SPI OUEST Regatta Preview(La Trinite-sur-Mer, France)- The 36th SPI Ouest France Intermarche Regatta is taking place this weekend from April 17th to 21st, with four days of racing planned on Quiberon Bay. Over 300 boats are sailing and, again, the J/80 class will be by far the largest fleet (one-design or handicap) with 86 boats expected on the starting line. This year’s event also marks the debut of the J/70 class with a dozen boats primed to do battle for SPI Ouest honors.
The J/70s have several notable teams registered, including a new French crew sailing PEN AZEN that will be skippered by Philipe Delaporte, a long-time J owner and past RORC Offshore Champion in his J122 PEN AZEN. Joining the French J/70 class sailors will be J. Bergh’s HAPPY team from KSSS YC in Sweden and also C. Esse’s crew on DARWIN PROPERTY INVESTMENT from Royal Thames YC in Great Britain.
J/80s have many familiar teams participating in this year’s SPI Ouest with many past champions in the class hoping to be amongst those gathering silverware on the podium. Leading the top French boats will be Luc Nadal’s GAN’JA, Simon Moriceau’s INTERFACE CONCEPT II and Y. Tabarly’s JIBI. The British are well represented with teams like Jon Powell’s BETTY, as are the Spanish with I. Jauregui’s GOLD SAILING. One of the top Swedish teams is attending, ROCAD skippered by I. Sunstedt from KSSS YC. The OmanSail team are sending two crews, including F. Al Hasni skippering one boat and R. Al Habsi sailing the other. Finally, two J/80 women’s teams are sailing, including C Phillipe on J80 AU FEMININ and LE HAVRE LADIES NORMANDIE with skipper S. Riot.
In the IRC handicap racing world, there are J’s sailing in virtually every class. Starting with IRC 1, there are three J/122s expecting to break into the top five, including JOLLY JOKER (R Marchais), MADE IN LOVE (Jm. Patier) and SPARKLING CHARTER (F. Lognonne).
IRC 2 class has a mix of 35-40 ft J’s, including a beautifully restored J/35, KNIGHT BUILD LIMITED, sailed by J. Charmers from Weymouth Sailing Club in Great Britain. They will be up against the J/105 BO GOSS (P. Allain) and the J/120 RHAPSODIE V (JJ. Godet).
Several 35 ft J’s are sailing in the very, very large IRC 3 class and hoping to sail clean and not get caught up in bad “lanes” sailing upwind and having to live with dirty air too long. Included in this group are two J/105’s- MISS J (F. Guillemot) and J-SQUARED (V. Jomier); and the J/109 FRANJPANE (P. Mouret).
IRC 4 class was going to be so big and unmanageable for the Race Committee PRO that it was split into an “A” and “B” grouping. Sailing in IRC 4-A are twin duos of J/97s and J/92s’s. The J/97s are MISPIKEL V (B. Fagart) and PICKWICK (P. Nouzille). The J/92s are DR JEKYLL (T. Bidon) and SABOT (M. Demazure).
Making up part of the IRC 4-B class are a trio of J/24s, including past SPI Ouest participants like JINETTE (C. Gury), INSULARIS (A. Garcia) and HORS’J. For more SPI Ouest France sailing information
J/80 “Best Sportboat” @ Shanghai Boat Show(Shanghai, China)- The International J/80 continues to garner accolades in the world of Asian yachting. This past weekend, the J/80 won the “Best Sport Boat and Day Boat” in China. The J/80 was noted by the Judges at the Shanghai Boat Show (the largest in China) for “being a safe, fun and easy boat to sail that is also affordable”— the primary reasons for winning this category in China over the past 5 years.
Accepting the award for J/Boats Asia are Mr. He, Jim Johnstone and Frank Lin. The group photo includes all of the Chinese dealerships on stage that have provided the support for the J/80’s success across China— all major provinces in China were represented! For more J/80 sailboat information
College Students Ready to Sail in FranceJ/80 largest and most popular fleet
(Les Sables d’Olonne)- Originally created by 3 students from the French Business School EDHEC in 1968, the EDHEC Sailing Cup is now organized by 50 students and has become the leading student sporting event in Europe. Older than the Vendée Globe or the Volvo Ocean Race, the EDHEC Sailing Cup has always been a leader in the student top-level regattas. This year, the largest student regatta in the world comes back for its 46th edition in the mythic Port Olona, Les Sables d’Olonne, on the French Atlantic coast, from April 25 to May 3, 2014.
