J/70 Europeans Preview(Vigo, Spain)- Seventy-eight teams from 15 countries will contest the 2018 J/70 Class European Championship, organized by the Real Club Náutico de Vigo.
13 races are scheduled over five days, racing in the stunning Ria de Vigo on the Atlantic coast of Northwest Spain. The Real Club Náutico de Vigo is providing a warm welcome to competitors with social occasions throughout the regatta.
USA, USA, USA!Reigning J/70 World Champion, Peter Duncan's RELATIVE OBSCURITY team (Willem van Waay, Victor Diaz de Leon, and Max Hutcheson) will be representing the USA. “I decided to race in Europe this season because the competition is great. The European teams sail the J/70s very well,” commented Peter. “Last year in England and Italy, the hospitality was fantastic, everybody was very helpful, and the events were very well put together. I have never sailed in Vigo, but I have heard some great things about the conditions and the venue, so is a great opportunity. The intensity and level of racing in Europe is definitely on the up, and there are 78 boats signed up for Vigo, which is terrific. I hope they race us on one line, that would be really interesting.”
Viva Espana!
The host nation Spain has the largest entry by country with 22 teams entered. Gonzalo Araujo's LaGuardia & Moreira was crowned Spanish National Champion in the run up to the main event, and will be representing the host club for the J/70 European Championships. Jose María Torcida's NOTICIA was runner up for the 2017 J/70 European Championships, and is a two-time winner of the J/80 Worlds. J/70 Spanish Class President, Willy Alonso will be racing ENERSYS in his home waters, the highly experienced sailor from Vigo will be hard to beat.
Made in Brazil
Faria Renato's TO NESSA has made the long journey from the Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club in Brazil. At the 2018 Bacardi Cup, in a hot fleet of 47 J'70s, TONESSA came 8th carrying a DSQ from Day One. Horacio Carabelli will be sailing with all family members on URUBU. Horacio has won the Snipe Worlds twice, competed at the Olympic Games, and been part of numerous teams for the America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race.
British Armada Invasion
Twelve teams from Great Britain form the largest group from overseas. Olympic sailors and World Champions will be racing with owner-drivers including Graham Clapp's JEEPSTER, with reigning Nacra 17 World Champion Ben Saxton, and Olympic 49er sailor Sophie Ainsworth. Simon Ling's TEAM SPITFIRE, 2015 Corinthian J/70 World Champions, will also be in the thick of the action.
Viva d’ItaliaEleven teams are entered from Italy. Claudia Rossi's PETITE TERRIBLE will be gunning for a hat-trick of European titles, having won the event for the last two years. Claudia's father, Alberto Rossi, will be racing ENFANT TERRIBLE. Alberto is a past Farr 40 World Champion and three times ORC World Champion. Reigning J/70 Corinthian Class World Champion, Gianfranco Noe's WHITE HAWK will be racing. Vincenzo Onorato will be racing for the Yacht Club de Monaco under the name of his well know America's Cup Syndicate MASCALZONE LATINO.
From Russia With LoveValeria Kovalenko will be competing, hoping to take the prize for the top women helm. Melges 24 World Champion, Fabio Gridelli will be amongst her crew on ARTTUBE RUS-1. Another notable Russian entry is 2013 J/80 World Champion, Alexey Semenov and Hugo Rocha racing NEW TERRITORIES.
From Turkey, Ahmet Eker's team EKER KAYMAK, includes 2012 Melges 24 World Champion, Enrico Fonda. Fredrik Hedlund's Swiss team racing AGERA3 includes Christoph Berger, past Swiss National Finn Champion and 5.5 Metre World Champion.
Vigo is an ancient fishing city on Spain’s northwest Atlantic coast in Galicia. The mouth of the nearby Vigo Estuary is sheltered by the Cíes Islands, which form part of the Atlantic Islands National Park. The Cíes are known for their bird life and crescent-shaped Rodas Beach. The Ria de Vigo forms a superb natural location for the J/70 European Championships, and the city of Vigo has a renowned old quarter, home to plazas with towering ancient houses, which have been homes to fishermen for hundreds of years.
