Bermuda Race Preview(Newport, RI) – The June 20th start of the Newport Bermuda Race takes place this Friday, the 49th edition of this 635nm sprint across the Gulf Stream to the fable island of Bermuda- famous for its “Bermuda shorts” and the extensive celebrations with “dark & stormies” at the Royal Bermuda YC. The start takes place at the opening of Narragansett Bay off Castle Hill Lighthouse and finishes off the eastern end of Bermuda at St David’s Head (the entry into the treacherous reefs that ring the northern part of this ancient volcanic island).
Organized by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, the race is sailed almost entirely out of sight of land and across the Gulf Stream. Amongst the fleet of 165 boats, twenty-one states from Maine to California are represented in the fleet, with especially strong turnouts from New England (67 boats) and the Chesapeake Bay area (20). The 16 entries from outside the United States include one boat each from Austria, Germany, Russia, and Spain; three from Bermuda; four boats from the UK; and five boats from Canada. Again, by far the largest brand participating in the event are the 33 J/Boats (20% of the fleet), followed by 24 Nautor-Swan’s and seven Hinckley’s.
The fleet is assigned by type and crew to five divisions. The largest is the St. David’s Lighthouse Division (100 boats), for multi-purpose cruising/racing boats. This is one of the race’s three divisions that have seen an increase in entries this year, with four more boats than in 2012. Twenty-three of them (nearly 25% of the division) are J/Boats owners.
Leading the charge as the largest single one-design fleet in the history of the race are the eight (8!) J/44s, including Dr Phil Gutin’s BEAGLE, Dr Norm Schulman’s CHARLIE V, the US Coast Guard Academy’s GLORY, Jim Bishop’s GOLD DIGGER, Harry DeVore’s HONAHLEE, Chris Lewis’s KENAI, Len Sitar’s VAMP and Bermuda “newbies” Joerg Esdorn & Duncan Hennes on KINCSEM.The next biggest class going happens to be the J/120’s, now almost seen as a “cult Bermuda classic boat” for its amazing reaching abilities— having won more than it’s fair share of silver in this race. Amongst those seeking that SDL Trophy are Rick Oricchio’s ROCKET SCIENCE, Robert Kits van Heyningen’s SECONDHAND LIONS, Jim Praley’s SHINNECOCK, Richard Born’s WINDBORN. Ken Comerford’s (and sons) MONEYPENNY and Dmitry Kondratyev’s SUNSET CHILD.
Next up is the trio of J/122’s racing, all having excellent pedigree and, most recently, one having won last year’s Marion-Bermuda Race by a country furlong and another having succeeded admirably in the Annapolis-Newport Race. Those teams include Jamey Shachoy’s black-hulled beauty AUGUST WEST sailing with several very experienced Bermuda veterans aboard and Paul Milo’s ORION. Joining them for their first Bermuda adventure on a J/122 is John Pearson on RED SKY.
In the cruiser-racer J category that has seen amazing success offshore are a range of J/37 to J/42s. John Gorski & Andy Schell will be sailing their J/37 SLEIJRIDE, Fred Allardyce is skippering his J/40 MISTY and two J/42s are entered- Newton Merrill’s FINESSE and Bob Fox’s SCHEMATIC.Finally, two of the larger offshore racer-cruisers are participating, including Dale & Michael McIvor’s J/133 MATADOR and Jonathan Bamberger’s J/145 SPITFIRE from Canada.
The Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division (only eight boats), for all-out racing boats, is smaller than usual, but is sure to be watched carefully for the expected duel between two 72-foot “mini-maxis”. In a classic “David & Goliath” scenario, watch for Brian Hillier’s J/125 CROSSFIRE to upset that storied match-up given a broad range of conditions— it could easily be a “little boat” race and the Mini-maxi’s wouldn’t stand a chance against the J/125 on a handicap basis.
The Cruiser Division (36 boats) is 20-percent larger than it was in 2012, when 30 boats that competed for the Carleton Mitchell Finisterre Trophy. Five of that race’s top eight boats are back including Howie Hodgson’s J/160 TRUE and Brad Willauer’s J/46 BREEZING UP.
Finally, the fleet that always seems to produce rather remarkable performances is the Doublehanded Division. This time back again bigger and better than ever with 20 boats, it will be more than intriguing to see how the “domino’s fall” in this year’s light to medium air race. Coming back are the 2012 race’s top four boats: that includes Hewitt Gaynor’s J/120 MIRIELLE, Gardner Grant’s J/120 ALIBI, and Jason Richter’s J/35 PALADIN. Two spoilers to that party, based on ORR performances seen on the Chicago-Mackinac Race (also a mostly reaching race) may be Mike Piper’s J/111 EAGLES DARE and Scott Miller’s J/122 RESOLUTE (last year’s Bermuda One-Two overall winner). Not to be outdone by their thoroughbred sisterships will be the twin J/42’s, Steve Berlack’s ARROWHEAD and Joe Murli’s SIRENA BELLA- as mentioned above, with the weather favoring the lower-rated boats, these two could be in the hunt before anyone can do anything about it! For more Newport Bermuda Race sailing information
Round Island Race Preview(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Starting at dawn, there may be few spectacles more breathtaking than to see the hundreds of boats take off in the morning twilight on the Round Island Race towards the candy-cane striped tower that stands atop the infamous Needles at the western end of the Isle of Wight. The massive fleet starts Saturday, June 21st at 0630 hrs on the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes; the boats then race “westabout” (counter-clockwise), to The Needles, round St Catherine's Point and Bembridge Ledge buoy, and back into the Solent to the finish line at Cowes.
