J/Class @ Key West Race Week(Key West, FL)- The 2013 Quantum Key West Race Week running from January 20th to 25th, 2013 will again feature the popular PHRF J/Class for enthusiastic J/109, J/111, J/120, J/122, J/124, J/125 and J/133 owners. This past year's edition proved to be a fun, competitive class. The unique feature of the J/Class is having Rod Johnstone and a knowledgeable PHRF rating committee ensure that Time-on-Time handicaps are applied fairly, ensuring that all J/Owners have an equitable shot at placing well in any given race and for the overall regatta.
In fact, in the 2012 PHRF J/Class the top three boats, the J/122 TEAMWORK, the J/109 RUSH and the J/111 MENTAL all won races over the course of ten races in five days! It was awesome sailing and it emphasized near one-design sailing consistency to finish in the top five-- incredibly fun sailing in conditions that ranged from 17-23 kts on the first day to 5-8 kts towards the end of the week. Long-time Key West veterans Robin Team and Bill Sweetser both agreed it was the best handicap fleet sailing they've ever experienced! “We come down here to Key West to get the best competition we can find and boy did we this year,” Team said. “We could not believe how close the racing was in this class. Tres Hombres, Mental and Rush were all very well-sailed and pushed us from start to finish.” It was a particularly special experience for Robin since he had brother Adam and two sons Alston and Coleman aboard!Come on down, bring the family and friends and join the fun! The J/70 sailed by Kerry Klingler and Rick Lyall from Connecticut (for J/70 One-Designs) and the J/124 STILL MESSIN, Adam Esselman from Charlevoix, Michigan (for the J/Class) are already entered and can't wait to go! Many of the same J/109s, J/111s and J/122s will be returning again for more fun in the Florida winter sun! State your intentions now, just enter your boat-- no need to send in the entry fee until December! Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information
Fun J/105 SoCal Fall Series!(San Diego, California)- Amazing! San Diego J/105 sailors have planned a month-plus of sailing J/105s for you to enjoy off San Diego sailing in the famous harbor racing around battleships, cruise ships and ducking for cover from C/130 and F-117 "fly-by's" to reveling in the spectacular coastline offshore that includes the gorgeous Point Loma and the remarkable city-front and the ghostly haunts of the classy Coronado Hotel on the beach-front! Plus, the sailing conditions are generally awesome, with a cool, gentle sea-breeze developing most days providing some laid-back SoCal-style sailing in 6-10 knots of breeze with loads of sunshine. The series of J/105 events include the following dates:
Oct 13-14- SoCal J/105 Champs
Oct 17-21- J/105 North Americans
Nov 2-4- J/105 Masters
Nov 9-11- Lipton Cup
The San Diego J/105 fleet offered the following Top TEN Reasons to sail a J/105 in SoCal for a month! Here you go---
# 10- Logistics - Inexpensive trucking to get your boat to San Diego - contact us for references! Free trailer storage! Free trailer usage!
# 9- Awesome Venue - San Diego Yacht Club is famous for great racing and world class race management. Enjoy Spectacular sailing off Point Loma and Coronado. SDYC is also home to many national and international champions.
# 8- So much to do! - San Diego offers endless opportunities for activities that your family will enjoy! Spend the day relaxing at the beach, visiting picturesque seaside villages, exploring the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Legoland, Amusement Parks, the USS Midway, and plenty more options to discover something new!
# 7- Great Deal! - Driscoll Boat Works is offering a deal on getting your boat ready to sail once in San Diego - Service includes launching the boat and stepping the spar (and re-hauling and un-stepping after the event) all for $500.00! Contact Chuck Driscoll at chuck@driscollinc.com for more details. WOW, now that's a great deal!
# 6- Practice Opportunities - The SoCal Champs will be held the weekend prior to the NA's, open to all J/105s, an excellent tune-up and practice for the big event!
# 5- Dennis Conner - The newest member of Fleet 8 is already registered for the North American Championship! How much fun would it be to race against American's Greatest Sailor- America's Cup Champion, Etchells 22 World Champion, Star World Champion, SORC Champion, El Toro World Champion (really?)!
# 4- Sail Inventory - For those in the San Francisco fleet, there is a provision in the Notice of Race allowing the purchase of additional inventory of sails for Southern California sailing!
# 3- Camaraderie - Catch up with your J/105 friends from around the world gathered in San Diego as we share our sailing exploits with each other after a great day of racing! NOTE- the San Diego YC bar, restaurant and porch are amongst the nicest in the world.
# 2- Social Events - Not only will the on the water activities be enough reason to come to San Diego, there are festivities planned to keep all entertained! Highlights include the "Taste of Point Loma" at SDYC, showcasing an eclectic array of eateries offering signature selections to enjoy as well as wine and beer tasting! The "Surfin' Safari" will be a rockin' beach surf party with extraordinary local cuisine, cool libations, and all that is unique to San Diego!
# 1 Reason- Awesomely Great Weather - San Diego is a fantastic place to sail in October with fabulously sunny, warm weather and consistent breeze! For more J/105 Fall Series sailing information
J/Fest @ Chester Race Week(Chester (Halifax), Nova Scotia)- This year's Chester Race Week that is sailing from August 15th to 18th will again feature an enormous turn-out of J's ranging from the classic J/22s, J/24s, J/27s, J/29s, J/30s, J/35s and J/36 to the modern J/92s, J/109, J/120s, J/111s, J/42 and J/44- a total of thirty J's in all, about 36% of the fleet of 92 handicap racers.
Yacht racing has been a major summer sport in Chester for well over 150 years. Its roots were planted in the mid-19th century when the fishermen raced each other to markets in Halifax or New England. As sailors and fishermen have done forever, they loved to get together and talk shop. Sailing races for pleasure and bragging rights was inevitable. As the gatherings and races occurred more regularly, the Annual Fishermen’s Regatta was born. The regatta was a show case for locally built boats of different designs, as well as for sailing skills.
The first documented regatta was in 1856. It is reported to have been attended by 3,000 people who participated in a parade, amusements, land races as well as the sea races. In 1858 a rowing race for ladies was added and a dance took place at the Mulgrave Inn which had been hosting guests from Europe, US and Canada since 1820. In 1860 the press reported the regatta pleasures were “enhanced by a large party consisting of 150, accompanied by the city band, who arrived in the steamer ‘Neptune’ from Halifax”. In 1885 the two day regatta had boats from Mahone Bay, Lunenburg as well as from the two Tancooks. The big excitement was a circus which featured a hand cranked Ferris wheel on the parade ground. According to the Lunenburg newspaper, the 1888 Annual Regatta attracted 2,000 spectators who were treated to “the closest and most exciting match of its kind ever witnessed in the South Shore”.
