone’s crew on the J/105 ARBITRAGE, Philipp Berner, a skiff sailor from Germany, suggested we might as well adjust our SF Bay “base setting” to that range since it’s been there for almost every regatta this summer!
The J/105s had very close racing, particularly amongst the leaders. In the three races on Saturday, Stone’s ARBITRAGE team nailed some starts and scored a 1, 1, 2, with Jason Woodley's/ Scott Whitney's RISK close behind, gathering a bullet in the third race due to some excellent downwind sailing, passing ARBITRAGE by jibing early into even more pressure (hard to believe there was more somewhere, but there was!) and then the two boats entertained the race committee by engaging in a match racing-style tacking duel for the last half mile into the upwind finish.
On Sunday, ARBITRAGE logged another bullet despite shredding a kite on the first downwind leg and changing to the back-up spinnaker. Stone was a bit aggressive on the last start and called over early. After restarting, they clawed their way back from dead last off the line to fifth at the windward mark but was flagged for tacking too close after coming into the zone on port, so did a 720, potentially losing the podium position for the regatta, but they nailed a shift on the last downwind to work their way back again to fifth by the leeward gate, only to get camped on by the whole world on the last beat, and slid back to 8th. Nevertheless, the 8th place enabled ARBITRAGE to win the regatta by just two points over RISK, who won two races and sailed consistently strong all weekend. Behind these two fast, smart boats was a tough fight for 3rd, 4th and 5th positions. Sailing a strong series, and in fact an overall contender for the lead, was third place finisher Phil Laby on GODOT, their 2-2-3-4-11/SCP for 22 pts knocking them down the ladder. Fourth was a solid performance by Scooter Simmons on BLACKHAWK with a 4-12-4-4-2-4 for 26 pts. Finishing fifth was another renown SF Bay 105 team, Shannon Ryan's gang on DONKEY JACK, completing the event with a 5-4-9-8-10 for 36 pts.
The J/120 one-design class had its usual "jump up, jump ball" for who was going to lead the class home this weekend. Literally, this has to be one of the closest matched fleet of boats in the world other than perhaps their colleague in the SF Bay J/105s fleet. This time around it was Steve Madeira's MR MAGOO taking home the silverware with a 3-2-1-4-1 for 11 pts to just nip a win by one point! Second home was David Hallwill's PEREGRINE with a 4-1-2-1-4 for 12 pts, bombing the last race didn't' help their case. John Wimer's DESDEMONA also sailed a solid series to grab a 1-3-3-3-6 for a 16 pt total-- hmmm, were the finishes a reflection of the great times the crew had at San Francisco YC's famous Saturday night soiree?? Incredibly, two past Rolex Big Boat Series winners could only manage to snatch 4th and 5th, they were respectively, Barry Lewis's CHANCE and Richard Swanson's GRACE DANCES-- indicative of how tough and unforgiving this fleet can be for even the slightest of mistakes. Sailing photo credits- Daniel Forster/ Rolex. For more San Francisco Summer Invitational Sailing information
"Girl Power" Trumps Hebe Haven J/80 Series(Hong Kong, China)- Sailing is growing faster and faster in China and nowhere is this more evident than the J/80 teams that are sailing off the two principal clubs on Hong Kong's amazing harbor- Royal Hong Kong YC and their counterparts on the north side, Hebe Haven YC. Both clubs have done a remarkable job to cultivate sailing as both a recreational activity and competitive sport-- especially for women, children and newcomers to sailing in China. Well, it seems the program is beginning to demonstrate that it has some interesting dividends. Recently, it looks like the "girls" beat the "boys" in the Hebe Haven Typhoon J/80 Series.
More to the point, Lauren Mead's all-girls team won on their J/80 HAKAWATI! Here is Lauren's report (courtesy of SA)- "Team Danger, as we're often referred to by the "boys" on the other teams, has had its share of moments in Hong Kong sailing. The Hebe Haven Typhoon Series concluded with a windless race around the islands (Typhoon Tembin has been threatening to give us some awesome sailing conditions all week but they failed to materialize on the day). I helm the J/80 HAKAWATI as part of Hong Kong's first all-girls team in about 15 years (we are known as "Team Danger" in Hong Kong for reasons entirely un-deserved), and we won our series overall - with help from some suspect swimwear and distraction tactics!Thought I would pass the photos along to you as a demo of what NOT to wear sailing (but, our clothing sponsors demanded we needed to!), but also to prove that girls can wear literally anything on a boat and they will get attention!" - Anarchist Lauren. For more Hebe Haven YC J/80 Sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* J/70 owners chime in on some of their recent sailing experiences in the past few weeks across the country on the J/Anarchy forums:- "Seabird" from Portland, Oregon- "We have sailed hull #18 in Cascade Locks, Oregon (a.k.a. THE Gorge) the past few weeks. I've sailed the boat with my kids and the local pros and my view is that the boat is very versatile. I really could sail it alone with my 11 year old daughter in 10-15 kts of wind, and the next night go out with guys in more breeze (20-30 kts) and have fun both nights!
