J/88 Debuts Newport Show(Newport, RI)- The largest boat show in New England and the "kick off" to the Fall boat show season in America, the Newport International Boat Show, is committed to furthering recreational boating by providing skilled and novice boaters with more opportunities than ever to learn about and experience boating while attending the show. The show takes place from September 12th to 15th at the Newport Yachting Center along Newport's downtown waterfront. J/Boats display will be at Dock N, spaces O to E, along the harbor.
This year's show features the debut of the new J/88 family speedster, the next generation of fun sailing and weekending in the 28-33 foot category of performance cruiser/racers. Recently launched in July, the J/88 has been well-received by experienced J sailors and the sailing industry press-- receiving many accolades for its spirited performance, light touch on the helm and extraordinary upwind and downwind speed.
In addition, the extraordinarily successful J/70 one-design will be on display along with the incredibly comfortable J/97 family cruiser-racer and the famous International J/111 one-design offshore speedster.
Furthermore, for the "Discover Sailing" program there will be an International J/80 One-design and the versatile J/95 shoal-performance cruiser available to introduce people to sailing. Throughout the four-day event, Sail America’s Discover Sailing program will offer free 45-minute sailing sessions, run by experienced captains in Newport Harbor, for families or individuals to experience the wonderful sailing lifestyle.
Please be sure to contact your local J/Dealer for more show information, to schedule an appointment or even a test sail. Or, please contact J/Boats at ph# 401-846-8410 or email- info@jboats.com. For more Newport International Boat Show information
Key West Race Week Registration Open!Sign-up NOW for J/70 & J/80 Midwinters!
(Key West, Florida)- Great news! Premiere Racing announced that registration is open for next year's 2014 Key West Race Week. This spectacular event presents world-class competition over five full race days. Entering its 27th year, race week offers exceptional racing and fun shoreside parties in wonderful Key West. The Florida Keys and Key West are the perfect southernmost vacation destination. Premiere Racing’s reputation for excellent race management and regatta organization promises to deliver another great regatta and ideal winter get-away for all sailing enthusiasts.
So far, the two largest fleets registered so far are the J/70s and J/80s, both fleets are hosting their Midwinter Championships at Key West. The J/70s have over fifteen boats registered already! Several top teams are planning to attend, including front-runners like Bennet Greenwald's PERSEVERANCE and Joel Ronning's CATAPULT. Also looking forward to sailing off the gorgeous Florida Keys are some foreign entries, including Chuck Millican's ELUSIVE from Bermuda and two Canadian teams- Andrew Papierz on DYNAMO and Rob & Sandy Butler on TOUCH2PLAY. Over fifty J/70s are expected to sail in the class's second Midwinter Championship.
The J/80s already have ten boats signed up for their Midwinters with several top teams heading down south for some fun in the sun. A large contingent from Annapolis is ready to roll, including Chris & Liz Chadwick sailing CHURCH KEY, Kristen Berry on WILLY T, Bert Carp, Jeff Jordan on SLAP & TICKLE and Carole Jordan on EMOTIONAL RESCUE. Curtis Bearden's Fort Worth, Texas crew will be sailing FLYING CIRCUS II. And, from the northeast teams like Gary Panariello's COURAGEOUS and Henry DeGroot's WIRED will be looking forward to that classic Key West day of 15-20 kts and sunny from the southeast!
There is a good possibility that enough J/111s head south for a J/111 Midwinter Championship. Already, Rob & Ryan Ruhlman on their new SPACEMAN SPIFF will be sailing from Cleveland, Ohio. Other big J's participating will be Terry Mckenna's new J/88 DOG PARTY, a crew that is coming from Prince Edward Island, Canada; plus Key West Champion Robin Team will be sailing the famous J/122 TEAMWORK from Lexington, NC! Come one, come all! Key West is certainly one of the best places in the world for sailing, especially as an escape from the chilly winters up north. With warm weather, plenty of sun and, more often than not, a wonderful trade-wind breeze from the southeast at 10-15 kts, it's no wonder many teams make Key West a fixture on their winter calendars every year! Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal. For more Key West Race Week sailing information
Annapolis Race Week Preview(Annapolis, MD)- Annapolis Race Week is one of the premier sailing regattas in the Mid-Atlantic Region. It's sailed annually over the Labor Day Weekend (this year from August 31st to September 2nd) off Annapolis. CBYRA is happy to announce that its tent party and regatta headquarters will be again held at Annapolis' City Dock. Utilizing the Susan Campbell Park as the shore-side venue has heightened visibility and attendance and by opening it up to the public, created a citywide festival type event oriented towards sailing!
There are more than fifty-seven J/Teams sailing out of eighty-three boats registered so far with J's representing the dominant brand at the regatta with over 70% of the fleet!
The inaugural J/70 one-design class has thirty-one teams competing, by far the largest class in the regatta, where many leading contenders are using the event as a tune-up for the upcoming J/70 North Americans in Annapolis in the end of September. Amongst the notable teams (based on recent performances) are Joel Ronning's CATAPULT, Blake Kimbrough's NOSTALGIA, Bennet Greenwald's PERSEVERANCE, Martin Kullman's TOUCH 2 PLAY and Brian Keane's SAVASANA. Two others to watch out for are Henry Filter on WILD CHILD and Peter McChesney on USA 209-- both college sailing All-Americans with enormous amounts of one-design experience under their belts. Three women skippers are also participating and have been demonstrating they are quite competitive at both a regional and national level, including Jenn Wulff on JOINT CUSTODY, Kathy Parks on SUNDOG and Catharine Evans on MOJITO.
