Strictly Sail Pacific Sailboat Show Time!(Richmond, CA)- Every April sailors from up and down the West Coast gather for the Strictly Sail Pacific Sailboat Show. This internationally acclaimed sailboat show is the largest and oldest in-water sailboat show on the West Coast and hosts all that is “hot” in the world of sailing.
This year the show will move to the historic Craneway Pavilion and Marina Bay Yacht Harbor in Richmond, CA beginning in April 2016. The 21st Annual Strictly Sail Pacific Boat Show is scheduled for Thursday through Sunday, April 7-10, 2016. Richmond’s historic waterfront offers an awe-inspiring panorama of the Bay and the San Francisco skyline.
The show lineup includes the exciting range of “J/Speedsters”- the J/70, J/88 and J/111. Plus, don't forget about the annual Sail California Cocktail Party, Friday afternoon from 4-6pm at the show. There will be plenty of refreshments for you at the Sail California exhibit- BSN Water/ In-Water 11. Tell them “Norm” sent you, it’s worth a FREE beer/wine!
For appointments, please be sure to contact Norman Davant/ Sail California at Work ph#510-523-8500/ cell# 510-685-7453/ email- norman@sailcal.com. For more Strictly Sail Pacific boat show information
J/105 North Americans- Open for entries!(Larchmont, NY)- Everything is in full gear for this year’s J/105 North American Championship being held from October 20-23 and hosted by Larchmont Yacht Club on Long Island Sound. October sailing on Western Long Island Sound will provide good breezes and pleasant temperatures.
Twenty-nine J/105’s, including teams from California, Texas, Canada and Bermuda, are already pre-registered. Teams from Chile, including the Chilean Naval Academy’s cadets, are also expected to attend. Register now online.
Most entrants will use the prior weekend’s Manhasset Bay Fall Series on October 15-16 as a warm-up as it is being held in the same racing area. In fact, Long Island Sound Fleet 6 welcomes visiting teams to arrive really early and compete in the American YC Fall Series on Sept 24-25 and Oct 1-2 to become expert in the nearby waters.
J/105 owners interested in chartering a local boat or needing help with finding crew should contact Fleet 6 Captain Paul Beaudin at j105loulou@gmail.com or 917-584-5194. Paul will also set you up with a launching package at a nearby marina and a low-cost mooring for these regattas. For Larchmont YC information For more J/105 North American Championship sailing information
J/70 West Coast Midwinters Preview(Marina del Rey, CA)- California Yacht Club is pleased to welcome the J/70 Class for its inaugural J/70 Midwinter Championship West, to be sailed Friday through Sunday, April 1-3. Late spring brings exciting sailing conditions to Santa Monica Bay, while the longer daylight hours insure a full afternoon of competitive sailing.
The regatta kicks off with a series of practice races on Friday afternoon, followed by a welcoming reception for all skippers and crew at the CYC Clubhouse. Championship racing will be held Saturday and Sunday with the first start at 1200 each day and a total of seven races scheduled. The weekend's hospitality will be a fitting complement to the on-the-water competition, with beer on the docks each day, a regatta dinner on Saturday and a reception preceding the awards presentation on Sunday. Prizes will be awarded to the top finishers overall and in the Corinthian division.
Eight teams are registered, most all of them sailed the recent HELLY HANSEN San Diego NOOD Regatta in San Diego. One of the top teams from the NOOD event that will be sailing is Jeff Janov’s MINOR THREAT, hoping to cash in on that experience to lead the charge for the hometown crew from Cal YC. Nevertheless, many other teams were also in the hunt in the San Diego event and should find the offshore long-rolling swells of Marina del Rey a refreshing change from the billiard table-flat waters of San Diego’s South Bay. Those teams include Steve Wyman’s NUNUHUNU, Jim Murrell’s HUCKLEBERRY with world-famous crew Willem Van Way aboard, Bruce Cooper’s USA 32 and Patrick Danly’s TALLY HO.
In the Corinthians Division, it will be a race to see which of the three boats takes the gold between Beverly Burr’s VIVACE, Jon Cianciarul & Patrick Kinkaid’s AVANTI and Craig Tallman’s JAYA! Sailing photo credit- Paul Todd/ Outside Images.com
For any questions on the J/70 West Coasts, please contact Regatta Chair Marylyn Hoenemeyer at ph# (310) 617-3870 or email- J70mw2016@gmail.com For more J/70 West Coast Midwinters sailing information
BVI Spring Regatta Preview(Nanny Cay, Tortola, BVI)- “This is a fantastic event, with lots of variety in the racing, great race management and wonderful shore-side activities – get involved and enjoy!” – is the sage advice from Rick Wesslund, veteran BVI Spring Regatta competitor. Wesslund, owner/skipper of the J/122 EL OCASO should know as 2016 marks his 9th entry in the competition.
