Lease a J/70 Today. Build Your Fleet!
(Newport, RI)- J/Boats and Docklines Leasing are pleased to announce the first-of-its-kind lease program for J/70s. Lease a J/70 today, starting at $799/month* for 36 months! Boat, trailer and sails are included.
Leasing, as an alternative to purchasing, has been popular in other industries for years and is booming in the automobile and RV markets, thanks to a whole new generation coming of age with purchasing power. It’s this generation that’s leading the charge in the new shared economy, and this generation that’s actively seeking alternatives to buying big-ticket items.
Leasing is the perfect fit. There’s no large upfront expense, no long-term commitment, and at the end of 36 months, you turn in the keys with no resale headaches.
To learn more about the J/70 Leasing program, please contact your local J/Boats dealer. *Please note the price of $799/month excludes tax, title and delivery.
USA J/70 Youth Championship Update(St Petersburg, FL)- The second annual U.S. J/70 Youth Championship will take place in St Petersburg, Florida on Tampa Bay from November 16-18, 2018. The event will be hosted by the St Petersburg Yacht Club in its fleet of club-owned matched one-design J/70’s.
The U.S. J/70 Youth Championship (USJYC) is open to thirteen Youth Teams representing US Sailing recognized Sailing Clubs or Organizations. Sailing clubs may enter more than one youth team per event, but may only qualify one team for the USJYC championship in Newport, RI. The thirteen (13) Youth Teams will compete on ten J/70 Class sailboats with class sails (main, jib, spinnaker). The 2018 qualifiers are:
Feb 15-18 Helly Hansen St Pete NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg, FL
Mar 7-11 Bacardi J/70 Invitational- Miami, FL
Mar 16-18 Helly Hansen San Diego NOOD- San Diego, CA
Apr 12-15 Sperry Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
May 04-06 Helly Hansen Annapolis NOOD- Annapolis, MD
Jun 2-3 Cedar Point YC One-Design Regatta- Cedar Point, CT
Jun 08-10 Helly Hansen Chicago NOOD- Chicago, IL
Jun 15-17 Cleveland Race Week- Cleveland, OH
Jul 06-08 The Newport Regatta- Newport, RI
Jul 15-16 St. Francis Sportboat Regatta- San Francisco, CA
Jul 26-29 Ugotta Regatta- Harbor Springs, MI
Jul 26-29 Helly Hansen Marblehead NOOD- Marblehead, MA
Here is the USJYC Notice of Race (https://www.jboats.com/images/stories/pdf/J70_Youth_NOR_2018.pdf).
For more U.S. J/70 Youth Championship information, please contact J/Boats at “info@jboats.com” or refer to the USJCA website (http://www.jboats.com/j70-youth-championship).
HELLY HANSEN St Pete NOOD Regatta Preview(St Petersburg, FL)- The Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta Series— the largest national sailboat racing circuit in the United States— returns to St. Petersburg, FL, for the first stop of its 30th anniversary season from February 16th to 18th, 2018. The event is organized by Sailing World and hosted by St. Petersburg Yacht Club.
Every year, hundreds of sailors compete for top marks in one of more than 10 classes and a chance at the Overall Winner title, which earns the winning team a berth at the Helly Hansen Caribbean NOOD Championship Regatta, hosted by Sunsail in the British Virgin Islands Oct. 21st to 26th, 2018. The events have proven to be quite popular with J/Sailors across the country, often the majority of the NOOD competitors sailing in some J/One-design class. For the St Pete NOOD event, there will be one-design starts for J/70s, J/88s, and J/111s. And, there will be a number of J/teams in the PHRF handicap classes and the North Sails Rally.
As the largest division in the event, the thirty-eight boat J/70 class will see a significant number of crews moving their boats down from Davis Island (having just completed their Quantum J/70 Winter Series last weekend) to be launched at the St Petersburg YC Sailing Center. Contenders for the top of the leaderboard may include crews like Travis Odenbach’s Rochester YC team (he usually sails the famous J/24 HoneyBadger); Jud Smith’s AFRICA from Marblehead, MA; Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE from San Diego, CA; Pam Rose’s ROSEBUD crew from Chicago, IL; Will Welles’ SCAMP from Newport, RI; and Nancy Glover’s talented team from Marblehead, MA.