Other J One-Design classes include J/105s, J/80s, J/30s and J/35s. So far, fifteen J/105s area sailing including Carl & Scott Gitchell's TENACIOUS, Jack Biddle's famous RUM PUPPY, Robert Reeves's A-TRAIN, Andrew Kennedy's BAT IV and Don Santa's SANTAS REIGN DEAR. Seventeen J/80s are attending including Will & Marie Crumps R80, COURAGEOUS (Gary Panariello), MANGO (Keith Mangano), RASCAL (Lucy Thomson) and Chris Chadwick's CHURCK KEY. Seven J/30s will be sailing including INSATIABLE (Ron Anderson), INFECTIOUS SMILE (Tristan Keen), BEBOP (Bob Rutsch & Mike Costello), AVITA (George Watson), THE WHITE BOAT (Dave Moss) and POGO (Charles Lutz). Six J/35s will be dueling for supremacy, including MAGGIE (Peter Scheidt), MEDICINE MAN (Charles Kohlerman) and DAKOTA GIRL (Stephanie Reuer). Finally, in PHRF Class are six J/24s like Paul Ford's WILDCARD, Paul van Ravenswaay's MILLENNIUM FALCON, Jim McGinnis's historic SWAG and Pete Kassal's SPACEMAN SPIFF. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com For more CBYRA Race Week sailing information
J/111 North American Photos(Chicago, IL)- For those J/111 sailors that competed in the inaugural J/111 North American Championships recently sailed off Chicago's spectacular waterfront, be sure to take a look at the on-line photo gallery for the event. There are many beautiful photos of J/111s sailing offshore with the fleet and individual boats juxtaposed against the dramatic backdrop of downtown Chicago skyscrapers and smoke trails from the acrobatic planes doing mind-blowing aerial tricks in the awesome Chicago Air & Water Show.
Sailing Photographer Meredith Block has loaded over 300 of her images to Exposure Manager; a high quality online order-and-print service. The photos are organized by team name and prints are available from small to poster size. Order a memento for your desk or art-size wall prints for your team or anything in between! You can also contact Meredith directly by email- meredith@blocksail.com with any questions. For more J/111 North American Championship sailing photos.
J/Sailing NewsThe Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
It has been a busy week for many sailors in the United Kingdom and Ireland! After an epic Cowes Race Week and a not so epic Fastnet Race, the flotilla of J's migrated westward to the sunny, warm climate of Plymouth for the fabulously fun B&G J/Cup where one-design fleets of J/70s, J/105s, J/109s, J/111s and IRC 1 and IRC 2 classes for J/92, J/97, J/133s competed for both class and overall honors. West of them teams were preparing for the J/24 World Championship in Howth, Ireland, renown for fresh breezes smoking off the Irish Sea. However, the reports so far indicate the sailors are still feeding Neptune more of his favorite red wine (or was it Guinness?) in order to turn on the fans and generate more wind! Over to continental Europe, the Swedes had a blast sailing their pursuit race on J/80s, J/70 and J/109 in their DataComm Cup sailed near Sandhamn. Just south, the French J/80 teams also had an amazing weekend of sailing off Pornic in the J/Cup Regatta.Across the big pond to the west, SAIL Canada hosted their Canadian Women's National Championship at Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron in Halifax, Nova Scotia on a fleet of nine matched J/22s. Similarly, the American's were hosting their Clifford D Mallory Trophy for the US Sailing Adult Championship in Rochester, New York- the first time ever conducted for both men and women- also in a fleet of eight matched J/24s sailing on Lake Ontario. Also sailing in the Great Lakes were fleets of J/70s and J/24s racing one-design on Lake Michigan in the Verve Cup Inshore Regatta hosted by Chicago Yacht club along Chicago's awesome waterfront.
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 22-30- J/24 World Championships- Howth (Dublin), Ireland
Sep 9-14- J/70 EuroCup Regatta- Lago di Garda, Italy
Sep 19-22- J/24 North Americans- SailNewport- Newport, RI
Sep 20-22- J/22 Netherlands Championship- Brassermeer, Netherlands
Sep 20-22- J/22 Lake George Open Regatta- Lake George, NY
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
Sep 27-29- J/Fest- San Diego YC- San Diego, CA
Sep 27-29- J/24 Changing of the Colors Regatta- Lake George, NY
Oct 1-5- J/22 World Championships- Newport, RI
Oct 5-12- J/24 European Championship- YC Monaco- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Oct 12-14- J/80 China Coast Race Week- Hong Kong, China
Oct 31- Nov 3- J/105 North Americans- Annapolis, MD
Nov 1-3- J/80 French Nationals- Cherbourg, France
Nov 1-3- J/24 East Coast Championships- Annapolis, MD
Nov 21-25- J/24 South American Championships- Buenos Aires, Argentina
Dec 6-7- Jamaica Jammin' J/22 Regatta- Montego Bay, Jamaica
Jan 19-24- 2014 Key West Race Week- Key West, FL
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
The B&G J-Cup Enjoys Dramatic Finale(Plymouth, England)- With gusts close to 20 knots ripping through the race area in Plymouth Sound, the final day of the B&G J-Cup 2013, produced some ballistic action for the forty-five J/Teams that were in attendance. Hosted by the Royal Western Yacht Club, the J-Cup was also the venue for the Lifedge J/109 UK National Championship and the 2013 edition produced the closest finish in the 10 year history of the event. It was a fitting end to another fabulous weekend of sailing-- the sailors enjoyed near-perfect sailing conditions for most of the regatta, closing with an epic final day of sailing.
Day One Report:
The first day of racing could best be described as the "Champagne Opener". A building sea breeze, topping out at 15 knots provided great sailing for the 300+ sailors that competed in four races, inside and outside of the Plymouth Breakwater. With several one designs taking to the race course, there was plenty of thrilling boat-on-boat action.
