J/Performance @ Strictly Sail Long Beach(Long Beach, CA)- Attention Sailors! JK3 Yachts will be presenting some exciting boats at Strictly Sail Long Beach, October 24-27th at Shoreline Village in Rainbow Harbor, with a high performance line up of J/Boats! Featured will be these proven speedsters, the J/125 “Warrior”, the J/145 “Jeito”, and the J/133 “Tango”. Whether racing offshore, around the buoys or cruising off to the islands, J/Boats are the perfect choice. Now is the chance to step aboard these thoroughbreds to compare the quality and great value for your next big campaign. For tickets or more information on this exclusive J/Boat line up, please contact Jeff Brown- info@jk3yachts.com
J/Fest + Harvest Moon Rising!(Houston, TX)- A lot is happening in parts of grand'ole Southwestern America. They think big down there whether it's "honky-tonks" with mechanical bulls, epic parties, enormous blond hair, rattlesnake boots, dude ranches and, sometimes, even huge regattas! First up on the agenda is the Harvest Moon Regatta, or "HMR" as the locals call it. This year's 27th edition starts the 17th of October and can be a real "trick or treat" event. HMR was hatched over drinks in the Lakewood YC bar by a few sailors that wanted to use their boats more! The October weather window between the summer doldrums and the blue northers makes for spectacular sailing along the Texas Coast. Add in the beautiful "ginormous" Harvest Moon and a course from the Galveston Jetties to Port Aransas and you have the HMR. Just a 100 plus mile jaunt down the coast with over 200 sailboats!
With several classes there is a place to race or cruise for every type of boat. The Bacardi PHRF Racing fleet is about 50% J/Boats with the J/105, J/109, J/120, and a J/44 the primary entries. Every year epic stories hatch of blast reaching at over 15 knots for 8 hours, or drifting in the same spot for hours! The cruisers seem to enjoy regaling the racers with how they enjoyed watching the race boats zip by with the crew hanging over the lifelines chomping on a energy bar or MRE as they sipped a nice chardonnay and enjoyed exquisite hot cuisine under the bimini. At Port Aransas all of the sailors come together for a lively party, brag a lot, tell mind-blowing stories (real or not!) and a wonderful time is had by all. Almost all the boats start back on Sunday- either motor sailing down the cut or back out in the gulf. It's no wonder this event attracts 200 entries every year to become one of our nations largest offshore point-to-point races! Put this one on your bucket list! For more Harvest Moon Regatta sailing information
J/Fest Southwest is next up on the agenda. Shortly following the Harvest Moon Regatta, be sure to note the deadline Friday is fast approaching!! The skippers bag has well over $100.00 in product goodies such as Rejex Wax and boat wash, dinner coupons, t-shirt and J/Fest coffee mug! After Friday the entry goes up by an additional $50.00! Don't miss the racing action, live music, free beer, Kattack race tracking and thousands of dollars in goodies to be raffled off from Velocitek, Marlow, Torqeedo, Harken, Blackburn Marine, North U. Along with these great product sponsors we also get financial support from the City of Seabrook, North, Quantum, Torqeedo, Hayes Rigging, Hays Insurance, Sundance Grill, Gulf Coast Marine, and Sundance Grill!
What does all of this mean? The J/Fest Southwest Regatta committee puts on great racing designed to maximize your time on the water and our sponsors put the shoreside activities over the top to produce one of the highest quality events in the nation with a lot of bang for your buck! There's a class for every J/Boat ever built and we want y'all to come on down to Galveston Bay and play! Come join the 50 fellow J/Owners already registered! So don't delay register today! For more J/Fest Southwest sailing information
J/Teams Ready For Rolex Middle Sea Race(Gzira, Malta)- Closing the Mediterranean sailing season with gusto, the 34th edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race starts on Saturday 19th October and is destined to mark a significant chapter in the history of a popular offshore event. The race is in a period of ascendancy. Over one hundred international yachts have registered for the 606-nm contest commencing and finishing in Malta, and comprising a challenging anti-clockwise circumnavigation of Sicily. First held in 1968 and organized by the Royal Malta Yacht Club, the race has been sponsored by Rolex since 2002.
The appeal of the race is clear: first-rate competition, a largely Corinthian atmosphere, a fascinating racecourse. The race is a true challenge to skippers and crews who have to be at their very best to cope with the often changeable and demanding conditions. Equally, the race is blessed with unsurpassed scenery with its course, taking competitors close to a number of islands, which form marks of the course. Ted Turner described the MSR as "the most beautiful race course in the world". Starting from the Grand Harbour, Valletta, beneath 
Fort St Angelo and the Saluting Battery in Valletta, the fleet head north along the eastern coasts of Sicily up towards the Straits of Messina. Mt Etna is usually visible on the fleets port side, billowing ashes and lava throughout the night. Once through the Straits, the course leads north to the Aeolian Islands and the active volcano of Stromboli where the yachts turn west to the Egadi Islands. Passing between Marettimo and Favignana the crews head south towards the island of Lampedusa, leaving Pantelleria to port. Once past Lampedusa the fleet turns northeast on the final leg towards the South Comino Channel and the finish at Marsamxett Harbour. En route the crews take in an amazing diversity of landscape and sea conditions, all of which combine to create the attraction and challenge of the race.