In the Corinthians J/70 division, there will be some hot hands on the tillers. The famous Mendelblatt sailing family from St Petersburg will see young David trying his hand at J/70 sailing. Mark Hillman’s crew from Annapolis, MD will be hopping from his fast J/24 program onto J/70s. And, two quite talented U.S. J/70 Youth Championship crews will be vying for the one qualifying slot for the Youth Champs later in November 2018. Those crews are the HELLY HANSEN Junior Crew from St Petersburg YC, skippered by Heather Kerns, and the MUSTO YOUTH TEAM hailing from the MudRatz Sailing Team in Stonington, CT.
A half-dozen J/88s will be ready to hit the starting in Tampa Bay, with PRO Todd Fedyszyn (the StPYC Sailing Director) promising that he will keep the offshore teams busy given the promising conditions for the weekend. Returning from their recent J/88 Midwinters held at StPYC earlier in January will be the top three boats- Mike Bruno’s WINGS from New York, Andy Graff’s EXILE from Chicago, and Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION from New York. Joining them will be Al Minella’s ALBONDIGAS from Milwaukee, WI; Tod Patton’s BLONDIE 2 from Northbrook, IL; and Scott & Jim Sorbie’s LEGACY from Grand Traverse YC in Michigan.The J/111s also have a half-dozen boats sailing their second regatta of the year after competing at J/Fest St Pete for their Midwinter Championship. However, this time, all the crews are desperately praying for more winds! After racing in about 4.5 kts average wind speed for three days in late January, anything will be better! Will Jeff Davis’ SHAMROCK crew continue their lucky streak? Can Peter Wagner’s championship winning SKELETON KEY crew finish every race within the time limit? Can Rob Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF fire a moonshot and take it all? Is Jim Connelly’s SLUSH FUND team up to the task of duplicating their light air feats on Chesapeake Bay? Finally, no question Brad Faber’s UTAH and Doug Curtiss’ WICKED 2.0 teams are doubling down in anticipation of better outcomes this weekend!
In the world of handicap racing, the majority of teams in PHRF 2 are J’s. Four J/105s are participating, including Jody Abrams’ ARIEL, George Cussins’ FIRE & ICE, David Arata’s J-HAWK, and Charles Clack’s RAPTOR. Keeping them honest will be a crafty crew aboard the J/42 SHAZAAM, skippered by Roger Gatewood.
PHRF 3 Class has a classic light air flyer to contend with, the masthead J/29 called SEMPER FI sailed by Ray Manix from St Petersburg Sailing Association. At the other end of the spectrum will be the little J/22 MOJO skippered by Bob Touton from Davis Island YC.
For the one-day North Sails Rally- Cruiser Division, Jose Suarez-Hoyos from Davis Island YC will be having fun with family and friends on the J/35 NO WAY JOSE!! For more Helly Hansen St Petersburg NOOD Regatta sailing information
RORC Caribbean 600 Race Preview
(Falmouth Harbour, Antigua)- With 87 yachts registered, the 10th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 will have another record fleet. Teams from at least 22 nations have entered the Caribbean's most famous offshore race.
Since 2009, yachts from Great Britain and America have made up the majority of the fleet, and this year is no different with the two countries accounting for over 30 entries. For the 10th edition however, a significant number of entries from France will be on the start line on Monday 19th February in Antigua. The thrilling 600nm race around the central Caribbean includes three French islands as marks of the course; Guadeloupe, Saint Martin and Saint-Barthélemy.
While last year saw very bizarre, very “un-Caribbean” like weather, with light westerlies, rain, northerlies, and the classic easterlies all affecting different parts of the course, the “locals” believe this year’s event will see more “classic” conditions. The ideal scenario (and the reason why the course designed) is fresh easterlies with occasional overnight squally clouds punctuating the race track; that makes for a very fun, fast race.
