Cowes Race Week Preview (Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week is a key part of the British sporting calendar taking place in early August each year. These dates result from early traditions when the great and the good came to Cowes between Goodwood and the Glorious Twelfth – day one of the grouse shooting season. The event is a great mix of competitive sailing and a vibrant social scene and has evolved enormously since the early days; it now attracts up to 1,000 competing boats, around 8,500 competitors and over 100,000 visitors.
Hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron and the Cowes Combined Clubs, the sailors are treated to incredibly challenging, fun sailing; especially when each day dawns with a new course on the famous Solent-- full of capricious currents and shifty, gusty breezes. The event puts a premium not only on boat-handling and boat-speed, but on the navigational capabilities of the crew to find all the marks and make it back to the extraordinary finish line immediately off the flag deck onshore lined with massive cannons at the Royal Yacht Squadron.
There is a combination of IRC handicap racing as well as a multitude of J/One-design classes participating. Starting with the one-designs, there will be J/70s, J/80s, J/109s and J/111s sailing. In the nine boat J/111 class, a number of veteran Cowes regatta and race winners will be present, including SHMOKIN JOE (Duncan McDonald), J-DREAM (David & Kirsty Apthorp), MCFLY (Tony Mack), JEEZ LOUISE (James Arnell) and JITTERBURG (Cornel Riklin). In addition, new teams participating in Cowes Week include Sebastien de Liedekerke's team from Belgium will be sailing DJINN, ICARUS sailed by Andrew Christie and John Scott, SWEENY skippered by Kees van Vliet from The Netherlands and TOE IN THE WATER led by Capt Lloyd Hamilton MBE.
The J/109s are showing up in force with twenty-three boats, many with new teams aboard sailing their first Cowes Week on 109s. Amongst the veteran teams that could be a factor include DESIGNSTAR 2 (Roger Phillips), INSPARA (Tor Mclaren), J2EAU (Jean-Yves Tabourot and entered by Williams F-1 Racing Team), JAZZY JELLYFISH (Anthony Eaton), JUMPING JELLYFISH (David Richards), JUMUNU (Jamie Sheldon), JUNO (Ross Walker), JYNNAN TONNYX (Owain Franks and Jean Lockett), ME'JULIE (Hedley Aylott), SARDONYX IX (William Edwards) and STALKER (Steven Tapper).
Fresh of their participation in an enormously difficult J/80 World Championships in Marseilles, France, some teams are still licking their wounds while others have bitten the bullet and are going for it at Cowes Week! Nevertheless, while entries are down for the J/80s, the thirteen teams are looking forward to some excellent sailing and a number of top teams will be in attendance, including FREDDO (Shaun Priestley), J.A.T. (Chris Taylor), JABBA (Vladimir Phillips), JUICY (Donald Suter), RASCAL (Jamie Diamond), SWALLOW (Chris Body) and WILD WALLY (a family affair with Robert Walters, David Walters and James O'Neill-- J/39 owners).
The field of eight J/70s are certain to see some of the match-ups get heated up again that took place at the J/70 UK Nationals earlier in the year at Cowes. Certain to be tough sledding for many as virtually all the boats have had their flashes of brilliance over the course of the summer. Amongst the leaders could be NORTH SAILS (Ruairidh Scott), BOATS.COM (Ian Atkins), TEAM SPITFIRE Powered by SLAM (Wing Commander Simon Ling RAF) and JENGA 8 (Paul & Marie-Claude Heys). However, since many of the new teams are racing up the learning curve, don't be surprised to see these teams in the front row, including DJANGO (Malcolm Jaques), JUGADOR (Jack Davies), PHEEBS (Simon Cavey) and WILSON COVERS (Ian wilson).The world of IRC handicap racing will have J teams distributed from IRC 3 Class (J/122s and J/133s) down to IRC 7 Class (the classic J/24s). Starting at the top, there will be strong competition between the three J/133s and the J/122 duo. Yves Grosjean's JIVARO, Ian Dewhirst's JUMP and Angus Bates's ASSARAIN IV are all J/133s that have been accustomed to winning offshore and around the cans. However, the J/122s like JACOBS LADDER and MINT JULEP (David Cule) have also proven they're tough competitors. The proverbial "fly in the ointment" could be the J/120 EL OCASO, that famous American navy blue boat that eclipsed the Caribbean winter circuit, she will be well sailed by Mike Caldwell and crew.
Yet another J/120, RHAPSODIE V, sailed by the French team led by Jean Jacques Godet will be sailing with a somewhat optimized IRC rating. She'll be challenged by the recent IRC UK Nationals Champion, the J/35 BENGAL MAGIC skippered by James Chalmers-- would be interesting to watch this one from the bleacher seats!
IRC 5 Class is the domain of the champion J/97's and the rest of the 35 foot J's (like the J/110 SHADES OF BLUE sailed Ed Holton) and a veritable armada of J/105's. Looking into the J/105 ranks you'll find a cadre of offshore and course-racing champions like KING LOUIE (Fiona & Malcolm Thorpe), FAY-J (Stan Fenton) and JOURNEYMAKER V- Chris Jones. Giving them a run-for-the-roses will be JIN & TONIC (Charles Nicholson and Neil McGrigor), MOSTLY HARMLESS (Natalie Jobling), JACANA (Paul Wood) and JOS OF HAMBLE (Roger Williams). The J/97's will be well represented by JACKAROO, JIGGERY POKERY (Rob Orr), JET (James & John Owen) and INDULJENCE (Nick & Adam Munday, recent winners in the IRC UK Nationals, too).
Another J/97 configured for a lower IRC rating is sailing in IRC 6 Class- Charles Ivill's ETB TYRES JIGGERY POKERY. They will be accompanied by some fast J/92s's like past winners WHO'S TO NO (Richard Sparrow) and J'RONIMO (David Greenhalgh). Also sailing is a the fast, beautiful J/32 cruiser-racer, DOMAINE, skippered by Chris Burbidge.
In the small boat IRC 7 class, two J/24s will be dueling for class honors, including VINYL SOLUTIONS skippered by Simon Lack and JUPITER helmed by Edmund Gatehouse. Sailing photo credit- Rick Tomlinson. For more Cowes Week sailing information
J/70 Great Lakes PreviewJud Smith J/70 Clinic, too!
(Buffalo, New York)- The inaugural J/70 Great Lakes Championship, sponsored by Towne Auto BMW-Mini, is being held at the Buffalo Yacht Club from August 10th to 11th. Located at the far eastern shores of Lake Erie, and just a stones throw from the famous Niagara Falls, the twenty-five plus J/70s already registered should have excellent sailing.