Since its creation, the organization has been trying to promote sailing beyond the limits of the yachting world: the Land Trophy, the Sand trophy, and the Air Trophy, have been created to enable our sailor participants’ friends to join them in this adventure.
This year again, the EDHEC Committee are welcoming sailors from all over the world to participate alongside the anticipated 3,000 students representing 22 countries. All will brave the Atlantic Ocean and are, hopefully, up the challenge of a 180-boat-fleet competition in Port Olona!
The USA will be the most represented foreign country with five teams with most of them sailing in the chartered J/80s. It will be the third participation for University of Chicago, with first time teams from Drexel University, Tufts (2 teams) and Georgetown. Canada will have two teams: University of Laval and HEC Montréal.
The crew from HEC Lausanne in Switzerland are the defending champions, last year winning the 100% Student and the International Ranking. “This year, the goal is to keep the two titles,” said Valentin Bovey, former skipper and now tactician of the crew.
Among the favorites are HEC Lausanne, Georgetown, Tufts, University of Chicago, Kedge Business School, EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, respectively winner and second of the Student Yacht World Cup) and the Rzeszow University of Technology Sailing Team (winner of the student sailing championship in Poland). For more EDHEC sailing information
North U @ Annapolis NOOD(Annapolis, MD)- The North Sails team is looking forward to the Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD Regatta from May 2-4 at the Annapolis Yacht Club. North U Regattas Services will be on the water during the Annapolis NOOD taking photos & video followed by post-race debriefs at Annapolis YC.
If you would like to set up a time to meet the North U Regatta Services team and review photos of your boat, please register NOW! North Sails will also be hosting a full schedule of dock talks that you will not want to miss. Here is the schedule:
- Thursday, May 1 - 1:00-4:00pm North U Regatta Services will be on the water for J/70 & J/80 practice and coach. Local Knowledge Talk from 5:00 at AYC
- Friday, May 2 - J/22, J,24, J/105 dock talk immediately following racing, location TBD & post-race debrief at AYC
- Saturday, May 3 - J/70 & J/80 dock talk immediately following racing, location TBD & post-race debrief at AYC
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
This past week brought on excellent, nearly postcard-perfect sailing conditions for many events in the Americas as well as Europe and “Down Under”. Starting with Charleston Race Week an enormous fleet of J/Teams flooded the event, with great one-design sailing for J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/80s in the harbor and offshore waters off Charleston, SC. Additionally, the CRW had great sailing for PHRF handicap classes with J/29s, J/92s, J/105, J/40, J/111, J/120, and J/122s. Out West, the PSSR (Puget Sound Spring Regatta) was experiencing similarly gorgeous conditions for J/70s, J/80s, J/10s, J/109s and others in the waters off Seattle, WA. South of them, the St Francis YC hosted the J/22 US Match Racing Qualifiers in San Francisco, CA on typically awesome San Francisco Bay sailing conditions. In the Caribbean, Les Voiles de St Barths is sailing all week with a J/111, J/125, J/120, and J/109 sailing.Across the Pacific, the J/97 that is sailing in Sydney, Australia continues to amaze the local 30 foot “super boat” division on Sydney Harbour with yet another stunning performance.
Finally, in Europe, we get an update on the J/70 Copa Italia circuit with events in Alassio, San Remo and, ultimately, Lago di Garda.
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:
Mar 16- Apr 27- Warsash Spring Series- Warsash, EnglandApr 17-21- SPI OUEST Regatta- La Trinite-sur-Mer, France
Apr 26-May 3- J/22 World Championship- Deneysville, South Africa
May 2-4- Annapolis NOOD Regatta- Annapolis YC- Annapolis, MD
May 16-18- J/22 North Americans- Annapolis YC- Annapolis, MD
May 16-18- Seattle NOOD Regatta- Seattle, WA
May 24-26- Swiftsure Race- Royal Victoria YC- Victoria, BC, Canada
May 27- Jun 9- Delta Lloyd North Sea Week- Scheveningen, Netherlands
May 28- Jun 1- J/22 Europeans- Cameret-sur-Mer, France
May 29-Jun 2- Italian J/24 Nationals- Tirano, Italy
May 30- Susan Hood Trophy Race- Mississauga, ONT, Canada
May 31- Delta Ditch Run- Stockton Sailing Club- Stockton, CA
Jun 6-8- Chicago NOOD Regatta- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Jun 6-9 Norseewoche- Heligoland, Germany
Jun 9-15- Normandy Sailing Week- Le Havre, France
Jun 13-22- Cleveland Race Week- Cleveland, OH
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Charleston Race Week Report(Charleston, SC)– From the newly, massively, dynamic J/70 fleet to the revved-up PHRF classes, there was a tremendous amount of racing activity across Charleston area waters for Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week on April 11-13; the 19th edition hosted racing for 16 separate classes.
