J/88 Family Speedster Splashed!(Newport, RI)- The next-generation J speedster in the 30 foot range just got launched and is now undergoing initial sea-trials in Narragansett Bay . She’s a beauty to look at and to sail. Hats off to the team at CCF Composites for a first class build, and to the many project partners for their hard work and support.
First reactions are always telling, and there’s no question the J/88 (29.0 ft overall) will excite many sailors. She accelerates like the J/70 and tracks like the J/111. There’s an instant response to fine adjustments in helm and trim that you’d expect from a high performance J. At the same time there’s a feeling of security while sitting in the cockpit, and a feeling of confidence as the boat handles the waves and wind.
The ergonomics are fantastic. It’s easy to move in and out of the J/111-style cockpit with plenty of hand and footholds, nothing big to step over. The driver can trim the mainsail single-handed style or have a dedicated main trimmer and both be comfortably positioned. The open cockpit area behind the traveller provides extra seating and on-deck cooler storage, perfect for picnic swim/sails with a pile of kids aboard. Below decks, one can sit on the settees and lean back with full sitting headroom under the side decks. The main bulkhead opening is several inches wider than normal, making passage forward to the head or to the spinnaker easier.
To see the J/88 and schedule a demo sail, please contact your local J/Dealer or J/Boats at Ph# +1-401-846-8410 or email- info@jboats.com. For more J/88 family speedster sailing information
J/80 Worlds Preview(Marseilles, France)- With 119 teams participating in this year's J/80 Worlds in Marseilles, France, it look like the J/80s have again set the record for the most Worlds with 70+ boat fleets for any International ISAF one-design keelboat class-- four Worlds over the last ten years, quite a remarkable achievement!
The J/80 dominates the European one-design racing circuits and France, in particular, where it is by far the most favored racer-cruiser. Indeed the Coupe de France (French Cup) circuit, organized by the French J/80 class, has nearly 200 boats that participate in the circuit of ten events every year.
The City of Marseille is hosting the event in a remarkable setting; a wide-open gateway to the Mediterranean and the second largest city in France, Marseille is a multi-cultural metropolis with international influence. Furthermore, Marseille is the European Capital of Culture in 2013 with a great many events organized as part of the celebration.
From the sailors perspective, Marseille is at the centre of water-sports in the Mediterranean with a fabulous sailing area, recognized as one of the finest in France thanks to its 2 natural bays, a vast, protected race area, easily accessible from the harbor, and its steady sea-breezes. No wonder major sailing events have been sailed in Marseilles; including the America’s Cup circuit, the World Sailing Games, the World Match Racing circuit (on J/80s no less), the Medcup and the MOD 70 European Tour in 70 foot multihulls.The sailing schedule starts with a the practice race Monday, July 8th followed by five days of racing with up to three races per day, concluding Saturday, July 13th. With 119 teams from 12 countries (France, Spain, USA, England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Switzerland, Russia, and Oman) many will be looking to see how well they've improved their performance over the past year of sailing and training with their boats. No question, there will be some new faces that will surprise some in the top ten and the event may possibly be the first to dethrone the "Spanish armada" that have dominated the past few J/80 Worlds.
As the most recent World Champions, the Spanish are determined to retain the title but the chances of sweeping the top three spots on the podium may be more difficult this time. They're sending seventeen boats with many of their top teams, including the current World Champion José María Van der Ploeg sailing FACTOR ENERGIA; past World Champions Rayco Tabares on HOTEL PRINCESS YAIZA and Carlos Martinez on ZHIK/ NOVASAIL; and Volvo 70 TELEFONICA star and World 49er Champion Iker Martinez sailing ENBATA 80. That's a formidable group of sailors! 
The French are countering with many top teams, including Eric Brezellec's INTERFACE CONCEPT, Simon Moriceau's INTERFACE CONCEPT II, Vincent Vandekerkhove, Pierre-Loïc Berthet at the helm of Nicolas Lunven's GENERALI, Laurent Sambron's ATLANTIS, Luc Nadal on GAN'JA and the team of Arthur Herreman/ Romain Bethune sailing MATCH THE WORLD! The next strongest group of teams may be the British and Swedish teams. The Swedish teams include Anders Rosenberg sailing DYNAMANT, Ingemar Sundstedt, and Lars Gellerhed on MK-PRODUKTER. The British teams include Jon Powell's BETTY, Patrick Liardet sailing AQUA-J, Allen Higgs skippering JUICY, and Stew Hawthorn sailing J'AI DEUX AMOURS- all very strong teams with a shot at the podium and certainly the top ten.