For the most part, if the breezes remain in the ENE quadrants, it’s a very “reachy” race, with a few small beats interspersed (Saba to St Barth, around St Maarten, Les Saintes to Les Desirade, and Redonda to the Antigua finish). If the breeze turns more ESE, instead it can produce one long 183nm windward beat into big seas from the most northern part of the course- Tintamarre- on a SSE 152 degree heading to Les Saintes Rock off the southwest corner of Guadeloupe. Even then, the fleet has often encountered a windward beat for 57nm between Les Saints and Les Desirade across the southeastern shoreline of Guadeloupe. In short, good strategy, solid navigation, and a bit of luck is necessary to succeed on this race.
Half of the fleet is under 50 feet. And, in IRC Two, the three J/122s are all up to the task of taking on this challenging race course because it requires a strong all-around design like the 122.
Last year's winner and sixth overall, was the famous EL OCASO with captain Bob Hillier on board. They will be up against Pamala Baldwin's LIQUID from Antigua and the fast French crew sailing Olivier Parchet & Bernard McGranaghan's NOISY OYSTER.
“It's exciting, exhilarating, exhausting and filled with the spirit of adventure. We are brave-hearts with a mission- to dig deep and give it our best. We learn to expect the unexpected. We bond and make lifelong friends and cherish priceless memories," says Ms Baldwin, owner of J/122 LIQUID.
Also, entered in the IRC 2 Class is the classic offshore J/44 cruiser/ racer- Kevin McLaughlin’s with a largely New England team. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com For more RORC Caribbean 600 Race sailing information
Islands Race Preview(San Diego, CA)- Back for its ninth year, San Diego Yacht Club will host the 130nm Islands Race on February 16-17, 2018. The Islands Race is one of SDYC’s signature offshore races, and the first of the 2018 racing calendar for most boats. Following the Islands Race will be the Puerto Vallarta Race in March, the SoCal 300 in May, and the Rum Runner Race in October.
The Islands Race brings San Diego Yacht Club and Newport Harbor Yacht Club together when the race starts in Long Beach Harbor. From there, competitors will head west off the Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands before finishing in Point Loma. This scenic course showcases Southern California’s gratifying sea breezes and profound ocean swells.
A number of J/Crews are ready to attack the course on their start Friday evening. Every crew are veterans of the southern California offshore experience, including Viggo Torbensen’s J/125 TIMESHAVER from Dana Point YC; Tom Barker’s J/65 GOOD CALL from Cortez Racing Association; Ed Sanford’s J/105 CREATIVE from SDYC; Seth Hall’s J/124 MARISOL; and Paul Stemler’s J/44 PATRIOT from Newport Harbor YC.
San Diego YC Staff Commodore Wayne Terry, a co-chair of the event, commented, “the 9th annual Islands Race is co-sponsored by the San Diego and Newport Harbor Yacht Clubs. The race is often used as a tune-up for SDYC’s semi-annual running of the Puerto Vallarta Race, which is scheduled to commence on March 2nd. Over the years, the Islands Race has experienced weather conditions ranging from mild to extreme, while usually fun and always challenging. As always, refreshments will be on the front deck of SDYC awaiting the sailor’s arrival at the prize giving ceremony.”
SDYC will host the award ceremony on the clubhouse main deck on Saturday, February 17 with food and drinks for competitors beginning at 3pm, or later, depending on when the majority of boats complete the race. Sailing photo credits- Bronny Daniels/ JoySailing.com Friends, family, and the sailing community can follow the race by tuning in to the YB Tracking website.
J/Gear Winter-Spring Special- 20% Off!
(Newport, RI)- J/Boats’ sailing gear licensee V-Sport is pleased to offer all J/Boats owners and crew their 2018 Winter-Spring Special.
The Special Offer is good from now until April 4th, 2018 (please not 1/2 models, J/Photo Prints and J/Battleflags are excluded from the offer).
To place your order and enter the 20% discount code- “JB2018SP”- please visit the J/Gear website.
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The 2018 sailing season is starting to heat up in Europe, marked by the traditional Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse hosted by YC Monaco down on the Mediterranean. A large fleet of J/70s enjoyed simply amazing sailing conditions all three days and great competition in eight races. Over in Italy, the J/24 fleet also continued their traditional winters series championship held off Anzio-Nettuno on the southwestern coast of Rome on the Mediterranean coastline.Over in the USA, the fourth annual Quantum J/70 Winter Series took place at Davis Island YC, concluding with a nice warm, sunny series on Tampa Bay. Out west, California YC in Marina del Rey, CA hosted the SCYA Midwinters for J/70s.