After Chester YC was established in 1902, it became the focal point for racing. Charter member Ned Fader remembers, “Citizens donated prizes: 100 pounds of sugar, a barrel of flour, maybe a little cash. A boat crew could get a wonderful view on life for a dollar ... best of ale, fifty cents a gallon, good rum at one dollar a quart. They were all good God-fearing people, but they did not let it spoil their lives too much.” Later, as the renamed "Chester Race Week" evolved, the competition between Chester yachts and those of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron have become a great cause for celebration to gather together each summer for some fun, frolic and spirited competition and sailing around the gorgeous bays and islands off Nova Scotia.
So far, the weather forecast of westerly winds 8-15 kts from Wednesday to Saturday means the fleet may be treated to some good racing, if not some crazy weather (often the norm in these parts with fog, thunderstorms, rain, wind, hail and even lots of sun-- all in the same day)! Leading the charge in the Alpha 1 Division are the two J/111s, BLAST (Mark Surette from Royal Nova Scotia YS) and STAMPEDER (Dave Connolloy from Chester YC). In the Alpha 2 Division are a trio of J/35s that include SUMROO (Gary Sullivan from RKYC), J-HAWK (Thane MacDonald from Chester YC) and WHISTLER'S AIR (Richard Oulton RKYC); as well as the J/36 VELOS-ITY (David Morgan from RKYC) and the famous J/92 POOHSTICKS (Colin Mann from Lunenburg YC). In Bravo 1 Division are the J/29 HAKUNA MATATA (J Wood from LYC) and the J/30 FLUX (Jordan MacNeil RNSYS). In Bravo 2 Division are the dynamic duo of the J/30 GROOVIN (Greg Hammond) and the J/22 CHEAP THRILL (Karen Fowler). In the Distance 1 Division are a J/44 AKUBRA (Reg Goodday from RNSYS) and a triumvirate of J/120s including BRILLIANCE (Richard Calder from RNSYS), GRAND CRU (Mike Kennedy from host CYC) and BLACK PEARL (Ross Leighton from RNSYS). In Distance 2 Division are the J/42 CASTANEA (Paul Conrod from RNSYS) and the J/109 WISC (Paul Rafuse from RNSYS). Sailing the Cruiser 1 Division is the J/27 INCORRIGIBLE skippered by Sam Lamey of Chester YC.Finally in the two J/One-Design divisions you have six J/29s sailing, including COLMONELL (Matt & Scott Christie), JONEFORTWO (Ron Switzer), PARADIGM SHIFT (Williams/ Matthews), SATISFACTION ( Jim Mason), SILVER WOMAN (Andrew Childs), SCOTCH MIST IV (Chris MacDonald). And there are four J/24s racing, including HIGH STRUNG (David Cobbett), OUT OF THE BLUE (John McSheffery), WAVE RUNNER and JUVENILE DELINQUENT (Ted Murphy). Sailing photo credits- Heather McGuire For more Chester Race Week sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
As Canada's summer sailing season comes to its conclusion, albeit brief but incredibly intense, fun and full of "joie'de'vivre", it's pretty clear the Canadians were having a ball sailing their fleets of "classic" J/27s and J/29s just south of the Yukon Territory's tundra and the Arctic Circle's growlers and burgie bits that meander their ways south to wreak havoc on offshore sailors. OK, perhaps they're not that close to those places, but having said that, the world of Canadian, French/Canadian and Nova Scotian sailing are mashed up a bit in the summer for some amazing fun and games in the provinces and the lakes. Find out how the J/27 Lake Ontario's faired for those intrepid sailors and how braggin' rights for J/29 North American champions evolved over a few challenging days offshore of Lunenburg (near Halifax), Nova Scotia. Nearby, some more veteran "fog-bound" warrior sailors enjoyed the vagaries of sailing in Downeast waters, with a J/111, J/122 and J/105 having fun with friends participating in Downeast Race Week off Blue Hill and Northeast Harbor, Maine. In much warmer climes to the south, Long Island Sound Junior sailors were displaying some prodigious talents in the offshore arena and with their parental guidance counselors (e.g. coaches), managed to inflict some serious damage on their offshore competitors in various J's ranging from J/105s to J/109 to J/122s! How COOL is that!? Also, be sure to check out the J/80 German Youth sailors report in the J/Community section! Out in the western parts of the northern hemisphere, we see an enormous group of J/Teams sailing in Chicago's Verve Cup hosted by Chicago YC with strong one-design classes of J/105s, J/109s and J/111s vying for honors in the last, biggest regatta on the Great Lakes, plus others like the J/35s showing why they're a bit like the Star Wars mantra with a broom-- "let the force be with you and we'll sweep you off the planet!" Finally, on the far, far side of the Big Pond (the Atlantic that is), the French J/80 teams were enjoying a wonderful regatta hosted in Deauville for the J/80 Deauville Open Cup. Then, their neighbor across "La Manche", the Cowes Combined Clubs in Cowes, England, were hosting one of the world's largest regattas- the Aberdeen Asset Management Group Cowes Week Regatta- with masses of J's sailing in one-design classes as well as IRC handicap. Amongst one of the eye-opening "sightings" was the J/70 having a fun day on Thursday sailing in the Sportboat Class (see report in J/Community section below). More news on Cowes Week next week!Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Aug 11-18- Cowes Sailing Week- Cowes, EnglandAug 17-19- Verve Cup Regatta- Chicago, IL
Aug 17-19- Nantucket Race Week- Nantucket, MA
Aug 24-26- J/80 Pornic Cup- Pornic, France
Sep 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.
LUCKY DUBIE Wins 111s @ Verve Cup!MOMENTUS Wins 109s, STRIKING Wins 105s, 35s Sweep ORR3
(Chicago, IL)- The 20th annual Verve Cup, presented by Audi and SLAM, is a three-day offshore regatta that had 142 boats competing, with both J's sailing in handicap divisions as well as sailing one-design in the J/111, J/109 and J/105 classes.
As the largest course-racing regatta on the Great Lakes, the Verve Cup has developed as a world-class event, attracting national and international sailing competitors to Chicago’s beautiful lake front. During the regatta, Chicago Yacht Club welcomed over 2,000 sailors, spouses and guests at their Monroe harbor clubhouse for top quality racing, followed by food, entertainment and camaraderie.
The regatta got off to a very windy, wavy start. “An autumn weather pattern has set up over Great Lakes, bringing cold air over the warm lake and causing very strong winds that are whipping up very rough waves,” said Meteorologist Chris Bedford of Sailing Weather Service. “It’s early in the year for something like this but at the same time the lakes are unusually warm this year from the unusually warm weather we’ve had this summer.” As a result, Friday's racing was postponed due to the 30-40 kt northerly breezes kicking up to 10 foot breaking chop (no such thing as a wave on Lake Michigan!).