Highlights of leading teams from other countries include the lone American team sailing- Brian Keane's SAVASANA; top Netherlands team sailed by Laura Vroon on JOI DE VIVRE; Thomas Dehler's ANEGADA from Germany; Massimo Rama's JENIALE! from Italy; Asrar Al Ajmi sailing TEAM AL THURAYA BANK MUSCAT from Oman (the first Omani team to sail a J/80 Worlds); Pawel Boksa on MOONRAKER from Poland; Maxim Kuzmin on J-BLUE 8 from Russia (the first Russian J/80 team to sail a Worlds); and Yannick Preitner sailing POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE from Switzerland.The Worlds promise to be another competitive, if not epic event for the 119 teams sailing for the next week! Marseilles weather can be capricious if fronts are moving quickly across continental Europe, especially if some of the classic "mistral" conditions kick in and blow cold, strong winds out of the lower French Alps! Shifty winds and massive blasts rolling off the mountains can be quite a challenge in the Bay of Marseille.
Meanwhile, here's a YouTube of a French team recently practicing in windy, wavy conditions off Marseille. Looks like they had some fun learning how to gybe better in the big breeze! Watch on YouTube here. Spanish Sailing Photos- Jesus Renedo / Trofeo Conde de Godo and Elena Martinez / RCMS. For more J/80 Worlds sailing information
J/70 Great Lakes Update(Youngstown, NY)- J/70s continue to expand their presence on the Great Lakes, from Lake Ontario westward across Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan as well as in the many lakes across the states and provinces in the region. J/70 fleets have developed in Toronto, ONT; Erie/Western, PA; Buffalo, NY; Youngstown, NY; Rochester, NY; Canandaigua/ Finger Lakes, NY; Lake George, NY; Rocky River, OH; Cleveland, OH; and Chicago, IL. Events for J/70s have been proliferating and highlights include:
The 20th Anniversary of the Cleveland Leukemia Cup Regatta at the Cleveland Yachting Club on July 18-21. If you have never been to CYC, it is one of the premier yacht clubs in the midwest if not the country. Wonderful fresh water sailing on Lake Erie and parties that rival any event. Most importantly, all the proceeds are donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Please attend, you can find more information here.
The 40th Annual Youngstown Level Regatta will be held July 27-28, in Youngstown, NY. This is the largest event on the Lake Ontario South Shore and is known for quality racing and really fun shoreside social activities. There are currently 15 J70s registered and we should be able to hit 20 or more. YYC has two hoists and there is also a ramp near the club, launching and hauling is at no charge. Registration is open at Yacht Scoring here, if you have not already signed up please do so now.
Inaugural J/70 Great Lakes Championship at Buffalo YC, August 10-11. As of this morning there are 17 J/70 entries with more sure to follow. BYC has a good dry-sail area with two hoists and is convenient to downtown Buffalo. This event is a natural for any J/70 coming to Western NY for the Youngstown Level Regatta two weeks prior. Leave your boat here and do two events for one trip. Registration is open on Yacht Scoring here.
Jud Smith J/70 Clinic at Buffalo Yacht Club Friday August 9, prior to GLC: Jud Smith is a well-known sailmaker at Doyle Sails Marblehead, World Champion and an active J/70 owner who will be there to pass on what he has learned so far by campaigning his own J/70.
Don't pass this up! To encourage participation in both regattas, we are offering to tow your J/70 from Youngstown to Buffalo following the event and store it there until the GLC (a 30 mile trip). No charge for moving the boat or storing it for two weeks. All you have to do is take the rig down and prep the boat for towing after the event. If you need to leave the boat in Buffalo for a time after the GLC that is OK too. Simply send an email prior so they may plan accordingly. They want to make sure you enjoy your stay in Western NY so you will come back again!
SAIL22: We highly recommend Ed & Becky for parts and service for your J/70. They own and race a J/70 and know what they are talking about. They offer a wide variety of aftermarket goodies for your J/70 and they are super easy to deal with. They are also at many class events. You can find SAIL22's services here.
Finally, here's a quick guide for J/70 owners of current major American sailmakers that have done their homework and have updated designs based on the experience they have had racing and testing so far.
Tim Healy of North Sails has a string of J/70 wins already. He has put together the following tuning guide (it's highly recommended reading) on the North Sails One-Design website.
