Wednesday, August 27, 2014

J/Newsletter- August 27th, 2014

J/97e- the evolution of racing and cruisingJ/97e and J/122e Debut Southampton Boat Show
(Southampton, United Kingdom)- Key Yachting Ltd will be exhibiting four J/Boats at the Southampton Boat Show from 12th September, including two which will be making their show debut. Step aboard all of these boats on marina berths M350 – M354 and M340.

The J/97 Evolution – European Boat Show Debut!
The J/97 needs little introduction. In 2013, the J/97 won its IRC class at events including the UK IRC Nationals, Cowes Week, the South West IRC Nationals, Dartmouth Regatta, West Highland Week, Brighton Marina Yacht Cub Regatta and Abersoch Keelboat Week. A J/97 was also declared overall winner of the Scottish Series – three different J/97s have taken this title since 2011.

For 2014, the J/97 has had a mini-remodel and evolved to become the new J/97E, with the aim of broadening her appeal to both racers and cruisers.

The most significant alteration is in the deck layout where the traveller has been moved half a metre aft and is now on the cockpit sole. This move provides 50% more working cockpit space and with the primary winches also moving aft the crew have an increased operating space. A factory fit wheel is now available with a Jefa steering system combined with JP3 self-aligning bearings to give a beautifully light feel to the helm.

Notable enhancements to the interior include increased headroom in the aft cabin, making her even more comfortable for cruising.  The new J/111 window style profile and optional hull windows add to the feeling of light and space in the saloon along with her six-foot standing headroom.

The J/97 offers family cruising accommodation in a high performance, easily driven hull. With the handling ease of an asymmetric spinnaker and non-overlapping headsails, the J/97 fits the needs of today’s sailing families, of all ages.  Following a recent flurry of J/97 sales, the model recently secured its own one design class at the J-Cup with nine entries.

J/122e sailing upwindThe J/122 Evolution – Southampton Boat Show Debut!
New for 2014, the look of the J/122 has been transformed, with new coach roof windows in line with those on the J/88, along with the addition of hull windows, the first J/Boat to display this most welcome feature. Below decks the living space is rejuvenated, with the large galley and saloon finished in a combination of a satin finish light mahogany woodwork and white lacquered finish, with corian galley worktops.

The Famous J/70 Sportsboat
The J/70 is J/Boats’ first slipway-launchable keelboat - designed to fulfill the growing need for an easy to own, high performance one design, that is exciting to sail, stable enough sailboat for the family, and built to last. A natural evolution of its J pedigree, the J/70’s 7m of sailing length with high aspect, all carbon rig and deep lifting keel, provides spirited performance and stability that feels like a much larger boat.

J/70 one-design sailboatWith its easily driven hull, large cockpit, and three sail inventory, the J/70 is perfect for three adults, two couples, or four juniors. Her long cockpit and moderate height boom allow easy crew movement across the cockpit while tacking and jibing. For sitting and hiking comfort, mid-height safety-lines run cockpit length, making the J/70 one of the most comfortable boats to steer and crew aboard. The small cabin below is a bonus providing weather protection and privacy when necessary. Safety lines around the cockpit, plus an interior with seats and an optional V-berth forepeak give that extra measure of security. Expensive marina berthing can be avoided with the J/70, which can be owner rigged and launched in no time.

Nearly 700 boats have now been sold worldwide, thirty of which are in the UK. The J/70’s appeal and performance ability have won it numerous accolades already, including European Yacht of the Year, and winner of the sportsboat class at Round the Island Race. Demo sails on the J/70 will be available throughout the show.

J/88 family speedster sailing off NewportThe J/88 Family Speedster
From the J/Boats sport range that has given us the global successes of the J/111 and J/70 comes the J/88; an 8m family performance boat with stability, style and sailing comfort. The J/88 is large enough to provide the creature comforts of a sit-in cockpit, inboard diesel engine, and overnight interior with head, but small enough to be single-point lifted and trailerable.

Design highlights include a high-aspect, non-overlapping sail plan (no genoas) with a carbon fibre double-spreader mast which is deck stepped for easy rigging, tuning and keeping the main cabin dry. The 1.98m fixed, low VCG keel with molded GRP finish is similar to the J/70’s, ensuring a fair, smooth foil for every boat. The result will be a ride that’s every bit as exciting as the J/88’s siblings; fast and balanced upwind with planing performance downwind in moderate to fresh breezes.

On deck, the day sailing comforts include a spacious T-shaped cockpit similar to the J/111, with seating and backrests forward of the floor-mounted traveller and a wide-open cockpit aft due to the tiller-steered, transom mounted high-aspect rudder. Adding to the J/88’s ease-of-sailing characteristics is an optional under deck furler, retractable carbon bowsprit and cockpit-led sail controls. Below deck, the J/88 sports a weekending layout with optional V-berth, two full length settees, private head forward of the bulkhead, a chart table area, Igloo cooler and galley sink.  For more Southampton Boat Show information
 

J/70 sailboat rounding mark at New York YC regattaNew York YC US Qualifiers- Yacht Club Battleground!
(Newport, RI)- At the 2014 U.S. Qualifying Series for the Invitational Cup presented by Rolex, top amateur sailors from two Texas yacht clubs— Rush Creek Yacht Club and Texas Corinthian Yacht Club— will hope to augment the nautical legacies of their respective clubs and the Lone Star State.

“This event is not about me,” says Ryan Glaze, the skipper for the RCYC entry and a former commodore of the club. “It’s about Rush Creek. We want to make our yacht known and respected in our circle. This isn’t about me or any of my teammates.”

The biennial keelboat competition is the only path for American yacht clubs hoping to compete in the 2015 Invitational Cup presented by Rolex, the premiere, international, Corinthian, big-boat competition. Both events are hosted by the New York Yacht Club at Harbour Court, in Newport, R.I.

In the U.S. Qualifying Series, two-dozen yacht clubs from around the country will sail for four days in matched fleets of Sonars and J/70s; after a round-robin, the top teams compete in the finals sailing J/70s. The top three yacht clubs in the final standings will earn a berth in the 2015 Invitational Cup presented by Rolex, which is sailed in September 2015 in the New York Yacht Club Swan 42. Bragging rights are part of the package.

J/70 from Texas sailing New York regatta“It’s a real privilege to represent the club,” says Texas Corinthian skipper Curtis Hutcheson, who will be sailing in the event for a second time. “We want to have a good showing. We know a lot of the competitors. The big difference [compared to other regattas] is not having any professional sailors. You don’t get to do many all-amateur events. It’s good to keep it Corinthian. And I love the club format.”

With the ability to sail year round, competitors from the two Texas yacht clubs have to deal with an “issue” that’s somewhat foreign to their competitors in the Northeast and Midwest, burnout.

“This summer we’ve been laying kind of low,” says Glaze. “But we’ve got a pretty rigorous training we’re hitting here at the end of August. Hopefully we’ll peak at the right time.”

After finishing sixth in 2012, Hutcheson believes that extra attention to the details will help lift Texas Corinthian into the top three.

“The conditions are likely to vary greatly,” he says, “There are a lot of tight crossing situations and those are going to make the difference. We want to have good starts, as it’s a tough fleet to come back in. We’re excited. We’re practicing on our teamwork.”

No matter where Texas Corinthian ends up in the final standings, however, Hutcheson is sure of one thing, he and his team will thoroughly enjoy the experience.

“We had a great time in 2012,” he says. “Everyone was so friendly. It was very competitive with all sorts of conditions and great boats. It was an awesome event.”  Sailing photo credits- Billy Black.  For more New York YC US Qualifying Series sailing information

J/105s sailing Rolex Big Boat Series in San FranciscoRolex Big Boat Series Celebrates Golden Jubilee
(San Francisco, CA)- One hundred and sixty-five years after a flood of fortune seekers headed to San Francisco in search of riches during the Gold Rush of 1849, a new generation of prospectors will be panning for treasure during the 50th anniversary "Golden Jubilee" edition of the Rolex Big Boat Series (RBBS) scheduled for September 11-14 at the St. Francis Yacht Club.

J/120 fleet sailing Rolex Big Boat Series in San FranciscoFounded in 1964, the inaugural regatta attracted nine yachts.  The popularity of the event saw a gradual expansion through the years to the current six divisions, with accompanying perpetual trophies, two with historical significance:  the City of San Francisco Trophy, which was established in 1968, is one of the two golden spades used to break ground for the Golden Gate Bridge in 1933; while the Atlantic Perpetual Trophy, established in 1978, features the ship’s bell of the 1905 TransAtlantic Ocean record holder Atlantic.  For the current wave of forty-niners (aka gold seekers), the six coveted trophies – which are awarded based on fleet participation – accompany a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner timepiece presented to the winning skippers.

J/70s sailing Rolex Big Boat Series on San Francisco BayThat the Rolex Big Boat Series has kept pace with the evolution of the sport is evident by its enduring appeal to both professional and Corinthian competitors.  Breaking its tradition of including only boats 35’ and larger has recently allowed classes such as the J/70 and Melges 24 to follow Performance Multihulls in being added to the mix of ORR, HPR and One Design classes racing.

Rolex Big Boat Series Event Chair Pat Nolan is expecting a strong turnout by the J/70 class (expected to be about 25 boats) as the popularity of that class continues to grow.  “That class (J/70) has taken off tremendously,” said Nolan.  “Our event will be the West Coast alternative to the J/70 Worlds in Newport, which will be taking place concurrently. We also expect the J/120s will be back, while the J/111s should have about 10 boats on the starting line. The biggest challenge with over 100 boats racing is managing them effectively to provide the best racing. Last year, three courses kept everyone out of each other’s way, and having the finish off the club makes for a great spectacle.”

After many years as a sponsor of the St. Francis Big Boat Series, Rolex became title sponsor of the event in 2005. The event has continued to grow in stature, and now sailors from around the world come to the Rolex Big Boat Series expecting some of the best racing offered in the U.S., if not the world.  Sailing photo credits- Rolex/ Daniel Forster.  For more Rolex Big Boat Series sailing information
 

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

For many families, the past weekend marked the sudden and dramatic end to their summer vacations as it was time to head for home and get the kids back to school.  It also marked the dramatic conclusion of the quadrennial RORC race know as the Round Britain & Irelands— by far the longest “round islands” race in the world and certainly one of the most challenging.  Sailing the entire circuit were a courageous J/111 and J/122.  Meanwhile, over in Germany, the J/70 sailors enjoyed the third stage of the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga in Berlin, sailing on the beautiful Wansee Lake right in the middle of the city.

Hopping across the pond, there were two significant events in New England.  The debut of the Marblehead ONE Regatta hosted by three famous clubs (Eastern YC, Boston YC, Corinthian YC) was a resounding success, especially for the one-design classes of J/70s and J/105s as well as the PHRF offshore classes.  Taking place just south in Buzzards Bay, the J/24 USA Nationals were hosted out of Marion, MA in absolutely gorgeous sailing conditions all weekend long.

Out in the sunny, stormy Midwest, Chicago YC’s Verve Cup Inshore edition was held with a J/70 class in attendance.  Conditions were not ideal, yet the CYC PRO’s managed to squeeze in some good racing for the 70 fleet.  Meanwhile, across Lake Michigan, the J/35s held their North American Championships at Muskegon YC out of Muskegon, Michigan— great times were had by all in that event!

Finally, out West a number of J’s were competing in the Long Point Race Week hosted by Newport Harbor Yacht Club in collaboration with Balboa Yacht Club. Read the great report from J/125 TIMESHAVER owner, Viggo Torbensen.

Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north.  Check them out!  More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page!  Below are the summaries.

Regatta & Show Schedules:

Aug 30-31- J/80 Danish Nationals- Niva (Copenhagen), Denmark
Aug 28-31- Pornic J/80 Cup- Pornic, France
Sep 8-13- J/70 World Championship- New York YC- Newport, RI
Sep 10-14- J/80 North Americans- Annapolis, MD- Annapolis YC
Sep 11-15- 50th Rolex Big Boat Series- San Francisco, CA
Sep 11-14- J/30 North Americans- Riverside, CT
Sep 12-14- J/80 German Nationals- Glucksburg, Germany
Sep 19-26- J/24 World Championship- Newport, RI
Sep 20-21- J/70 West Coast Championship- Newport Beach, CA
Sep 24-27- J/70 Europeans- Riva del Garda, Italy
Sep 25-28- J/80 Italian Nationals- Loano, Italy
Sep 25-28- J/105 North American Championship- Toronto, ONT
Sep 26-28- J/Fest San Diego- San Diego, CA
Sep 28- Oct 5- J/80 World Championship- Annapolis, MD
Oct 10-12- Lorient J/80 Open- Lorient, France
Oct 24-26- J/105 Masters Regatta- San Diego, CA
Oct 24-26- Seattle Grand Prix Regatta- Seattle, WA
Oct 30- Nov 2- French J/80 Nationals- La Rochelle, France
Oct 31- Nov 2- J/105 Lipton Cup- San Diego, CA
Jan 18-23- Key West Race Week- Key West, FL

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

J/111 British Soldier sailing RORC Round Britain & Ireland Race1,800nm Around Islands Race- Most Brutal Ever!
J/111 and J/122 Excel in Body-Breaking Conditions
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Three yachts finished the RORC Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race on Friday 23rd August, deciding the winners of both IRC One and IRC Two and there were celebrations on the dock for all that survived to tell the tale of what may be one of the world’s most demanding races, short of the Volvo Ocean Race.

