40th SPI OUEST France Regatta Preview
(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- The largest offshore keelboat regatta in Europe- SPI OUEST France- is the first major event in the spring for French sailors. It is always looked forward to with great anticipation for J/sailors, as it is a celebration of sailing and family over the Easter Holiday weekend. Even more importantly for this year, it is a celebration of the 40th edition of SPI OUEST! The regatta is hosted by Societe Nautique La Trinite sur Mer, located in the quaint seaside village of La Trinite sur Mer. The sailing will take place from Thursday, March 29th to Monday, April 2nd on the Baie de Quiberon, one of the most famous places to sail in all of France.
Participating in this year’s event are over 100 J/Boats, ranging from J/70s, J/80s up to J/97s, J/109s, J/112E’s, J/120s, and J/122s. The fifteen-boat IRC 2 class will have four J/Crews vying for class supremacy. Last year’s winner, Didier Le Moal’s J-LANCE 12 from Societe Regate Rochelaises, will be working hard to maintain their momentum from last season. Another new J/112E will hope to capitalize on lessons learned from J-LANCE 12’s success; MUSIX will be helmed by P. Baetz from the home club SNT S/Mer. Two J/120s from Club Nautique Pornic will be up against those formidable 112E’s, one is P. Girardin’s HEY JUDE and the other is P. Tostivint’s LADY JANE.
In the twenty-one boat IRC 3 class are two J/97’s. From SR Rochelaises is B. Fagart’s MISPICKEL V and from Societe Nautique Baie St Malo is JP Briand’s J L’AMOROSSO. These two crews will be battling an octet of JPK 10.10s and a trio of SF 3200s. Another slightly lower-rated J/97 will be racing in the twenty-two boat IRC 4 Class, P. Mabo’s HALIOTIS from Club Nautique Piriac sur Mer.
In the OSH handicap class of fifty-four boats is a range of classic J’s. The smallest and oldest is S. Gras’ J/24 JIBUS from YC Crouesty-Arzon. Three J/92’s are sailing, including T. Bidon’s DR JEKYL from Club Nautique Lorient, M. Morvan’s J3M from CVF, and C. Roux’s LED ZEP from Societe Regate Turballe. Joining them are four J/105s, including P. Allain’s BO GOSS from CN Pirieac S/Mer, three crews from the host club from SN Trinite S/Mer; JP. Peche’s J’RTOURN, P. Jomier’s J-SQUARED from SNT S/Mer, and F. Guillemot’s MISS J from SNT S/Mer. In addition, the two “big boats” in class are S. Blevin’s J/109 JOKE from SNT S/Mer and P. Vidon’s J/111 J4F from SN Baie St Malo.
In the world of one-design, J’s continue to dominate the French scene, with strong turnouts for J/70s and J/80s. In the sixteen-boat J/70 fleet several of the top J/80 teams from the past are most likely focused on the upcoming J/70 World Championship to be sailed in Poole, England in 2019. Familiar names are racing, like Luc Sambron’s HEMON-CAMUS from APCC Voile Sportive, Herve Leduc’s PIERRE OCEANE from SR Rochelaises and Eric Vallliant’s TRISKELL from CN Narbonne. A top Russian/ Spanish crew will be also participating, NEW TERRITORIES RUS 667 sailed by S. Alexei and Hugo Roche, sailing under the flag of YC St Petersburg in Russia.
Again setting the record for at least a dozen years as THE largest one-design class at SPI Ouest will be the fleet of seventy-one J/80s. Such is the strength of the J/80 class in France that virtually ALL top yacht clubs/ sailing clubs have them as “club boats”; so juniors and women train on them all the time. That continues to feed the used-boat marketplace for J/80s. There are many fresh faces in this year’s fleet, as well as some of the grizzled veterans from European and World Championships. Look for some of these teams to be at the top of the leaderboard; Ludovic Gilet’s NUMERO J fron CN Pornic, Andrew Hurst’s British crew aboard SEAHORSE MAGAZINE from Keyhaven YC, Simon Moriceau’s ARMEN HABITAT from APPC Voile Sportive, Madame Rousseaux’s CN ST CAST GRAND OUEST ETIQUETTE from CN St Cast, Luc Nadal’s GANJA from NDCV Angers, and Simon Pellisier’s INTUITIVE SAILS from NDCV Angers.
