NEW J/121- Offshore 40’ Speedster= Less Crew!
(Newport, RI)- The new J/121 (pronounced 1-2-1) is a 40’ offshore speedster that can be day raced or distance sailed by just 5 or less crew…. the best short-handed J ever…. capable of winning on any race track while also excelling in daysailing and weekend mode. Here’s a boat, class and program that redefines sailboat racing as a recreation and shared adventure with friends, reducing the focus on specialization and athletic short-course W/L racing. The J/121 fulfills the growing need to simplify life and reconnect with those you really want to sail with on a boat that’s pure magic to sail! Learn more about the NEW J/121 Offshore Speedster here
US Adult Sailing Championship Preview(San Diego, CA)- The annual Mallory Cup Trophy, emblematic of the US Adult Sailing Championship, will feature ten teams that have qualified from ten different sailing regions from across the USA. The crews will be sailing matched J/22 one-design class sailboats supplied by the host- San Diego YC.
Racing takes places from October 12th to 15th. The competition promises to be fierce, especially with a number of top California teams hoping to score some points before sailing in the J/105 Lipton Cup a fortnight hence! Representing SDYC and the Southern California Yachting Association is the 2015 Lipton Cup winning skipper, Tyler Sinks, with crew of Jake La Dow, Jake Reynolds and Max Hutcheson. From the Northern California Yachting Association is St Francis YC member Russ Silvestri, with crew of Marlo Yovkov, John Collins and Maggie Bacon. The only woman skipper in the event is Madeline Kennedy, sailing for the Hawaii Yachting Association with crew of Michael Van Woerkom, Morgan Stephenson, and Patrick Manuel. For more Mallory Cup/ US Adult Sailing Championship information
J/105 Masters Regatta Preview(San Diego, CA)- For the fifth consecutive year, San Diego Yacht Club will host the International Masters Regatta (www.sdyc.org/masters), from October 21-23, 2016. Originally established in 1975 by St. Francis Yacht Club member Don Trask, the regatta was previously sailed in the San Francisco Bay for a number of years until SDYC began hosting the prestigious event in 2012. Invited skippers must be over the age of 60 and crew members must be over the age of 45.
The regatta is sailed in a round robin format using equalized J/105 boats. The intended race area will consist of typical windward-leeward courses set on San Diego Bay with plenty of viewing opportunities for spectators along the waterfront. Sunday will feature a change in the racing format with an around the bay random leg race to finish up the regatta. There will be a practice day on Thursday, October 20.
Historically, this invitation-only international race has united several of the best master sailors from around the world including Paul Elvstrom, Bill Buchan, Malin Burnham, Don Trask, Peter Harken, Lowell North, Ron Holland, George Hinman and Chris Dickson. World Champion sailor, Malin Burnham, who was recently inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame, was skipper of the 2015 team- the defending champions of the regatta.
Twelve teams from all around the world will compete in this year’s regatta. Skippers Dick Tillman, David Irish, Douglas Rastello, Tom Webster, Richard du Moulin, John Andron, Don Martin, Chuck Nichols, Bob Fisher, Tom Ehman and Bill Menninger are seeking a chance to bring the 2016 Masters Regatta title home.
Many of these sailors have been invited to participate in this regatta before, including skipper Dick Tillman from Melbourne Yacht Club. Among other accomplishments, Tillman was member of the 1976 Olympic Team and was a 1965 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year recipient. The last time Tillman raced in the Masters Regatta was nine years ago.
For the seventh consecutive year, skipper Bob Fisher from the Royal Lymington Yacht Club in the United Kingdom will race the Masters Regatta. Fisher expressed that he keeps coming back to sail this event because his opponents "provide good sport afloat and great companionship ashore."
This event will feature three days of competitive sailing with a dockside social on Friday night and a Saturday night banquet for competitors and guests after racing. The awards ceremony will take place on Sunday after racing on the front deck.
In conjunction with the Masters Regatta, SDYC’s Taste of Point Loma will take place on Thursday, October 20 on the Sail Wash Lawn. Masters competitors, guests and SDYC members are invited to sample signatures dishes and beverages from almost 30 local restaurants in the Point Loma area.
Tim Fuller, co-chair of the 2016 regatta, is looking forward to the race. "International Masters Regatta is a special event and it’s an honor to host so many greats from the sport of sailing in one place. Every year, we look forward to this event."