A J/70 European Championship preview can be viewed here on Facebook Follow and share the J/70 Europeans here on Facebook For more J/70 European Championship sailing information
IRC Europeans Preview(Cowes, England)- The Royal Ocean Racing Club will be hosting a stellar fleet of thirty-three teams from nine countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, USA) at their Cowes, Isle of Wight facility this coming weekend for the 2018 IRC European Championship, incorporating the famous Commodore’s Cup. The event will be a great “test” event for many of Europe’s top offshore teams that are also planning to participate in the IRC/ ORC World Championship that will be taking place in The Hague, The Netherlands in a few weeks time.
Several J/crews are participating. The British J/122E team on JUNO will be led by her owner/skipper Chris Daniel in the twelve-boat IRC 2 class. Also, sailing against them will be the USA crew on Andy Middleton’s J/120 SUNSET.
The twelve-boat IRC 3 Class includes two J/Crews; Fred Bouvier’s hot French crew on the J/112E J-LANCE 12 and the British team on John Smart’s J/109 JUKEBOX.
So far, J-LANCE 12 has proven to be a consistent winner, having won her class in the enormously popular SPI OUEST France Regatta earlier in the spring. J-LANCE 12 skipper is Didier Le Moal, Managing Director of J/Composites.
“We are sure it will be a great competition," says Commercial Manager Frédéric Bouvier, J/LANCE 12’s captain. “We are participating in the event to prove that you can still win races with a pure cruiser-racer."
This is the third J/112E they have campaigned, but J-LANCE 12, launched in March, is the first fitted with a “grand prix” package including a carbon fiber mast, fin (rather than bulb) keel and other race boat features. "We are trying new systems, which might be useful on future boats," explains Bouvier.
The team has been highly successful racing on France's Atlantic coast, winning all they entered in 2017. On board J-LANCE 12 for the IRC Europeans is reigning Solitaire du Figaro winner and Volvo Ocean Race navigator- Nicolas Lunven. For more IRC European Championship sailing information
Chicago NOOD Regatta Preview(Chicago, IL)- The highly popular Helly Hansen Chicago NOOD Regatta is again being hosted by the amazing volunteers and club members at Chicago YC, with crews sailing on the fresh waters of Lake Michigan, with the spectacular Chicago city-front as their backdrop.
The weather forecast is a bit sketchy for the weekend. However, it can change rapidly based on the crazy weather patterns the Midwest has been experiencing the last few weeks. Today, it’s baseball-sized hail (75mm dia.), lightning, tornados, and tropical downpours, blowing “dogs off chains” type stuff. Friday’s forecast is light easterlies, partly cloudy. Then a front passes through, producing ENE winds shifting ESE over the next two days blowing 15-20 kts with patchy rain and lots of cloudy. Not exactly a “shorts & shades” type of weekend!
Over the years, the regatta has ultimately evolved into one of the largest J/Boats regattas on the calendar anywhere in the world, with the Annapolis NOOD, perhaps being the largest. The Chicago event includes one-design classes for J/70s, J/105s, J/109s, J/111s, and J/88s. In addition, there will be the North Sails Rally with ORR/PHRF divisions for a J/100, J/105, J/120, J/130, J/133, J/112E, and J/44. Of the 144 keelboats registered, 58 are J/Crews (40% of the fleet).
The thirteen-boat J/70 class features four women’s skippers in their ranks, including the runner-up J/70 North American Corinthian team- Sarah Renz’s BERTEAU GROUP. The other three are Molly Hayes’ BOMBORA, Amy Neill’s NITEMARE and Ava Wilson’s CONVERGENCE.
The nine-boat J/105 class will again see most of the same boats that sailed the previous weekend in the COLORS Regatta. Will Sam Powers’ GRYPHON repeat their amazing success? Or, will the other two teams on that podium, Clark Pellett’s SEALARK and Jon Weglarz’s THE ASYLUM, exact revenge on the white wash from the previous weekend? With eight boats, the J/109s have a good turnout for the Chicago fleet, three more than last weekend at the COLORS Regatta. Like their 105 colleagues, a similar scenario may play out. Will Bob Evan’s GOAT RODEO maintain pace and put pressure on their fellow 109’ers? Perhaps Jim Murray’s CALLISTO and Peter Priede’s FULL TILT will overcome their inconsistent performance and podium every race; both are capable of doing just that.
