J/88 One-Design Offshore Speedster Hatched!(Newport, RI)- The latest J sailing machine from the stable of offshore, one-design sailing speedsters is the J/88. A family-friendly, easy-to-handle sailboat that can fly around the course or easily slip into "cruise-control"-- have a fun time sailing with family and friends around the harbor or for a lazy evening sail under main alone. Weekday evening "beer-can" racing will be a frolic for the crew, especially with all the important amenities like cooler and real marine head!
The J/88 is an outgrowth of its sisterships, the J/70 and J/111. With a huge, highly ergonomic cockpit designed for a party, it serves not just offshore racing functionality, but the more sybaritic pursuits of laying back in the comfortable cockpit seats, enjoying the experience and beautiful views across the water.
Learn more about this exciting offshore hot-rod today! With over two-dozen boats on order, one will certainly be coming to a regatta near you! With eye-blistering acceleration and heart-pounding power off-the-wind, J/88 will be ready to set new standards for fun, appealing performance boats in the family-friendly 30 ft size range.
In fact, with a June launch for Hull #1, you will be able to see J/88 at Storm Trysail's Block Island Race Week and soon after back to Newport for dealer/customer demo sails! Be sure to contact your J/Dealer today to book a demo sail soon! For more J/88 one-design speedster sailing information
Delta Lloyd North Sea Week Preview(The Hague, Netherlands)- One of the most important major regattas in the Netherlands is the North Sea Week. Teams from all over Europe migrate down to the beautiful seashore and beaches off the Hague and other points to sail dozens of one-design classes, ranging from most of the Olympic classes, to some old Dutch classics, to several of the J/Boats range, including the J/22, J/24 and J/109. Included in the offshore festivities are large, competitive fleets of handicap sailing boats, including IRC classes. In the IRC Division alone are top J/Teams racing J/109s, a J/111 and J/122.
The J/22s will have a good fleet of a dozen boats participating, including the "Big LIFT/ TU Delft" teams of "Happy Star" (Jeoen Moens), Happy Future (Nico van der Kolk) and Happy Sky (Jochem Nonhebel). Must be one Happy Team! If recent regatta results are indicative of what might transpire in this regatta, look to see one or more of these teams occupying the top spots on the podium.
With a half-dozen J/24s participating, it looks like it will be anyone's game to be the top Dutch team as it doesn't look like any of their arch rivals and friendly competitors from Germany will be crashing the party to plunder for some silverware!The J/109s got themselves organized this year to do one-design racing in a few key events along the North Sea/ English Channel. The expected turnout of ten or so boats will be taking place with a British team joining them from across the Channel-- Wim van Slooten's FIRESTORM. After their solid showing in the recent Vuurscheppen Race/ North Sea Race, expect to see Paul van der Pol's YETI near the front of the pack as well as perhaps Rein Bakker's BIG TIME and A van Leeune's JOULE.
In IRC Class, one of the top contenders will generally be the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER heading up a fully-crewed team led by John van de Starre and Robin Verhoef. As a "double-handed" team, John and Robin got the silver as a top-scoring boat in the combined Vuurscheppen Race/ North Sea Race the previous weekend! For more Delta Lloyd North Sea week sailing information
Seattle NOOD Preview(Seattle, WA)- The Pacific Northwest version of the Sperry Topsider NOOD regattas have always enjoyed a strong following for sailors who enjoy the challenges and breath-taking scenery of Puget Sound. Weather in this region of the country can certainly see the extremes, from light air, no wind and tropical downpours to spectacular 10-15 kt winds, sunny, crispy cool and a snow-capped mountainous view in crystal-clear skies that evokes the Beatles vision of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"!
Attending this year will be strong divisions of one-design J/Teams in the J/24, J/80 and J/105 classes.
The J/24s are enjoying strong turnouts from the local Corinthian YC and Seattle YC fleets with eighteen boats sailing! Sure to be amongst the top dogs in this crowd are some familiar faces, like Scott Milne's TREMENDOUS SLOUCH, Andrew Macfarlanes's TUNDRA ROSE and also Mark Laura's and Craig Suhrbier's BABA LOUIE.
The J/105s have several class leaders participating in the seven boat fleet. Look for Lorenzo Migliorini's ALLEGRO VIVACE, Jerry Diercks's DELIRIUM, Eric Hopper's FREE BOWL OF SOUP and Jim Geros's LAST TANGO to be a factor for the top of the podium.
