Benelux J/111 Series Announcement!(Scheveningen, The Netherlands)- 2016 will see the start-up for J/111 One-Design Racing in the Benelux region with three events scheduled:
- April 23-24- Van Uden Reco Regatta- Stellendam
- May 13-16- North Sea Regatta- Scheveningen
- August 26-28- Breskens Sailing Weekend- Breskens
Exciting times coming up! Please, any boats are welcome to join us! Feel free to contact us for more J/111 Benelux Class sailing information- Paul Gladdines- paul@jboats.nl For more International J/111 Class sailing information. For more J/111 sailboat information
Quantum J/70 Midwinters Preview(Newport, RI)- The St Petersburg YC is hosting the J/70 Midwinters from February 25th to 28th! Many of the leaders in the J/70 class will be present. However, missing will be the last three Midwinter champions, Tim Healey’s HELLY HANSEN and Carlo Alberini’s CALVI NETWORK from Italy. In fact, the leading the charge at this years Midwinters may be an entirely new contingent of top teams that may be ushering in a welcoming changing of the guard. There will be familiar faces in the crowd of veteran J/70 skippers, including J/22 World Champion Al Terhune on DAZZLER from Annapolis, MD; Joel Ronning’s champion crew on CATAPULT from Wayzata, MN; Tim Molony’s JOUST from New Orleans, LA; Kerry Klingler’s MENACE from Norwalk, CT; Joe Bardenheier’s MUSE from Boston, MA; Tom Bowen’s REACH AROUND from Charleston, SC; John Brim’s RIMETTE from Fisher’s Island, NY; Will Welles’ SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM (recent St Pete NOOD Regatta J/70 winner); Dave Franzel’s SPRING from Boston, MA; Geoff Becker’s USA 25 from Annapolis, MD; and Jay Lutz’s ZOUNDS HEARING from Houston, TX (the Pan Am Games Gold Medallist in the Lightning class).
In addition, there are new teams that have started to assert their presence, most notably some from “days of futures past”. For example, closing the last Quantum J/70 Winter Series with two bullets was Glenn Darden & Reese Hillard’s HOSS from Fort Worth, TX- these guys ain’t no spring chickens, that’s for sure. Watch out as this veteran crew has J/80 and J/105 North American Champion belts hanging on their trophy shelves at home, not too mention a few J/24 championships of various types in the Texas Circuits and elsewhere. Don't forget, there's a friendly “transplant” from the West Coast one-design wars, that happens to be Jacko Franco on JT 3 BALL from Kemah, Texas. Plus, a J/109 Great Lakes Champion will be joining them in the form of Leif & Laura Sigmond’s NORBOY from Chicago, IL. Then, you have a top J/111 Great Lakes and North American skipper (top 3!), Dick Lehman from Harbor Springs, MI that will be sailing WIND CZAR, winner of one of the St Pete NOOD races. Finally, the foreign contingent includes Chuck Millican’s ELUSIVE from Bermuda, Antti Luhta’s LM INFORMATION DELIVERY from Finland; and Haroldo Solberg’s OCEANPACT from Brazil. For more J/70 Midwinters sailing information
RORC Caribbean 600 Race Preview(English Harbour, Antigua)- A record fleet with a record number of big boats were ready to take flight off English Harbour on Monday. The weather models are predicting 14 knots of wind from the southeast at the start on Monday, freshening to 20 knots in the early hours of Tuesday morning with the wind in the east. By Wednesday morning the wind speed is due to increase and by Thursday weather models predict 25 knots of wind from the east. By the afternoon, the wind is forecast to move to the southeast and decrease.
That kind of Caribbean weather should enable the trio of J sailors participating in this year’s event to demonstrate their all-around capabilities, from light to heavy and from broad-reaching to a long uphill slog. Sailing in IRC Doublehanded is the Trans-Atlantic Race duo on the J/120 NUNATAK- Elin Haf Davies and Chris Frost. This team is highly experienced and should have a good race in store for them. One of their competitors will be the new J/11S SLEEPER sailed by Jonty Layfield. In the larger boat IRC 1/ CSA 2 division will be David Ballantyne’s J/133 JINGS, another veteran offshore team with thousands of miles under their belts— they are a bit like a train rolling down the tracks, takes them a good bit of steam to get rolling but do not be surprised to see them on the podium at the end of the race! For more RORC Caribbean 600 race sailing information
J/120 Nationals Announcement(Detroit, Michigan)- To all J/120 Owners, Crew and Enthusiasts- Save the dates August 19-21 to attend the J/120 National Championship Regatta that will be hosted by Bayview Yacht Club and sailed on Lake St. Clair.