Quantum's Marty Kullman J/70 Tuning has taken over the lead in the J/70 class for Quantum Sails. Here is a link to an article Marty wrote after the Cedar Point regatta last month.
Dave Ullman, Erik Shampain and Greg Koski have been developing the Ullman Sails and recent results (like winning Cleveland Race Week) show they're in the game. Here's the link to the Ullman Sails articles and guides on performance and tuning.
Jud Smith and Mark Ploch of Doyle Sailmakers have been making significant advances over the last few months. Mark's recent 2nd in the New York YC Annual Regatta and Jud's 2nd in Charleston Race Week is an indicator of how far they've come in the past year. Here's their link to J/70 tuning guide.
Kris Werner of Haarstick Sailmakers is a new J/70 owner in upstate NY. Many sailors in the area have used Haarstick Sails in the past and have a relationship with them. Haarstick is now developing sails for the J/70 and you will soon see Kris out on the circuit with his new boat. More J/70 one-design speedster sailboat information
Penobscot Bay Rendezvous Preview(Camden, Maine)- What a party! The Penobscot Bay Rendezvous is on the map as one of New England best sailing regattas. Last year fifty-five boats gathered for the four-night three-day event. This was a substantial increase from 2011’s participation of 37 boats and organizers expect the growth to continue as the word spreads about the fun of this regatta. Recognized by Yachting Magazine as one of the "Year’s Best Sailing" events for good reason; 26 of the 37 skippers from the 2011 fleet participated in the 2012 event! That's called "customer loyalty"!
Register Today and Join The Party! The 2013 Penobscot Bay Rendezvous, August 15-18th will once again be Maine's most exciting sailing regattas of the season. Super yachts, to classics to performance racers, and of course, all J/Teams that can make it from the northeast! The Penobscot Bay Rendezvous is a celebration of boating and boatbuilding. Featuring daily races for sailboats and the sailors will be hosted each night at a different exclusive venue in Rockland, Thomaston and Camden, Maine. Delicious locally sourced menus, dancing and fireworks are all a part of the ticket. To get the flavor of what it's like to sail this event, please view Billy Black's YouTube sailing video here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUr_UjrLoS0
J sailors have won more than their fair share of trophies in this event. No wonder, of the 24 sailboats registered so far, 14 are J/Teams (or over 50% brand share of the regatta already)!
So far, it looks like the following J/Teams are sailing, including the J/160 SEPTEMBER MORNING sailed Judy Jellinek and friends; the twin J/46's including SKITTERYGUSSET helmed by Chris Holm and SEA BISCUIT sailed by Nathan Owen; the J/122 RESOLUTE sailed by Bermuda One-Two Champion Scott Miller of Blue Hill, ME; the fleet of J/42's such as BRAVO skippered by local J/Dealer Tom Babbit, ARROWHEAD skippered by Steve Berlack, JULIET sailed by Rick Tonge; the J/40 EX LIBRIS sailed by Jacob Gerritsen; the twin J/100's SEA SMOKE led by Tom Gill and SMITTEN driven by Frank Simon; the J/80 CHAISE LOUNGE sailed by Jesse Henry; the J/109 TRUE NORTH led by Ron Hart and the J/120 BOREAS sailed by Lloyd Van Lunen. For more Penobscot Bay Rendezvous sailing information
J/Sailing NewsThe Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The first week of July generally happens to be a significant event for Americans as it marks the weekend renown as "Independence Day"- July 4th. Remarkably, while fireworks are tossed skyward, few sailing events in America are actually taking place. Meanwhile, in Europe recent events that have concluded with great sailing are the J/22 European Championships sailed in The Netherlands, the J/80 Swedish Sandhamn Open Regatta hosted by the KSSS (Royal Swedish YC) in Sweden and the J/22 Brombachsee Regatta held in The Netherlands.In the Americas, recent regattas include the famous Long Beach Race Week held in Long Beach, CA with an enormous fleet of J's participating, including fleets of J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, J/105s, J/109s and J/120s along with some famous J/125s battering PHRF fleet sailors. Far to the south, the J/24s in Argentina recently completed their J/24 Copa Olivos Regatta off Buenos Aires, Argentina on the Rio de la Plata.