On the second day of sailing, it was clear the competitors were eager to get out on the water Saturday. “You can never make up the missed races, but we got three races in each circle today and it should be good sailing tomorrow with more moderate weather.” Chris Bedford of Sailing Weather Services said racers can expect “a bit of a mixed bag” when Sunday’s racing begins. “During morning racing there will be a lingering offshore breeze around 10 knots,” Bedford said. “That wind is expected to die during the morning with variable conditions mid-morning through early afternoon. There will be a midday southeast lake breeze of 5 to 10 knots and the waves should be down, so it should be pretty nice out there tomorrow.” In the end, “Circle A saw an amazing and challenging day with three races. Winds were out of the north northeast with 7- to 10-foot rollers. We saw very exciting, competitive starts in the six classes in Circle A. There were very exciting starts in the J111s, which all piled up near the race committee and had to bail and circle around at starts, showing why the J111 class is becoming a great One-Design fleet in Chicago,” commented Race Officer Tom Keegan. On Circle B, “It was a fast day for our regatta after being literally blown off the lake by 40 knot winds and 12-foot waves on Friday. On Saturday, southern waves with a solid north wind made for challenging racing - an athletic day for crews - with 20 knot winds and shifts to the east. It was tight racing with 40 of 58 boats finishing within a four-minute period in Race 2. The race committee offered a fourth race and was cheered when the day ended with three. Bruises were shown and tales were told at the end of the day," said Race Officer Rick Lillie.
The third day of sailing Sunday was a challenge with the light, shifty air – "before the breeze set in it was challenging just trying to keep the crew safe and consolidating because of the light shifts today,” said one of the skippers. Race officers said Sunday’s final day of racing brought south-southwest winds of approximately 8 to 10 knots, and the light air brought some good competition and very close finishes. “Yesterday was a challenge because of the heavy seas, making it an athletic day. Today was a light air day, so finesse and an understanding of the lake were required,” Circle B Race Officer Rick Lillie said. While Circle B was able to get in three races on Sunday, Circle A got in two races, including a five leg race. Circle A Race Officer Tom Keegan said there was a lot of volatility in the fifth race. “Today was more technical and a wind distribution management day. Everyone was all smiles on the upwind finish,” Keegan said.
The eight boat J/111 class had yet another amazing one-design regatta, providing yet again a lot of fun, entertaining racing for the sailors, skippers and tacticians. Racing was so close that there were four race winners in five races! One of the crew members remarked after sailing on Saturday, "it was a really windy first day, big waves, north over 20 kts-- but nobody got wet!! We had great planing weather downwind and the sailing was very close." After finishing last in the 111 class in the Mackinac Race, improving dramatically in the Harbor Springs Ugotta Regatta, it was heart-warming to see past J/109 Champ Lenny Siegal pull a few rabbits out of the hat and ascend to the top of the podium, winning the regatta in his new J/111 LUCKY DUBIE with a 2-4-1-4-1 record for 12 pts, the only boat to win two races in the fleet. Sailing equally as well were MENTAL and VELOCITY, finishing tied on points only ONE point back from "the DUBSTERS". Paul Stahlberg's crew on MENTAL started out of the box strong and hung in to win the tie-break with a 1-2-6-1-3 record for 13 pts. Third was the Annapolis/ Chesapeake Bay team on VELOCITY with Marty Roesch skippering to a steady 4-1-2-2-2-4 record. Fourth were the Mac Race and Ugotta Regatta winners KASHMIR sailed by the trio of Karl Brummel, Steve Henderson & Mike Mayer with an uncharacteristic 8-5-3-3-2 record for 21 pts. Rounding out the top five was NIGHTHAWK sailed by Steve Dabrowski with a 3-3-5-8-6 record.
The J/109s saw eight teams sailing with four boats all vying for class honors going into the last race. It was very close racing indeed! Working on the "comeback trail strategy" was Kevin Saedi and crew on MOMENTUS, gathering a steady tally of 2-4-3-2-1 to close out the regatta with 12 pts to take first place. Starting strongly but fading in the end was David Gustman's NORTHSTAR, finishing off with a 3-1-1-3-6 scoreline for 14 pts. Third was VANDA III sailed by Jack Toliver with 15 pts, fourth was FULL TILT sailed by Peter Priede with 17 pts and fifth was CERTAINLY skippered by Don Meyer with 27 pts.
The J/105 fleet saw eight of the nine boats competing for second place. Why? Because it appeared that Blane Shea and crew on STRIKING simply had another gear and a massive dose of "whupass" to smoke their fleet with a scoreline of four 1sts, a 2nd and 3rd for a low point total of only 9 pts. Vying for second were four boats with the inmates running THE ASYLUM getting second place, led by chief inmate Jon Weglarz. Their scoreline of 1-2-3-3-1-4 was good enough for 14 pts, pulling away from the pack in the last few races. Settling for third was HERE'S JOHNNY sailed by John Moore with a steady 3-3-4-2-6-2 score for 23 pts. Fourth was SEALARK sailed by Clark Pellet with 23 pts and fifth was class veterans Tom & Gyt Petkus sailing VYTIS. New J/105 owner Sandy Curtiss (a past First 40.7 Champion in Chicago) managed to grab sixth with family crew on ROCKING HORSE!
Holy smokin' hot J/35s! They're on a "steam-rollin', scorched Earth, take no prisoners" game plan! Yet again, the J/35s laid waste to their class, sweeping ORR 3 in grand style. Leading the pack was Larry Schell's TOUCH OF GREY with an amazing 2-2-2-1-1-1-3 for 11 pts. Just behind was BOZOS CIRCUS sailed by Bruce Metcalf, obliterating the fleet in the beginning with a blistering 1-1-1 picket fence, followed by a 3-3-6 for 15 pts (were they slowed down by the party Saturday night?). Then, in third was yet another member of the 35 brotherhood, Bill Newman's AFTERSHOCK, sailing to an 11-3-7-2-2-2, finishing strongly to earn 27 pts and a place on the podium. Of note were fellow J/Sailors Kate & Dennis Bartley sailing their J/30 PLANXTY to 4th place!
In the Offshore Race, third in ORR 1 was the J/133 RENEGADE sailed by Tom Papoutsis. In ORR 2, 2nd was the J/105 OCH! sailed by Brendon Docherty and 3rd was the J/92 CYCLONE skippered by John Madey.