In any race of this type, the most coveted prize is for overall victory. Along with Hasso Plattner's 86 footer- Morning Glory- another recipient of the Rolex Middle Sea Race Trophy is in attendance. Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard’s J/122 ARTIE-RTFX ended a near ten-year wait for a Maltese victory in 
2011, and become the sixth local boat to win the race-- in fact, they're two-time overall winners having done it before in their J/125! Joining them will be two more Maltese boats, one is the J/133 OILTANKING JUNO sailed by David Anastasi-- they nearly won their class in 2012 and lost in the final straits into the finish line! The other is Aaron Gatt Floridia's OTRA VEZ- they, too, were in leadership contention halfway through last year's race and hope to build on that this year!
There are two J/111s participating this year from Italy and, given the "stop & go" driving in light to moderate conditions that are typical of this race, these two boats may give their larger stablemates enormous headaches. Marco Flandin's 
BLACK BULL and Massimo Colosimo's J/STORM will be dueling for leadership not only in class but overall if they get a mix of the right reaching/ running/ beating conditions. Be sure to follow the fleet and the updates as all boats have YellowBrick trackers on them and you can track them each day as they progress around the course! Sailing photo credits: Rolex/ Kurt Arrigo For more Rolex Middle Sea Race sailing information
J/Sailing NewsThe Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
Fall is finally beginning to expose its "dark side" this past week as the monstrous "harvest moon" is apparently beginning to affect how weather patterns are changing in the northern hemisphere. The sailors participating in England's Garmin Hamble Winter Series on the famously challenging waters of the Solent were, indeed, treated to wintry, cool, misty conditions over the weekend. The various one-design classes of J/70s, J/80s, J/109s, J/111s and IRC handicap classes that saw the debut of the J/88 were certainly pushed to their limits in the somewhat frigid conditions. Similarly, the J/80s sailing in Student Yachting World Cup in Pornic, France started off in the same conditions but are now enjoying somewhat more benign weather. Earlier, the J/24s concluded one of their best attended J/24 Europeans in history, with 67 boats vying for the title in off the fashionable, glittering city of Monte Carlo, Monaco. The increasingly popular J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailed off Friedrichshafen, Germany on Lake Constance. Hosted by the Wurttemberg YC, the eighteen German sailing clubs participating truly enjoyed their weekend of camaraderies and close competition.In the Far East along the western Pacific Rim, one of the oldest keelboat regattas in China just finished off Xiamen. The local fleet of J/80s hosted the regatta, called the "Club Cup", and the simple conclusion was that top level Chinese sailors are learning awfully fast how to fleet race and match race J/80s-- something about getting "shanghai'd" by some "high-flyers" had many teams wondering what him them!
Yet another regatta was held recently with several hundred college/ university students on Long Island Sound. Officially known as the "Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (IOR)", the college "big boat" series hosted by Storm Trysail Club at Larchmont YC in Larchmont, NY had an enormous fleet of J/One-Designs playing host to some of America's best college sailors, including J/105s, J/109s and J/44s. Speaking of "youth", there's a heart-warming and educational story about how one J/Owner and his yacht club expanded the horizons for several youth sailors in southern California- read on below about how Seth Hall's J/124 MARISOL is growing youth sailing for the offshore world!
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:
Oct 12-14- J/80 China Coast Race Week- Hong Kong, ChinaOct 19-20- Harvest Moon Regatta- Lakewood YC- Seabrook, TX
Oct 25-27- Ole Man of the Sea Regatta- Ft Worth Boat Club- Ft Worth, TX
Oct 31- Nov 3- J/105 North Americans- Annapolis, MD
Oct 31-Nov 1- J/Fest J/World Clinic- Lakewood YC- Seabrook, TX
Nov 2-3- J/Fest Southwest Regatta- Lakewood YC- Seabrook, TX
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.
England's IL RICCIO Dominates J/24 EuropeansGermany's Thoennessen Takes Women's Crown
(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- A record turnout with 67 boats, 11 nations and a top level playing field sums up the J/24 European Championship (Open) hosted for the second time by the Yacht Club de Monaco 20 years after it organized the first edition, with the invaluable support of Stuart Jardine, a legend on the sailing scene in England and the J/24 class.
An International Race Committee presided by Englishman John Coveney fired the gun on eight hard-fought races over the four days, in east to south-westerly wind conditions ranging from 5 to 30 knots. It was a tactical as well as physically challenging championship for the 335 sailors, who had to cope with varied conditions, complicated by the Ligurian current, not counting practice races and a succession of starts.
Faced with a compact fleet it was difficult to avoid the 67 J/24s when rounding the mark or to fight for a place on the start to be sure of clean wind. With courses averaging five nautical miles and taking less than an hour, the competition was intense, with less than 10 minutes separating the first from the last in each race. In the end, it was Englishman Ian Southworth, triple European Champion, who lifted his fourth title with Chris MacLaughlin (Il Riccio). Despite not winning a race, they were impressively consistent and always in the top six.
