Wednesday, August 28, 2013

J/Newsletter- August 28th, 2013

J/88 family speedster sailboat under spinnakerJ/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

J/70s sailing Key West Race WeekKey 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.

J/80 one-design sailing Key West Race WeekThe 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!

J/111 sailing fast upwind off Key West - Key West Race WeekThere 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

J/70s sailing past ship on Chesapeake Bay- off Annapolis, MDAnnapolis 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!

J/70 rounding mark off Annapolis, MDThe 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.

J/35s rounding mark off Annapolis, MDOther 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/111s starting off Chicago- North American ChampionshipJ/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 News

The 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.

J/109 sailing past Plymouth harbor lightThe 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.

J/109s crossing tacks upwind off Plymouth, EnglandThe 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.”

J/111 sailing fast off Plymouth, England- in the J/CupTony 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.”

J/70 sailing fast off Plymouth, England- J/Cup regattaRuairidh 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.

J/111 sailing under spinnaker- J/Cup- Plymouth, EnglandJamie 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.”

J/70s sailing upwind off Plymouth, England- J/Cup regattaIn 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.

J/109s racing past Plymouth, England fairgroundsDay 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.”

J/crew working, sailing fast- Plymouth, England- J/CupDay 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.

J/97 Blackdog- winners of J/Cup- Plymouth, EnglandIn 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.

J/109 winners- Shadowfax- J/Cup- Plymouth, EnglandYou 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

J/24s sailing Worlds in Howth, IrelandBMW 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.

BMW J/24 Worlds presentationA 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.

J/24 Worlds Chairman- Mr BothellDay 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/24s racing Verve Cup off ChicagoJ/70 EXTREME Wins Verve Cup
Soya'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

J/24s sailing Mallory Trophy- US Adult ChampionshipVentura 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.

Sailing J/24s fast in light air- Mallory Trophy/ US Adult ChampsKlatt 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.

Mallory Trophy- US Sailing Adult Champs winners"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

J/22s sailing Canadian Women's NationalsShaw 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.

J/22 women's sailing team- at Sail Canada nationalsThe 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 suPenguin hopping out of the waternny 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 Cathy Shaw's winning J/22 Canadian women's teamYacht 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

J/80s sailing DataComm Cup off SwedenHEAVY 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.

J/80 one-design sailboats- sailing off SwedenThe 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

J/80 one-design sailboats- sailing off Pornic, FranceINTERFACE 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!

J/80 one-design sailboats- starting to sail off Pornic, FranceThe 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.

J/80 winners sailing Pornic Cup off FranceIn 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

America's Cup, TP52, Farr 40 and J/24 World Champion- Terry Hutchinson* 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 Peter Holmberg- US Virgin IslandsTerry 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.

J/160 sailing offshore to US Virgin Islands- rainbow over oceanAlan 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- sailing J/42 Jaywalker* 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

Wall St Journal interview- Stellin's Offshore cruising/ sailing retirementThe 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 CommunityJ cruising directions- roll the dice and go!  Sailing to anywhere, anytime! 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/.

J/130 sailing ARC Rally arrives Portugal- leave a message on the sea wall!* 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.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

J/Newsletter- August 21st, 2013

J/24 one-design sailboat- sailing around markBMW J/24 Worlds Preview
(Howth, Ireland)- The venue for the BMW J/24 World Championship 2013, sailing from August 24th to 30th, is Ireland’s largest sailing club, Howth Yacht Club.  Located northeast of Dublin, the club promises very straightforward tides and no wind obstacles or commercial shipping traffic, the sailing waters north of Howth are arguably the best in Ireland!

Howth recently hosted the BMW J/24 European Championship and competitors were given a mix of windy, moderate and light conditions around courses set by PRO David Lovegrove. David is again the Howth YC PRO for the Worlds and had the pleasure of managing the Irish Nationals over the preceding weekend as a fine-tuning session for his race management team.

Howth’s strong relationship with BMW continues. Visitors to the Europeans were treated to an impressive display of beautiful new BMW cars and a dramatic evening lighting scheme. In 2012, BMW sponsored the Irish IRC Championship in Howth, launching a new car at the event. Who knows what will be on show this year?

J/24 one-design sailboats- sailing downwind off IrelandTo enjoy the social festivities, great sailing and awesome BMW automobiles are forty-one J/24 teams from ten countries around the world-- truly an impressive showing for a 36 year old International One-design offshore keelboat class.  There will be many top teams present with one crew, in particular, looking to match Ken Read's (now President of North Sails) remarkable record of five J/24 World Championship titles.  That person is the current J/24 World Champion Mauricio Santa Cruz from Brazil, sailing his famous BRUSCHETTA!  Santa Cruz, a four-time winner of the title, was so keen to defend his title that he was the first overseas entry in the competition. He also won the J/24 Worlds in 2006, 2007 and 2009.

The top British team is the 2011 J/24 European Champion Ian Southworth (a three-time winner of the event) from Royal Corinthian YC in Cowes and the recent J/24 Irish National Championship in the Open Division.  He will be piloting IL RICCIO GBR 5219, the same steed he rode around the track for the Irish Nationals.

The leading Irish contenders will be the current National Champion JP McCaldin from Lough Erne sailing JAIME ENCORE and Irish Class President Flor O’Driscoll of Howth YC skippering HARD ON PORT!