The J/80s also see some veterans that will be vying for the top prize in their half-dozen boat fleet. Bill McKinnon's SKYE ROCKET, Dave Schutte's TAJ MAHAL and Bryan Rhodes's CRAZY IVAN will all be amongst the leaders. However, so long as FEARFUL SYMMETRY (Cline) and HEART ATTACK (Shapiro) aren't falling asleep at the wheel, this could be one of the tightest classes in the entire event. For more Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD Regatta sailing information
J/70 Mid-Atlantic Fleet Development(Hampton, Virginia)- After their inaugural winter circuit, the J/70s continue to grow their local and regional fleets across the world as sailors continue to spread the excitement about this amazingly popular "baby J". In such a short life-span, the J/70 has been setting attendance records in most major regattas they've participated in as a class- namely, Key West, St Pete NOOD, Charleston and Annapolis NOOD. Next up are some really fun, laid-back events that are developing for 70s in Europe as well as across America.
In the Mid-Atlantic region, the J/70 circuit has evolved into the following events that sailors in the areas of Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, Georgia and northern Florida should take into account for their summer sailing plans. Here is the latest schedule:
May 30- June 2- Southern Bay Race Week- Hampton Yacht Club- Hampton, VA- http://www.blacksealcup.com or please contact- Lin McCarthy at (757) 850-4225 or email-mcbear@earthlink.net.
June 15-16- James Island One Design Regatta- James Island, SC- http://www.jiyc.org/sailing.html or please contact Jack Martin at (941) 266-2856 or email- jwmartinjr@gmail.com.
July 27-28- Carolina Yacht Club Regatta- Charleston, SC- please contact Tommy Harken at (843) 830-4483 or email at Tommy@northpointyachtsales.com.
For more J/70 Mid-Atlantic sailing information, be sure to contact John Killeen/ JBoats Carolina at 704-236-8303 or email jkilleen@jboatscarolina.com. Sailing photo credit- Tim Wilkes.com
SAIL FIRST Sponsors ISAF Youth Worlds!(Limassol, Cyprus)- Recently, Giannos Photiou, President of the Cyprus Sailing Federation, announced that SAIL FIRST has come on board as the title sponsor of the 2013 ISAF Youth Worlds and, in a difficult financial climate in the country, extended his special thanks to the company for their financial support.
With 358 sailors from 55 countries set to compete in Limassol Photiou said, "The ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship is one of the greatest sports events ever to be held in Cyprus and it is characterized as a small sailing Olympiad for ISAF Youth Sailors."
SAIL FIRST, based in the harbor of Paphos on the western end of Cyprus (the island itself is in the far eastern Mediterranean), have a fleet of 10 fully-equipped J/80s to make on-water activities available to those who want to get out sailing. They organize and manage events at any level, including fleet, match and team racing events for both yacht clubs and corporate events.With a full-time staff based in Paphos Harbour, Cyprus including two RIBs, racing buoys, and judging and technical support, it's simply a phone call/ email to SAIL FIRST to enjoy a weekend/ week-long event of sailing on the gorgeous eastern Mediterranean-- all year long with great winds, too! Plus, you can be one-design racing with less than four hour flights from London, Frankfurt, Paris, Moscow and other EU cities and stay in 3-5 star hotels on the island! No need to live in cramped charter-boat cabins! Plus, it's a very convenient "two in one" holiday-- one with the family and the other-- your participation in the regatta! For more SAIL FIRST J/80 one-design fleet sailing information
J/Cup Celtic Regatta Announcement(Pwllheli, Wales, United Kingdom)- For those of you who can appreciate, and are familiar with, the enormously engaging and passionate hospitality offered by Celtic sailors in Wales and the western parts of the United Kingdom, be sure to book on your calendar the J/Cup Celtic Regatta! It's a great way to enjoy the beautiful, spectacular coastline of western Wales, sailing in the Irish Sea.
From the 14th to 16th June 2013, the Pwllheli Sailing Club will be hosting the J/Cup Celtic Regatta for the fast growing fleet of J/109s and J/80s, including the recent additions of a J/111, J/97 and J/92s.
There's free marina berthing for all participants, all are welcome! Plus, as is the tradition of all J/Cup events, there will be fun evening entertainment with live bands and more! For more J/Cup Celtic Regatta sailing information.
J/Sailing NewsThe Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
Last week was epic, with spring events producing a number of surprises across the world of sailing. A women's J/97 sailing team led the Semaine de Porquerolles in Hyeres, France for all other J/Teams participating. The J/111 and J/122 sailed the Vuurschepen Race/ North Sea Races quite competitively. The J/80 Grand Prix Ecole Navale was a tour'de'force off Brest, France. Similarly, the J/80 Germany MAIOR Regatta saw the start of their spring events leading to the J/80 Worlds in Marseilles, France in July 2013. In the Royal Southern Regatta a J/97 led a woman-overboard rescue effort.Across the pond to Central America, the J/24s hosted the first part of their Mexico National series.
Off to the north along the Pacific Rim, the J/Team's Sailing the Seattle "Race to the Straits" had an enormously challenging times fighting the ubiquitous currents and general lack of wind. Nevertheless, a classic J/35 and J/36 had some fun with the fleet.
Last, the J/22s in South Africa recently held their "LAUGH A MINUTE" J/22 Mpumalanga Provincial Championships.
Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
May 17-19- Seattle NOOD Regatta- Seattle, WAMay 18-19- Race for the Case- Lloyd Harbor, NY
May 18-20- J/24 German Nationals- Flensburger, Germany
May 31-Jun 2- Southern Bay Race Week (24, 70)- Hampton YC, VA
Jun 7-9- Chicago NOOD Regatta (105, 109, 111)- Chicago, IL
Jun 7-9- New York YC Annual Regatta (111, 122)- Newport, RI
Jun 14-15- Off Soundings Regatta (105, 109, 120)- Watch Hill/ Block Is
Jun 15-16- Cleveland Race Week (70)- Cleveland, OH
Jun 19-22- J/24 US Nationals- Wayzata, MN
Jun 23-28- Block Island Race Week- (80, 35, 105, 109, 111, 44)- Block Island, RI
Jun 27-30- Kieler Woche (70, 80, 24)- Kieler Segeln Club- Kiel, Germany
Jul 4-7- J/24 UK Nationals- Plymouth, England
Jul 6-13- J/80 World Championships- Marseilles, France
Jul 13-15- Chicago Mackinac Race- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Jul 27-28- Youngstown Level Regatta (70, 24)- Youngstown, NY
Aug 9-11- J/109 North Americans- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Aug 9-11- Verve Cup Offshore (109, 111)- Chicago, IL
Aug 9-13- J/27 North American Championship- Oakville, Ontario
Aug 14-18- J/111 North Americans- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/Teams Win IRC Double Class- Vuurschepen/ North Sea Races(The Hague, Netherlands)- The start of the offshore sailing season in the Netherlands has been good to J/Teams! With the combination of the Netherlands's Vuurschepen Race and the RORC's North Sea Race, two top J/Teams are on top of the offshore double-handed world! Many of the top teams from both sides of the "ditch" enter into the criss-cross races over the English Channel in May to not only get a head-start on the season, but ensure they're competitive for the overall RORC Season offshore championship series in both the UK and in the Netherlands.
The long weekend started with the Vuurschepenrace, part of the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta, a 100nm blast across the Channel from the Netherlands to Harwich, England. After a day of rest in Harwich, England, the classes sail back across the English Channel in the 180 nm race from Harwich to the Smith's Knoll Buoy off the North Norfolk Coast then across the eastern parts of the North Sea to Scheveningen.
On the initial leg across to Harwich, the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER, sailed by the strong offshore duo of John van de Starre and Robin Verhoef from the Netherlands, managed a 4th overall in IRC Class, taking 2nd in the Double-handed Division. Just behind them was the J/122 JUNIQUE sailed by Chris Revelman and Pascal Bakker. On the return leg to Scheveningen, it was a completely different story for all of the teams entered. The 210 nm race from Harwich to Scheveningen looked like it could be a fast sleigh ride across the North Sea. Fresh southwesterly winds with gusty rain squalls were predicted, which could produce an ideal angle for an exhilarating race. Gusting over 25 knots with rain squalls, the early part of the race was not a comfortable one, but more settled weather in the latter part of the race with glimpse of sunshine coming through the cloud cover was welcomed by the 75 yachts that entered the race.
In the Two-Handed class the Dutch team of Chris Revelman and Pascal Bakker retained the class title racing J/122 JUNIQUE. Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker's Dutch J/122 won the IRC Two Handed Class last year and the duo are back to defend their win. "It is looking like we will have a fast race," commented Chris Revelman. "However, we are not making any special changes because of the conditions. We will have a good meal tonight and plenty of rest, as during the race we will get little sleep and eat simple bread and soup. Our objective will be to win the race and it will be a big part of our build up for the highlight of the season, the Rolex Fastnet Race." Their words could not have been more prophetic before the start of the race from Harwich back across the Channel to Scheveningen, the top two teams flip-flopped. This time the J/122 JUNIQUE took top honors and the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER was second in the IRC Double class. Remarkably, in IRC Two Class (including fully crewed boats), the J/122 was 5th overall and the J/111 6th!
Following their lead were a small armada of other J's sailing both fully-crewed and double-handed in IRC 3 and IRC 4 divisions. Leading the charge in IRC 3 was the beautifully restored J/35 RAGAZZA led by the trio of Gabriel/ De Bie/ Malchair, taking 3rd in class! Fourth was Kees Mijs J/109 ARETHUSA and fifth was the double-handed duo on the J/109 YETI sailed by Paul & Mike van der Pol.