The racing itself was quite complex and challenging. The sailors often found themselves at odds with the wind, current and fleet. Tight fleets and some local knowledge helped. In fact, by the end of the second day, the Monegasque team skippered by Ian Ilsley was leading the fleet thanks to a sound second place in the fourth race. “These are the conditions we really enjoy! It’s great to be competing in a championship regatta organized by one’s own club. It is so motivating especially because the level is higher than the world championship that was held in August in Dublin,” commented Ilsley.Nevertheless, as everyone knows in this level of competition, "it ain't over 'till it's over". Hot on their heels was the English team of Ian Southworth & Chris MacLaughlin, hanging in for second place with 5 points and the Italian Pietro Diamanto skippering JAMAICA in third with 6 points. Not far off the pace and expecting to get on the podium were past J/24 World Champion Mauricio Santa Cruz from Brazil sailing BRUSCHETTA and also American Mike Ingham sailing JULIA.
The third day of racing dawned with a very strong south-westerly breeze with ginormous cresting waves (more like breaking swells). Making the most of the conditions, the PRO managed to sail three very fast races for the large fleet. BRUSCHETTA made a comeback, moving from fourth to second place in the overall rankings and winning one race hands down by a country mile. A steady performance was also turned in by the IL RICCIO team, taking a top ten for each race, and took the lead in the ranking from the day’s first race. Monaco sailor Ian Ilsley managed to cling on to his place in the top three, despite a poor performance on the seventh leg of the last race.However, there was disappointment for one of the favourites, Pietro Diamanti's JAMAICA, third yesterday and 15th after day three's sailing; proof of the quality of competitors and just how hard-fought the racing has been on the Monaco courses. The general view is that a hierarchy seems to be establishing itself with the gaps widening in the fleet as the breeze increases in strength. And, so it went for the next two days with close racing and great camaraderies amongst the European J/24 teams.
In the overall event, second place went to another favorite, triple world champion Mauricio Santa Cruz on the famous BRUSCHETTA- he was second in the Dublin Worlds in August 2013. Surprised by the level and high quality of the playing field, he won one race in style, leading from start to finish and widening the gap to put him well ahead of his competitors in the fifth race.
But the title of vice-champion of Europe went to the Monegasque ST ANDREWS SECURITIES team helmed by Ian Ilsley with François Brenac on tactics. They pulled off a coup by coming third, just three points shy of the Brazilian. “This is the culmination of a year’s hard work. We made the trip to the World Championship in Ireland in August to prepare for this one and hone our boat. Our efforts have paid off and the contract largely fulfilled, beyond our expectations as we had set our sights on finishing in the top ten,”comments Ian Ilsley, for whom the next meeting is the Primo Cup (31 Jan/2 Feb & 7/9 Feb 2014) then the North American Championship in Mexico in March 2014.Fourth for the regatta and third European was the Italian team on LA SUPERBA skippered by Ignazio Bonanno sailing for Centre Veico Marina Militare. Fifth was early regatta leader EVNIKI, skippered by the popular Greek helmsman Dimitris Altsiadis.
Rounding out the top ten were 6th- Aurelio Bini from Italy (VIGNE SURRA), 7th- MacCathy Duncan from England (MADELEINE), 8th- Marco Stefanoni from Italy (KONG EASYNET GRIFONE), 9th- Claude Rodelato from Monaco (TOPO TOO) and 10th- Stephan Mais from Germany (RUNNING MEN).The top three women's teams included Ragna Thoennessen from Germany sailing JUELSSAND in first place, she was part of the twenty team contingent from Germany-- the largest at the regatta from any single country. In second was her team-mate, Lea-Katharina Witt sailing ALICE for the Hamburg Segel-Club. Then, third was Francesca Guzzo from the host club YC Monaco sailing COOL J! Sailing photo credits- YC Monaco/ Franck Terlin For more J/24 Europeans sailing information
College Big Boat Regatta Runaway Success!J/44, J/109 and J/105 Fleets Enjoy Big Breeze!
(Larchmont, New York)- The Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (IOR) as it's officially known, run by the Storm Trysail Foundation and the Larchmont Yacht Club, had an epic regatta this year. Over 300 college sailors hopped aboard 54 borrowed offshore boats to make this year's IOR the largest collegiate regatta in North America. The fleet was made up of eleven J/105s, fifteen J/109s, five J/44s, and two 10-boat handicap divisions-- the 35 J/Teams on the line comprised 65% of the fleet with 216 sailors manning the boats (about 70% of the college sailors on the water!).
As a result of a stationary low, strong northeast winds blew for three days before the regatta as well as for the two days of racing, making conditions extreme – even for experienced Long Island Sound racers. After two races were sailed on Saturday in winds blowing from 22-30 with higher gusts, the race committee sent the dwindling fleet back to the harbor in hopes of more benign conditions the next day. But on Sunday the low pressure system still refused to budge and conditions remained the same.