EL OCASO is just one of 108 boats participating in the 45th edition of this iconic Caribbean racing event that takes place from March 30th to April 3rd at the Nanny Cay Marina in Tortola, BVI. Entries come from all corners of the Seven Seas: the US, Great Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Antigua, Canada, Ireland, Argentina, Germany and, of course, local sailors from right here in the British Virgin Islands.
Sam Talbot, from New York and owner/skipper of the J/111 SPIKE, also likes to start the party early at BVI Spring Regatta; “We are always sailing with different crew so we have become pretty efficient at crash courses for various areas of the boat. We plan to put a solid day of practice in before the Nanny Cay Cup race so everybody can get familiar with their position.”
This year Talbot’s upgraded his sail inventory from North 3DLs to 3DIs, and is looking forward to more control with the new sails across a bigger wind range. Nonetheless, equipment aside, he advises newcomers to the event not to take anything too seriously at Spring Regatta, “The banter out on the water is what makes it so much fun!”
With a different race course every day and guaranteed no-two-days-of-racing-the-same sets BVI Spring Regatta apart from other yacht racing events. Fabulous beach parties every evening are the only way to end a perfect day of warm-water Caribbean racing. With a long-time “home” base at Nanny Cay where families can also enjoy all that Tortola and the surrounding islands offer, the event offers something for everyone.
Bob Phillips, Regatta Chairman, has chaired the BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival for 19 years so has a pretty good idea how conditions may shape up for the regatta, “We’re looking at 15-20, pretty usual trade winds, maybe a little higher than normal.”
Joining the fun in the CSA Racing 2 class are both Wesslund’s J/122 EL OCASO and Talbot’s J/111 SPIKE. In addition, Pamala Baldwin’s J/122 LIQUID from Antigua will be pressing their classmate EL OCASO hard; as will another Antigua boat, Bernard Evan-Wong’s J/120 TEAM TAZ- SUNSET.
While the CSA Racing 2 class looks relatively good from a relative competitiveness standpoint (mostly 36 to 43 footers), the CSA Racing 3 class has to be the most eclectic of them all! It ranges from a J/24 to fully race-equipped First 40s- a bit of a free-for-all for everyone! Speaking of which, hoping for lots of reaching against the bigger boats will be Aaron Gardner’s J/24 BRAVISSIMO from the Royal BVI YC. Joining him is Cynthia Ross & Eduardo Lucas’ J/30 J-DOE and two J/105s- Jon Lipuscek’s DARK STAR from Puerto Rico and Bryan Coon’s SOLSTICE team from New York.
The CSA Performance Cruiser I Class is just “white-sails” only. It’s about the most perfect class for BVI Regatta, as you “can have your cake and eat it too”! Sailing double-handed or with an entire family, it’s fun, laid-back and just as challenging as it is for the racing classes. In this class is a past multiple BVI winner, Stanford Joines’ crew of high-school kids from St Croix- the J/36 PALADIN. Hoping to work some of that magic, too, will be David Ballantyne’s J/133 JINGS! from Cowes, Isle of Wight, England.
The J/24-mod crews racing on the IC-24s will have fun sailing one-design just off the front of the marina; eleven boats are participating with some amazingly “hot” crews from across the sailing landscape. For example, Jens Hookanson (Sunfish World Champion and J/24 Champions) from St Croix YC is racing STINGER while Jaime Torres from Puerto Rico (multiple class champion in the Caribbean Circuit) will be racing the familiar SMILE AND WAVE. For more BVI Spring Regatta sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
It was certainly a busy Easter Weekend around the world for many J sailors! Starting off in Europe, the largest regatta in France took place; the famous SPI Ouest France sailed off La Trinite sur Mer, France on Quiberon Bay. There were great fleets of J/70s, J/80s and IRC/OHS handicap racing for the new J/112E, J/122, J/133, J/109, J/97 and J/24s.Then, hopping across the storm-tossed Atlantic Ocean on the southern trade-winds route we find the St Thomas International Regatta having completed off the eastern end of St Thomas. Hosted by the St Thomas YC, there was no question the legion of J sailors in attendance sailing their J/24s, J/30, J/105s, J/120, J/122s and J/133 all had a wonderful time- truly a “bucket list” regatta!