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:
Jul 4-7- J/24 UK Nationals- Plymouth, EnglandJul 6-13- J/80 World Championships- Marseilles, France
Jul 12-14- Bacardi Newport Regatta (22, 24, 70, 80, 105)
Jul 13-15- Chicago Mackinac Race- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Jul 25-28- J/30 North Americans- Barrington, RI
Jul 26-28- J/70 New Englands/ NOOD- Marblehead, MA
Jul 27-28- Youngstown Level Regatta (70, 24)- Youngstown, NY
Aug 3-10- Cowes Race Week (70, 80, 109, 111)- Cowes, England
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 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.
J/Teams Enjoy Sunny, Breezy Long Beach Race Week(Long Beach, CA)- Sailing in the Los Angeles basin offers the locals a wide variety of sailing conditions. The topographical features of the region are dominated by the mountain ranges and valleys that traverse the area from the northwest to the southeast, often providing enough heating to generate reliable sea-breeze conditions along the coast. While downtown L.A. and Palm Springs may be boiling in 90 to 115 F degrees, the sea coast is basking in sunshine and cool breezes blowing onshore in the 210 to 240 degree range.
As one of the classic California summer regattas, this year's Long Beach Race Week delivered on that promise with WSW breezes, some fog and cool conditions. Friday's sailing saw lots of fog the morning burn off and produce gorgeous sailing in the afternoon with 8-14 kts breezes from WSW. Saturday's sailing saw the wind in a more southerly quadrant and with three races scheduled, the PRO's were busy changing marks to the west all day as the wind clocked from 190 to 235 degrees. Sunday dawned sunny onshore but by midday the tail feathers of a front passing by the south produced the most southerly breezes of the weekend, ranging from 160 to 210 degrees with some grey overcast skies for some fleets.
The host clubs, Long Beach YC and Alamitos Bay YC, provided excellent race management across three circles (North- J/24s; West- J/120s, PHRF 1; South- J/70, J/80, J/105, J/109, PHRF) for the 18 classes. Six one-design J fleets participated, including J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, J/105s, J/109s and J/120s. In addition, the two PHRF divisions had several offshore J teams sailing.
The eight teams sailing the J/70 class saw San Diego YC member Bennet Greenwald continuing his winning streak in J/70s sailing PERSEVERANCE to take top honors with five 1sts in their score card of seven races. Behind them it was quite a tussle for the top five. In the end, Craig Tallman from Kings Harbor YC took second sailing JAYA with mostly 2nd and 3rds for a total of 20 pts. Third was the team of Tom Jenkins and Eric Kownacki on DFZ just three points back. Fourth was Karl Pomeroy in ZERO TO 60 and fifth was Dan Gribble and Joe Wiese in GO-RILLA.
The J/105 class has six teams sailing and the fleet saw a repeat of the battle for the lead during California Race Week a few weeks earlier between Gary Mozer's CURRENT OBSESSION 2 from Marina del Rey and Rick Goebel's SANITY from San Diego. Mozer's "CO2" gang again ran the table, taking all 1sts, not having to sail the last race. The same held true for Goebel's SANITY crew, sailing mostly 2nds and not sailing the last race as well. Perhaps the most heart-warming story for the 105s was to see Scott McDaniel's OFF THE PORCH sail their best regatta in decades, winning the last race and celebrating with the award- an enormous bottle of Mt Gay Rum from the sponsor! 
Local sailor Steve Crooke from Long Beach YC sailed SUGAR to a dominating win in the J/109 class, counting three 1sts and three 2nds in their tally to win by 8 pts. Past winner Tom Brott sailed ELECTRA to second overall after winning the first day with two bullets and struggling off the starting line for the next two days. Third was Chris Mewes SHADOWFAX. The balance of the top five included Bryce Benjamin's PERSISTENCE in 4th and Alice Heahey's GRACE O'MALLEY in 5th.The nine boat J/120 class had many of the top SoCal teams participating, including several champions over the past few years. Starting with three bullets on Saturday, it was readily apparent to all that with good starts and good speed that San Diego YC's John Laun and friends on CAPER were well on their way to winning their class. Following up that magnificent performance with two 2nds on Sunday assured them of the J/120 class crown. Just behind them was a real dog-fight for the top five. The last race pretty much determined the overall standings with some teams rising to the occasion and others simply blowing it, just six points separated four boats. Surviving the carnage was Gary Winton's SHENANIGANS, taking second with a 6-3-5-1-3 record. Third one point back was Chuck Nichol's CC RIDER with a 3-2-2-5-7 scoreline. Fourth two points back was Mike Hatch's J-ALMIGHTY with a consistent 4-4-4-6-4 tally. Finally, rounding out the top five was John Snook's JIM as top local Long Beach boat with a 2-9-8-4-1 record.