The annual J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, organized by the Island Sailing Club, is a one-day yacht race around the Isle of Wight, an island situated off the south coast of England. The race regularly attracts around 16,000 sailors, making it one of the largest yacht races in the world and the fourth largest participation sporting event in the UK after the London Marathon and the Great North and South Runs.The Race, enjoying its 10th year of title sponsorship from JP Morgan Asset Management, started in 1931 with 25 boats. The Race continues to retain a special place in sailors’ hearts and its popularity continues to increase as organizers point to a 7% growth in the number of ‘first timers’ signing up to experience one of the most iconic yacht races in the world.
Some weather gurus predict good sailing conditions. On Friday and Saturday, it will be mainly sunny with warm temperatures. With the high pressure and clear nights there will be some early morning mist patches drifting over the Solent from the mainland, but the sunshine will soon burn this off giving good visibility through the rest of the day. For the Saturday morning start, experts predict a light NNW-NNE at first, 5-10 knots, becoming a light sea breeze in the afternoon; tending to be SW 8-13 in the western and central Solent, and SE 5-10 in the eastern.
An enormous armada of 112 J/Teams is launching their collective efforts on the 65+ trophies that are given out at the awards ceremony. There are 88 J’s sailing in IRC & Sportsboat classes, 8 in Island Sailing Club rating system and 16 J/80s racing as a class. In the primary offshore IRC keelboat classes, ranging from IRC 0 to IRC 3 divisions, J/Boats represents by far the biggest brand in the 367 boat grouping, with 88 teams representing 24.0% of the total! A rather fantastic turnout. In fact, the single largest class of boats in the entire fleet are the 31 J/109s participating in IRC 2 division.Starting with IRC 0 Division, the 52 entries will be the first to start their adventure around the island at 0630 hrs on Saturday. Included in that fleet are two J/133’s- JINGS (David Ballantyne) and JUMP (Ian Dewhirst). Joining them are two J/111’s- JOURNEYMAKER (Chris Jones & Louise Makin) and ICARUS (Chris Body).
Following them in IRC 1A class with 27 entries are three more J/111’s- J-LANCE 9 from France (Didier Le Moal), JITTERBURG (Cornel Riklin) and MUNKENBECK (Alfred Munkenbeck). A formidable quartet of J/122’s will be sparring with this trio, including JACOBS LADDER (William Avery), JOLLY JELLYFISH (Ben Few Brown), JOLOU (Sergey Senchenko) and MINT JULEP (David Cule). If that weren’t enough competition, two J/133s could lead the class around, including APOLLO 7 (Nigel Passmore) and L’EAU DE LA (Nils Boyer).
The lone J in IRC 1C class is the J/120 ASSARAIN III sailed by experienced offshore veteran Chris Masterson.
The IRC 2 Division and sub-classes are going to have a very challenging time contending with the 31 J/109s and 10 J/105s engulfing the race track! Starting with the IRC 2A with 35 entries, 12 of them are J/109’s including BLUE JAY (Alan Bennett), BONFIRE 4 (Chris Brooks), DESIGNSTAR 2 (Roger Phillips), JAZZY JELLYFISH (Michelle Butler), JIGSAW (Chris Andrews of Zig Zag Sailing), JINKS (Chris Brooks), JOUSTER (Adam Wright), JUMUNU (Julian Sutherland), JYNNAN TONNYX (Owain Franks and Jean Lockett), RED ARROW (sailed by Marcus Wilson and the Royal Air Force Sailing Team), TIGH SOLIUS II (Iain Mackinnon) and WHITE KNIGHT 7 (Colonel John Ogden). Hoping that it will be a light-air race will be the powerful J/39 XTREME (sailed by Stephen Best, Colin Foxley & Spencer Paul).Joining them at the same starting time are the other nineteen J/109s sailing in the IRC 2B class with 37 entries. Those teams include ALICE OF HAMBLE (Alastair Speare-Cole), BOTEZ COAST IV (Yves Dervieux from France), JAMBO (Andy Barnes), HIGH TENSION (Chris Brooks), INSPARA (Stuart Wood), J’TAIME (Christopher Palmer), JAGERBOMB (Paul Griffiths), JARHEAD (Greg Nasmyth), JELENKO (Simon Forbes & Trevor Sainty), JIBE (Robin Taunt), JOLENE II (Freddie Cardew-Smith), JOLLY JACK TAR (Adrian Wheal and the Royal Navy Sailing Team), JUKE BOX (Chris Copeland), JUMBUCK (John & Sue Allison), JUMPING JELLYFISH (David Richards), JYBE TALKIN (Chris & Helen Burleigh), ME JULIE (Michelle Butler), OFFBEAT (David Mcleman) and OH SIR JASPER (Simon Proctor). Doing their level best to overcome this group are seven J/105’s, including JACANA (Paul Wood & Jeremy Waitt), JACKPOT (Vernon Bradley), JAK (Martyn Kemp), JELLY BABY (William Newton), JIN & TONIC (Andrew Roberts), JOS OF HAMBLE (Roger Williams) and MOSTLY HARMLESS (Tom Hayhoe & Natalie Jobling). If that weren’t enough 35 foot J’s in one class, toss in a very tough championship winning team from Ireland sailing their J/35 BENGAL MAGIC with James Chalmers steering!