Headed over to the Americas, we find that J/24s and J/70 Corinthian sailors had a wonderful time at the Easter Regatta on Lake Murray hosted by Columbia Sailing Club. Then, all kinds of things were happenin’ on the West Coast. For starters, the epic and infamous BAMA Doublehanded Farallones Island Race that was, indeed, epic this year. What started as a pretty benign, sunny skies day deteriorated into a stormy, windy race with massive breaking waves over the infamous “Potato Patch” outside Golden Gate Bridge. It was a clean sweep for J/105s and J/120s! The weekend before was another crazed event in San Francisco- the Bay has an annual “bragging rights” event called The San Francisco Cup that is now raced in one-design classes (J/22s and J/70s) with three divisions- Open, Women’s, Youth- between the San Francisco YC and St Francis YC. Fun was had by all, according to the reports. In addition, that same weekend was the Richmond YC’s Big Daddy Regatta- check out the J/105 RUSSIAN ROULETTE report below! Finally, those in the Pacific Northwest enjoyed one of their rites of spring- the Southern Straits Race hosted by Western Vancouver YC for a veritable J/Navy of J/30, J/105s, J/109s, J/122E and J/160.
Down south of the Equator, the J/70s just held their first J/70 South American Championship in Punta del Este, Uruguay and hosted by Punta del Este YC. Spectacular weather, great racing, great people, great FUN in South America’s “French Riviera”!
Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Mar 28-Apr 3- BVI Spring Regatta- Tortola, BVIApr 2-3- J/70 Midwinters West- Marina del Rey, CA
Apr 11-16- Les Voiles de St Barth- Gustavia, St Barth
Apr 16-17- J/Fest San Francisco- San Francisco, CA
Apr 16-19- Charleston Race Week– Charleston, SC
Apr 23-29- Antigua Sailing Week- English Harbour, Antigua
Apr 29-May 1- Annapolis NOOD– Annapolis, MD
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.
J/112E Revels In Stormy SPI Ouest(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- The 38th SPI Ouest France regatta sailed on the Bay of Biscay was an experience no one expected just three days before it all began over the Easter Holiday weekend. Organized and hosted by Société Nautique de la Trinité-Sur-Mer, the sailors in the 360-boat fleet were expecting a rather benign weather forecast. But, as can happen in the spring in the eastern extensions of the blustery North Atlantic, and by extension the Bay of Biscay and its little bays along the western coast of France, things can change— rather faster than most anticipated. A severe depression off North America deepened rapidly and raced across the Atlantic to toss a rather unpleasant mixture of powerful wind, rain and violent squalls across the fleet. What was supposed to be a family-friendly Easter Egg Hunt on the beaches Sunday morning, with chocolate bunnies, chocolate croissants and Nescafe’au’lait at the cafes instead became a battle for survival. “C’est la vie, c’est la guerre,” one might say. The powerful storm front moving through the area forced event organizers to cancel the remainder of racing for Sunday and Monday.
As it was, the regatta marked the debut of the brand new J/112E at SPI Ouest France. The J/112E was racing against all of the latest European IRC rule-beaters. Commented her designer Al Johnstone, “the new J/112E and her crew battled through a first race starting line traffic jam to finish fifth on corrected time in her first competitive race ever. She was competing in the nineteen boat IRC 2 fleet with very tight rating band including 11 boats rated within a few seconds of each other. IRC 2 started on the same line as the IRC 1 for a total of 31 boats on the same start line. Crazy. But, needless to say, it was important to get off the line clean.
J-LANCE 12, skippered by Didier Le Moal, dominated the class in the next two races in moderate 12-15 knot breeze with finishes of 1-1 and in the final race on Saturday in 25-30 knots finished second. This feat was accomplished against well-oiled and very well-practiced ‘factory teams’ and optimized IRC program boats. IRC 2 competition included a handful of A35s, a First 40.7, a Grand Soleil 37, a few JPK 10.8s and a couple of Sun Fast 3600s, and Elan 400. The reports from the J-LANCE 12 team are that the J/112E was fast upwind with enough power downwind to hold off some of the lighter and wider flat bottom, wedge-shaped boats. There is no question she has proven herself at this debut event to be a tough competitor and will be gunning for the top of the IRC 2 class going forward this spring in France. Not a bad start for a comfortable sport cruiser!”Behind J-LANCE 12’s terrific performance in IRC 2 Class were several classic J’s finishing consecutively next to one another. The J/120 HEY JUDE helmed by P Girardin was 13th, the J/120 LADY JANE skippered by P Tostivint from CN Pornic was 14th, and the J/109 CNP1 J’VOLE skippered by P Barouch was 15th.