In IRC 4 Class, the J/105s performed well in the tough offshore conditions. It was Stan Fenton's well-known FAY J that took 2nd in class while the Double-handed team of Harry Roek in HARPOEN took third overall. For more Vuurschepen/ North Sea Race sailing information
COURRIER DUNKERQUE J/80 Grand Prix Ecole Navale Champion!(Brest, France)- The 12th edition of the Grand Prix Ecole Navale produced an "upset" of sorts in the French hierarchy of J/80 sailing, one of the largest regional one-design keelboat classes in all of France. With hundreds of J/80s sailing in France over the past decade, it takes top teams years to migrate to the top of the class and maintain a continuum of success that is not easily achieved. Last weekend, that status quo was upset by a relative newcomer to the J/80 class in France.
As if destined to win from the very beginning of the vent, COURRIER DUNKERQUE, skippered by Vincent Vandekerkhove managed a great performance to finish first and second in the last two races of the final day of racing, reserving their place atop the J/80 podium as Champions of the GPEN event! In fact, they never looked back after the first two races, taking their place in the lead spot and never finishing out of the top ten in eight races! Vandekerkhove dethrones Eric Brézellec and crew on INTERFACE CONCEPT who won the last three editions of the event.
The balance of the podium was comprised of Brezellec's INTERFACE CONCEPT in second place, winning a tie-breaker at 35 pts over fellow team-mate Simon Moriceau's INTERFACE CONCEPT 2, who had to settle for third place. The rest of the top five saw a brilliant performance by Bernard Hughes on ESPOIR PAYS DE LA LOIRE, sailing to a 3-3-1-3 in the first four races, only to "fall from grace with the sea"! Their next four races were anything but brilliant, having to tack on a BFD-8-13-8 to drop them to 39 pts net, good enough for fourth overall. Fifth is past J/80 champion Luc Nadal on GAN'JA with 44 net pts.After four days of intense racing in the harbor of Brest-Morgat Crozon and Camaret, the 177 boats of the Grand Prix Ecole Navale and their 711 crew members completed their competitions on the last day in a moderate westerly flow of 10-15 knots. Conditions were warmer than the day before and greatly appreciated by competitors after some cool days beforehand
The Grand Prix Ecole Navale event once again confirms the dynamic combination of expertise of the Naval Academy, the Navy and the French Sailing Federation, together with the participation of many volunteers Nautical center of Crozon-Morgat and Club Léo Lagrange de Camaret, led to fantastic regatta organization and on-the-water race management for one of the most famous in European yachting events.
Sailing photo credits: Pierrick Contin- pierrick.contin@wanadoo.fr/ Jacques Vapillon- photo@vapillon.com For more J/80 Grand Prix Ecole Navale sailing information
Porter Leads J/24 Mexico Series(Puerto Vallarta, Mexico)- The active, fun and highly competitive J/24 class in Mexico continue to attract a strong following across their country, particularly at Valle de Bravo (a gorgeous mountain lake west of Mexico City) and at Puerto Vallarta (the renown resort along the Pacific Coast) where they sail on the picturesque Bahia de Banderas.
The sailing was close for the first part of the J/24 Mexican National series, with two dozen races divided into five events over the course of time. So far, 39 different J/24 teams have sailed in regattas. The first series ended on an upbeat note, with a gorgeous day and onshore breezes of a steady 10-14 knots, gusting 16-18 knots.
Congratulations to the winners of the 1st part of the series, sailing the mighty yacht "S", with skipper Kenneth Porter leading the charge with his crew Gerrit Gentry, Kenneth Porter Galindo, Gerrit Gentry Homes and Leopoldo Farias. Second overall went to Miguel Arroyo's team on CHILE MANZANO, his crew included Alan Benitez, Tito Benitez, Manuel Benitez and Javier Benitez. Third was skipper Javier Velasquez along with his crew Ricardo Robledo, Emigdio, and Erick Gonzalez Feliciano White. Rounding out the top five were Eduardo Porter's CHARISMA and in fifth place was Peter Wiegandt's BRUSCHETTA.
For more J/24 Mexico National Championship series information
PROCEDES DIVA Takes German J/80 MAIOR Regatta(Wannesee, Germany)- As the northern European sailing season gets underway, it's apparent the J/80s in Scandinavia and in Germany are rapidly getting organized in their regional fleets with a focus on sending a few good teams to the J/80 Worlds in Marseilles, France in July. We recently got a nice report from the German J/80 team that took third place in the MAIOR Regatta, the first of the season. Here is Henning Buchman's commentary:
"This year MAIOR greeted us with blue skies and moderate wind conditions. Sixteen J/80 teams were registered and fifteen ended up starting in the event. Like every year, we shared the main local hotel and the race course with the M24s, P25s and SB20s. The J/80s were, in fact, by far the strongest and largest field this year's event.
Literally with a bang, most J/80 sailors were taken out of hibernation at the first start. Friday morning shortly before eleven came the first sound signal and all was clear! Second start - "Oh great, then we can look at the start of the other boats in peace!" But the late spring had probably left some of the participants still in the "fog of winter"-- two or three boats hadn't noticed that both the start pennant "one" and pennant "two" were flying simultaneously! Something no one had experienced to date!