Then, way, way down under in South America, the J/24 fleet in Chile and Argentina sailed their famous Chilean Navy Frutillar Regatta hosted by Cofradía Nautica de Frutillar on the gorgeous Llanquihue Lake at the base of the equally spectacular Osorno volcano. After that event, the J/24s and J/80s eclipsed the fleet in the annual “Vuelta al Lago”, the round Llanquihue Lake regatta that covers three days of racing, socializing, and partying at three towns across the 21nm lake.
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 pag Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Feb 15-18- St Pete NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg, FLFeb 17-18- SCYA Midwinter Regatta- Long Beach, CA
Feb 19- RORC Caribbean 600 Race- English Harbour, Antigua
Feb 23-25- J/70 Midwinters- Coconut Grove, FL
Mar 1-4- Heineken St Maarten Regatta- Simpson Bay, St Maarten
Mar 2-4- J/24 Midwinters- Coconut Grove, FL
Mar 7-11- Bacardi Cup J/70 Invitational- Coconut Grove, FL
Mar 16-18- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego, CA
Mar 22-25- St Thomas International Regatta- Red Hook Bay, St Thomas, USVI
Mar 29- Apr 1- Easter Regatta- Columbia, SC
Apr 12-15- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
Apr 8-14- Voiles de Saint Barth Regatta- Gustavia, St Barth
Apr 26-29- J/70 Corinthian Nationals- Ft Worth, TX
Apr 28- May 4- Antigua Sailing Week- English Harbour, Antigua
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Swiss Triumph @ Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse
(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- Over the weekend of February 9th to 11th, some 300 hundred sailors descended upon the famous Principality of Monaco for the Primo Cup- Trophée Credit Suisse, organized in collaboration with SLAM.
With 12 nations represented on 80 boats, there was no downtime for the sailors on Hercules Bay off Monaco. In fact, the fleets were blessed with some of the best sailing conditions the regatta has seen in years, with enough sun, wind, and warm weather to complete eight races for the J/70 class!
For Yacht Club de Monaco General Secretary Bernard d’Alessandro, there was great satisfaction, “it’s amazing to see how this regatta has not aged; that it continues to attract a new generation of sailors, as evidenced by the five Corinthian teams among the top 10 in the J/70 class fleet of 41 entrants!”
This 34th edition delighted competitors, including the 2008 Laser Olympic champion Paul Goodison. He commented, “it’s great to be able to come here in the middle of winter and enjoy back-to-back races in ideal conditions against a high-level field in the J/70 fleet.”
In this flagship class of the Yacht Club de Monaco, which boasts the biggest concentration of J/70s in the Mediterranean with 20 boats, the competition doubled its efforts to overtake last year’s Primo Cup winner- the Brazilians on MANDACHUVA.
After the penultimate day of racing, it was evident the champion was going to be determined between a hot trio of boats; Guillaume Girod’s CDE.CH from Societe Nautique de Geneve in Switzerland, Vincenzo Onorato’s MASCALZONE LATINO from YC Monaco/ Italy; and Mario Soerensen-Garcia’s MANDACHUVA from Brazil- about as international a group of sailors you could possibly find! The Swiss CDE.CH had been performing like clockwork; compiling all top five finishes and were leading the regatta. However, there was still a window of opportunity for the “Latin Rascals” and the Brazilians.
As it turns out, the last day and the last two races proved the undoing of many teams in the regatta, with many posting high double-digit finishes that had to be used as their “toss races”. The Swiss maintained their composure and closed with a 7-9 to win the regatta with 24 pts net. The balance of the podium and, indeed, the top five were playing a wild game of “snakes & ladders”. Surviving with a BFD-3 to take the silver was Onorato’s MASCALZONE LATINO’s very talented team with a total of 38 pts net. Six points back were the Brazilians on MANDACHUVA sitting on 42 pts net. Then, the balance of the top five saw the YC Monaco Youth Team on PONANTE, skippered by Nicholas Bouchet, take a surprising 4th place and in 5th was yet another Swiss crew- Emanuel Muller’s ATTAQUE. Of note, by far the best scores in those last two races happened to be Giacomo Loro Piana’s Italian crew on CUJ from YC Costa Smeralda- a 3-6!