The J/109 UK National Championship got off to a cracking start with some close encounters especially at mark roundings. Tony Dickin’s J/109 Jubilee came out on top of the 21-yacht fleet. After four races, Jubilee leads the class by just two points from Iain MacKinnon's Tigh Soluis II. David Richards’ Jumping Jellyfish is just a point behind in third.“The starts were absolutely the most important part of the day.” highlighted Jubilee's skipper, Tony Dickin. “Our goal is to win and become national champions but this is a great fleet and we have only had one day of racing; there is plenty more to come. We picked up a fifth in the first race trying to fight for the Committee Boat end but after that we really just concentrated on getting into clear air and our results were much better because of that. The courses were good especially the course length, we loved the windward leewards but the last race, with the line right in front of the Royal Western, was a great way to finish a fantastic day on the water.”
Led Zeppelin music fan, Stuart Sawyer, owner driver of J/97 Black Dog (named after a famous Zeppelin song), finished the day as top dog in IRC 2. The team from Cornwall must have been covered in pixie dust, scoring 4 straight bullets. Sawyer commented on their good fortune, “We all live near Falmouth and sail out of the Helford Sailing Club and the standard of the competition at the event is first class but we did a lot of things right today. In the last race, we made a big call, changing to the A3, as we approached the Plymouth Breakwater. We were right on the edge but we managed to carry it all the way and we really stretched our legs. It was a cracking day, proper champagne sailing.”
Tony Mack's McFly produced the goods on the first day, scoring three bullets in the J/111 fleet but Jamie Arnell's J/111, Jeez-Louise, which won the J/111 Class at Cowes Week, led IRC 1 at the J-Cup.“We weren't very consistent today but we were bloody determined and we made up very well from poor positions, especially downwind.” said Jamie Arnell. “The crew work today was excellent, typified by the penultimate mark in the last race. It was a spinnaker drop to harden up with a lot of tide and the maneuver went like clockwork, super-fast, that gave us that few vital seconds but tomorrow we will need to improve if we are to succeed. Well done to Tony (Mack), he has had a bit of bad luck at Cowes Week and the European Championship, so it was great to see him score so well today.”
Ruairidh Scott, skipper of J/70 North Sails knows a thing or two about sportsboats. The Scot is a former J/80 World Champion and three time 1720 European champion. J/70 North Sails swept the board, scoring 4 bullets. Plymouth local, Nigel Passmore, was second and Mike Flood was in third position but the day belonged to Ruairidh Scott and a crack crew of Ben Field, Matt Curthoys, and Stuart Miller.“It was a tricky day with a big range in wind speed and tuning the rig was made more difficult because of that,” commented Scott. “We started the day below our base setting (8 knots) and by the second race there were times when we should have had a stiffer setting but I always like to set the rig for the wind at the start. In one design racing, getting off the line in good shape is the key, it is easier to defend a lead than try and catch up and pass a competitor later in the race. The J/70 is a great little boat; simple but rewarding and compared to similar boats, the good thing about a J/70 is that it goes upwind quite nicely. The single spreader carbon rig is great for tuning but it is also forgiving as it is a stiff spar, so if you do get stuck on slightly the wrong setting the rig isn't going to break.”
Day Two Report:
Day two was perhaps the trickiest day for sailing on Plymouth Sound. In stark contrast to the previous day's sublime sailing conditions, racing was delayed by lack of breeze. Eventually, everyone got underway in the early afternoon, once a light and just race-able breeze stabilized. All classes got one good race in but the second was abandoned, as light rain killed off the gradient wind completely.
Jamie Arnell's J/111, Jeez-Louise continued to excel in IRC One, winning the day's race to open up a three point margin at the top of the leader board. Tony Mack's J/111, McFly wasn't far behind and with one more day to go, McFly could still catch Jeez-Louise. IRC Class One is likely to be won by one of these two yachts. However, there was a close battle for third place. David & Kirsty Apthorp's J/111, J Dream was lying third but four other J-Boats were still in the hunt for third place; Martin Miller's J/111, Velvet Elvis, Ian Dewhurst's J/133, Jump, Richard Barnes' J/111, Biela Munkenbeck and Jackie & Robert Dobson's J/133, Jeronimo.In IRC 2, Stuart Sawyer's J/97, Black Dog scored yet another win but it wasn't easy for the Cornish team. Chaz Ivill's J/97, Jiggery Pokery led for most of the race but was eventually passed by Black Dog, which crossed the line just 15 seconds ahead. Andy Howe's J/92, Blackjack could only manage a 7th place today but was still lying third in class. Andy Roberts' J/105, Jin & Tonic scored their first podium finish of the regatta propelling them to fourth in IRC 2 and lead the J/105 Class.
“We had our share of luck today, especially as an anchored yacht made as tack, just at the right moment to get a good lead on the first beat.” Admitted Andy. “Well done to the race committee for getting a good race in, under difficult circumstances. We were over-joyed with our result today and we are thoroughly enjoying a great regatta.”
In the J/70 Class, North Sails kept up their perfect scoreline but Nick Haigh's crew on Lightly Steamy was kicking themselves. “We got a great start by winning the pin end, which was a hard fought victory and we should have gone on to win the race but we made a school boy error.” confessed Nick Haigh. “We were a long way ahead and didn't cover North Sails, we managed to put ourselves in a wind hole and that was that. You don't expect to beat a class act like North Sails with that sort of mistake and I only have myself to blame. However, I think we had good boat speed today and we have learnt a few tricks upwind.” In the J/70 Class, Nigel Passmore's Apollo was now second, after five races, with Mike Flood's J7t in third.