In other IRC handicap classes, the J/133 BLACKJACK sailed an excellent series in IRC 1 Class (big boats) in the insanely challenging conditions, compiling an incredibly impressive 2-3-3-4 to lose the tie-breaker for first place!! Kudos and congratulations to owner Eric Malouin Gicquel and his crew for a fabulous performance. For the lone J/team in IRC 3 Class, Fagart’s J/97 MISPICKEL VI took 8th place. For IRC 4 Class, J Croyere’s J/92 RUBAN VERT took 16th place in a 30-boat class.In the OHS handicap classes, there were three teams sailing OH1 Class. Reveling in the gale conditions was P. Guennal’s J/111 J4F taking a 2-2-2 for 2nd place in class! Just behind them was Kerscaven’s J/88 PL YACHTING with a 3-4-5 overall for third overall! P Jomier’s J/105 J-SQUARED was 7th in class.
Finally, in the OH2 Class the J/24 teams crushed! Winning was F De Herce’s MAJIC with a 2-2-1! His good friend finished third- A Garcia’s INSULARIS with a 3-3-4. Fifth was V Maldonado’s REGATTA COPA MEXICO EUSKADI and in 8th was B Le Marec’s EL NINO. What a great turnout for the J/24’s in this classic event in La Trinite and a great outcome, too! Next time, “Vive Le France J/24s!”
On the one-design side of the ledger, the twenty-boat J/70 class had excellent competition with the winner being determined by a tie-breaker after three races. Again, the Spanish teams are making their presence felt and the winner was Jose Maria “Pichu” Torcida’s NOTICIA followed by fellow countrymen on Hugo Rocha’s NEW TERRITORIES. Familiar names to you? Should be. They are both former J/80 World Champions! Third and fourth places were filled by French teams- Guigen’s VIRTUAL REGATTA 70 and Luc Sambron’s HEMON_CAMUS, respectively. Another Spanish team was fifth- Jesus’ PETIT PALACE HOTELS.Another familiar team popped onto the top of the J/80 leaderboard, the French Champion Eric Brezellec on COURIER JUNIOR. Just one point back taking the silver was yet another top Spanish team- Jose Maria Van Der Ploeg on NAUTICA WATCHES (yet another J/80 World Champion). The Spanish team on ONO-EUROFRITS-A VIKO (de La Pedraja) was third followed by two French teams- Riou’s ECOLE NAVALE CV AILEE in fourth place and Luc Nadal’s GAN’JA in fifth position. Sailing photo credits- Jean-Marie Liot For more SPI OUEST France sailing information
SI QUERIDA Crowned 1st J/70 South American Champion(Punta del Este, Uruguay)- The YC Punta del Este was host for the first ever J/70 South American Championships. The venue could not have been more beautiful than the setting of YCPE sitting out on the end of a prominent peninsula that thrusts out into the intersection of the Rio de La Plata and the ferocious southern Atlantic Ocean. Encircled by miles of sandy beaches, tall pines and a scene reminiscent of the famous French Riviera, the eleven J/70 teams in attendance from Chile, Argentina and Uruguay were treated to excellent race management from PRO Bernd Knuppel.
After completing seven races, the SI QUERIDA crew of Francisco Van Avermact, Geronimo Galvan, Carlos Lacchin and Rafael De Martis from Argentina were crowned the first J/70 South American Champions. The team sailed a very consistent series and avoided making big mistakes, counting races of 3-2-2-1-4-1-1 for 10 pts net after throwout.
By winning the J/70 Chilean National Championship, the valuable experience gained by Per Von Appen’s Chilean crew on BLACK SAILS permitted them to also sail fast and consistently to take the silver. Von Appen’s crew of Felipe Robles, Juan Sanches and Agustin Herrera started off fast then wavered a little towards the end, but nevertheless compiled an enviable 2-1-1-4-9-4 record for 15 pts net.The bronze went to Diego Garcia’s CHAPULIN from Montevideo, Uruguay, the top local boat. In fact, Garcia and the Centanaro family both sailed in the Bacardi Miami Sailing Week two weeks earlier to gain more knowledge on how to sail better against the top American, Italian and Mexican J/70 teams. That practice certainly helped the CHAPULIN team of Garcia and crew of Martin Dovat, Max Schewe, and Diego Massironi not only win two races in the regatta, but also compile a record of 1-5-7-10-1-2 for 20 pts net!