In the IRC 2C fleet of 36 entries are three J/105s including FLAWLESS J (James Heald), KING LOUIE (Fiona & Malcolm Thorpe) and NEILSON REDEYE (led by Pip & Pete Tyler, owners of Neilson Active Holidays agency). Joining them will be the J/100 NORA sailed by team of Desmarest & Ratzel from France.
The IRC 2D Class of 47 entries has a rogue’s gallery of hot J/97 teams, many with championship winning crews aboard. The eight J/97s include BLACKJACK II (Andy Howe & Annie Kelly), ETB TYRES JUST LIKE THAT (Chaz Ivill), INDULJENCE (Nick & Adam Munday), JACKAROO (Matthew & Rob Orr), JASLAN (Brett Lewis & H Hofmann), JEOPARDY 2 (Nick Barlow- who’s sailing with a group of ladies that won the charity auction to sail the boat in the race— they claim they will race in “fancy dress”!), JET (James & John Owen), and TYREFIX JL (Dave Cobden). Balancing the J/97s and keeping a sharp reign on them will be the J/110 SHADES OF BLUE (Ed Holton), the J/92 WIZARD (John Greenaway) and the J/95 JUST IS (Graham Chase).The lone J’s in IRC 3 Division are the J/32 DOMAINE skippered by Chris Burbidge and the J/30 COLLEEN helmed by Allan Hill (in fact, a New England boat shipped over to England).
In addition to the IRC class, the Island Sailing Club Rating System offers an alternative for those pre-disposed to a simpler rule. As a result, the ISCRS classes are some of the largest in the race. Taking part in ISCRS 4B class is the J/124 ECLIPSE sailed by Robert Bishop and family and the J/109 SARDONYX IX led by William Edwards. In ISCRS 4D class, we find the J/92s HULLABALOO sailed by Felix Marks and in ISCRS 5A class is Dick Young’s J/100 CHARLOTTE. In fact, there are two more J/100’s sailing in the race in ISCRS 5B- Ole Bettum’s ALAMARA B II and Julia James’s THUNDER SQUALL. Finally, in ISCRS 6C class are two of the “classic” J/24s, including Roger Ayres’s J-RIDER and JUJU (sailed by Quinton Hall, a new boat and first time around island with friends and family in a J/24!).
J/80S have sixteen entries in a one-design class start, including many of the top teams like AQUA-J (Patrick Liardet), BOYSTEROUS (Dillon Plantinga), DSP (Douglas Struth), EXETER-SOLAR.COM (Nigel Skudder with a crack team of 470 class sailors with National, European and World Champion credentials!), J-WIFE (Simon Watson), JAMMY (Charlie Bonfield), JASMINE (Douglas Neville-Jones), JUMBLESAIL (Robert Hunt), MOJO (Jim White), ROCK & ROLL (Dr Gillian Ross), SEAFIRE (Jeffrey Orford), SURF & TURF (Geoffrey Payne), UKSA 1 (Ash Holmes), UKSA 2 (Jonny Michael), UKSA 3 (Nick Spence & Jack Mitchell), WILD WALLY (the trio of Robert Walters, David Walters & James O’Neill).
Finally, the Sportsboat Class has enlarged considerably with 24 entries. The smallest J in the crowd is the J/22 MARETA skippered by Armel Desbois. They will have to contend with a flock of 7 J/70’s that includes last year’s class winner and overall winner of the Sir Edward Heath Trophy- TEAM RAF SPITFIRE POWERED BY SLAM skippered by Wing Commander Simon Ling. Other J/70’s aim to be contenders as well, including BABY J (Charlie Esse), J’NICKIT (Tim Howard), JENGA 8 (Andrew Barraclough), PURE STUDENT LIVING (Jack & Freddie Davies), TJIG IV (Johnny Dryburgh & Robert Pilcher) and WILSON COVERS (Ian Wilson). While sailing very standard boats, the six Royal Yacht Squadron J/80s could easily have a go at this crowd, one can never count out some smart sailing this group, that includes ROYAL 1 (Richard Acland), ROYAL 2 (Christopher Hill), ROYAL 3 (Red Johnson), ROYAL 4 (James Baxter sailing with two crew members, Gareth Edwards and Douglas Peniston, that are ex-Fireball National Champion crews), ROYAL 5 (Malcolm Glaister) and ROYAL 6 (Duncan Byatt). Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright- Photoaction.comFor more Round Island Race sailing information
J/80 World Championship Update(Annapolis, MD)- “Uniquely situated on the Severn River at the mouth of the Chesapeake, Eastport Yacht Club is eagerly anticipating the J/80 world championship this fall. Top notch Race Committee led by Principal Race Officer Sharon Hadsell, NRO (USA), a representative International Jury with Charlotte Greppe, IJ/IU (SWE) as Chief Judge, professional staff and volunteers experienced with running large scale world class events are all ready to welcome you to a guaranteed excellent regatta,” commented regatta Co-Chairs Sharon & Jeff Borland.
The Worlds committee has released the cool-looking logo (seen here), and is working on creating great merchandise with it. Preparations are under way for some great parties to celebrate a great class. Music, food and the famous Eastport hospitality will be sure to impress! Both on and off the water, this will be a World-class event!
The first measurement weekend has been announced as July 12 & 13, in Annapolis, MD. The Worlds committee measurement team, overseen by a certified J/80 class measurer, will be weighing boats and doing hull and keel checks. The weights will be certified and the boat will not have to be weighed for the North American championship or the World championship.Only boats that are registered for the North Americans and/or Worlds will be measured during this weekend. Boats that are made available for charter on the official website may also be measured during this time.