Day Two marked a change in the overall lead for the 20-strong J/109 fleet and the winner of the Lifedge J/109 UK National Championship was now wide open. The overnight leader, Tony Dickin's Jubilee, could only manage ninth, dropping the team to third in class. David Richards’ Jumping Jellyfish took the gun, propelling them into pole position but a protest against them resulted in disqualification. This led to Iain Mackinnon's Tigh Solius II taking the lead in the championship, with Tony Dickin’s Jubilee and David Rolfe’s Shadowfax in second and third respectively, with one day to go. However, with a discard kicking in after six races, Jumping Jellyfish could still win the championship.“One Design racing is all about staying out of trouble and getting off the start line well.” said Tigh Solius II tactician, David Bedford. “We got a great start today but unfortunately got the wrong side of a wind shift and we had to dig deep to get back to fifth. The boat is going well and we still have another day racing and it's all to play for.”
Day Three Report:The final day of racing was filled with drama, with lots of anxiety faced by tacticians on how best to handle their blood-thirsty competitors in the 15-20+ kts of big breeze and big seas.
In IRC One, Jamie Arnell's J/111, Jeez-Louise finished the regatta in style, winning the last race to take the class title from Tony Mack 's, J/111, McFly. Jackie and Robert Dobson's J/133, Jeronimo reveled in the big breeze winning race seven and finished third in class.
In the J/70 Class, Ruairidh Scott's J/70 North Sails conducted a master class of sportsboat racing, winning the class with straight bullets and a race to spare. However, it was a highly rewarding experience for the entire J/70 Class as the North Sails team were happy to share their knowledge dockside after racing. Nigel Passmore's Apollo 6 finished second and the young team on Mike Flood's J7t won the last race of the day to secure third for the regatta.
In IRC Two Stuart Sawyer's Cornish team on J/97, Black Dog were unstoppable all week, scoring seven wins out of eight races. Victories in both IRC Two and the Lombard J/97 UK National Championship, made them deserving winners of the coveted J-Cup overall winner’s trophy, to enthusiastic applause by all involved. “A lot of effort has gone into preparing the boat and the crew for this regatta and all of that hard work has paid off.” Smiled Stuart. “There are some great regattas in the West Country but this is by far the most competitive regatta we have raced this season and we had to be at the very top of our game to win it.” Chaz Ivill's J/97, ETB TYRES Jiggery Pokery was second in IRC 2 with Andy Howe's J/92, BlackJack in third.In an extremely close J/105 class, just four points separated the top three boats at the end of racing on Friday. A win for Chris Jones’ Journeymaker in the final race, their third bullet of the regatta, was not enough to beat Andy Robert’s Jin & Tonic, who never placed outside of the top two throughout the three days.
You couldn't have written the script for the even more dramatic conclusion of the Lifedge J/109 UK National Championship. Going into the last day, six yachts had a chance of becoming national champion and after the final race, the top four yachts were separated by a single point. In the penultimate race, David Richards' Jumping Jellyfish was leading by a handsome margin but hit a top mark and lost seven places, whilst performing their turns. Todd Well's Je Vante went on to win the race to stake a claim for the title and everything hung on the final race. A general recall, had the race officer hoisting the Black Flag for the restart and you could feel the tension mounting.In the last race, Iain Mackinnon's Tigh Solius II was over at the start and was disqualified and later in the race, Je Vante caught a spinnaker sheet around their prop, slowing their speed but even more drama was to follow. Tony Dickin's Jubilee led the race but David Rolfe's Shadowfax and Jumping Jellyfish were not far behind. It was too complex a picture to work out on the race course, as the leading yachts concentrated on boat speed to get through the finish line right outside the Royal Western.
Jumping Jellyfish hoisted a spinnaker in a last desperate throw of the dice to win the race but Jubilee took the gun, by just one second. It was sometime before Shadowfax crossed the line in eighth but after doing the mathematics, Shadowfax was declared Lifedge J/109 UK National Champions on count back. Literally one second had decided the result after three days of intense racing!!
David Rolfe was too shell-shocked to speak about the win but having been thrown in the marina by his crew he managed to stutter. “I really can't believe we've done it, we are all great friends that have sailed with each other for years and this is by far the greatest moment in all that time, thank you to the organisers and all of the competitors for making this such a fantastic regatta.”
The official prize-giving was held at the National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth with a fine buffet supper celebrating the B&G J-Cup 2013. Surrounded by the UK's biggest collection of marine life, the regatta came to a close and the organisers are not aware of anyone ending up in the shark pool! The organisers would like to thank the principle sponsors of the regatta; B&G, Fusion, North Sails, Fastnet, and Grapefruit Graphics. Thanks also to our supporting sponsors SLAM, Peters & May, Lombard, RS Divers, Ocean Safety, Lifedge and Harken. Thanks for story contribution from Louay Habib. J/Cup sailing video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9obIieub90w Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com For more B&G J/Cup Regatta sailing information
BMW J/24 Worlds Update(Howth, Ireland)- The 2013 BMW J/24 World Championship is underway on the capricious waters off Howth, Ireland. While not known for light airs ever, that's what the fleet of forty competitors from ten countries are currently experiencing. The regatta was officially opened by the Mayor of Fingal Cllr. Kieran Dennison at a ceremony on Saturday evening attended by 200 sailors who were led by a piper on to the club forecourt in front of the podium. Organising Committee Chairman Derek Bothwell introduced the speakers - John Ives (Managing Director, BMW Ireland), Berchmans Gannon (on behalf of ISA President Niamh McCutcheon) and the Mayor of Howth, before welcoming individually each skipper by name.