The balance of the top five included past J/24 South American Champion and Uruguay J/24 Champion, Pedro Garra, sailing PLAN B to fourth place with 22 pts net and in fifth place was Sebastian Rana’s DON ERNESTO with 33 pts net.Rana’s DON ERNESTO from Uruguay and crew of Chris Schewe, Alex Schewe and Mauricio Tejera won the Corinthians Division. Second Corinthian team was the Centenaro family (Aldo, Marco, Aldo Jr) and Camilla Ruiz sailing PURA JODA. Third in the Corinthians was EXTREME 4U sailed by Phillip & Ricardo Umpierre, Luis Purichelli and Santiago Gari. For more J/70 South American Championship sailing information
J/122 Wins St Thomas RegattaJ/105 Tops CSA 3 Class
(St Thomas, US Virgin Islands)- The real story of the 43rd St Thomas International Regatta (STIR) was wind. Lots of it. Gusts blustered over 30 knots all three days with 6 to 8 foot seas. Yet, combine these conditions with 80-degree weather, bright sun and bathwater warm turquoise seas and it’s a recipe relished by all the racers on the sixty-seven boats in the event.
Chief among these happy sailors was the Southern California team aboard Doug Baker’s J/122 TEAM MAGNITUDE- EL OCASO that won the CSA Spinnaker Racing 2. They quite literally “ran the table”, posting all bullets in the six race series to win class and overall. In addition, they took second in the “warm-up” Round the Rocks Race in the CSA Spinnaker division.
Having an equally successful performance in CSA Spinnaker Racing 3 class was Puerto Rico’s Jonathan Lipuscek on his J/105 DARK STAR, successfully defending their title with a blistering scoreline of 1-2-1-3-2-1 for 10 pts. Sailing a very consistent series was Jordan Mindich’s J/105 SOLSTICE, taking fourth place with scores of 3-3-3-5-3-2 for 19 pts, just one point off the podium!The CSA Non-Spinnaker saw Aaron Gardner’s Puerto Rican J/24 team on BRAVISSIMO sailed fast in the large ten-boat CSA Non-spinnaker class to take fifth overall. Sailing photo credits- Dean Barnes & Ingrid Abery (ingridabery.com) For more St Thomas International Regatta sailing information
Epic DoubleHanded Farallones RaceJ/105s & J/120s Clean House!
(San Francisco, CA)- According to a number of people who sailed this year’s BAMA Doublehanded Farallones Race, “we believe this one now falls into the "nuking" category. 1982 was nuking. 2012 was heavy. 2016 was extra fresh, sunny out the Golden Gate Bridge, then foggy/cloudy offshore blowing 20-30 kts plus!! So, for sure nuking!” Another sailor observed, “that was one sporty day on the Gulf of the Farallones, wasn't it? Certainly one of the breezier roundings of Bird Turd Rock that I've done. The fleet had to handle 10-12 foot seas, 22-28 knots of wind steady and gusting higher. What was real trippy was how much windier it got after we got around the rock. Shook out the reef, unfurled the headsail to the maximum, 95 degree AWA, and rarely saw less that 9.5 knots of boat speed. Then, the wind really came up- averaged 27-28 TWS all the way in- had to roll the jib back up to smallest size, and we still experienced something like a dozen round-ups as 30-32 knot gusts hit us. Wow! We hit speeds of 15 knots+ dozens of times, top boat speed was 17.7 knots.”
As usual, this West Coast double-handed offshore classic, hosted by the Bay Area Multihull Association, can serve up some memorable sailing experiences. It is a race that has challenged some of the best offshore sailors in California and is legendary for producing outrageous sailing conditions offshore. Loving the rough conditions were the fleet of doublehanded J’s making the mad dash to the rock and back. In the PHRF 10 “big boat” division, the J/120 crews simply swept the podium, with Mike O’Callaghan & John Verdoia on PEREGRINE taking the class honors 7 min 30 sec on corrected time, taking 8:18:27 to finish the 58nm race. Taking the silver was Ludovic & Delphine Millin (one of the few “Jack & Jill” teams in the race) sailing their J/120 SAETTA super fast to go around the track in just 8:27:51. The bronze medal went to the duo of Sean & Jeff Mulvihill on JAMANI, rounding the course in 8:50:21.
Not surprisingly, the J/105s nearly swept their class, too. It was the duet of John Robison & Simon James on LIGHTWAVE that won their PHRF 9 division with an elapsed time of 9:41:22 and corrected time of 10:01:44. Taking third place was another “Jack & Jill” team, Richard Pipkin & Mary McGrath on the J/105 RACER X, finishing 9:58:30 on elapsed and 10:19:28 on corrected. A fantastic performance for both the J/105 and J/120 teams! For more BAMA Doublehanded Farallones sailing information
J/Teams Cruise Southern Straits Race(Vancouver, BC, Canada)- “The 48th Annual Southern Straits Race, hosted by the West Vancouver Yacht Club, was basically a “cruise” up and down the Straits. While the winds were definitely on the lighter side, the fleet had a spectacular spinnaker start for the 2nd year running, with “HMCS Orioles” magnificent sail drawing an audible gasp from the crowd gathered on the shore as the breeze filled in,” commented Sonia Telford, the 2016 Southern Straits Race Chair.