Renown for getting nice sea-breezes in the afternoon, the natural amphitheater formed by the geographical convergence of the northern shore of Canada merging with the southern shore of New York provides enough heating to give the sailors a reasonable chance of good winds each day from the WSW. Because the race course is not far from the thundering mists of Niagara Falls, east-flowing current does come into play for the sailors on their windward laylines and approaches to the leeward gates-- should make for fun, challenging sailing!
The fleet will have great competition, especially with addition of more new owners who are on the fast, steep learning curve as well as some of the class veterans whom have won or placed well in a number of regatta in the busy 2013 season. Top teams include Jud Smith, Joel Ronning on CATAPULT, Tate Russack (DIESEL), Jen Wulff (JOINT CUSTODY), Don Finkle (JUNIOR), Gary Tisdale & Adam Burns (PIG's EAR), JB Walsh (THING), Kyle Fast (TORQEEDO), Marty Kullman (TOUCH2PLAY), Joe Colling, Marty McKenna and a Canadian team sailing- Andy Papierz on DYNAMO from Toronto, Ontario.
Jud Smith will be running a J/70 speed/ tuning clinic on Friday August 9 and Marty Kullman will also be there assisting the sailors. Please contact Tom Lewin at email- TLewin@roadrunner.com or ph# (716)-861-3700. Sailing photo credits- Bronny Daniels @ Joysailing.com. For more J/70 Great Lakes sailing information
J/Teams Sailing Copa del Rey(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- The Copa Del Rey Audi Mapfre is one of the premiere European regattas held every summer in Spain's most famous sailing venue- that glorious mountain island of the international sailing jet set- Palma Mallorca. Hosted by the gracious members of the Real Club Náutico de Palma, the 38th edition of the event will be sailed from July 27th to August 3rd.
So far the sailors have been challenged by the unusual NE’ly wind direction, with tacticians having to search their memory banks to recall the best strategy for what ultimately proved to be an excellent opening contest for Spain’s showcase annual regatta. The day started with a gradient northwesterly breeze, between 15 and 16 knots, that gave the race committee the opportunity to hold a fiercely-fought and spectacular race. However, the breeze gradually died in the afternoon as the gradient and the local thermal were canceling each other out.The J/80 one-design class, always a popular boat at Copa del Rey, has a field of fourteen teams that includes several of the top five J/80 teams at the recent J/80 World Championship in Marseilles, France. At the top of the list is Hugo Rocha sailing TURISMO DO ALGARVE from Portugal-- the current 2013 J/80 World Champion. He will certainly be challenged racing in Spanish home waters-- as the local teams include Carlos Martinez on DELTASTONE and Jose Maria Van der Ploeg on FACTOR ENERGIA (the 2012 J/80 World Champion)!
Sailing in the ORC 1 handicap class are the J/122 NOISY OYSTER from France sailed by Olivier Parchet and the J/111 BLACK BULL from Italy skippered by Pietro D'Ali from Yacht Club Italia. Sailing photo credits- Jesus Renedo/ Sailingstock.com. For more Audi Mapfre Copa del Rey sailing information
Chester Race Week Preview(Chester, Nova Scotia)- This year's Chester Race Week is sailing from August 14th to 17th and will again have a large turn-out of J's ranging from the classic J/24s, J/29s, J/30s, J/35s and J/36 to the modern J/80, J/92s, J/109 and J/120s- a total of sixteen J's in all, about 38% of the fleet of forty-two 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.
Adding to the regatta's interesting history will be a special appearance by one of J/Boat's co-founders. Says Chester Race Week Chairman John Curry, "The Alpha 2 White class looks like it’s going to be pretty interesting this year! Rod Johnstone is going to be racing Gary Bennett’s J/35 J'AI TU on that course. Rod is probably best known for inventing the J/24 in his garage. The rest, as they say, is history. All you J/35 owners, if you haven’t already registered, better get on the ball! In addition to sailing in the Regatta, Rod J. has consented to do a “How to Sail your J/Boat in Chester Race Week” session on the Yacht Club steps on Friday morning. There will be a reception in his honour at the Yacht Club from 6 to 8 Friday evening (August 16th) surrounding the prize-giving."
The weather forecast of mostly southerly winds (SE to SW quadrant) of 8-15 kts from Wednesday to Saturday should make for good racing as the partly sunny days could enhance the onshore flow with local sea-breeze effects in the gorgeous bay ringed with islands. Nevertheless, the fleet may experience some showers and thunderstorms for part of the day on Saturday.
Leading the charge in the Alpha 1 Division are the J/35 J'AI TU as well as the J/36 VELOS-ITY (David Morgan from RKYC) against a trio of local Farr 30s. In the Distance 1 class are the J/109 WISC (Paul Rafuse from RNSYS), the J/35 CRACKERJACK (Peter Traves from Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron) and two J/120's- GRAND CRU (Mike Kennedy from Chester YC) and BLACK PEARL (Ross Leighton from RNSYS).
In the Delta Distance Course are the famous J/92 POOHSTICKS (Colin Mann from Lunenburg YC) and the J/80 GOAT WHISPERER (Dale Robertson from RNSYS).
Finally, it looks like the five J/29s may all be sailing in the Bravo 1 course, including PARADIGM SHIFT (Williams/ Matthews), SILVER WOMAN (Andrew Childs), HAKUNA MATATA (J Wood from LYC), RUMBLEFISH (Scott Covey from LYC) and WINTER PROJECT (Brad Fleet/ Ivan Carey from LYC). Also sailing in this class is the J/30 FLUX skippered by Jordan MacNeil from RNSYS). Also sailing are two enthusiastic J/24 teams, WAVE RUNNER (Will Nauss/ Countway from CYC) and ADRENALINE RUSH (Greg Blunden from RNSYS). Sailing photo credits- Heather McGuire For more Chester Race Week sailing information
J/Sailing NewsThe Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The last weekend of July was extremely busy on the international sailing calendar. Top of the list was the famously giant Travemunde Woche sailing in the gorgeous bay northeast of Travemunde, Germany. Hosting thousands of sailors, tens of thousands of spectators and well over two dozen one-design classes of all types, including classic wooden yachts, the host Lubeck Yacht Club also played host to the German J/22 Open during Travemunde Week. Further south in Italy, the J/24s completed yet another major regatta of their summer sailing season with the J/24 Palio di Anzio Regatta.Across the Atlantic in the Caribbean, the J/24s also completed their incredibly successful and popular summer sailing series in Barbados with their Harris Paints Summer Regatta.