With six 1sts and one 2nd, it was quite clear that Curt Johnson sailing AVET performed a "three-peat" of winning the J/80 class, easily out-distancing his competitors over the three days. Repeating the same finish order as Cal Race Week, Steve Wyman on NUHUNU took second overall. Third was Bob Hayward on BLUE JAY.The five J/24s competing had nice, shifty winds sailing the the northern course near the "pumping" islands along the shore. Winning with a race to spare was Jim Bauerley's CRITTER with 18 pts. Second was Susan Taylor's TAKE FIVE, narrowly beating by one point John Cianciarulo's ABOUT TIME.
In PHRF I Division, the twin J/125s nearly took the top two spots. However, choosing a #3 jib off the start in the last race versus a #2 jib in a dying breeze meant Mark Surber's J/125 DERIVATIVE had to settle for third overall. Sailing a superb series was Peter Krueger's J/125 DOUBLE TROUBLE, with four 1sts and two 2nds in the record, they dominated their class.The PHRF 4 Division were treated to a sweep by J/Teams. Top banana was Dave Boatner & Dick Velthoen's J/35 RIVAL from Ventura YC easily winning their class with mostly 1sts and 2nds. Second overall was the PHRF-optimized J/105 LEGACY sailed by Brian Dougherty from Long Beach YC. For more Long Beach Race Week sailing information
BANANA JAMA Wins J/22 Europeans(Zierikzee, Netherlands)- The 2013 J/22 European Championships had an excellent turn-out of twenty-eight teams from across Europe with teams representing The Netherlands, Germany and France.
With so many good teams, it was busy on the starting line and at the mark roundings, causing many boats to flip-flop from the front of the fleet to the back more than once in the eleven races sailed. The French and German teams were really surprised by the erratic flow of the current and wind conditions in the Oosterschelde - reason for no less than three general recalls in the third round on Saturday - and somewhat variable wind.
Stan Heltzel, regatta chief of the Dutch J/24 class organization, was very pleased with the facilities and the organization: "We have eighteen Dutch teams sailing and that is a strong participation for our fleet. The J/22 has strict one-design class rules, is a very affordable boat and, therefore, is particularly suitable for student teams."
After eleven races, Holger Neuhaus from Dortmund, Germany and his team on BANANA JAMA (Daniel Scheer and Jörg Friedlein) were crowned 2013 European Champions after a cliff-hanging tie-breaker with a 1-7-5-2-1-1-4-1-1-5 record for 28 pts net. Starting in first after the initial day of racing, they never looked back and sailed a beautiful series to take their first big J/22 win. Team BIGLIFT / JAM SESSION of TU Delft, led by Rikst Dijkstra was second with an equal number of points with a scorecard of 4-2-2-8-5-3-1-3-6-1 for 28 pts net, but lost the tie-breaker based on number of first places. Finishing third was Frenchman Charles Nichaux sailing JAZZY with a 8-4-14-10-2-5-16-2-2-8 for 57 net pts.Rounding out the top five were two more Dutch boats, fourth was Peter van Doornmalen's GAP with 63 pts net and fifth was Misja Adamczyk's XJE Sailing Team with 73 pts net. Sailing photo credits- Anusjka Martens - Objectivo.nl For more J/22 Europeans sailing information
ROCAD RACING Wins J/80 Sandhamn Open(Sandhamn, Sweden)- Every year, the KSSS (Royal Swedish YC) roll out the red carpet for all Swedish sailors in one of their summer season highlights, the "Sandhamn Open Regatta". As they have for the past few years, the J/80s had a good turnout, especially in view of the fact that three or more teams were practicing their final event before heading to the enormous J/80 World Championship in Marseilles, France.
Perhaps establishing primal supremacy over those other Swedish teams, ROCAD RACING won this year's J/80 Sandhamn event. It was good conditions with sunshine and winds between 2-6 m/s all day. The first day offered three races and team HAPPY led after the first day, closely followed by A2 and the aforementioned ROCAD. Saturday was team ROCAD RACING's day, they nailed all four races, winning them decisively and led the fleet. During one of the races on Saturday, the field of teams was further mixed up when several large container ships sailed through the race course!
On Sunday it was only one race and it looked like ROCAD RACING had the event won by a significant margin. The real fight was for the balance of the podium for second and third. A2 and HAPPY were only separated by one point. Like an Olympic Sailing Finals Medal Race, HAPPY managed to keep the nerves under control and nailed the final race, closely followed by Rocad Racing and A2, and thus took silver. A2 finished 3rd after a very consistent sailing in the top all weekend followed by Team Heavy Duty fourth.For more J/80 Sweden sailing information, please visit their Facebook Page.