For more Verve Cup sailing information & results
JAEGER Wins J/29 NA's(Lunenburg, Nova Scotia)- The local J/29 fleet in Halifax, Nova Scotia and 29 owner Matt Stokes did a remarkable job to attract a fleet of fourteen J/29s to race in this year's Halifax BMW J/29 North American Championship hosted by the Lunenburg Yacht Club. Here's the rather amusing report and commentary from Johnny Heseltine, one of the co-owners of J-ZEUS I-19.
"The pre-amble to the J/29 North Americans was the Charlottetown Race Week, the event attracted a respectable fleet with four Nova Scotia J/29s packing it up and hitting the road to take on four Island boats. The Nova Scotians dominating this time around. What the results clearly indicate is that J24 ace Johnny Whynacht, who has recently joined Quantum Sails as their Atlantic Canada rep and has also taken over Larry Creaser’s super fast Jaeger, got off to a flying start. John and crew won all four races on the first day of the event and looked ready to run away. On the second day, however, he slipped just a bit (not much) and then tripped with an OCS that opened the door for the steady Christies in the always dangerous Colmonell. Behind the two front runners were the class’s two co-Presidents, who went at the last day tooth and nail.
Johnny’s downfall came in the second last race when he was called over early and unwittingly sailed the race not knowing it would be his drop. He was joined in his disqualification in that race by Randy Johnston in J2K. John and Randy were in fact the fourth and fifth starting line violators in the event joining three who were black flagged in the second race. The current in Charlottetown is always a challenge and can make starts especially tricky when it is running against the wind.
Critically for Johnny, the second last race was Colmonell’s third consecutive win and made a horse race out of what had been a runaway. Notwithstanding a starting run of four firsts and a second, Jaeger had to beat Colmonell in the final race to hold on to the regatta lead.
It turned out not to be. Colmonell edged Jaeger with a second over Jaeger’s third, providing a one point regatta victory. The race was won by Andrew Childs in Silver Woman, who finally created some separation between himself and Satisfaction with which he had exchanged blows through eight races. With a bullet against Satisfaction’s seventh and took the last spot on the podium by six points.
The win puts the reigning season champs into first for 2012 but there’s lots to go yet. Johnny Whynacht has certainly shown he has what it takes, and Silver Woman and Satisfaction are also clearly capable. I’d like to think that J-Zeus II9 will have something to say and I’m sure Dog Party can’t be counted out. All will be at the North Americans in Lunenburg, which promises to have 18 boats and, consequently, will play large in determining the champion under this year’s boats beaten arrangement.When I got J-Zeus II9 into Lunenburg on Sunday the subject of the social schedule for the North Americans came up. If we were going to sail for three days, Lorna wanted to know when she could come down and cut a rug. I knew there was a BBQ because tickets were offered at a discount when I registered. I realized, though, that I didn’t know when the BBQ was going to take place or much about what was going on the other two nights besides Prize Giving on Sunday, which is a classic no-brainer. Last night it came up that West Nova Fuels is sponsoring the band for Pub Night, although I didn’t know what Pub Night was or what night it might be.
It all prompted me to ask Ian Mann, who is in charge of this stuff and seems to be a very well organized man, for a few specifics so I could detail our Schedule page and tell my wife what night would be best to make the trip from Halifax for a little action. As it turns out, Ian and Lunenburg Yacht Club have done some very fine work. After racing on Day 1 a beer keg will be available along with free samples of product from Gosling’s Rum. Day 2 will also justify another keg after which LYC will host Pub Night with the band kindly provided by West Nova Fuels. Day 3 Sunday, of course, will wrap up with prize giving, another area in which LYC has traditionally excelled thanks to the exceedingly generous sponsorship of the Yacht Shop.
As it all turned out, Lunenburg Yacht Club was, once again, a perfect host. Excellent race management on world class sailing waters. The weather wasn’t completely perfect but, on the whole, it was pretty good. Two days of sun with light to medium winds on either side of a day with some fog and rain, and heavier but far from crazy breezes. It provided a good and varied test that was fair for everyone. Ample opportunity for 11 double windward-leeward races.
We had hoped for 18 boats, which would have set a record for J/29 one-design racing. In the end, only 14 showed up. All were from Atlantic Canada. They definitely included lots of good sailors, though, keen to make a run at the biggest prize we’ve ever been able to offer for J29s in our region. There were no easy races and lots of interesting incidents, some of which I observed from my spot as spinnaker trimmer and boat tuner on J-Zeus II9. To organize things I’ll run down each day in order and hope that readers won’t be annoyed by a J-Zeus II9 bias that I think is pretty hard to avoid under my circumstances.
Friday's SailingThe forecast for Friday was light winds. According to Windfinder, it would only be blowing one knot at noon when the first race of the regatta was supposed to start. We set JZII9 up loose in expectation of a drifter but as things got underway the wind came up nicely into the 5 to 10 kt range. Erik Koppernaes, who makes our sails and sails our boat when we really want to do well, got a great start to initiate a pattern that prevailed through the regatta. We were just above former Laser North American Champion Andrew Childs, however, and Andrew quickly edged in front of us and was soon lee-bowing us. From there Andrew excelled and we did not. He moved to the front and won the race comfortably over Johnny Whynacht in Jaeger with Lunenburg stalwarts and many times fleet champions, Scotch Mist IV, in third. We slid back to 10th and I reckon would have been last if the race had gone another two legs.
We couldn’t point and we weren’t very fast in a straight line. We quickly assessed that our rig was too loose and set to tightening things up for Race 2 in the hope that half a year of preparation wasn’t going amount to repetitive double digit placings. Fortunately, we hit the numbers for the second race, which saw a bit more wind than its predecessor. Erik won his second start in a row and this time, instead of getting rolled by a superb young sailor, we pulled away and were soon sailing on our own with only Jaeger close on our tail. We bounced back with a win followed by Jaeger and Silver Woman.
The third race was sailed in slightly stronger but still moderate breezes. This time Jaeger got out in front with JZII9 tagging along. On the last downwind leg Dog Party took advantage of a sloppy spinnaker gybe on our part to squeeze into second and put us into third spot. Having Jaeger tack on top of us and watching them gybe downwind in front of us gave us a very good idea of the quality of their sailing and what we were up against.
With the wind building slightly more, we did a little more tightening and set out for further improvement. Once again, Erik won the start and quickly set out for the righthand side of the course. This time, we led at every mark and won very comfortably. Evan Petley-Jones and Jim Mason followed us in Satisfaction. After them, damn it, came Jaeger.