On the American East Coast, the J/70s held their New England's in Marblehead, MA along with the Sperry Topsider Marblehead NOOD Regatta (also hosting J/24 and J/105 one-design classes). In Narragansett Bay, the J/30's held one of their largest J/30 North American regattas ever held at Barrington Yacht Club. On Lake Ontario, the Youngstown YC held their 40th (and last) Youngstown Level Regatta; earmarked by the debut of the J/70 class-- also sailing were J/24 and J/35 one-design classes along with PHRF classes that had J/111, J/109, J/105 and other J's participating. In the Midwest, the Little Traverse Yacht Club hosted their famous Ugotta Regatta with one-design J/105s sailing along with a large PHRF handicap contingent that also had J/42s, J/111s, J/109s and J/35s. Down in Texas, the Texas Offshore Circuit in Galveston Bay, Texas was concluding with an excellent performance by a J/105. Out West the Santa Barbara and King Harbor Yacht Clubs hosted their popular Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race, an 81nm event that attracted a host of J/Teams (J/29, J/30, J/105, J/109, J/111, J/125, J/145, etc) in this sleigh-ride classic that goes offshore around the Channel Islands.
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:
Aug 3-10- Cowes Race Week (70, 80, 109, 111)- Cowes, EnglandAug 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 10-11- J/70 Great Lakes- Buffalo YC- Buffalo, NY
Aug 14-18- J/111 North Americans- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Aug 22-30- J/24 Worlds- Howth (Dublin), Ireland
Sep 9-14- J/70 EuroCup Regatta- Lago di Garda, Italy
Sep 26-28- J/70 North Americans- Annapolis YC- Annapolis, MD
Sep 26-29- Rolex Big Boat Series (70, 105, 120)- St Francis YC- San Francisco, CA
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Sleigh-ride to King HarborJ/30 3rd in Class & Fleet Overall!
(Santa Barbara, CA)- The 42nd running of the popular California offshore classic, the 81nm Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race, was truly the "tale of two cities" (the fast boats and the little boats). The weather forecast seemed normal for the race, a light SSE breeze clocking around after the start to SW and slowly building into the WNW at 10-18 kts during the day and, perhaps, dying by evening. Toss in plenty of sun, the spectacular seascapes of the Channel Islands, cute little brown seals swimming everywhere (great white shark lunch!) and amazing schools of porpoises ripping through schools of fish or racing underneath the bow wave and you have the ingredients for a near perfect downwind roller-coaster ride down the California coastline.
As has often been the case, what appeared to be a "normal" SB-KH race was nothing like the sort. While the initial part of the race held true to form, the fleet starting under headsails then switching to mostly Code Zero's or reaching chutes to fetch Anacapa Island, what happened after that was not what the "playbook" was prescribing. Getting to Anacapa Island's northern turning point is a bit like the "Looking Glass" in the Wizard of Oz or, as some have put it, "The Twilight Zone"-- one never knows what's beyond it once you've entered it. Some say go tight along the western side of the island, others says go outside at least 1.5 to 3.0nm to avoid the inevitable wind-shadow cast by the 1,000 ft plus ridge on Anacapa. Seeing little or no wind inside, most all the bigger boats (over 35 feet) set for an outside, longer course. Some exceptions included the J/111, J/120 and others that magically shot the middle-left position and snuck through. But, the smaller boats never had that issue as most simply turned left at the island, set chutes and sailed nearly direct to King Harbor at a bearing of 98 degrees! To confound the "local knowledge" experts even more, the anticipated "geographical shift" often found by sailing towards Point Dume just north of Malibu, not only happened (with the breeze shifting from 300 deg to 270 deg) but the wind kept backing around to 235 deg near the finish line at the entrance to King Harbor. As a result, the big winners were the later, slower boats to start the race at 12:25pm. The ocean greyhounds that took off first got the short end of the stick in this year's edition. PHRF D class simply cleaned house in the Top 10 overall, with the J/30 FRICTION LOSS taking 3rd in class and 3rd overall while veteran Santa Barbarian offshore champion Larry Leveille sailed his famous J/29 RUSH STREET to 5th in class and 6th in fleet! Good show for these teams!
Starting at the same time as PHRF D was PHRF C class, with the J/33 TIGGER sailed by Fred & Suzanne Cottrell taking class line honors and 2nd overall on handicap, 9th in fleet and 13th overall.
Also starting later and reaping the benefits was PHRF Sprit B class, which was mostly a "J/Navy"- 9 of 10 boats! Leading the charge down south was Brian Kerr's J/92 DOUBLE DOWN, taking class and Sprit Fleet honors and 12th overall. Second in class, 2nd in Sprit fleet and 14th overall was the J/105 ARMIDA sailed by Tom Bollay. Third in class, third Sprit fleet and 15th overall was another J/105-- TWELVE BAR BLUES skippered by Chuck Spear. Rounding out the top five in class was the J/109 LINSTAR helmed by Len Bose and in 5th was Dan McGanty's J/105 AQUABELLA.Sweeping the top two spots in a duel to the finish for PHRF Sprit A class were the J/111 and J/120. In the end, while Bill Webster & Mike Moorhead's J/111 JATO took class line honors, the winner on handicap was Gary Winton's J/120 SHENANIGANS by nine minutes. They both finished 5th and 6th, respectively in Sprit Fleet and 23rd and 25th overall of 75 boats. Here's a YouTube video of JATO's ride to King Harbor- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqQ-grLqGGA
In PHRF Sprit ULDB A class, the J/125 and J/145 had a rough go of it, with one boat heading too low and the other heading too high off on the initial run to Anacapa Island, and then getting too far south (to right of rhumbline) on the way down to King Harbor. Consequently, Viggo Torbensen's J/125 TIMESHAVER finished 4th in class and Carolyn Parks' J/145 RADIO FLYER took 6th.
The host finishing club, Kings Harbor YC hosted their incredibly delicious "shrimp feast" on Saturday afternoon in conjunction with the awards ceremony (part of the secret recipe- cayenne pepper, olive oil, lemon). It was a fitting end to a beautiful race on a sunny day overlooking the Pacific Ocean and harbor.
Sailing photo credits- J/Boats and Bronny Daniels @ Joysailing.com. For more Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race sailing information
BLUE MEANIE Crowned J/30 North American Champion(Barrington, RI)- The Barrington Yacht Club and the Southern New England J/30 fleet hosted this year's near record breaking fleet of nineteen boats in the 2013 North American Championship held in northern Narragansett Bay.
Blessed with good weather and some good sea-breezes during the course of the regatta, the team of BLUE MEANIE skippered by Steve Buzbee and crew from Raritan YC in New Jersey managed to hold off the fast-closing team on EVELYN (sailed by Luke Buxton from Salem, MA) to take the championship. While both boats started off slowly, they both learned the ropes of the Bay as well as how to handle their competitors tactically. BLUE MEANIE's 5-4-2-1-1-3-4-5 for 20 net pts was enough to take the gold by just 3 pts! EVELYN's scoreline of 3-6-3-6-14-1-1-3 for 23 net pts was ten clear of the third place boat-- Chuck Stoddard on FALCON from the host Barrington YC. 