As the COLORS Regatta goes, same for Chicago NOOD for the eight-boat J/88 class? Time will tell. Watch out for a battle between the top three boats from last weekend; Ben Marden’s BANTER, Andy Graff’s EXILE, and Tim Wade’s WINDSONG.
At an even dozen boats, the Great Lakes J/111 Fleet has shown up in force. The big question on everyone’s mind will be whether Jeff Davis’ SHAMROCK from Cleveland, OH can top their regatta-winning efforts at the J/111 Midwinters in St. Petersburg, FL earlier in the season. Chasing them hard will be several teams that also sailed the weekend before in the COLORS Regatta; such as Rich Witzel’s ROWDY (2nd) and the trio of Brummel/ Henderson/ Mayer on KASHMIR (3rd).
In the PHRF handicap world, there will be three-days of racing for the PHRF ToT Fleet of fifteen boats. In the mix should be the two J/35s- Dan Leslie’s NOMATA and Rick Stage’s ALPHA PUPPY.
The Saturday-only offshore race, the North Sails Rally- ORR handicap fleet, there are quite a few J/crews peppered amongst the twenty-two teams registered. Hoping to repeat their first race win will be Sam Veilleux’s new J/112E MARY GAIL. Chasing them hard will be Dave Hughes’ J/100 BARRACUSA, Mike Hettel’s J/105 GLOBAL NOMADS, Frank Giampoli’s J/120 JAHAZI, Tom Papoutsis’ J/133 RENEGADE, and Jay Butler’s J/44 CHEEP’N’DEEP II. For more Helly Hansen Chicago NOOD Regatta sailing information
New York YC 164th Annual Regatta Preview(Newport, RI)- The 164th New York YC Annual Regatta will feature a race around Conanicut Island on Friday, June 8, and then two days of buoy racing for the IRC classes, and point-to-point racing for the ORR & PHRF navigator classes. The weather forecast looks promising, with a classic setup for Friday’s Round Island, sunny, SW winds at 8-15 kts. Then, a bit of rain, but with light southerly winds on Saturday, followed by sun but lightish easterlies swinging right all day on Sunday.
The race track for Friday’s circumnavigation of Conanicut Island is just 19nm long. But, it delivers a full menu of tactical challenges, from the enigmatic tidal flows in the West and East Passages of Lower Narragansett Bay; the tricky ocean swells off Beavertail and the numerous geographically influenced windshifts, which are unique to each wind direction. It requires constant focus from the trimming and tactical teams and a good dose of local knowledge.
This year, the regatta will award an overall trophy for the best-corrected time under the three handicap rules that will have more than one division in the race; including IRC, ORR, and PHRF.
“We’re very excited to offer overall trophies for Friday’s Around-the-Island Race for the three biggest rating rules in use during the Annual Regatta,” said David Bush-Brown, the event chairperson. “With each boat sailing the same course, this is a rare opportunity for local family-based programs to go head-to-head with some of the top professional sailing teams in the United States.”While most of the yachts competing hail from within a day’s sail, there are a more than few road warriors willing to pull the rig, put their beloved yacht on a trailer, hitch it to a large truck and head out on the highway, all in the name of superlative sailing.
“The New York Yacht Club puts on a great regatta,” says Tom Sutton of Houston, Texas, who will sail his J/109 LEADING EDGE in the Annual Regatta. “This is a sailing mecca as far as we are concerned. My crew loves coming up here.”
Sutton and his team first competed in the Annual Regatta in 2015, towing their trusty J/35 from Galveston Bay to Newport. They haven’t missed a year since. This year, Sutton switched boats, bringing his J/109 north while leaving the J/35 at home for local events. The team’s summer campaign is broken into two parts, four regattas during the first half of the summer, including the Annual Regatta and July’s Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex, and then a pair of events in October on Western Long Island Sound, including the J/109 2018 North American Championship.