The J/80 Worlds Committee has pledged to become a “Clean Regatta” through the Sailors for the Sea’s Ocean Conservation program. The class is excited to step up to help conserve the waterways that the sport is dependent upon. Minimizing printed materials, stocking “green” supplies and non-toxic cleaning products, using refillable water bottles & separating recyclables from trash while racing, are just a few of the steps everyone can all take to run an environmentally friendly regatta. To read more, check out the press release here and the Sailors for the Sea website.
There are several good J/80 charter boats available- please contact charters@j80worlds2014.org for more information.
For more information, please check out the website- http://www.J80worlds2014.org, also see the Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/pages/J80-World-Championships-2014 and you can also follow the J/80s on Twitter @regattaj80
Chicago J/Day Regatta Announcement(Chicago, IL)- The 2014 edition of J/Day, sponsored by Skyway Yacht Works, Columbia Yacht Club and Stearns Boating is scheduled for June 28th 2014. The 2013 day was a great success, fighting crazy weather that included fog (in Chicago??) so thick you couldn't see 500 yards. The day turned into some of the most fun sailing of the summer. Once again, the sailing will be in the outer harbor right off the Aquarium and Planetarium. It will once again be crazy fun racing for all.
While some fleets will opt to sail normal windward-leeward courses, the day features a pursuit race and a race with water balloons and Frisbee tosses adding or subtracting from your finish times. It is all about having fun with the family and a break from the hard core racing of the summer. Ken Ganch and his wife Stephanie (J/105 and J/70 owners) are once again
barbecuing for the day!
“This year,” says Steve Kindra (from Skyway Yacht Works), “we want to make one of the races where kids drive and really start to include the family into the mix!”
According to Rich Stearns (of Stearns Boating), “Last year, we had 3 J/111’s, 5 105's, 2 J/70's, 5 109's, 1 J/120 and 1 J/133. The courses were 1 mile in length and because of the weather, we were able to race inside the outer break-wall, just outside the harbor mouth. That was the first time anyone had raced inside the wall - other than the Junior Sailors!”Steve added, “This year we will have 3 sponsors - HARKEN, KANBERRA GEL, and PETTIT PAINT. Rich and I are providing the food and refreshments and the sponsors are providing very generous prizes, including Nautica watches, Pettit Paint, HARKEN hardware and hats and rum-drinks kinda stuff. Kanberra Gel is providing promotional items including a 2 oz gel for signing up at the skippers meeting.”
For more information, please contact Rich Stearns (rich@stearnsboating.com) or Steve Kindra (ph# 847-638-0010 or info@skywayyachtworks.com).
Cleveland Race Week- Offshore Preview(Cleveland, OH)- After fabulous sailing the week before, the second part of Cleveland Race Week this coming weekend will have a hard act to follow. After enjoying sunny skies and good breeze, the sailors this weekend hope they escape the Midwest heat and lack of wind to enjoy the festivities on-shore as well as good sailing on Lake Erie. This Saturday and Sunday, Edgewater YC will be hosting their “offshore” version for PHRF handicap racing boats as well as the “Women’s” division.
The PHRF divisions have 69 boats sailing, including 23 J/Teams (33.0% of the fleet!). PHRF Spinnaker Division has a large fleet of J’s participating, including two J/111’s (Don Hudak’s new CAPERS and Ryan Ruhlman’s championship team on SPACEMAN SPIFF), Tim Yanda’s J/120 VIVA LA VIDA, Seth Young’s J/39 BLACK SEAL, Mark Saffell’s J/36 PAINKILLER, Paul Matthews’s J/35 WHITEHAWK, Jay Hawkins new J/88 TY-LEE, Peter Kuhn’s J/33 WINDLASSIE, six J/105s (Rick Drucker’s KNOT GUILTY, Eric Sutherland’s ROLLICK, Bob Mock’s UNBRIDLED, Jim Uhlir’s TRIO, Jim Sminchak’s IT, and Chris Mallet’s SYNCHRONICITY), three J/29s (Cindy Einhouse’s OVATION, Kevin Holland’s BADFISH & Aarne Lillo’s AQUARIUS), John Sukis’s J/34 IOR SNEAK ATTACK, and two J/30s (Rich Galaska’s BREEZIN & Dale & Maggie Gormley’s SAND DOLLAR).
Perhaps the most novel and certainly ground-breaking division that Cleveland Race Week has pioneered is the Women’s “double-handed” offshore sailing divisions. The rules are simply that at least one crew member is a woman. The fact that 12 of the 29 teams are J/Teams (41.0% of the women’s fleet) is not surprising. Fun, easy to sail boats are essential to women having fun sailing boats whether it’s cruising, day-sailing or racing. There are three divisions based on level of experience. In the JAM-Double fleet is Chris Howell sailing with his wife on the J/22 LONDON FOG. In the PHRF-Double Division is John Zelli sailing his J/22 FREE ENERGY with his significant other. Then, in the “all women” PHRF Women’s Division are Abigail Ruhlman and sister sailing the J/111 SPACEMAN SPIFF, Mindy Sminchak sailing the J/105 IT, then two J/70s being sailed by Elizabeth Wilder on REHAB and CC Skoch on USELESS, Cindy Einhouse sailing the J/20 OVATION, Linda Cutler sailing the J/24 CARRY-ON and Cheri Morabito skippering the J/22 WYSIWYG!Sailing in the PHRF Non-Spinnaker Division are two J/34s (Dave Krotseng’s BONAFIDE & Jack Hull’s AVATII) and a J/30 (Doug Wahl’s RUBBER SOUL). For more Cleveland Race Week Offshore sailing information
Neither Tornado’s Nor Tumbleweed Stop Dallas Race Week!The World’s Best Honky Tonk “Pursuit Sailing” Regatta!