In the Corinthians Division, the winner happened to be the YC Monaco Youth Team sailing on PONANTE with young Nicolas Bouchet on the helm. The crew has been very well coached by the YC Monaco Sports Group (note- ready story below about their European college regatta). Rounding out the podium for the Corinthians were Emanuel Muller’s Swiss crew on ATTAQUE with 47 pts and Amaury Berger’s YC Monaco team on SCIROCO with 52 pts.
The next regatta in Monaco is the final Act of the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series, 9-11 March. Sailing highlights video on YouTube. For more Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse sailing information
SAVASANA Wins Quantum J/70 Winter SeriesFLOJITO 3JT Wins Finale
(Tampa, FL)- Fifty-nine J/70 teams qualified to win the 2017-2018 Quantum J/70 Winter Series at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida by competing in at least two of the three weekends with the same boat and skipper. The popular Quantum J/70 Winter Series spans three weekends of racing between early December and February, allowing participants to store their boats onsite for a reasonable fee. Additionally, on each Friday of the Series, SAIL22 and North U combined forces for the so-called “Porch Series” to offer practice races and coaching immediately off the beach in front of the club.
Following the first two breezy, cold regattas, conditions this past Saturday and Sunday were characterized by sunshine, record high temperatures and light winds on Tampa Bay. In fact, conditions were such that only one race was held on Saturday morning before it turned into a “glass out”. The racing was then postponed ashore, with crews sitting on the beach or on the huge porch on the second floor, awaiting for breeze. Sadly, it never happened, leading to an “AP over A” cancellation of racing for the day. Wisely, the DIYC PRO moved the start time an hour earlier on Sunday to take advantage of the wind forecasts; a good move since the sailors enjoyed three solid races for the day.
After four races were completed, Jack Franco’s considerably talented crew on FLOJITO 3JT won the final segment of the Series with a blistering scoreline of 7-1-1-5 for 14 pts. This was Franco’s first major regatta win with Bill Hardesty (main/tactics) and Al Terhune (jib/spin) on the crew (note to self- both guys are World Champions). Taking second for the regatta was San Diego’s Bennet Greenwald, steering PERSEVERANCE to their best performance in recent months, posting a steady 3-3-9-4 for 19 pts. Just one point back in third place with another steady tally of 5-6-6-3 for 20 pts was Brian Keane’s SAVASANA.
As a result of the finishes in the finale, Keane’s SAVASANA earned the overall Quantum J/70 Winter Series victory by virtue of a tie-breaker at 4 pts each with Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE. The countback saw SAVASANA’s best 2-of-3 counters of 1-3 beat PERSEVERANCE’s 2-2. Similarly, there was a 3-way tie-break at 9 pts each for the final spot on the podium between Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE, Peter Cunningham’s POWERPLAY RACING, and Jack Franco’s FLOJITO #JT. STAMPEDE took that count-back with a 3-6 over POWERPLAY’s 4-5 and Franco’s 8-1.
For the Corinthians Division, it was clear the refugees from the frozen tundras of Chicago could not wait to head south and set a blistering pace in the hot waters of Tampa Bay (well, hotter than Lake Michigan, for sure!). Handily winning the final event was Sarah Renz’s team on BERTEAU GROUP, posting a 10-22-10-8 to close out with 50 pts, and, as a result, winning the coveted Quantum J/70 Winter Series Corinthians Division. Second in the division was Bob Willis’ RIP RULLAH with 62 pts and rounding out the podium in third was Nancy Glover’s WINTERWIND with Mark Foster on the helm. Ironically, the finish positions in the final regatta also reflected the overall winter series results. For more Quantum J/70 Winter Series sailing information
GURU-SIRTECOM Tops Chilean Navy J/24 Regatta(Puerto Montt, Chile)- This past weekend the twentieth edition of the Chilean Navy Regatta Frutillar was held on the spectacular waters of Lake Llanquihue and organized jointly by the Chilean Navy and the Cofradía Náutica de Frutillar Yacht Club.