As a result, the first start was a common starting signal for all fleets, not a real race start. What a commotion, no fleets were happy, especially us J/80s! No one was really satisfied with the situation. Fortunately, the race committee relented and we got our own J/80 start on the second day of sailing.
There is not much to say about the other days of sailing. Sun sun sun! The wind shifted to the west and we sailed the last two days with the wind coming from the direction of the Wannesee rather than on the Baltic Sea.
In the end, it was PROCEDES DIVA that took first overall, PIKE was second and we were third on VIVACE. Fun sailing!
Despite the unusual starting order on the first day, we want to thank the race committee that made the really difficult sailing conditions on the following days easier for everyone- a truly fantastic job. A really great race! We look forward to the next event and hope to see many teams at the J/80 World Cup!" Thanks for contribution from Henning Buchman- skipper VIVACE. For more J/80 Germany sailing information
J/97 Rescues Sailor- Royal Southern Regatta(Hamble, Hampshire, UK)- Capping a class-winning racing performance with a piece of impressive, no-nonsense seamanship in rescuing an MOB from another boat counts as a pretty good day on the water. Adam Munday is in the process of applying for Academy membership at the Royal Southern Yacht Club. On the basis of his performance in the Club's May Regatta, the first in their annual Summer Series, it's not unreasonable to think he may be a shoo-in!
In Saturday's racing, run by the Royal Southampton Yacht Club and incorporating its prestigious Clarkson Cup Regatta, Adam posted three bullets in IRC3 as skipper of the J/97 INDULJENCE. Then in Sunday's first race, the 20 year-old and his crew were, thankfully, in the right place at the right time.
"We were slightly behind Jeopardy 2 and they Chinese-gybed," said Adam. "We spotted someone in the water- we thought it was a girl. We were in the right place and we could see Jeopardy was in a bit of trouble trying to retrieve their kite so we dropped ours and went back upwind to her. I think she was in the water for about five minutes. The crew behaved really well and it all went quite smoothly," he added.
Conditions at the time of the incident were typical of the regatta on each day, a building breeze and an increasingly lumpy sea, particularly when tide turned against westerly wind in the course of racing.
Jeopardy 2's female crew was transferred back to her yacht by the Southern's mark-laying RIB Sir Michael, seemingly none the worse for her experience in water as apparently it was "not as cold as she'd expected".
INDULJENCE received redress for her rescue and, with a further win in the last race, took IRC3 ahead of David Greenhalgh's J/92 J'RONIMO and Andy Howe's J/92S BLACKJACK. Sailing Photo & story credit to- Phil Riley. For more Royal Southern YC Series sailing information
Women's J/97 NO LIMIT Tops Semaine de Porquerolles(Hyeres, France)- It was a beautiful finale for the 15th edition of Porquerolles Race Week in France. The last day saw good sailing conditions, a single windward-leeward race (a.k.a.- a "sausage" or "banana" or "hot dog"- depending on your frame of mind)! It was all beautiful and rich in emotions with podium contenders often being upset with the ultimate winners who scrap hard to get silverware, sometime in-extremis! All "in a perfect state of mind" for some, perhaps for others just "another day's work".
"A big THANK YOU to the Committee and the entire organizing team for this week," was the phrase heard most on Sunday at noon via VHF as the fleets were returning to the harbor. Congratulations were well deserved. Especially, for the first time in four years that racing has been run on Sunday in ideal conditions-- six races sailed in total (5 windward-leewards and 1 coastal race).
The ultimate W/L of about 5nm on Sunday was accompanied by a staggered arrival at the port of Porquerolles, so that everyone can enjoy the beautiful show of sailboats as they parade by the piers into the harbor.
In IRC2, the competition was tough and the J/111 ESPRIT SUD.NET led by Oliver Krauss sailed incredibly well to finish 3rd class and 3rd Overall.
In IRC3, it was "spectacular coup'de'theater: where the final victory eludes prime time television!" In the end, the J/109 GALANGAL sailed by Philippe de Saignes ends with equal points for third overall in a race that could have gone either way!
In IRC4, the women of St Tropez crew on the J/97 NO LIMITS skippered by Agnes Di Russo enjoyed on-going celebrations at this sailing festival! Feeling at home in comfortable surroundings, the dynamic heroines were imperial in their class! Congratulations girls for their fantastic sportsmanship at sea-- and their entertainment in the evenings were simply superb! With Di Russo as their lead, the rest of the team should be recognized for their extraordinary accomplishments- Josiane Rizzo, Brigit Carstens, Elodie Briand, Sabine Cousin, Fabienee Moyersoen, Magali Richard and Francoise Jean-Jean!Di Russo, skipper of NO LIMIT, said "Thanks to the first owner of our J/97, Pascale Barbier. The week was excellent in all respects: windy on the water and challenging downwind sailing! For us, it was almost as difficult sailing on the water as well as navigating the evenings! We knew how to be steady in our performance in our class, but it was very tight. After the final round of races, we are thrilled!"