J/122 Relentless on Jellyfish- winning IRC 2 in Round Britain & Ireland raceThe J/122, RELENTLESS ON JELLYFISH, skippered by James George and owned by Chris Radford, crossed the finish line off the Royal Yacht Squadron line on Cowes at 14:52:57 on 22 August to win IRC Two.  The “Jellyfish” crew has been competing in the RORC Season's Points Championship since May and their result in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race has lifted them to Top Yacht in IRC Two and third overall for the season! The crew let out a big cheer as they heard the news dockside.

"The last night was just awesome," James George explained dockside. "Through some clever navigation by Tom Gadsen and David Lowe after Blackrock, we not only overtook our friends on the J/111 BRITISH SOLDIER, but got seven miles in front of them. However, BRITISH SOLDIER was after us all the way up the south west coast. It got up to about 25 knots of wind as the last night approached and we took down our spinnaker to have dinner, but BRITISH SOLDIER kept their spinnaker up and so did we, as a result. They put their biggest spinnaker up and started pulling into us, so up went our biggest spinnaker! It just went on and on, all through the night, pretty much a full-on match race after 11 days at sea!  BRITISH SOLDIER was a worthy opponent; they shortened the gap to just a few miles by St. Catherine's Point where the tide was turning. We made it into the Solent just in time, while they had to punch the tide. I have got to say that was one of the most incredible nights sailing I have ever had, or will have and for that reason, the Round Britain and Ireland is the best yacht race I have ever taken part in."

J/111 British Soldier team- with Jeff Johnstone of J/BoatsAll of the Jellyfish crew were dockside to give three cheers to BRITISH SOLDIER as the Army Sailing Association's team finished the race. Jeff Johnstone, President of J/Boats was also on the dock. Jeff was attending the J/111 World Championship in Cowes: "It is great to see our boats being used in such a terrific offshore race and the extraordinary condition of the boats after taking a pounding in such wild conditions, with gales and massive seas, is testament to the crews. The skipper of Jellyfish told me they broke a batten and a light bulb, which is amazing after what they have gone through and for British Soldier to race with just five crew was remarkable (after losing some to injuries and putting them ashore!).”

There were only five serving members of the British Army on board BRITISH SOLDIER, a boat that is normally raced with eight. Due to a crew member returning to duty before the start and another taken off during the race with a dislocated shoulder, BRITISH SOLDIER was two men down, but still full of fight. Soldier's skipper, Phil Caswell spoke about the experience:  "A tough race, but there was never any need to motivate the lads, they just got on with it and the battle with Jelllyfish was the catalyst that we focused on. Congratulations to their skipper and crew! This race has been an incredible experience for us. All of the crew are decent sailors but with an average age of just 25, we have massively increased our experience. In a short period of time, we have learnt so much and I am sure the Army Sailing Association will be back for the next race. This race is something that we will all draw on for the rest of our lives. Racing around Britain and Ireland is a fascinating experience."   Sailing photo credits- Patrick Eden and also Paul Wyeth (http://www.pwpictures.com)    For more RORC Round Britain & Ireland Race sailing information

J/70s sailing Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga in Berlin, GermanyYCBG Team Triumphs @ J/70 Bundesliga
(Berlin, Germany)- This past week, the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailed its third Act on the beautiful Wansee Lakes of Berlin, Germany.  The YC Berlin-Grünau with Jochen Schümann was the winner, just two points ahead of the Norddeutsche Regatta Verein (NRV) from Hamburg with Johannes Polgar as skipper.  The Deutsche Touring YC of Lake Starnberg with Julian Stückl as team leader finished third.

The very close total scores of the Berlin event reflects the “high voltage” competition that was palpable until the last race on the Wannsee. As a result of Schumann’s YCBG taking to top score, it prevented the first “hat trick” by any club in the series.  Nevertheless, Hamburg’s NRV team second place put them firmly in the lead on the overall series leader table with a five pts lead.

J/70 sailing German sailing leagueThe Wansee provided many exciting races in ultra-difficult sailing conditions. The wind shifted a lot, in fact providing “tornado-like” swirling puffs and driving many of the top sailors wild with Mother Nature’s “mind games”— everyone trying to out-guess one another how it would shift or fill in next (perhaps a bit like the famous “Mystical Lake” at Tufts University in Boston, MA!).

Before the last of the 45 races - 15 for each club - it was really dramatic. The situation came to a head in a three-way battle between the YC Berlin-Grunau, the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and the Deutsche Touring YC (Tutzing). In the end, the most experienced team led by YCBG skipper Jochen Schumann and their team of Ingo Borkowski, Gunnar Bahr and Erik Powilleit prevailed against their competition by scoring a 2nd in the last race to win by two pts overall!

Jochen Schumann sailing for YC Berlin-Grunau"We wanted a small yacht club to go out and beat the big clubs, and we did that. Despite fewer training opportunities, you can sail with a good team and get consistent performances in the front of the fleet. I hope it remains so exciting,” said Jochen Schumann at the awards ceremony. With the victory, the club from Germany’s capital city Berlin improved by two places to sixth in the overall series standings.

The Deutsche Touring YC took third for the third time in a row in Berlin and, as a result, remain in second overall in the League standings. "We want to consolidate our position in the series and see if it finally goes forward at the next regatta in Kiel," said helmsman Julian Stückl- his team included Patrick Follmann, Phillip Blinn and Luis Tarabochia in Berlin.

The win for Schumann and crew at YCBG did not come easy.  In fact, after the first four races on the first day they were lying in 8th place!  In the twelve races sailed on day one, there were eight winners. The leading trio was Württemberg YC, the Deutsche Touring YC and Kieler YC and the overall series leader NRV was nowhere close to the podium!

J/70 family sailing German sailing leagueAll teams completed the day with four races and for the two clubs from the south it ran very smoothly.  The 2nd place team in the 2013 Lake Constance event, the Württemberg YC (WYC), took two 1sts and two 2nds to lead the fleet- the team of Stefanie Rothweiler, Felix Diesch, Marvin Frisch and Christian Severens simply did not miss a beat, nor a windshift! Close behind in second place with three 2nds and a 1st was the DTYC team of Julian Stückl, Patrick Follmann, Phillip Blinn and Luis Tarabochia. Third at the time with two 1sts a 3rd and 4th was the Kieler Yacht-Club with the crew of Sönke Boy, Oliver Studnitz, Sinje Haasler and Thorben Nowak.

At the end of the first day, a clear favorite could not be determined, especially with eight different teams winning races out of twelve total!  The big surprise was the crew struggling aboard YCBG— Jochen Schumann’s team of Ingo Borkowski, Gunnar Bahr and Erik Powilleit could not win a single race for the Yacht Club Berlin-Grunau. The triple Olympic champion and his crew found themselves in eighth place, in fact, finishing last in their first race!  A humble opening gambit for what many thought were going to be the top team all weekend long!

J/70 sailors celebrate with Willy KuhweideThat evening, the German sailors celebrated the 50th anniversary of Willy Kuhweide’s victory at the 1964 Olympic games in Tokyo. The guest of honor traveled all the way from the USA and was enthusiastic about the J/70 Segel-Bundesliga format: "German Sailing has experienced a real boom in recent years, which is also due to the fantastic development of the J/70 Segel-Bundesliga. This is great!”

The second day of racing marked the brilliant comeback of YCBG’s team led by Jochen Schumann.  After sailing 29 of 45 total races, Schumann’s team rapidly ascended the leaderboard after compiling three 1sts and three 2nds to take the regatta lead.  They were followed by defending regatta champions DTYC in second and Kieler YC in third.  While YCBG staged an epic comeback, so did DTYC, by pulling themselves up by their collective “bootstraps” and keeping themselves in contention with a 1-1-2-4-4. "The DTYC has sailed from a hopeless situation again and again to the front and to maintain consistent scores,” commented Andreas Buchert.

J/70 video interviewOn Saturday evening, there was the premiere of “Sailor Talk" from leading sailors involved in the German Bundesliga sailing with presenter Matthias Bohn. Included were Janika Puls from Lubecker YC, Andreas Buchert from Bodensee Yachtclub Überlingen and Heiko Winkler from Schwerin Yacht Club.  Here is the discussion (in German)-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt7QgyZP4pg

The fourth regatta in the J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga series will be sailed from 5-7 September, on the inner fjord in Kiel, Germany in just two weeks!
J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga- sailing summary   J/70 Segel-Bundesliga Facebook page.   For more J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing information

J/24s sailing Nationals on Buzzards BayCOUGAR Claws Way To J/24 Nationals Victory
(Marion, MA)- Will Welles, of Portsmouth, RI, led his COUGAR team to the J/24 US National Championship, hosted by Beverly Yacht Club in Massachusetts. With Alex Bishop, Luke Lawrence, Eric Lawrence and Nick Turney on board, Welles managed six first-place tallies in the 10 races for just 27 net points. He overcame a penalty in race eight, and ended with a scorecard of 1,11,4,6,1,1,1,[19/(30%)],1,1. Cougar finished 12 points ahead of second-place John Mollicone on HELLY HANSEN, while Michael Marshall’s PIPE DREAM took third overall  with 45 points.

J/24 COUGAR skippered by Will WellesWelles commended his last-minute crew, including Eric Lawrence who was trimming the genoa for the first time ever on a J/24. “It was remarkable that he stepped up to the plate,” said Welles. “It was a huge part of our success.” The other key, he explained, was working to get the mast butt positioned just right. “Early on in the regatta, we were a little late to push it forward. The mast we have is pretty bendy so we have to be aggressive with the mast butt.” After moving it forward quite a bit after Saturday’s first race, Cougar found that extra gear.

After the first day’s racing on Friday, a familiar name was at the top of the leaderboard. Mollicone’s HELLY HANSEN held a four-point lead over Welles’ COUGAR. Another four points back in third was Sumio Shimoyama of Japan with Mark Hillman on SOKOKUMARU. Mollicone is the current J/24 Midwinter Champion (he also won in 2013), crewed on the 2013 J/24 World Championship team, and won both the 2012 and 2013 J/24 North American Championships.

J/24 sailboats- rounding markForty-five teams were competing in Marion, including entrants from various parts of the United States, along with several Canadian crews and even representatives from Japan, France and Australia. Welles got the regatta going with a win in race one, when winds were 6-8 knots. Mike Ingham’s NAUTALYTIC followed in second, and Travis Odenbach’s HONEY BADGER in third. The breeze picked up a bit to 8-10 knots in the next contest, as Aidan Glackin’s MENTAL FLOSS grabbed the victory. Natalie Penner’s GIGGLES and John Wilsey’s PANCETA DOBLE completed the top trio. In the day’s final battle, the Shimoyama/Hillman team placed first, ahead of Mollicone and Wilsey. Leading the six-boat Women’s Division was Penner on GIGGLES and her crew from Austin, Texas.

The second day of racing on Saturday enabled the race committee to run four races! At this point, Welles launched into first place. In pristine conditions, Welles began Saturday with a sixth-place finish, and then won the next three races. Tossing an 11 in race two, Welles now totaled 14 points, heading into the final day of competition. Marshall’s PIPE DREAM also notched a stellar day with a 3,2,3,3, and moved into second place overall with 22 points. Mollicone’s HELLY HANSEN was five points back in third place.

J/24 Sailors for the Sea- sailing into 2nd at NationalsWinds around 16 knots greeted competitors on the sunny Saturday morning, when Ingham’s NAUTALYTIC acquired the day’s first win. Mollicone trailed in second, and Marshall in third. Welles grabbed his first of three consecutive bullets in the next bout, as Marshall and Ingham completed the upper three. Following Welles in the day’s third race, in winds ranging between 12-16 knots, was Thomas Barbeau’s NAVTECH.CA and Marshall. The familiar trio of Welles, Ingham and Marshall again led Saturday’s final battle. Continuing atop the six-boat Women’s Division was Penner’s GIGGLES.

Sunday dawned with another beautiful day in Marion. With winds between 12-14 knots, Mollicone earned the win in Sunday’s initial duel, as Tony Parker’s BANGOR PACKET and Marshall filled out the top spots. Welles put up another bullet in the next race, when winds stabilized at 10-12 knots. Ingham tracked in second and Parker in third. In the last battle of the Championship, Welles locked in the title with a first, with Pat Toole and Ingham behind.

Behind the top three overall (Welles, Mollicone and Marshall) were Ingham in fourth and Travis Odenbach’s HONEY BADGER in fifth.  Winner of the Women’s Division was Penner’s GIGGLES gang from Austin, TX.  For more USA J/24 Nationals sailing information

J/35s sailing North Americans off Muskegon, MIJ/35 North Americans A WILD RIDE!
(Muskegon, MI)- After three action packed days and eleven exciting races, Bill Wildner and the Crew of MR BILL’s WILD RIDE captured their 4th J/35 North American Championship title this past weekend at Muskegon Yacht Club in Muskegon Michigan. Bill credits his steady and loyal crew who have been with him through all four Championship campaigns. The boat was perfectly prepared, the sails were crispy, and the crew work was flawless! Ed Bayer and the crew of FALCON (also four-time NA winners) placed second and Bruce Metcalf and the crew of BOZO’s CIRCUS, a last minute entry, rounded out the podium placing third.