“It’s really exciting for us,” says Sutton. “My wife and I, and my son, will stay here for two months. And then we’ll head back to Houston. Then we’ll come back [in October] for those two events, one at American Yacht Club and then the J/109 championship.”
Competing against a fleet overflowing with local sailors is a challenge for any out-of-towner. But Sutton and his team have had more than their share of success at the Annual Regatta. Two years ago, they claimed overall honors in IRC for the Around the Island Race, beating 44 other yachts. Last summer, the Leading Edge crew took second in IRC 3 in the weekend portion of the Regatta.“We try to learn quickly,” he says with a chuckle. “We have a good navigator, really good crew. Most of these races have legs that are 1.5 or 1.25 miles long, so you do have to pay attention to the current.”
Sailing in the IRC Division will be four J/109s, including Carl Olsson’s MORNING GLORY, Bill Sweetser’s RUSH, Albrecht Goethe’s HAMBURG, and Tom Sutton’s LEADING EDGE. Twin J/122s will be going for class honors, Paul Milo’s ORION and Jack Gregg’s TARAHUMARA. A pair of J/44s will be in the hunt as long-time veterans of the regatta, NYYC Vice Commodore Bill Ketcham’s MAXINE and Chris Lewis’ KENAI.
In the ORR Navigator division will be Howie Hodgson’s J/160 TRUE and Bob Manchester’s J/120 VAMOOSE. Sailing similar random-leg courses inside Narragansett Bay is the PHRF Navigator division. Racing will be Steve Levy’s J/121 EAGLE, Doug Curtiss’ J/111 WICKED 2.0, Abhijeet Lele’s J/111 VARUNA, Brian Kiley’s J/109 GAMBIT, EC Helme’s J/92S SPIRIT, and Dan Stone’s J/80 HOT STREAK. For more NYYC Annual Regatta sailing information
Farallones Island Race Preview(San Francisco, CA)- “The Big One” of the season for the offshore racing crowd on San Francisco Bay is now upon us- the fabled Farallones Island Race- fully-crewed teams. San Francisco YC in Belvedere is hosting the event for the eighty-one entries. At this stage, it looks like the sailors will be treated to a classic, epic race, with 15-25 kts from the WNW on Saturday. With the start on an ebb-tide, the outgoing flows through the gate and over the “Potato Patch” will produce enormous breaking waves against the big breeze, challenging the crews on their way out. By 2:30pm, the tide switches and with it flowing back into the bay, the smoother water should make for an amazingly fast “planing mode” ride back into the Bay!
A veritable navy of J/teams have entered this one-day, but very challenging race that starts just off Alcatraz Island, heads west through the Golden Gate Bridge, round the Farallones rocks, then back into the bay to the start/finish line. Most boats generally finish by sunset, although in some years that has not been the case. For the fast boats, it’s a “race to happy hour” at the yacht club bar!
The J/crews range from the classic J/30s up to the magnificent J/44, and from the speedy J/88s up to the J/125 offshore machine. In the full-crewed division are five of the top J/120s in the Bay area that will be keeping everyone honest with the competitive crews, such as Barry Lewis’ CHANCE, Steve Madeira’s MR MAGOO, Timo Bruck’s TWIST, Ton Grennan’s KOOKABURRA, and Sean Mulvihill’s JAMANI. In addition, Jim Goldberg’s notorious J/109 JUNKYARD DOG’ers will be loving the big slog in big waves out to the rocks, so will Reuben Rocci’s J/111 SWIFT NESS, and Rich Pipkin’s J/125 CAN’T TOUCH THIS. Hoping for more benign conditions will be Tom Borgstrom’s J/92 HIJINKS, Kevin Mills’ J/36 DAWNS EARLY LIGHT, and the two J/30s entered, Tony Castruccio’s WIND SPEED and Jenny Thompson’s FRICTION LOSS.