The International Masters Regatta would like to thank its sponsors: Ballast Point, Helly Hansen, North Sails, & Pacific Gate San Diego. For more J/105 Masters Regatta sailing information
J/105 Lipton Cup Preview(San Diego, CA) – The 102nd Challenge for the Sir Thomas Lipton Cup, San Diego Yacht Club’s signature fall regatta, will be sailed over the Halloween weekend on October 28-30, 2016. Named for the historic yachtsman and tea baron, Sir Thomas Lipton, the Lipton Cup will host twelve yacht club teams from across the USA.
Teams will compete in a round robin format using equalized J/105s provided by owners of local Southern California boats. With the course within San Diego Bay, the tight confines keep the racing close and the action within sight of shoreside spectators.
Competing in 2016 will be Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club (San Pedro, CA), California Yacht Club (Marina del Rey, CA), Coronado Yacht Club (Coronado, CA), Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead, MA), Larchmont Yacht Club (Larchmont, NY), Long Beach Yacht Club (Long Beach, CA), New York Yacht Club (New York, NY), Newport Harbor Yacht Club (Newport Beach, CA), San Diego Yacht Club (San Diego, CA), San Francisco Yacht Club (San Francisco, CA), Southwestern Yacht Club (San Diego, CA), and St. Francis Yacht Club (San Francisco, CA).
Host San Diego Yacht Club won last year’s Lipton Cup, but will be pressed by recent winners St. Francis Yacht Club (2014) and California Yacht Club (2012). Eastern Yacht Club, Larchmont Yacht Club and New York Yacht Club will be vying for their first win of the trophy, while San Francisco Yacht Club’s last win was back in 1916.
SDYC skipper Tyler Sinks likes their chances. “Sailing well is the only thing we can control and if we can do that, we’ll put ourselves in a position to win.”
Event co-chair, Joanne O’Dea, explains the spirit of the weekend, “Lipton Cup is a fun event because its three days of intense competition on the water — matched with equal enthusiasm for the camaraderie off the water. San Diego Yacht Club is proud to host this event every year and is excited to welcome the visiting teams to our bay.”
Sinks is also looking forward to the event. “The Club does such a great job with the regatta and so many club members come out to watch the sailing, hopefully the weather will cooperate and we’ll be able to give them some exciting racing.” For more J/105 Lipton Cup sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The big news from this past week was how much fun 420 college sailors had sailing a variety of J’s (J/88s, J/100, J/105s, J/109s, J/44s, J/122, J/133) in the premiere “college big boat regatta”. Storm Trysail Club and Larchmont YC hosted the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta for 46 boats- 66% of them were J/teams from schools all across America and Hawaii! Simultaneously, sailing on Long Island Sound just to the east of them was the J/70 East Coast Championships at American YC in Rye, New York! Out west, two major events took place off San Diego, CA; one was the San Diego to Ensenada Race hosted by Southwestern YC- a 58nm sprint for a J/160 and J/46, the other was the J/22 US Sailing Match Race Championship- the Prince of Wales Bowl- that was hosted at San Diego YC for the top ten adult match-racing teams in the USA.Meanwhile, in Europe, the Italian J/24 Circuit held its penultimate event in Cervia; the finale will be in Sardinia at YC Porto Rotondo next weekend. Then, on the big islands to the west, the Irish J/24 Autumn series has been taking place at Lough Erne YC for “thoroughbreds” and “warhorses” on Gublusk Bay in Ireland.
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:
Oct 12-15- US Adult Sailing Championship (J22)- San Diego, CAOct 15-16- Cleveland (216) Regatta- Cleveland, OH
Oct 20-23- J/70 Corinthian Nationals- Annapolis, MD
Oct 20-23- J/105 North American Championship- Larchmont, NY
Oct 21-23- J/105 Masters Regatta- San Diego, CA
Oct 28-30- J/105 Lipton Cup- San Diego, CA
Oct 28-30- J/Fest Southwest Regatta- Seabrook, TX
Oct 29-Nov 1- French J/80 Nationals- Pornichet, France
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
VINEYARD VINES Wins J/70 East Coasts(Rye, NY)- American YC hosted their 12th annual HEINEKEN High Performance Dinghy Open and, simultaneously, ran the J/70 East Coast Championship off Rye, New York. Like their college sailing friends in western Long Island Sound, the twenty-two teams that had registered to sail the event experienced far better sailing conditions than anticipated for the weekend. In the end, after sailing eleven races (counting 9 after 2 drops), it was John & Molly Baxter’s TEAM VINEYARD VINES that blitzkrieged the fleet with five bullets enroute to a dominating performance in the challenging conditions.