Leading the US challenge will be this year’s J/24 North American Champion Mike Ingham and runner-up Travis Odenbach, both from Rochester, NY.  Included in the mix will be past J/24 World Champion Tim Healy from Newport, RI sailing HELLY HANSEN; 2013 Italian Open Champion Keith Whittemore sailing FURIO from Seattle, WA; and past North American Champion Tony Parker sailing the redoubtable, ultra cool BANGOR PACKET from Georgetown, DC.

BMW Ireland sports cars/ automobiles- sponsoring J/24 WorldsLuis Olcese from Peru will be sailing SCARAMOUSH and the Japanese entry Koji Matsumoto sailing TEMPUS G represent highly competitive challenges as both are recognized as notable performers in J/24 circles and have finished well at previous championships.  Top contenders from Monaco include two members from YC Monaco- Dennis Frederiksen on PAGET and Ian Illsley on JAWS.  Germany has four entries including JJ-ONE from  the Joersfelder Segel Club, ROTOMAN from the Blankenser Segel Club and Rosemarie Eckhoff sailing the all-women's team on TINTO.  Finally, France is fielding two teams include JINETTE skippered by Charles Gury and JAGUAR helmed by the Garcia/ Vaulcon team-- both are from YC Crouesty Arzon.

The sailing should be extremely competitive as many of the top teams are fast, sail smart and conservatively.  In fact, Santa Cruz may face a far tougher challenge in this year's event than he did in the 90+ boat Rochester J/24 Worlds last year-- it's harder to get away from the other smart crews in smaller fleets, so small errors translate into significant changes in fleet standings!  Stay tuned, should be an interesting event to watch!   For more J/24 World Championship sailing information

B&G J/Cup Regatta Preview
(Plymouth, England)- Competitors are gearing up for an exciting B&G J-Cup 2013, scheduled to take place in Plymouth this week- August 21st to 24th. The event returns to the Royal Western Yacht Club in Queen Anne’s Battery Marina for the first time in six years, and comprises the Lombard J/97 UK National Championships and the Lifedge J/109 UK National Championships. The J/105s, J/70s and J/111s will be racing one design, the latter two classes building on the momentum of racing one design at Cowes Week this month, a first for both boats. The remainder of the fleet will race in mixed IRC J Boat classes.

J-Party style!  J-Fest United Kingdom.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.

J/teams sailing around mark at J/FestThe 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.

The J/111 Class has five boats racing on a level rating basis at the J-Cup this year, three of which enjoyed champagne sailing conditions in the J/111 Class at Cowes Week. David and Kirsty Apthorp’s J-Dream will be fighting off the competition to retain their title from 2012.

J/80 crossing a fleet of J/BoatsIn 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.

Title sponsor B&G will also be providing some special prizes on the final night. Alan Davis, Product Line Director for B&G said: “We are delighted to be supporting the J-Cup 2013, it promises to offer fast and exciting racing, and is one of the highlights of the UK racing calendar. The B&G team is particularly looking forward to meeting the competitors, working with Key Yachting and being an integral part of this fantastic regatta.”   Sailing photo credits-  Tim Wright   For more J/Cup Regatta sailing information

J/105s sailing off CaliforniaJ/Fest San Diego Announcement
(San Diego, CA)- Attention all J/Sailors, you're invited to J/Fest 2013, September 27 - 29 at San Diego Yacht Club!  J/Fest boasts a long history of being one of the most fun and well attended regattas in SoCal, exclusively for J/Boats!  The regatta is open to one design classes as well as a J/Boat PH fleet!

J/109 sailing off CaliforniaThere are two Racing Venues for the fleets. One is inside San Diego Bay racing on some nice flat water-- for the J/22, J/24, J/70. J80 one-design fleets.  On the outside sailing in the wide-open ocean off beautiful Point Loma are the J/105, J/109 and J/120 one-design fleets along with the J/PHRF fleets.

The schedule for the event includes the following:
Friday - "Just for Fun" race on the San Diego Bay, 4:00 start.  Casual social event at SDYC
Saturday - 3 races, Awesome J/Fest Party Saturday evening at SDYC
Sunday - 2 races, prize giving party at SDYC

Get your crew together and join us on the water for two days of competitive and fun buoy racing plus on shore for the social festivities.  Saturday evening the traditional J/Fest Party will be held with tons of awesome swag and giveaways from our sponsors, the prize giving will be held after racing on Sunday afternoon!  With an anticipated attendance of over 60 boats, this is the one regatta you do not want to miss this year!  For any questions, please contact Joanne O'Dea at email- joanne@jk3yachts.com or on phone # 619-347-9407.   For more J/Fest SAN DIEGO registration and sailing information

J/70 sailing on Great LakesVerve Cup One-Design Regatta Preview
(Chicago, IL)- The Verve Cup Inshore Regatta is a spectacular sailing event that is hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club at Belmont Station from August 24th to 25th. Identical One Design classes compete for two days to determine which boat has the best skipper and crew; included are the debut of the incredibly popular J/70 one-design speedster and the classic J/24 one-design keelboat classes.

This year, the Verve Cup will be bigger than ever and is assured to be the best one-design sailing around the Chicago area. Featuring optimal late summer breezes, competitive racing, and the best race committee on the water, the Verve Cup delivers outstanding racing. Big name sponsors include AUDI Chicago, Mt Gay Rum and SLAM yachting gear.