Known as "The Heavy-Weight Title Fight on the Lake"! The regatta will be a brawl of the biggest one-design boats on Lake St. Clair. Who will win the title as the champion? The competition will be intense, the happy-hours filled with fun, and at the end, we will all enjoy throwing the winning skipper off the J-Dock! That could be Frank throwing himself in?? The NOR is available as is registration here. For more J/120 National Championship sailing information
Women’s Sailing Cup Italia 2016 Announcement(Chiavari, Italy)- The Blue Project in Italy have launched the Women’s Sailing Cup Italia 2016 and they are experiencing a lot of success and positive feed back. Many women teams from all over Italy have answered enthusiastically. They are very keen and proud to sail and support AIRC- a famous cancer research organization in Italy that supports, in particular, women’s breast cancer research.
The regatta will be sailed onboard the J/80s in Chiavari from the 18th to 20th of March 2016. The Blue Project is committed to support female sailing, solidarity & research.
During the Regatta Blue Project, in coordination with the women participants, will raise funds for AIRC, the most important Italian Cancer Research Foundation, it was founded in 1965 by a world famous doctor and researcher- Umberto Veronesi, MD. Learn more about their work here- http://www.airc.itThe media coverage and promotion of the event in Italy will be quite impressive. Covering the event will be Linea Blue RAI Channel 1, the most important TV channel in Italy. In addition, top correspondents from La Republica.it and Saily.it will be in attendance covering the event.
If that wasn’t enough publicity, the world famous trail bike World Champion- known simply as “Brumotti”- will be in attendance in Chiavari to support the women’s regatta and AIRC’s mission.Finally, one of the most prominent women in Italy, Mrs Evelina Christillin, will grace the event with her presence at the Gala Dinner and will hand out the awards on the 19th of March. She had been President of ENIT, the organizer of the Italian Olympic Winter Games in Torino 2006. For more information, please contact Ivana Quattrini- Ph# +39-335-8093904/ email- ufficiostampa@blueprojectsailing.com/ www.blueprojectsailing.com
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The sailing seasons continue to expand in both the northern and southern latitudes. Down in Chile, it’s still the height of their summer that far “down under”. Several J/24s and a J/70 enjoyed their version of the New York YC Annual Cruise; in their case it’s called the “Vuelto al Lago Llanquihue”- the around the Lake regatta that includes four ports of call on one of the most spectacular, and largest, lakes in the Patagonia region of southern Chile.Up in North America, there were two events taking place on either side of Mexico. One is the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race that has a famous J/125 sailing the event. And, the other was the J/24 Midwinters being sailed at Davis Island YC on Tampa Bay.
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:
Feb 25-28- J/70 Midwinter Championship- St. Petersburg, FLMar 10-13- J/70 Miami Sailing Week- Coconut Grove, FL
Apr 16-19- Charleston Race Week– Charleston, SC
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Canadian Milev Tops J/24 Midwinters(Tampa, Florida)– Having been the proverbial “brides-maid” for several J/24 Midwinters over the course of time, it was a tremendously relieved, and excited, Rossi Milev, the skipper of ANGEL OF HARLEM, that levitated onto the podium at Davis Island YC to receive the J/24 Midwinter Champion award. The regatta took place from February 19th to 21st, with DIYC hosting 25 teams from across the United States, Canada and even Japan.
“I’m very happy to have finally won it, but it really wasn’t me, it was my crew,” credited Milev of Mark Liebel as tactician, Jim Traun on mast, Ron Hyat on bow and Arthur Blodgett as trimmer (picture above). The team came on strong on day two with a pair of bullets to come into Sunday with a three-point advantage, which held up when a lack of breeze kept teams ashore all day.
Milev will take home The Lambert Lai Trophy, named in honor of the previous USJCA President who passed away in December 2014. John Mollicone with Tim Healy on BLIND SQUIRREL collected second place with 19 points, and Carter White’s SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM placed third with 21 pts.Milev noted that the Tampa Bay venue is “very challenging, and we ended up being lucky a bunch of times.” The event attracted a who’s who of J/24 sailors, making the competition very tough. “At least five other boats could have won it,” conceded Milev. “The top boats were here…maybe five out of the top 10 in the world!”