I spoke with Dan Kaseler (Quantum Seattle) who was on the boat at Whidbey Island Race Week and confirmed they went 1" longer than their forestay to get helm in light air at WIRW. We found (limited experience on the boat) that in the breeze we like 1" shorter than the "designed" length. This is a new boat and I'm sure some experience in one design will sort this out soon. Definitely feels closer to my Laser than my old J/80 on the helm at any length. :)
It's really a nicely built boat that's pretty quick and fun, yet less of a handful than a Melges 24 (which is a good thing for the target audience, myself included). Resale value will be good. Casual daysailing is possible. My kids actually think the interior is great!! Most importantly, my wife is not reluctant to sail the boat!! That's huge. I think they (J/Boats) are going to sell these to a wide range of sailors and develop a nice class long term. Lots to like here."
- "JustMike" from Seattle, Washington area commented, "Anyone coming up to Bellingham Yacht Club's PITCH Regatta on September 1st & 2nd?? I think it would be a great chance to put a couple of 70's on the line with slightly different rig set-ups and sails from different manufactures (I've got Quantum and I believe others are sailing with North)?
If not at the PITCH here is the short list of Regattas in Shilshole bay, that I will be racing hull #19 in over the next few months it would be great if we along with the other J/70s could meet up at one or more of these.
- Seattle YC's Stars and Bars - 09/15 - 09/16
- Corinthian YC's PSSC - 10/13 - 10/14
- Seattle YC's Grand Prix - 10/26 - 10/27
- Corinthian YC'S Turkey Bowl - 11/17 - 11/18
Also we will be out on Wednesday nights for Corinthian YC's fall series 09/05, 09/12! Please come join us!!"
- "TheRick" from Lewes, Delaware had this to say of their first long-distance race on a J/70 off New Jersey- "We entered the "Cape to Cape Cup" regatta this past weekend and sailed a J/70 22.5 nm in the Atlantic from Lewes to Cape May, NJ in 15-18 knot of breeze. Had a blast passing a few J/24's and really enjoyed the long downhill run to the finish line in 18 knots-- WOW, what a RIDE!!"
* J/70s were also Lovin' The Boatyard Bar & Grill Regatta for CRAB in Annapolis, Maryland! The fantastic breeze (no hurricanes! no doldrums!) was the big story at Saturday's Boatyard Bar & Grill Regatta for CRAB, a SpinSheet favorite. Thanks to the Eastport YC for awesome race committee work and volunteer efforts. Thanks to the Boatyard Bar & Grill for making this cool event, which could very well be named the "Regatta That Rolls with the Punches", happens every year.
Chris Groobey, proud new owner of a J/70 commented, "It was a fun, crazy pursuit race for charity but still great day on the water. Crew was two US Naval Academy Midshipmen, including Andrew Shea. Can’t really give you a good idea of results as we helped with a MOB (man overboard) during the race (and got a handle of Mt. Gay from the RC as a "thank you") but were doing well, even with a 114 rating. Wilbur Keyworth was out too and had a great day, we are all loving the boat!" Sailing photo credits- Dan Phelps at SpinSheet Thanks for the contribution from friends at SpinSheet!* J/27 Lake Ontario's Video- titled "27 years, 27 feet in 27 knots- AWESOME!" They're right. Pretty bloody amazing to see such a beautifully maintained group of classic J/27s sailing on Lake Ontario and seeing the owners having a fun time with them in ALL kinds of weather. They certainly put their boats to the test and seemingly everyone came out with smiles all around. Check it out here.
* City Sail--Young Sailors Learn the Ropes in Record Numbers! What could be more incredibly cool than that?!? City Sail--a series of one-week instructional programs Hudson River Community Sailing hosts for local youth each summer- enjoyed its highest enrollment ever this year, with nearly 200 kids showing up to learn maritime skills, leadership, and have some fun on the water.The program incorporated various themes this summer. The America's Cup and the Olympics both served as rallying points, as students learned the history of the events and competed in races of their own. An ecology-themed program saw kids testing water samples and examining them with microscopes under the guidance of Hudson River Park naturalists.