Perhaps what is most notable for the J/80 fleet is the increasing number of women helms as well as a significant increase in the numbers of university sailing teams- at least ten!
Sailing photo credits- Jean-Marie Liot. For more SPI OUEST France Regatta sailing information
THE Easter J/24 Regatta Preview
(Columbia, SC)- Sailed in J/24s since 1987, THE Easter Regatta has been one of the world’s most popular and enduring J/24 events. It offers an excellent mix of shore side events and world-class competition. Whether yours is an amateur team attending your first regatta or a professional team contending for the top prize, you will find something here that impels you to return year after year!
The Columbia Sailing Club offers first-class facilities. Everyone appreciates the awesome Bath House at the beach and camping area, especially the campers! Their never-leave-the-club option offers FREE camping (first-come, first-served), meals every day, and parties GALORE!! The beautiful peninsula and gorgeous beach provide an unparalleled camping experience.
Most importantly, the down-home southern hospitality ties everything together. That is the tradition that competitors have come to know and love.
Answering that “call to duty” for J/24 sailors are at least twenty-three teams from across the cosmos of the J/24 universe. Notable characters include such teams like Dan Borrer’s JESUS LIZARD form St Augustine, FL; Mike Palazzo’s JO MAMMA from Charleston YC; Chip Till’s MURDER INC from Charleston YC; Steve Wood’s TASMANIAN DEVIL from Sail Newport, RI; Chris Stone’s VELOCIDAD from Atlantic Highlands YC; and Paul Abdullah’s TEAM TARHEEL from Jacksonville, FL. For more J/24 Easter Regatta sailing information
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 note 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
Things finally got busy on the Solent this past weekend as the popular Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series was finally able to sail their first weekend of the year. Hosted by the Warsash Sailing Club in Warsash, England, the series starts in March and ends in May. There is one-design racing on the White Fleet course for J/70s, J/80s, and J/88s, and on the Black Fleet course there is both one-design J/109s and IRC handicap racing for J/111s and J/112Es. Just across the Channel, the J/80 Frostbite Cup concluded after its four month-long season in Naarden, The Netherlands. Then, way, way off to the east, the Russian National J/70 Sailing League- Act I- took place in Sochi, Russia with sailing along the waterfront in the Black Sea. Twenty-four teams participated from all over Russia- from the far east (Vladivostok) to the far west (St Petersburg).Over in the Americas, the Gulf Yachting Association’s Women’s PHRF Offshore Championship was hosted by Southern YC in New Orleans, LA. Sailing took place on the relatively placid waters of Lake Ponchartrain for a fleet that included a J/22, J/24, J/30 and J/35. Out West on San Francisco Bay, the BAMA organization hosted their first offshore event of the season, their annual Doublehanded Farallones Race, the infamous adventure that takes you from the Bay, underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, and uses the Farallones Islands and rocks as the sole turning mark- a 58.0nm extravaganza. A group of J/111s and J/120s sailed well and collected some “pickle dishes” for their efforts in a relatively slow race.