The battle for third was quite close, with just four points separating the next four boats! Chuck's team were fast out of the gates the first day, as they should for being the "local hero's", but they couldn't keep up the pressure and managed to tally a 1-2-11-7-8-5-2-8 for 33 pts net. Just behind them by one point was Clare McMillan's Barrington YC team on WICKED, taking 4th with 34 pts net. Fifth was Carl Sherter's Cedar Point YC team on FAT CITY with 35 pts, sixth was Ken Deyett's Kittery Point YC (Maine) team on JEROBOAM with 35 pts (losing the tie-breaker) and seventh was Jon Burt's Hull YC (Massachusetts) team on MARGAY with 37 pts. The balance of the top ten were Kevin Dakan on BLITZ in 8th, class leader Bill Kneller on RHAPSODY in 9th and Mark Rotsky on NEMESIS in 10th. For more J/30 North Americans sailing information
J/Teams Enjoy Youngstown Level Regatta XL(Youngstown, NY)- 181 boats raced on five circles in the 40th and Final Youngstown Level Regatta on the weekend of July 27-28. For most of its history the Level has been the largest weekend keelboat regatta on Lake Ontario, at one time hitting a monstrous 466 boats! Those were the days of 50 boat J/24 fleets and one design starts for most of the J designs popular at the time. Since then things had settled down to a more manageable size but the Level still held a prominent place on the calendar for most racers within hundreds of miles. Youngstown Yacht Club finally decided 40 years was enough and the organizers and volunteers deserved a break, so this was the last Level, to be replaced next year with a new event with details to be announced this fall.
Sailors did not want to miss out on the fun of the final event so attendance was up by almost 40 boats over 2012. Conditions were generally favorable, light to moderate with the exception of a brief squall that came in Saturday afternoon that curtailed racing for the day. Various J models were entered in 9 of the 26 divisions, and the largest division in the event was the J70 class with 17 boats. In IRC 0 Bob Hesse and crew aboard the J111 Lake Effect lost the tie-breaker for first place, settling for second as they had done in Key West in January. They have been dominating local PHRF racing this summer. Stephen Trevitt in Crime Scene won the J35 class by two points over Mark DePaul in Remarkable. In PHRF 1 the four J109s took the top four places, with Robert Eckersley's Blue Streak finishing ahead of Ed Werner in Moccasin and Murray Gainer in Lively. Mark Bowman's J29 FROB Untamed was second in PHRF 3 and second and third places in PHRF 4 were taken by Mike Seitz in his J27 Northern Seitz over Dan Mather's very successful J30 Crusader. The PHRF 7 division was made up of J22s and J24s, with Jack Doyle in his J22 winning over the J24s of Kevin McAuley and Tom Raes. In non spinnaker racing Doug Clarke's J35C Rogue Wave was second in M&J 1. 
The headline J70 fleet enjoyed their first major one design event on Lake Ontario with boats coming from Newport, the Chesapeake, Lake Erie, Connecticut, New Jersey, Ontario, Indiana, Florida and various NY ports. In addition several borrowed boats were helmed by out of town sailors, including past J105 NA Champ Rolf Kaiser of San Francisco and long time J24 skipper Mark Pincus of Florida. Competition was stiff with 5 different boats taking bullets over the 8 race series. In the end Kerry Klinger edged out Marty Kullman by taking the final race, with Kris Werner finishing third. This was Kris's first taste of real action in his new J70 and he had J24 hotshot Rossi Milev aboard to help him get up to speed.The regatta was judged to be a terrific success with many fond memories being shared and praise was lavished on the volunteers for their years of hard work. Everyone wants to know what YYC has our our sleeve for 2014 but we aren't quite ready to announce the sequel just yet. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes @ TimWilkes.com. For more Youngstown Level Regatta sailing information
Greenwald Tops J/70 New EnglandsGHOST Smokes J/105s, AIRODOODLE Two-Peats J/24s @ NOOD
(Marblehead, MA)- The Sperry Topsider Marblehead NOOD regatta featured the inaugural J/70 New England Championship and fleets of J/105s and J/24s-- all co-hosted by the famous trio of yacht clubs in the harbor (Eastern YC, Boston YC and Corinthian YC). Of the 150+ sailboats participating, the largest brand represented were J's with 42 boats (28% of the fleet) sailing in the waters off Marblehead. The sailors were treated to a wide variety of weather conditions and in the end, the J/70s had very close racing with just 15 pts separating the top six while the J/24 and J/105 fleets saw runaway leaders take top honors.
Continuing their string of 2013 regatta wins in J/70s was Bennet Greenwald's team on PERSEVERANCE, taking the top spot by the narrowest of margins over local Marbleheaders- Jud & Cindy Smith on USA 179. In fact, both boats led the fleet from the very first day and after three days of racing ended up tied on total points, but after the toss race was factored in Greenwald's team won by just two points net. Joel Ronning's CATAPULT team again managed to finish on the podium, taking third overall with 20 pts net. Local hero Tyler Doyle (some of famous sailmaker in Marblehead, Robbie Doyle) sailed his best regatta so far, taking fourth in class. Also sailing a strong series was the team of Heather Gregg-Earl & Joe Bardenheier on MUSE Powered by Atlantis Weathergear for 5th place. Heather was also top women J/70 skipper, followed closely by Suzy Leech on JUNKANOO in 6th.
The largest J/class, the eighteen J/105s, were treated to a bit of a "schooling" by another local Marblehead hero, Bob Slattery sailing the famous GHOST. Counting six 1sts for the scoreline, Slattery's team won by a country furlong with six net pts for a 15 pt win, an unusual event to occur in the highly competitive J/105 class. Behind them was the duel for second and third with five boats all having a clear shot at the podium. Locals Fred deNapoli on ALLEGRO SIMPLICITA sailed a steady 3-3-2 in the last three races to seal the deal and grab second overall with 21 pts. Having an excellent regatta was Charlie Garrard on MERLIN with 26 pts, also sailing a solid 2-4-4 to snag third overall. The rest of the top five included Peter & Doug Morgan on STEELAWAY in fourth and fifth was Jon & Stuart Wales on BANTRY.Last year's J/24 class winner, Jubilee YC's John Denman on AIRODOODLE, simply smoked everyone, counting seven 1sts in their tally for a total of 9 pts net, winning by 8 pts. Second was Mike Taber's team on XINGU, taking the only two remaining 1sts, for a total of 17 pts. A distant 3rd was John Wells on SHELDON J with 25 pts. The remainder of the top five was Mike Lachmayr's BLACKFIN in fourth and Greg Williams GRACE UNDER PRESSURE in fifth. Sailing Photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com. For more J/70 New England's & Marblehead NOOD sailing information
Menzner Crushes Travemunde J/22 German Open(Travemunde, Germany)- The 124th Travemunde Woche was a perfect rehearsal for the big anniversary in 2014, when the Travemunde Woche celebrates its 125th year. This year's event had ten fantastic days of sailing with great weather and lots of sun. The newly installed SAP Sail Cube, which enabled the public to watch the sailing action "live on-line", was an enormous asset this year. Plus, the newly built seating facilities, which were provided by the town of Lübeck, turned the beach promenade into a real sailing theatre. Dierk Faust, the Chairman of Travemunde Woche for the Lübeck Yacht Club said, “Whereas the wind conditions created a few difficulties for us here and there, the onshore entertainment was fantastic.”