“Lago Llanquihue” is the largest lake in Chile, just north of Puerto Montt along the Pacific coastline. It is located at the start of the “Patagonia Verde” and is the most beautiful landscape in the country, with enormous fjords, dozens of glaciers, spring waters, and immense rainforests. Plus, the wildlife is off the charts with seals, dolphins, whales, albatross, salmon, hawks, you name it.
The lake is in southern Chile's Lake District. It's known for its vast waters and black-sand shores. It is 860 sq. km. (330 sq. mi.), 21.75 miles long, with waters that exceed 1,000 ft (rumored to be as much as 6,000 ft in places).
To the east, the 12,000 ft high snow-capped Osorno Volcano that borders the lake has enormous ice caves. Nearby are Petrohué Falls, flowing down chutes etched by lava. On the lake's southwest edge, is the old town of Puerto Varas- famous for its German-style buildings and a red & white, 3-towered church. North of Puerto Varas, is the peninsula of Frutillar, famous for its glass-fronted “Teatro del Lago” that hosts concerts all year long in a most spectacular waterfront setting. In the northeast part of the lake is Puerto Oscuro, known locally as the “Riviera” of Chile for its benign, quiet, gorgeous surroundings along the lakeshore.
In the 1850s, Vicente Perez Rosales made a huge contribution to the region and organized the colonization by Germans and Chileans of the Llanquihue area. He made an agreement with the German government to bring German families, giving them 1 hectare (100 acres or 10 sq. km.) of land to settle and develop a zone that at that time was full of rainforest, lakes and beauty, but no infrastructure at all. The sole inhabitants at the time were just brave Araucanian Indians.
That initiative was a great success, and many Germans settled in the region in the second half of 19th century, developing its incredibly rich resources for agriculture, sheep/wool production, liquor distilleries, wine vineyards, granaries, and also commercial ferry services for many lakes, especially Lago Llanquihue.
The Chilean Navy’s Cofradía Náutica Regatta remembers those brave colonizers; many lost their lives (entire families, in fact) in the challenging weather, but their efforts enabled the few small communities to survive.
A strong fleet of a dozen J/24s and a handicap fleet that included J/80s participated in the multi-fleet event that took place over three days. The fleet experienced eight races with very shifty winds, with the velocity ranging at least 8-15 kts over the course of each day.
The J/24 fleet included eight boats from Talcahuano; Raul del Castillo from Algarrobo; and Tomas Detri from Villa La Angostura, Argentina. The regatta PRO was setting marks in about 300 to 600 ft of water! Imagine that, as bad as Hawaii or Lago Panguipulli! A rock, some string, chuck it over the side, time it (literally), and the mark is set!
The ultimate winner was GURU-SIRTECOM, with Nicolas Cubria from Argentina on helm. They finally won the title after sailing in a more protected area of the bay that produced 10-30 degree windshifts. In the end, the podium was rounded out by Raúl del Castillo’s LA BANCA in second place and the duo of Andrés Menta/ Carlos Lucero on VIKING in third position.In the Handicap class, the J/80 DOMINGO SIETE sailed by Alejandro Caroca lead in a one-on-one battle against the other J/80 PUERTO VIEJOR, sailed by the Surazo Sailing Club member from Puerto Varas- Rodrigo Carrasco.
Surazo SC is a group of 10-15 boats that sail the whole year on Llanquihue Lake from their homeport of Puerto Varas. The town is an important residential town for most of the professionals of the salmon fishing industry that work in Puerto Montt.
MINOR THREAT Wins J/70s @ SCYA Midwinters(Marina del Rey, CA)- California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey hosted the 2018 Southern California Yachting Association (SCYA) annual “Midwinters” regatta for J/70s. Fourteen boats turned out on the starting line to enjoy the first regatta of the season. The CYC PRO managed to run five races offshore in the big rolling swells of the Pacific Ocean, running double windward-leewards.