J/22 Brombachsee Report(Brombachsee, Netherlands)- The great and almighty wise one, "Hardy", from the magnificent yacht J/22 GER 1181 was elected by some alternative, non-democratic method to write a report about their experiences of traveling over 1,100 km for a two day regatta in the a beautiful little lake called the "Brombachsee". They clearly had fun, and more importantly, know they will be back for even more fun next year! Here's their story:
"Well, actually I should not be writing this report, because it makes all the folks back home believing that I may be Pinocchio and not telling the real story and, worse, imagining that I may be promoting our awesome boat!
So, there we were, a 530 km ride ahead of us, then sail for two days. Would the weather hold up? Would the car make it? But, as my bowman Jorg always says, 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained, sometimes you just have to do it!' Otherwise, if you don't, you will just fall into the 'everyday miserable rut of not doing anything'! Wise words. So, I must tell you, it was a great weekend and worth all the drama!Friday at 1700 hrs we leave and make it to the Brombachsee Lake clubhouse by midnight. No problem, because it seemed no one attending the regatta wanted to go to bed until all are there. A warm "Halloooh" and "nice to have you here" when we arrive. To start with, club members asked us to join them with a delicious "Absackerbier" (e.g. a damn good beer made locally). Beautiful isn't it? Nice feeling to not have to stand in the middle of the night somewhere in a foreign country alone! One hour later we were ready for bed. We were ready to rise early, get breakfast with the nice harbor master in the tap room of a brilliant club house. Then, off to rig, launch and get ready for sailing. Last boat in was Christian Rieck who came 'directly from the airport' to the lake and set a record for rigging and launching!
What we could not see at midnight, we were now faced with in the morning, a fantastic sailing area with a gorgeous landscape and plenty of room to go racing J/22s. My goodness, that's all fine and even better yet is that winds of 3-4 Bft were forecasted! Paradise on a sunny day! 1000 hrs skippers meeting, then 1100 hrs start. Great day of sailing with four races. The locals were amazed by how the J/22s sailed so fast across the lake in gusts above 4 Bft. And, it was exciting (despite the small field of 7 boats)!
For each error made by any J/22 team, one was passed quickly in our closely spaced field. In turn, it was also good action in the back of the fleet, too. At the end of the day, the two teams (Halterner Daniel Lötzbeyer and we) were equal on points, followed by the fast-improving team of Thomas (who would be regatta leaders were it not for 'shrimping' their spinnaker under their boat one race!). By the time sailing ends at 1700 hrs, we arrived to the club over-amped, hungry, dry-throated, ready to eat and drink!
The dinner at 1730 hrs with pork and dumplings, plus wine & beer were much appreciated at the table in the evening sun. Here I must say a special praise to Jürgen Buchard and the gastronomy of the club. You could feel their efforts to care for us as welcome guests. After hard work on the water, a wonderful, convivial atmosphere ashore. It was clear - this weekend can not go wrong!
On Sunday morning we were greeted by a glassy lake and a less than optimal weather report - sunny with wind force 1 or less! The big question, shall we ever start today? But actually, everybody knew that you had to try to make a race. So we tried it when it was actually not quite real in terms of sailing. Sometimes, you just have to cancel racing! Especially, setting marks and course with barely a whiff of wind. We managed a fantastic start. Somehow, we were in the lead drifting left and speculated it would go further left. I went left, I went left all alone on the left...And right there at the moment, we drove past the whole fleet! Because, this time it was just right. Again, with mirror smooth water we had enough time to look at the fleet from afar. This would probably be our best rest yet, and I have no idea why. Was probably too obvious that it was a gamble today! So, we managed to salvage a good race and take third for the regatta!
Since I was "honored" with the writing of this report, I have the chance to tell you that you should NOT miss this experience next year, in any case! You have a really great event for our J/22's in the Brombachsee! After our crew arrived home (in spite of about 1100 km of driving by car), we immediately decided - we go again! Sometimes you have to just simply go for it and let the cards fall where they may! Fantastic event, see you next year!" Sailing photo credits- Manfred Fritsche For more Brombachsee Regatta sailing information
MENDIETA Wins J/24 Copa Olivos(Olivos, Argentina)- As part of their 150th Anniversary celebrating the founding of the city of Olivos in Argentina, the YC Olivos held the Copa Olivos Regatta in their fleet of J/24s. The J/24 sailors were blessed with absolutely gorgeous sailing conditions on the Rio de lat Plata off Buenos Aires. The races were impeccably managed by the YCO PRO Juan Gutierrez.