For the three day weekend, the sailing conditions were outstanding with steady breezes of 8-10 knots, making it easy for the race committee to bang out all eleven races and get everyone back to the dock early every day for refreshments, story-telling enhanced by multiple refreshments (mostly exaggerations and extraordinary embellishments— a.k.a. sea stories), and really good BBQ food.

Race Chairman and Class President, Larry Taunt commented that, "the J/35 fleet has an outstanding group of owners and crew. The racing was intense with ridiculously close crossings, and all the boats finishing within seconds of each other. The level of competition is simply outstanding. On shore, we have almost as much fun as the Muskegon Yacht Club provided great food, drink, atmosphere, and a pool to cool everyone off. I wish we could do this every weekend!"

This was the 30th J/35 North American Championship Regatta and while the fleet is aging, this venerable design is still very competitive around the country and provides an excellent competition when they get together to play.  In fact, during the NA’s, the J/35 owners held a J/35 Class Association meeting- it was recorded as a “webinar” which can be found at http://www.j35.org

The fleet is working hard to re-build the J/35 Class association. This year’s NA’s and this meeting were the first big steps in this process.  The J/35.org website has been updated, and they’ve added a J/35 Class Facebook page.  For any J/35 owners that wish to contribute new energy, communication, and fresh ideas, be sure to let them know!   For more J/35 North Americans sailing information

J/70 Heartbreaker- wins Chicago VerveJ/70 HEARTBREAKER Bullets Verve Cup
(Chicago, IL)- After Saturday’s races were postponed due to weather, 71 boats made the most of a spectacular day of sailing in Chicago in the annual Verve Cup Inshore Regatta, hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club at its Belmont Station. The annual regatta features the best one-design sailing in the Midwest, with nine classes in this year’s event.

“It was some nice racing on Sunday,” said Jessica Jamieson, chair of the Verve Inshore. “Unfortunately, we had to abandon racing on Saturday due to the weather, but I was pleased to see the turnout of so many fleets— especially the J/70s!”

With temperatures in the upper 80s under sunny skies, winds shifted to the east/southeast at approximately 8 knots throughout the day.

“We made up for the weather yesterday with champagne sailing today in Chicago,” said Jay Kehoe, on-the-water director for the Chicago Yacht Club. “We also saw great performances by Sarah Renz in the J/70s and Mark Teborek, who are both preparing to represent CYC in the New York Yacht Club Invitational Qualifying Series in the first week of September.”

PRO Rick Lillie said there was a 55-degree wind shift during the first race, which made it a challenge to keep the course somewhat square.

“A special thanks to the Race Committee teJ/70 Aquaholiks team taking 2nd at Chicago Verveam, who moved every mark several times today,” Lillie said. “Good, tight racing and we were able to get three races in today. And we are happy to host the largest J/70 turnout of the season.”

The J/70 class is indeed growing and attracted competitors from as far away as Norway. Eighteen J/70s competed in this year’s regatta. HEARTBREAKER, skippered by Bob Hughes of the Macatawa Bay Yacht Club, earned the top spot in the J/70 class, scoring three straight bullets. The Heartbreaker crew included Taylor Canfield, ranked No. 1 match racer in the world.

“We got in three great races today, with the wind backing from the southeast all the way to the east. But overall, it was some good, fair racing,” Canfield said. “The city is great — freshwater, Lake Michigan is awesome. It’s one of my favorite places to sail and one of my favorite places to be.”

The balance of the top five saw some remarkable scores, all having at least one chance hopping aboard the runaway shopping trolley loaded with cash.  Sailing consistently to hang onto second was Martin Johnsson’s AQUAHOLIKS team with a 2-6-3 for 11 pts.  Also in the same category of performance was Tom Londrigan from Island Bay YC on POLARIS, scoring 6-4-6 for 16 pts.  From there, it was anything but clear who would fill out the balance of the top five.  In fact, going into the last race on the last leg, six boats were in contention for 4th and 5th.  In the end, John Gottwald’s EAGLES WINGS overcame a slow start to roll into fourth with a 14-2-2 for 18 pts.

Fifth place was determined by a tie-breaker.  Lloyd Karzen’s TAIPAN/ SB managed a 3-12-4 for 19 pts to win that tie-break over Leif Sigmond’s NORBOY who had a 5-7-7.  Just missing the top five were John Heaton’s EMPEIRIA with 20 pts and Amy Neill’s NITEMARE with 23 pts.

Top “family-owned” boat was Martin & Jorgen Johnsson’s AQUAHOLIKS from Lake Forest YC and top women skipper was Amy Neill on NITEMARE from Chicago YC.  For more Verve Cup sailing information

J/125 Timeshaver sailing Long Point Race WeekJ/125 TIMESHAVER Loves Long Point Race Week
(Newport Beach, CA)- The Long Point Race Week was this year hosted by Newport Harbor Yacht Club in collaboration with Balboa Yacht Club. It’s is considered one of the highlights of the SoCal offshore sailing calendar in mid-August.  Here’s a report from J/125 TIMESHAVER owner, Viggo Torbensen:

“July 3rd at 10:35am the email rolled in from the NHYC Race Office, the request for invitation had been opened, the race was on to secure a spot, be one of the 40 lucky boat owners being accepted by NHYC to race in this stunning event. I was careless and waited until 2PM before I sent "Timeshaver's" request for invitation, the list was already 35 boats deep. The Long Point Race Week event is one of the best kept secrets in sailboat racing and the capacity of 40 boats is reached quickly every year. A very special event where racing is first and foremost, but good times ashore at the outstations on the beaches of Moonstone and Whites Cove is a close second.

An exquisite fleet of 40 boats vying for the overall winner of the historic Long Point Race Week trophy. At the top of the list STP65 "Bad Pack" skippered by Tom Holthus to Alan Andrew's 38 "Doubletime". Too many fast boats to mention in between, pretty much the "creme de la creme" of SoCal racing. Eleven J-Boats on the line, in division 2 -my own boat "Timeshaver" J125, and "Derivative" J125 skippered by Mark Surber. Division 3 sported "Innocent Merritment J160 the reaching machine, J133 "Picante" and "Tango", the four J120's were stacked in division 4 "J Almighty", "Adios", "Shenanigans" and "Pole Dancer" together with ultra shiny "Marisol" the J124, Seth need to share with us his choice or wax and finally "Patriot" J44.

Friday the fleet was sent off to the island from the water outside the Santa Ana river, a ways up the coast from the Newport Harbor jetty. The trick is always to find the right time to make the crossing, 8-12 knots of breeze moderate shifts, we started with our light #1, later changed the the heavy#1 and took off, we found ourselves racing boat for boat with Chris Hemans in his IRC46 "Varuna", we were quite happy with the company. Long story short we ended up about a mile too far west on the course before we tacked over. "Derivative" had tacked about twenty minutes sooner than us. Mid channel, we started seeing 280-290 and 15 knots and were hoping for the anticipated shift to go 310, it did go 310 and briefly 320, but not until we were a mile from the finish. "Derivative" crossed ahead of us pretty much on the line and took 4th in class and 12 in fleet. We took a modest 20 in the fleet and a disastrous 9th of 11 in class. "Elixir" N/M 50 corrected on everybody with "Pyewacket" Andrews 70 skippered by Roy Disney in second and "Bolt" one of the two TP52's in third.

Saturday sported a race from Long Point up the coast to Ship Rock and back. AP went up right at 1PM and we hung around in beautiful sunshine waiting for the anticipated afternoon breeze to fill in. RC decided to shorten the course and we all followed RC up the coast as the breezed filled in nicely to 10-14 knots straight down the coast. Before the RC had a chance to drop the marks and get the first start of division 4 on the course the wind started lifting 40-60 degrees. This made the velocity super unstable as the wind came from shore, heated by a giant hot rock called Catalina. The shorted course up to Ship Rock proved disastrous for many, others were banking on luck rather than skills and got away. We were sort of in the middle, not taking any flyers, making constant adjustments to keep the boat going. Right at the Ship rock we experienced a full conversion, many boats struggled to get by in no breeze, Alan Andrew got pushed within 10 feet of the Ship Rock, had his motor on, but never in gear, it was a close call. Now for the better part of the race, we were back in the breeze 12-15 knows running the A2 down the coast back to Long Point, we were exchanging gybes with SC50 "Horizon", few miles from the finish "Horizon" gybed away right when we got headed and the velocity increased a few knots now to 16-17. We finished on as full plane. Took first in class and 2 in fleet. "Bolt" took the fleet honor, "Varuna" in third. We had moved our way back into the mix. Bullets matter, we need one more.

Sunday we race back to Newport, same scenario as Saturday, AP up at 1PM zero breeze. This time the course cannot be shortened, it's sail or fuel back to the mainland. The lovely afternoon started filling in right before two o'clock. We picked the pin end of the line, wanting to get away from the big boats in our class, we got it surprisingly easy and right at the gun. Shortly thereafter consolidating a bit to weather we set the zero, the next five miles defined the race, we were red lining at 105-108% and stretched nicely, doing 9.8-10 knots of boat speed in 9.6 knots of breeze at 80 degrees apparent. A3 and staysail for mid-channel, kept thing under control, we were keeping up with most, ended up winning the last race running with our A2 and split 3rd in fleet with "Bud" the other TP52. Mark Surber "Derivative" had run a much lower course than us and came screaming in to the finish, they took 4th in class.”

As a result of TIMESHAVER’s bullet in the third race, they claimed top honors in Division 2 followed by Mark Surber’s J/125 DERIVATIVE in fourth place overall.

The Division 3 teams saw John Lyon’s magnificent J/160 INNOCENT MERRIMENT from San Diego YC start out with a bullet and finished second overall, just one point back from the top of the podium!  Third, and also winning a race, was Doug Jorgensen’s J/133 PICANTE.

The Division 4 crews were just about over-run by J/Teams, ultimately taking 6 of the top 10 spots.  Top J/crew was Paul Stemler’s J/44 PATRIOT from Newport Harbor YC, taking 3rd overall.  In fourth was Seth Hall’s J/124 MARISOL.  The next four spots- 6th to 9th- were occupied by J/120s.  In 6th was Mike Hatch’s ALMIGHTY, 7th was Peter Bretschger’s ADIOS, 8th was Gary Winton’s SHENANIGANS and 9th was Tom & Terri Manok’s POLE DANCER. For more Long Point Race Week sailing information

J/105s sailing at Marblehead ONE regattaJ/ONE Marblehead Raging Success
(Marblehead, MA)- According to Hill & Lowden’s George Lowden (the Boston area J/Dealer), “The past several days saw lots of J/Boat action here in Marblehead. Seventeen J/105’s, eleven J/70’s, three J/111’s, a J/122, four J/109’s and assorted older model J’s all competed in this three day event- the Marblehead ONE Regatta.

There were a variety of different wind and sea conditions.  But, basically the weather was very good for the whole regatta. Overall, the turnout by J/Teams in the area was excellent. Almost half of all the registered boats were J/Boats.”  Indeed, with two large one-design classes of J/70s and J/105s and the rest sailing in PHRF fleets, it would have been easy to mistake the event as a “New England J/Fest”!

J/70s sailing Marblehead ONE regattaFriday we had 6 to 12 knots out of the North-Northeast which provided great racing for Line 1 (larger PHRF racing boats) and Line 2 (one-designs and PHRF Class 5). Both lines got off 3 races sailing 1.2 to 2 mile legs of windward-leeward courses.  The wind stayed up and actually built a little as the day went on to provide great racing for the short-handed class who raced a 90 mile offshore race on Friday night finishing Saturday morning.

Saturday the wind built from the northeast with a good swell and chop to provide Champagne Sailing and a perfect platform for championship racing. Line 1 got off 3 long races capped off with a five leg race with 2 mile long legs. Line 2 raced 4 races providing some great surfing conditions for the J/70s and J/105s. The Navigator classes and PHRF Class 6 started their regatta off on Line 3 "the inside line" near Salem/Beverly Harbors. These boats raced 4 races around the buoys as well as drop marks, getting to see some of the great scenery around the Marblehead waters.

Sunday the wind gods were a little sleepy and the racing didn't get started until between noon and 1pm or so depending on what line/area you were starting at. Each class got off one race in 5 to 7 knots of wind. The short-handed class joined Line 3 and raced a 13 mile course that went past Manchester by the Sea.

J/109 sailing at Marblehead ONE regattaStarting with the large and competitive J/105 class, it was clear there is several new faces in the crowd who have jumped into the class to challenge the old guard.  Having said that, it was “old school” showing “new school” the ropes this time around.  Long-time J/105 veteran Fred deNapoli and crew aboard ALLEGRO SEMPLICITA rattled off four bullets in a row to dominate their class like they have never done before.  Chalk it up to good living and good wine, according to one of Fred’s good buddies!  Sailing better all the time was Matt Pike’s GOT QI, sailing to a 3-2-6-2 to take second on a tie-breaker over Jon Wales’ BANTRY that had a 4-3-3-3 also for 13 pts.  Fourth was past J/105 NA Champion Ken Colburn skippering GHOST and fifth was Marblehead NOOD winner, Ric Dexter’s CIRCE’s CUP.