For the overall Challenge J/Boats Trophy, it was led by the J/111 ESPRITSUD.NET (Oliver Krauss); followed by the J/109 GALANGAL (Philippe Saignes) in 2nd; the J/109 MISS JUJU (Jean-Marc Picon) in 3rd; the J/122 NOISY OYSTER (Olivier Parchet) in 4th; and the J/109 JET LAG (Richard Burton) in 5th.Oliver Krauss, third in IRC2 and site manager of ESPRIT SUD J/Challenge, organizer and partner of Porquerolles Week: "We're the new J participating in this week's Porquerolles as the J/111 ESPRIT SUD. As a partner in the event, it was a great opportunity to interact with owners of J/Boats and motivate their network of J sailors across France. We set up a symbolic challenge between us and the girls who won with their J/97 in IRC4-- we finish third in IRC 2 losing this place today ... that's great! It was really nice to sail like that in these windy conditions. A very good first experience this week Porquerolles!" For more Semaine de Porquerolles sailing information
Epic Race to the Straits RegattaJ/36 MONKEY BONES & J/35 GREAT WHITE Dominant!
(Seattle, WA)- The Pacific Northwest is full of fun-loving sailors always looking for a reason to get out on the water, seeking out yet another challenge and enjoy the shared experience afterwards over some great food, BBQ, fresh salmon and the occasional beer. With over 200 days of "moisture" on average, the Seattle sailing crowd are a hardy bunch and, all things considered, are some of the nicest group of sailors you'll ever encounter around the world.
Recently, one of the more notoriously fun group of sailors hosted their annual "Race to the Straits" Regatta. Imagine this, 100+ short-handed boats duking it out from Seattle to Port Townsend Saturday, then sailing back on Sunday. The first weekend in May and entries are capped at 100 boats!?! The Party is back at the American Legion Hall Saturday night. There's a keg at the skippers meeting, kegs at the party in Port Townsend, kegs at the awards. What more could you want? More to the point, who are these people? Well, the host is "Sloop Tavern YC" in Seattle, not exactly your classic "yacht club", in fact far from it! They're the equivalent of the East Coast's "Mystic River Mudheads", the spirit that drives them is being the ultimate underdogs in their local sailing circles-- pomp and circumstance be damned (unless, of course, it includes a kegger).
Repeat winner of the small Single Handed Flying Sails class was Dan Wierman aboard his J/35 GEAT WHITE leading by over an hour in front of the second place boat. As for the balance of other J's participating in the race, many had good performances despite the stunningly challenging tactics & strategies employed to even finish! In Class 3 Doublehanded Non-Flying Sails Division, the J/35c ASTRAEA sailed by Lee Harris pulled off a 4th. In Class 4 Doublehanded Flying Sails Division, the J/36 MONKEY BONES sailed by Jason Andrews won by over five minutes.
Class 7 Doublehanded Flying Sails Division was somewhat insane in terms of the enormous cross-section of boats sailing in that fleet-- somewhat laughable, really. M24's, J/105's, J/35c, C&C 43's, Olson 30's. Nevertheless, Tom Mitchell's J/35c WILDFLOWER placed 3rd, James Geros's J/105 LAST TANGO was 4th and Matthew Gardner-Brown's J/105 DULCINEA was sixth!
Class 9 Doublehanded Sails Division saw the J/70 DA SPENCER sailed by Mike Pitt take 4th followed by Dave Schutte's J/80 TAJ MAHAL in sixth. Class 10 Doublehanded Flying Sails Division and the J/30 IMPULSIVE sailed by Ulf Gwildis take 5th! Awesome job, dude!
Finally, in Class 14 Doublehanded Flying Sails Division the J/22s and classic wooden Thunderbirds were dueling for ABSOLUTE WORLD DOMINATION- fiberglass versus wood!! Getting the short end of that stick were the J/22 mafia, having to settle for 5th, 6th, 7th in their division. Top J/22 was Tom Brandt in 22 CALIBRE, next was Molly Jackson & Mike Karas on HOT LIPS HOULIHAN (love it!) and third was Nick Farley's DON'T TELL MOM! Really, you probably wouldn't' want to tell Mom you finished behind "hot lips"! :0 For more Sloop Tavern YC Race to the Straits sailing information
LAUGH A MINUTE Wins J/22 Mpumalanga Provincials(Mpumalanga, South Africa)- The Amtec J22 Mpumalanga Provincials has become a regatta enjoyed by all the top sailors in the J/22 class in South Africa. Fourteen J/22’s entered with many happy to travel to the event, six entries from TYC, four from the Vaal clubs, three local entries and the J chairman from VLC.