The debut of the J/70 class is quite impressive in this regatta, having by far the largest fleet with over twenty boats participating.  The fleet has a national and international flavor to it with crews from all over America and Europe.  Top teams featured in this year's event include Joel Ronning's well-traveled CATAPULT team from Minneapolis, MN; Bennet Greenwald's PERSEVERANCE crew from San Diego, CA; Joe Woods's crew on RED from Torquay, England.  Several new teams are participating including Blane Shea's GEMINI and Richie Stearns' TYLISHAN-- both from the local Chicago fleet.

The J/24s have a good fleet sailing including teams like Mark Soya's 2XS, Richard Graef's DON'T PANIC and Dan Walsh's GOLDRUSH.  Sailing photo credit- Tim Wilkes.   For more Verve Cup Inshore sailing information

J/24 one-design sailboats- sailing upwind on lakeUS Sailing Adult Championship Preview
(Rochester, New York)-  The historic U.S. Adult Sailing Championship will unveil a new and exciting format for competitive adult women and men sailors this Friday through Sunday, August 23-25, hosted by the Rochester Yacht Club.  The teams will be contending for the historic Clifford D. Mallory Trophy on the waters of Lake Ontario. Teams will be sailing matched International One-Design J/24s in a round robin format with a minimum number of four crew including the helmsperson.

Women have always been racing in this championship, but only as crew. The new U.S. Adult Sailing Championship has no gender restrictions on helmsperson or crews.  As an "open" event, there were many women skippers in the regional qualifiers around America.  Nevertheless, this year's eight finalists all have men skippers and four of the teams have women in the crew.  In fact, many of the teams are championship-calibre J/24 sailors.

Pat Toole and his team from Santa Barbara, CA are traveling coast to coast to make their third run at the Mallory Trophy. Toole, along with Dale Turley, George Witter, and Kent Pierce finished second in the 2011 event held in Mooresville, NC and third in 2008 event in San Francisco. In June, they placed fourth at the 2013 J/24 National Championship in Lake Minnetonka, MN Toole won the 2010 J/24 North American title in Seattle, WA.

“We’ve been focused on calibrating our communication and boat handling by sailing numerous short courses,” said Toole. “The shifts and puffs we experienced in Rochester at the J24 Worlds were very challenging and very different than what we ever see in California. We are very excited about returning and giving it another try.”

Frank McNamara (Wenham, Mass.) was fifth in this year’s J/24 event at Charleston Race Week. He also placed second at the 2012 Rhodes 19 National Championships. McNamara will be sailing with crew Clinton Hayes (East Haddam, CT), Diane Economides (Ipswich, MA), and John Powley (Boxborough, MA).

“It’s just really exciting to have the opportunity to race against the level of competition you find at the Mallory,” said McNamara. “We will definitely have to sail our best to have a shot at winning, but we feel we know how to make the boats go pretty well. We need to get good starts, sail smart and avoid mistakes.”

McNamara and his team look forward to racing the J/24 this week. “The fact that the event is in J/24s this year is an added bonus because we’ve been racing J/24s for a number of years. Rochester is a fantastic venue with all the talent and resources to host a terrific regatta, as we learned when we sailed in the J/24 Worlds in Rochester last year,” he explained.

Other notable skippers in Rochester this week will be 2004 J/24 North American Champion David Klatt (Oxnard, CA) and 75 year old former Snipe Champion Russell Cook (Liverpool, NY).

The regatta is sponsored by Gill North America and Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whiskey. The championship is also a Sailors for the Sea – Clean Regattas certification event.  Twenty races are scheduled for the regatta-- it's intended for each team to race each boat one once with a maximum of five races sailed per day.  The top three teams receive US Sailing Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. Special guest Charles Mallory, grandson of Clifford D. Mallory, will present the trophy to the winning team.  For more J/24 US Adult Sailing Championship sailing information

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

The middle of August marks the end of summer for many and a short break in the action for sailing, particularly in Europe, when families head back from the mountains, lakes and seashore to go back to work and put the kiddies back in school.  The exception clearly is the lead-up to the J/24 Worlds being held in Howth (Dublin), Ireland this coming week.  The J/24 "pre-worlds" regatta was essentially the past weekend's J/24 Irish Nationals hosted by Howth Yacht Club, it will be interesting to see how these teams perform in their local waters against what the world's best J/24 sailors have to offer.

Meanwhile, way, way Down Under, our Ozzie mates have just completed perhaps one of the most "bucket-worthy" regattas on Planet Earth.  Yes, indeed, one must check out why the Australians love their winter sailing at the famous Airlie Beach Race Week.  The entire event at Airlie Beach is held adjacent to the fabulous Whitsunday Islands and the even more famous Great Barrier Reef-- to say it's sailing in paradise doesn't even do it justice!

Headed far, far north across the Pacific, two events took place recently.  One was the J/80 Pan-Pacific Championships held in Xiamen, China and one of the invited guests- namely Cal State Long Beach- managed to put in a stellar performance against some of the best Asian teams!  Due east along the Pacific rim, the J/105s held their Summer Keelboat Regatta at San Francisco YC while trying to avoid derelict skippers on 72 foot catamarans doing their best to pitchfork them with their bows!  In the Great American Midwest, the J/111s enjoyed their inaugural J/111 North American Championship sailing on Lake Michigan and hosted by the  Chicago Yacht Club.  Way, way Down East, like Maine and Nova Scotia, the casual and adventurous J/Teams had yet another wonderful Penobscot Bay Rendezvous off the picturesque fishing village of Camden, Maine.  Yet another spectacular setting was the host for a number of J/teams in Chester Race Week, also held in a picturesque fishing village called Chester, Nova Scotia.