(Dallas, TX)- With an event history going back to 1982, Dallas Race Week always bridges the week of Summer Solstice in June and is held on Lake Ray Hubbard. The founder of the event, Scott Self, wanted a week long regatta to always be in the evening so no one needed to miss work during the day. Scott’s son, Billy, has helped him organize the event for the past 10 years. The two have kept this event going for 33 years.
Dallas Race Week is a coordinated event between three yacht clubs located on Lake Ray Hubbard. Chandlers Landing YC, Bayview YC and Rush Creek YC. The schedule is one race per night at 7pm with a party each night at each yacht club. The race is a 5 mile point to point or around the lake format directed toward the 40+ PHRF boats actively sailing on Lake Ray Hubbard. It is the single event all year that the entire lake gets together to race and party together. The key to racing in Dallas Race Week is the pursuit start, which allows the slower boats to start first according to their PHRF rating, and for line honors to win the race.
Dallas Race Week is a corporate sponsored sailing event benefiting community service projects of the Rockwall Breakfast Rotary Club. The mission is to provide funding for programs that address issues of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and health care affecting the community. The motto is “Sail Into Service” and it is a belief that represents the value placed on teamwork by sailors and community servants throughout history. The main sponsors this year are Gus Sails, The Matteson Realty Group and SailWithScott.com.
For 2014, the event is challenged with extremely low lake levels causing the start/finish location to be equidistant from the three yacht clubs. The lake is 7’6″ below normal levels due to drought conditions in the southwest. The sailors have really embraced the situation to make the most of Dallas Race Week, with a modified format so the show goes on. Races are scheduled June 15 through 20.
The J sailors participating in the event come from the spectrum of classic J’s on the lake. In the “big boat” division of PHRF A is Anthony Broadfoot’s J/29 ACADIA. In the pursuit-style race, they will be hoping to chase down some J/22s and J/24s in PHRF B. The three J/24s include George Conklin’s AUDACITY, Bob Williams & Pete Pitzer’s FREIGHT DOG and Jack Marsh’s USA 3411. The two J/22s sailing are Kathy Kulpers’s RIJJIJOFRIJIK and Jim Oursler’s MAUDE. Of note is that a fleet of five IC-24s (modified J/24s) has been converted to race on the lake as an indigenous class rating at 174 PHRF. For more Dallas Race Week sailing information
Join Summer Sailstice! Celebrate Sailing!Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville To Showcase Sailing
(Newport, RI)- Sailstice is a worldwide celebration of sailing on the weekend closest to the summer solstice – this year the solstice falls on a Saturday, June 21, 2014!
All sailors, all sailing, everywhere will change the perception of sailing and what better help than Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville now offering new rewards to sailors ‘strutting their sailing stuff’ while challenging traditional sailing stereotypes. Margaritaville is adding prizes and outreach for the wide range of individuals and organizations posting their events on “www.summersailstice.com” in celebration of the 14th annual event happening on June 21st.
John Arndt founded Summer Sailstice in February 2001, as the global, annual celebration of sailing held on the summer solstice. The annual Summer Sailstice sailing event is free to all participants and has grown from 200 boats signed up in 2001 to almost 5,000 boats today. Since many sailors join in the fun on many different boats, the actual number of Summer Sailstice sailors participating is estimated at almost 19,000 annually.In joining with Sailors for the Sea, Summer Sailstice strives to inform and mobilize sailors, their families and communities to enjoy and conserve the beauty of the oceans and while raising awareness of human impacts on the fragile marine environment and wildlife.
Why Celebrate Sailing?
Sailing has expanded the horizons of the human race, connected continents and cultures, enriched the lives of mankind and, to this day, continues to bring millions under its spell. Summer Sailstice is dedicated to celebrating the full mosaic of the sailing culture. By celebrating sailing Summer Sailstice will help the non-sailing world discover sailing, help connect sailors and connect more people to caring for the oceans and waters upon which they sail. For more Summer Sailstice sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The northern parts are rapidly approaching mid-summer celebrations that are associated with the summer solstice on June 21st, particularly those in Scandinavia that have a number of regattas and races that take place all night long— a night that is punctuated by the fact that the sun never does set on J’s sailing in them! Leading up to that time were several notable regattas on both sides of the Atlantic.On the American East Coast, the 160th Rolex New York YC Annual Regatta took place off Newport, Rhode Island with a record number of boats attending- 189 to be exact. With three race courses, two in Rhode Island Sound and one in Narragansett Bay, there was plenty of activity taking place for J Sailors. J/109s, J/122s and J/44s were sailing IRC offshore while J/111s, J/24s, J/29, J/92s and J/105s sailed PHRF inshore. Often the highlight of the regatta, the traditional Around Conanicut Island Race on Friday took on a rather dismal mood. Over in the Great Lakes, the Cleveland Race Week One-Design regatta saw one-design fleets of J/70s, J/22s, J/24s and J/105s having a blast sailing the three-day event. The J/70s were hosting their Great Lakes Championship as well. On the West Coast, St Francis YC hosted the J/22 California Match Race Championship for their regional qualifiers that sends the top teams to the U.S. Sailing Match Race Championship later in the summer.