The first day was obviously encouraging to us. In my opinion, Erik won all four starts, even in the first race when we came 10th, and we had won two races. On the other hand, Jaeger had sailed better and more consistently, and they held the lead. It was also clear from our tenth that there was a very thin line between getting it right and missing completely. Starts, mark roundings, interference from other boats, breakdowns, and boat tuning could all jump up and bite sailors where it hurts and often did. Dog Party pipped us in Race 3 but then came 12th in Race 4. Lots of other boats rose and slid in the same way throughout the regatta.
Saturday's Sailing
The second day of the regatta saw wet and overcast weather. Visibility was periodically limited and winds were stronger. Larger waves made it difficult to find the marks at times as their red colour didn’t always stand out as much as I would like. I wasn’t really keen on the marks, which were all red tetrahedrons that were difficult to distinguish from each other and could disappear behind waves in even moderate conditions. My only criticism of otherwise terrific work by everyone involved in the Race Committee.
The first race of the day went well for JZII9. We were late getting to the starting area along with about four other competitors and were very fortunate when Race Officer Andreas Josenhans uncharacteristically postponed. We pulled it together quickly though. We spent a lot of time on set up on the way out and when Erik pulled off yet another perfect start, we leapt ahead for another comfortable win. Jaeger, however, stayed with us for another second, followed by Scotch Mist IV, which recorded its second third. By this point, JZII9 had won three of five races but we trailed the much steadier Jaeger by five points thanks to our stumble out of the gate.
Just as we appeared ready to make our move on Jaeger, we tripped again. Whereas Erik had been starting beautifully in the first five races, a boat that might as well remain nameless chose to drift through our preferred area by the Committee boat with no apparent awareness of the rights of leeward boats or their obligation to go up when asked/yelled at. We got pinned out a bit and had to work through several boats on the windward leg. We played the left as I recall and just could not get by Satisfaction and Silver Woman, as well as Joy Ride, in which Gerard MacDonald had put together a boat full of excellent sailors led by helmsman Jeff Brock, who were all starting to get a handle on their boat. In front of all of them was the ever reliable Jaeger, which sailed to a comfortable win, followed by Satisfaction and Silver Woman. We passed Joy Ride upwind but lost them on the downwind leg to record a fifth and undo the good work we’d done in the previous four races (in the past, by the way, I would have been high fiving everyone after a fifth but Erik has been raising my standards).
We weren’t done for our part though. We made some more adjustments to the rig for the strengthening breeze and went after another one. Once again, Erik nailed the start. We went right and came out on top. Jaeger for once, wasn’t immediately on our tail. We won another comfortable one followed by the reigning Atlantic Class Champions in Colmonell and the persistent Andrew Childs in Silver Woman. Jaeger’s crew dug themselves out a moderately deep hole to finish fourth.
For the fourth and final race of the day we again adjusted the rig and went after another win. I’m a little sketchy on the early details of the race. We started every race near the Committee boat and started all but two very well so it gets hard to remember which one we sailed a minute and then flipped versus the ones where we flipped right away. I can’t recall exactly where we were around the marks but I vaguely recollect that Satisfaction held the lead at the first windward mark and the leeward mark. I believe we caught them on the second upwind leg because we had the lead as we sailed downwind to the finish.
Satisfaction and JZII9 sailed neck and neck to the finish in a fresh breeze but declining visibility as fog closed in. We were slightly ahead the whole way. Satisfaction attacked us from leeward at one point to push us slightly to the lefthand side of the leg. We were on port and considered later on that we should have simply gybed to starboard and forced Satisfaction to the righthand side of the finish line where we could have held them as the leading and leeward boat until we chose to go to the line. Unfortunately, its not what we did at the time. The little push they gave us to the left turned out to be critical because the Committee boat end of the line was strongly favored. Satisfaction never actually passed us but beat us by a few feet thanks to the angle of the line. In third was Joy Ride which managed to stay out in front of Jaeger, much to our delight.
Our one-two in the last two races finally closed the gap on Jaeger, which had recorded two fours. JZII9 finished the day one point ahead of Jaeger. Day 3 promised to be an interesting two-boat contest given that Jaeger and JZII9 had a healthy lead over Satisfaction and Silver Woman, which were also separated by one point, and seemed likely to focus on a fight between each other. JZII9 did however have that tenth from Race 1, which was lying like a ticking bomb ready to blow up underneath us at any time.
Sunday's Sailing & FinaleAs the third day started, we on JZII9 were thinking about two things: how to reset the rig for what looked to be much lighter weather than the preceding afternoon and how to handle Johnny Whynacht and his excellent crew in Jaeger if they came after us. As the first race of the day went into the starting sequence, Jaeger was indeed tracking us, although it was too early for America’s Cup style circling. For the second time and for no particular reason other than the fact that nobody can win every start, JZII9 was not first off the line. At best, we were fifth and Jaeger was at least third. Johnny covered us carefully upwind and rounded the windward mark in third. We were probably in sixth.
We sailed downwind in a moderate breeze without too much trouble, holding our position behind Georgia Girl, which was in fifth. As we approached the leeward gate, however, we were confronted with three marks in a more or less even row. As I mentioned, all of the marks used for the event were identical tetrahedrons, excepting that they had a stripe on one corner, which I for one hadn’t noticed previously. The three marks in front of us were arrayed from left to right as follows: white stripe, blue stripe, white stripe. Two were clearly the gate and the other, just as clearly, was the pin end of the starting line — the question was which was which. We were sailing to the blue striped mark in the middle when it became clear that Georgia Girl was sailing with deliberation to the mark on the outside with the white stripe that matched the lefthand mark. As the other four boats in front had chosen to go right, we had no other guide. While we thought the middle mark was the right one, we noted that Georgia Girl was going to a white striped mark that matched the lefthand mark and seemed pretty sure about what they were doing. We travelled tentative for about three boat lengths on a reach toward the mark until we looked over our shoulders and saw the next boat rounding the blue striped mark that we had thought was the righthand gate.
With the confirmation of the herd behind us, we headed up three boat-lengths below everyone who came around behind us, in ninth instead of fifth (we had passed Georgia Girl thanks to their mistake but the net effect was not so favourable). We were furthermore stuck on the lefthand side of the course while Jaeger sailed to the right beyond our reach following Jaeger and Dog Party. That was the order of finish, with JZII9 racking up our second tenth of the event and essentially sucking the drama out of what was left of the day. Most of our competitors didn’t know it but it was all over. JZII9 had registered as many points in one race as we had in the previous five races combined and we had to count those points.
Jaeger’s worst race was a fourth. They could count everything they had sailed. We, on the other hand, had two tenths and Satisfaction had just won her second race in a row putting her just two points behind us. We needed Jaeger to sail two consecutive tenths or something similar for us to win and we couldn’t take any active part in it because we would risk finishing behind Satisfaction and falling out of second. We just had to do our best and hope for the unlikely possibility that lightning would strike Jaeger (it was sunny and clear).