Saturday dawned with a moderate ENE breeze in the 6-10 kts range and, in fact, slowly increased to permit the American YC PRO’s to run six races on the day- a marathon for everyone, including the race committee and mark boats! On Sunday, the tail feathers of Hurricane Matthew worked their way across Long Island to provide exciting racing conditions- 12-20 kts planing mode most of the day, much to the delight of the sailors. While cold, wet and windy, the tremendous physical activity downwind kept the crews warm and focused!
Behind TEAM VINEYARD VINES most excellent performance was Oivind Lorentzen’s NINE, winning a few races themselves and posting all top five finishes to take the silver with just 25 pts net. Behind them, it was a tremendous battle for the last spot on the podium between John Brim’s RIMETTE with Stephanie Roble (US Women’s #1 Match Race sailor) as tactician and Jenn & Ray Wulff’s JOINT CUSTODY from Annapolis YC in the Chesapeake Bay. Having sailed Long Island Sound waters for decades, it appeared that Brim’s RIMETTE had the upper hand for most of the races. In fact, their worst race the entire regatta was a 7th; an astounding achievement for a 60+ year old skipper in such hard-core racing conditions! Nevertheless, their battle came down to the wire, with the Wulff’s tying them on points at 35 net pts each, with the tie-breaker going in favor of the Napolitans over the Long Islanders. Fifth was Andrew & Melissa Fisher’s BUTTONFLY with 51 pts net. Sailing photo credits- Karen Ryan. For more J/70 East Coast Championship sailing information
Storm-tossed STC “College Big Boat Regatta”!(Larchmont, NY)- Over 420 college sailors from the United States, Canada and France raced on 45 owner-coached keelboats over Columbus Day Weekend in the Storm Trysail Foundation’s Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (IOR) sailed on western Long Island Sound. A team from the United States Naval Academy (Navy) sailing the J/44 MAXINE was the overall winner after winning four races and finishing second in one race in the competitive six-boat J/44 class comprised of all service academies.
Up until the Tuesday before the 2016 IOR, the forecast for Hurricane Matthew had Western Long Island Sound right in the center of the National Weather Service’s forecast cone. As safety comes before other considerations, the organizing authorities feared the same outcome as at last year’s IOR. In 2015, due to the threat from Hurricane Joaquin the week before the IOR, other regattas were cancelled and many boat owners had hauled their boats or moved them to safer locations. This year, the weather gods treated the IOR more favorably and in a 12-hour period, on the Wednesday morning before the IOR, the forecast had completely changed, sparing a possible hit to the Northeastern United States. The IOR was back in full swing.
After the hurricane potential, it was ironic that the forecasts for the first day were for 2-4 knots of wind, even as late as the evening before. Once again, the weather gods did their own thing and offered up an 8-12 knot northeasterly for a great day of three races with a relatively flat sea state and moderate temperatures. The Navy team on J/44 MAXINE had three bullets on Saturday.MAXINE’s skipper Midshipman Matthew Robbins said, “We knew that to win the overall would require us to win almost every race. We sailed with teammates filling in for three of our regular crew members, which is a huge testament to the depth and talent within our program.”
Jahn Tihansky, the Director of the Navy Varsity Offshore Sailing Team said, “To watch them handle their boat across the range of conditions from getting off the start to shifting gears upwind and turning the corners efficiently, was amazing. They were also able to rebound from some misfortunes and quickly got back into winning form."
The second day of racing was sailed in an increasing northerly, which ironically was an outer band from the now dissipating Hurricane Matthew. The breeze was in the mid teens with some gusts to over 20 knots. The race committee, led by Storm Trysail Club Principal Race Officer Charles “Butch” Ulmer, skillfully got in two races in stronger breeze and wave heights before the conditions became marginal.