A practice race on the waters' between Lambay Island and Ireland's Eye in light northerly/north-westerly winds saw half the fleet fail to complete the course, as is customary, while former Irish Champion JP McCaldin from Lough Erne took line honours ahead of Japanese entry Koji Matsumoto and Ignacio Bonanno of Italy.After the first days of racing, many of the favourites for the World title, including defending champion Mauricio Santa Cruz (Brazil), are amongst the top of the leaderboard. American crews led the way in both races on the first day.
After a two-hour delay for wind, the fleet finally got away for the first race in a light but testing easterly breeze. First blood went to Tony Parker and his BANGOR PACKET crew from Annapolis who experienced the Howth waters a week earlier at the Irish National Championship. Fellow American Keith Whittemore from Seattle, who also sailed in the Irish event, followed him home in second place while Mauricio Santa Cruz from Brazil finished third, ahead of leading UK entry Ian Southworth.
American crews again led the way in the second race, with line honours going to former North American Champion Travis Odenbach from Rochester, with Whittemore second again and Santa Cruz taking another third spot. Newport’s Tim Healy took fifth to make it three US boats in the top five.
After the first day, Whittemore led the overall rankings by two points from the Brazilians, with Britain’s Ian Southworth (with a 4th and 7th) in third position. Leading Irish boat is ‘Stouche’ (Darrer/Murphy) from the host club, whose 10th and 8th place finishes have put them 7th overall.
Sadly, the second day of racing had to be uncharacteristically abandoned. Lack of wind and strong tides played havoc on the sailors and the regatta's PRO David Lovegrove. A 6-knot north-westerly breeze allowed the third race of the series to be started eventually but once the boats rounded the windward mark, the wind dropped away and a north-flowing flood tide meant the entire fleet was left motionless, with no chance of a finish. After a delay of almost three hours, continued windless conditions forced abandonment for the day.
Day Three dawned with a good breeze and heightened expectations by the sailors to go for two or more races. After an awesome start to the day, PRO Lovegrove managed to squeeze in three solid races, resulting in significant, though not unexpected, wild swings in the overall standings as the fleet could not count a net score with a drop race. Consistency pays and those practitioners of the art of exacting one-design tactics, starting and boat-speed are slowly being rewarded over the course of the regatta. Not surprisingly, the roller coaster ride now sees the top five all within seven points after five races, including the toss race! At this stage, the two most recent J/24 World Champions sit atop the standings-- leading is Mauricio Santa Cruz's Brazilian team on BRUSCHETTA with 11 pts net followed by Tim Healey's Newport, RI team on HELLY HANSEN in second two points back with 13 pts net. Third is British skipper Ian Southworth on IL RICCIO sailing fast and smart despite a third race Black Flag to score 15 pts net with a 3-1 in the last two races. Fourth is Travis Odenbach's HONEY BADGER from Rochester, NY with 17 pts net and in fifth was first day regatta leader Keith Whittemore and crew from Corinthian YC Seattle with 18 pts net! Close? Indeed, a tactician's nightmare. More fun & games in the coming days.Of note is the excellent performance from the leading Italian team, Ignacio Bonnano's LA SUPERBA team in sixth and the two German teams, ROTOMAN and JJ-ONE in 8th and 9th. Plus, septuagenerian Tony Parker is, again, showing up the "Energizer Bunny", showing the four decades of J/24 sailing means you only got more experience to show "the kids"-- starting with a 1st in the first race and hanging tough in the top 10 at 10th overall. Just two more days to go! Watch the J/24 Worlds sailing video introduction
Sailing photos by David Branigan - Oceansport Gallery For more J/24 World Championship sailing information.
J/70 EXTREME Wins Verve CupSoya's 2XS Takes the J/24 Crown
(Chicago, IL)- Hot, gusty winds led to challenging conditions and some tight competition as the Verve Cup Inshore Regatta wrapped up the last day of sailing at Chicago Yacht Club’s Belmont Station. Of the 86 boats registered, twenty were J/70s, an impressive turnout for the fleet’s debut year at Verve Inshore. Also participating were an active fleet of five J/24s.
“We had wind eight to 12 knots, typical Chicago southwester. This was the first offshore breeze we’ve had this summer on a race day, which was shocking, and the competition was good,” said Race Officer Janet Baxter. After a solid day of racing on Saturday, Sunday's variable winds made things interesting for both race committee and the competitors.
“We’d have 15 knots followed by seven knots, so it was a little bit challenging to figure out where the racers wanted to be sent – they were all kind of tired from yesterday,” said Race Officer Lynn Lynch. “I would’ve liked some more consistent breezes today, because not all of the runs were as square as they could have been. Yesterday was really, really solid racing – today we had a little bit more breeze, so that was more fun that way. I thought the competition was very tight in some of the fleets.”
“We’re very happy we have the J70 class for the first time,” said Race Co-Chair Jessica Jamieson. “I think the event went very well, we’re getting a lot of positive feedback.”
Taking first in the J/70s was class newcomer Dan Cheresh of Saugatuck, MI with the appropriately named EXTREME; they're extremely great record of 5-3-1-1-7-1 for 18 pts enabled them to run away with top honors in the J/70 class. What was remarkable about Cheresh's performance was that it came against some of the best teams in the J/70 class in the past six months. Taking second was multiple regatta winner Joel Ronning of Minneapolis, MI on the famous CATAPULT; their fast, regatta-winning start of a 1-2-2 followed by a 7-6-11 dropped them into second overall for the regatta. Rounding out third was CLOUDSOURCED, sailed by Ron Copfer of Cleveland, OH with a 3-1-7-5-13-4 record for 33 pts.