She goes on to say that, “The rain held off until the last few hours of the race as the wind filled in to bring the last racers across the Finish Line. Competitors remarked that they saw more sea life on the course (dolphins, sea lions, killer whales and a massive grey whale) then they have ever seen before.A total of 83 boats competed on the four courses offered, with the last 3 competitors sailing on the Medium and Long Course right until the final minutes of the race.
Thank you to the WVYC Staff and 108 Volunteers that have put their heart and soul into this amazing weekend of sailing!”
The 138nm race takes place in the Southern Strait of Georgia Race over the Easter weekend. There are three turning marks, the race starts at the Point Grey Bell buoy, the first mark is Entrance Island, the second is a lighted buoy 1.5 miles south of Pt. Roberts, third mark is White Islets, and the finish is at Passage Island. It has become a popular race for the Pacific Northwest offshore sailing fraternity. John McPhail’s mighty blue J/160 JAM from Gig Harbor YC took home the silver in Division 2, rounding the track in 44:01:51. Just behind them in their first major offshore race ever was Bron Miller’s brand new J/122E JOY RIDE from Seattle YC; finishing the race in 45:42:33 and taking third place.
In Division 4, sailing the 98.1nm Medium distance race, was Bob Brunius’ J/120 TIME BANDIT, easily eclipsing their class with an elapsed time of 36:44:40 and winning on corrected time by 87 minutes! As was told to HM Queen of England after the Americans won the 100 Guinea Cup, “there was no second, Your Highness!”Mimicking their 120 colleagues were the J/109s in Division 5 on the same Medium Distance track. Winning class was Jim Prentice’s J/109 DIVA with a course time of 37:18:09, winning by an hour corrected time. In fourth place was Mark Hansen’s MOGO and in fifth place was Tom Sitar’s SERENDIPITY.
The sole J/crew on the Short Course of 66.4nm was John Tulip’s J/35C IRENE II, taking sixth in Division 8. For more Southern Straits Race sailing information
SFYC Retains San Francisco Cup(San Francisco, CA)- The 45th San Francisco Cup is a classic hometown rivalry that has been fought between St. Francis and San Francisco Yacht Clubs since 1967. Three teams competed in three classes (Open, Women’s and Juniors) in a battle to be the first club team to accumulate 11 points. SFYC won by one point. StFYC Commodore Livingston was cheering on the team from across the Bay and reported, “SFYC retains the Cup—by one point—in a battle of coulda shouldas. But, for a blown umpire call on Saturday and a 45-degree windshift on Sunday, that one point could have been ours.”
Scott Sellers sailing the StFYC J/70 1FA in the Open Division assessed on Saturday, “I made mistakes; the umpire made a mistake; that’s yacht racing!”
In congratulating her opponents, Nicole Breault drew applause by saying, “I think we’ve turned a grudge match into a love fest!”
According to Kimball Livingston (famous SAIL magazine contributor), “in the Open division, Sellers and Healy exchanged wins racing their J/70s for two days. Neither had an edge. In the Women’s division, Nicole dominated in a series of walkaways. In the Youth Division, Nolan did not win a race, but he was hammering at the door all the way around the course for two days and made the SFYC kids earn and re-earn every point. This was Corinthian yachting as it should be!” For more San Francisco Cup sailing information
J/70 Corinthians & J/24s Loving Easter Regatta(Columbia, SC)- One of the most popular J/24 regatta's since 1988, the J24 Easter Regatta brings a mix of excellent shore side events with world class sailing on Lake Murray. The competition can vary from an amateur crew at their first regatta, to sailing against professional skippers such as Tim Healy, Mike Ingham, and Tony Parker.
One of the many benefits of attending the Easter Regatta is the sail club facility. With a recently rebuilt clubhouse, the shore side events are better than ever. The Columbia Sailing Club offers free camping to all competitors that attend the regatta. The beautiful peninsula and gorgeous beach provide an excellent camping experience.
This year, the Columbia SC invited the J/70 class to participate in a “Corinthians” event, for Category 1 class sailing teams only. It turned out to be a wonderful experience for the teams that attended. In fact, David Betts on INSTANT KARMA had this commentary about why he enjoyed the event:“The event was a one of the most friendly events that I have attended over my decades of sailing which includes owning two J/70s, hull #5 and now #903. I have also owned numerous other racing boats but recently purchased another J/70 to race.