We did at least bounce back for the third time after a bad race. Erik won yet another start, we went right, and led all the way around the course for our fifth win of the event. Johnny and his crew did not stumble, however. Once again, they stuck to our tail and finished second. In third was Silver Woman. Satisfaction finished seventh, which took the heat off of us.
As the eleventh race started, Jaeger had won mathematically let alone by all realistic scenarios I could imagine. Satisfaction realized as well that their shot at second was remote. The only issue left to be settled was whether Silver Woman could beat Satisfaction by enough to make it into third place. For the last start, we stuck to what had worked so far and it worked again. We won our ninth of eleven starts at the Committee Boat end (I realize I am the sole adjudicator of this but I call them as I see them) and set out to the right for what was probably the 17th time in 21 windward legs we had sailed to that point. At the leeward end, Satisfaction forced Silver Woman over the line and both were called over early. Satisfaction was in a better position to return, however, and established a good lead over Silver Woman at the back of the pack. Eventually, Satisfaction finished sixth over Silver Woman’s seventh to secure third overall.
We led the race by a good margin until we were approaching the second windward mark at which point the wind lightened and our rig, which I had been tightening as we went along, became sluggish. Johnny Whynacht, who naturally enough was in second, closed over the last quarter of the leg to get into a threatening position as we started the downwind leg. We went right and Johnny went left. It turned out that left was better and when we came back together at finish line, Jaeger had us by a boat length for a win that was a microcosm of the regatta. We had started well and sailed fast but Jaeger sailed more consistently, handled their boat a bit better, and got us when it counted.
For the final top three, it was Johnny Whynacht's JAEGER in 1st place with 21 pts net, followed in second by our team on J-ZEU I-19 (sailed by Erik Koppernaes & your's truly John Heseltine) with 27 pts net and in third was the combo of Evan Petley-Jones & Jim Mason sailing SATISFACTION with 40 pts net.
When the regatta is over the hardware has to be distributed. Good prizes have always been a tradition at Lunenburg. The Yacht Shop has been a sponsor of every event and they have always loaded the table with top quality swag. In some years they've given prizes for the top four in each race, a custom I particularly liked because I have a bit of a penchant for fourths. Other years they've given prizes to the top five overall, another time that they reached down to reward J-Zeus II9.
This year the spin was toward some fun prizes as well as to reward the top performers. In addition to rewarding race winners, LYC gave prizes for the Best Dressed Crew, the Best Road Story, and the Best Regatta Blooper. Class co-Presidents Evan Petley-Jones and Andrew Childs also sprung some surprise thank you's for making regatta arrangements.
The Best Dressed Crew went to Mac Morrison of Foxfire, who is an unquestionable style leader. Mac's is a cracker jack boat refinisher (he did some fine work on the cabin of JZII9 before the regatta) and knows how to make things look good. His own boat is a picture with an immaculate finish and a very professional custom logo. He shares his boat with his sister and girlfriend who add a nice woman's touch to everything including super cool black outfits that they will have to put in a trunk when they reach 30. Being a gentleman, Mac took his opportunity to thank some fleet members for helping him get started with his boat. It's one thing to look classy but another to live it.Best Road Trip went the crew of Georgia Girl, who sent up one of their number to recount the tale. I have to admit that I had a hard time following the details but I did catch that it had to do with bringing their boat back from Atlanta and getting hung up in at customs in Houlton, Maine. I make it a rule to never discuss any interaction that I've ever had with Customs but I appreciate this was competitive story telling.
The third fun prize for the regatta's most awkward moment went to Jeff Brock in Joy Ride. Again, I had a lot of trouble making out the story but I couldn't get over the irony of Jeff Brock winning a blooper prize. Of all the sailors in the event no one exudes more competence. I don't know how the Race Committee missed out on our marking rounding misadventures in Race 9 but they may have felt that was too much of an open sore.
Before the formal prizes got dished out, Andrew Childs also handed out two awards recognizing contributions to making the North Americans happen. I want to mention them, first, because one went to me for which I was very grateful and slightly moved and, second, because the other went to the person who did more than anyone else to make the North Americans a success in Lunenburg. My role was to have the idea to get the North Americans here and fail in the attempt to do so. All I can say is if I had a prize for every stillborn idea I've ever had I'd need a warehouse.
The second went to Matt Stokes, who worked with everything he had to cajole people to Lunenburg once he and Andrew Child's dusted off my dead concept. He wrote a letter to every J/29 owner who was a prospect to participate and communicated incessantly to encourage them to follow through. He arranged to get the North Americans trophy from John Edwards in the US, stimulated a lively discussion of the event on Sailing Anarchy's forum, and did a hundred other things to make the event happen. He also did it from Canmore, Alberta, something I didn't realize until about a month before the regatta, when I asked about his participation in a regatta here. Evan Petley-Jones and Andrew Childs also did a lot for the event that no one recognized and they too deserve a round of applause but NOBODY DID MORE TO MAKE THE 2012 NORTH AMERICANS HAPPEN THAN MATT STOKES. Sailing photo credits- John Field For more J/29 North Americans sailing information
NORTHERN SEITZ Wins J/27 Lake Ontarios(Oakville, Ontario, Canada)- Like their "bro's" and colleagues sailing in the J/29s a bit farther East on the Canadian seaboard, the J/27s managed to also attract a strong contingent of teams from across the eastern parts of North America to sail in the J/27 Lake Ontario's off Oakville (near Toronto). Here's the report from Dirk Sell, skipper of WILLY-T:
"The ten J/27's battled it out for two days on Lake Ontario for the Championships. Boats came from Beverly Mass, Collingwood, Hamilton, Etobicoke, Buffalo and the local Oakville Fleet. Saturday, gave new meaning to the term battled. Winds started in the low teens and steadily increased throughout the day, and by the 4th race, were well into the low twenties with gusts approaching 30 kts. 10- 12 ft waves were crashing the foredeck.
12 kts down wind was the norm, with CURVED AIR reporting over 14 kts. Those rarely used No.3 jibs were the order of the day for most of the fleet, although some chose to use No.1's, to keep the boat driving into the waves. Sunday arrived with more subdued, although fluctuating and shifting, winds in the 8-12 kt range. The seas had diminished so it was great "27" conditions for 3 more windward/leeward races."Said the gang on CURVE AIR, "It was EPIC J/27 conditions on Saturday with 20-30kts breeze and waves. So far no-one has come forward with a better top speed of 14.3 Knots which we did under chute...we weren't as fast when we hoisted the chute sideways...but to be sure we did it a second time to confirm and after a bit of shrimping on the douse...decided to fly it as a flag to dry it out. Good Fun...everything is soak and everything still hurts.