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:Mar 28-Apr 1- J/24 South Americans- Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina
Mar 29- Apr 2- SPI Ouest France Regatta- La Trinite sur Mer, France
Mar 29- Apr 1- Easter Regatta- Columbia, SC
Apr 6-8- ALCATEL J/70 Cup- San Remo, Italy
Apr 7-8- J/FEST San Francisco- San Francisco, CA
Apr 12-15- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
Apr 8-14- Voiles de Saint Barth Regatta- Gustavia, St Barth
Apr 21-22- J/80 West Coast Championship- Seattle, WA
Apr 21-22- Van Uden Reco Regatta- Medemblik, The Netherlands
Apr 26-29- J/70 Corinthian Nationals- Ft Worth, TX
Apr 27-29- Newport to Ensenada Race- Newport Beach, CA
Apr 28-May 1- Grand Prix de Saint Cast- Saint Cast, France
Apr 28- May 4- Antigua Sailing Week- English Harbour, Antigua
May 2-6- J/24 North American Championship- Charleston, SC
May 4-6- Annapolis NOOD Regatta- Annapolis, MD
May 4-6- Yachting Cup- San Diego, CA
May 8-12- J/22 European Championship- Laveoc, France
May 11-13- ALCATEL J/70 Cup- Porto Ercole, Italy
May 14-19- J/70 North American Championship- Valle de Bravo, Mexico
May 18-20- North Sea Regatta- The Hague, The Netherlands
May 24-28- J/Cup United Kingdom- Cowes, Isle of Wight, England
May 25- Storm Trysail Block Island Race- Larchmont, NY
May 25-28- The FIGAWI Race- Hyannisport, MA
May 26- Spinnaker Cup Offshore Race- Belvedere, CA
May 26-28- Swiftsure International Yacht Race- Victoria, BC, Canada
May 26-28- U.K. J/24 National Championship- Poole, England
May 28-29- Coastal Cup Race- Santa Barbara, CA
May 31- SoCal 300 Race- San Diego, CA
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Warsash Spring Series- Week II Report
(Warsash, England)- What a difference a week makes- for the first weekend of the series, all racing was cancelled as strong winds and a blanket of snow covered the south of England. However, on Sunday, March 25th, light winds and relatively balmy temperatures were the order of the day!
Challenge number one for the race committee came when the primary Black Group committee boat broke down and couldn't be enticed into starting. So, the team had to squeeze onto the club’s smaller committee boat named “Lobster.” Challenge number two for both race committees was setting start lines and courses in the light Northerly air, with wind speeds between 5 to 8 knots.
As everyone knows, light winds off the mainland shore mean a shifty day, with success going to those who get the majority of shifts right, while also keeping an eye on the strong tides. Both groups had postponements while waiting for the wind to settle.
Black Group was started near North Ryde Middle, with zig-zag courses up to a laid mark near the Bramble post, with a couple of forays across the tide to buoys on the island side. The principal being that a number of shortening course options were available, if required. Starting was well disciplined in all classes, with some being quite shy, in fact. But, all fleets got away cleanly.
The IRC classes found their last two legs were quite tactical, crossing the fairly strong tide from the island back to the Bramble bank- there was more breeze on the bank than on the island, and some boats that kept to the island side lost out, with a couple of boats over standing the finish.
The winner in the IRC 2 class was Chaz Ivill’s J/112E DAVANTI TYRES (photo above) and the winner in IRC 3 Class was David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J'RONIMO.
The leaders of the J/109 class are Christopher Preston’s JUBILEE (above) in first, followed by Simon Perry’s JIRAFFE and Rob Cotteril’s MOJO RISIN’.
In the J/88 class, Gavin Howe’s TIGRIS (above) clawed their way to the top, with Richard Cooper’s JONGLEUR hanging on to second and David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM in third.
The White Group managed to get three races completed in the shifty conditions. Race 1 saw a very closely fought start, but all boats got away cleanly. Race 2 was postponed while the course was reset to reflect the wind swing, and this time there was a general recall as boats found themselves over the line in the strong tide. However, the next start got away cleanly after advice from the committee boat and the added enticement of a black flag. For Race 3 the course was moved again, and this time the breeze built slightly, however, the race was shortened to ensure three races were completed.
DSP (Douglas Struth)(photo above) and JEEPSTER (Graham Clapp) ended the day leading the J/70s, with Simon Cavey’s JUST4PLAY holding on to the third slot. The J/70 is noticeably the largest class represented in White Group - probably the combination of being the newest kid on the block, plus the fact that the J/70 worlds next year are in the UK- even Warsash SC member Jon Powell is campaigning the J/70 PEGGY this year; he’s clearly learning fast, having won the second race of the day!
The Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series is sponsored by Helly Hansen @HellyHansen with race partners Crewsaver and Doyle Sails. The Crewsaver Warsash Spring Championship will run on the following weekends: 21/22 April and 28/29 April 2018. For more Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series sailing information
NAVIGATOR Tops Russia J/70 Sailing League- Act I
(Sochi, Russia)- For the start of the 2018 Russian National J/70 Sailing League, twenty-six teams from across the country (from Vladivostok to St Petersburg), participated in the challenging, choppy waters of the Black Sea off the seaside resort of Sochi (the site of the Winter Olympics). It marked the fourth full season of sailing for Russian teams sailing J/70s across the enormous landscape of the Russian Federation.
These are the teams that began their journey in the fourth full season of the League. Participating in the first regatta in Sochi were LORD OF THE SAIL- ASIA (Sergei Musikhin), NAVIGATOR Sailing Team (Igor Rytov), LORD OF THE SAIL- EUROPE (Pavel Kuznetsov), PIRogovo (Yuri Morozov), Konakovo River Club (Mark Kagansky), ARTTUBE RUS1 (Valeriya Kovalenko), St. Petersburg Yacht Club Yachting Academy (Jan Chekh), Rocknrolla Sailing Team / RUS76 (Alisa Kirilyuk), Leviathan (Maxim Titarenko), X-Fit (Vladimir Silkin), DC TEAM (Denis Cherevatenko), Sochi-South Sport FPS (Alexander Mazurin), Region-23 (Evgeny Nikiforov), NAVIGATOR Trem (Alexandra Peterson), Parma- (Vitaly Tarakanov), USC (Dmitry Zhayvoronok), ResursKomplekt (Andrey Nikolaev), Skolkovo Sailing Team (Andrey Davydyuk), KOMATEK (Vyacheslav Frolov) , RUS7 (Anatoly Arnautov), East-West (Evgeny Anishev), Imperial Yacht Club (Artem Kuznetsov), CSKA Moscow (Alexander Mikhaylik), QPRO Sailing Team (Zoran Paunovich), Black Sea Sailing Team (Inal Berbekov) and Calipso (Vladimir Shishkin).
Friday
The racing started on Friday, eight races were held with 18 teams sailing at least 3 races and 7 teams sailed 2. Due to the uneven number of races, to make a judgment on performance would be difficult. However, what was clear was that one team was ahead of the whole planet! Valeriya Kovalenko’s ARTTUBE RUS 1 team (photo above) had three wins in three races for just 3 pts total! That was powerful beginning! However, something like this was to be expected, because it was this Russian team that won the YC Monaco Winter J/70 Sportboat series, defeating all competitors from across Europe and won the overall trophy. Kovalenko’s crew includes Igor Ignatenko, Igor Lisovenko and Alexander Bozhko, all from the Taganrog (Moscow) region.
Sitting in a provisional second place after sailing just two races was another star of Russian yachting, Igor Rytov’s NAVIGATOR Sailing Team. Then, just behind them was Alexander Mikhaylik’s CSKA Moscow Team in third with 5 pts.
The winners on Friday included six teams: SAIL LORD-ASIA, NAVIGATOR Sailing Team, RUS7 (Anatoly Arnautov), CSKA Moscow, KOMATEK (Vyacheslav Frolov) and ARTTUBE RUS 1. Watch the YouTube “Live” sailing video of first day- 3 hrs 20 min!
Saturday highlights - sailing video- 2:13
Saturday
On Saturday, despite the difficult weather that included rain and a very shifty wind, the Race Committee and PRO managed to conduct 14 races, for a total of 22 races sailed so far. Again, there were differences in the number of races each team sailed due to the boat rotations and number of racers.
Nevertheless, it was Kovalenko’s ARTTUBE RUS 1 that continued to lead the regatta with 8 races sailed and just 21 pts total. Just behind was a tie on points between Rytov’s NAVIGATOR Sailing Team and Yachting Academy of St. Petersburg’s Anna Basalkina, both with 7 races and 20 pts each.
As a result, the racing was so tight that these three teams all had the chances of winning and getting on the podium for the first stage of the Russian National J/70 Sailing League.