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 21-24- J/Cup Regatta- Royal Western YC- Plymouth, England
Aug 22-30- J/24 World Championships- 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
Sep 27-29- J/Fest- San Diego YC- San Diego, CA
Oct 1-5- J/22 World Championships- Newport, RI

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.

Rich Lehmann's Wind Czar- winners of J/111 North AmericansWINDCZAR Crowned J/111 North American Champion
(Chicago, IL)- The newly International J/111 One-design class held its inaugural North American Championship from August 14th to 18th, 2013 at Chicago Yacht Club's Belmont Station.  It was an exciting show for the fourteen boats sailing from across America, with teams participating from the Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes and East Coast.  An unexpected treat for the sailors was the fact the wildly popular Chicago Air & Water Show was being held concurrently, with over one million people watching along Chicago's spectacular waterfront with simply epic aerial, smoke-trailed acrobatic maneuvers performed by World War I bi-planes/ tri-planes, World War II vintage fighter planes and modern fighter jets just blowing away the bystanders with twisting, diving, spiraling, loop-to-looping balletic displays of breathtaking aerial maneuvers.

After four exciting days of sailing in very challenging wind conditions that rarely topped 7.5 kts of wind, the legends of Harbor Springs, Rich Lehmann's crackerjack team on their mighty WINDCZAR, sailed to the top of the class-- crowned as first ever J/111 North American Champions.

Chicago Air ShowIt 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.

From day one, it was clear the regatta was going to be between two well-sailed crews, Len Siegal's LUCKY DUBIE from the host Chicago YC (and regatta co-chair) and Rich Lehmann's WINDCZAR from Harbor Springs, Michigan. Leading from the outset, the LUCKY DUBIE gang was part of the trio of boats that prophetically split on the first downwind run in the first race from the entire fleet to be one of the leaders of the regatta from there on end (the others were Paul Stahlberg's MENTAL and Lehmann's WINDCZAR!).  After the first day, the LUCKY DUBIE gang was leading with WINDCZAR in second and the Verve Cup J/111 class winner, Henry Brauer's FLEETWING, was hanging in for a solid third place position.

J/111s starting in smoke of Chicago Air ShowDay 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.

J/111 MENTAL- Shannon Devine pulling in spinnakerThe third day of the regatta produced the surprise performance so far.  William Smith's WOOTON helmed by Jim Alvert smoked the fleet in the first two races with two firsts by a country mile!  However, the third race proved to be the roller-coaster ride so far for the regatta.  For many, the "wheels fell off the shopping trolley".  In other words, like the proverbial "Icarus" flying too close to the sun, their wings got burnt off and came crashing down to the reality of Earth.  Remarkably, the regatta leader WINDCZAR fell into that category.  After a brilliant second day, the "wind wizards" posted a 6-8-8 for the day to drop into a tie for second place one point off the lead!  The LUCKIE DUBIE gang sailed a solid day to take a 4-7-2 for the day to become, again, the regatta leaders by one point.  Finishing in triumphant fashion after their first two races was Stahlberg's MENTAL, improving every race to post a 5-3-1 score to emphatically put their mark on their bid for top honors overall.  Tied with them was Marty Roesch's VELOCITY team from Annapolis, Maryland in the top five.

J/111 sailboats- sailing downwindThe last day promised to be another cliff-hanger for the fleet with a light ESE breeze that was fed by an onshore sea-breeze effect midday.  The fact the lead had changed hands so dramatically in the last three days and that the top five were all within ten points of one another meant the championship was wide open for the team that could rise to the occasion.

With racing scheduled to start at 1030 hrs, the Chicago YC PRO and crew did a magnificent job to get the ball rolling and after two general recalls the fleet took off into an ESE breeze at 105 degrees blowing 5-7 kts. With yet another "classic southeast sea-breeze" building the big question would be which way the "locals" would go and how would the "foreigners" figure it all out?  With the breeze fluctuating from 90 to 125 degrees, it was anyone's guess what would happen.  As it turns out, just about any strategy worked so long as you stayed on the lifted tack AND had good light air speed. For the top five boats, it was going to pose a difficult challenge.

J/111 crew Marnie Smiley cleaning the decksSailing "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.

J/111 international one-design class- off Chicago, ILWith the stage set for the last race, it was anyone's guess what the outcome would be for the championship.  In the end, Lehmann's team on WINDCZAR stayed out of trouble, sailed a smart and conservative race to finish third and were crowned the first overall J/111 North American Champions!  While their disastrous ninth race hurt their chances at the overall title, Len Siegal's crew on LUCKY DUBIE concluded their regatta with an emphatic first place in race ten to take the second spot overall. Sailing their hearts out all week were Paul Stahlberg's MENTAL crew taking third overall.  Fourth in the regatta was Marty Roesch's VELOCITY crew from Annapolis, Maryland and fifth was Bill Smith's WOOTON crew from Bay Harbor, Michigan.

The J/111 crews all had a wonderful time.  Thanks to the sponsors SLAM Gear, Richie Stearns from Stearns Boating, Skyway Yachtworks and friends of Chicago Yacht Club.  Furthermore, the Chicago YC Race Committee and PRO did an admirable job of producing great racing in what many would consider to be very challenging wind conditions.