Up north in Canada, the National Yacht Club on the Toronto, Ontario waterfront held their Redpath Toronto Area Hospice Regatta for J/22 Ontario Provincial Championship and the local J/70 & J/80 fleet.
Across the proverbial pond, hundreds of Benelux and Dutch sailors had completed their famous summer extravaganza, the Delta Lloyd North Sea Sailing Week, hosting hundreds of boats and also having an entire village dedicated to amazing food and refreshments. A big J/22 fleet participated as well as larger J’s like J/109s, J/105s, J/111s and a J/122 all sailing in ORC and IRC handicap divisions. The French also hosted their Normandy Sailing Week in Le Havre, France. An enormous fleet of J/80s was competing in their fifth event in the season-long J/80 Coupe de France series.
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:
Jun 21-24- Kieler Woche- Kiel, GermanyJun 21- Summer Sailstice Celebration- San Anselmo, CA
Jun 23-27- Block Island Race Week- Block Island, RI
Jun 27-29- Long Beach Race Week- Long Beach, CA
Jun 28- Jul 4- J/80 European Championship- Barcelona, Spain
Jun 28- J/Boats Rendezvous- Brownswville, WA
Jun 28- Round Ireland Race- Wicklow, Ireland
Jul 5-11- CORK Week- Cork, Ireland
Jul 6- Pacific Cup Race- San Francisco, CA
Jul 11-13- Bacardi Newport Regatta- Newport, RI
Jul 12- Bayview Mackinac Race- Port Huron, MI
Jul 14-20- J/70 North Americans- Rochester, NY
Jul 15-19- J/109 North Americans- Newport, RI
Jul 18-20- Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge- Solomons Island, MD
Jul 19-22- Chicago Mackinac Race- Chicago, IL
Jul 23-26- J-Cup Regatta- Hamble, England
Jul 24-27- J/111 North Americans- Harbor Springs, MI
Jul 24-27- Marblehead NOOD Regatta- Marblehead, MA
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/Teams Sweep Classes @ NYYC RegattaJ/122 & J/109 Top IRC, J/111 & J/24 Crush PHRF
(Newport, RI)- Light, shifty winds had an unusual stronghold on this year’s 160th New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta presented by Rolex, but most of the 189 teams competing knew how to take it all in stride. For many it was a test of patience. The tricky, occasionally windless, conditions for the Around the Island Race insisted on sticking around for the first day of the regatta, in fact, causing a postponement ashore before the fleet took off into a light SSW breeze for Saturday. Sunday dawned with a crystal-clear blue sky and lots of promise, a solid 10-15 kt cool breeze was flowing from the NW but that, too, ultimately died and switched into a light SSW breeze. To say that it was challenging for the NYYC PRO’s on all three courses (two outside on Rhode Island Sound and one in Narragansett Bay) would be an understatement. Nevertheless, most fleets managed to squeeze in one race per day to make it a series.
The regatta traditionally starts out with the Around Conanicut Island Race, a 21nm circumnavigation that often makes good use of the steady southwest seabreeze that develops by midday. The course is usually clockwise, starting off Rose Island in the East Passage of the Bay, rounding Beavertail Lighthouse Bell “NR” to starboard, the Green can “5” and Red Bell “2” at the north end of the island, then a straight leg home to the finish just off Fort Adams. Perhaps for the first time in a half-century, the race course had to be shortened at the Jamestown Bridge center span, less than halfway through the race after starting south of the Newport Bridge! The fleet was caught sailing in a slow-moving front that was “spritzing” a nice cool, rainy mist with winds spinning around the compass from 0 to 5 kts max. Amongst the J/Teams that performed admirably in the simply maddening conditions were Chris Jones and Louise Makin from Hamble, England sailing the J/111 WILD CHILD, winning PHRF 1 class and followed by classmate Fred Van Liew and David Brodsky on their J/111 ODYSSEY in fourth. Other notable performances were in PHRF 2 with EC Helme’s J/92s SPIRIT taking third in class and Brian Kiley’s J/29 MEDDLER X taking fifth. In the IRC classes, Mike Bruno’s J/122 WINGS grabbed a fourth overall in IRC 4 while Bill Sweetser’s J/109 RUSH took second in IRC 5 class followed by Joerg Esdorn & Duncan Hennes’s J/44 KINCSEM in fourth.
For the Annual Regatta that took place Saturday and Sunday, both the White Course and Green Course fleets were quite happy, in retrospect, to have at least counted two races as crazy as anyone may describe them. On the Green Course up Narragansett Bay were the PHRF Navigators classes. In PHRF 1, the J/111’s faired quite well with the Jones/ Makin team on WILD CHILD taking the class win with a 1-3 for 4 pts over the Van Liew/ Brodsky team on ODYSSEY with a 3-4 for 7 pts. In fourth was Doug Curtiss’s WICKED 2.0 with a 2-6 for 8 pts, losing a tie-breaker with another boat. Significantly, all three J/111s were 1-2-3 on Saturday’s race.In the PHRF 2 Class, it was a J/Team clean sweep. In fact, it was a bit of a “back to the future” experience to see the classic J/24 winning class. By virtue of their most excellent performance on Saturday, the J/24 NIGHTHAWK sailed by the trio of Barker, McVicker & Ryan took the class win. Second was EC Helme’s J/92s SPIRIT and third was Brian Kiley’s J/29 MEDDLER X.