Otherwise the American's have invaded Canada Again (we've got our eye on you Seitz)...4 Races Yesterday...another 3 today...so far it's a bunch of kids in their dad's boat (CAN-99 Messing About @ 9 Points) and first year of sailing it holding of Michael in Northern Seitz (USA-108 @ 10 Points). 3rd place in at 15 Points with a chance if they can manage to get off the line decently...and finish goofing around with the chute...yes that would be me (CAN-59 Curved Air). There are GoPROs all over MESSING ABOUT so the porn should be awesome...once I get the links to everything will certainly share...looking forward to them."
As for the crew on STARLET, here's what they had to say, "Thanks Andrew for all of your hard work in organizing this regatta. I have no doubt that it will continue to grow once word get back to other 27 owners about how much fun the weekend was! As for us on STARLET, we had a great time! We didn't really buy the boat with the intention of doing much racing aside some JAM club racing with the kids but this weekend might make us change our mind on that. Even though we were shorted handed after dropping off 2 seasick crew on Saturday, the downwind rides were a blast! Sunday was good, fun tight racing as well!"
The final results were the following: 1st place- NORTHERN SEITZ with 20 pts, 2nd was MESSING ABOUT with 21 pts, 3rd was CURVED AIR with 25 pts, 4th was STARLET with 31 pts and 5th was SHAZAM losing the tie-breaker with STARLET.
In conclusion, Dirk commented that, "Our target for 2013, is 15 or more boats. There are expressions of interest from 3-4 boats in addition to the 10 from this year. So lets make it happen. Oakville is a wonderful venue with downtown a 7 minute walk from the docks. The Oakville Jazz Festival was taking place on the same weekend, so the evenings had plenty of options for food, drink and entertainment. Thanks to Andrew Reim (Curved Air #59) and the Oakville Yacht Squadron for a hosting a great event."
FLEETWING Flies @ Downeast Race Week(Northeast Harbor, Maine)- The pinnacle of offshore yacht racing in the Downeast summer calendar is the Downeast Race Week hosted by both Kollegewidgwok YC from Blue Hill, Maine and the Northeast Fleet based in the famous summer colony of Northeast Harbor, Maine. The event is a fun, eclectic format of three point-to-point races, one per day with a choice of up to five courses for each day depending on wind, tide and fog (of course!). In between, raft-ups and social events are planned spontaneously on the boats or ashore depending on where the fleet finishes for the particular evening.
This year's event started off the Long Ledge Green bell just outside of the Western Way, located SW offshore of Southwest Harbor (most renown for the Hinckley Yachts boatyard in Manset). The race chosen was the "Round the Black Islands (two of them!)" to starboard and finish in the gorgeous Bartlett Narrows on the NW side of Mt Desert Island. It was a very foggy day offshore with a light ESE breeze of just 3-5 kts. Nevertheless, one of the world's best PRO's- Fran Charles, MIT Sailing Director and Northeast Fleet Manager- was clever enough to send the fleet off on an easy reach around the track that led everyone back into Blue Hill Bay into a near fog-less clearing. Leading the fleet home after a shortened course 18nm of sailing was Henry Brauer's J/111 FLEETWING, winning on elapsed time for the fleet as well as finishing 2nd handicap. Tom Rolfe's J/105 SIDEWINDER sailed a nice race and managed a 6th in fleet.
The second day of sailing took the fleet on the Hanus Ledge Course- it ran from the Bartlett Narrows, through the Bar Island Channel, leaving Swans Island to port to round Hanus Ledge to starboard and a straight run to the finish off Bosun Island at the opening of the spectacular Eggemoggin Reach (which we never saw due to pea soup fog!). Starting in near drifting conditions with winds doing 360s around everyone, the fleet was ultimately pushed into a building SE breeze. Leading the charge out of the bay towards Swans Island was David Rockefeller's well-campaigned IMX 45 CYBELE. After passing through the two channels and rounding Hanus Ledge (minus snagging three lobster pots and hitting an uncharted "bump" underwater), Henry's J/111 FLEETWING team managed to mow down David's crackerjack team on CYBELE to again finish first on elapsed time and win the race overall. In this race, J/Teams took 3 of the top 5! Next up was Tom's J/105 SIDEWINDER in 4th and 5th overall on handicap was an amazing performance by Scott Miller single-handing his J/122 RESOLUTE to third boat to finish! The last day of racing again saw a lot of fog rolling in at the start off Bosun Island. The course was simply called the "Swans Island Course"-- doh, just go out the bay, turn left around Swans and head down the narrows between Placentia and the Gott Islands to finish at the eastern end of the narrows! Simple. Yeah. But, complicated as hell when you consider that every turn around that rather large island presents yet another challenge in wind strength, direction and yet more (or less) fog. After an inauspicious start, Henry's J/111 FLEETWING team managed to snag a pot we called "Jaws" that wouldn't let go just 3 minutes into the race. After fighting it for a few more minutes, FLEETWING cleared out on port tack behind the entire fleet headed upwind to the SW corner of Swans before turning left underneath Marshall Island to continue the partial circumnavigation of Swans headed home. Despite catching the pot, FLEETWING managed to snag a 15 degree right shift with velocity to rapidly catch the fleet again. But, "destiny" was not the rule of the day for the FLEETWING crew. Yet another lobster pot leapt out of the water to snag her keel, and yet again FLEETWING ended up giving several hundred yards to her competitors (remember the one at the start?). In the end, the FLEETWING team prevailed, winning yet their third race boat-for-boat on elapsed time and sailing well enough to finish 2nd overall on handicap in what became a true "little boat, slow PHRF" race for handicap honors.
In the end, it was quite a showcase for the J/111's ability to accelerate and sail fast across a broad range of conditions both upwind and downwind in the capricious, lighter winds of Downeast sailing! Remarkably, out of five possible trophies to win, the FLEETWING managed to haul in a LOT of hardware-- winning them all with her 2-1-2 overall record! Amongst the silverware gracing the FLEETWING trophy shelf are: The MAX Trophy for 1st Overall DERW; the Paul Nevin Cup for 1st Overall all Classes on Saturday and Sunday; the Becton Trophy for Lowest Cumulative Elapsed Time all 3 Races in Fleet; the Morris Trophy for 1st in Division 2 on Saturday and the Arundel Plate for the Best 2 Days Combined in Division 2. Congratulations to Henry and the FLEETWING crew! Tom Rolfe's J/105 SIDEWINDER also sailed a very good regatta, rattling off a 6-7-4 for 17 pts to secure 4th overall.