The J/70 class also had a number of new faces in the crowd make for a pretty radical changing of the guard in just one weekend!  Taking the J/70 class was local rock star Billy Lynn sailing the mighty AFRICA to a 1-2-2-2 for 7 pts total.  Not far off the pace was Kurt Winkelmann’s NAVEGA RACING with a 3-3-3-1 for 10 pts.  Third was Alex Meleny’s LAYLA with a 2-4-1-4 for 11 pts.  Close racing for the top three and it could have easily gone one way or another for these three boats in each race.  Rounding out the top five were class veterans Dave Franzel on SPRING taking 4th and Frank McNamara’s CHINOOK in 5th.

J/111 sailing Marblehead ONE regattaIn the world of offshore PHRF handicap racing, the two J/111s in PHRF 2 class took 4th and 5th respectively, Mike Williamson’s BRIGADOON and Ed Kaye’s PRAVDA 2.  In PHRF 3 class, the J/109s dominated, taking four of the top five.  Gary Weisberg’s HEATWAVE won, followed by Chris Zibailo’s SUPERSTITION in 2nd, Dan Boyd & Mitch Wiest’s WILD THING fourth and John Doub’s RESOLVE in fifth.  The J/33 SIROCCO sailed by Ward Blodgett took third in PHRF 5 class.  And, in PHRF Double-handed class the J/122 RESOLUTE sailed by Scott Miller took 2nd while Mike Piper’s EAGLES DARE took 5th.

The ONE Team Championship went to TEAM UCYC (Under the Crane Yacht Club).  The team consisted of:
  • One Design: the J/70 AFRICA skippered by Bill Lynn
  • Racing: the J/33 SCIROCCO skippered by Ward Blodgett
  • Navigator: the Pearson 30 CORSAIR owned by Ralph & Peter Carlton
 Africa was 1st out of 11 J/70s, Sirocco was 3rd out of 7 boats in Class 5 and Corsair was 1st out of 7 boats in Navigator Class 2.   For more Marblehead ONE Regatta sailing information

J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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J/70 sail training video* J/70 German sailing team training video- beautifully edited with some cool music.  Check it out here.

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heoR0rlOdGc#t=73






J/34 IOR sailboat- Knee Deep from Lake Erie* The J/34 IOR called KNEE DEEP continues its summer offshore sailing campaign on the Great Lakes (Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan).  Her owners, Brett and Katie Langolf, recently competed in the Chicago-Mackinac Race, placing well in their fleet and apparently had a terrific time on Mackinac Island post-race.  Here’s an updated photo of them competing in the Mac Race.  Their beautifully restored and maintained J/34 IOR sails under the burgees of Sandusky Sailing Club and Deadman’s Flat YC in Ohio.






J/125 Timeshaver sailing offshore* J/125 Santa Barbara- King Harbor Report from K-Mag (Keith Magnussen at Ullman Sails in Newport Beach, CA):  “Sometimes sailboat racing is more about the destination than the race.  The annual Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race (SB-KH) offers both of those aspects.  Santa Barbara is a beautiful city located just north of Los Angeles.  The picturesque Channel Islands grace the coastline inspiring the racers who arrive starting Wednesday night.

This year I was highly anticipating the race onboard the J-125 Timeshaver.  Viggo Torbensen (owner) has been working hard to optimize his boat with a great sail inventory and the recent results have reflected this.  Our other crew consisted of Charlie Underwood, Jack Bazz, Jack Maranto Blake Hamilton and coming in from Texas was Sean Nelson.  A great group of sailors and friends.

Taking the Surf-liner Train up the coast has been a tradition with most racers and I chose the early route leaving San Juan Capistrano around 9am.  Sean met up with the train in Los Angeles and we got to catch up for a few hours as the Los Angeles Valley rolled by.
Just Go And Sail | Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race | Train to SB

The train breaks to the Pacific and the views get really nice just north of Ventura.  Blake had the boat in the harbor and the rest of the boys met up with us on State Street around 8pm.  After a crew dinner, we all retired and got a good night sleep for what was supposed to be a windless event.

Spirits were high in the morning as everyone congregated around their boats on the docks just off Santa Barbara Yacht Club.  Had the chance to catch up with Stu Johnstone and Dr Laura before they got the new J-88 rigged up.  Even caught a glimpse of Dr Laura going up her own mast to do some maintenance. Good to see!

If you are not familiar with the Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race then let me give you a brief.  Start in Santa Barbara, go around Anacapa Island and finish in King Harbor (Redondo Beach).  Simple enough right?  Our game plan was pretty standard.  Head to the island as quickly as possible, gybe down the backside and find a good exit towards the coast.  From there it was to play the game and angles to the finish.

J/125 Timeshaver sailing with J/145We had a decent start and were the highest boat with the Farr 400 just next to us.  We traded off for a bit but then the Farr managed to stay in a puff a bit longer than us and get a little lead.  The wind was light and we were actually catching and keeping up with the TP52’s at one point.  Not a good prospect!

I have a rule about the Code 0, if you think you should put it up you are probably 10 minutes late!  I did not let this happen, as we were the first boat to pull out a Code 0.  Our Code 0 is a brand new design from Bruce Hollis and Ullman Sails.  We used Contender CZ Laminate and have the option for a furler.  The black Code 0 cloth looks mean and just the way I like it!

At this point, we were able to climb away from a lot of our fleet and put some distance on the smaller boats that we owed a lot of time to.  The wind actually started filling in (not in the forecast) and from the correct direction.  We peeled to the 3A and then the 2A as it clocked around a bit more.  Our approach to the island was decent; I would give it a B+, as I would have liked to see us pressing up a bit more with the 3A instead of soaking with the 2A.  The other J-125 Derivative was close behind with the SC-52 Paranoia and our nemesis Horizon also in close proximity.

Tactics took over and we all ended up gybing down the back side of Anacapa Island where things got a little more compact.  We managed to botch a few jibes then get our tack line wrapped around the end of the pole.  Good thing we do not have onboard footage of my language at this point.  All in all it was OK.  We exited with Horizon and Paranoia behind us and Derivative just to leeward.  We had switched to the 1A on the backside and now were ready to jump to the 3A.  The 3A was a little more efficient and we got a little jump away from Horizon.  Did I mention I am sick of seeing them everywhere we go?

Derivative decided to go a little bow up and look for pressure as we stuck to a somewhat bow down mode.  Derivative won this battle and crossed about ¼ mile in front of us at Point Dume.  I could live with that.  What I could not live with was watching the entire fleet that were beyond the horizon at Anacapa Island sail up to us in a puff that obviously filled in from behind.  Oh to be a slower boat!  I watched a boat that rates 60 (we rate -9) sail almost right up to us!  I could hear the talk in the club already….

Sunset was rapidly approaching and we were subject to one of the most amazing sunsets of the year.  What a beautiful sight it was with all the spinnakers glowing in the red sunlight.  We had finally split from Horizon and Derivative and we were about to get the chance to come back together and see who won this battle.  Horizon crossed behind and Derivative just in front.  Ok same same. Their turn to go to the beach and our turn for the ocean.  Back again and we put distance on Horizon and caught up to Derivative.  Not bad so we went out for more.  Lay line for King Harbor was rapidly (in perspective) approaching so we pursued the outside route.  As we came back on port we got our first sense of what happened.  Horizon was further behind but Derivative was still in the same place.

Turning the jetty is always fun as you go from downwind to a tight reach.  Radio Flyer, the J-145, was just in front and we managed to have a better takedown and beat them boat for boat (even though they owed us a chunk of time).  Good move for a morale victory.  After the finish we took sails down and then saw the horror show.  The Viper 640 was about to finish so we knew it was a small boat year.

It is really hard to swallow when you have a great race, put your fleet out the back only then watch them sail up to you in better wind.  I guess that is sailboat racing right?  Congratulations to Derivative for getting this round (just a friendly reminder we have had them the past few times).  It always makes it more fun to sail against the same boat you are on and then finish within a couple minutes.

4th in class and 17th overall (about 90 boats) means we did not fulfill expectations but are still having a great year of racing!!” K-Mag out.    Sailing photo credits- Bronny Daniels/ Joysailing.com
 

Giant whale breaching in front of J/160 SALACIA off  Australia's Whitsunday IslandsJ/Cruisers
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.

* J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands.  Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination?  A giant whale!  Look at this amazing photo!

J/42 cruiser- sailing across Atlantic Ocean* 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 sailing offshore to US Virgin Islands- rainbow over ocean* 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- sailing J/42 Jaywalker* Bill & Judy Stellin recently had an interview about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea".  The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:

Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety

Wall St Journal interview- Stellin's Offshore cruising/ sailing retirementThe article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers.  We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.

WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"

Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.

Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.

People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."

READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE

* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand.  Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/

* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.

J/130 sailing ARC Rally arrives Portugal- leave a message on the sea wall!* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between.  Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins??  Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).

-  Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun).  Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".

- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com.  Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand.  MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

J/Newsletter- August 20th, 2014

J/70 European Sailing Champions LeagueJ/70 SAILING Champions League Starts in Europe
(Copenhagen, Denmark)- For the first time in European sailing history, the top European sailing club will be identified at the new SAILING Champions League, which takes place from 17th to 19th October in Copenhagen, Denmark. Together, the German Sailing League (Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga), the Danish Sailing League (Sejlsportsligaen) and the European Sailing Federation (EUROSAF), are inviting 36 of the top sailing clubs, from 23 nations, to Copenhagen to compete for the title of “Best Sailing Club”.

The introduction of the SAILING Champions League (SCL) follows shortly after the national sailing leagues successfully started in Germany and Denmark. The first league was the German “Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga” (DSBL) in 2013. The format was the idea of marketing agency “Konzeptwerft”, in association with the leading German yacht clubs and the German Sailing Association. “After a very short time, we received inquiries from all around Europe and even from the USA and elsewhere outside Europe. Denmark was the first country to adopt the German model. The logical conclusion of this development is to create the SAILING Champions League, which will become the European league for the champions of the leagues in each competing country,” explains Oliver Schwall, CEO of the SCL (“Olli” is also an International Tornado Class World Champion, one of the world’s fastest one-design catamarans).

The SAILING Champions League will take place for the first time in Denmark. Hosts are the German and Danish sailing leagues as well as the Royal Danish Yacht Club (KDY). “We will invite leading yacht clubs and are expecting sailing at the highest level,” says Lars Ive, Vice Commodore of the KDY. “The conditions for a regatta of this size are ideal in Copenhagen”.

Each participating club will send a crew of their four best sailors. They will sail in fleet races in Copenhagen on six J/70 one design sailboats, which have proven their worth in the leagues. Short races, one-design boats and a standardized race course, will provide high-level competition. “The clear and simple concept of the German’s has motivated us to create the ‘Sejlsportsligaen’ together with the founders of the DSBL,” states Hans Natorp, President of the Danish Sailing Association. “The SAILING Champions League will convince further countries to establish a national sailing league”.

In 2015, the top two clubs from each of the European countries with national leagues will automatically qualify for the SAILING Champions League. If there is no national league in a country, the clubs qualify according to their status in the world rankings of the Olympic classes. There will be also wild cards available for selected clubs. The partnership with EUROSAF, as the Continental Sailing Federation for Europe, will secure the framework to enable the growth of the SAILING Champions League. “The idea of national club leagues is a game-changing format with significant potential for the future,” says Marco Predieri, President of EUROSAF.  He adds “the SAILING Champions League is the logical upshot of the national sailing leagues, and we are proud to associated with the development of such an innovative project”.   For more J/70 SAILING Champions League sailing information

J/80s rounding markJ/80 NAs + Worlds Preview
(Annapolis, MD)-  Over the course of a three week period, the International J/80 Class will be hosting two massive events on their calendar on the Chesapeake Bay, with their North American Championship hosted by Annapolis YC from September 10th to 14th and the World Championship hosted by Eastport YC from September 25th to October 4th at Eastport YC.

While predominantly a North American affair, both events will feature a “who’s who” of top J/80 teams from the past few years.  The J/80 NA’s have 25 boats registered while the J/80 World’s have 30 teams scheduled to start; there’s about 95% overlap between the two as many are using the NA’s as a “pre-Worlds” practice regatta.

First up are the NA’s.  The local talent includes top teams like Mike Hobson’s MELTEMI, Bert Carp’s ELEVEN, David Andril’s VAYU and the trio of Will & Marie Crump & Tom Klok sailing WHO’s HEIDI (the current J/80 NA champions).  Top visiting teams will be Nizar Abuzeni’s ARROW (St Paul, MN), Tod Patton’s BLONDIE (Northbrook, IL), Tim Mahoney’s CANNONBALL (Staten Island, NY), Chris & Liz Chadwick’s CHURCH KEY (Weston, FL), Gary Panariello’s COURAGEOUS (Manhasset, NY), Forbes Durdin’s MOJITO (Houston, TX), Kevin Hayes’ MORE GOSTOSA (Gilford, NH), Terry Flynn’s QUANTUM RACING (a team from League City, TX that are also past World Champions), David & Elisabeth Neasmith’s SEQUEH (Nepean, Ontario, Canada), and Bill & Shannon Lockwood’s SHENANIGANS (Holmdel, NJ).