After a two-and-a-half hour harbor postponement, the RC called it quits and neither the owners of the borrowed boats nor the sailors thought it was a bad call. “It was a shame for the teams that came so far,” said Regatta Chair Adam Loory. Eleven teams came from the Midwest and three teams came from Canada. “Our committee had to err on the side of caution; if boats get broken or people get hurt, we won’t be able to pull together a regatta on this scale ever again. As it was, the City Island UK Sailmakers loft burned a lot of midnight oil to get sails back into one piece for Sunday. In the cases where sails were un-repairable, we found loaner sails to fill in.”After two races, the standings were tight; three divisions were won by boats with two firsts and the other two divisions were won with scores of a first and a second. Picking an overall winner was impossible; therefore, the Paul Hoffman Trophy for the overall winner of the 2013 IOR went jointly to Georgetown and the College of Charleston.
The Charleston team sailed on Austin Fragomen’s J/105 WARLOCK. Third overall went to one of the three teams from Massachusetts Maritime sailing Rick Lyall’s STORM in the 15-boat J/109 fleet.Coming the farthest were two teams from Europe, the result of a joint venture with the EDHEC Sailing Cup, which is the world’s largest intercollegiate regatta. The EDHEC Sailing Cup is staged every year in France by students of EDHEC, one of France’s most prestigious business schools; last year their reg
atta attracted over 1,500 sailors who raced on 180 boats. In an effort to get more foreign teams at the IOR and the EDHEC Sailing Cup, respectively, winning teams from each regatta will be given the opportunity to compete, cost free, at the regatta on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean. Georgetown was the very first winner of the EDHEC Challenge, which earned the team a free trip to the 46th EDHEC Sailing Cup in Les Sables-d’Olonne, France, in April 2014.Adam Loory, the Storm Trysail Club co-founder of the I.O.R. event, said that "we've been getting some great comments from both boat owners and collegiate competitors that sailed in this year's regatta." Here are some of the below:
Tufts’ sailing coach Ken Legler who brought two teams said, “We didn’t get much sailing in but what we did get was pretty special.” Andrew Berdon, owner of the J/109 STRIDER, posted on his Facebook page, “Sailed with members of the Dalhousie University sailing team today. They drove 13 hours to get down here from Halifax, Nova Scotia and proceeded to kick butt taking a first and second in our races today. The wind was 'blowing dogs off chains', 22-30 knots from the northeast with higher gusts and huge, breaking waves. Thank you to the Storm Trysail Foundation and LYC for putting on my favorite regatta of the year.”
Adrija Navarro wrote, “I just wanted to thank you for matching the Princeton University Sailing Team up with Matt Breef (on Matt Baker’s J/109 RELIANT) for the IOR. The IOR is an incredible event, and we hope to come back again next year."
Chris Ercole, owner of the J/109 SWEET CAROLINE wrote, “Yes, it was a lot of fun. I had no idea the Ottawa team does not have a coach or even much of a sailing budget as they are not a varsity level team. Our helmsman never steered anything bigger than a 420 before, never mind anything with a wheel. I think we were all very happy with our performance. The kids were absolutely great and very appreciative for having use of the boat. They were very respectful of the boat and gear; nothing was lost or abused. Having Tom (Darling) aboard was great too as I’m still learning and don’t know the first thing about teaching kids how to sail.”
Each boat had the boat owner or his representative aboard as well as a second adult. The adults are encouraged to teach boat-speed, boat-handling and sail trim since much of big boat sailing is new to dinghy sailors as Chris Ercole noted above. Since the regatta is a stand-alone event and is not used to rank the teams, the regatta organizers encourage teaching during the regatta. The only line that is drawn covers tactics-- the college sailors call their own tactics since figuring out which way to go on the race course is universal to all sailboats.
David Doody, a coach on David Wilson’s J/109 BLANCHE, wrote, “Great job with the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta; it really is a terrific thing and you do an incredible job pulling it all off. Canceling racing on Sunday was the right decision for the event, which was clearly another huge success. We went out sailing for an hour after racing was abandoned without problem; we got the spinnaker up and they learned how to spell b-r-o-a-c-h. The weekend was a big learning experience for the six intrepid sailors of the team from William and Mary.”
Ron Weiss, an offshore coach at SUNY Maritime wrote, “I just wanted to drop a personal note about how grateful we are for the IOR. The SUNY Maritime guys had a blast and it was an important stepping-stone in their progress as a team. Again, thanks for everything you’re doing for the sport.” The SUNY team won the J/44 division on Dr. Norman Schulman’s CHARLIE V, which was an all service academy division. They beat Navy, Mass Maritime, Maine Maritime and Coast Guard.
The goal of the Storm Trysail Foundation and the Larchmont Yacht Club in running the IOR is to introduce dinghy sailors to the fun and teamwork of big boat racing, which is a new aspect of the sport to many dinghy sailors. It also gives college sailors with big boat skills a chance to compete in some of the best prepared boats around. Thanks to sponsors Rolex, Vineyard Vines, Caithness Energy, Safe Flight Instruments, Flintlock Construction, Dimension/Polyant Sailcloth, UK Sailmakers, Gill (foul weather gear), Heineken and Coke, this is a totally free event for the boat owners and college sailors.