It’s a solid start to a year that sees his home club of Port Credit Yacht Club in Mississauga, Ontario Canada host the 2016 J/24 North American Championship from September 8-11.
First day report
It was a beautiful and pristine opening day with the teams enjoying mostly sunny skies, warm temperatures and breeze between 10-15 knots throughout the day.
White’s SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM from Portland, Maine may not have won any of the first four races, but steady scores in the top three put them at the head of the 25-boat pack. Jim Lampman’s HOT CHOCOLATE rebounded from a nine in the opening contest to add a 1-3-2 for 15 points and hold on to second place. Milev’s ANGEL OF HARLEM was resting in third with 18 pts.
Class stalwart John Mollicone with Tim Healy on BLIND SQUIRREL began the Championship with a bullet, followed by St. Petersburg NOOD J/24 winner Nobuyuki Imai on SIESTA in second place and White in third. Behind Lampman’s HOT CHOCOLATE in race two were White and Milev. These same boats juggled the standings in the next contest: Milev in 1st, followed by White and Lampman. Mike Ingham closed Friday with the victory, as Lampman and White kept their teams in the top three.Second day report
The standings were juggled dramatically after the second day of sailing in variable winds between 6-8 knots with some higher puffs. Seven races were now completed for the event. Milev’s ANGEL OF HARLEM leapt from third place to first after another three races went in the books. With a 3-1-1 on Saturday, Milev dropped a 7th in the opening race and had 16 net points.
Also moving up in the standings was the Mollicone/Healy duo on BLIND SQUIRREL, they notched a 1-2-3 for 19 net points and second place. The SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM dropped to third place but was still in the mix, just two points back.
Mollicone began the day with a victory, ahead of White and Milev. Milev secured only bullets for the remaining two contests. Behind him in race six were Mollicone and Christopher Stone’s VELOCIDAD. Ingham grabbed the silver spot in the final duel with Mollicone in third. And, with not much wind on the final day, that’s how it all ended on lovely Tampa Bay. The ANGEL OF HARLEM soaring into the heavens while the BLIND SQUIRREL found its nuts to survive and the SEA BAGGERS packed all their bronze hardware into their kit and left! Next!
Notably, while having a bit of a familiarization issue with the notoriously capricious Tampa Bay, Erica Beck Spencer with her all-women’s team on SEA BAGS WOMEN’S SAILING TEAM from Portland YC got it going on Saturday and posted some awesome results- an 8-16-4 was good enough for the fifth best score for the day! Next time, ladies! For more J/24 Midwinters sailing information
Puerto Vallarta Race Update(San Diego, CA)- The 32nd running of the Vallarta Race, a 1,000nm course from San Diego, USA to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, began with staggered starts on February 19 and 20 for the 21-boat field. Here’s an update on February 21 from Peter Isler, a navigator on a 70 ft sled:
“A beautiful 24 hours of sailing out here on the Pacific and the fleet is tearing up the ocean, VMG running in 20+ knots of wind, 6 foot swells and beautiful skies. Last night was epic – (nearly) full moon running… you didn’t need a flashlight on deck it was so bright.
Everyone agreed it was one of the greatest nights of sailing ever! Tonight, we are looking for another beautiful moonlight ride – as the winds are still over 20 and the temperature should be one notch warmer (there was definitely a chill to the air last night). About 24 more hours of fun before the tricky bit comes up – the approach to Cabo and figuring out how to get through the sizable windless hole that often stretches south from Cabo for up to 50 miles. For now, we’ll appreciate the good conditions and keep riding those waves on this endless summer day & night!”
And speaking of February 19 starters, the J/125 TIMESHAVER skippered by Viggo Torbensen, this little piece of optimism was included in their 0600 report on the morning of February 21st, “Maybe (our) fastest run to the Cape- - ever! Never letting up on the pressure with a 12 knot average for the last 24 hours, the YB Tracker shows early Sunday morning, we ducked the RP 50 Blue Blazes’ stern and took a seven hour hitch out to sea, then gybed. Blazes appeared to be doing the same on the opposite gybe. When they came back together around 1600 PST, TIMESHAVER had the edge by approximately 10 miles. As the sun goes down Sunday evening, we are both pointing southeast again doing 12 knots and playing hard to catch for the big sleds.”On-board crewman, Keith Magnussen, had this to report February 22nd: “Spectacular sunrise and moon set off Cabo San Lucas this morning. Looks like we will be first boat around the tip of Baja on our way to our destination of Puerto Vallarta and we are sitting well in class and amongst the Saturday starters.