During the regatta, the social media/ photography team of Alan and Meredith Block provided excellent coverage for the event.  For more beautiful photography, please see Meredith's photo albums on the J/Boats Facebook page.

Here are several interviews of J/111 sailors off the top boats:
Len Siegal- J/111 owner of Luckie Dubie
Len Siegal (LUCKY DUBIE)- J/111 NA Co-chair interview

Len Siegal (LUCKY DUBIE)- Sunday interview

Mark Ploch (LUCKY DUBIE) interview- first day racing

Henry Brauer (FLEETWING) interview- first day racing

Rich Lehmann (WINDCZAR) interview- first day racing

Rich Lehmann (WINDCZAR)- Sunday interview

Jim Alvert (WOOTON)- Sunday interview

Rich Stearns (Regatta sponsor/ Stearns Boating)

Furthermore, what many have discovered is that J/111 sailing is very attractive to women for a number of reasons (the boat is easy to sail, women can steer, trim jib, trim chute, do pit, do bow; women love the head; plus you can sit inside to stay cool; plus it has a very comfortable cockpit).  Here are a few cameo interviews with some of these "Ladies of the J/111 Fleet":

J/111 crew- Marnie Smiley
Marnie Smiley (VELOCITY)
J/111 crew- Shannon Devine
Shannon Devine (MENTAL)
J/111 crew- Carolyn Rieg
Carolyn Rieg (VELOCITY)
J/111 crew- Ginger Aaron
Ginger Aaron (MY SHARONA)
J/111 crew- Andrea Miz
Andrea Miz (IMPULSE)


Sailing photo credits- Meredith Block@Blocksail.com/ Social Media credits- Alan Block@Blocksail.com   For more J/111 North American Championship sailing information

J/24 one-design sailboats- off Dublin, IrelandBritain's Southworth Tops J/24 Irish Nationals
Howth YC Under 25 team lift Irish National title
(Howth, Ireland)-  Howth Yacht Club hosted the recent J/24 Irish Championships, an event which was both a warm-up for Irish competitors and a fine tune for the race management team, in advance of the imminent BMW J/24 World Championship.  With the top three determined by just one point, it's indicative of how close the class has become competitively amongst its top practitioners!

Saturday morning saw the fleet held ashore for a few hours by PRO David Lovegrove due to high winds. Nobody wanted to risk serious damage a week out from the main event. The later start still allowed the 20 entrants from Ireland, Great Britain and USA to enjoy four races held in a variety of conditions. Sun, rain, squalls, flat calms, big shifts and a changing tide all created a very unusual mix for Howth. As one race official noted, "If you don't like the weather, hang on for five minutes!"

Ian Southworth- winner of J/24 Irish NationalsIn spite of the weather challenges, GBR visitors IL RICCIO (Italian for "The Hedgehog") sailed by Ian Southworth dominated the first day and headed for the bar with a 1-2-1-1 score. Just behind them was fellow Brit Bob Turner on SERCO with a 5-1-3-3 and Ireland's Flor O'Driscoll sailing HARD ON PORT into third with a 3-5-5-10.  The top Americans all had great scores, save for bad drop races, like Keith Whittemore's FURIO from Seattle, Washington and Tony Parker's BANGOR PACKET from Georgetown, DC.  Top of the Irish boats at that stage was Howth's Mossy Shanahan who bagged a tasty 2-10-4-7. The dividends were paid to those who played relatively conservatively and kept their noses clean.

J/24 Under 25 Team IrelandLighter 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.

Irish National title winner was the HYC Under 25 crew sailing EURO CAR PARKS KILCULLEN followed by Flor O'Driscoll's team HARD ON PORT in second and taking third Irish Nats on the podium was the Darrer/ Murphy team on the old STOUCHE.

With a calendar of coaching and tweaking, polishing and measuring, ahead of the J/24 Worlds, the Howth will be a beehive of activity this week. Many of the visitors have threatened golf outings, punctuated by busy evenings in local hostelries and pubs!!  Story contributed from Emmet Dalton.   Sailing photos credits- Tom Gruitt   For more Irish J/24 Nationals sailing information

J/70 sailing Australia- Airlie Beach RegattaJ/70 Loves Airlie Beach Outing
(Airlie Beach, Australia)- According to the Airlie Beach Chamber of Commerce, "Airlie Beach Race Week is known amongst sailing aficionados as one of the most "bucket-worthy" regattas in the world.  It’s got a laid-back attitude, perfect weather with solid trade-wind sailing, the town is a backpackers’s paradise full of hot young chicks and cheap booze, and it all comes at the perfect time for winter-bound Aussies.  Airlie is also one of the best jumping-off points to explore the Great Barrier Reef; perfect for an extended trip with some sailboat racing in the middle.  It’s a long haul from most places and you might die if you swim in the water, but on a positive note, they’ve got the best drinks cooler in all of sailing on the dock."  And, most notably, they actually deliver on that promise!

J/70 cheerleaderOfficially 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.

J/70 sailing fast off Whitsundays, AustraliaSailing their J/70 JUNIOR for the first time in the regatta were Ray and Jill Carless from Sydney.  Here's their report of the experience which, apparently, neither would trade for the world!

"Airlie Beach is situated in the middle of the stunning group of seventy-four  Whitsunday Islands which are part of the Great Barrier Reef and is an amazing location for this iconic Australian winter race week.