I wanted to share with you why I sold hull# 5 a couple of years ago. It was pretty simple. I sold the boat because it became painfully obvious that the class was going to be dominated by the pros. Therefore, when a weekend warrior like myself sails in an event it is unlikely that I can overcome the professional crews that are in the event. I personally like many of the pros and know many of them- Tim Healy is an example of a pro that I enjoy speaking to and seeking advice and so forth. Will Welles is another fellow like Tim who takes the time to help me out from time-to-time as needed.
One of the reasons I bought a new J/70 was because I have seen the Corinthian teams being recognized and it actually appears that the class is trying to promote non-pro teams, which I think will build the class. It is important to build the class with a strong base of amateurs and I feel strongly that providing recognition of non-pro teams in Corinthian events and in Corinthian Divisions (or sub-divisions in Open events) will help bring more people to the class and, ultimately, to regattas.The Easter Regatta was a very friendly atmosphere! It was very well run and should be promoted as an annual Corinthian event. My hope is that such regattas might lead to a National Corinthian Series for the J/70’s. I hope we can promote the event for next year- - beginning very soon!
I also believe that we should have several Corinthian-only events including a West Coast event and perhaps a northeast event in Newport. Just my thoughts and wanted to share my perspective with you and friends in the J/70 class.”
As it turns to Betts’ crew on INSTANT KARMA had great competition with two other boats for the top of the podium all weekend long. The trio dueling back and forth every race included Elaine Parshall’s MUTANT BLONZ and Holly Graf’s SPICE. The three teams traded off winning races and, in fact, the podium was not determined until the final race. In the end, it was the first regatta a women skipper won, in fact took the top two places! Winning was Parshall’s MUTANT BLONZ with a 1-3-1-2-4 tally for 7 pts net. Graf’s SPICE crew posted a 3-1-4-1-3 scoreline for just 8 pts net. And, Bett’s INSTANT KARMA accumulated a 2-4-2-4-1 record for 9 pts net! Rounding out the top five was Steve Kiemele’s WHITE RABBIT in fourth and Dinse Scott’s MARGARITAVILLE in fifth.The J/24s also had a nice turnout with twenty-two boats from across the eastern seaboard. Winning by virtue of posting double bullets in the last two races was Dan Borrer’s JESUS LIZARD with scores of 3-3-3-1-1 for 8 pts net. Second place was determined on a tie-breaker between Paul Abdullah’s TEAM TARHEEL and Chris Stone’s VELOCIDAD; it was Abdullah’s crew that got the nod based on number of 1sts. Just four point back in fourth place was Jim Howard’s CLASSIC and in fifth was Andrew Carey’s MR HANKEY. Sailing photo credits- Kimberley McGill For more Easter Regatta sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* The J/105 RUSSIAN ROULETTE sailed the Big Daddy Regatta in typical San Francisco Bay “nuking winds”. Here is skipper Sergey Lubarsky’s commentary on their casual weekend of racing:“Despite the pouring rain, thirty-two knot gusts, and some tactical mistakes, J/105 Russian Roulette had an epic race going around the islands in the Big Daddy regatta.
Russian Roulette is new to San Francisco Bay boat purchased by two new owners, Sergey Lubarsky and Bill Woodruff. The new owners delivered the boat up from San Diego last November, and have been too busy racing their new toy to swap out the Mexican sail numbers.
The Big Daddy Regatta, held by Richmond Yacht club, was the first high-wind race for this team. Conditions consisted of constant pouring rain, sustained Westerly winds of twenty to twenty -five knots, and gusts over thirty knots. Just a regular day in San Francisco.
Besides having a great name, the Big Daddy regatta has a fun format. The pursuit race begins just off Southampton shoal, and boats must round both Alcatraz and Angel Island, before returning to the finish line. The hitch is that each boat must choose to sail the course clockwise, or counterclockwise. Needless to say, tactics are a very important part of this race.Four boats recorded their GPS tracks using the free RaceQs sailing app. Two boats in the replay chose clockwise, while the other boats went counter-clockwise. This is representative of the actual fleet split, which was about fifty/fifty for each direction.
As far as the Russian Roulette team could tell, the course choice was very clear. If they went clockwise, they would be bucking major current from the ebb tide all the way from the start line, to Alcatraz. The current would be much more favorable heading counter-clockwise, and rounding both islands to port.
What the team did not realize was that the pouring rain would delay the flood tide for almost two hours. This gave a huge advantage to the clockwise boats, which got to ride that extended ebb time right out of the Bay. Then, as the tide changed, the clockwise boats were in a perfect position along the shore to get an early push from the flood. The first clockwise boats finished 20 minutes ahead of the first counter-clockwise boats.Despite a few tactical mistakes, Russian Roulette had a great race, finishing second out of the counter-clockwise fleet. The boat was fun to drive, steady and fast downwind, and had good upwind speed as well.”