Enjoying every minute of the onshore festivities and excellent race management offshore were the seventeen J/22s participating in the German Open, hosted by Lubeck YC's Travemunde Week team. Taking top honors was Martin Menzner's German crew that included Frank Lichte and Christian Drews, their six 1sts in eight races was a blitzkrieg of the J/22 competition. Second was Reiner Brockherhoff's French team of Christoph Declerque and Charles Micahux with 16 pts. With five 2nds, Frank Lammerskitten's German team of Sven Harder and Martin Hinrichsen could've finished second overall were it not for their inconsistent three 5ths they had to account for in their overall scoreline, settling for third place instead. The rest of the top five included Svend Hartog's German team (Dirk Fischer, Anne Westfehling, Stefanie Schweder) in fourth and Nico van der Kolk's Netherlands team (Stephan Peulen and Julius Jansen) finishing fifth.
Visitors on shore were provided with a fine festival covering 80 thousand square metres with everything that makes life enjoyable. “A total of 200 stand operators of all sizes and with varied and very different offers made the TW a very successful event in Travemünde. Practically everyone was represented from young to old. The Holsten Beach Area had wonderful programmes for older generations, especially the ensemble with the SAP Sail Cube and the Pilot Stage for near-shore race viewing. "The international cuisine on offer to all the spectators, such as “Pfaffenglück” or organic burgers, as well as Italian delicacies, were very well received,” said Uwe Bergman at the end of the event. “We didn’t reach the one million mark of visitors because of the sweltering heat during the second half-– many people preferred to say on the beach!” Sailing photo credits- Bilder von Christian Beeck For more Travemunde Woche J/22 sailing information
QUARTIERE LAVINIO MARE Wins J/24 Palio di Anzio Regatta(Anzio, Italy)- The second edition of the Palio di Anzio J/24 Regatta was won by Quartiere Lavinio Mare. The crew, skippered by Gianni Riccobono, wins for the second consecutive year. In second place was from Anzio was Marco d'Aloisio sailing DON J and third was Massimo Noons at the helm of JULIO CAESAR with a local crew from Anzio's neighborhood sailing center.
It was a beautiful and historic sailing event blessed by good winds, good race management and organized by the non-profit organization Palio Anzio. The event is a celebration of the history of the port of Anzio and the eight districts that make up the city surround the port.
For some historical perspective, it was in 1761 that Cardinal Antonio Pignatelli of Naples was planning on joining the Conclave in Rome sailing by water. However, he was caught in a gale which forced him to take shelter in the Gulf of Anzio. Here the generous citizens of the town welcomed him for the time necessary to be able to return to the sea and reach Rome, carrying a promise that, if he became the Pope of the Catholic Church, that he would build the port of Anzio. That promise came true, as he was elected Pope Innocent XII. After a few months of living in Rome, he recalled the promise and returned to Anzio, this time by land, to lay the first stone of the new Port of Anzio near the ruins of the ancient port of Nero! Today, the crew of Anzio Lavinio, by winning the trophy for the second time may have the opportunity for a three-peat performance next year! For more J/24 Italy sailing information
CREATIVE DESTRUCTION Ugotta Regatta Overall WinnerJ/111 NO SURPRISE Takes PHRF Overall
(Harbor Springs, MI)- Sailboats from all over head to Harbor Springs each summer for one of the grand Great Lakes sailing traditions- the Little Traverse YC Ugotta Regatta. Sponsored again by Credit Suisse, the Regatta brings together some of the best sailboat racers in the lakes to Little Traverse Bay in between the famous Chicago Mac or Bayview Mac Races.
The series begins with one-design racing on Friday followed a tour-of-the-bay course on Saturday and windward-leeward racing on Sunday. The weekend’s festivities kick off bright and early Friday morning with a fun tradition: a long line of happy people beginning at sun up outside Irish Boat Shop to purchase the 2013 Ugotta Regatta t-shirt. Each year, the shirt design changes and with a limited production, the lines begin early to score a coveted shirt.
Friday night finds a "Welcome to Harbor Springs Celebration" at the Irish Boat Shop for racers only- an awesome cookout with excellent local beers and wines to savor for the masses of sailors-- always an incredibly popular event.
On both Saturday and Sunday mornings, the Club hosts the famous "Pancake Breakfast". Open to the public and racers, the Pancake Breakfast is a delicious way for the boat teams to quickly fuel up before getting on the water. One highlights (and tradition) of the breakfast- the young Racers flip less-than-perfect pancakes over their shoulders to land on the roof of the sail shed behind them.
In this year's event, six J/105s competed. For the tour of bay on Saturday, the course was 18 miles under overcast skies with variable winds building to 18 knots over four hours. Mac/Bayview winner PTERODACTYL (Mark Symonds) participated. Why not do the 2 Mac races and finish buoy racing in Harbor Springs? Little Traverse Sailors, a boat of primarily junior sailors came in second, showing that the J/105 is a great boat for juniors to compete in high-end regattas. Carter Williams' CREATIVE DESTRUCTION won the J/105 division, and was overall winner for regatta (beating out Windquest, J/111s, GL70s, etc.). This was the first time a J/105 won the entire regatta. Taking third overall in class was Mark Symond's J/105 PTERODACTYL-- the Mac Race winner!
The handicap honors in PHRF 3 Class went to the J/111 NO SURPRISE sailed by (remarkably enough), local host and hero David Irish! Their dominant 3-1-1-1 record was, in fact, the best record in PHRF and for the overall regatta with just 6.0 pts to count. Last year's winner, Dick Lehmann's WIND CZAR took 6th overall with a 1.5-3-12-15 tally. Larry Taunt's J/35 BAD DOG was 9th, Larry Schell's J/35 TOUCH OF GREY was 11th and Brad Schell's newly-unwrapped J/111 UTAH was 12th.