In the Doublehanded Division, two J/88’s will be hoping for planing mode on the return leg, Jim Hopp’s WHITE SHADOW and Chris Cartwright’s VENTUS. Another Doublehanded team will be Rick Leute’s J/44 ACEY DEUCY. For Farallones Race sailing information and results For Farallones Race event information at San Francisco YC
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The first week of June for sailing around the world saw the extremes of weather, from perfect sunny days in Europe, to violent squalls laden with hail, torrential rain and gale force winds on Long Island Sound.Starting with Europe, we find the U.K. Women’s Open Keelboat Championship was hosted by the Hamble River Sailing Club for a mixed IRC handicap fleet that included a J/80, J/92, J/97, J/109, J/111, J/112E and J/122E. Up in Skagen, Sweden, the Skagen Race had taken place with a J/111 having an amazing outcome. In La Rochelle, France, the French J/80 Open Regatta was the third event to take place in the summer-long France J/80 Cup, hosted by Societe Regate Rochelaises.
Down in the Mediterranean, the 151 Miglia Race- Trofeo Cetilar- saw some excellent performances from a J/112E, J/122, and J/111.
Then, there were over a half-dozen J/70 related regattas all over Europe. For starters, the BOSCH Spanish J/70 National Championship took place in Vigo, Spain, hosted by Real Club Nautico de Vigo; a precursor for the upcoming J/70 European Championship in the same place. Similarly, the J/70 Southern Areas Championship were hosted by Royal Thames YC off their Cowes, England facility.
The J/70 sailing leagues have taken off like a hurricane blanketing Europe. The principal event was the SAILING Champions League- Semi-finals hosted by YC Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy for a fleet of 22 sailing clubs. Then, fifteen sailing clubs sailed the third event in the Swiss J/70 Sailing League in Romanshorn, Switzerland. Eighteen sailing clubs were involved sailing their second event in the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League in Bodo, Norway. In Russia, twenty-four sailing clubs participated in the Russian J/70 Sailing League- Premiere Division- sailing at the Konakovo River Club, NW of Moscow, Russia. Over in Sweden, there were eighteen sailing clubs involved in the Swedish J/70 Sailing League racing off Ekero, Sweden near their capital of Stockholm. Then, there was the J/70 Moscow Summer Series- sponsored by Ulysses Nardin- sailed on their “water stadium” just SW of Moscow.
Over in the Americas, it was no less busy. For starters, there was the umpteenth J/30 North American Championship hosted by Cedar Point YC in Westport, CT on Long Island Sound. Up on Lake Ontario, the Susan Hood Trophy Race was hosted by the Port Credit YC, a 75nm course around Lake Ontario that included a J/33, J/35, J/105, J/109, J/120, and J/122- lots of silver won by this group! Also, out east, the stormy Cedar Point One-Design Regatta was hosted by Cedar Point YC in Westport, CT for one-design classes for J/70s, J/88s, J/30s, J/105s, and J/109s. Then, down at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay, was the Southern Bay Race Week hosted by Hampton YC, with PHRF classes and J/24 one-design class. Out in the Midwest, it was the occasion for the Columbia YC’s COLORS Regatta, the season opener on the Chicago waterfront for five J/one design classes- J/70s, J/105s, J/88s, J/109s, J/111s. In Detroit, Bayview YC held their annual Bayview One-Design Regatta for fleets of J/70s, J/35, and J/120s.
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:
Jun 8-10- Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta Chicago- Chicago, ILJun 8-16- IRC European Championship- Cowes, England
Jun 8-10- New York YC Annual Regatta- Newport, RI
Jun 9-10- Australian J/24 Midwinter Championship- Cronulla, NSW, Australia
Jun 9- Farallones Islands Race- Belvedere, CA
Jun 9-16- J/70 European Championship- Vigo, Spain
Jun 15-17- Cleveland Race Week- Cleveland, OH
Jun 15- Newport to Bermuda Race- Newport, RI
Jun 16-24- Kiel Week/ Kieler Woche- Kiel, Germany
Jun 16-18- Women’s SAILING Champions League- Kiel, Germany
Jun 16-17- Three Buoy Fiasco- Seattle, WA
Jun 17-22- Block Island Race Week- Block Island, RI
Jun 20-23- J/22 North American Championship- Wayzata, MN
Jun 22-24- J/FEST Seattle- Seattle, WA
Jun 22- RORC Morgan Cup Race- Cowes, Isle of Wight, England
Jun 22-24- Long Beach Race Week- Long Beach, CA
Jun 23-25- J/70 EURO CUP V- Riva del Garda, Italy
Jun 28- Jul 1- Norwegian J/70 National Championship- Hanko, Norway
Jun 29- Jul 1- New York YC One-Design Regatta- Newport, RI
Jun 30- Vic-Maui International Yacht Race- Victoria, BC, Canada
Jul 7-14- J/80 World Championship- Les Sables d’Olonne, France
Jul 7- Round the Island Race- Cowes, Isle of Wight, England
Jul 7-8- Sail Newport Regatta- Newport, RI
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/Women Win Dubarry Women’s Open Keelboat Championship!(Hamble, England)- The 10th Dubarry Women's Open Keelboat Championship took place in the Solent on 2nd & 3rd of June 2018, hosted once again by the Hamble River Sailing Club.