The growth of the event drew competitors from 27 states and five continents, from as far away as New Zealand, Scandinavia, Brazil, Guatemala, Australia and Peru. Many of these foreign sailors are among the sport’s top names, including Vasco Vascotto from Italy (in the J/70 Class), 2013 College Sailor of the Year Juan Maegli of Guatemala (in the J/24 Class), Jordan Reese from Australia (in the J/70 Class), and Peruvian Olympic Laser hopeful Stefano Peschiera (in the J/24 Class).
This pantheon of stars notwithstanding, the majority of the competitors racing in Charleston are folks whose faces wouldn’t catch notice on the pages of a sailing magazine, yet they’re definitely capable of scorching up the race course. A case in point is the J/80 crew on board DO IT FOR DENMARK- Will & Marie Crump of Annapolis, who sailed masterfully with Thomas Klok and Alan Terhune. In fact their performance was so flawless that they won the regatta handily with all bullets. Taking second was past J/80 North American Champion John Storck on RUMOR with 30 pts. Third was determined by a tie-breaker, with Ken Mangano on MANGO taking third overall and Alex Kraus on COOL J getting the short end of the stick to take fourth. Fifth was Chris Johnson on DRAGONFLY.In the regatta’s largest class, the 80-boat J/70 fleet, Jim Barnash on SUPERFECTA took top honors in the J/70 Class by four points over Rob Britt’s crew on HOT MESS from St. Petersburg, FL. For Britts, who has only been sailing the boat for three months and sails with an all Corinthian team of friends, it was a very sweet moment after taking a 1-2-1 in the last three races. Third was Will Welles from Newport, RI on SCAMP, fourth was Joel Ronning on CATAPULT and fifth was Tim Healy on HELLY HANSEN.
The J/22s and J/24s also sailed on the same circle as the J/80s. In the end, it was Aden King’s BATTUB taking the J/22 class honors followed by Arthur Libby’s TORQEEDO and Chris Sands’s QUICK BEAT in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. For the J/24s, it was a nail-biter going into the last set of races. The win was determined by a tie-breaker at 24 pts a piece, with Mike Ingham from Rochester, NY taking it Skip Dieball’s RUDIE/ GILL RACE TEAM. Third was Ron Medlin’s BASH.Elsewhere across fleet, the competition for first in class was much tighter even though the offshore competitors weren’t able to race on Sunday due to a lack of wind. In PHRF A class, the J/111s and J/122 were having an extraordinary battle for the top three. The fight was fought all the way until the final leg of the last race on Saturday. Rob & Ryan Ruhlman’s J/111 SPACEMAN SPIFF again reigned supreme (like they did at Key West Race Week), as not only the top J/Team but also taking 2nd overall in class. Third was Robin Team’s famous J/122 TEAMWORK from North Carolina. Fourth and fifth were J/111 class newcomers Rob Stein on KINETIC and John Yonover’s EVONNE.COM/3.
In PHRF B class, the two J/120s cracked the top five with Rick Moore’s MOOSE DOWN grabbing 4th and John Keenan’s ILLYRIA taking 5th.PHRF C was dominated by J crews. Dave Pritchard’s J/92 AMIGOS/ GILL RACE TEAM took first with another almost perfect record of 1sts, followed by Steve Thurston’s J/29 MIGHTY PUFFIN in second and Miles Martschink’s J/29 MONGO in fourth. Fifth was a great performance by Robert Key’s J/27 AUDACIOUS.