In the PHRF White sails cruising division, the J/42 JAYWALKER sailed by Bill Stellin continued her fast cruising tradition to take 3rd overall in her class. For more Ugotta Regatta sailing information
BANKS ESPERANZA Captures J/24 Barbados Regatta(Barbados)- Skippered by Ian Mayers, the BANKS ESPERANZA J/24 team continued an impressive run of form to completely eclipse the J/24 division of the Harris Paints two-day regatta. It was another show of late-season magic from the ESPERANZA crew, who also dominated and won the First Citizens Regatta earlier in the season in Holetown.
In the Harris Paints event, which was also the 30th year of sponsorship by the company, and which featured shifty winds on the southcoast, ESPERANZA's slammed nine other rival crews to win three of four races. They finished fourth in Race 4. “We were looking to make a clean-sweep but we didn't have a great start in the last race, although we made up some ground. Our crew is in good form and we proved that we are capable of challenging the top boats in competition,” said skipper Mayers. Impulse, skippered by Neil Burke, finished second and HawkEye, skippered by Robert Povey, finished third overall while also winning Race 4. Fourth was Die Hard, captained by Robbie Yearwood, and fifth, ISIS, captained by Nicholas Lashley.The six-member Barbados J/24 Youth team also used last weekend's regatta as part of their preparation for the for BVI –Premier Cup International regatta which is being contested in Tortola on Saturday and Sunday( July 12-14).
Significantly, the Harris Paints regatta was the last of six regattas making up the 2013 Jaguar/ Landrover series in the race for the national championship of J24 racing in Barbados.
Despite their late season heroics, Esperanza were unable to deny Williams Industries HawkEye the championship as they pipped them by one point to secure the right to be called national champions. After six regattas, HawkEye collected nine points while Esperanza finished the season on ten points, for second place in the Jaguar/ Landrover series.
HawkEye earlier in the season won the Taylors Cycle Centre regatta , were second in the Mount Gay regatta in mid-May, and won the Lucky Horseshoe regatta in early June. “It was a very competitive season. Our main goal was to win the national championship this year and our crew made it happen. We came out with a mission and accomplished it,” said Robert Povey, skipper of HawkEye.
Champions in 2012, Impulse finished the season third overall, on 12 points, while Fully Covered, skippered by Bruce Bailey , finished fourth with 16 points. ISIS, skippered by Lashley, were fifth overall on 26 points.
The Jaguar/ Landrover series is organized by the J/24 Club of Barbados and President Gregory Webster praised, sponsors, sailors and other partners for helping to create successful events and an outstanding season. For more J/24 Barbados sailing information
J/105s Sweep Texas Offshore Circuit (Galveston Bay, Texas)- The Texas Offshore Racing Circuit (TORC) concluded on July 26 with Galveston Bay Cruising Association's Texas Race Week (TRW) offshore of Galveston. In addition to TRW, the TORC consists of two offshore distance races each of approximately 90 miles. Winds ranged from 5-15 on Thursday to Saturday's 12-19. Surprisingly the weather was not as hot as usual so the sailing was fabulous.
The TRW spinnaker fleet included two J/105s, two J/109s, a Melges 32, an Olsen 30, a Navy 44, and an Express 37. After three full days of racing, Brian Uffelman's J/105 AVICI took first with a spectacular 2-1-1 followed by Bee Bednar's J/105 STINGER in third with 3-4-3. Having participated in the entire TORC, AVICI, STINGER and the J/109 AIRBORNE were the only boats competing for the Texas Navy Trophy. Brian Uffelman's AVICI finished first, Bee Bednar's STINGER second and Dave Christiansen's AIRBORNE third. For more J/105 sailboat information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* J/80 Class Elects Jose Maria "Pichu" Torcida as International Class President! The Cantabrian double World Champion is looking forward to his tenure as leader of one of the world's elite international one-design classes with large fleets competing in the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Spain."The J/80 class is definitely the best one-design sailboat in Spain, with over a hundred boats, and it involves many senior sailors. The fleets with significant activity include Catalonia, Baleares, Murcia, Andalusia, Canary Islands, Galicia, Cantabria and Basque Country. From a world perspective, Spain is third in the total number of boats after the USA and France, and in terms of results in international competitions is the first," declares Torcida.
The objectives for his next journey are clear: "Keep doing great with the J/80 class as each day new classes appear and the competition is tough. Working with professionalism and with great enthusiasm, for boat owners and J/80 sailors, I am convinced that the class will have, internationally, many great years ahead."
"Our work in Spain to promote the class has been a success, with over 100 boats on a regular basis battling with powerful fleets scattered around the Spanish coast."
The J/80 class, recognized by ISAF (International Sailing Federation) in 1995, has had in the last ten years impressive growth worldwide. These boats are easy to operate and high performance, designed for a crew of 4-5 people. Its sail plan, with a powerful 65 sqm gennaker, provides the J/80 exceptional performance at high speed, ideal for both professional and amateur sailors."The performance of the J/80 is very good and the boat as a whole works well for a lot of people-- size, number of crew, ease of handling, good surfing, and cost," said Jose Maria Torcida, "In Spain we follow the constant work and dedication of Alex Diaz, President of the J/80 Spanish Association. This year marks the seventh championship of the Santa María Cup VII in Hondarribia Spain!"
In Spain, despite being a young class, global successes was not expected from the outset. Since 2007 the J/80 Worlds have seen many good performances by Spanish sailors-- including Pichu Torcida (2007, 2010), Ignacio Camino (2008, 2011), Rayco Tabares (2009) and José María Van der Ploeg (2012). Torcida hopes to expand on that success to help other nations build their J/80 class presence and improve the overall quality of sailing-- the J/80 class should anticipate having two years of exciting leadership by one of her great and enthusiastic champions! Fotos de Jose María Torcida: ELENA TORCIDA. Fotos de J80: Pierick Jeannoutot. For more J/80 International class sailing information
* J/120 SLEDGE HAMMER- here's a great story from the front row of the Bayview-Mackinac Race by team member Tim Lewin. If you recall, this team was the consummate "outsider", spending considerable time and preparation to travel across Lake Erie to participate in this year's Bayview-Mac Race starting just north or Port Huron. Here is Tim's commentary:"Put eight out-of-town Renaissance sailors on a 40-foot well-designed J/Boat and push everything to the max. That’s the recipe the J/120 Sledgehammer team worked up for this year’s Bell’s Bayview to Mackinac long course race. We all had sailed similar A-symmetrical boats, but never together. Half of the boat is family and the other half might as well be at this point.