Great sailing so far in epic conditions. The crew is working out just like I thought.. hard work, good sailors and lots of laughs. The Hippy reports he is not in a bad mood which means he is in an amazing mood!
Had our hurdles to overcome but we did so and are positive about the race. The boat is performing well and we have seen speeds over 20kts many times. Viggo is in a great mood and enjoying the friendly banter. He is rolling with the punches and having fun bailing the boat out every off shift.. Yes we leak.
We are currently 35 miles from Cabo and hoping and praying that the wind keeps up. Last thing we want is 4 days to get to PV after knocking off 300 mile days! The Rasta kite is blazing in the sunrise and I am looking forward to getting some bronzing in today.”
Torbensen’s J/125 TIMESHAVER is racing against some turbo’d Farr 40s and their annual arch-rivals, the SC 50 HORIZON. At the moment, the J/125 is an odds-on favorite to beat just about all boats into the finish except for Manoush Mosayedi’s RIO 100 super-maxi! For more Puerto Vallarta Race sailing information
J/70 SANTANDER Wins Regatta Vuelta al Lago(Frutillar, Patagonia, Chile)- Imagine the setting, as you daydream away, resplendent upon your deluxe Lay-Z-Boy recliner, Pabst Blue Ribbon super-micro-brewed hand-crafted lager in hand (from south Milwaukee), watching your 900th game of football (soccer or rugby or cricket, etc) this season.
The lake is huge. Huger than huge. And, it’s over 5,000 feet deep. In the distance, you can see five massive snow-capped volcanoes across the lake. “Where are we going to setup the marks,” one wisecracking sailors asks? “We’re not”, says a wise old sage (some guy named Jaime). “Instead, we just race point-to-point where there are great harbors, even better restaurants, vinos deliciosa, and comfortable places to stay, like PATAGONIA VIRGIN!” Believe it or not, such conversations do take place in the quaint little pubs and restaurants along the shores of a truly remarkable body of water in Patagonian Chile.
Lago Llanquihue is the biggest lake in Chile, 1,000km south from Santiago, just 40 kms north from Puerto Montt. It is 22 miles (35 km) long and 25 miles (40 km) wide with depths of 5,000 feet (1,500 m). Some local myths believe Loch Ness Monster’s sister lives here. Its western shores are bordered by farmlands and rolling hills; to the east rise steep, forested Andean foothills. In the distance rise the snowcapped volcanoes Osorno and Calbuco, and beyond them on the Argentine border towers the great, glaciated Mount Tronador (11,660 feet/ 3,554 m). The setting of the lake and good fishing have made the lakeside towns- especially Puerto Varas, Frutillar, and Puerto Octay- popular resorts for tourists. The “Vuelta al Lago” (around Lago Llanquihue) is an event that takes places over four days. It’s a very popular event for sailors that are fortunate enough to enjoy the lake’s bountiful assets.
The Cofradía Nautica de Frutillar is the principal yacht club on the lake with around twenty boats. Surazos in Puerto Varas is the second largest club in size and very important in terms of number of boats.
For the XIII version of the "Vuelta al lago Llanquihue (Around Lake Llanquihue) Race”, all of the lake’s boating clubs join together for what amounts to a local version of the New York YC Cruise each August. During the four days of sailing, the fleet of thirteen boats included a J/70, two J/24s and a smattering of other boats up to 34 feet.
The 55nm race-track was divided into four legs/ races:
- Frutillar- Puerto Varas
- Puerto Varas- Puerto Oscuro
- Puerto Oscuro- Puerto Octay
- Puerto Octay- Frutillar
Puerto Varas is the most developed city on the cruise, 12 miles south from Frutillar, as the southernmost point of the lake that is closest to Puerto Montt. This time the fleet congregated at the “Mesa Tropera Restaurante,” recently opened in the last few years and offering one of the best “micro-brew” beers in Chile. This beer is produced in Cohaique, but in the future it will be produced locally in Puerto Varas.The cruise to Puerto Oscuro on the second day was especially nice. It was a 19nm race from Puerto Varas, with winds from the southeast of 0 to 5 kts during the first third of the leg, then afterwards a fantastic 10-15 kts wind into the finish for the final two-thirds of the race! Fantastico!!