The Pursuit classes (spinnaker and non-spinnaker) enjoyed a bit of a renaissance, having grown by over 300% from previous years. In the Spin class, the J/120 EMOCEAN sailed by Bill Henckel took a 2-1-1 to win by a massive 9 pts in just three races. Sailing Photo Credits- Priscilla Parker and Allen Clark/ Photoboat.com. For more Charleston Race Week sailing information
Warsash Spring Champs Report(Warsash, England)- It was a busy time for Warsash Sailing Club on 12th/13th April with racing on both days for the opening of the Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Championship and the fifth Sunday of the Spring Series. As the weather became warmer, entry numbers have increased so that some 140 boats were out to enjoy the full schedule of racing. During the two days, the race officers ran over 50 separate races – a challenging but rewarding weekend all round.
Saturday– Day One
For Black Group, the south-westerly breeze started light but built by the end of the afternoon to a brisk 17 knots. Four races were scheduled and completed, largely using windward/leeward courses.
In 2013, Warsash Sailing Club decided to open the Spring Championship to all IRC handicap classes. Although entries were modest for the smaller boat classes last year, IRC3 and IRC4 entered excellent fleets this time. In IRC 3, Diamond Jem (J/109 - Robert Stiles) finished the day with a two point lead. Iain MacKinnon’s Tigh Soluis II headed three of the four races for the J/109s with Jubilee (Tony Dickin) taking Race 1. After a slow start, Duncan Mcdonald’s J/111 team SHMOKIN JOE took two wins as did Louise Makin & Chris Jones’s JOURNEYMAKER 11.
The White Group committee boat set up station in what might be regarded as their usual spot near Meon buoy close to the entrance of Southampton Water. The weather did not turn out as forecast with a shifty breeze reaching 20 knots at times. The stronger wind caused some equipment failure- the J/80 Juicy finished flying their mainsail from the head and clew only when the tack and bolt rope gave way. Nonetheless, four races were completed. It was a clean sweep for Ian Atkins, out for the first time in the J/70 class, with Boats.com. In the J/80s Aqua-J (Patrick Liardet) and Betty (Jon Powell) each took two wins.
Sunday- Day TwoFor Black Group, Sunday’s wind started in the north and went light before switching eventually to the west, then south-west at 10/12 knots. Two races were planned for each class and the committee boat anchored near Flying Fish buoy. A 10 mile course was set for IRC1 and IRC2 with shorter courses for the remaining classes. Boats in IRC1 pushed their start, with many over the line early. Several collided with each other and the committee boat. After a general recall, the restart, subject to the “Z flag”, meant an extra penalty for being early and this time the class got away. There were individual recalls for several classes but all boats returned to start correctly. By the time IRC3 got underway, IRC2 were coming downwind close to the line. One of the many temporary wind shifts meant that for a couple of classes the first leg became biased with little tacking to the windward mark at Wilson Covers. This was where IRC4 joined the parade, having started earlier from a separate line. Most skippers went for a white sail reach to the spreader mark at Hill Head buoy, though a few sailed high hoping to use their kites. After that all the spinnakers went up, followed by a game of tactics – whether to gybe and stay out of the tide or go straight to Sunsail. The majority stayed on the bank but there was more wind in the main channel, where some made significant gains.
Aiming to complete two races, the start sequence for IRC1 began as IRC3 was crossing the finish, so a certain amount of dodging was necessary. Courses involved a couple of windward/leeward legs then a long tactical downwind leg against the tide when all the boats hugged the Lee-on-Solent side before crossing south to North Ryde Middle. The breeze picked up and backed on the way across. There was then another tide versus wind decision before the finish just west of Bart’s Bash.
Black Group saw the J/111 teams experience rather topsy-turvy results for many boats. Leading the series is JOURNEYMAKER 11 with a 1-3-4-1-1-1 for 11 pts, with a comfortable 7.5 pt margin. Second is Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG with a 4-2-2-3-2.5-5 for 18.5 pt. Two points back is Mcdonald’s SHMOKIN JOE with an 8-1-1-2-6-2 tally for 20 pts. Fourth is David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM and fifth is Andrew Christy & Chris Body’s ICARUS.
J/109s are having quite a battle for the top five. The two leaders are just four points apart, Tony Dickin’s JUBILEE in first with 11 pts and Iain Mackinnon’s TIGHT SOLIUS II in second with 15 pts. The battle for third is virtually a three-way tie with Tor Mclaren’s INSPARA in third with 26 pts, Roger Phillips’s DESIGNSTAR 2 in fourth with 26 pts and David Mcgough’s JUST SO in fifth with 29 pts.