The forecast looked light for the first half of the race. We knew of a possible right shift with weakening conditions. Clear air, fast angle and possible jib to code zero change ran through our minds. Off the line at 12:20pm with speed on and little immediate concerns. Up the track at 3pm we found ourselves in third, with the code zero keeping us moving in light conditions. Pete kept us going as fast as possible in the light breeze. We felt wave trains hitting us from dead ahead, noting that more breeze would be coming. Eventually, the first place boat headed up to our angle, changing from code zero to AP-1. They were close enough to hoot and holler if they so chose. On a higher and most definitely slower angle, Hot Ticket went from one o’clock to five-thirty in less than twenty minutes. Feeling refreshed, our crew laughed and had twice baked potatoes and quarters of chicken. The breeze had freshened, rain had come and gone and our next move weighed heavily on all of us. We came close to a land- forced tack. Having the right side in our minds, we took the tack a little after 8pm.
First watch started at the 9pm sunset. Excitement ran through our minds as we now had inter-boat competition. Whoever chomped down the most miles or claimed highest boat speed would have infamous glory! Sloppy waves left us rocking and rolling during off watch. Twelve-thirty came and B team could not take it anymore. A team took control on Port tack. Feeling sluggish and useless, I sat on the rail and dreamed that I could see each wave coming. The full moon helped us a lot throughout our trek to find optimal trim in the ever-changing medium breeze. My dad took the wheel after Crusty kept us going as fast as possible. Feeling exhausted, he handed it over thirty minutes later. Not driving a big boat for quite some time, I was nervous. I did alright for the first couple minutes. Then I stood the boat straight up. Having turned the wheel aggressively, I got it back down to a normal upwind angle. Then, half a minute later, the same thing happened. Crusty exclaimed, “You can’t do that, get the boat back down!” Turning the wheel aggressively once more, I tried to settle her back down. “Let’s tack” Crusty said. At 2:45AM we got the 100 degree shift! It was time to get up and go! The breeze came back on and we were ready for takeoff. Crusty went down to get a short sheet and snatch block and I may have inadvertently gotten him a tad bit wet. Blasting through a close reach at 60-75 degrees true wind, boat speed rang up to 8.5 knots with a varying 5-12 degrees off of our one and only mark’s course. Back braced on the rigid backstay and hands white knuckled on the wheel, I felt like a Volvo Ocean Racer with sheets of water exploding off our bow and landing behind the wheel, soaking everyone from my dad to me. Lying furthest forward, dad easily got my ten years worth of foredeck water exposure in those two hours!
Wake up time for B team, and I watched each of their faces go to confusion. Liz was sick, Tommy got sick and Louis was soon to be. I could not even go down below for most of my off watch because we were slamming off some elevator drop waves. Watching Louis get sick sparked my stomachs interest in doing the same. Bedtime shortly after.
Next wake up was by a hand and not a wave, so I was feeling pretty good. Sun was at 9AM and the breeze was off our starboard side, creating more fun close reaching. Waves shrunk due to less fetch and we were all getting excited about turning the corner and putting up our big red A-sym whomper. Doug nailed the GPS coordinates and we rounded the mark with ease at 9:30am. Ahead and behind us were J/120’s which kept us well motivated. Fowlies torn off and warm coffee livened us. Rotations in and out of trimming, driving and naps kept us all fresh. Hot Ticket headed toward Canada. Flying Irish headed to the American shore, keeping us pickle in the middle. We kept it fast and straight. It was almost time for bed again and Louis came up the stairs with some rather exciting news. Hot Ticket was not the J/120 ahead. We would later learn that it was Kashmir- a J/111! Night came again and it was time for A team to go off watch again.
Three hours later, it was time for A teams last on deck shift. B team had chomped down miles in strengthening wind and waves. Flying Irish was way off toward the American shore and we thought they had been gaining. B team lost track of them at dusk, but we knew they were roughly a mile away. Crusty drove downwind like a bat out of hell while Dougie ground the spinnaker sheet and kept our A1 full. I began pumping the main like it was going out of style and dad stood watch as our eyes as we were starting to really light up the boat speed screen. Just before taking the shift, my brother Tommy exclaimed “11 knots- Beat that suckers!” A team got all riled up and began our shift with 13 knots! Take that Tommy! Wave trains were being ridden on consecutive and most of the time the main would stay in for a period after pumping. AC/DC lyrics began playing in my head and I was feeling super human at this point. I knew we were up there on the list and I wasn’t going to let any wave pass us on our sleigh ride to the finish.
The finish required two turning points before crossing the line. First would require a 20-degree to port turn, which would keep us inside of the A1 zone. The second would bring us into either A1 or code zero conditions, breeze pending. We decided to wake up B team from their one hour of rest, just to be safe. As soon as the sleepy four made their way on deck, the breeze dropped from 20 to 12. Everyone stayed on the rail and kept it down. Two gybes were required to clear land as our angle rose due to the dropping breeze. The Mackinac Bridge started to twinkle in the distance, and we were all pretty sure that we could see the lights of the Pink Pony glistening on island. As we got closer, a sea of red buoys made navigation a challenge. Doug popped down below for the remainder to guide us through the channel. We were looking for the four second flashing green for a long time, but never could find it. We used our relative position to keep sure depth and direction were OK. We spotted the lighthouse and got the anticipated excitement of radioing in our position. The spotlight lit up our big red chute like a Chinese lantern. We knew the finish was near but made sure we passed through it by what seemed like a half of a mile at the time. Chute down in the pitch black- I’m glad we didn’t have to do many douses! Official finish time: 3:16AM. Happy 60th birthday Dad! Nothing like being the first BYC boat to land the top of two podiums!"
* The J/22 European Championship was recently sailed on the Zierickzee in the Netherlands. One of the crew members sailing, Nadine, wrote a wonderful story about her experience:"The long awaited main event this year was finally there, 28 boats registered, 5 coming from Germany and another 5 from France. Also a strong Dutch field including a big fraction from Drimmelen, as well as from around the Brassermeer and of course the Student teams were registered.
The weather prediction was relatively cold, but well sailable with a light breeze from west/southwest increasing and decreasing – making the competition together with the current an interesting tactical game…
Audrey was studying the tides for our Jabbadabbadoo, Clive added his experience from sailing days around the Solent, I was the logistic and admin responsible and Stan was actually just organising the complete Europeans.
Our goal was set to play in the first third, with the occasional visit to the top ten and maybe top five in this superb field of the best J22's of Europe. So after the nice but long sail through the Zierickzee canal under the huge turbulent bridge to the racing area the first start was a bit sobering – we started more or less second row. There is a difference between 15 boats and 28 at the start (which we almost forgot in the last two years).We worked and found some speed in the upwind legs managing a 11th place to start the series. Not exactly where we wanted to be, but acceptable. The second race went similar, with a slight worse start and some misjudgments on the good side of the course, so that we ended up 14th seeing the leaders Banarama, Jazzy, Jamsession, Kantoorbutler and Gap only from the far.