All crews slept on their boats. For the J/70 crew on SANTANDER, that included Juan Eduardo Reid and Francisca Cordero who slept onboard J/70 #1. “Great rest on the V-berth of this wonderful little boat!”, said Juan.That evening’s anchorage, at Puerto Oscuro at the base of Volcán Osorno and inside the Perez Rosales Park is an amazing place to stay. “You can just feel the nature and beauty of this part of Chile,” said Francisca (pictured here having a laugh about their enormous v-berth in the J/70)!
The third leg to Puerto Octay also had light winds, but ending with a 10-15 kts breeze from the southwest. The boats arrived on a tight reach to Centinela Peninsula and raced to the bottom of the bay into an amazing natural fjord where Campo el Molino is situated. The J/70 managed to beat the M24 boat-for-boat on this leg. At the beginning of the race going at TWA 50 degrees with the gennaker, the J/70 kept sailing with it until the very end of the leg, going as close to the rhumb line as possible, but keeping an eye on the wind in the middle of the lake.
The final leg to Frutillar was the shortest and, after 4 days, this was most appreciated by the smaller boat teams! Notably, the first two boats to finish in all races were the J/70 and the M24.
The final results saw the J/70 SANTANDER sailed by Juan Eduardo Reid and Francisca Cordero winning with a 2-1-1-2 record for 6 pts. Another J/Team on the J/24 DRAKE took third place- Cesar Contreras with a 4-3-2-1 scoreline for 10 pts! For more Regatta Vuelta al Lago Llanquihue sailing information on Facebook here.
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* Winter Sailing: Keep It Simple and Sweet! At the Boston Sailing Center with the J/24 Midwinters series! For most of North America, racing during winter months is a bit of lottery. Consistency and tolerable conditions is no lock. If this is your sailing venue, you can only limit the risk and hope for the best.Keeping it simple and sweet is the idea behind the J/24 Frostbite Racing in Boston Harbor. Now in its 24th year, the concept centers around Boston Sailing Center and their fleet of 18 boats. Entry fee includes the boat charter, and racing extends from early November to late March in Boston’s Inner Harbor.
With racing just minutes from the dock, the first race is at noon and boats are typically back to the dock before 4pm. Post-race wrap-ups feature video review of the day’s racing and a de-brief with race committee or guest speakers, along with spirits and chili. Simple and sweet.Living in regions with real winters, keeping skills sharp is the challenge, as is limiting any boat maintenance and storage issues. Leveraging the assets of a community sailing center, which are likely less used in the winter, is a brilliant solution.
Ken Leger report-
We had snow on February 7 and ice on February 14. Conditions both days were good for racing, about ten knots SW and ten knots SE. When the wind backed to ESE the ice on the East side of the harbor drifted onto the race course. It was a slushy ice so you could sail through it but at a reduced speed.
Frostbite Racing-Keep your sailing skills sharp in the off season. We offer J-24 fleet racing Saturday afternoons from 12 to 3pm. There will be 18 boats on the line from November 7, 2015 through March 26, 2016. Post race wrap-ups feature video highlights of the day's racing and along with spirits and chili. The match racing eliminations and finals will be held on the last two days of the season.
If you are near Boston and want to get involved, or if this sounds like something that might work in your region, check out the information here.
* J/105s in San Francisco Bay continue to stay busy year-round. Here’s their latest report from the Bay by Bruce Stone, owner of the J/105 ARBITRAGE:
“The racing season for SF Bay J/105s never stopped last fall as it rolled right into Jeff Zarwell’s monthly RegattaPro Series, with a record turn-out of up to 22 J/105s. The fleet just gained a few new owners and this was their chance to build teams and learn the boat. A few veteran skippers crewed for them and offered coaching, and were even seen forward of the traveler, trimming sails and doing bow!
The fleet now kicks off its regular season schedule on March 5-6 with the St. Francis YC’s Spring One Design. Dave Perry, 5-time US Match Racing Champion and the premier racing rules advisor of our era, has been invited by Fleet #1 to be on-the-water with a video camera, taking notes for dock-side commentary at the end of the day raft-up, and a more thorough presentation at dinner. While attention will no doubt focus on the fleet’s notoriously tight action at starts and mark-roundings, to support the many new members in the fleet and assist the under-achievers, the National J/105 Regatta Committee provided a one-time exemption to its rules so that Dave can approach boats in between races and offer some general advice and tactical pointers. Usually, support boats have to stay away until after racing so as to have a more level playing field, so this is an experiment that will be watched closely by the other J/105 fleets around the country as a potential model for their early season regattas.”