On Saturday, June 29th three races were run with very good wind offshore, with a steady oscillating breeze between 10 and 17 knots. Sunday's sailing on June 30th was not so good, only managing to get in one race because of so little wind.
In the end, MENDIETA skippered by Pancho Van Avermaete won the regatta overall with a strong 2-1-1-2 record for 6 pts overall. They were followed by Sergio Pendola on CACIQUE sailing to a 1-2-2-3 tally for 8 pts in second. And, the Rina Cubría family (with Nicolas Cubria steering) were third on RINA with a 5-3-3-1 for 12 pts..The fleet welcomes the new owner of MAPUCHE (Hector Longarela) and it looks like the Longarela brothers are surely going to be a cheerleader for the regattas in the second half of 2013! After all, in their first regatta they got a fourth overall!
Remember, in BA its "winter sailing" at the "summer solstice" in the northern hemisphere! But, we can still sail while our friends ski in the famous ski resort of Cordoba off to the West in the Andes Mountains.
Of further note, it was a very encouraging start for the crew of the CUBA MATACO Club that was led by Miguel Cutuli-- a very outstanding performance. TIGRE II was sailed by William Benchetrit and Claudio Monaco, showing excellent sportsmanship, speed and perhaps the most improved sailor of the group.
For more J/24 Copa Olivos sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* J/Day Big Success @ Chicago's Jimmy Buffet Concert! What a fun concept, goofy sailing competition and pursuit racing thrown into the mix. Here's the report from Rich Stearns, J/Dealer in Chicago:"On Saturday, the wind was from the North at 15-20 kts with 5 ft waves. Not exactly what we had signed up for. The wife's and kids were ready to go have fun, but then the fog came in. We lost a few boats, but the fog lifted and we still had great racing! The course was moved inside the outer breakwater. I can't remember racing inside the breakwater before, it was a bit tight and you had to dodge the commercial boats, but waves were only 1 foot. The start was less than 100 yards off the Adler Planetarium (at the south end of the harbor) and the weather mark was near the Chicago Light house (at the north end of the harbor off the famous Navy Pier complex).
Many in the fleet had not done a pursuit race before and there was a bit of confusion at the start, but J/105's prevailed with the J/70, J/109's, and J/111 right there at the finish. The J/120 and J/133 had both just finished an overnight race but managed to get around the course in great shape. The fun race had water balloons that, if your boat was hit, caused you to do a 360 and Frisbees that, if you could get it in the little pool, got you back 30 seconds credit! Way too funny. With so much wind no one was able to hit the pool! In the end, we had a fantastic barbecue hosted by Columbia YC with pulled port and beer and munchies. Fun event! Will do again for next year!"
* The secret of the Italian J/24 PELLE NERA (Black Leather)- Gianni, Sergio, Alfredo, Alberto, Fabrizio, Paul and Marina, have just celebrated twenty years of sailing J/24's together. A mix of a winning friendship, passion, stubbornness and sympathy for each other and their families. They tell us their story."The Secret of "Pelle Nera"-- How is it that a crew after twenty years still continues to do races together? How many times have you been asked this question or we read it in the eye and in the amazement of many friends met in recent years in regattas? Apart from the passion for the sea and sailing, an indispensable condition for practicing this "uncomfortable" sport, what has held together five people in the same boat?
There is a secret, the secret of Pelle Nera. To find out, we have to go back twenty years, when it all began.
I (Gianni Riccobono, the helmsman), sailing since childhood, began to race on dinghies and then moved on to offshore, elite racers, like many others, experiencing the joys and sorrows of this world. Year after year it formed a "rough" crew and we established a relationship of trust with the owner, living in the beautiful seasons together.
But one fateful day was consumed by tragedy: the owner sold the boat and we stood on the hard ground wondering what to do next! No more races at Pasquavela and farewell dinners with Cala Galera in Maremma, no more Sardinia, no more Capri, no more nothing! All of us wanted the crew to immediately find an alternative. We wanted to be together again, and especially sailing.