With very little time to practice and still quite new to the J/70, we quickly recruit two new crew members for this highly competitive winter paradise regatta.  With the boat packed we made the 1,800km three-day drive from Sydney with ease towing the J/70 with a 2 liter diesel VW.

The line-up of sports boats were typical of the high performance machines raced in Australia and New Zealand, some up to 8m, a number with wings and trapezes, most much lighter than the J/70 being built of carbon fibre.

Airlie Beach sailing video highlightsThe wind conditions were predominantly up to 8 knots with the windiest reaching 15 knots on the first day and every day in crystal-clear, sun-sparkled, aquamarine waters.

With an impressive scoreline of 3-5-5-3-4-3-4-2 and a drop of 8th, our performance for the week improved as the two new J/70 crew got used to the boat.

In short, we had a fantastic time! The J/70 is amazing! Anyone who doubts this is a good and economical way to run a modern sports boat should look at our results.  We were the only boat in the fleet to have Dacron upwind sails and only one of each sail, ie. 1 main, 1 jib, 1 spinnaker, as per the J/70 class rules.

All of the other boats were sporting exotic sails and most had multiple jibs and spinnakers.  This sounds too expensive and complicated to us, we just want to go sailing and have fun!

That we did and had a great time with a very good result as we get to learn the J/70. There is obviously more to be had out of this great little machine from the J/Boat stable and little wonder over 500 have now been sold in a very short space of time.   

How best to sum it all up?  Long drive, blue sky, little wind, much fun, great result!”

Sailing photo credits-   Shirley Wodson - Shirley Wodson Photography     Julie Geldard - Video Picture Promotions

Airlie Beach Race Week YouTube sailing video highlights:     Day 1 Sailing summary   Day 2 Sailing summary    Day 3 Sailing summary   Day 4 Sailing summary   For more Airlie Beach Race Week sailing information

J/29 sailboats under spinnakerJ/Teams Enjoy Brilliant Chester Race Week!
J/120 BRILLIANCE Does it Again!
(Chester, Nova Scotia)- Competitors from across Canada and the Eastern Seaboard descended upon the picturesque fishing village of Chester, Nova Scotia for Canada’s largest keelboat regatta – Chester Race Week, sailed from August 14th to 17th.

Under variable conditions that included light air, fog and medium air with brilliant sunshine along with the 183' Fidelis anchored in the inner harbour in Chester, 133 yachts competed in this years running of Chester Race Week.

J/120 BRILLIANCE sailing upwind at Chester Race WeekRichard Calder's J/120 BRILLIANCE sailing from Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron completed her defense of the Alpha Distance 1 class championship at this years Chester Race Week posting a solid 1-1-1-4 scoreline in the 11 boat fleet. Sailing to a close second was Fred Smither's J/120 ADIOS skippered by Dwayne Smithers and in third was Chester YC's Dave Connolly onboard the J/111 STAMPEDER.

In Alpha Distance 2 division, Rod Johnstone's crew onboard J/35 JAI TU finished second ahead of RNSYS's Paul Rafuse J/109 WISC while fourth went to Rory MacDonald & Sean McDermott's J/105 MCMAC.  Meanwhile, in Alpha 1 class, Mark Surrette's J/111 BLAST finished second in class.

J/29 one-design sailboats startingThe J/29 one-design class winner was Andrew Child's SILVER WOMAN counting an astounding eight 1sts in nine races to count to dominate their class with a 14 pt win!  Second was a tough battle for two boats- J-ZEUS II9 and COLMONELL.  In the end, it was John Heseltine's J-ZEUS II9 with 24 pts taking the silver followed by the Christie Brothers'sCOLMONELL just one point back in third place.

Chester Race Week Gosling GirlsThe 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.

In the Delta D1 Fleet, Lunenberg YC's Scott Covey took first place on the J/29 RUMBLE FISH while Colin Mann's Lunenberg YC team on the J/92 POOHSTICKS finished third. In the D2 class Chester YC's Sam Lamey sailed his J/27 INCORRIGIBLE into a hard-earned second place.    Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes (timwilkes.com) & Steve Jess (stevejess.com)   For more Chester Race Week sailing information

J/160 sailing Penobscot BayJ Sailors Cruise to Victory @ Penobscot Bay Rendezvous
Judy Jellinek's J/160 Queen of the Fleet
(Camden, Maine)-  There is no more desirable sailing venue than scenic Penobscot Bay in August, and this year’s Rendezvous sailed from August 15th to 18th was near perfect with temperatures in the mid 70s,  blue skies every day and sailing breezes from 5 to 15 knots every day.

J/42 superstar- Tom Babbitt- sailing fast from lee helm!Forty-two boats participated (40% were J’s) and they covered the J/Boat spectrum with two J/160s, two J/46s, three J/42s, a J/40 and a J/34C from the cruising ranks as well as a J/122,  J/120, J/109, two J/100s and a J/29 and a J/80.  No surprise that J’s took 60% of the podium positions.

In PHRF 1 J’s took three of the top four spots with Don Logan’s J/105 KEEMAH coming second followed by two J/100s, Tom Gill's SEA SMOKE in 3rd and Frank Simon's SMITTEN in fourth.

PHRF 2 was dominated by Larry Turner’s J/29 RENEGADE with 5 points followed by Jesse Henry’s J/80 CHAISE LOUNGE with 8 points in second.