Sunday Finale
After three days, 32 races were held. Five teams had 10 races, fourteen teams had 11, and seven teams had 12 races. For teams that missed one race, they were added the average value of points scored in their previous races. Teams that had 12 races in the standings had their last race discarded.
As a result, the NAVIGATOR Sailing Team that consisted of Igor Rytov, Anton Sergeev, Konstantin Besputin and Vyacheslav Martynov won in a stubborn fight over the ace J/70 sailor- Valeriya Kovalenko’s ARTTUBE RUS 1. Unfortunately, after winning 4 races, Kovalenko’s team counted an 8th place in one of the Sunday races, knocking them out of contention for the lead to have to settle for the silver. Her team lost by 1.2 pts.
Taking the bronze was the LORD OF THE SAIL- EUROPE team sailed by Pavel Kuznetsov, Evgeny Neugodnikov, Vyacheslav Ermolenko and Yuri Popov. The team from Ekaterinburg had good results on the final day to climb onto the podium ahead of their rivals.
Rounding out the top five were the Konakovo River Club (Mark Kagansky) in 4th place and the Sailing Academy of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club (Anna Basalkina) in fifth position.
Sailing highlights video- day 3
Follow Russian J/70 Sailing League on Facebook For more Russian J/70 National Sailing League information
Strong Performance for J/Crews in Doublehanded Farallones Race(San Francisco, CA)- Fifty boats were registered to start the 2018 edition of the infamous Doublehanded Farallones Race, hosted by the Bay Area Multihull Association (BAMA). This year, most of the top boats completed the picturesque, iconoclastic 58.0nm race between 9 to 10+ hours elapsed time (a not so fast average of ~ 5.8 kts to ~ 6.4 kts).
Going for it were five J/crews from various Bay area sailing clubs and most all of them completed the circuit out and around the foreboding Farallones Island and rocks.
Leading the J/fleet home was Rich Pipkin & Mary McGrath’s J/125 CAN’T TOUCH THIS, with an elapsed time of 8:54:20, taking 5th place in Class 4 ULDB <42. Top banana distinction went to Howard Turner & Jay Crum’s J/111 SYMMETRY, going around in 9:06:16 to take the bronze on the podium. Just behind them in 4th place was Roland Vandermeer & Andy McCormick’s J/111 BIG BLAST with a circumnavigation time of 9:06:26! Yes, just TEN seconds behind their J/111 classmate! Wow, talk about a close, close, “hair by the chinny chin chin” finish, eh??
Similarly, but not quite as close, were the trio of J/120s sailing in Class 6 ULDB >42. Taking those honors was Ludovic Millin & Mark Scott’s SAETTA with a time of 9:16:03 to grab the silver in their class. Second J/120 was Sean & Jeff Mulvihill’s JAMANI crossing in a time of 9:18:42, just over 2 minutes behind their buddies on SAETTA, taking 4th in class. Then, Timo Bruck & Fraser Novakowski’s TWIST crossed in 10:02:43 to take 6th in class. Sailing photo credits- Chris Ray/ Pressure-drop.us. For more BAMA Doublehanded Farallones Race sailing information
J/80 Frostbite Cup Ends On Calm Note
(Naarden, The Netherlands)- With only 4 to 7 kts registering on the anemometer, the Frostbite Cup closed with a calm, quiet partly sunny day of sailing. The light weather last Sunday ensured the field of twenty-four J/80s never got too far apart on the race track. For many, it was a welcome reprieve from the rather cold and blustery winter of sailing.
J'ZUSTER closed in style and took a huge lead in the second race of the day and rounded the top buoy far ahead of the rest. However, despite their enormous lead, the winner of the weekend was LED2LEASE.
As a result of the movement up and down the standings on the final stage of the series, it was J’ZUSTER that maintained their firm grip on the overall series lead to take home the Frostbite Cup. Behind them, things changed a bit overall. Taking second place was OANT SIEN and, as a result of winning the last event, LED2LEASE secured the bronze on the podium.
Sailing on the “Gooimeer” was quite a challenge for all the crews. The wind can shift dramatically in various places on the water. Tactics are important, but in any case, the field was closely matched and any mistake was immediately punished, and often, very costly.