After these crews sail the NA’s, they will see other top American teams join them for the World’s, including Ryan McCrillis skippering ALOHALANI from Kailua, Hawaii; Bill Blank’s BLIND SQUIRREL from Purcellville, VA; John Dickey’s BORN 2 RUN from Lewes, Delaware; Les Beckwith’s FKA from Wolfeboro, NH; Chris Palabrica’s HIJO DEL BANDIDO from Carmel, IN; Ken Mangano’s MANGO from Severna Park, MD; Paul Parson’s PARSONS PROJECT from Houston, TX; and Brian Keane’s famous SAVASANA from Weston, MA (past Key West J/80 Midwinter Champions).  For more J/80 North Americans sailing information

J/24s sailing off start lineJ/24 US Nationals  Preview
(Marion, MA)- From the 22nd to 24th of August, the Beverly YC on Buzzards Bay will again host the J/24 US Nationals.  The last time the US Nationals were held in the Northeast was in 2010 in Marblehead, MA where there were over 45 boats that competed.  This year’s 2014 version breaks that record with 46 teams vying for J/24 supremacy not just in the USA but also later in September for world supremacy!

A number of foreign teams are participating in the event, using it as a “Pre-Worlds” warm-up.  Such teams include Craig Rowes from Australia; five Canadian teams (Jean Levac- PURA VIDA, Ed Rees- A-SALT, Nicolas Mabboux- BAYGULL, Tom Barbeau- NAVTECH.CA, Stephan Blais- PREMATURE GREY); and Sumio Shimoyama- SOKOKUMARU from Tokyo, Japan.

Top American contenders include what many would consider “local knowledge”, if one considers his 30+ years sailing in the class- that is Tony Parker’s BANGOR PACKET.  For Tony it’s “old home” week, having sailed out of Portland, Maine for years before moving down to the Washington, DC area and sailing in the local Annapolis J/24 fleet.

Other top contenders are surely Pat Toole sailing 3 BIG DOGS from Santa Barbara YC in Santa Barbara, CA (a past North American Champion); Tom Barbeau’s NAVTECH.CA from Quebec, Canada; Mike Sudofsky’s BOB DYLAN from Buzzards Bay (a bit of local knowledge there!!); John Denman’s AIRDOODLE; Craig Correia’s QUEE QUEG; Pete Quandt’s SPRINTER; Chris Stone’s VELOCIDAD; Mike Ingham’s champion team on USA 5443; Aidan Glackin’s MENTAL FLOSS; Travis Odenbach’s infamous HONEY BADGER from New York; Will Welles’ COUGAR from Newport, RI; Mike Marshall’s PIPE DREAM; John Mollicone’s Midwinter champion team on HELLY HANSEN; and Scott Milne’s TREMENDOUS SLOUCH from Seattle, Washington.

The 2014 J/24 Nationals will have a Women's Division and score boats helmed by a woman to recognize the importance of women to the J/24 Class.  BYC's Fleet 16 has 6 women owners out of our 16 active racers and have a long tradition of hosting and competing in women events. Women helmed boats will have two scores - one for their overall finish and one for the Women's division.  Boats may have a mixed gender crew, but the primary driver must be a woman.  Those women’s teams vying for top honors are Katie Morgan from Connecticut; three Massachusetts teams (Frederique Popitz sailing PAGRAMIN, Nana Buckley on PITA, Anne-Marie Fredericks skippering MISS AMERICA); Elaine Haher driving A GOOD HAIR DAY from New Jersey; Margaret Borden sailing HEFFAH (who recently won the Marblehead NOOD Regatta) from Newport, RI; and Natalie Penner riding cowgirl-style on GIGGLES from Texas.  For more J/24 US Nationals sailing information

J/35 one-design offshore sailboatJ/35 North Americans Preview
(Muskegon, MI)- The Muskegon YC will be hosting this year’s J/35 North American Championship from August 21st to 24th on the beautiful, crystal-clear, Caribbean-blue waters of Lake Michigan.  Situated on the eastern shore of the lake, Muskegon enjoys the twin benefits of having the prevailing strong westerlies that develop over this large inland sea to provide big waves and big winds for the sailors.  In addition, if dying cold fronts lose their steam, the enormous sand dunes along the eastern side of the lake form perfect “heat sinks” that help produce strong thermals along the beach from the SSE all day long.

In for a treat will be a very strong fleet of eight J/35s, amongst the best in the greater Midwest and including amongst them numerous Chicago-Mackinac and Port Huron-Mackinac race winners as well as several past J/35 NA winners.

The only visiting team from Canada is Bob Vander Ploeg’s BOBSLED from Thunder Bay YC, Ontario.  They will be up against a rogue’s gallery of J/35 teams from the Lake Michigan fleet, including Larry Taunt’s BAD DOG from the host club, Bruce Metcalf’s BOZO’S CIRCUS, Dave Timmer’s HAT TRICK, Jack Andree’s HOUQUA, and Gregg Whipple’s WHIPLASH.

Challenging the Lake Michigan contingent will be two very good Detroit (Day’twah) boats, Ed Bayer’s FALCON and Bill Wildner’s MR BILL’S WILD RIDE.  Don’t let these guys fool you, they really do know how to sail their boats fast no matter how much beer you serve them!!

The racing amongst this group of passionate J/35 sailors promises to be fun, spirited and full of camaraderie amongst this close-knit community of J/sailors.   For more J/35 North Americans sailing information

J/70s sailing off starting lineVerve Cup Inshore Preview
(Chicago, IL)- The Verve Cup Inshore Regatta is a spectacular sailing event. Hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club at Belmont Station each August, the Verve Cup is the most popular inshore regatta in Chicago.  While some of Chicago’s older one-design fleets are participating, all with hugely diminished participation rates, the big news are the J/70s!

With eighteen boats registered, the J/70s are the “talk of the town”, the biggest city in the American Midwest and known as the “Windy City”- mostly for its reputation of politicians blustering all manner of vacuous “hot air” (e.g. "walking the walk versus talking the talk").  Nevertheless, the sailors are the real thing, and when a number of leading teams in the Chicago area decide to move forward and support class development, things happen.  In the case of the J/70s, the class has developed a very strong local following with many leading the class on a national basis.

It will interesting to see how the Lake Michigan J/70 sailors tackle this weekend’s weather forecast.  While Friday and Saturday may produce light to medium winds from the northeast as part of a massive thunderstorm complex moving through from the Canadian Prairies, Sunday at least promises beautiful sunny skies with mild temperatures and breezes from the southeast (a classic direction for Chicago sailors).

J/70 sailing on planing reachTop teams surely include Bob Hughes from Macatawa Bay, Michigan sailing HEARTBREAKER.  Bob is renowned for having sailed J/35s, Farr 40s, Melges 32s and, most recently, a TP52 in this year’s Chicago-Mac Race of the same name.  Challenging Hughes will be a member of the famous Londrigan family (Star World and J/109 Champions), Tom Londrigan from Island Bay YC on POLARIS.  From Wilmette, IL and sailing for Chicago YC will be John Heaton on EMPEIRIA.  Lasse Berthelsen from Norway will also be sailing NOR 645 and Leif Sigmond will be racing NORBOY.  Blane Shea is racing GEMINI, a fast, up & coming young sailor in the 70 class.

What is also notable about the J/70 Chicago fleet development are “family-owned” boats (e.g. brothers, sisters, cousins, father/son, etc), like Martin & Jorgen Johnsson’s AQUAHOLIKS from Lake Forest YC, Jeff & Mark Veenstra’s J’HAD from South Shore YC in Milwaukee, and Ryan & Bryan Frey’s JOHNNY UTAH from Chicago YC.  For Chicago history buffs, “family” is important in Chicago sailing circles— even guys like the famous Italian mobster Al Capone purportedly loved boating with his friends between doing not so nice stuff.

Women skippers are also becoming a significant component of the development and evolution in J/70 regattas on a regional, national and worldwide level.  With a top woman sailor like Heather Gregg-Earl from Boston, Massachusetts leading the charge, it’s no wonder the element of “women empowerment” is pervading the class (note- Heather was 2013 J/70 North American Champion as skipper of MUSE in Annapolis, MD).  There are several women skippers from Chicago YC alone, including Andrea Krasinski on BUCEPHALUS, Amy Neill on NITEMARE, and Pamela Rose on ROSEBUD.  For more Verve Cup sailing information

German J/24s sailing in EuropeJ/24 German Open Preview
(Hamburg, Germany)- From 29 to 31 August, the best German sailors in the J/24 class are expected to sail at the NRV Champions Week on the Baltic. The organizers, Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV), expect more than 200 participating sailors.

"We have scheduled a total of ten races for the weekend. It will be tight racing for the participants,” announced the Race Director, adding, “I know both the sailing area as well as many of the participants for several years. In the J/24 class is the sailing legend Frank Schönfeldt from Hamburg and the defending champions from 2013- ROTOMAN with skipper Tobias Feuerherdt.”

The J/24 German Open is taking place out of the Bolton Marina, one of the most modern ports on the Baltic coast and longtime partner of the NRV for many of its sailing events. This remarkable marina was opened in 2008,  designed by the architect Andreas Hundsdörfer from the outset as regatta hosting site and offers excellent facilities for participants and spectators.  "We wish the participants exciting race days and are already looking forward to the 2015 J/24 World Championships soon,” says Mr. Hundsdörfer.
For more J/24 German Open sailing information

J/24s sailing downwindJ/24 Downeast Regatta Announcement
(Portland, Maine)- This year's J/24 Downeast Regatta will be the U.S. J/24 Class Northeast Regional Championship where the top teams not already qualified in the Northeast Region will qualify for the 2015 J/24 World Championship in Germany.  The event is hosted by Portland YC and sailed on the spectacular Casco Bay.

Also, the Downeast Regatta in 2015 will be the site and event for the 2015 J/24 North American Championship being sailed from September 10-13 (more news here- http://www.2015j24nas.org). 

The regatta organizers expect strong participation both this year and next with its close proximity to the 2014 Worlds (Newport) and 2014 Nationals (Buzzards Bay), both about 3.5 hours driving distance to their site in Southern Maine.

On average the Downeast Regatta sees 30 boats and about 6 races with very strong competition. With similar currents and conditions to the Newport World’s inside courses it is a perfect event for tuning your team and boat.  Be sure to note that FREE hosted housing for boats is provided to “out-of-town” J/24s on a first-come,  first-served basis. 

Finally, here’s a deal that can’t be beat anywhere (but, it’s only available for a short time)- the $275 entry fee includes: Launch & Haul, Lobster Dinner on Saturday, Live Musical Entertainment and Dancing on Sunday, Snacks and Chili on Friday, BBQ Dinner on Sunday at haul-out location, Gritty's Beer and Mixed Drinks all weekend, breakfast Saturday and Sunday, two great days of racing, and much more. Better act fast, since this deal ends on August 24th 2014.  For more J/24 Downeast Regatta sailing information

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

For the past week, we have followed the trials and tribulations of the three J/Teams sailing the insanely tough challenge known as the RORC’s Round Britain & Ireland Race. It’s just your “giant”, uber-version of an “around island race” that’s  a mere 1,800nm long, or thereabouts depending on how you sail it.  For those Transpac aficionados, this would never be a consideration since you cannot set a spinnaker 2-3 days into the race and surf to the finish with flip-flops, shades and shorts on for most of the race.  Instead, it’s the real deal, a mini-offshore “around the world” race, replete with gales, calms, broken crew, broken boats and what not.  Not just surviving, but telling the tale are two very tough J/111 and J/122 teams;  the former is the U.K.’s BRITISH SOLDIER team and the latter RELENTLESS ON JELLYFISH. That they’ve survived crazy weather conditions is a story in itself.  That they’re only 10nm apart, thereabouts, just off Dartmouth’s Start Point, in a gybing duel to the finish is simply remarkable.  May the best men win!

Meanwhile, their J/sailing buddies were sailing the J/24 Europeans in Angelholm, Sweden.  And, just a bit south, a number of  famous German sailors were preparing to go sailing J/70s in Germany’s Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga- guys who’ve won a few Olympic medals like Kuhweide and Schumann!

On the far, far, down under side of the world, a beautiful regatta called Hamilton Island Race Week was coming to its conclusion in Australia’s spring-time.  Yes, can you imagine that??  Even better, they witnessed “whale breaching” between boats, see a J/Cruiser’s version on the J/160 SALACIA below.

As for racing in the Americas, the Ida Lewis YC in Newport, RI held it’s annual ILYC Distance Race using a novel feature pioneered by other distance events in the RORC and the Volvo Race, a “virtual mark” offshore.  Lots of fun for many J/Crews in this event that saw a J/111 and J/88 lead the “youth challenge” as well as other J/120s, J/35, J/92 and J/111 take home some silverware.

Way, way “down east” the Lunenberg YC of Nova Scotia, Canada hosted their famous Chester Race Week, hosting not only the Canadian J/24 Nationals but also great racing for PHRF offshore and round-the-buoys fleets that included a range of J’s from the 24s up to 29s, 30s, 35s, 120s and J/88s.

The name Dennis Conner often conjures up images of the America’s Cup in its glory years.  Rightfully so.  Answering the call to participate in DC’s International Yacht Club Challenge recently in New York harbor were nineteen teams from around the world.  They all enjoyed sailing beautifully maintained J/24s from Commodore Mike Fortenbaugh’s Manhattan YC.

Up in Maine, a family of J sailors participated in the Penobscot Bay Rendezvous, sailing in spectacular conditions all weekend long.  The fleet ranged in size from a J/160 down to J/120s, J/100s, J/80 and J/24!