J/160 September Morning- Judy JellinekCruising Canvas came down to a nail biter between Judy Jellinek’s gorgeous J/160 SEPTEMBER MORNING, the venerable Palmer Johnson 53 Anjaca, with deep local knowledge aboard,  and Windwalker, a stunning Lyman Morse 60.  Had there been a concours d elegance it would have been a dead heat!  On the final day, SEPTEMBER MORNING was able to save her overall victory with a one point margin over Anjacaa and Windwalker.  A great effort by Judy in her third ever regatta!

Double-Handed was the largest class with sixteen entrants and it turned into a battle royal between a very well sailed Sydney 38 sailed by Tom Hall and Tom Babbitt's BRAVO, a shoal draft J42 in full cruise mode, cockpit cushions, dodger and grill deployed. BRAVO was able to win the first day, with Buzz second,  but Buzz dominated on Saturday with BRAVO second,  so Sunday was the rubber match and in the stronger breeze, Buzz eeked out a 20 second victory over BRAVO.  The final standings were Buzz in first, BRAVO second and Bermuda One-Two overall champion, Scott Miller’s J/122 RESOLUTE, in third.  Fifth was James Bennett's J/34c ASTAEA.   Next year’s Rendezvous will be August 14 – 17, 2014.  Don’t miss it!
For more Penobscot Bay Rendezvous sailing information

Cal State-Long Beach Wins Chinese J/80 Pan-Pacific's!
(Xiamen, China)- The Cal State Long Beach Sailing Team torpedoed the competition in Xiamen, China last month as they swept their way to victory at the first Pan-Pacific University Sailing Championship. Over 20 teams from China, Taiwan and Singapore took to the waters in their J/80 the weekend of July 15-17 hoping to take home the gold.

“We came out swinging,” team captain Shane Young said of the team’s mindset going into the event. “We came out expecting them all to be top-notch sailors and we had high expectations. We went into the regatta not expecting to win because I think when you do that you kind of shoot yourself in the foot.”

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.

The team tried to remain grounded as they continued to win races throughout the weekend, but they were finally able to express their happiness after winning the seventh and final race, which left no question as to who was taking home the gold medal.

“When we crossed the finish line and won I just slapped the deck and screamed,” Young said. “It was great. I got the chills. It was just sweet.”

The victory overseas, however, almost didn’t happen.

J/80 sailing team- Cal State- Long BeachPressed for time and funds, Young admitted that it came down to the final week to raise the $12,000 it was going to cost to send the five sailors to China. Donations from the Long Beach Yacht Club, as well as private donors and team parents, combined with the team’s t-shirt sales successfully financed the trip. At a banquet held last Thursday night at the Long Beach Yacht Club to honor the victory, the team dedicated their trophies to the donors to show their appreciation.

“That was one of the bigger accomplishments outside of sailing for our team,” Young said of the fundraising effort. Young goes on to explain that the team regularly struggles just to raise gas money for trips to San Francisco, where they stay at the homes of area Yacht Club members to save money.

Three years ago, the Cal State Long Beach sailing team was a distant memory. The team had history, being ranked as one of best in the nation during a portion of the 1980s, but it had become dormant before Young and a few like-minded students decided to resurrect it. Laura Newton, a former member of the team and co-resuscitator of the team, recalled the growing pains.

First, there was the red tape of starting up a club sport. Then came the recruitment process, home-making of uniforms and driving to competitions with their dinghies strapped to the top of a sedan. Meeting three times a week from 1-4 PM when the team would perfect their craft required a lot of night classes and shuffling of schedules. And when their DIY team finally got on the water, they had to gain the acceptance of much more established teams from around the area.    Read more here at Long Beach Post.com about their growing pains and sailing experiences...

J/105 sailor - BobARBITRAGE Wins Summer Keelboat Regatta
Layline "Proposal" Works for Nicole!
(San Francisco, CA)- Summer sailing on San Francisco Bay has not been without its challenges.  With pesky 72 foot catamarans flying about acting somewhat "officious" about their rules of the road on San Francisco Bay, and J/105s more than happy to starboard tack anything made of foam and carbon when they are racing, it goes without saying that J/105s win the "Mexican stand-off" nearly every time!

That's how it went for the extremely challenging Summer Keelboat regatta managed by the San Francisco Yacht Club. It was obvious that the weekend was not going to be “normal” on the drive across the Golden Gate early on Saturday. The wind was already blowing, but from an unusual, Southerly, direction and the high clouds were drifting Northwest to Southeast – clearly something odd was going on.

J/105 one-design sailboat- rounding windward markSFYC's PRO Jeff Zarwell set the course up to manage a breeze coming from about 200 degrees, with the pin slightly favored to discourage those “go right on the circle” boats from gelcoat-exchange and bad language close to the RC. The plan worked, helped, perhaps, by the allure of early ebb on the left. The fleet bisected and the two parts headed off in different directions - a pattern that repeated after each start and each leeward mark rounding throughout the regatta, with some skippers convinced that the right paid due to the curl effect around Angel Island, and others favoring stronger current, and unusual port tack “lull-lifts” on the South side.

During the usual informal hand-waving debriefs at the excellent post-race party and BBQ, the fleet also split into two camps – the certain and the conflicted – with no apparent advantage to either attitude as far as picking the correct side or in the results of the racing.