We almost missed the preparation signal for the next, thinking we had a slight break and were head over heels falling in the starting sequence of the third race; apparently that was not too bad for us, because we found our start and the speed crossing back after a couple of minutes most of the field on port. Woohoo what a feeling rounding the upwind buoy as part of the top five. Now our new purple spinnaker lily felt like the Whomper we named it after! The tides where correctly predicted and we started understanding the wind – giving us the third place on the finish.
Feeling this high we hungered for more, recklessly giving everything in spot-on maneuvers and managed to cross the 4th race as first over the finish, what a feeling: Jabbadabbadoo!
The racing instructions allowed a fifth race and we were on a run, this race was dedicated to a fight on the last leg with Jazzy, millimeter trim work and tacks gave us the 2nd place only leaving us behind Banarama, who won deserved on incredible speed.
But back on shore we learned that the second place was scored as OCS, frustrated and devastated we saw the third place overall turning into a seventh. With sailing, being super happy and deeply frustrated are often just instances away… but some Champaign in the B&B and a dinner with all the class lifted the spirits (but not necessarily our tiredness
The second day promised stronger winds and we wanted to fight back. However, first it stayed by the wish of the fighting as our start was mediocre and we could not gain enough speed seeing 14 boats finishing in front of us. But we had seen the influence of the tide and the favorite side of the course giving us an advantage in the second race. There after a clear start we were fighting in front of the fleet for a place in the top 3. Indeed a second place it was – appreciated with a great Jabbadabbadoo at the finish line and reinforced confidence.
It was not completely our day – like an elevator on random course we ended the third race 25th. At least it was due to our own fault as we had to do a 360 after a bit too close encounter with the mark: The field by now was very close together, so we found out that it is costly to do some honour rounds.
The conclusion of the day was a fourth place showing that we can be where we want to be, just not consistently – or that someone was pressing our elevator button in the right direction again.
In the harbour as a very nice surprise was Stan’s family welcoming us and sharing the stijger-beer together with the complete J22 class: Having 28 boats during the competition made the beer an excellent social event giving the opportunity to laugh about today’s encounters, brag about wind and tides and in general just having an awesome time that a lot of other classes were jealous of.
It felt a bit a weird starting the third day with the last two races after such an elevator day. On one hand we knew we can, but on the other hand we exactly also knew too often we just don’t.
Anyway, we wanted to show that the good places where no accidents – so we trimmed in the hour before the race like mad, adjusted the rig (the wind prediction was medium wind, but in the hour before the race we had everything from wind still to strong gusts). And we found the right setting concluding a great wonderful European Championship with a 3rd and a 4th place ranking in the end result on place 7.
Despite some downs and the many ups in this regatta, we enjoyed the sailing in a big fleet (yes, even the starting!) and the chatting with so many nice people and crews. It was an event to be remembered, especially with beautiful sunshine during the last day's ceremony where we even got the prize for the winner of the day!
Congratulations to the teams that achieved a top ranking. It was also a pleasure to see so many new crews sailing with enthusiasm that reminded us of our own fight up the tail of the fleet. All boats realized that competing in a large fleet is more fun, but the fun of competing is just as intense and rewarding in the top as it is in the tail of the fleet. Thanks to all making this possible and a big thank you for Anna Schakel who provided some great pictures of the Europeans." Sailing photo credits- Anna Schakel For more J/22 JABBADABBADOO sailing information
* Sixteen PHRF Racers to Fit a Budget?! SAILING WORLD Magazine recently published a handy article on sixteen PHRF racers that you can own and campaign on a moderate budget. Written by the editorial crew of Bill Brockway, Kurt Hoehne, Tony Bessinger, they provide some insight on what might work for you, four of them are J/Boats (J/27, J/29, J/30, J/35)! Here's their commentary:"The cheapest way to race is on someone else's boat. But, if you have dreams of thrusting the silver urn aloft at the awards banquet while praising your crew, you'll have to buy your own ride. The one thing standing in the way, you say, is the expense. But with handicap racing, you don't have to spring for a big-ticket racer. There are many competitive older designs you can buy and campaign for the cost of a new sport utility vehicle.
The most popular rating rule in the USA is the Performance Handicap Rating Fleet. So, if you're interested in buying a used boat, and want plenty of opportunity to race, it not only makes sense to buy one that fits your budget but performs well under PHRF. You want a boat that rates well in your region, but you don't want to sail a dog. A simple, but effective way of measuring a boat's abilities without sailing it is to determine its sail-area-to-displacement ratio. On most boats, the SA/D ratio usually works out to be between 14 and 30, with higher numbers representing lighter, faster boats. Cruiser/racers have ratios between 16 to 20, racer/cruisers have ratios greater than 20, and high-performance racers have ratios 24 and above. A SA/D calculator can be found at http://www.sailingusa.info/cal__sad_ratio.htmThanks to the Internet, searching for a PHRF winner is more fun than work, but to narrow down your search we've tapped our resources to narrow down your search to find 16 gems that shouldn't be overlooked. Please read more here on SAILING WORLD's website.
* 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.
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Meanwhile, of note was that J/WORLD SAILING SCHOOL's 50 footer HULA GIRL again sailed the Transpac and managed a 6th in class. Led by Wayne Zittel and two coaches plus six J/WORLD students as crew, the old GIRL sailed admirably in the difficult conditions. Most of the Transpac participants have learned to sail on J/Boats and a few own J/Boats - at least 2 J/105s in this year's crew! Wayne and the J/WORLD coaches have countless days on the water teaching on J/80s, J/105s, J/120s, J/70s, J/111s and more! 
Managing ten classes during the week, four of them one-design, the CYC-Seattle race committee ran two RC boats, multiple runabouts, and shot off 120 starts in 8-16 knot winds. In fact, all five days had great sailing conditions with plenty of sunshine and nice wind. 
“As more big boats came to Edgartown for the Round the Island Race, the more their crews wanted to enjoy Martha’s Vineyard, and take home more silver,” said Mr Brooks. “The response to our efforts has been electric.“ First held in the summer of 1938, the Edgartown Yacht Club’s Round the Island Race was inspired by a similar race around the Isle of Wight that has been held in Cowes, England every year since 1931. Covering 54.7 miles, it passes over Nantucket Sound, the Atlantic Ocean and Vineyard Sound and by seven lighthouses as it circumnavigates, clockwise, the 100 square miles that make up Martha’s Vineyard.
* J/70s are sailing in areas notorious for having weed & kelp issues. Lightweight, quick-to-deploy carbon sticks are often a great answer to the difficult issue of getting weed/kelp off the bottom of the rudder and the keel where the "weed whacker" doesn't reach. For places like New England, California and lakes like Minnetonka, SD Boatworks has come up with an elegant solution- the J/70 carbon fiber kelp/ weed stick. Here's a Youtube video of how it works on the rudder and when you lie down on your stomach next to the shrouds, you can use this to also get rid of weed on the bottom of your keel!