Finally, be sure to check out the community section.  J/70 sailing as family with kids under 12 years old.  Plus, how a woman J/70 sailor (and boat owner), Heather Gregg-Earl, tops multiple World and Olympic Champions sailing classic old International One-Designs (tubby 33 ft long skinny boats with long keels and standing-room-only, no elbow-room cockpit) at Nantucket Race Week.

Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north.  Check them out!  More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page!  Below are the summaries.

Regatta & Show Schedules:

Aug 19-24- J/111 World Championship- Royal Yacht Squadron- Cowes, England
Aug 21-24- J/35 North Americans- Muskegon, MI
Aug 22-24- J/24 USA Nationals- Beverly YC- Marion, MA
Aug 22-24- ONE Regatta- Marblehead, MA
Aug 23-24- Verve Cup Inshore Regatta- Chicago, IL
Aug 28-31- Pornic J/80 Cup- Pornic, France
Sep 8-13- J/70 World Championship- New York YC- Newport, RI
Sep 10-14- J/80 North Americans- Annapolis, MD- Annapolis YC
Sep 11-15- 50th Rolex Big Boat Series- San Francisco, CA
Sep 11-14- J/30 North Americans- Riverside, CT
Sep 19-26- J/24 World Championship- Newport, RI
Sep 20-21- J/70 West Coast Championship- Newport Beach, CA
Sep 24-27- J/70 Europeans- Riva del Garda, Italy
Sep 25-28- J/80 Italian Nationals- Loano, Italy
Sep 25-28- J/105 North American Championship- Toronto, ONT
Sep 26-28- J/Fest San Diego- San Diego, CA
Sep 28- Oct 5- J/80 World Championship- Annapolis, MD
Oct 10-12- Lorient J/80 Open- Lorient, France
Oct 24-26- J/105 Masters Regatta- San Diego, CA
Oct 24-26- Seattle Grand Prix Regatta- Seattle, WA
Oct 30- Nov 2- French J/80 Nationals- La Rochelle, France
Oct 31- Nov 2- J/105 Lipton Cup- San Diego, CA
Jan 18-23- Key West Race Week- Key West, FL

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

J/24 Sailors for the Sea- Mike Ingham at EuropeansIngham Crowned J/24 European Open Winner
Germany’s Schonfeldt Tops Europeans
(Angelholm, Sweden)- This past weekend, a fleet of thirty-five J/24s assembled in the beautiful little seaside resort of Angelholm, Sweden to compete for the J/24 European Championship.  Conditions ranged widely from gales and thunderstorms to gorgeous sunny days with moderate winds.  Topping the standings was the American team of Mike Ingham, comfortably winning the regatta by 30 points over the next boat- as a result the winner of the “Open Europeans”.  The top European boat was Germany’s Frank Schonfeldt from the Muhlenberger Segel-Club sailing HENK.

The first day of racing started out with a postponement due to gale force winds and lightning.  But, once the first warning signal sounded the three races scheduled for the day were carried out without further delays. As a result, the strong breezes persisted for most of the day and it forced many crews to choose between the 150% genoa or the 100% jib; crews were often madly running around on deck just before the start hoping for a last-minute advantage (hanks aren’t that easy to swap out!).

J/24s sailing at Europeans in SwedenThe first race was won by Mike Ingham’s USA 5443 (USA), followed by Manfred Konig’s VITESSE (GER) and Frank Schonfeldt’s HENK (GER). The second race was won by HENK, followed by VITESSE and QUICK & DIRTY.  Then, the third race of the day saw a different combination, it was won by Chris McLaughlin’s IL RICCIO (last year’s 2013 Europeans winner in Monaco from GBR), followed by Ingham's USA 5443 and Tobias Feuerherdt’s TEAM ROTOMAN (GER).  The results after the first day showed that German teams were in 1st and 3rd (Konig’s VITESSE and Schonfeldt’s HENK, respectively) and in 2nd was McLaughlin’s IL RICCIO.

Race day two offered strong breeze but no rain and the event was able to complete four races. The crews were clearly exhausted after that long workout!  Race winners were: R4– VITESSE; R5– TEAM ROTOMAN, R6– USA 5443; and R7– Till Pomarius’ TINTO from Germany. After the second day of racing, Ingham’s USA 5443 surged into the overall regatta lead due to their finishes of 5-3-1-6, followed by VITESSE and TEAM ROTOMAN.  At this point, McLaughlin’s IL RICCIO had accumulated two scoring penalties in race 2 & 4, took a DNF in race 5, then unfortunately DNS’d the rest of the series.

The third day dawned just as nice as the day before, great winds of 12-20 kts with lots of sun and two more races that started on-time at 11am.  In addition to the usual suspects who occupied most of the top three spots, new faces included Johann Huhn’s HUNGRIGER WOLF from Germany taking a 3rd in R8 and Peer Kock’s German team on UK GISCHT & GLUT taking a third in R9.  At this point, Ingham’s 1-2 score for the day simply drove them further ahead of the rest of the pack.

J/24s sailing on sunlit seas under spinnakerAmazingly, the last race day offered more of the same weather!  Imagine that?!  With great winds and sunny skies, the sailors could not have been happier, plus the beaches were packed with lots of beautiful Swedes vacationing immediately in front of the harbor entrance. Two more races were scheduled and were carried out without delays. The day’s winners saw a number of new faces in the crowd.  In R10, Matthias Garzman’s GUNNI (GER) won, followed by Per-Hakan Persson's FRONT RUNNER (the top Swedish boat) and Jan Kahler’s UNITED 5 (GER).  In the last race R11, UNITED 5 took the bullet followed by USA 5443 and HENK.

In the end, Mike Ingham’s American crew were crowned the overall Open J/24 European’s winners.  The top European and the next three positions were dominated by German teams; Schonfeldt’s HENK crew in 2nd, Konig’s VITESSE in 3rd and Kock’s UK GISCHT & GLUT 4th.  Fifth was the top Swedish boat, Persson’s FRONT RUNNER from the Malmo Sailing Club.

Women's J/24 team at Europeans in SwedenTop prize for best Women’s crew went to VEGA RAGAZZA– Stephanie Koepcke and her lovely crew from Germany’s Muhlenberger Segel-Club- she finished 10th in a highly competitive J/24 fleet!

Top award for best Youth Team went to LUV– Tom Stryi and crew from Germany.

Stewart and Mary-Anne Jardine’s “Old Boat Trophy” for inspiration to the J/24 class went to the Swedish all-women crew of FOR FUN (BLUE)– Liselotte Sjöberg and crew.

And last, but certainly not least, a special award was given to the Youngest Crew member of the Europeans– Nils (12 years old) who showed great courage and fighting spirit together with his crew on HOLLENHUND RELOADED, skippered by Martin Maschnitza from Kieler YC.   Sailing photo credits- Helene Ohsbeck  For more European J/24 Championship sailing information

J/111 Odyssey crew- winners Youth ChallengeJ/111 ODYSSEY YOUTH CHALLENGE Wins Ida Lewis Race!
J/88 McMICHAELS YOUTH TEAM Takes 2nd!
(Newport, RI)- This year’s Ida Lewis Distance Race was blessed by amazingly beautiful sailing conditions. Starting out in a strong southwester blowing 15-22 kts, the fleet took off at noon and into the sunset far offshore, seeking their first “mark” of the course— a “virtual mark” they had to navigate around using the GPS (hopefully accurate).

The “virtual mark” added an intriguing new twist to the 10th Annual Ida Lewis Distance Race (ILDR). The popular overnight race took the fleet of PHRF, IRC, One-Design, Double-handed and “Youth Challenge” boats on one of four courses – between 104nm and 177nm – that trace the New England coastline.  First boats in the fleet were finishing by Saturday morning and most everyone finished by the evening— a fast, fun race for all with many J/teams reporting surfing or planing into the mid-teens on at least two of the legs!

Awarded the Kits van Heyningen Trophy for winning the Youth Challenge was Fred Van Liew’s team on the J/111 ODYSSEY (to qualify for the Youth Challenge, more than 40% of the crew had reached their 14th birthday but not turned 20 prior to August 15).  When asked what he thought were the determining factors in ODYSSEY’s win, 17-year-old Trevor Davidson said, “Team chemistry and the fact that we were so comfortable and trusting in each other’s judgment.” Davidson was one of seven youth sailors onboard. “We also sailed really well at night. Between 1am and 4am in the morning is when everyone starts to drop off, but that was when we were at our best. We had four guys out on deck and we were doing ten knots with the kite up in 15 knots of breeze.”

Van Liew and his friend Bob Goss made up the “adult” portion of the team. “The youth sailors we had with us were very competent,” said Van Liew who has a number of offshore races under his belt. “Offshore racing calls for a different kind of sailing and teamwork than buoy racing. It’s a matter of pacing yourself and trying to take care of yourself and your team. Everybody has multiple responsibilities, because you move around for watches.”  Van Liew added that the Ida Lewis Distance Race is a fantastic stepping stone for the next generation of sailors interested in transitioning into longer offshore courses. “This is a star event and one I am going to put it on the schedule for next year!”

J/88 second in Youth Challenge- Fleig familyThe report from the J/88 was equally enthusiastic.  In this case, the J/88 offshore experience was a “family affair”!  Here is the commentary from skipper Rick Fleig, “the race turned out to be a spectacular Ida Distance Race on the 88! What a terrific boat. I had gone on out on the 88 last summer on a few demo sails for some prospective clients, but putting her through her paces in the ILDR was fantastic. We had a great start, though in retrospect both Steve & I said we should have tacked onto port right after the committee boat’s anchor line to keep our air clear as we stayed on the starboard board a little too long and got run over by a 45+ footer and then sat in some bad air for a while. We also should have sailed with the 95% heavy blade jib - we didn't and we were on our ear most of the time upwind for the first few hours. Certainly a mistake in those conditions with only four aboard, two of which were teenagers. Regardless, we had so much fun and the boat was really a joy to sail.

J/111 Odyssey starting Ida Lewis Race with Youth ChallengeWe hit 17.5 knots on the first long run to Buzzards Bay Tower with my son Tyler notching the high speed for the race!! Awesome stuff!  All that downwind Laser practice pays off even in big boats! We did a few round ups on that leg with Steve, myself and Tyler all contributing, as it takes a little getting used to feeling the rudder load up as you come across the wave face, heating it up, and then running back down. We learned that you have to feel the load and then carve down slowly to get the best performance. Steve was turning hard down the wave face Laser style and it wasn't as effective as carving a slow turn down and holding onto the wave and plane. Fun stuff!!

All that in only 15-18 knots TWS, simply an amazing boat!! Just a little more breeze and time on the stick and surely we would have hit 20 kts boatspeed easy downwind!

To sum up - we missed first place in the division by 11 seconds to the J/111 ODYSSEY! And, when I suggested to Steve, his son John, and my son Tyler that we should do it again next year in a bigger boat, they all said in unison, ‘No way - this boat is awesome!’ And, I have to say, I agree!

Thanks again for allowing both Steve and I the opportunity to sail with our sons in a great event on the J/88, making some memories that will never be forgotten.  Everything worked very well and even in that breeze, the boat was totally manageable by two adults and two teenagers. Talk about great family sailing!”

J/111 Eagles Dare at Ida Lewis startIn addition to the 88 and 111 sailing the Youth Challenge, there was quite a line-up of eleven other J/Teams that participated in the event (30.0% of 53 keelboats)!  In the IRC Division, Paul Milo’s J/122 ORION took a 7th in their 14 boat class.  Then in PHRF Division, Bob Manchester’s J/120 VAMOOSE took 3rd, followed by Paul Grimes family crew on their J/35 BREAKAWAY in fourth.

The PHRF Double-handed Class saw Mike Piper’s J/111 EAGLES DARE from Eastern YC in Marblehead, MA sailing against three fast Class 40s and managing to take 4th— as Mike described the experience, “it’s hard to hold back the Class 40s when 75% of the race was reaching!  A mixture of wind strength and direction is much better for us.”

Finally, in the PHRF Cruising Spinnaker class, five J/Teams dominated overall.  Taking second was EC Helme’s J/92s SPIRIT, followed by Brooke Mastrorio’s J/109 URSA in 3rd, Bob Anderson’s J/46 ARIEL in 4th, Brendan Kelley’s J/133 EXILE in 5th and Chris Oliver’s University of Michigan college team sailing the J/40 COVENANT took 6th.   For more Ida Lewis Distance Race sailing information

J/120 sailing at Chester Race WeekGlorious Chester Race Week!
J/Teams Love Sunny, Perfect Weather
(Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada)- As can often happen way, way Down East, it’s always a bit of a “roll-of-the-dice” whether you have a week of foggy dew and no wind or a simply spectacular stretch of weather that seems to make for an endless, perfect summer!  Somehow, the sailors in this year’s Chester Race Week just south of Halifax, Nova Scotia were treated to one of their best sailing weeks in recent memory.

As a consequence of being blessed by the best that Mother Nature can deliver, one of the best “social/ party” race weeks on the North American calendar went off without a hitch and with many J/Teams collecting way more than their fair share of silverware.  In addition, the Canadian J/24s were simultaneously hosting their 2014 Canadian Nationals.