For the second year running twenty boats came to the start line, but they were bigger boats so a record number of 170 women sailors attended the 10th Anniversary event. As usual, the Friday night briefing contained a number of entertaining presentations. First was progress report on the "new" Maiden project. This was followed by Saskia Clark, tactician on the J/111 JOURNEYMAKER 11 for the weekend, detailing the trials and tribulations of her medal-winning Olympic campaigns. Josie Gliddon then bravely took on the responsibility of the weather forecast for the weekend. "There are no isobars anywhere in Europe,” she stated looking at the synoptic charts for the next two days. She then advised competitors, to don cheap sunglasses and look out of the boat for any sign of moving air pollution. This would give a clue to where the new wind would come from. Best guess from the East!!
Kathy Smalley and her race team need not have worried. There were no foghorns in evidence overnight and as they approached the start area, a steady 14 knots from the South West, proved once again that the Solent does not necessarily need an isobar to have wind. As the Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Robert Allan Zimmerman, once said, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows!!”
The RC Committee Boat hook was dropped near Royal Southern (4S) and with a windward mark of East Knoll (4H) proceedings got underway on time. In Class 1, the J/112E DAVANTI DREAM TEAM (Marie-Claude Heys and Becky Walford), the J/122E R&W (Christine Allen) and the J/111 JOURNEYMAKER II (Laura Dillon and Louise Makin) battled it out for the first spot. They finished in that order. In Class 2, the J/109 JYBE TALKIN (Chloe Slater and Cressida Robson) came in first with the J/80 WILDCAT III (Lucy Burn) second and the J/109 JOLLY JACK TAR (Laura Blagden) in third.
The breeze stiffened slowly until, by Race 3, a good 20 knots was blowing against the ebb tide. There were a number of lessons learned about getting spinnakers down in plenty of time when approaching the leeward mark at speed. Even after the finish, it pays to remove the kite quickly. At the end of day one, Marie-Claude Heys/ Becky Walford’s J/112E DAVANTI DREAM TEAM took three 1st places in Class 1. Lucy Burn’s J/80 WILDCAT III was leading Josie Gliddon’s J/80 BOYSTEROUS in Class 2.
Owing to the increase in numbers, the Saturday night “Frocks & Flip-Flops” party was moved to the Hamble Memorial Hall, which was suitably dressed and pom-pommed for the evening. The annual raffle raised over £1,000 for Breast Cancer Care and The Hamble Lifeboat. If there were a prize for partying, the ladies from Voodoo, Verity Rouse and the RORC U35 Team, would have won it by a nautical mile. They were still going strong when your correspondent had long since retired for the night!