Storm Trysail Club Commodore Nick Langone said, “I applaud the organizing team, led by Adam Loory and Butch Ulmer, for spending so much time organizing, giving direction, and finally executing one of the best, and well run regattas I’ve been associated with.”
Finally, a special thanks to Larchmont Yacht Club, the co-sponsor of the regatta. “There are very few, if any, clubs that can host an event this size, while not inconveniencing their members,” said John Fisher, Chairman of the Storm Trysail Foundation. Larchmont provided over 35 guest moorings and put on extra launch service for the regatta. They also ran their own Columbus Day regatta at the same time. Report contributed by Adam Loory. For more Intercollegiate Offshore Race sailing information
J/80 Student Yachting World Cup Update(Pornic, France)- The Student Yachting World Cup, an annual sailing competition organized by students of the École Polytechnique, a French engineering school, has the world’s best student sailing teams racing the International J/80 Class sailboats! The 33rd edition of SYWC is currently being sailed from October 14-19 in Pornic, France, with teams from Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, Ireland and USA vying for the 2013 title. Representing North America will be Dalhousie University (CAN) and the US Naval Academy (USA).
The SYWC is an event organized every year in France by students for students. Created in 1979 under the name of Course de l'Europe, the Cup was just meant to include participants from Western Europe. But, as time went by, more and more Eastern European countries joined the Cup. That's why the Course de l'Europe changed its name to become the SYWC.
The regatta lasts for one week in France and includes about 150 competitors, representing 15 countries from all around the world. During the week, the atmosphere is both fun, sporting and multicultural. The first night, every team has to participate at the crews' dinner by bringing some dishes or some beverage representing their country. This way, the students have an opportunity to meet and discover other cultures before the cup begins. Each night, students can also meet at the dining room and have a nice time with members from other university teams.So far, the teams have been treated to a wide variety of sailing conditions, from rainy windy 15-25 kts days to sunny, benign conditions in the 6-12 kts range. Kristen Berry from J/World Annapolis reports that the US Naval Academy teams has been sailing well. Berry says the USNA trained on their J/80s in preparation for the SYWC. Evidently, it has paid off since winning the practice day and leading after the first day, they are still in contention for a podium finish. The French team (the prestigious Kedge Business School) are clearly familiar with sailing the J/80s-- as of Thursday they were leading by a substantial margin. However, with racing so tight in the lighter conditions, anything can happen with upwards of 3-4 races being sailed per day!
With two days of sailing left with a good forecast for breeze, the French Kedge BS school is leading with 14 pts, followed by the Swiss Ecole Polytechnique FL school in 2nd with 39 points. Third is the American US Naval Academy with 43 pts, 4th is the Australian Macquarie University team with 51 pts and 5th is the Scottish Universities team with 56 pts.
There have been great sailing video summaries of the event posted on YouTube. Please take a look at some of them here from the first three days:- Day One YouTube sailing video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypddfEMrEoo
- Day Two YouTube sailing video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iLk6XX98tY
- Day Three YouTube sailing video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvQsfo2TPJI
J/70 Segel-BundesLiga- Thrilling 4th Regatta"Locals" Wurttemberg YC Win Fourth Stage!
(Friedrichshafen, Germany)- The fourth regatta of the J/70 Deutsche Bundesliga was hosted by the Wurttemberg YC located in Friedrichshafen from the 27th to 29th of September. The sailors experienced everything from light airs and super flat water to strong steady winds with choppy seas on the gorgeous Lake Constance (a.k.a. the "Bodensee"). The host team won the regatta-- Wurttemberg YC-- with skipper Max Rieger, his brother Moritz Rieger, Thomas Dietsch and Felix Stemmer.
With seven wins in twelve races, the team from the WYC had "tough sledding" to rise to the top, especially since the second place team, Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee were counting eight 1sts in their scoreline! Said the relieved skipper of WYC, Max Rieger, "We may have had home advantage on Lake Constance, but one cannot expect it to help at all in the difficult, shifting winds. But, we are very satisfied with the result!"Only two points behind the leader was the team from the Wannsee in Berlin- Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee. Their team comprised of Kathrin Kadelbach, Ulrike Schumann, Nils Schröder and Malte Kamrath started off with two bullets, struggled in the mid-series of races and closed fast with five 1sts and one 2nd to nearly pull off an upset.
The Norddeutscher Regatta Verein team from Hamburg, including Carsten Kemmling, Klaus Lame, Weser and Florian Haufe, finished the regatta with a string of five bullets to rapidly close on the leaders and take third overall. It wasn't enough to overcome the stronger start of the other teams, but it certainly kept the others anxious as they closed to within 4 pts of the lead and only 2 pts back from second! As a result, the team successfully defended their overall Deutsche Bundesliga championship lead going into the fifth and last stage of the event in Berlin. Said NRV Team Manager Klaus Lame, "we wanted the team that would sail in Berlin to race here on Lake Constance and gain the experience necessary to hopefully win the title! We're fortunate to have succeeded after sailing in these difficult conditions this weekend!"