An important objective of the program is to plant the seeds of leadership in young people. Will, an 8th grader from Manhattan, described it this way: "I liked that we learned how to do everything on the boat ourselves and at the end of the week [I] could do every job on the boat." Each of the ten individual week-long camps runs a total of 35 hours, Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm. Students are primarily from the 6th- 8th grades, with some high school attendees rounding out the mix.
A significant proportion of students attended with the help of scholarships provided by HRCS with funds raised from events such as the "Dark and Stormy". One parent, convinced she could not afford even a subsidized rate, was assured that scholarship funds could cover the difference. Realizing that her child would be able to join in this fantastic experience brought her to tears on the phone with Program Director Alex Baum. "We really work hard to try make sure every kid who really wants to get out and do this, can have the opportunity to do so," says Alex. Thanks for the contribution from Seth Stephenson
Learn more about Hudson Community Sailing-- contributions always Welcome!
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 J/120s often have some of the closest one-design racing of any of the fleets, with the entire class often finishing within minutes of each other with 2-3 boats overlapped going into the finish line off the St Francis YC's expansive RC balcony, finishing between the shore and the offshore yellow finish marker! "Sea-room" is the order of the day, with crews scrambling to keep their spinnakers full while hugging the shore to avoid adverse current (a bit like the Royal Yacht Squadron line off Cowes, Isle of Wight!). So far, three past Rolex BBS winners in the J/120 class are sailing, including Barry Lewis's CHANCE, John Wimer's DESDEMONA and Dick Swanson's GRACE DANCES.
In J/29 World, with even more on the line with the recent J/29 North Americans having been run nearly concurrently, it was going to be "local bragging rights" to see who could party hardest, go the fastest, sail the smartest to win this division! In the end, it was pretty remarkable to see Andrew Childs' team on SILVER WOMAN top the 29 charts with a spanking of the class- a 1-1-4-4-2-1-3 for 12 net pts laid down the gauntlet for all to match. Next up was past champion SCOTCH MIST IV sailed by Chris Mac Donald with a 6-2-5-2-1-4-2 for 16 net pts. Third sailing well were Matt & Scott Christie with a somewhat steady 3-3-3-5-8-2-1 for 17 net pts (imagine what might have happened had they not had to toss an 8th!). Fourth was the Williams/ Matthews crew on PARADIGM SHIFT and 5th was Jim Mason's SATISFACTION. Sailing photo credits- Heather McGuire/ Tim Wilkes - timwilkes.com For 
All participants were treated to fabulous parties, an intimate (50 yards away) fireworks display, a unforgettable half hour World War II era air show amongst the fleet pre-start on Friday, live music and of course great camaraderie.
* Heather Gregg-Earl Dominates Nantucket Pro-Am Regatta! Nantucket Race Week’s featured IOD Celebrity Invitational Regatta started with a whimper and finished with a bang. On day one, PRO John Mendez and his hard working team managed to complete just one race in a light northerly, followed by abandonment and towlines to get everyone home. A day later, Nantucket Sound delivered signature conditions, 15 – 20 knots of wind, four tight races with constant changing of positions, and many exhausted crew by day’s end.
Runner-up Gary Jobson (J/22 owner), President of US Sailing and Honorary Chairman of Nantucket Race Week entered as helmsman for the first time, switching from prior years’ role as tactician (for Democratic Senator John Kerry in each of the past two years). Jobson’s tactician was Dee Smith, who has been consistently near top of this competitive fleet three consecutive times. Together the crew might have been dubbed "Team Who’s Who", with champions and longtime sailing partners Jud Smith, Hank Stewart and Jim Porter.
* J/22 owner and past J/29 owner of boats called POWERPLAY, Peter Cunningham of the Cayman Islands, managed to walk off with top honors in IRC Class 0 in the AAM Cowes Week in his latest POWERPLAY, a recent vintage TP52 that includes past J/24 Champion Tony Rey amongst his crew as tactician! Congratulations to Peter, Tony and crew for a job well done on the Solent! Sailing photo credit- Rick Tomlinson
* America's Cup sailors participating in this week's ACWS 2013 Season Opener in San Francisco Bay are again having to put up with a strong contingent of past and current J/Sailors tossing a monkey-wrench into the works. Starting with recent 
Gold Medal Olympian Ben Ainslie, he's on "training wheels" this week and progressing rapidly- having done well on the Match Race front and learning the ropes in the fleet racing-- a combination of dinghy and keelboat (J/109 & J/24/ IC24) experience have contributed to his open-minded approach to success. Giving Ben and others a run for the money are J/24 World Champion Terry Hutchinson directing the Team ARTEMIS program along with other J/Alumni on other teams-- perhaps the Spanish sometime soon (Iker Martinez and friends from J/80 World in Spain?).