Starting from the first day, the week got off to a great start. According to One-Design Course Race Officer Brian Todd, sailors were treated to near-perfect conditions, “we had excellent winds, 8-11 knots, and racing was tight, and fun. My race committee team was fantastic, constantly adjusting the course to make it perfect for the sailors.”  After the first day of racing, Lunenburg YC’s John Whynacht on the J/24 STICKY FINGERS took the class lead, never to relinquish it for the rest of the regatta!

J/teams sailing at Chester Race WeekFor many of the J/Teams, the second day of racing was thrilling and challenging!  For other fleets, too much wind and waves forced cancellation of races and for others it also meant lots of broken rigging or torn sails. PRO Liz Shaw said that while conditions were challenging, and the incidents heartbreaking to watch, the high winds made for some exciting racing. “On heavy air days like today, the adrenaline is a little higher. It’s not about who has the fastest, lightest boat, it’s about who is mentally and physically prepared to sail in tougher conditions. Sailors are pushed to their limits and you can really see their tactical brains at work. It’s pure excitement,” commented Shaw.

After the rough and tumble second day, the breeze lightened up for the third day of racing.  Starting out with a wee bit of clouds, rain and no wind, the harbor postponement was finally lifted as the sun poked through and a nice breeze built for the afternoon.  Most fleets managed to get in at least one race and fleets like the J/24s managed to get in two before the breeze died.  For the J/24s, it was becoming apparent that Whynacht’s STICKY FINGERS was in a class of their own, posting two more top three scores.

Mother Nature again delivered in spades on the final day. Conditions were great with a nice, steady southwest seabreeze, and winds of 15-20 knots. Most courses ended up finishing in a short rain squall under black skies and rainy, blustery conditions. But, it passed quickly and blue skies returned in time for trophy presentations.

“Today was a fantastic end to a great week of sailing,” said Liz Shaw, principal race officer, Chester Race Week 2014. “The racing was incredibly close and exciting, with a number of classes decided by mere seconds on the last race.  All in all, Chester Race Week was an incredible event. There were a lot of standout moments over the past few days in weather and competition, and sailors were mentally and physically pushed to their limits. Our new web-based regatta management system, YachtScoring.com, delivered results faster and more accurately than ever before.”

J/Teams reveled in the wide variety of conditions, especially the teams sailing the PHRF Distance races, random-leg courses selected before the start of each day’s race.  In PHRF A1, the J/120s cleaned house, taking 1st and 2nd.  Richard Calder’s BRILLIANCE and Dwayne Smithers’ ADIOS tied on points at ten apiece, with the tie-breaker going to BRILLIANCE.  Fourth in class was Paul Rafuse’s J/109 WISC.

In PHRF A2 were a trio of J/35s that customarily do quite well in class.  However, this year the top banana was Thane MacDonald’s J-HAWK, top J/35 but only 7th in class.

In the nearly all J/Boats PHRF A3 class, it was “local hero” Colin Mann winning with his J/92 POOH STICKS, followed by Sean McDermott’s J/105 McMAC in 2nd and Jim Snair’s J/88 PLAYMATE in 3rd.  In fact, the J/88s took three of the top five spots, Dave Connolly’s J/88 CRAZY EIGHTS in 4th and Terry Mckenna’s DOG PARTY in 5th.

PHRF A4 class was also determined on a tie-breaker, with Chris MacDonald’s J/29 SCOTCH MIST IV taking class honors.

On Course Bravo were the PHRF Buoy Racing fleets.  In PHRF B1, the fleet was treated to a “schooling” by the J/29 SILVER WOMAN skippered by Andrew Childs; nine bullets in 11 races gave them a 14 pt lead over fellow J/29 sailor Don Williams on PARADIGM SHIFT.  Fourth and fifth, respectively, were also taken by J/29s-- Erin & Carlisle Norwood’s FAVOURITE CHILD and Paul Dexter’s PAINKILLER.

The PHRF B2 class had two J/30s sail well to take two spots on the podium.  Jordan MacNeil’s J/30 FLUX was second and Jesleine Baker’s J/30 JUST ADD WATER was third.

Finally, the Canadian J/24 Nationals were won in a landslide victory by Whynacht’s STICKY FINGERS.  Scoring four 1sts and four 2nds, their final tally of 19 pts meant they won by 7 pts.  While local knowledge was certainly helpful for Lunenberg’s Whynacht, Toronto sailor Nick Jako also managed to post all top five scores sailing TAZ for a total of 26 pts, just enough to hold onto second. Another Halifax “local”, Greg Blunden steering ADRENALINE RUSH, snagged third. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com  For more Chester Race Week sailing information

J/24s sailing off New York waterfrontSouth Africa Tops International YC Challenge
(New York, NY)- Last weekend, nineteen teams of amateur sailors from 14 nations sailed in the Sixth Dennis Conner International Yacht Club Challenge in absolutely gorgeous sailing conditions on the Hudson River, right next to the famous Statue of Liberty. The races took place in Manhattan YC’s bright red J/24s; races were started off their famous floating clubhouse, the Sparkman & Stephens designed “Honorable William Wall”, anchored in New York Harbor just north of Ellis Island.

Winning the regatta with considerable ease was the Royal Cape Yacht Club from Capetown, South Africa.  How did the South African team do it? By sailing fast and smart and avoiding any un-necessary mistakes.  This dark horse was a well-practiced team, all used to sailing big waves and even bigger winds off the tip of Capetown; a place renowned for nasty gales, chilly winds, and “jumping great white sharks” feeding on innocent little seals off the infamous Shark Island (often seen getting “big air” right in the middle of some of their race courses)!  Needless to say, not much was going to intimidate this team of one-design and offshore sailors.

J/24 South African sailing teamThe South Africans arrived to the regatta without fanfare and at the Opening Ceremony, described themselves as the “most humble” team at the regatta. They told the story about how they scraped together funds for their 36 hour flight to New York City by soliciting donations. They were surprised by the many generous sources that collectively made their participation possible. Despite their challenges, they easily led the regatta after sailing three races on the first day- posting a 5-2-1.  Not a bad score considering none of them had ever sailed on the Hudson River before!  Over the next two days, they never slowed down, adding a 7-2-2-1-2 to close the regatta with 15 pts net and win by a stellar margin of 5 pts.

Starting out in second after the first day were the Royal Danish Yacht Club team from Denmark.  They managed to post very consistent scores of 4-4-2-2-3-4-8-1 for 20 pts net to secure a firm grasp on the silver overall.

J/24s sailing on Hudson River, New YorkThird place and the balance of the top five saw just about every team experience some amazingly bad races; as the Aussies often say, “we sent it down the mine shaft!”  After day one, the Manhattan YC #2 team was third with a 1-9-3, but then disappeared into the abyss on day two with an epochal record of 17-13-8 to take themselves out of contention (hmmm, rumor had it they were showing some of their newfound foreign friends a good time Friday night in downtown Manhattan until twilight?).

Howth YC from Howth, Ireland, a hotbed of J/24 activity in that island nation and recent host of the J/24 Worlds, also started out strong with a 2-6-7-5, temporarily holding onto third place after four races.  Then, they bombed two races, gathering a 17-3-18-3 to drop themselves into fifth overall.

Third was taken by the Swiss team from Lake Geneva, sailing for the Cercle de la Voile de la Societe Nautique de Geneve.  They started out with an astonishingly humble record of 9-1-12-10, but then closed with a flourish, posting a 4-1-3-10 for a total of 38 pts net.  They narrowly beat out another team of dinghy and one-design sailors from Bermuda’s Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club.  The Bermuda team also had a slow start, amassing a disappointing 3-16-8-12 in the first four races to firmly secure a mid-fleet position.  Nevertheless, like their Swiss counterparts, they pulled themselves up by their collective bootstraps and reeled off a 1-6-4-5 in the last four races for 39 pts net, just missing the podium by one point!   For more sailing photos- DC IYC Facebook page & credits- Scot Surbeck  For more Dennis Conner International Yacht Club Challenge sailing information

J/100s sailing at Penobscot Bay RendezvousJ/160 ATLANTIC Captures Penobscot Bay Rendezvous
J/100 SMITTEN & J/80 CHAISE LOUNGE Class Winners, too!
(Rockland, Maine)- And what a party it was for the crew aboard Ben Blake’s magnificent J/160 ATLANTIC.  The gorgeous french blue hull beauty sliced through the cobalt blue waters of Penobscot Bay with ease on her way to winning the largest class in the regatta- PHRF Cruise division!  Once again the parties and entertainment were memorable as were the spectacular days of racing on the scenic waters of western Penobscot Bay.  Co-hosted by Wayfarer Marine and Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding, the three-day regatta enthusiastically enjoyed local food specialities (lobstah’s!) along with evening dancing and fireworks.

In the Spinnaker Division 2, Shane Flynn’s J/100 SMITTEN walked off with all bullets, beating out her sistership, the J/100 SEA SMOKE sailed by Cabot Lyman, that took 3rd in class.  Fourth was Mark Scheffer’s J/40 LEGACY.

J/80 sailing upwind on Penobscot BayThe Spinnaker Division 3 was over-run by local knowledge, with Jesse Henry’s J/80 CHAISE LOUNGE taking two bullets to win their group.  Then, Patti Spaulding’s J/24 HAVOC took two seconds to secure the silver.

Finally, in the Spinnaker Division 1 Double-handed division, Scott Miller’s J/122 RESOLUTE took fourth and Doug Coleman & Chris Holm’s pretty J/46 SKITTERYGUSSET took fifth.

The famous PBR Fish Taco Bar never fails to satiate even the most ravenous of sailors and the evening entertainment on Saturday night was received warmly by many sailors seen dancing the night away.  Sailing photo credits- Billy Black. For more Penobscot Bay Rendezvous sailing information

J/111 British Soldier sailing RORC Round Britain & Ireland raceRound Britain & Ireland Race Update
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- As of Thursday evening 2100 hrs BST, six yachts are still racing in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race and after light winds slowed their progress yesterday (Wednesday) morning, the wind picked up overnight much to the delight of the remaining competitors. The J/111 BRITISH SOLDIER and the J/122 RELENTLESS ON JELLYFISH are having a tremendous battle in IRC Two and the three remaining Two-Handed teams are making great progress.

The “Jellyfish”, skippered by James George, had an excellent night Wednesday. Gybing north of the rhumb line, the Jellyfish made a massive gain over the U.K. Army Sailing Association's J/111 BRITISH SOLDIER. At dawn Thursday morning, Jellyfish was the first yacht, still racing to pass the Scilly Isles. Over the last 24 hours, the Jellyfish gained 26 miles on their rivals to lead the six yachts still racing.

J/122 RELENTLESS ON JELLYFISH sailing RORC Round Britain & Ireland Race"We can see BRITISH SOLDIER’s kite behind us for the first time and we are now in 10 knots of wind planning on how to tackle the headlands along the south coast of England," commented James George. "We are determined to take line honours for the class, morale is good but it's tense on board, we know we have a real fight on our hands with BRITISH SOLDIER. It has been one hell of a race and we want to finish on a high, we are just trying sail fast and hang on to this lead."

BRITISH SOLDIER had to put an injured crewman ashore in the early part of the race. With just five on board, their watch system has had to change, resulting in far less rest and everybody on deck for every maneuver, regardless of watch. "When we saw them (the Jellyfish guys) in front of us this morning it was a bit of a blow," commented Captain Phil Caswell, BRITISH SOLDER's skipper. "We were absolutely gutted but we are over that now and we have eyes on them, working as hard as possible to pass them. We know we have a quick boat downwind and we are determined to catch them.”

As of Thursday 2100 hrs BST, the Jellyfish had 133nm to go to the finish off the Royal Yacht Squadron’s finish line in Cowes, Isle of Wight.  The boys on Soldier have closed on their rivals and are now just 11nm astern.  Both boats are playing a game of “cat & mouse” as they gybe downwind in the fresh running conditions, both averaging 8+ kts boatspeed as they head east past Start Point, just south of Dartmouth.    Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth  For more RORC Round Britain & Ireland Race sailing information

J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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J/70 sailing fast with Brandon Flack and family* Sunday Sailing: Family Fun Team Goes Big Time.  Brandon Flack combined family fun with competition at this year’s J/70 North American Championship.  Here’s Brandon’s story:

“Whoever wrote that ‘pure fun is simply messing around with boats’ has never rigged a J/70 by himself in a hot parking lot. Yeah sure, the kids and wife could’ve stuck around tapping their feet and helping here and there, but my goal is to inspire their love of sailing— and it’s hard to find family fun in stepping a mast and folding away covers. The battle is better won by just getting the job done while letting them explore. For proof that this worked, ask either of my kids what their favorite part of the first day was, and the unanimous answer would be “playing in the pool while Dad rigged the boat.”

Brandon Flack and family sailing J/70In truth, the incentive behind packing up our young family—  11 year old Lily, 9 year old Dylan, and my wife Cindy—  and driving six hours to the Rochester Yacht Club for the J/70 North American Championship was more selfish then selfless. Sailing and family are two passions that there just never seems to be enough time for. By finding a way to combine them, maybe I could find the best of both worlds? So we packed up boat and family (not as easy as it sounds), and when we got there I rigged by myself while they played.

We have been sailing our J/70 Torqeedo for almost two years now.  Each event has been labeled a family vacation with the focus on fun, learning, and spending some real quality time together. Secretly I’m hoping to plant the seeds for a future championship team, but there’s no need to inform the crew of that goal just yet.