* Warrior Sailing Project Update at the US Merchant Marine Academy Sailing Foundation- from Sailing Director- Ben Poucher (Ben@warriorsailing.org/ 269-598-7119):“We have graduated another 56 participants from our basic level camps and held our first Advanced Camp this month in Charleston onboard J/22's. WSP partnered with the College of Charleston Sailing program to host our camps and even do some additional staff training for adaptive sailing in the future. The J/22 is the perfect boat for our needs at the advanced training level. We have built some custom drop in equipment for the J/22 in another partnership with a company in Charleston- High & Dry Boatworks (see photo below).
The Warrior Sailing Team is comprised of graduates from the training camps that are ambitious to race at a competitive level. The WS Team will be competing in able-bodied and disabled-body events through the spring/summer 2016. The first in a series of inshore training regattas for 2016 is Charleston Race Week. The team’s season will continue with monthly regatta or training events and will culminate this August in Kingston, Ontario for J/22 WORLDS!Please help us support our Warrior Sailing Project team; here is a link to our funding campaign to support them- https://us.sponsorise.me/en/project-warriorsailing For more USMMA Warrior Sailing Project foundation information.
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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BAD NEWS ran into a little bad luck on the opening day when a big shift at the end of the only race left them with a 10th place. Day two brought intermediate conditions where, Marshall said, “I think the lightness of our boat hurt us, and we had to fight for every point.” When several boats struggled in Sunday’s heavier air, Marshall said the team “took about half of the first upwind leg to figure that we needed to do was ease the jib a little more than we thought.”
It was a wonderful weekend in Chiavari, marked by a number of celebrations, including the inauguration of the new and elegant promenade of the Port in the presence of the highest authorities. Adding to those festivities was the great enthusiasm expressed by the thirteen teams participating in the Women’s Sailing Cup. The event was punctuated by the beautiful garden and decorations around the club, designed by the locally famous Umberto Giorgi Garden; it included a beauty and Zen area and a place for massages before and after sailing! Then, the women enjoyed a brass band and gala dinner party that supported the AIRC Conference on women’s breast cancer, with a presentation given by the famous oncologist- Dr. Lucia del Mastro.
Seventy sailors from all over Italy, a team from Great Britain and one from Lithuania, battled at sea aboard the J/80s of Blue Project. At the end of a weekend of light wind and lively competitive spirit, climbing onto the top step of the podium and winning the Challenge Cup Trophy was the VELEROSA team comprised of Silvia Gatti, Licia Bologna, Elisa Dompe, Alessandra Gagnatelli and Serena Sicher. They were well coached by the champion Duccio Colombi of Phi!Number. 
* J/120 CARINTHIA Miami to Havana, Cuba race report- from Frank Kern. “Since it was never done before, there were a lot of things that had to be invented for this race. For instance, a special Coast Guard permit was needed to enter Cuban waters as there is still officially an embargo. Race Chairman Chris Woosley got together with the right people to help the owners get that squared away. Communication with the outside world was really difficult as the internet connections were hard to get and unreliable. When we landed the Cuban officials took my satellite phone and sealed it, saying phoning from Cuba was strictly forbidden!! The following day I did phone home in secret to wish my daughter a happy birthday and to assure the outside world we were all fine.
Carinthia's strategy for the race was to get as close as possible to the Florida Keys to stay out of the current. The start was under 5 knots out of the north, not exactly ideal J/120 conditions. At Elbow Key #6 the rhumb line peels off to Havana and we stayed more north of it but started going more southwest. Fortunately the winds continued more northernly at about 10 to 15 knots as our course became more westerly. We jibed south in 20 knot wind when we got in the teeth of the a 3 knot gulf current and jibed back about 2 miles off of Cuba at Matanzas. To our pleasant surprise we got about a 1 knot push which helped us with the competition. From what I saw on the tracking Dragon, a Class 40, stayed north until Key West and then jibed south directly to Havana. We soon finished at 20:40 just after sunset. In the end, they beat us by 18 minutes corrected time, which is pretty close considering how long the race was. Was this ideal conditions for a Class 40 vs. a J/120? Was it 'courses for horses'? Who knows, as they did sail a nearly perfect race and after all they did take home the gold. My congrats to these guys for doing what 
was needed to win. We still managed to finish 1st in class B, 2nd overall. It was a great cap to our winter SORC season as we finished 2nd in the Islands in the Stream series.
* J/70 and huge white beluga whales in Sochi, Russia harbor? Yes, remarkably enough. This sweet whale was offering a friendly “nudge” to J/70 sailors participating in a regatta in Sochi (site of the Winter Olympics just off the Black Sea in 2010).