White Group experienced shifty conditions too with the breeze moving through 110 degrees during the day and ranging between 10 and 15 knots. The first race had to be abandoned for all classes after one lap but with some nifty relaying of courses, all three races were completed. CRO Peter Knight felt competitors had coped admirably well at the starts given the wind against tide situation, most boats were on the line every time with no need for general recalls. Ian Atkins’ run of success in the J/70s was halted by Django (Malcolm and Tristan Jaques) in two races. There was close racing in the J/80s and a dead heat between Betty (Jon Powell) and Boysterous (Ali Hall) in the first race, each scoring 1.5 points, with Juicy (Allan Higgs) only 24 seconds adrift in third place. Jasmine (Douglas Neville-Jones) came to the fore in Race 2 and Rock and Roll (Gillian Ross) in Race 3.
It was a good sunny day to enjoy Warsash Sailing Club’s riverside garden after racing where Jonathan Broad, Investment Manager from Brooks Macdonald, presented champagne to the weekly class winners and WSC member Aron Wellband from the SB20 Flutter won the jacket donated by SLAM UK. The event now takes a break for the Easter holiday and returns on 26th/27th April for the grand finale of both the Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series and the Spring Championship. For more Warsash Spring Championships sailing information
Les Voiles de St. Barths Update(Gustavia, St Barths)- Les Voiles has continued to grow in each of its five editions, both in entry numbers and shoreside activities, and many competitors have been heard to say that organizers have figured out the perfect racing/shoreside formula. Racing begins Tuesday and on Thursday, the now traditional lay day on St. Jean Bay, competitors will enjoy lunch at Nikki Beach.
With many in the 70 boat fleet returning from prior Les Voiles editions, the international fleet is drawn from across the Caribbean (St. Barth, St. Maarten, Anguilla, Martinique, Antigua, BVI, Puerto Rico) as well as the U.S., Canada, the U.K., The Netherlands, France, Spain, Malta, Sweden, Australia and Ireland.
No one knows yet how the Spinnaker division will be further divided into classes, but White Rhino, the Swan 56 chartered by Steve Cucchiaro (Boston, Mass.), is hoping to have a good run against their competitors.
“Affinity (with my brother Bob aboard) will be very difficult to beat if we sail against them, and there is a good chance of that,” said White Rhino’s tactician Jack Slattery (Marblehead, Mass.), who in the years since twice being named a Collegiate All-American has worked his way into demand as an afterguard pick for various grand-prix racing programs. We are one of the longest boats in the division but not the quickest. But either way, we are going for placing.” Among the notable crew on White Rhino are Cucchiaro’s son Connor Cucchiaro, Slattery’s wife Dru, Mark Laura (main sheet), Stu Johnstone (strategist), Cam Lewis (mast), Brian Thomas (trim) and Larry Rosenfeld (navigator).
On the first day, Gustavia’s Quai General de Gaulle was abuzz with competitors. With nine classes separated into four starts, the fleet was sent off in a light southeasterly breeze of about 8-10 knots, sailing courses of 21nm. The light breeze made for a long day for most, though no one was complaining given the otherwise ideal conditions. With the breeze forecast to build throughout the week, all boats will have a chance to revel in their best conditions. For more Les Voiles de St Barths update
J/Teams Have a Scream @ PSSR(Seattle, WA)- It was a fun weekend regatta with three J/70s & two J/80’s in one class, nine J/105’s in another, and three J/29’s in a mixed PHRF class. The report from Ben Braden follows:
“If you didn’t return to the dock with a smile on your face it’s time you quit sailing and take up horse riding! It simply does not get much better than the two days of racing that showed up for this year’s Puget Sound Spring Regatta, hosted by Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle. Fifty-five boats made it out April 12/13 for two of the most stellar days of the year for sailing in the Pacific Northwest.