On Sunday morning, the River Hamble and the Solent were like glass. Not a ripple. The committee boat went on station at hamblewinterseries.com (4J) and waited. One by one, the yachts appeared and anchored. Not surprisingly, Voodoo appeared last but the AP saved her. Cheap sunglasses were now deployed in earnest, but to no avail. The Hamble River SC PRO, so calm in the wind on Saturday, now became twitchy, rushing here and there muttering to herself. "Relax Kathy,” an old wag on the boat said, "There's no rush to make a cock up.” Those crews who had gone to bed early now began to show the energy they had saved. The ladies on the J/109 JOLLY JACK TAR started things off with a rendition of “YMCA”!! But, they were soon out gunned by Thunderbird with the whole crew doing “the Macarena” in perfect unison, whilst motoring in a circle. BGT, auditions next, I think.Eventually, a light light breeze from just east of south crept towards the fleet. Slowly it built to 6 knots from the SE and a windward mark was dropped 0.5nm to windward. The line was set and all was well for day two racing. All that is, apart from Uproar, Mellissa Chapman, who found herself in the middle of the start line unable to retrieve her anchor. Undeterred Class 1 started managing to avoid the bright orange Impala. Gradually, the breeze built and for the second race the windward mark went out to 0.9nm. The racing was much closer in the lighter conditions with bunched groups rounding the leeward mark.
In Class 1, the J/112E DAVANTI DREAM TEAM scored two more bullets, to take the class. But, they were less comfortable bullets than the day before. The J/122 R&W with three-second places came second overall with the defending champions, the J/111 JOURNEYMAKER II in third. In Class 2, the J/80 WILD CAT III with 8 points, beat the J/80 BOYSTEROUS with 9 points.Marie-Claude and Becky on their J/112E DAVANTI DREAM TEAM drew up the crew relatively late in the day; five weeks before racing, with a wide range of experience from virtual novices to very experienced management. With an age span of 20 to 60, the team comprised of four J/Boat owners, two youth from the RYA keelboat squad, and local sailors. Competition was tough, namely, the very well sailed J/122 R&W with Lucy McGregor doing tactics, and Louise Makin’s J/111 JourneyMaker run by Laura Dillon, and helped by Olympic gold medalist Saskia Clark!
Marie-Claude said, “I am proud of our result, and very happy to have finally won the event after finishing in second place five times! We had more wind than expected, and on Saturday, the Hamble River SC PRO Kathy Smalley managed to give us three races with different courses, as the breeze built to reach 15 kts. On Sunday, we had to tie on to a buoy for a couple of hours waiting for the breeze to kick in, and when it did Kathy (the HRSC PRO) managed to send us on two good windward-leeward courses. A beautiful weekend in champagne sailing conditions, in great company and a win. I could not be happier!”
J/112E DAVANTI TYRES has an excellent race record since her delivery last summer, winning her class at Round the Island, Dartmouth, two J-Cups, and the Warsash Spring Series.
Becky commented, “With many of the crew being experienced J/Boat sailors it was easy to settle into the J/112E. This J is a pleasure to sail, being stable and forgiving. However, she is also very rewarding, as working the boat with fine adjustments meant we got the best out of her. Our competition included Olympians and previous WOKC winners, which meant we had our work cut out right from the off. The 5 races were held in perfect condition of bright sunshine with 8 to 15kts of breeze and bright sunshine. Having been chief bridesmaid on too many occasions it was great to finally win the 10th Dubarry Open Keelboat championships. Thank you to all involved!” Sailing photo credits- Trevor Pountain/ Yachts & Yachting Sailing video highlights of Dubarry Women’s Open Keelboat Championship For more Dubarry Women’s Open Keelboat Championship sailing information For more information about the J/112E sport cruiser
Circolo Della Vela Bari Top AUDI SAILING Champions League Qualifier(Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy)- Teams from 22 clubs representing 13 nations were battling over four intense days of competition at Semifinal 1 of SAILING Champions League (SCL) in Porto Cervo for a ticket to the SAILING Champions League Final in St. Moritz coming up at the end of August.
The first 14 sailing clubs qualified in Sardinia for the final event in Switzerland. The Italian yacht club, Circolo Della Vela Bari, won the opening round organized by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with the support of title sponsor AUDI, after a commanding performance in Sardinia. In the beginning of August, 16 other sailing clubs qualify at Semifinal 2 in St. Petersburg, Russia, to complete the list of 32 participants besides host club Segel-Club St. Moritz and SCL Champion Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
Day One- Danish Women’s Team First LeaderPerfect weather conditions welcomed the sailors competing on the first day. The first of two semifinal legs got underway with a mild Mistral wind between 9 and 12 knots; ideal conditions for the YCCS fleet of J/70s. Heading the provisional classification was the all-women’s team from the Royal Danish Yacht Club followed by the Finns of AAS and Germany's SMCU.