The amazing fact about the J/70 fleet was how many brand new owner/teams were amongst the top ten. From third place at 33 pts to tenth place at 54 points were just 20 pts, a race or two here or there would've made an enormous difference for all of these teams. Fourth was another new team near the top, Martin Johnsson's crew on AQUAHOLIKS with a 10-4-5-6-11-2 tally for 38 pts. Next was Joe Woods team from England aboard RED, sailing a consistently better series to score a 9-8-6-10-3-3 for 39 pts, just one point back from 4th. Sailing her heart out was Amy Neill on NITEMARE in her first major regatta ever, sailing in the top five after just four races with a 4-5-10-3 but fading a bit with some of the excitement (or anxiety) with a 12-10 to finish as top women J/70 skipper at sixth overall! Another remarkable statistic about the J/70 fleet one-design racing is that 13 of 20 boats (65% of the fleet) had top five scores in their overall records! Proof again that good starts, good conservative tactics could keep you in the hunt!
The J/24s were given a bit of a "schooling" by one of their colleagues. While no one anticipated a near "chicken scratch" record (e.g. all bullets), the boys on Mark Soya's 2XS nearly pulled it off with a 1-1-1-2-1-2 record. They could, of course, be forgiven for the two blemishes on their record for having a bit of waaaay tooo much fun Saturday night. Who can blame them-- "domination by ruin-ation". Yeah. So, second was Richard Graef's appropriately named DON'T PANIC with a 2-2-2-1-2-1 for a mere 10 pts. Third was Dan Walsh's GOLDRUSH, having to settle for just bronze this time with a 3-3-4-3-3-3 score for a third average for third place and third best record for third overall in the regatta at 19 pts-- were these guy's third all the time?? Next time, we can expect great things from GOLDRUSH! Sailing photo credits- Marc Anderson. For more Verve Cup Inshore sailing information
Ventura YC Wins Mallory Trophy Championship(Rochester, NY)– The 2013 U.S. Adult Sailing Championship, hosted by the Rochester Yacht Club, came down to the wire in an epic finish on Lake Ontario Sunday. David Klatt's (Oxnard, Calif.) talented team pulled out the victory with a win in a climactic final race this afternoon to earn the Clifford D. Mallory Trophy.
Klatt had a one point lead over Pat Toole (Santa Barbara, Calif.) going into the last day and a two point advantage after Race 7. The top five teams were separated by just five points with two races to go. By the end of the day, Klatt prevailed by four points over Pat Toole (Santa Barbara, Calif.). Bryan Dyer (Fort Worth, Texas) finished nine points back in third place. Fourth was Rodger Voss (Lake George Club) and fifth was Frank McNamara (Eastern Yacht Club).Similar to Saturday's conditions, the J/24 fleet raced in a light southeasterly. Rodger Voss (Albany, N.Y.) won Race 7, followed by Klatt and Toole. The table was set for an exciting finale.
Toole got off the line with great speed and Klatt was directly to the leeward side of the course. Klatt took the lead around the first mark and Dyer was second, followed by Fitzgerald and Toole. The wind picked up velocity throughout Race 8. Klatt and Toole were in a match racing duel in the course's final leg, which had been extended by the Race Committee. Toole needed to pull ahead of Klatt and put two boats between him and Klatt to win championship. However, Klatt pulled away for the dramatic win to seal the title.
"We were in a mini tacking duel with Santa Barbara (Yacht Club) down the stretch," explained Klatt. "We rounded the top mark in second and our goal was do nothing radical, but Texas (Fort Worth Boat Club) got in the way. All three of us jibed over at once. We were able drift in to win in the race. It was a great way to finish the regatta.""I've been competing with these guys for years now," said Klatt, the 2004 J/24 North American Champion. "We also recruited some guys like tactician Garrett Baum."
"I'd like to race again at J/24 Worlds. I haven't raced at worlds since 2007. I'll be sailing J/24s for as long as I can," he added. Watch the J/24 Mallory Cup sailing video on YouTube. For more J/24 Clifford D Mallory Trophy/ US Sailing Adult Championship sailing information
Shaw Wins Canadian Women's Championship(Halifax, Nova Scotia)- The SAIL CANADA Women's Keelboat Championships are held annually at member clubs. The venue rotates around the country and is selected based on availability of a fleet of one design keelboats for use by competitors. For 2013, the regatta was co-hosted by Bedford Basin Yacht Club and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. The three day Championship - sailed in J/22s - saw forty women participate from Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Ontario and Manitoba. From a historical perspective, it has been the most successful Women's Canadian Keelboat championships held to date.
The regatta saw many top women's teams from across Canada participate with everyone having an equal chance at the overall championship due to the regatta format. Everyone had a chance to sail different, equalized, boats each day to make it fun and challenging for all whom participated.The results were close after the first two days of racing in Herring Cove with fabulous su
nny days with fairly steady winds from the north 10-15 knots. At the time, first place was Michele Cimon from NYC with 7.0 points, second was Cathy Shaw from RNSYS 7.0 pts and third Karen Fowler from BBYC with 14 pts. Then, the teams all looked forward to a Saturday evening celebration.Saturday night was considered "THE NIGHT" for most teams. The famously fun "HOPPING PENGUIN's" dance and celebration on the deck of the Royal Nova Scotia
Yacht Squadron's deck was off the charts-- plus it was free!Light breeze and sunny skies on Sunday saw the last of nine races with the top three on the podium going to Cathy Shaw and team from RNSYS-- crowned as the new Canadian Women's Champion, second place to Michele Cimon of Nepean Yacht Club and third to Karen Fowler from BBYC. For sailing photos of the event by Sherri Christie check here! Sail Canada Facebook J/22 page For more Sail Canada Women's National Championship sailing information
HEAVY DUTY Tops J/80 DataComm Cup(Sandhamn, Sweden)- A number of J/80s and a J/70 participated in this year's fun-loving DataComm Cup, a pursuit-style race hosted by KSSS (Royal Swedish YC) that has the slowest boats start first and the fastest last with the winners being those who cross the line first! Sixty-six boats sailed under brilliant sunshine on Kanholmsfjärden. The wind forecast was northeast to east 3-5 m/s, however, that never materialized-- while there was a good breeze for the start, the wind slowly diminished to 2-4 m/s from the east.