According to race leader Jørgen Schrier, “You are often forced to blow your start and have to catch up to the fleet. But then, rounding the top and bottom buoys also produced logjams of boats to gain or lose! The field was very competitive, but fortunately, despite the very tight racing, little or no damage was involved- just bruised egos!”
Of the seven scheduled competition days, only one day could not take place because of ice floes! With six cold, often turbulent days on which to sail, the event organizers can look back with satisfaction at the Frostbite Cup 2017-2018.
"No less than 24 boats appeared at the start. That is unique for the J/80 class in the Netherlands,” said organizer Frans Driessen. “All active boats have gathered in Naarden. The past few weeks, J/80s have also been brought from abroad and we welcome them in the upcoming matches, such as at the Dutch Championships that we will be sailing in May during the North Sea Regatta. With a big field J/80's on the North Sea ... that will be spectacular!” Follow the Dutch J/80 class on Facebook here For more Frostbite Cup sailing information
J/Crews Dominate GYA Women’s PHRF Regatta
(New Orleans, LA)- Every year, the Southern YC on Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans, LA hosts the Gulf Yachting Association’s annual Women’s PHRF Regatta. The event always gets a spirited turnout of women’s teams from across the region sailing in everything from J/22s up to J/35s. The J/women crews seem to make it a habit of sailing more determined and happy-go-lucky than other teams and collect more than their fair share of silverware along the way. The regatta is really more about the “joy of sailing” and the camaraderie of the women being able to share their passion with old friends and newfound friends.
This year’s event was a pretty light air affair. Like super-flat waters and less than 10 kts of wind all weekend.
In the end, it was Clerc Cooper’s J/30 Zephyr V2.0 from Southern YC that posted a 1-1 for 2 pts to win PHRF Spinnaker class. Louise Bienvenu’s J/22 LOLA followed them from New Orleans YC with a 3-3 for 6 pts to take 3rd place. Then, Debby Grimm’s J/30 HOT CHOCOLATE from Southern YC posted a 4-4 for 8 pts to take 4th place.
In Non-Spinnaker A class, Nancy Claypool’s J/35 FOOTLOOSE TOO from Southern YC posted a 3-3 for 6 pts to secure 3rd position.
Finally, Anne Robinson’s J/30 TOY BOX from New Orleans YC scored a 3-1 for 4 pts to take the silver in Non-Spinnaker B class.
Local photographer/ videographer Curtis Christianson put together a highlights video of the event. The theme song is called “This woman’s on fire!” Yup, maybe corny, but a suitable and fun music/ sailing video to enjoy. Watch it here. Sailing photo & video credits- Curtis Christianson
J/Community
What friends, alumni, and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* The “Island Fever Midwinter Series” just finished at the South Beach Yacht Club in San Francisco, right in the shadow of the San Francisco Giants Ballpark. This is a five-month series from November 2017 to March 2018 with 1 race day per month. Here is the report from J/32 owner Chris Boome:
“The J/32 is a great boat for San Francisco and we have four active racers on the bay. Three of the boats are kept at South Beach Harbor, which makes our Summer Beer Can racing all the more fun.
Two of the J/32s in the harbor raced in this series, LA DOLCE VITA (Hull # 64) owned by John Riley and Larry Weinhoff and STRATOCASTER (Hull # 16) owned Lewis Lanier. The racing was very tight, right up to the end with any one of four boats having a chance to win the series at the start of the last race.
I was fortunate enough to sail on La DOLCE VITA with my good friends John and Larry and it was fun to see how they do things differently than we do on my J/32 RHAPSODY (Hull #53) that I own with my boat partner Molly Morris.
The rest of the crews were also J/32 owners. Luther Izmirian (Hull # 79) keeps his J/32 a few miles down the bay at Coyote Point Marina. Then, Luther's brother- Robert- recently bought a home in Southern California and decided he needed a boat to both race and cruise! Therefore, of course, Robert also purchased a J/32 (Hull #46). Luther was the first one to discover the J/32 on San Francisco Bay and Larry (before he and John bought their boat) was the one that told me that I needed to go sailing with Luther before I decided which boat to buy!