The last regatta for the Bundesliga takes place from November 8th to 11th sailing at NRV's yacht club on the Wannsee in Berlin. The question of which clubs are in the best position for the season finale in Berlin certainly became clearer after the Lake Constance event. With 66 pts, NRV is leading by just 4 pts and they're hoping the "home-town" advantage will play in their favor. Lying second is the fast-learning Wurttemberg YC team with 62 pts overall and they're excited about sailing on the Wansee. Another "local" Berlin team, the YC Berlin-Grunau are sitting in third overall with 60 pts, struggling a bit after winning the first event in Tutzing at the beginning of the season. They, too, are hoping that sailing home-town waters will bring them better luck! Fourth is Bayerischer YC with 56 pts and fifth is Chiemsee YC with 54 pts. Of the eighteen teams participating, it's conceivable that up to eight teams have a mathematical possibility of winning or leaping onto the podium in Berlin! Don't count out other teams like "locals" Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee, Deutscher Touring YC and Konstanzer YC!
Are the teams having a lot of fun and, as some have asked, is this the future of regatta sailing? Maike Christiansen from the magazine Segeln.de in Germany was posing that question to the various sailors and team managers during the last event in Friedrichshafen. Here's Maike's commentary:"The Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga, a struggle for status as the best sailing club in Germany, is nearing the end of its first season sailing the new J/70 sportboat.
Short, fast races. Sailing J/70s with just main, jib and asymmetric spinnakers. The crews, some of whom have never sailed together before, others fielding strong, established teams, give nothing away at any corner or leg of the race course. Sometimes only centimeters determine who will be first to the finish, who can cheer loudly for their team.
Back on land, the sailors forget everything about the day on the water. With gourmet chefs providing delicious food and with plenty of drink and music, the sailors sit together and exchange ideas, exchange tips and anecdotes about sailing J/70s, make new acquaintances and refresh old ones again. When sailing the Segel-Bundesliga everything mixes together: young and old, followers of traditional sailboats and sailors of modern skiffs, America's Cup participants, German champions and those who have won the regatta on the village pond around the corner, match race experts and fleet racing sailors. Yet, in the first German yacht club competition in the sport of sailing, it's not the individuals, but the sailing clubs that are in the foreground. In a series of five regattas spread over the whole of Germany (like the "stages" in the Tour de France), eighteen teams fight for victory.One may argue whether such a regatta series really has significance as to which club is the best and also whether such a comparison is at all meaningful! However, with the Segel-Bundesliga, where teams train all year together, can the event - apart from the name - at least not really compare?!
Nevertheless, the facts and realities mean one thing-- the format has a future. The facts are (i) that J/70s are strict one-design class sailboats made to travel easily; (ii) the sailors can travel quickly on a weekend to all of the events; (iii) the J/70s are great for the German lakes and bays for sailing many short, tight races; and (iv) the sailing teams can depart after the sailing without having to worry about boat transport or maintenance. In short, the "sailing" and "social" activities are at the forefront of the regatta experience. The format is particularly attractive for good sailors who have to contend with the responsibilities of study, work, family, and so forth-- leaving precious little time available for any recreational activity, especially sailing on weekends with friends! That the five Segel-Bundesliga regattas have been elevated to a higher context - the championship of all German sailing clubs- it will be asked, has the sailing in the event taken on even greater significance?? Yes, it has because it addresses the most important point: It's FUN!
It's fun to compete on athletic keelboats with other teams that are just thrown together as their own crew! It's fun to tack under Jochen Schumann and force him to tack away! It's fun, not as a "lone wolf", but being part of a sailing team representing your club! It's fun to meet the regatta sailors from various boat classes to see and meet old friends! The Segel-Bundesliga provides students with a "sense of community", attracting younger and older sailors and it makes you want to sail. How can you expect anything more from an event like this? Hard to beat sailing J/70s on a wild plane across some of the most picturesque bays and lakes in Germany with friends-- young and old, newly made or known for decades! Looking forward to Berlin already!" Friedrichshafen Sailing video highlights on YouTube Facebook Sailing photo credits: Segel-Bundesliga / Lars Wehrmann
For more J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing information
Shanghai Airport Wins J/80 Club Cup(Xiamen, China)- It takes time for anything to grow and the China Club Challenge Match is no different. The event started as a challenge between two embryonic Chinese sailing clubs, Ironrock Sailing Club in Xiamen and Zhuhai Sailing Club in two beat-up old J/24s, and over the years the event has grown.
Over the last few days in Xiamen the ninth edition has been sailed in a competitive and sportsmanlike manner better than ever before, with 30 teams locking horns in J/80s. The number of teams depending on retired athletes has gone down, and the female involvement has gone up with 20% of the boats being driven by the fairer sex – although judging by their competitiveness that is very much a relative term.