* Here’a a “J/105 How To” from Rock-Star German Sailor- Philipp Berner. He sails on Bruce Stone’s J/105 ARBITRAGE in San Francisco Bay. Philipp put this “how to” together to not only help J/105 crews in general, but also provide an insight on how to handle any larger asymmetric J/Boat in any wind conditions- it’s a very helpful guide. Please go to this link to learn more.
* More J/27 videos from the J/27 Midwinter Championship recently sailed on Lake Ponchartrain off New Orleans YC and Southern YC. These videos are classic “home-made” amateur videos that give you a great flavor for what it is like to sail one of the classic J’s. Enjoy!Day 1 from DEMITASSE - https://youtu.be/iOEXsV_f21Q
Day 2 from CURVED AIR - https://youtu.be/Tq16Gqk_0ng
J/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.
* The J/40 HERON REACH sailed by Virginia and Jerry is participating in the Blue Planet Odyssey project and have recently joined them in the Marquesas Islands in the Eastern Pacific. Learn more about their adventures and experiences here- http://heronreachodyssey.blogspot.com/
* 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!
* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR. Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now. We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their well-documented blog here: http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again, for 2015/ 2016! 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 regards their various improvements and refit to the boat (see above). They will again be based at Proper Yachts in St John, US Virgin Islands.
* Bill & Judy Stellin were interviewed about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety
The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"
Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.
Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.
People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."
READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE
* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.
* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".
- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.
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Viggo Torbensen’s J/125 TIMESHAVER is racing Class 4 against some turbo’d Farr 40s and their annual arch-rivals, the SC 50 HORIZON! On board with Viggo will be Keith Magnussen from Ullman Sails in Newport Beach- - read about his impressions below about the upcoming race. Also participating will be J/World’s HULA GIRL, an SC 50 modified skippered by Wayne Zittel and J/World Performance Sailing School students. Learn more here- 
As for the balance of the top five, the German’s took the next two spots with Markus Reger’s XENOPHON from Chiemsee YC in 4th position and James Ahlgrimm’s GRUN SOFTWARE AG from Berliner YC in 5th place. It is clear the Russian J/70 teams are learning quickly, as sitting in 6th place was also the top women’s skipper in the event, Valeriya Kovalenko’s ARTTUBE from Taganrog Sailing Club and her colleagues on MOJO, Dmitrii Zaritkckii, taking 15th place and Alexander Markarov’s MAJIC in 17th place in the fleet of 45 boats— - a dramatic improvement for the Russians since 2015. Sailing photo credits- Sven Jurgensen/ Germany and Olena Ekaterina/ Russia. For 
Instead of screaming speeds and the organized chaos of a big wind race, four monohull classes milled about sedately as the starting flags flapped limply at the 1 PM start of this historic race, with 4-6 knots of wind allowing just enough power to move even the slowest boat in the right direction: South. 
The only problem, mon, is that people gotta work sometime! That’s what befell the crew on the new J/11S SLEEPER sailed by Jonty Layfield. “We have just spent two days doing the regatta, but we could not finish the last day as most of crew are working,” commented Layfield. “On the first day we had a 4th, 3rd and 2nd. We had crazy long fetching legs where the 40 footers just sailed away. The last race we got a 2nd as it was short windward-leeward. Then on Sunday we got 2 firsts and 2nd, all windward-leewards. We love the boat, she sailed really well in a wide variety of conditions- lots of control with those two rudders!”
At the end of the day, it was Baldwin's J/122 LIQUID that remained at the top of the class but the day's best performer was Jonty & Vicky Layfield's J/11S SLEEPER, taking two wins and a second, lifting the team into second for the regatta.
* The J/22 provides sailing therapy and extraordinary experiences for a unique individual in Chicago. Recently, we received an endearing note from a police officer/ detective in Chicago- Jeff Snarski from Bensenville (near O’Hare Airport). Here is his story:
What excites me is the chance to sail with the Hippy (John) who I have known since my days in the junior program at Oceanside Yacht Club. Preparing for this journey has been an experience all on its own. The Hippy is not so much of a hippy when it comes to boats… he is more like a dictator, which is one thing I admire about him. Everything has been thoroughly thought through and every situation accounted for. We still have some projects and bugs to iron out but it would not be the Timeshaver without a last minute fire drill. I am sure that the hairs on the back of the Hippy’s neck are standing up right now.