So, our crew was made up of 100% J/32 owners! How did it go for us? We ended up winning the race and the series by one meager point! In third place was Lewis Lanier’s STRATOCASTER. For the series, the J/32's won 5 of the 8 races that were completed, not bad for a cruising boat!
From left to right in the photo above: Luther Izmirian, Larry Weinhoff, John Riley, Chris Boome (Not shown, Robert Izmirian).
* Here is another great sailing video from the “K-Mag” sailing the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race.
Viggo Torbensen's J/125 TIMESHAVER had a successful 2018 San Diego To Puerto Vallarta Race. TIMESHAVER was 1st in Class and 2nd Overall. Keith Magnussen (a.k.a. “K-Mag”), from Ullman Sails Newport Beach, has helped put together an extensive offshore racing sail inventory for the team over the past seven years.
Enjoy watching this PV Race sailing video highlights.
Here is the day one video from the first 24 hours of the race on-board TIMESHAVER. They saw lot of reaching with the Code 0 and genoa staysail- a very fast combination!
* The J/105 Young American Team expands its horizons in 2018! The Young American Sailing Academy, Inc. (YASA) has been formed and incorporated as a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide high school and college sailors opportunities in competitive offshore sailing. This new initiative is the natural progression of the successful Young American Jr. Big Boat Sailing Team that had become famous for racing their J/105 YOUNG AMERICAN on Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay and winning their class in many major offshore events.
Based at American Yacht Club in Rye, NY, the program has been setting the standard for non-dinghy junior sailing for the past six years. The YASA philosophy is twofold: first to empower junior sailors to take command of vessels by building experiences and skills that create confidence and comfort in any number of conditions at sea, and second, to support junior offshore sailors with an extremely high level of coaching and mentoring.
YASA believes sailing empowers young men and women by developing critical 21st century skills in leadership, teamwork, project management, decision-making, and critical thinking. With mentorship and coaching from highly experienced sailing veterans, these young sailors will not only participate but also take command in various offshore sailing races where adaptability and confidence become keys to success.
Peter Becker and Robert Alexander have provided guidance since the conception of the Young American team in 2013 and will continue to lead YASA. With a dedicated J/105 focused on basic training, the team actively sails in both one-design class racing and coastal distance races. Building upon High Noon's 2016 successes - first in Class, third in St. David’s Lighthouse Division, winner of the Onion Patch Series and winner of the Stephens Brothers Youth Trophy - YASA will continue to present opportunities to grow the numbers of young sailors competing in renowned sailing ocean races.About Young American Sailing Academy
The Young American Sailing Academy is a not-for-profit with a mission to develop a new generation of American offshore sailors. The goal is to work with high school and college aged junior sailors to give them the tools required to compete at the highest level in the sport of ocean racing. The goal is to field winning entries in premier national and international sailing events including the potential future Olympic class of offshore sailing. The Young American team has over six years of experience racing coastal and offshore events with numerous and notable victories such as the Block Island Race, Vineyard Race and Newport Bermuda Race. For more information please visit the website YASailing.org. Contact: Peter Becker- email- info@yasailing.org / phone- (917) 715-1471
* The USA J/24 Class Awards Their Second Annual Boat Grant to a New York Team.For 2018, the US J/24 Class has awarded the second annual Kelly Holmes-Moon J/24 Boat Grant to Kira Munger from Oswego, New York. Along with crew members Robert Hoffman (tactician), Tom King (bow), Brendan Dickerson (trimmer) and a rotating fifth person, Munger (at the helm), they will have use of a donated J/24 for the upcoming season. The Program is named in honor of Kelly Holmes-Moon, a long-time supporter of the J/24 Class Association who served as US Class President and as the Copyright Holder’s Representative.