After the first three races on Saturday, Pat Toole’s 3 BIG DOGS from Santa Barbara YC was leading with a 3-2-4 for 9 pts and enjoyed some celebratory “brew-skies” on the dock after racing. Riding the big roller coaster of pain were Jeff Janov’s MINOR THREAT from Cal YC with a 7-3-1 score sheet for 11 pts, good enough for second place, and Tony Collins’ FLY from Kings Harbor YC with a 2—9-2 for 13 pts.
As Sunday dawned, the big question was whether any of the top three teams could maintain any degree of consistency to stay at the top of the leaderboard. Such was the tightness and competitiveness of the fleet that, despite being just fourteen boats on the course, not one team could post all top five finishes. However, the standings did experience a bit of a juggling of positions. The “Big Doggers” may have had too much fun celebrating their good luck on the huge Saturday dinner and band at the club; their final two races of 5-6 dropped them to third in the final standings. By closing with a 2-3, Janov’s MINOR THREAT won the regatta with 16 pts total and taking second was Collins’ FLY with 18 pts. Rounding out the top five were Chris Snow’s San Diego YC crew on COOL STORY BRO in fourth place and in fifth was Jim Murrell’s HUCKLEBERRY from Kings Harbor YC. For more SCYA Midwinters J/70 sailing information
J/80s Dominate Vuelta al Lago Regatta(Frutillar, Lago Llanquihue, Chile)- The Vuelta al Lago Regatta is raced every year on Llanquihue Lake in southern Chile; it is the premiere fall regatta for local sailors. The regatta is comprised of three or four legs that vary from 15 to 25nm, criss-crossing the enormous 21nm long lake. The regatta is open to all sailboats that wish to enjoy a “port-to-port” event to the many fun, cool, towns and villages that dot the verdant green, spectacular shorelines of a lake ringed by numerous famous volcanic peaks- like Osorno.
This year, the 2018 15th edition of the “Vuelta al Lago” (round-the-lake race) consisted of three legs:
- Frutillar-Puerto Varas
- Puerto Varas- Puerto Oscuro
- Puerto Oscuro- Frutillar
After three days of long-distance racing, the J/teams dominated overall. The J/80 CANDIDO with Mario Moure on the helm won with 9pts total. Taking second place was the J/24 PELICANO with 10 pts. Then, settling into third place was the J/80 BUCEFALO with 14 pts.
The most exciting development is that Llanquihue Lake will have four J/80s by March 2018. One boat is coming from Spain and two boats are coming from Canada, according to local J/Boats Chile distributor- Juan Eduardo Reid.
Italy J/24 Winter Series Championship ReportPELLE NERA Leading Series, NUVOLA Atop Trofeo Lozzi Regatta
(Anzio-Nettuno, Italy)- The 43rd Winter Championship of Anzio-Nettuno is off to a great start for the Roman J/24 fleet in Italy. After two full weekends of sailing, the weather has cooperated beyond anyone’s expectations, producing eleven races for the Winter Series and seven races for the Trofeo Lozzi Memorial Trophy series.
Winter Series
In the winter series, it is Paolo Cecamore’s crew on PELLE NERA that is benefitting from having the Hungarian Farkas Litkey at the helm; Litkey is a former Soling World Champion- a bit like throwing a wolf amongst the innocent little lambs! The team is sailing fast and smart and has posted nine top three finishes, including five bullets for a total of 15 pts net!
Climbing the standings quickly in the series has been none other than perhaps the most famous Italian J/24 sailor in recent history. Ignazio Bonanno’s LA SUPERBA is now renamed NUVOLA and instead of sailing for the Italian Navy College, he is racing for the Centro Sportivo Agonistic. While having bad luck in the first three races (a DNC-20-DNC), they can now throw out two bad scores. The NUVOLA team now has eight scores in the top three, with four bullets and are sitting on 34 pts net. Things could get interesting very fast if their consistency over the next two weekends begins to force PELLE NERA’s hand. NUVOLA has the best record in the last five races by far with a 1-1-1-2-2.
Sitting in third for the series is Gianni Riccobono’s PELLE ROSSA from the host Nettuno YC. They, too, had a rough start in the first weekend. However, since then, they have managed to pop scores like a 1-2-3-3 in the last seven races to swiftly race up the standings. They now sit just two pts back from NUVOLA, with just 36 pts net.