Fifty five boats split up on two different courses with 4 One Design and 4 PHRF classes. Up on the North Course, set just North of Meadow Point, they had the fast PHRF class with ratings from -21 to 36, a one design Farr 30 class with 6 local boats, a 9 boat PHRF class with ratings from 57 on up to 87 and a burgeoning J/105 class with 9, count em, 9 local boats on the line. Down on the South course, set off the Shilshole Bay Marina, there was the always active Melges 24 fleet with 8 boats, a PHRF J/70 & J/80 class, an 8 boat PHRF class with ratings from 114 to 129 and 5 boat San Juan 24 fleet rounding out the racers.The forecast wasn’t great for wind Saturday, but it wasn’t bad. Thank God, once again, the foreguessers had it all messed up and what was supposed to be 10 knots of breeze turned into 12 to 16 with some gusts recorded at 18 to 20! The sun was out, the wind was blowing, the pink skins were thronged on Bikini Beach and the race committee rolled off race after race in the solid Northerly breeze.
As the day went on, the flooding current combined with the strong Northerly to create some river-like conditions in the middle of the sound. Way far over on the right corner you could find some current relief on the South course, way, way far over. Boats had to over stand the mark by what felt like 50 boat lengths before tacking over to layline. The driver then lined up the mark on the leach of the jib, yes the leach, and then powered along to weather as they crab walked over the mark some half a mile away. Still just barely getting around the mark after the biggest over stand anyone had ever seen. But if you made it around cleanly it actually paid off to hit the far right corner!
Up on the North course there was no relief from the current to be had and the safe move became coming in on port approach to the weather mark. Safe on laying the mark and not hitting it, but not safe on starboard traffic. Boat after boat didn’t lay the mark on both courses and many were seen spinning their circle just below the weather pin. Consider yourself in the minority if you didn’t hit a weather mark at PSSR, the current was that strong.5 to 6 races Saturday for everyone on both courses and as the procession began the long reach into the marina, the smiles were seen all across the fleet. Even though, the stoke level was high in the clubhouse on Saturday night, even with the sore muscles and bruises from a 6 race day in 12 to 16 knots of breeze.
Sunday dawned looking way better than the forecast 0 to 5 knots out of the North and as the first horns blared away on the committee boats it actually built up into the 10 to 12 knot range! Class 4, the J/105s had a close battle going between Delerium & Jaded and with 7 other boats pointing at their transoms they each need to reach down and keep sailing hard.
Down on South course, the Sail Northwest Crew on the J/70 Just Listed had an equal hold on the J/70-J/80 class with Crazy Ivan solidly in 2nd and DaSpencer & Periodot battling it out for 3rd place.
So with winds way better than forecast, once again the sausage course racing commenced and with less current than Saturday the way far corners didn’t play into the game as much on the South course and the current and wind lanes were shifting all over the Sound. For a while the far left worked well to get to weather, then it shifted to right middle for just as long. The sailors really had to pay attention to the wave action and the color of the water to find the strongest winds with the least adverse current. Those who did this the best could make up for the worst start in the history of sailing and round the weather mark in front of their competition. Peaking out at 12 knots the winds eventually settled in to the 8 knot range with the lightest winds at the end of the day for the final races thrown off just before the time limit ran out on racing for another amazing day at PSSR.
There is never any wind in Seattle, and it always rains – remember this while your finishing this article and looking at Jan Anderson’s amazingly sharp and colorful pictures. It’s too bad we have to live here and deal with these conditions, somehow we make it through. After another 5 to 6 races Sunday. That big one design class, the 9 local J/105s, was once again sailed away with by the fast crew aboard Jerry Diercks Delirium. 10 points behind them, but just three points in front of the third place Jaded, was Erik Kristen’s well sailed Jubilee. It’s great to see the resurgence in this fleet – a perfect PNW platform.
Down on the South course, in Class 6, the consistent sailing of the crew on the J/70 Just Listed (often seen on a boat called More Uff Da) left them solidly in the lead by 10.5 points over the shiny blue J/80 Crazy Ivan. Class 7 saw the J/29 Here & Now in second. Sailing Photo Credits- Jan Anderson For more PSSR Regatta sailing information
J/70 Coppa Italia 2014(Alassio, Italy)- During the International Offshore Week, a classic Spring event that starts off the summer sailing season, the first of the Italian J/70 Circuit regattas took place. The interest has been high for J/70s in Italy and the fleet is having a lot of fun for many of them who were competing for the first time.
In the first regatta off Allasio, it was a closely fought race with Carlo Alberini the winner and Beppe Zavanone taking second overall.
The second regatta of J/70 Italian Circuit will be organized at YC San Remo from 24-27 April. Many J/70s are already present practicing for the weekend regatta. The regatta expects teams from Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia and Monaco On 24th April, J/Boats Italy is hosting a “J/70 day” for all sailors interested in discovering more about the boat.