Weather conditions were critical as sailing instructions required a minimum of 4 races to constitute a series and this was needed in two days. Friday’s weather looked bleak for sailing but Saturday proved far better for the 11.00 start. With a nip in the air and a breeze of 3-8 Knots coming from the NNW the shore was a buzz of activity as fourteen yachts prepared for racing. Five slick races were sailed Saturday with the last race finishing by 1730 hrs.
From the first race the competitive nature of the fleet combined with the skills on each yacht gave an indication of what was to come. In the first race 42 seconds separated the local entry LAUGH A MINUTE and TYC entry of US'N’J for a 1st with SHAMBLES 55 seconds later in 3rd. The young newcomer to the fleet Marcello Marica, skipper on JUICE with Amtec’s Mike Hayton showed his potential with a 5th 38 seconds between 1st and 2nd.In Race 2 saw MAJIC- Jessica Lenz and crew move from 6th (subsequently her discard) to 2nd and then she repeated this result in Race 3. JUICE had their best result, a 4th in the series.
JAYWALKER on the other hand did not have a good 3rd race. On the 1st leg they wandered off into the dam onto the way to Steve’s place! They appeared totally lost and confused but claims he saw some wind shift from there! HAKAHANA also lost valuable places going off to the "game reserve" side of the course on the last leg of the race (must have thought this was the “Kruger” park) only to realise they were way off course as the Blue flag on bridge was flying and the finish line was open. A valuable lesson to all crew don’t forget to count laps and watch the flags.
Race 4 saw a turnaround for CELL-C who had had a few challenges in the previous races. Let’s say CELL-C, including others, had perfected the 360/720 penalty. A 1st in the next 2 races improved their overall position and they certainly went home hoping for wind on Sunday.
Great to see Donovan Kruger on HAKAHANA showing his potential with a 6th in this race but never far off the pace. Surprisingly the Race Officer, Mario Scalco, never needed to bring out a black flag. But, his team had to be organized and quick-witted to deal with the close finishes in each race.
A beautiful clear blue sky as well as two perfectly rigged brand new Optimists greeted sailors on Sunday at breakfast. That is another story to be told at future regattas. At the first sign of possible wind boats were rigged but despite two valiant attempts at starting races it was not to be. At 1400 hrs the final signal was sounded.
The winner, LAUGH A MINUTE- John Brookman/ Dave Martinson and Ayshia Genloud had a convincing win with a net 8 points. CELL-C, disappointed with the lack of wind, finished 2nd overall with US'N'J finishing 3rd.
The hospitality, fantastic improvements and renovations to the Witbank Yacht and Aquatic Club, great racing organisation and ideal sailing waters all contributed to a memorable regatta that I am sure will see many J boats returning in 2014. For more J/22 South Africa sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* Jean Noel Tourin, proud owner of the French J/109 BLUEJAWS, happened to be sailing in the massive sailing regatta known as the Tour de Belle Ile 2013. As Jean Noel explains, "I'm pleased to inform you, that I raced Tour de Belle Ile and finished 4th of 150 boats in the "Monohull Free Class" (the "anything goes" in IRC class). We were 2nd in cruiser-racers behind an X-43-- first was a TP52 and 2nd was a JP54 (Jean-Pierre Dick), a famous Vendee Globe sailor sailing his personal custom offshore boat!! Editor's note- Jean-Pierre himself was another notable J/Alumni having sailed J/24s quite competitively in France and the UK! 
* J/Cup Awards Hosted @ UK's National Marine Aquarium! The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth will host the final prize-giving ceremony for the 2013 J-Cup hosted by the Royal Western Yacht Club, August 21st-24th. Though not the first time the annual regatta has visited the West Country, this will be the first time that the spectacular marine facility will feature in the regatta programme.The National Marine Aquarium is the largest of its kind in the UK, with over 70 sharks and varieties of exhibits. Centrally located and a must-visit for tourists to the maritime city, the glass-fronted aquarium boasts superb views of the Barbican and Plymouth Sound, where some of the J-Cup racing will take place. As well as a tourist attraction, the Aquarium is also a registered charity, committed to promoting a sympathetic understanding of the sea through programmes of education, conservation and research.
J-Cup competitors will have exclusive use of the entire aquarium and its gardens for the prize-giving, which will take place on the final night of the regatta; Saturday 24th August. Sailors will enjoy a locally sourced "Best of the West" supper, followed by dancing in the Upper Gallery, against a backdrop of Plymouth Sound.The J-Cup is an annual regatta exclusively for boats of the J/Boats brand, and all J/Boats models are eligible to compete. The 2013 event will debut the J/70 class- the exciting little 7m sportsboat which boasts 20knots+ of downwind boat speed. The J-Cup will also feature UK National Championships for the J/97 and J/109 and the J/97 EuroCup.
Paul Heys of Key Yachting, the distributor for J/Boats in the UK and the company who organize the J/Cup said, "We are delighted to be heading back down West where many of our owners sail and are looking forward to a prize-giving party unlike any we’ve had before!’ For more J/Cup sailing information.