The event had everything: protests (valid!); general recalls; and even one or two black flags. Close competitive racing, yet very little in the way of ‘bumper cars’ that can sometimes be seen in regattas with borrowed boats.
The event was sailed in International J/80 one-design sailboats supplied by the organizers thanks to the support of Hudson Marine, with the boats being equalized and checked by Jim Johnstone (the name is no coincidence) who heads up J-Boats Asia.
With 20 boats and 30 teams it was necessary to split into two flights, both getting in seven races each over the three days of racing in conditions that ranged from a shortened course to genuine broaching weather, with the event finishing just ahead of Typhoon Fitou which hit the coast around 100 miles away not many hours after the noise of the prize-giving party died away.The standard of sailing has certainly evolved and improved over the years, with far more amateurs involved than the early days, and with some teams even being owner driven.
The Club Cup, as it is known, is the oldest keelboat regatta in China, pre-dating China Cup by a full year, and it has become the ‘must win’ event for many Chinese teams. This year, some were making their fourth or fifth attempt to have their name inscribed on the trophy, getting closer each time.
From the form shown in the first part of the event, the favourites heading towards the second knockout match racing phase must surely be Shanghai Airport Sailing Team which is primarily made up, as the name suggests, of employees and family from Shanghai’s airport workers sports club. They posted five bullets and two second places over their three days’ racing – not bad having a ‘2’ to discard!
So now the top 16 (eight from each flight) must go away, hone their boat handling skills further, and read up on the rules to be ready to re-join battle back down in Xiamen, 8-11 November. Will they be able to break last year’s record, when the race management team managed to get off 26 races in one day? In 2012, each match in the round of 16 went to the best-of-three decider, plus a couple of ‘exhibition’ races. Granted, it’s unlikely, given that one or two teams have shown themselves to be head and shoulders above the rest this year - but only time will tell. For more J/80 China Cup & Club Cup sailing information
Chilly & Rainy "Winter" Series Update(Hamble, England)- The Garmin Hamble Winter Series lived up to its name on Sunday with torrential rain and a chilly 18 knots from the northwest that left competitors glad to retire to the bar after racing for a few "hot toddies" and warm Guinness! But despite the conditions the crews and the volunteer race teams alike braved the conditions to fit in two exciting races.
The worst of the rain held off until the second race, with the first sailed in a marginally preferable light drizzle. In IRC 0, Cornel Riklin's J/111 JITTERBUG sailed fast to snag a 2-3 to be tied for second, just three points clear of David & Kirsty Apthorp's J/111 J-DREAM with a 4-4 tally.
In IRC 1, Louise Makin's J/105 JOURNEYMAKER 5 took a 3-5 to be tied on points with the new J/88 JUNGLE DRUM sailed by Paul Heys with 4-4 finishes.In IRC 3, Nick Munday’s J/97 INDULJENCE beat David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’RONIMO by 18 seconds in the first race and Jamie Muir’s Scarlet Jester by five minutes in the second, and now sits atop the overall results.
In the J/109s, Paul Griffith’s JAGERBOMB won the first race ahead of David McGough’s JUST SO, but in the second race JUST SO took first and now leads the series by 2 points. Behind them are Ivan Burden's JACOBI in third, tied with JAGERBOMB. Fourth is Owain Franks' JYNNAN TONNYX and fifth is Dave McLeman's OFFBEAT.In the J/111 class, Riklin’s JITTERBUG are sailing fast and smart and managed to beat the Apthorp's J-DREAM in both races to take first overall. Lying third is William Naylor's BRITISH SOLDIER.
Day prizes were – quite appropriately, given the foul weather conditions – provided by clothing supplier Hudson-Wight at the prize-giving back at Hamble River SC after racing, as well as by Southern Ropes, whose prizes went un-awarded last week due to the lack of wind.
Doyle Sails Hamble One Design ChampionshipsSaturday and Sunday also hosted the first of two Doyle Sails Hamble One Design Championship weekends, which ran starts for J/70, J/80 and J/109 classes. Saturday saw a pleasant if shifty 12-15 knot breeze that swung between 078 and 097 degrees, and bright sunshine. As in the main series, Sunday was far less pleasant, especially for the open sportsboats, but at least there was some breeze!
Iain MacKinnon’s TIGH SOLIUS II had a successful weekend in the J/109 class, winning three of the five races, and currently sits atop the results ahead of Tony Dicken’s JUBILEE in second place and Paul Griffith’s JAGERBOMB in third. Fourth is Steven Tapper's STALKER and fifth is Owain Franks JYNNAN TONNYX.
In the J/70s, Malcolm Jaques’ DJANGO was similarly successful, also scoring three wins in five races. The RAF’s SPITFIRE entry, helmed by Simon Ling, is just two points behind with 9 points, ahead of Ian Wilson’s JOYRIDE in third. Simon Cavey's PHEEBS is fourth while Jack Davies' JUGADOR stands fifth.