J/70 European Championship 2014- further to the ISAF approval of the International Status for the J/70, the first European Championship will be sailed on Riva del Garda from 23/27th September. The host is Club Fraglia della Vela with the support of J/Boats Italy and J/Composites of France (builder of the J/70). The J/70 Italian Class Association is working with the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV) to set up a great event for all. For more J/70 European and Italian circuit information
J/97 KNOCKABOUT Scores Two “Golds”!(Sydney, Australia)- For the second season in a row the Sydney Harbour based J/97 KNOCKABOUT has won the Australian Measurement System (AMS) pointscore of the Sydney Amateur Sailing Club Super 30 Gold Cup. The Super 30 division is a mixed fleet of high performance keelboats of approximately 30ft length, some of them highly modified and is hotly contested.
The race series included a wide variety of weather from drifters to howling gales. In the final tally KNOCKABOUT dropped a 4th and a 6th to come home with an impressive score line of five 1sts, three 2nds and two 3rds.
It was a tight finish. After the penultimate race there were three boats sitting within one point of each other. KNOCKABOUT resolved the problem by winning the final race on AMS, thus taking out first place again with a clear 3 points. For more J/97 family racer sailing information
J/22 US Match Racing Qualifiers(San Francisco, CA)- Last weekend, April 12-13, the St. Francis Yacht Club hosted the first of two West Coast (Area GHJL) qualifiers for the US Match Racing Championship, also known as the Prince of Wales Bowl (POW). The POW dates back to 1931 when the Bowl was donated by Prince Edward Albert to promote small boat sailing among junior yachtsmen. In 1975, the event morphed into what we know now as the US Match Racing Championship.
Selected from among numerous applicants, the eight skippers included Newport Harbor Yacht Club members Payson Infelise and Jack Thompson, Royal Canadian Yacht Club member Landon Gardner, and St. Francis Yacht Club members Jackson Benvenutti, Nicole Breault, Russ Silvestri, Bruce Stone, and Shawn Bennett (past winner of the overall championship).
The boats were splashed on Friday to give the teams a chance to practice on the J-22’s used for the event. StFYC did a great job making sure the boats were in top condition for the regatta.
Saturday dawned with a typical overcast sky, but then the fog burned off and revealed great conditions for a regatta. The westerly breeze filled in with 8 to 12 knots, and the course was set just north of Crissy Field and the StFYC. As is typical in match racing, the races were two lap affairs, with a downwind finish. PRO Bartz Schneider indicated the goal of the two days was to get two round robins completed if possible. A building ebb tide made the races a bit longer than anticipated, but also made the racing very close, as any advantage gained at the start or during the weather legs could be quickly erased as soon as the boats turned downwind. This made for some close racing and lots of action at the bottom mark rounding, with the on-the-water umpires getting quite a workout. At the end of the first round robin, it was Team Silvestri with a 7-0 record, followed by Team Bennett and Team Infelise with an equal 5-2 record. The race committee decided to squeeze in the start of the second round robin, and one more race was run. It was pretty obvious that there were some tired teams on the water at this point, with some questionable boat handling, lots of flags, and general mayhem. Team Silvestri managed to squeak out another victory at the finish with some heavy sans-pole hand-guyed spinnaker reaching and lots of yelling to finish the day with an 8-0 record. Many interesting stories were exchanged at the debrief following racing, including a few truthful ones, but Chief Umpire Kim Kymlicka and his team made sure that the record was set straight.
On Saturday evening, Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault hosted a party at their Marina District home, a short walk from the StFYC, with festive socks the uniform of the evening. Country and western recording star Phil Claypool, a St. Francis club member, provided great entertainment, and libations continued well into the evening. On Sunday morning, the fog was absent, and so was the wind. An at-the-dock postponement was welcomed by the tired crews. When the breeze did fill in, it was the typical westerly at 8-10 knots, with another building ebb tide guaranteeing close racing with penalties burned at the last possible minute, boats overlapped at the finish line, and other hand-to-hand combat between competitors keeping the umpires and race committee busy. When the dust settled, the final tally was Team Silvestri with a 12-2 record, Team Infelise at 11-3, and Team Bennett with a 10-4 record. Silvestri advances to the US Match-Racing Finals, also being held at the St Francis, on October 3-5.