* J/97 offshore cruiser-racer endorsements continue to stream in from across the world of sailing (see photos above). This time, CC Dwyer from Hudson, New York, one of J/97's first women owners had some choice comments for her fellow J/Sailing enthusiasts regarding launching her J/97 for the 2013 sailing season-- "She's been in for a couple of weeks. The boat is SO MUCH FUN I can't begin to tell you.
We are so in LOVE! I've attached a couple of photos for you. She looks so cool!!" Sailing photo credits- Ginger Weismantel* Hi there J/Newport! Attached is a video of a J/100 "whirly-gig" that I made to help pass the time over the winter. As you can see, it really gets going on a breezy day." Amazing invention. Perhaps Bob Gallagher- proud owner of a J/100- ought to go into business making incredibly cool wind widgets! Fun stuff.
* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR. 
Alan sent us an email update commenting on their passage south this winter, "In mid-December AVATAR completed her sixth transit to her winter Caribbean home, Grand Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI (seen above) from her home port in Quissett (Falmouth), MA. A crew of three, Captain Alan (e.g. me), Crew Pablo Brissett and Mark Conroy, covered the 1,500 nm trip in in her best time to date- 7 Days 5 Hours, averaging 8.7 kts, that's about 208 nm per day! Amazing passage it was! Rainbow at right far offshore was some of the amazing phenomenon we experienced on this fast offshore passage.AVATAR will participate in the BVI Sailing Festival/Regatta again in 2013, where last year she won the Nanny Key Cup Cruising Class race around the Island of Virgin Gorda. Here are some photos for you to share with the J/Community at-large. Enjoy!"
Best, Alan Fougere/ AVATAR
* Bill & Judy Stellin recently had an interview about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety
The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"
Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.
Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.
People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."
READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE
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/
* 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).- 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.
J/Brokerage
J/65 MAITRI For SaleCustom build, sloop-rigged, J/65 is long and lean with low wetted surface, allowing the boat to be easily driven with a moderate sailplan in light airs. To make target cruising speeds of 9-10 knots, J/65 won't be as dependent upon auxiliary diesel power as most vessels in her category. A graceful sweeping sheerline and flared topsides allow for a sleek and purposeful silhouette and a dry, comfortable ride. The large, protected aft cockpit offers plenty of space to get comfortable as well as great protection offshore. MAITRI was built in 2006 and currently resides in San Diego, CA.
Contact: Jeff Brown- JK3 Nautical Enterprises. Work- 619-224-6200 or Cell- 619-709-0697
J/46 QUESTAR For SaleQuestar is an immaculate and extremely well maintained J/46 built in 2000. Commissioned for an avid and seasoned yachtsman, she is thoughtfully outfitted and well equipped and currently resides in San Diego, CA.
J/46 may be the only investment grade sailing yacht of its size not requiring professional crew to sail at designed performance levels-- or to maintain. Two people can easily manage her upwind and down to achieve the same 8 knot passage-making speeds under sail that is possible when motoring with 76hp diesel auxiliary. The joy of sailing the perfect boat is, after all, a goal we believe every owner ultimately seeks. To insure that good sailing days are spent sailing rather than scrubbing and varnishing, J/46 is designed to be virtually maintenance-free. Her exquisite joinerwork is protected from the sun-- belowdecks where it’s beauty can be preserved.
Contact: Kenyon Martin- JK3 Nautical Enterprises- wk- 619-224-6200 or cell: 858-775-5937
J/122 PENN AZEN For SaleOne of the world's most successful J/122s is for sale- hull #6 built in March 2007 by J/Europe.
PENN AZEN has been very successful since her launch in 2007:
- 2007 RORC IRC Class 1 season winner
- 2008 RORC IRC “Yacht of the Year”- plus 8 season’s awards
- 2009 Winner of UNCL Trophée Atlantique in class 1
- 2010 French Rolex Commodores Cup team and 2nd at Trophée Atlantique
- 2012 Cowes-Dinard race: 3rd in IRC Class 2 and 4th IRC Overall
Inside arrangement- 3 cabin version plus folding sea berths in the saloon – 10 berths in total
Deck/ Rigging includes- Varnished Hall spars high modulus mast and boom, Rod rigging and dyneema backstay on hydraulic adjuster, Tuff-luff Forestay and Carbon steering wheelSails- X-Voiles France- complete inventory for any offshore racing, including RORC Fastnet Race.
Electronics- Full set from NKE Electronics including carbon wind indicator, 3 mast displays and 2 cockpit displays, gyroscopic compass, gyro autopilot, plus Icom VHF with ASN and AIS receiver and Furuno GPS.
Please contact- Gwen THOMAS from Ouest Greement-
P: +33 (0)2 40 82 66 65
E: tgreementpornic@free.fr
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