From May through November 2018, the boat will see weekly action at Oswego Yacht Club with J/24 Fleet 146. The Boat Grant team plans to participate in the District 7 Pennant Series in hopes of earning a berth for the 2019 J/24 World Championship in Miami, FL. Munger and her crew have a busy projected travel schedule, including J/Daze in Canandaigua, NY; the Oneida Lake Pennant Series Regatta in Oneida, NY; Newport Regatta in Newport, RI; Marblehead NOOD in Marblehead, MA; the J/24 District 7 Championship in Oswego, NY; the Lambert Lai Memorial Regatta in Rochester, NY; the J/24 US National Championship in Portland, Maine; the Changing of the Colors Regatta in Lake George, NY; and the J/24 East Coast Championship in Annapolis, MD.
The Kelly Holmes-Moon J/24 Boat Grant Program encourages talented young sailors to gain first-hand experience racing within the J/24 Class of one-design sailboats at virtually no cost. Dave Eggleton donated the boat, USA 423, to the program, providing the Scholarship Boat recipients with the experience to escalate their level of competitiveness and inspire them to accomplish great things in the sailing world. The team is in need of contributions to help fund their campaign. To find out how you can help, e-mail- director@j24class.org.
2018 Boat Grant Member Biographies
Kira Munger, from Oswego, NY, began sailing in middle school at Fair Haven Yacht Club Community Sailing where she served as Head Instructor for three years. She skippered for Christopher Newport University while in college. Since graduation, she has split her time between Newport, RI and Central NY and continues to sail J/24s, Lightings, J/22s, Thistles, 210s, as well as frostbiting Interclubs and Lasers. She works in the media and public relations fields, as well as at a sail loft in service and production. Kira has coached sailing since 2008 at the junior sailing, high school and adult level.
Robert Hoffman grew up in Annapolis, MD and spent summers in Henderson Harbor, NY. He graduated the International Yacht Restoration School in 2013, focusing on Composite Building. Rob spent close to a year as crew of an arctic research vessel. He currently works as crew on a Custom 42 and Custom 47 that operates in the Gulf of Mexico, the East Coast and the Pacific Northwest. This summer, he is coaching sailing at Henderson Harbor Yacht Club in NY.
Tom King grew up sailing in Henderson Harbor, NY and stayed involved with the program as a coach throughout college. He also has experience coaching at the high school level. Tom regularly sails Lightnings, Lasers and J/24s. He graduated from Roger Williams University with a degree in architecture in 2012, attended the International Yacht Restoration School, and recently graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology with a Masters in Product Architecture and Engineering.
Brendan Dickerson hails from Skaneateles, NY where he grew up sailing on his family’s J/22, Hobie 16 and 49ers during the summer. He is an avid skier and is graduating from Saint Michael’s College with a degree in mathematics this Spring. Brendan is eager to expand his sailing experiences this summer by attending more regattas. Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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After an impressive second-place finish during the first race, Donaldson’s teammates faced a few "communication and boat set-up" issues in the day’s second race. "But we came back with sixth place during the third race, so it was a good day. We sorted out the problems we needed to."
The clear, runaway winner of the finale and the overall J/80 Winter Series was Gonzalo Morales’ BRIBON MOVISTAR with top skipper Marc de Antonio; they managed seventeen 1sts and seven 2nds out of 29 races! Finishing a comfortable second overall was top Spanish woman skipper Silvia Ravetllat on AKEWELE from Club Nautico de Balis. Taking the bronze was another top leading woman skipper, Rosa Artigas, sailing Luis Corbella-Jordi’s MIKAKU from RCN Barcelona. For 
The fleet welcomed returning owners Tim Russell and Ian Charles, both highly experienced skippers who had sold their J/105s a few years ago while attending to growing families. In the past few months each of them bought a well-prepared used J/105, shipped them to San Francisco, and jumped right into the front row for each race. Nevertheless, Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault on ARBITRAGE #116 turned in a consistent score line of 4-2-3-3 to win convincingly with a total of 12 points. They were followed by Tim on NE*NE #3 (Lowell North’s and Dennis Conner’s old “superboat”) with 20 points and Ian on MAVERICK #385 with 22 points, with Shannon Ryan and Rolf Kaiser on DONKEY JACK #26 in fourth with 26 points. Completing the top five was Adam Spiegel’s JAM SESSION with 27 pts. 