The KSSS Race Committee, led by Michael Holinder and Mats Dalunde, laid out a 16.7nm course starting at Kanholmsfjärden with the finish just north of Santahamina. The first boat started at 1030 hrs with pursuit and the last boat (fastest boat) started at 1206 hrs.At the finish sixteen boats finished within 10 minutes starting at about 1440 hrs, which was slightly earlier than sailing the RC had expected. In fact, the entire fleet of crossed the finish within 30 minutes. Leading the J/80s home was Pontus Tornlund's HEAVY DUTY, beating the next J/80 by over four minutes. Second was Philip Karlberg's LUFFA followed by Johan Gransten's SEGEL & KAPELL NACKA in third. Sailing also on handicap was Anders Rosenberg's new J/70 DYNAMANT, just 55 seconds behind the top J/80 after 16.7nm of sailing! For more J/80 DataComm Cup sailing information
INTERFACE CONCEPT 2 Pornic J/Cup Champion(Pornic, France)- The French J/80 class continues the next stage of their season long J/Cup and this past weekend sixteen J/80s sailed the 11th edition of the Pornic J/Cup Regatta hosted by CN Pornic. The crews were treated to gorgeous conditions with plenty of sun and winds that ranged from 10 to 25 kts all weekend!
The three days of racing in great breeze enabled Alex Cordier, PRO on the CN Pornic Race Committee, to run nine races! On Friday the 7-10 kts W/SW winds under a bright sun greeted the crews on the water, allowing the committee to send teams on three races. Saturday's sailing again saw amazing conditions, with sustained 20-25 kt westerly breezes challenging all the competitors in true planing conditions-- the crews were exhausted after a thrilling day of four races. The discussions that evening at dinner were all about mistakes, high-speed surfing and some of the more amazing broaches when crews missed their gybes. Sunday's final day of racing saw less breeze, but lots more sun with the CNP PRO running two more races in a 10-15 kts westerly breeze in very tactical conditions.
In the end, the crew of Simon MORICEAU on INTERFACE CONCEPT 2 sailed like a champion, garnering four 1sts and three 2nds on their way to being crowned Pornic J/Çup winners for 2013-- in fact, they didn't even have to sail the last race. Giving them tough competition for most of the series was Herve Leduc sailing XTREME YACHTING JIBE SET, accumulating three 1sts, two 2nds and three 3rds to easily grab second place overall. Herve Delaroux on JACUZZI snagged third overall, a much improved finish for him and most likely greatly appreciating having J/80 French Champion, Eric Brezellec, on board to help on speed and tactics! Fourth position was taken by Frederic Hauville no ECOLE NAVALE and fifth was Franck Vallet on J'ALLUCINE.The top women's team from Nantes, France was Catherine Lepesant sailing THIERRY IMMOBILIER, she was also seventh overall in the regatta! Taking second place was Marion Ledoux's crew from Pornic sailing CASA BOUBOU.
The "Family Award" goes to the Stonestreet's sailing AVEVA from Rochelais, France-- six of them aboard including Gauthier, Noemie, Thomas, Marie, Lucie and Odie! Proof that a family that lives together can also have fun sailing together! For more Pornic J/Cup Regatta sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* Farr 40 Worlds a.k.a. J/Worlds!? Really?! You betcha. Look who's tactician on many of the leading boats-- most are J/Boats one-design racing alumni (J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80, J/105) or J/24 World Champions. Fifteen crews from eight countries are ready to fight for the title of Rolex Farr 40 World Champions. The roll call for tacticians alone in this fleet is pretty impressive, including eleven known champion J sailors like 
Terry Hutchinson (BARKING MAD), Bill Hardesty (FLASH GORDON), Chris Larson (PLENTY), Morgan Reeser (CHARISMA), Matt Ciesicki (FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO, Max Skelly (ENDORPHIN), Ross McDonald (ASTERISK-UNO), Jens Christiansen (NANOQ), Peter Holmberg (STRUNTJE LIGHT), Erik Shampain (WHITE KNIGHT) and Gavin Brady (TRANSFUSION-- of note, Gavin's been sailing a J/70 in Martha's Vineyard all summer).America’s Cup veteran and J/24 World Champion, Terry Hutchinson, commented about the closeness and tight one-design racing experience: “(Timing and teamwork) are directly related to each other. The better communicated the timing, the better the teamwork. If you are off, it’s amazing the impact it has on the overall performance of the boat. If the start is off by two or three seconds, the impact on the race is massive. I give a timing countdown to each maneuver because it’s so critical for everyone to start the job at the right time. Pretty much everything on the boat requires ultimate precision.” We wish them all well, it will certainly be a case of the smartest (or luckiest) with the least mistakes will survive to tell the tale!
* 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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Racing starts on Thursday 22nd August and nowhere will the competition be hotter than at the Lifedge UK J/109 National Championships, which currently has an impressive twenty-one entries. A number of the J/109s who finished the Rolex Fastnet race towards the end of last week will undoubtedly have used the weekend to recharge and regroup ahead of their UK Nationals at the J-Cup. It was the team on Steven Tapper ’s Stalker who finished at the top of the podium in 2012, never having to count a score outside the top seven across the eight races sailed. Jonathan Calascione and Johnnie Goodwin’s Harlequin took silver, Mike and Sarah Wallis took the bronze in Jahmali, Paul Griffith’s Jagerbomb was fourth overall and Tony Dicken’s Jubilee finished fifth.