Outside in Rhode Island Sound, the White Course IRC classes saw for the third year in a row the J/122 WINGS sailed by Mike Bruno from American YC in Long Island Sound take IRC 5 Class with an impossibly low score of 1-1 for just 2 pts. Third was another classmate, the J/122 AUGUST WEST sailed by Jamey Shachoy from Buzzards Bay, MA. Rounding out the top five were Len Sitar’s J/44 VAMP in fourth and Paul Milo’s J/122 ORION in fifth.Another repeat winner in IRC 6 was Bill Sweetser’s J/109 RUSH from Annapolis YC in Annapolis, MD. RUSH scored a 2-2 for 4 pts to walk off with class honors against such notably famous boats like NYYC Vice Commodore Rives Potts’s CARINA.
For an amazing 3D perspective on what happened on the race courses, be sure to check out the RaceQs.com replays for all three days! It’s a very useful training tool and great way to learn more from yours (and other’s) mistakes on the race course- tactically and strategically. Sailing photo credits- Rolex/ Daniel Forster For more Around the Island Race sailing information For more NYYC Annual Regatta sailing information
RaceQs.com 3D Tracker Replay
http://raceqs.com/regattas/nyyc-annual-regatta
J/One-Designs Love Cleveland Race Week!(Cleveland, OH)- Dozens of one-design boats invaded Cleveland Race Week at Edgewater Yacht Club in Cleveland, Ohio from June 13-15. Eight fleets competed, including 25 J/70s duking it out for the Great Lakes Championship. Fortunately, the J/70s began their series on Friday, which featured northwest breezes in the teens and typical Lake Erie waves. Winds started strong again on Saturday morning when all fleets got in on the action, but died off throughout the day. Sunday dawned with light breeze but increased, making for a beautiful day of racing in Cleveland. The Race Committee ran three separate circles and was able to complete up to 11 races on certain courses.
For the twenty-five J/70s, it was Paul Hulsey's TEAM BAYVIEW that handily won the 10-race series with 49 points to be crowned the 2014 Great Lakes J/70 Champion. The Corinthian team beat out Henry Filter's WILD CHILD and Paul Cannon in second and third, respectively--both with 62 points.The fifteen boat J/22 class saw the New Yorkers take the top two spots. The MO’MONEY team of Vic Snyder/Kevin Doyle from Youngstown Yacht Club had just 17 pts in six races to win their class. Second was RJ Moon’s crew on AXE WOUND from Rochester YC snatching defeat from near certain victory, posting a 2-10-6-1-1-3 tally for 23 pts (bet they would pay anything to get back the 10th!). Third was Dave McBrier’s VAMANOS/ HARDWARECHIMP.COM team from Erie YC with 26 pts.
The J/24s were taken by the BLACK & TAN crew led by Erie YC’s Steve Hronek with 9 points in 6 races. In fact, they won on a tie-breaker over Chris Glynn’s crew on THE MYSTERY MACHINE by virtue of winning the last race. Third was Terence Bowdish’s CARRY ON.
For the J/105s, it was clear the class act of the regatta was Team IT led by Jim Sminchak & Doug Moose, starting out with four straight firsts! In the end, they accumulated a 1-1-1-1-3-2 record for 9 pts. Second was Jim Uhlir’s TRIO with a 2-2-3-2-1-3 for 13 pts, just narrowly nipping the crew of Bob Mock’s UNBRIDLED with a 3-3-2-3-2-1 for 14 pts. For Cleveland Race Week sailing information
Balboa YC Sweeps J/22 California Match Race(San Diego, CA)- Racing at San Diego YC this past weekend in J/22s, 20 year-old Ryan Davidson, sailing for Balboa Yacht Club, swept the field representing seven other yacht clubs to take the US Match Racing Area GHJL Qualifier #2. Ryan now advances to the finals, also being held in J/22s, at St. Francis YC in early October. Ryan and crew Brandon Folkman and Gregg Kent turned in a flawless two days of match-racing, finishing 14-0. In addition to outperforming his opponents in tactical match-racing maneuvers, Ryan avoided mistakes in the pre-start and accurately called pressure up the course to lead almost every match wire-to-wire.
Relatively consistent winds of 8-10 kt and flat water rewarded straight line boat speed and two Bay Area teams, John Horsch from Treasure Island Sailing Center and Nicole Breault from St. Francis Yacht Club, were just plain fast, out-sailing the rest of the field (except for Davidson) and tied for second, at 10-4, with Horsch winning the tie-breaker. His team consisted of crew Amy Daniel and Karina Vogen, while Molly Carapiet, Jen Glass and Hannah Burroughs sailed with Breault.The diverse field of competition revealed the upsurge in interest for match-racing on the West Coast, including Hawaii, whose Waikiki YC sent a team, alongside Balboa YC, Treasure Island, St. Francis YC, Newport Harbor YC, Del Rey YC, California YC, San Francisco YC, and San Diego YC. US Match Racing Area GHJL representative Bruce Stone reported that both qualifier #1 and #2 had the required number of international umpires and competitors from over 500 km away so they could qualify as a Grade 3 event, rewarding the top skippers with additional ISAF ranking points. San Diego’s regatta chair Summer Greene, together with the St. Francis, received around 24 formal applications or serious inquiries for the available 16 slots, leading to the possibility of staging a third West Coast qualifier in 2015 at another venue.