Trofeo Lozzi
This event is in commemoration of a long-time J/24 aficionado in Italy- Sr Lozzi- that passed away at far too early an age. Currently, the team leading this series is also a past winning skipper- Ignazio Bonanno. He is now skippering NUVOLA and, after not sailing the first two races, they have posted five straight bullets to be winning by 1.5 pts after a throw-out. Sitting in second place is Luca Silvestri’s ENJOY 2 for 24 pts net; third is Marco D’Alosio’s DON J with 25 pts net; fourth is Paolo Cecamore’s PELLE NERA with 33 pts net; and rounding out the top five is Fabrizio Sabatini’s DAIQUIRI with 43 pts net. For more Italian J/24 class sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni, and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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Défi Voile Etudiant– Pornichet, France- report from YC Monaco.
A steady 10-15 knots all weekend blessed the 25th Défi Voile Etudiant (sailing regatta for students) in Pornichet, Brittany. A total of eighteen teams on J/80s made the trip, including one from the engineering college at the University of Nantes, led by Nicolas Bouchet from the Yacht Club de Monaco.
Throughout the races, he maintained his leading position before finally conceding victory to the Western Brittany University team in the sixth and final race of the event.
It was a promising result for the YC Monaco helmsman. Bouchet commented, “I felt like I really improved my racing techniques over these two days and loved being at the helm especially on the downwind legs.”
Nicolas Bouchet sailed aboard the J/70 PONANT at this past weekend’s Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse, finishing a remarkable 4th place and winning the Corinthians division with the YC Monaco Youth Team.
https://www.yacht-club-monaco.mc/en/sailing-meeting-for-students/
* “This past week, Greg Slamowitz (J/111 MANITOU) and I (J/111 WILD CHILD) were in Montana at the Yellowstone Club at Big Sky skiing and discussing the upcoming Block Island Race Week strategy. We met in Block Island when Greg was thinking of buying a J/111. He called me for input and we became great friends. We have family homes on Block Island, sail together and now ski together. Greg was gracious enough to invite me to ski at his new home at the Yellowstone Club. All started because of you guys! Thanks,” says happy J/111 sailor and skier Kenn Fischburg. Linked here is a short video of Kenn and Greg skiing down “Prim’s Place” on the backside of Pioneer Mountain in the Yellowstone Club.
Watch their skiing video clip here on Facebook.
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 participated in the Blue Planet Odyssey project from 2014 to 2015 over a seventeen month period.
Read their very well-done blog documenting their experience. In the Pacific basin, they traveled almost 15,000 miles from Bellingham to Tahiti and all points between. Check out what the cannibals great grandchildren thought of their ancestors, what it was like to trade for black pearls, the problem with the Great Garbage Patch, and how many days did it take to get through it, and much more! Learn more about their adventures and experiences on HERON REACH here.
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* Jim & Heather Wilson 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 the Wilson's and their CEOL MOR adventures in their well-documented blog here.---------------
* The J/42 JARANA has sailed an epic voyage around the Pacific, the Atlantic, and now the Mediterranean. The crew consists of Bill and Kathy Cuffel, of Seattle, Washington. So far, their travels go way beyond Homer’s Odyssey! Their itinerary has included:
- 2009 - departed Seattle on a 3 year cruise of the South Pacific, sailing back from Hobart, Tasmania (Australia) in September 2012.
- The summer of 2014 they traveled north to Prince Rupert Island, crossed Hecate Strait to Haida Gwaii and had a glorious cruise down the west coast of Vancouver Island.
- 2015, after trucking the boat to Lake Ontario they traveled out the St Lawrence Seaway to the Canadian Maritime provinces and down the east coast of the USA, then out to the Bahamas.
- 2016 Winter they spent in the Bahamas, then crossing the Atlantic via Bermuda and the Azores to England and Europe.
- 2017 Winter they are in Lagos, Portugal, and in spring 2018 will be working their way into the western Med. Follow the Cuffel's and JARANA's adventures on their very well-documented blog here
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