The Lombard J/97 UK National Championships will no doubt see some fine sailing, particularly as the J/97 is enjoying a strong run of national successes so far this year. Fresh from winning the title of overall winner at the Scottish Series, Iain Laidlaw’s J/97 Jaywalker has now been awarded best performance at West Highland Yachting Week, an event which attracted 100 boats. 2013 marks the third successive year a J/97 has won the Scottish Series title, with sisterships also securing class wins recently at Plymouth Race Week, the IRC Nationals, Cowes Week and Falmouth Week.
In usual J-Cup style we’re set for a massive event: six classes, eight races inside and out of the breakwater, two National Championships, an anticipated 50 boat entry, 400 sailors, live entertainment every night, fantastic sponsor support from B&G and Fusion, prizes galore including North Sails daily prizes, vouchers from Lifedge, RS Divers and Grapefruit Graphics, bags and clothing from SLAM, Lombard and Harken, plus extra goodies from Peters & May and Ocean Safety, and of course the infamous J-Cup Prize-giving Party on the final Saturday, this year to be held at the spectacular National Marine Aquarium, where the winners will be presented with some beautiful locally made trophies sponsored by Fastnet Insurance. A live blog from the race-track can be found at the event website.
It was truly a roller-coaster ride for many of the top five teams in the event that saw fairly dramatic swings on the leaderboard each day until the last day of the regatta. Of the four days sailed, the most wind was seen by fleet on the first three legs of the first race on Thursday-- that's when it broke the supersonic 10 kts barrier, albeit briefly. Thereafter, the next 3.5 days of racing were spent in the easterly quadrant with breezes blowing onshore from ENE to ESE in varying degrees of intensity from 5 to 7.5 kts. For those who had good light air speed upwind, in particular, it was a heaven sent gift no one could've ever imagined.
Day two was a dramatic reversal of fortunes for many. Moving into first place by virtue of an outstanding day on the water was WINDCZAR with a daily 2-1-5 record to put them 8 pts clear in first place with 12 pts total. Having a less "smokin hot" day was Len Siegal's LUCKY DUBIE. While sailing a brilliant last race of the day, the first two races were simply forgettable. After posting a 9-7-1, the Lucky Dubsters dropped into second with 20 pts total. Third was the famous red boat MENTAL piloted by Paul Stahlberg and gang from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their very consistent 5-2-6 pulled them into third overall with 28 pts.
Sailing "lights out" in the first race of the day was WINDCZAR, taking the lead in the regatta with a first place in race nine while Len Siegal's LUCKY DUBIE had to score their worst race in the series, a tenth. Paul Stahlberg's crew on MENTAL sailed a great race, working their way through the fleet to register a fourth and put themselves in a position to have a shot at the overall title. 
Lighter and less variable conditions treated the fleet to incredibly tight racing on Sunday with another four races banged off in quick time. By the end of Race 6, IL RICCIO had sewn up the regatta, pocketing a further two wins, not needing to race in the last two. A clinical display of extraordinary seamanship and sailing! The fleet did its best to push the 3PM deadline for a last start by forcing a general recall in the penultimate race. Taking second for the regatta was Seattle's Keith Whittemore on FURIO, posting a 2-2-1.5-1- in the last four races to nearly pull off the ultimate upset sailing the last day, losing by just a 0.5 pts. Third was the UK's Bob Turner on SERCO just another 0.5 pts back!! Rounding out the closely fought top five were Tony Parker's BANGOR PACKET crew in fourth and the Brit's JIGGY 2 led by Paul Williams in fifth. 
Officially promoted as "The Abell Point Marina Airlie Beach Race Week", the event started off in magical conditions for all the 110 boats across the 11 divisions. The breeze was a kind south-east eight to 10 knots inshore and up to 15 knots offshore as PRO Ross Chisholm sent the fleet off on Course 7 around the Double Cones for all. There were plenty of battles, among the small and big boats, with some of the high achievers falling by the wayside in the soft wind and tricky tides. In the Sports Boat the skippers kept themselves under control for the first race, starting cleanly. And, that's pretty much how it went for the rest of the week of sailing, save for one near windless but gorgeous day on the water. The final day of racing brought smiles to the face of the sailors and race committee as the breeze kicked in as forecasted. It was Whitsunday sailing at its best with 10 to 15 knots south-east, a manageable swell and good racing around Pioneer Bay.
The J/24 one-design class had a good turn-out, with eight boats sailing in a very competitive series. Ultimately, RNSYS's Peter Wickwire onboard SUNNYVALE took the J/24 crown, but it was not an easy one to attain. Nipping at their heels all regatta long was Ted Murphy's JUVENILE DELINQUENT from RNSYS, taking second place just 3 pts back. Sailing brilliantly at times, but tossing a few discard races into the mix, was Greg Blunden's ADRENALINE RUSH-- too much Red Bull perhaps for these boys? Their roller-coaster scoreline still enabled them to hang in for third overall. 
Fortunately, the team made the most of the school’s first international regatta by winning all seven races hosted in Wuyuan Bay. Although the team had never sailed those waters, Young attributed their preparedness to the water conditions being nearly identical to the waters of Marina Del Ray where they had practiced leading up to the trip to China.
"Remember the smile on my face as we led the fleet upwind to the second ww mark in the third race on Saturday? Terry actually asked, 'What's with that cheshire cat grin on your face, Nicole?' as we settled in after a tack. I had just been grumbling that I was SURE we were shy of layline and Bruce better not try to pinch to make the mark because he'd blow our lead.
Racing against good boats and sailed by really high level crews, I really appreciated, another time, the 'sweet' pleasure of quality.