The Storm Trysail Foundation (STF), with organizing authorities Larchmont Yacht Club and the Storm Trysail Club, presented the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta, and this year it was again led by Regatta Chairman Barry Gold. “The IOR provides an opportunity for collegiate sailors to come together in a unique forum that is both highly competitive yet educational,” said Gold. “It also allows some college dinghy sailors with no big boat experience to be introduced to an entirely new aspect of racing.”An example is Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in Allendale, Michigan. This was their first time in the IOR. Of the 10 sailors that comprised their team, five were experienced big boat sailors, and five had little to no experience on big boats. Nick Zomer, Commodore of GVSU Club Sailing said, “The GVSU Sailing Team is immensely grateful for an experience of a lifetime for many of our sailors. Fifty percent of our team had little to no big boat racing experience, nearly everyone on the team had never sailed in salt water, yet we were still able to place and hold our own in the regatta. Many a team member is now hooked on big boat sailing for life, especially in regards to the thrill, the adventure, the strategy, the camaraderie…all thanks to the IOR.”
The 45-boat fleet was divided into five classes: IRC 38’-43’ (9 boats), J/44 (six), J/109 (eight), PHRF (12), and J/105 (10).In the IRC Class, it was the University of Michigan sailing Ron Richman’s J/133 ANTIDOTE that easily won their class, posting a consistent record of 2-3-2-1-2 for 10 pts total. In fifth place was the Stevens Institute of Technology sailing Chris Hall’s J/122 WILY SILVER FOX.
In the 12-boat PHRF division, it was Tulane University’s team sailing Doug McKeige’s J/88 JAZZ that won their class on a tie-breaker, posting a 1-1-4-2-2 record for 10 pts total.
In the one-design world, it was a very closely fought series for the top of the leaderboard in the J/105s. After the first day, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy sailed Bruce Stone & Nicole Breault’s GOOD TRADE to the top of the standings by one point over the University of South Florida sailing Gary Myer’s MAGIC. On Sunday, that battle continued with USF winning both races, capitalizing on tactical & boat-handling issues made by the Mass Maritime crew. As a result, USF won by one point, with Mass Maritime in second and taking third place was the US Naval Academy sailing Za Jelliffe’s ARETE. The rest of the top five included George Washington University sailing Josh Burack’s PEREGRINA in 4th and Miami University of Ohio sailing Dan Herron’s LIQUID COURAGE in 5th place.
McGill University (Montreal, Canada) won in the J/109 class sailing MORNING GLORY with four firsts, and a fourth. In second place was the team from ENSEIRB-MATMECA sailing on J/109 STRATEGERY. The team from ENSEIRB-MATMECA, in Bordeaux, France, earned the right to compete in the IOR as the winners of the 48th EDHEC Sailing Cup raced last April in Roscoff, France; their team won an all-expense-paid (except for air fare) trip to the IOR, thanks to the joint venture between STF and EDHEC Sailing Cup. Third and fourth were determined by a tie-breaker on 19 pts each between Bates College sailing Bob Schwartz’s NORDLYS and University of Rhode Island sailing Jonathan Rechtshaffer’s EMOTICON. Bates took the tie-break over URI. Taking fifth place was Syracuse University sailing David Frizell’s CEOL NA MARA.
The J/44 class literally saw a total eclipse by the US Naval Academy’s team on Bill Ketcham’s famously fast blue boat- MAXINE. Five bullets gave them a 6 pts total score and the 2016 STC IOR Overall Champion award for the weekend. A distant second was the US Coast Guard Academy’s GLORY with 10 pts, third was Maine Maritime Academy sailing Len Sitar’s VAMP, fourth was Mass Maritime’s bright red SPIRIT, and fifth was SUNY Maritime College sailing Norm Schulman’s CHARLIE V.The EDHEC Sailing Cup is the world’s largest college sailing regatta that draws over 1,500 sailors and 180 boats, and the joint venture with the STF is designed to bring the top college sailors in the world together. As a result of being the overall winner of the IOR, the J/44 team from Navy has won an all-expense-paid (except for air fare) trip to the 49th EDHEC Sailing to be sailed from March 31 – April 8, 2017 in France. All U.S. collegiate teams are welcome.