Jon Powell’s BETTY leads the J/80 class after a strong performance over the weekend – they scored two seconds and three firsts and lead the class by four points, ahead of Patrick Liardet’s AQUA-J and Yannig Loyer’s J-OUT-OF-THE-BOX. Geoff Payne's SURF & TURF is fourth just two points in front of Brian Denny's JALAPENO.
After a weekend of close-matched and frenetic racing, the Doyle Sails Hamble One Design Championship returns in a fortnight’s time, with another five races scheduled.
Kudos to all the teams who braved Sunday’s weather and to the volunteers who manned the committee and mark-laying boats. Here’s hoping for better weather next weekend, which hosts the final MDL Hamble Big Boat Championship weekend and the third race day of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series, with One Sails as the Day Sponsor. Thanks for contribution from Ben Meakins. YouTube sailing video of Hamble Winter Series Sailing photo credits- Malcolm Donald For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* A Simple Idea That Exceeded Expectations- Steve Schupak recently provided Craig Leweck's Scuttlebutt with some perspective on successfully getting young sailors into the "big boat" sailing game in southern California on Seth Hall's J/124 MARISOL. Here's Steve's commentary:"The secret play going into the final race of the summer beer-can racing season had been deviously planned. Little did the crew realize that the big event wasn’t just sailing in blazers and bow ties, but they would now officially be the youngest team on the water!
As the engine was warming up and the dock lines being slipped from the boat, the adult supervision – all decked out in blazers and bow ties like the kids – gave the announcement that they would be staying off the boat and it was a "kids-only" night! Eyes got big, questioning looks spread from boy to boy, and finally they awoke to the fact that they were fully in charge.
“And by the way, don’t hit the dock as you pull out, and don’t get near anyone on the course.” Typical "helicopter" parent talk as they pulled out and set sail. Average age was around 15.3 years old.
The breeze was perfect and the boys were coming into their own out on the water. The gory details of the race really don’t matter as the boys sailed well; safely for both body and boat. And they did it with style! Those of us parents and grandparents following along on, hooting and hollering and cheering, enjoyed a special, special night.
With the support of many this summer, we watched the growth of the next generation of sailors for our sport. Nights like these will have a lasting impression and impact on these young men’s lives – more than any day in a junior program. Here they competed against adults, were accepted by adults, and cheered as adults!"
John Drayton provides a little background: "Two summers ago, Seth Hall asked me to race his 40-foot J/124 MARISOL a couple nights when he was out of town for the Monday night summer races. The race course wasn’t real busy, and I’d usually grab our two boys (then 14 and 12 years old) and a couple of their friends. It was really casual, and we maybe only sailed a half dozen races in total that summer (2011).Last summer (2012), with Seth’s encouragement, we got a little more organized. Steve Schupak joined me to help “coach” the boys. We recruited a regular team, and started treating the kids like adult sailors (they were responsible for rigging/de-rigging the boat, nobody leaves until everything is done, no un-excused missed nights). On several nights we recruited periodic “guest” coaches to come along for a night, including top local sailors like Dave Ullman, Bruce Cooper, Harry Pattison, Mark Olson and Tom Pollack (among others).
This summer, the “Monday Crew” continued their growth as a team. There were 7-8 kids with 2-3 alternates, all under 17 years. Every boy steered at least one full night (including a 11 year old). Each boy rotated through all the key positions: helm, trimmers, grinders, tactician. Progressively the adults were pushed out of the cockpit and away from any position of responsibility – by the end of summer, my only remaining job was to skirt the jib after tacks.
The final night when we exited the boat was a lot of fun, especially at the point where I told them they would be sailing without us. I’d worked out with Seth in advance that they’d sail without any adults, and it’s no surprise to any of us that they did a great job. They closed out their racing season in first place overall for the series!
None of this would have occurred without Seth letting (and trusting) a group of kids to sail his boat. There’s nothing magic about what we did – and the model for copying this elsewhere is really simple (put kids on a boat, let them race) – but the overall results of this program have far exceeded everyone’s expectations!!
The J Cruising Community
J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.
* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR. Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now. We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their well-documented blog here: http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html
* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR. Alan sent us an email update commenting on their passage south this winter, "In mid-December AVATAR completed her sixth transit to her winter Caribbean home, Grand Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI (seen above) from her home port in Quissett (Falmouth), MA. A crew of three, Captain Alan (e.g. me), Crew Pablo Brissett and Mark Conroy, covered the 1,500 nm trip in in her best time to date- 7 Days 5 Hours, averaging 8.7 kts, that's about 208 nm per day! Amazing passage it was! Rainbow at right far offshore was some of the amazing phenomenon we experienced on this fast offshore passage.AVATAR will participate in the BVI Sailing Festival/Regatta again in 2013, where last year she won the Nanny Key Cup Cruising Class race around the Island of Virgin Gorda. Here are some photos for you to share with the J/Community at-large. Enjoy!"
Best, Alan Fougere/ AVATAR
* Bill & Judy Stellin recently had an interview about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety
The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"
Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.
Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.
People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."
READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE
* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.
* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".
- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.
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