For now, setting more modest goals has become part of our pre-regatta ritual. Of course at this event Dylan decided to announce his arrival by walking up to class champion Tim Healy of North Sails and proclaiming, “We are going to give you a real run for your money this time.”  (I swear I have no idea where the kid gets that kind of attitude.) I have to laugh at how far his expectation levels have come from our first J70 event, where this same boy declared that coming in last was just fine with him… as long as a trip to the pool was on the docket for each day.

Dylan Flack-  family sailing J/70With performance goals as clear as mud, sometimes it’s easier to focus on picking the right venue, because location is paramount to the success of our family trips. Yes, we try to find lighter air events… as we are a very small, very light, and sometimes even very scared team. But add in a family-oriented yacht club with a pool and an amazing loaner yacht for a crew camp out, and we had a perfect recipe for success.

Our team continues to delight and amaze me every time we go sailing—and they attract the attention of the rest of the fleet too. Dylan is a bit small for his age, and he likes to steer between races and downwind. When we sail by someone we haven’t raced against before, they stare at our little driver—who can barely see over the cabin house.

But it’s our daughter who has learned the most from our regattas together. Lily is very attentive to details, and when setting the spinnaker for our first day of practice she noticed that the sheets were led wrong and soon would be a massive mess. She went right to work on making it right, all on her own. That problem-solving ability is not something kids can pick up on the ball field or in the gym today.

Even more impressive is that Lily has grown into our team’s tactician. Together we have a pre-start routine where we look upwind and compare thoughts on what we each see. Early on this started with a lot of “I’m not sure Dad, it all looks the same,” and then that grew into “It looks a bit windier on the left.” Now the conversation has matured all the way up to “Big hole in the middle, Dad, and more breeze on the right… let’s take that one around to the top.” It’s hard to believe this is the same girl who just a few years ago could not tell me where the wind was coming from!

One of the best moments of the week happened on the second beat of a shifty race. Lily thought there was more wind to the right and asked me to tack for it.  Without looking, I trusted the sound in her voice and rolled the boat into a turn. That decision helped us pass fifteen very well-sailed boats.  As we tacked back and crossed Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Jud Smith, the inside of me was burning with sailor-dad pride.

Brandon Flack and family sailing J/70Our crew work has also improved the past few years. The family has learned a lot about how one person’s job affects the other. By taking ownership of our roles and working together, the little things are now getting done right and everyone’s job is a lot easier.  No longer are our maneuvers something that could be featured on TV’s best Fear Factor moments.

As our crew work has improved, so have our results. At the North Americans, our first finish was a 26th in a deeply talented 70-plus boat fleet. The rest of the family honestly did not think it was that great a race for us—though I knew from previous NAs (with a pro crew of friends) that anything in the top 30 was a keeper. It turned out to be our best finish of the series.

Now, I have been humbled by good, big fleets before, but this was a new experience for my family, who had gotten used to finishing in the top half at smaller regional events. So we had the conversation about how sailing against the best is how you improve. We talked about how everyone at such a big event was really good, and that we needed to work on the finer points of changing gears and perfecting mark roundings to take that next step. No one on our team wants to settle for just finishing a race; that’s not all right with them anymore. The game is on, and climbing the scoreboard ladder is now a big part of the fun equation.

My wife Cindy is a sailor by marriage, so her litmus tests for success are much easier to achieve. She loved being part of a big event with a lot of boats. She found it very exciting when compared with local racing, as there was always a lot of action going on, and it was easy to tell when we did something right or made a mistake. However, she still loves the simple part: being away from it all and being together on the water. Getting hugs on the rail easily outweighs getting yelled at by the skipper for blowing a tack at “just” the wrong moment.

Our story would not be complete without sharing one of those “wrong” moments. It was race four, and we had gotten a great start. So “There We Were,” approaching the windward mark in the top 10, surrounded by many of the best sailors in the world.  As we tacked onto the layline the boat started to go slower and slower and slower.

At first we thought maybe it was just bad air from the leaders. Then we started to get passed by boats both to windward and leeward, and we knew something was really wrong. We finally spotted a small tree (taller then Dylan, as you can see from the photos) stuck on the keel.

After trying to back down (and losing 30 boats really fast), the problem tree was still there. I finally had to jump into the water (to the horror of the kids, who did not think I was going to come back) while the other 40 boats went by.  To make a long story short, we went from top 10 at the first mark to dead last (71st) at the second mark. Not a pretty sight.

Despite a few tough moments, racing with my kids and wife these past two years has really combined the best of competition and family for me. Sure, there are times when our competitors are probably thinking about calling social services, as the family values get pushed down the ladder a bit. And the jury might still be out on how my occasional meltdowns will mold our relationships in the future. But the good absolutely outweighs the bad. Each time our family leaves the dock, we have more than won our own personal regatta, together.” Thanks for contribution from Brandon Flack and boats.com

J/70 sailing Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga* Top German Sailors in J/70 Bundesliga- It’s a Matter of Honor!  The Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga and its 18 sailing clubs will next be stopping on the Wannsee in Berlin, Germany with its fleet of J/70s. Included are two sailing icons from Berlin who have made a ​​lasting impression in the world of sailing.

This coming weekend is a time of great memories. In the Bundesliga, racing on the Berlin Wannsee will be three-time Olympic gold medalist Jochen Schumann.  It’s the first time since 2000 in the Sydney Olympic Games that he will sail with Gunnar Bahr and Ingo Borkowski in the same boat. Their fourth crew from the YC Berlin-Grunau will be Erik Powilleit.

Jochen Schumann- World class sailor from GermanyWith Bahr and Borkowski, Schumann had won his fourth medal in Australia. That it was the Silver Medal “only", Schumann attributes today to several "bad nights”.

What is his objective for the regatta on the Wannsee, with his club positioned in third place overall in the Bundesliga?

"We, of course, go take a risk," says Schumann. Anyone who has won an Olympic medal should be able to prevail in the Bundesliga. But, this will only be possible from an America's Cup winner's view, when the wind blows strong on the Wannsee. "Then, we are well positioned," says Schumann. During calm periods the boat from Grunau might have a distant chance, because the sailors on competing young sailors from other clubs are too competitive!

Ulrike Schumann sailing on German Olympic teamThat Schumann, who lives in Penzberg, near Munich, returns for the third event of the J/70 Segel-Bundesliga this season in his home, is typical of the Bundesliga regatta. "It's a super nice format that everyone understands," says the former Olympic Champion and Fourth Vice President of VSaW, Ulrike Schumann (un-related to Jochen Schumann, by the way). Ulrike Schumann will just be a tactician on board their team and she is looking forward to the debate with her famous namesake. In fact, a new esprit de corps has evolved.  The same four sailors do not always sail for their respective clubs.  For example, Jochen Schumann, was crew last year for a young women sailor on their club team!

The juggling of top sailors is one of the reasons why the interest in the clubs of the Bundesliga racing is sustainable and broad. "To be allowed to sail for my club, is an honor for me," explains Ulrike Schumann. “Our club’s participation leads to a greater awareness. The competitions have a huge role in developing that interest,” she says.

The situation is similar to the creator of the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga, the former Tornado World Champion, Oliver Schwall. There were several advantages of the fledgling Sailing League: within the clubs you are getting closer together as members; the competitions are also a platform for the presentation of the club to the outside world, beyond the sailing community; and because sailing has finally arrived primarily in the general media locally and nationally, everything in sailing is gaining great exposure as a family activity.

Willi Kuhweide- Olympic class German sailorHow seriously do the best German clubs take the competitions, for example the Bundesliga races next weekend in Berlin? On the terrace of the organizing club, the sailing competitions are transmitted “live” via 60” LED monitors to the public with Hasso Plattner’s SAP Software Ag company providing the tracking and analysis software.  And, if anyone ever puts some of the best German sailors on the Great Wannsee against each other, even the best of the past will celebrate that anniversary. Fifty years ago VSaW member, Willi Kuhweide, won gold at the Olympics sailing in Tokyo, Japan.  Even five decades after his triumph in Tokyo, the aura of his success has still not faded.  On the contrary, Kuhweide, today, is still synonymous with the international success of German sailors.

His VSaW sailing club will celebrate this famous anniversary in parallel with the J/70 Segel-Bundesliga regattas. And Kuhweide, who now lives in Arizona (America), will be traveling to the festivities. He will also take part against his one-time closest rival, the East German sailors Bernd Dehmel!

The erstwhile opponents are likely to be surprised by how professional sailors must be today in order to have success. "At the time, when Willi Kuhweide took Olympic Gold and later won the Bronze Medal, they had nowhere near as much training as sailors have today," said Ulrike Schumann. “However, no such service were offered to the athletes back in their time. For the J/70 Segel-Bundesliga regattas, for example, the 18 yacht club teams no longer need to bring anything but their sailing clothing! The J/70 boats are provided at the respective venues ready to go. A cooperation with the manufacturer of the boats makes this possible,” she says.

To build upon the successful times of Kuhweide and Jochen Schumann, the aim of the German Sailing Association and Sailing Team Germany is to elevate the sport within Germany. The J/70 Segel-Bundesliga plays a role in this context. The great stadium-sailing format attracts a lot of viewers and, unexpectedly, enormous public interest— thanks to modern technology. The last Bundesliga regattas in Travemünde were viewed by up to 25,000 people live on the Internet. "For now, that is a good number for sailing," says Schwall. But, also in Travemünde were many public visitors that were present; they were also able to experience the Bundesliga sailing very close in perfect conditions.

J/125 and J/105 owner- Hasso Plattner of SAP SoftwareAs a partner, SAP Software AG (Chairman/ CEO Hasso Plattner owns a J/105 and J/125) has used a combination of wireless WiFi and their world-renowned database technology to provide real-time tracking and standings of the teams on a “mark-by-mark” basis (e.g. you know how each team is winning or losing the entire regatta each time they pass a mark!). "We need to bring the sport of sailing on land," says Schwall. In Travemünde this requirement was met in spades. The observers ashore were especially satisfied, especially as the regatta unfolded quite dramatically on the water.

The success of the Bundesliga, meanwhile, has spread abroad. In Denmark, there is now a similar league.  Austria, Sweden, Czech Republic, Russia and the United States will soon follow. In Europe, like football (soccer to Americans) a Champions League is evolving. A first test for this is to take place this fall in Copenhagen, Denmark on the J/70s (12 boats and 24 teams total).

Should Schumann be there in Denmark with his club from YC Grunau, it could lead to a duel, in which he could settle an old score in the J/70 SAILING Champions League one day. In Sydney in 2000, he was inferior to the Dane Jesper Bank under curious circumstances. To beat Bank, might alleviate the pain of that time so many years ago to miss a fourth Olympic Gold Medal??  Time will tell.  Perhaps, their children and friends will become good friends!  Thanks for contribution from De Morgen Post in Germany

J/70 sailor Heather Gregg-Earl, wins Nantucket IOD Invitational regatta* J/70 sailor Heather Gregg-Earl Dominates Nantucket Regatta!  The annual Nantucket Race Week IOD Celebrity Invitational Regatta on August 14-15 once again attracted an elite list of accomplished North American sailors to serve as tacticians for  skippers and teams in a benefit for Nantucket Community Sailing.

Organizers generally don’t make the same skipper/tactician pairing two years in a row, so when skipper Heather Gregg of Stage Harbor YC won in 2012 with Celebrity Tactician Robbie Doyle, she couldn’t test the magic last year. But when the two paired up again last week, the magic was alive again, never finishing worse than second, winning the 14 boat event without sailing the final eighth race.

Nantucket Sound delivered optimal race conditions for the fleet of International One Design sloops, with 15-17 knot westerly winds and moderate seas.

Gary Jobson helming, with Jud Smith calling the shots, took second, begging the question “Which ones aren’t celebrities?” Peter Bromby of Bermuda as tactician, with skipper Ted Moore of Marblehead, both first-timers at the event, took third.

The consistency of top finishes, amongst the deep and high level competition, earned Heather Gregg-Earl the “Nantucket Race Week Overall Best Performance Award” from event sponsor Porsche cars.

According to Heather, “It was a solid 15 kts from the Southwest...perfect Nantucket Sound Cape day...lots of sun and wind and tide coming in all day on both Friday and Saturday.  First day, we got a 2-1-1-2. Big waves, particularly on port tack!!  Second day, we got a 2-1-1 and didn't have to sail the last race.  All my J/70 driving was paying off. We just boarded out the jib and flattened the main...then let’er rip!  We were higher and faster both days.  It felt good!”  For more information about his fun Nantucket Race Week Regatta
 

Giant whale breaching in front of J/160 SALACIA off  Australia's Whitsunday IslandsJ/Cruisers
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.

* J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands.  Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination?  A giant whale!  Look at this amazing photo!

J/42 cruiser- sailing across Atlantic Ocean* 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 sailing offshore to US Virgin Islands- rainbow over ocean* 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- sailing J/42 Jaywalker* Bill & Judy Stellin recently had an interview about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea".  The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:

Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety

Wall St Journal interview- Stellin's Offshore cruising/ sailing retirementThe article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers.  We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.

WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"

Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.

Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.

People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."

READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE

* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand.  Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/

* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.

J/130 sailing ARC Rally arrives Portugal- leave a message on the sea wall!* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between.  Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins??  Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).

-  Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun).  Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".

- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com.  Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand.  MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.