Thanks to sponsors Rolex, Vineyard Vines, Safe Flight Instruments, Pantaenius Yacht Insurance, Flintlock Construction, Dimension/Polyant Sailcloth, UK Sailmakers, Gill, Craft Brewing Co., Coca Cola, and YachtScoring.com, there is no entry fee, and meals are provided for the boat owners and college sailors. Larchmont Yacht Club’s Commodore, Tim Porter, again hosted and graciously welcomed all of the competitors to the IOR.
The Storm Trysail Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to supporting the education of sailors, junior safety at sea, and intercollegiate big boat racing. STF educates young sailors as they bridge the gap between learning to sail and becoming accomplished blue water seamen through a national program of events, including junior safety at sea seminars and intercollegiate big boat racing. Sailing photo credits- Howie McMichael/ McMichaels Yachts. For more Storm Trysail IOR Regatta sailing information
Snow Frosts J/22 US Sailing Match Race Champs!San Diego, CA (October 7, 2016) – San Diego Yacht Club hosted the 49th edition of the U.S. Match Racing Championship for ten very talented teams- their goal, to win “mano-a-mano” and win the coveted Prince of Wales Bowl. The #3 ranked match racer in the country, Nevin Snow from San Diego YC may be moving up the rankings following this weekend’s triumphant performance. The San Diego native earned his first Prince of Wales Bowl in impressive fashion by winning 17 of 18 races, including a 3-0 win over three-time champion, Dave Dellenbaugh (Easton, Conn.) in Sunday’s Final series. Crewing for Snow was Nick Kaschak (San Diego, Calif.), Alex Curtiss (Lake Bluff, Ill.) and Peter Busch (San Diego, Calif.).
On Friday, the winds started 4-5 knots and built up to 11-12 knots in the afternoon. Controlling the pre-start was really important, as always in match racing, but there were quite a few split starts where the lead changed several times because of shifts and patchy wind conditions.
Sail-handling was excellent on all the boats, which was a great example of the competitive nature of fleet. Overall, there were very few penalties and the penalties that did occur were at the start, some were at windward mark and some at bottom left corner of the race course.
One of those most exciting racing of the day was Breault vs Durant in flight 6. After a fierce battle of jibing and luffing, Breault took the win. At the top of the fleet, Snow finished 7-0 and Dellenbaugh finished 6-1.
Nevin Snow commented on the day’s racing, “Everyone was good out there today, so it felt nice to win all of our races. Every race was nervously tight. Tomorrow we want to make sure that we keep our momentum going. We don’t want to become complacent after winning the first day of races.”
David Dellenbaugh said, “Other than losing the last race, it was a good day. There was perfect wind velocity for match racing and the matches were very well run. I was sailing with my two daughters, Becca and Emily and today was Emily’s first time formally match racing.”
Saturday started with more wind in the morning than Friday. Overall, the average wind speed for the day was 8 knots. On day 2 of racing, skippers were focused on good starts and boat handling. Spinnaker handling was also massively important throughout the day. On Friday and even more so on Saturday, many passes downwind were happening.
Since rule 17 was recently deleted from match racing, it was evident that competitors were taking the opportunity to luff people downwind. There were a fair number of penalties again today all over the race course.
The eight skippers that progressed from the round robin to the quarterfinal were Snow, Dellenbaugh, Merrick, Darden, Durant, Lalumiere, Breault and Natvig. The match-ups for the quarterfinal were Snow vs Natvig, Dellenbaugh vs Breault, Lalumiere vs Darden and Durant vs Merrick. The first skippers to get three wins progressed to Sunday’s semi-finals.
Snow and Dellenbaugh both won their first three races and Lalumiere won during the fourth. Durant and Merrick were the only pair left to race a fifth race which Merrick won. Durant carried two penalties, burning one during the race without a chance to burn the second penalty.
At the end of Saturday, Snow was undefeated for the whole weekend, so far winning 12 races. Dellenbaugh had only lost one race- to Snow.
Snow said, “Boat speed was my key today. I wanted to focus on going fast and tried not to get caught up in what the other boats were doing. We’re taking it race by race tomorrow. I think every race between the 4 in the quarterfinal will be tight. Our approach is to keep it cool and calm through the races and maintain that attitude throughout the last day.”
Dustin Durant commented, “We had a rocky start to the whole regatta. We ended up 5th in the round robin which we were pleased with. We had a decent quarterfinal, tying it up 2-2, but having penalties in race 5 didn’t help. All in all, the team did well.”