Many thanks to the St. Francis for running a fantastic regatta, PRO Bartz Schneider and Chief Umpire Kim Kymlicka for their talented RC and Umpire teams, US Sailing Area Rep Bruce Stone for organizing the event and hosting the regatta dinner, Phil Claypool for the entertainment, and Sports Basement for providing sponsorship. For more J/22 Match race sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* Stale? Spice It Up! Expanding a usual-suspects match-race competition to include a women's division and a youth division, with shorter races, more races, and many a "Hey, I've heard your name, nice to meet you" is a good thing!What to do when a grand event outlives its prime, but mustn't go away? It's an obvious call to "think outside the box," but there's no formula for that, is there?
Since 1967, two leading clubs on San Francisco Bay, The San Francisco Yacht Club and St. Francis Yacht Club, have maintained an annual match race rivalry. First sailed in 46-foot CCA boats and later in either sizable IOR boats or Santa Cruz sleds, with a few shots at Farr 40s, the San Francisco Cup match eventually followed the almost-inevitable path to J-built sprit boats.
Except for a few J/120 matches, the event settled into J/105s borrowed out of Fleet One. Everything was fine. For a while. But, after that while, repetition turned into A Problem. Now, it's necessary to say that different people may have different views, and your correspondent was the merde-disturber-in-chief in 2014, so this is not an independent report. But it was time for a change.
Absent opportunities to return to the glory days of custom fiftyish-footers, what to do?
One way to look at that is to ask, what is the best thing going in the moment? CCA boats had their moment. IOR boats. Santa Cruz sleds. And J/105s are not going away. But the St. Francis Yacht Club, in company with the St. Francis Sailing Foundation, in recent years undertook to build a fleet of J/22s kept primarily for match racing and team racing. What about keeping the Usual Suspects division of J/105s and leavening it with a Women's division and a Youth division from each club in J/22s? Get different parts of each club engaged with other elements of their own club, and then mix it up with the other club.
It worked. And it could work anywhere, in whatever context. In this case, it was about fulfilling the mission statement of the San Francisco Cup, which begins: "The purpose of this trophy is to promote good fellowship between the two yacht clubs."
The 2014 event proved that more is more. Youth, ladies, gunslingers, we had'em all.
The J/105 match featured SFYC Commodore Bill Melbostad in #40 Blackhawk with three Perkins brothers by his side (you may have heard of them) vs. StFYC (what a difference a "t" makes) Staff Commodore Peter Stoneberg in #196, Risk. Stoneberg's armaments included Olympians Craig Healy and Russ Silvestri.All around, not a bad deal with two top ten-ranked women skippers and crack crews, Katie Maxim for SFYC and Nicole Breault for StFYC, where the balance went to StFYC.
Adding women's and youth divisions reset the pulse of the event. Under an agreement that the winner would be the first club to accumulate 11 points, St. Francis YC took the cup by a one-point margin in Race #21 by a scant 8 seconds. StFYC 11, SFYC 10. It can't get much closer.
Skippering the deciding win was StFYC/Stanford's Antoine Screve (bronze and silver at ISAF Youth Worlds) racing against SFYC's Jack Barton, 2013 Sears Cup champion, who brought along his Sears Cup crew of brother Sam Barton, Corey Lynch, and Sammy Shea.
Where are we now? People know people that they didn't know before. People were included who were excluded before. It's called being a club. It's called being a community, and it could work in many a context. With accumulated points determining the winner, it's doesn't matter how many divisions race, because an even number of divisions does not risk a tie. Why not a fourth division with high schoolers crewing for an adult skipper? Now that's a mentoring opportunity, eh? A masters division? One race where each side draws lots in a public setting, and all the other skippers for that club crew for the skipper who wins the draw? There are any number of ways to play this, and mixing it up is the name of the game, provided the real name of the game is fun.
I know it's an impossible standard to meet, 365 days a year, but we're here for such a little while, and, when we can, why not make life a special occasion?
Preparing to hand off the San Francisco Cup to the other side of the bay, the man who had done his part as skipper by winning SFYC's J/105 division, Commodore Bill Melbostad, declared, "I think we're onto something." Thank you for the contribution from Kimball Livingston- St Francis YC.
Sailing photo credits- Leslie Richter
http://www.rockskipper.com
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.
|