For a fun video to watch that captures the feel and atmosphere of the weekend on video, please take a look at "Roll Away the Dew" on Vimeo. For more Downeast Race Week sailing information
Long Island Sound Junior J/Sailors Crush Offshore(Long Island Sound, New York)- During the summer months, the Junior Sailing Association of Long Island Sound has seen increasing interest and attendance in offshore sailing amongst the junior sailors. The two most prominent regattas of the year include the Dorade Trophy for around-the-buoys big boat racing as well as the Beach Point Junior Overnight Race. How cool is that!? Junior sailors going offshore on big boats with coaches learning what it takes to navigate, make safe offshore tactics and strategies, select the right sails for the conditions and learn how to steer and trim fast offshore? Sign me up!
This past week, one of the ring-leaders of this fantastic offshore program for kids, Jordan Mindich from Lloyd Harbor YC, provided a quick update on the action going on in Long Island Sound. In the Dorade Trophy event, seven great kids from the Centerport Yacht Club together with their instructor and owner's representative Mike Sterflinger took 1st overall on the J/105 SHAKEDOWN with a 5-1-1- record for 7 pts! With PHRF 2 being a nearly all J/105 division, it was going to be a battle amongst the kids to see who was king-of-the-hill, with J/105 teams taking 7 of the top 10!! Second was Collamore Crocker's team on PEREGRINA with a 1-3-5 record for 9 pts. Third was Lincoln White's team on MORNING GLORY, fifth was Scott Florio sailing Barry Gold's WARHORSE to a 3-4-9 record for 16 pts. Seventh was John Horan's group on CUSH with a 9-2-11 score for 22 pts. Eighth was David Greenhouse's team on SKIPPERDEE with a 6-10-7 for 23 pts and tenth was Connor Kasper's team on PLAYSTATION with a 8-9-10 tally for 27 pts.Next up was the Beach Point Junior Overnight Race. This time, the junior sailors on Long Island Sound J/Teams won ALL the divisions! That's totally awesome. In the J/105s, it was Com Crocker's MORNING GLORY first, followed by SHAKEDOWN in second and PEREGRINA in third. In Division A-1 Racing, the J/122 PATRIOT won and in Division A-2 Racing the J's swept class with the J/105 CUSH (John Horan's boat) winning followed by the J/109 STRIDER (Adam Loory's boat) and the J/109 STRATEGERY (Jack Forehand's boat). Congratulations to all kids, the next generation of J/Sailors starting to rule the roost! Sailing photo credits- Rick Bannerot
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* STOP PRESS!! New J/70 Wins Sportsboat Class on Day 6 at Cowes Week. The first J/70 to arrive in the UK on Thursday (August 16th) sailed in winds of up to 19 knots. The crew included Key Yachting staff and was helmed by J/39 owner Jonty Layfield.After a disappointing start on the squadron line, the J/70 began its upwind beat at the back of the 18 strong fleet. Upwind speed was good, we soon overhauled the 707s, J/80s, Beneteau 25 and some 1720s. Leg two was a beam reach across the Solent and the first boat round did not set a chute initially as the angle looked a bit shy. The second boat round was a Bavaria B1 being sailed by a top J/80 crew. These guys and two 1720s set their spinnakers and we followed suit.
This was where the J/70 came into its own. Tearing away from its nearby competition, the little sportsboat charged after the frontrunners who had gained some distance in the first beat. The third leg was a run which we sailed from beginning to end on a high octane plane, interspersed with the odd wipe out before we learnt the best jibing technique. We caught and passed the B1, planed through the lee of the leading 1720, and found ourselves in second place on the water to the higher rated Viper 640.
Another long beat to the Western Solent, allowed us to stretch our lead on the B1. This was followed by a full foam up plane back to Cowes for the finish. The final few hundred metres were incredibly tense as the wind faded in the lee of the land. Upon taking our finishing gun, our rough calculation told us that the Viper had won, but our second place looked secure. We then received a very welcome phone call from a J/111 crew, to congratulate us on our victory! We were absolutely delighted with the win, and thrilled by the speed of the J/70, in particular on the high octane downwind legs.
The J/70 travels to Plymouth this August 18th-19th weekend for the next leg of her debut tour! Come join us! Contact J/UK at info@j-uk.com.
* German J/80 Youth sailing team report- from Fynn Terveer- like their Long Island Sound youth sailing buddies, this German J/80 youth team has been having a fun and successful season sailing their boat "Bibelot GER 529". Here's Fynn's report-"Our team of BIBELOT GER 529 got funding from the German J/80 Class Association to participate in the 2012 German J/80 Open sailing circuit this season. Some of you we have probably already met, others we have not met on the race course. Therefore I would like to report briefly on our crew.
Our crew is comprised of Malte Harneit (18 yrs old) on main sheet, Felix Stallforth (19 yrs old) on jib sheet, Patrick Flob (17) on the gennaker, and me Terveer Fynn, as skipper. All of us have been sailing for about five years in the Kieler Yacht Club. Here Felix and Malte had been sailing 29ers for two years in the Kieler Yacht School. Good things have been happening there with great changes for junior sailors. Patrick and I have sailed for five years and active in the yachting school, along with 35 other young members, we added four more boats and two dinghies.
As with most other J/80 teams, we are ready to race in the Schlei One Design Cup and at German Open in Flensburg. Furthermore, we are ready to sail in Berlin or Hamburg, provided there are enough sailing teams to race us!! We are looking forward to a fun end-of-the-season sailing program! Best regards, Fynn!"
* J/22 Scale Model Size of a Quarter? Amazing. It's beyond comprehension how artist/ modelers can do the proverbial "ship-in-the-bottle" and have it come out looking so cool and in such detail. Nevertheless, artist/ modeler Ric Skinner managed to do this for a J/22 with next to no information, other than pictures and drawings found around the Internet. Said Ric, "Your readers may be interested in this. For my son’s 30th birthday I scratch-built (no plans, no kit) a 1:176 scale model of J/22 #1078. I used what J/22 photos I could find on the Internet, a couple very basic profile and deck plan views. I would like to make another J/22 at a larger scale with more detail. My son Greg recently purchased J/22 #1078 with 2 other guys. They’ve been racing in the J/World Annapolis Thursday night races. I’m not a sailor, but have a keen interest in the sport. My hobby is normally building 18th & 19th century wooden ships & boats." So, for any of you J/22 sailors who want a fun, quick easy model of your boat as a Christmas tree ornament, or perhaps a more formal version, please don't hesitate to contact Ric Skinner on email.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/