For Sunday’s racing, Nevin Snow chose Colin Merrick to sail against in the Semi-Final round. Consequently, David Dellenbaugh had to sail against Charles Lalumiere. Snow won his round 2-1 while Dellenbaugh won 2-0. In the finale, Snow went 3-0 against Dellenbaugh. In the Petite Finale, Lalumiere, a recent graduate from Dartmouth Sailing Team, went 2-1 against Merrick to take third for the regatta. For more Prince of Wales Bowl/ Adult Match Race sailing info
Pleasant Cruise from San Diego to Ensenada!(San Diego, CA)- This past weekend, the Southwestern YC hosted the 53rd annual San Diego to Ensenada Race- a 57.8nm sprint to party central in Ensenada; the finish being the end of the West jetty the end of Marina Coral. A central feature of the race is the social activities before and after the event takes place. The San Nicolas Resort Hotel, Ensenada, Mexico was Race Headquarters in Ensenada. Club Nautico Baja at the San Nicolas Hotel sponsored the insanely popular “Paella Party”.
Starting on October 7th, the fleet took off in classic SoCal conditions and the race often finishes in lighter airs in the wee hours of Sunday morning. In PHRF 1 Class, John Lyon’s J/160 INNOCENT MERRIMENT placed 3rd in class by less than 2 minutes corrected time behind the uber-speedster- a pseudo TP52 called Staghound.
The PHRF 2 class had to be the most bizarre one of all, with ultra-light over-powered boats like the Melges 32 ANARCHY up against 18,000 lbs 46 footers. In the latter category, it was Bob Paces’ J/46 ANDIAMO that took 4th in class, less than an hour corrected off the winning pace set by the light air flyers. For more San Diego to Ensenada Race sailing information
Irish J/24 Autumn Series Report(Lough Erne, Ireland)- On the picturesque Gublusk Bay in Ireland, the Lough Erne YC provided a much sought respite from the work week, their highly-prized Autumn J/24 Series. Sailing this fall were a record eleven J/24s. Their first weekend saw sparkling SSE winds, 13 kts gusting to 25 kts, and plenty of sunshine!
Ireland’s oldest sailing sport club, LEYC has a continuous history of race management for a fleet of fast sailing boats from about 1820. The early rules were a mix of nautical and horse racing rules with a start/finish line and a set course that all boats had to complete. Near 200 years later, the line set on Sunday 2 October by Michael Whaley off Joey and Caroline’s cottage on Inishdoney was right where it was in early 1820s.
Ireland’s J/24 fleet contains “thoroughbreds” and “cavalry war horses”. The first group includes the 2003 Italian-built JIGALO, used to win the 2005 and 2014 J/24 Worlds; the Italian-built JOTA, and two carefully Rogers-built J/24s, JELIGNITE and CRAZY HORSE. The cavalry group, most of the Autumn Series fleet, is all circa 1980 Westerly-built war horses- rough, sturdy but a bit heavy. For better or for worse, that differentiation often shows up in the results!
The fleet went out to race on Sunday 2nd October in a brisk gusty SE breeze with some sunshine: sparkling conditions for four energetic exciting races on well-set fair courses set by Race Officer, Michael Whaley managing a keen skilled race team in RIBs laying race marks and other support boats. Course lengths and timing were very efficient. Four full length, tightly contested races were fitted neatly into four hours.In the end, the thoroughbreds dominated. After four races on October 2nd, three of them piled into the top of the leaderboard- Luke McBride’s JIGALO with a 2-3-1-1 for 7 pts, Finbarr Ryan’s JELIGNITE with a 1-1-2-5 for 9 pts and Gerry Gilligan’s JANA with a 3-2-3-2 for 10 pts. The first Westerly warhorse was Mick Clarke’s JERIATRIX in 4th position with a 5-5-4-4 for 18 pts. Another Westerly beast was standing in 5th place- John Buckley’s JOTA with a 6-4-6-3 for 19 pts.