At the end of the day, Bruce Stone’s ARBITRAGE managed the unusual conditions best and won the regatta convincingly with three bullets, a second and a fifth, followed by Scooter Simmon's BLACKHAWK and Jeff Litfin & John Case's MOJO.  Jason Woodley & Scott Whitney's RISK and Phil Laby's GODOT tied on points for fourth and fifth overall, with RISK taking the tie-breaker due to winning the first race.

But, there's more to the ARBITRAGE success story in this regatta.  Something unusual happened on the way to the weather mark in one of the races--- here's Nicole's account:

Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault- J/105 sailors extraordinaire!"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.

Well, right after I checked the jib trim, adjusted the trav, and took a look at the boats around us (solidly behind us), Bruce asked me to marry him!

At the time I said something to the effect of... 'you're crazy, ridiculous timing, focus on the boat speed, blah, blah, blah.' But there was no way to suppress the smile. A few seconds later he said, 'Well?' And I said, 'Only if we win this race.'

Well, we made the mark. We won that race. And we won the friggin' regatta."  We wish them happiness and many more good layline "calls" in the future!  :)    Sailing photo credits- Leslie Richter/ Rockskipper.com  For more J/105 Summer Keelboat sailing results.

J/Community

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

J/111 Xcentric Ripper sailing in Rolex Fastnet Race*  J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER sailed by John van de Starre and Robin Verhoef sailed well again in this year's Fastnet Race sailing in the IRC Double-handed class.  Here's a video sequence by videographer Robin Knight of them flying along under main, code zero and jib on starboard tack headed to Fastnet Rock-- with no one on the helm!!  They're using, of course, a powerful auto-pilot on the steering quadrant to enable one person on deck to trim sails and adjust the autopilot magnetic course.  Get a feeling for their experience by viewing this short YouTube sailing video.

J/122 off Italy sailing downwind* J/122 AOI ME Wins Mittel Europa Criterium
(Trieste, Italy)- Piero Santi's J/122 AOI ME ("blue eyes" in Japanese) won its class in the Mittel Europa IRC Criterium in Trieste Italy in the end of July. Mr Santi had a tremendous perspective to offer to all J/Owners about his experience sailing his beloved J/122 in this epic race.  Said Piero:

"We won our class with a second place in the overall ranking.  The boat is powered by the fantastic Doyle sails designed in USA by Mark Ploch and perfectly made by Doyle Italy.  But our results are not the main reason why I'm sending you this message.

Racing against good boats and sailed by really high level crews, I really appreciated, another time, the 'sweet' pleasure of quality.

Sailing is a passion first of all, so it's really fantastic to know that someone is able to design and produce a boat and sails of such a quality.  We were always fast, upwind and downwind and everything on board worked well, every hardware is in the right place and with the right dimension.

Also sailing downwind at 14 kts of boat speed, you simply have a 'total control feeling', you know that the boat and sails will never betray you.  So, I simply want to thank you my friends for producing these fantastic objects.  Kind regards, Piero."  Here is a nice YouTube sailing video/ vignette of their experiences aboard the lovely AOI ME.   Sailing photo credits- Andrea Carloni/ Italy

J/120 sailing fast under spinnaker* J/120 RHAPSODY V won the Rolex Fastnet Race IRC Class 3 and was third overall in IRC of nearly 200 boats!  Their program was launched two years ago by Jean-Jacques Godet (of the famous French cognac house of the same name) with a largely La Rochelle-based crew.

"It was a family and friends project," explains Tony Pike, manager of North Sails. "Jean-Jacques Godet bought the boat and then he came to see me to buy sails. I helped organize the crew and tried to make good progress."

In particular, they made use of professional sailors in "key positions" as part of the whole crew.  For the Fastnet Race, Tony convinced Yannick Bestaven (hoping defend his Class 40 title in the next Transat Jacques Vabre) to join the adventure.

The La Rochelle team has had a very successful summer racing offshore.  In Cowes Race Week they finished third in class on the Solent (the start for the Fastnet Race).  And, in May they won the Armen Race. So, the third overall finish in  Plymouth illustrates the remarkable progression of RHAPSODY V over the past two years.

It has been a great, heart-warming success for Jean-Jacques Godet, who had aboard his two sons (Maxime and Jean-Edouard). Other Rochelais sailors that were present included Tony Pike, Yannick Bestaven, Florian Floglietti, Augustin Frédéric Ruffle and Leclere.

M. Godet was able to attract experienced professional sailors of Yannick Bestaven's calibre because, beyond just the racing, the enormous numbers of IRC sailors are also potential customers for Bestaven's company-- WATT & SEA-- renown for making high quality, reliable hydro-generators for sailing yachts and offshore racing and cruising boats of all sizes.

Said Tony Pike of their experience, "What we want is that the owner has great fun both on the water and on land. We're here to help tactically, provide information on weather options, help on navigation, and fine-tune sail trim."  Clearly they achieved their goals while maintaining crew cohesion and a family-like atmosphere of cooperation!

The final stage of their season is the "Telegram" Regatta in Lorient, France. Next year the team will be sailing in the entire West Indies sailing circuit in the Caribbean!  For more about Godet's Fastnet experience, please read here.

* 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.

J/160 sailing offshore to US Virgin Islands- rainbow over oceanAlan 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- sailing J/42 Jaywalker* 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

Wall St Journal interview- Stellin's Offshore cruising/ sailing retirementThe 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 CommunityJ cruising directions- roll the dice and go!  Sailing to anywhere, anytime! 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/.

J/130 sailing ARC Rally arrives Portugal- leave a message on the sea wall!* 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.