Until then we had always looked at the J/24 with a certain contempt, for us it was just an ugly duckling, but then, after a few months of abstinence, we looked first into each other's eyeballs, then in our pockets and finally we bought a used J/24. It was therefore not just an intuition, but a necessity. A choice of a little "retro", but especially in buying a boat with five owners. The fact is that with three million lira per head we were back to the sea together as friends!
Alfredo Posillipo (tactician and great musician) played in the legendary group "Io Vorrei la Pelle Nera" (I would like black leather) that inspired the unanimous choice for the name of the boat, also because of a promise of sponsorship. Still we were not aware of it, but it was a miracle that happened for all of us. She was born "PELLE NERA" (Black Leather).
The beginning sailing events were hard for us. Our expectations, fueled also by a good dose of presumption, were dashed against the rocks by the early failures. To understand how it was to experience our boat, seemingly simple, took a long time.
We followed the suggestions of many different experts and read everything, believing every time we've identified the cause of the lack of pace or tuning or intelligent sailing. But the real frenzy for all of us was the tactics, where we have always gotten the best (or worst) of ourselves.
We spent endless evenings discussing specific schemes and theorems drawn on transparencies, we realized thousands of simulations of expensive software, we read all the "sacred books" of tactical sailing, especially bought in San Diego from North Sails. Surely, the collaborative effort of a whole team is ill-suited to the 'laws of the tactics' that actually requires a more dictatorial approach? Yes, in the end that's what we did, too. A few years later, in the wake of all the tremendous enthusiasm, we sold our first J/24 to also purchase a newer J/24.
Over the years the team lineup (John Riccobono, Sergio Strippoli, Alfredo Posillipo, Alberto Forti, Fabrizio Corsi) has changed; Fabrizio and Alfredo sold their shares to Paulo and Marina Cecamore Crocioschi. But the spirit of the group remained unchanged.
Now do we win races? No, we simply scaled down our expectations. The goal is to have fun and our beloved boat from there hopefully still has a chance.
And anyway, whether you're good or not, you J/24 sailors must always look ahead or behind you and you will discover that PELLE NERA is near you (and most likely having more fun!).
* J/122 RESOLUTE Bermuda One-Two update- Scott Miller of Blue Hill, Maine just finished the Bermuda One-Two in grand style - namely first in Class 1 single handed to Bermuda, first in Class 1 on the double handed return to Newport with his Rockport, Maine crew, George Haselton, (a veteran J/24 and J/35 sailor). As many now know, Scott was first overall in fleet for the best combined corrected time for both legs.Scott said that the single handed leg down started in decent breeze with very large long period waves left over from Tropical Storm Andrea. The leg was also unusual in that the level of attrition was quite high with 7 of 23 starters having to turn back. Scott was fortunate that he had almost no gear failures for the entire race. The key to his performance in this leg was following a veteran 1-2 racer's simple advice, "Try to spend more time going 8 knots rather than 7 knots".
For the return leg, extremely light conditions were the rule after the start and George and Scott worked hard using the spinnaker as often as possible allowing them to leg out in really flat conditions while most of the fleet parked up. Scott credits his new Karver spinnaker furler with allowing them to be much more aggressive with the kite deploying and furling more often and faster than his competition.
And then there is the big question: the Bermuda One-Two is one enormous challenge, physically, mentally and emotionally - will he do it again? The answer: Yes, absolutely!
* The J/70s in the UK recently held their J/70 UK Nationals at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England. One of the teams, Jack Davies's JUGADOR had some fun with GoPro video on-board. Said Jack, "Here is a video of us on the J/70 JUGADOR. The video was compiled from footage taken over the weekend of the inaugural British J/70 National Championship held out of Cowes, UK. Hope you enjoy! It features a bit of heavy airs downwind sailing and some lighter airs stuff, and a healthy broach at the end! If anyone would like to keep up with how J/70 sailing in the UK is developing, and with how Team Jugador are getting on then click "Like" on our Facebook page. Watch J/70 Team JUGADOR's sailing video here.
* According to Scuttlebutt folklore, "nobody said beer can racing required beer cans"! Well, seems that J/24 Fleet #55 Jacksonville, Florida were demonstrating proper "beer can" racing techniques and etiquette on a recent evening race on the beautifully flat waters off the city of JAX (also notable for hosting a recent National Football League Superbowl Championship).As one person exclaimed on a blog associated with this extraordinary activity, "we do that for Whidbey Island Race week, but it goes below on a 37' footer. Half the fun is testing which brew we have every year." Read more humorous anecdotes and captions here on Scuttlebutt's Facebook page-
* 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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