On the following Sunday, October 9th, Michael Whaley was Race Officer. With a skilled LEYC team he set and reset four good courses in very light and shifty winds: three races were shortened to one round; the fourth was full two rounds. A record 11 boats competed. And, the standings shuffled substantially from the previous weekend. Winning the day was JAMAIS ENCORE with 7 pts, followed by JIGALO with 10 pts and JERIATRIX in third (top Westerly boat)!! The final four races are planned for Saturday 15 October. J/24 pictures are by Peter Scott. Stephen Carson provided the Committee Boat- without these race management volunteers we could not have such great sailing! Our heartfelt “Thanks” goes out to them for their gracious contributions! Find Lough Erne YC on Facebook For more J/24 sailing info at Lough Erne Yacht Club
JAMAICA Leading J/24 Italian National Circuit(Cervia, Italy)- This past weekend, the Circolo Nautico Brenzone ran the penultimate event for the season-long Italian J/24 National Championship series- a six event program that runs from April to November. Winning the latest event was local hometown sailing hero, VALHALLA HOTEL VERONA skippered by Fabio De Rossi with crew of Enrico Perbellini, Massimiliano D'Elia, Marco Fiorini and Petra Kurutz.
The races in Cervia ensured fun and entertainment for everyone. Taking advantage of the conditions to take second place was MAGIC FAIRY skippered by John Brescia Bonzio and owned by Viscardo Brusori. Third was CAPTAIN NEMO sailed by owner/skipper Guido Guadagni.
Pending the fifth regatta, the provisional classification overall for Helmsmen-Owners (based on the scores from events in Nettuno, Livorno, Carrara and Brenzone) shows that Pietro Diamante, the Italian J/24 Class President, is leading the event by a wide margin on JAMAICA. They are followed by CAPTAIN NEMO (Guido Guadagni) in second, VALHALLA HOTEL VERONA (Fabio De Rossi) in third, J-OC (Fabio Apollonio) in fourth and RED LEATHER (Gianni Riccobono) in fifth place.Next weekend, in the waters off Cervia, the Circolo Nautico Amici della Vela (www.circolonauticocervia.it) will be hosting the finale of the Italian J/24 circuit from 15th to 16th October.
After the traditional trip to Cervia for the finale, many J/24s will end their season on the beautiful, magnificent island of Sardinia where on Saturday 12 and Sunday, November 13 the “Italia Cup” will take place, organized by YC Porto Rotondo. For more J/24 Italia Cup sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* Vince Brun- North Sails Offshore One-Design Leader- provided some hints on sailing the J/88 (and similar boats) better. Brun enjoyed a weeks racing with Kevin Marks and his team on VELOCITY for the J/88 North Americans. The event was hosted by the American Yacht Club in Rye, NY from September 24th to October 2nd.Below you can read Vince's tips on boat set-up and pre-race routines. These suggestions were put together from his observations taken during the course of the regatta and are applicable across a wide-range of keelboats- large and small!
Boat Preparation
Bottom- Needless to say the bottom of the boat being clean and properly maintained is a key part of any fast boat or program. Going fast starts there and I can assure you that not one boat ever won a big event with a poorly maintained bottom. Don’t matter how well the crew perform, the rig is set, the sails trimmed, or the helmsman skills, a clean and smooth bottom, will have a huge impact on the overall boat performance. For this reason, I always make sure that my boat bottom is as good as I can possibly get it, this will give me confidence which helps me focus exclusively on the mast and sail setup.
Sails, Rig Setup, and Performance
Rig Setup- I found that the current North Sails J/88 tuning guide was extremely accurate on the gauge numbers.
Light Medium versus Heavy Jib- At the regatta Velocity performed better with the Light/Medium jib up to 18 knots TWS, and this was made clear when we had the heavy jib in winds between 14 to 18 knots. The J/88 likes to be slightly overpowered and the small jib didn’t help in that range. This was noticed not only in the lack of acceleration after a wave, but also in the poor pointing ability. I would tend to use the Light Medium, even if the breeze is hitting 19 knots in the puffs, when the wind drops, the J-88 gets underpowered quickly when using the heavier jib.
Backstay- The backstay is a key control on the J/88 in all conditions, not only helping with the flattening of the mainsail but also critical on controlling the forestay tension, and therefore forestay sag. Find a good way to calibrate your “fast settings” with good backstay marks, so that they can be duplicated again, and again.