For more J/22 Match Racing sailing information in California, please contact: Bruce Stone- US Match Racing Area GHJL Representative- at email- bruce@brucestone.com or ph# 917-822-4060
INTERFACE CONCEPT Wins Normandy Sailing Week(Le Havre, France)- The French J/80 J/Cup Series continues their next installment with an extraordinary turnout of 35 boats at the famous Normandy Sailing Week. As they have demonstrated in earlier regattas, the team of Simon Moriceau on INTERFACE CONCEPT have established a strong lead in their season long offshore series by securing a profound performance in the Normandy Regatta.
After starting with three 2nds, Moriceau’s team struck lightning with a string of six 1sts in their nine races to easily secure the win. Climbing the ladder very fast, not surprisingly, was Eric Brezellec’s crew on COURRIER JUNIOR to finish 12 pts back in second. In third was yet another very experienced J/80 French team led by Luc Nadal on GAN’JA with 27 pts net. In fourth was TEAM VENDEE with Benjamin Dutreaux and in fifth was Alexis Henri in VOILE AMBITION DUNKERQUE. For more Normandy Week Sailing information
J/122 JUNIQUE Wins North Sea WeekEdens Crowned J/22 Champion
(The Hague, The Netherlands)- On the last day of the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta, only one race was sailed in all the fleets due to the light conditions, so all teamed headed back to shore to celebrate a week of good sailing amongst friends. Perhaps the two teams that were most excited of all were the J/122 JUNIQUE sailed by Chris & Dirk-jan Revelman and the J/22 sailed by the trio of Edens, Bart and Ewout- both teams winning their fleets by substantial margins.
The Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta starts with the two offshore races that the J/122 participated in, the Vuurschepen Harwich Race and the RORC North Sea Race. In both of those events, the fast-sailing Revelman’s guided their J/122 JUNIQUE to overall victory in the Double-handed fleet for the combined races. Their winning formula and remarkable performance continued during the week-long regatta, taking four straight firsts in as many races and not having to sail the last race to win by a substantial margin.
A somewhat similar scenario played out in the thirteen boat J/22 one-design class for the North Sea Week one-design regatta. Starting out the regatta in the lead after the first day, the trio of Edens, Bart & Ewout simply sailed a much more consistent regatta than anyone else, only finishing out of the top three once in 10 races! In the end, the after two drop races, they counted only 14 pts total to win by 8 pts. Taking second place was the trio of Stephan la Grouw, Rosemarign, Tom and Gideon sailing TEAM COJONES with a total of 22 pts, just nipping out the FRAPORITA team (Jean-Michel Lautier, Guiseppe d’Aquino & Denis Neves) with 23 pts. Taking fourth place was Team BIG ROLL- TU DELFT BERING sailed by Nova Huppes, Sanne Crum & Joost Schot with 29 pts. Fifth place was the trio of Frans Bianchi, Marcel Hanenberg and Divera Pronk with 35 pts.The winners said, “In turn, we would also like to thank all the sailors as an organization. Despite the difficult conditions on the water where the sailors had to muster a lot of patience, the sense of togetherness and sportsmanship was great.” Sailing photo credits- Richard de Jonge & Sander van der Bosch For more Delta Lloyd North Sea Week sailing information
Toronto Hospice Regatta A Symphony of SailsSTAMPEDE Wins J/22 Provincials
(Toronto, ONT)- This year’s Redpath Toronto Area Hospice Regatta was again hosted by the National Yacht Club along the beautiful Toronto waterfront. An excellent turnout of 46 boats not only assured the Toronto Area Hospice excellent fund-raising but also fun competition and camaraderie amongst the sailors in the six fleets in attendance. The event also marked the J/22 Ontario Provincial Championship.
The sailors were blessed with three straight days of good weather and light to moderate winds. Taking advantage of their light-air speed was Jeff Love’s crew aboard the J/22 STAMPEDE. Starting off with three bullets, the “Stampeders” never looked back, amassing three more bullets and a third on their way to a convincing win in the J/22 Provincials, counting just nine pts in seven races! Behind them in second place was Stephen Jones, counting a 2-2-6-1-3-3-2 for 19 pts and in third was Geoff Bayne’s crew on THREE’S COMPANY scoring a 9-3-3-2-2-4-3 for 26 pts total. The balance of the top five was taken by Oleg Koubrak’s BESS in 4th and David Doyle’s INNOCENT BYSTANDER in 5th.The J/70s and J/80s sailed in a combined fleet with Bart Smit’s J/80 NAUTICAL SYMPHONY taking the honors with a total of 12 pts after eight races. Second was Scott Weakley’s J/70 REX with 20 pts and third was Lawrence Alexander’s J/80 JIGGERS. Fourth was Ali Bilgen’s J/70 ICE-3 and fifth was Eric Jacob’s J/80 UQILAJUQ. For more Toronto Hospice Regatta sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* J/133 Racing in Norway! We recently got a note from Fredrik Lundh, a crew member of the J/133 J-WALK 2, that has been sailing for the past few years in the Baltic, the North Sea and parts even farther north. This year, Fredrik’s J-WALK 2 sailed in the annual Halten Ocean Race from the city of Brekstad to a course north around the Halten Lighthouse - approximately 150nm in length— this race is sailed on the open North Atlantic Ocean on the west coast of Norway, just a few dozen miles south of the Arctic Circle! Her owner Arne Rathe skippered J-WALK 2. The race was hosted by the Yacht club in Trondheim (TSF)- yes, the famous fjord near the southern tip of Norway.Please see their fun sailing video of their adventure
https://vimeo.com/98228704
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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