Inhaulers and Jib Lead Position- For anyone trimming the jib, the inhauler and jib lead position are key controls in achieving a well-set jib. If these controls are set in the wrong position, the trimmer won’t be able to have the jib properly trimmed. During a race you don't normally have the luxury to stay on the leeward side to get the sail set up just right, so having these settings established well before the race is extremely important.
In my opinion, the key to success on any boat, is the confidence to be able to repeat “fast settings” that were learned in previous races or training and only work on fine-tune changes from there. These numbers should be constantly added into your boat's tuning matrix, so that these adjustments can be made automatically, which will help free everyone’s minds to better focus on what is happening on the race course and strategy.
Running rigging with proper length and good marks- As emphasized above, I’m a firm believer that good marks on the control lines, are a tremendous help to crews allowing them to perform their tasks faster and with more precision.
Example: If the spinnaker halyard is marked when the sail is fully up, the mast person will know precisely when that job is done and be able to move to his next task quicker, and without hesitation.
Mainsheet- I would suggest having the mainsheet fine tune separated from the mainsheet gross, to avoid the lines tangling at the leeward rounding or during pre-start maneuvers.
Spinnaker sheet turning block position- It might be a good idea to have the turning block for the spinnaker sheet moved forward, so that the spinnaker and jib sheets don’t cross. This allows the spinnaker sheet to stay ahead of the jib winch and in line with the spinnaker top deck winch.
Folding Propeller- As we learned on the first race on Sunday, it’s extremely important to have the propeller properly closed before the start to avoid the extra drag. The boat should be traveling at full speed before turning the engine off and putting it in reverse, this will ensure that the prop is properly set.
Pre Race Routine/ Pre race position
I have seen many different approaches to this, but ultimately everyone has the same items crossed, before the start. Below is my pre-race routine that I try to execute before every race day. It’s very simple:
1. Get to the starting area and start sailing on starboard (hopefully against another boat) for a good period of time to record the wind oscillation range, and have the lifts and headers numbers well defined.
2. During this time, I also fine-tune my controls so that I’m comfortable with the boat speed (this being the reason for another boat being around). If there are speed issues, I make changes and continue testing.
3. After this is done, I hoist the spinnaker to make sure all the lines are led correctly and practice a few jibes to get the crew polished and ready for the day.
4. At the starting area, I normally check in and inspect the starting line, by going head to wind near the committee boat. I am also checking the wind direction and comparing it with the line setup.
5. Now with all the data needed, the crew can discuss and prepare the starting and first leg strategy.
Starting around other boats
Obviously it’s hard to predict what others will do when approaching the starting line with a minute (or less) to the start. Possibly more important than how close you are to the line, is what “upwind lane” you will have 30 to 60 seconds after the start. A boat close to leeward with their bow slightly forward, will be a serious issue immediately after the gun. There are a couple of ways to escape this situation but the key is to identify the problem earlier rather than later, particularly when there are boats closer to windward.
If someone is close to leeward with a minute or more to go, you have two possible options:
1. Two tacks – which involve doing two quick tacks and opening the gap to the leeward boat and closing on the windward boat. This normally requires a nice gap to windward and great crew work to make this maneuver possible. This technique will require a well-trained crew that understands the boat and can execute the tacks with relatively minimum loss of speed.
2. The other more common option is to "push" the leeward boat by bearing off and taking their stern, establishing a hook to leeward. In most cases this attempt will force the leeward boat to do the same, but if they are late responding, which is not uncommon, you will be in a controlling position since you will have more speed and be able to hook. If you are unable to execute the hook, because the leeward boat has mimicked your move, you will be forced to go with plan A and do a double tack to protect your hole and future lane.
Again, identifying the situation early will give you more options to avoid a bad starting position.
Vince sent his thanks to Kevin and his team for making him welcome aboard Velocity and for an enjoyable weeks racing. For more tips from Vince Brun’s North Sails One-Design performance programs.
* A gorgeous J/124 sailing in Auckland, New Zealand! You better believe it! There was an immaculate, pre-loved J/124, on show at the Auckland On-water Boat Show last weekend in New Zealand.“She drew a crowd and had loads of real interest, we hope to close a deal soon at only $220,000 NZ,” commented Bryce Taylor from Coast Brokers Ltd in Auckland.
Learn more about her and contact Bryce- Ph +64-021 441 785 / bryce@coastbrokers.co.nz / http://www.coastbrokers.co.nz
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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