Participating crews have travelled to Porto Cervo from every corner of Europe: Slovenia is represented for the first time by JK Aurora, while the largest contingent hails from Nordic and Central European countries.
Each flight consists of a full round of short windward-leeward races, with each leg approximately a third of a mile and teams alternating on board the J/70 fleet. Smooth organization allows crew changes to take place in just 3-4 minutes, allowing flights to depart in quick succession.
During the Welcome Cocktail on the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda terrace, YCCS Commodore Riccardo Bonadeo declared, "We are delighted to welcome the SAILING Champions League back to Porto Cervo, approximately 100 sailors from across Europe began racing today in excellent weather conditions with a formula that allows yacht clubs to compete in a fun way and on an equal footing. On behalf of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, I would like to thank our long-term partner AUDI for their support over the past 11 years. Fair winds to all the participants!"
Day Two- New Leaders Take ControlCompetitors and the Race Committee had a long and productive day at sea. No less than five flights were concluded, with a total of 15 races run, shaking up the top of the leaderboard. The Austrians of Yacht Club Bregenz now sat in the lead with consistently good performances, followed just one point behind by Circolo Della Vela Bari on level points with the Germans of SMCU.
The day began at 9 a.m. with the usual briefing in Piazza Azzurra, and the first races started on time at 10 a.m. with northerly winds of about 10 knots, which lessened and rotated eastward throughout the day. After two stoppages for lack of breeze, in the late afternoon a southeasterly breeze picked up allowing two more flights to be completed.
"We had great conditions here and we managed to sail consistently well,” said Jodok Küng of Yacht Club Bregenz. "The racing is pretty tight, all the clubs are performing at a really high level, so we don't want to overrate our leading position. We want to qualify for the SAILING Champions League Final in St. Moritz. So, our plan for the next few days is not to think too much, to sail well and in the end we will get a result."
Simone Ferrarese, skipper of Circolo Della Vela Bari, commented, "Thanks to three bullets today we were able to recover from yesterday's OCS! We hope to continue like that over the coming days and end up with a good result. I'd like to thank my team mates who sailed really well, the wind was very shifty and the support on tactics by Valerio Galati, our mainsail trimmer and my crew in the 49er Olympic campaign, was fundamental to our success.”
The teams concluded the day with the social highlight of the competition, a team barbecue on the terrace of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
Day Three- Italians Take LeadThe third day saw the team representing Circolo Della Vela Bari move to the top of the classification, followed by the Austrians of the Yacht Club Bregenz. Just four flights remained to be held in the final day of the event.
The wind filled in at around 11 a.m. and the first race got underway soon after, accompanied by an easterly wind of approximately 6 knots which progressively built up to 10 knots and moved to south-easterly. The races took place in quick succession and were broadcast in live streaming on the SAILING Champions League YouTube channel.
Once again, the race course was not easy to read, with shifty wind and unexpected holes in the breeze. In such a closely ranked fleet, it was important to make as few mistakes as possible. Many penalties- a 360° turn- were imposed by the umpires on the tightly-bunched fleet.
The team from Circolo Della Vela Bari posted four 1sts, one 2nd and one 5th to lead the provisional standings just one point ahead of yesterday's leaders, the Austrians of the Yacht Club Bregenz. The French team representing Club de Voile St. Aubin Elbeuf moved up to third place at the expense of the German team of Segel-und Motorboot Club Überlingen.
Simone Ferrarese, skipper of CVB, said, "It was an excellent day and the crew worked especially well, we expected more wind, but luckily we managed to perform well in today's conditions. We are all very close, tomorrow is the decisive day! The forecast gives more wind and we will see who makes it in the end."
Cédric Chateau, skipper of Club de Voile St. Aubin Elbeuf, commented, "We were able to manage the day well, avoiding big mistakes and especially those penalties that had initially brought our scores down. We are very close to our opponents and, generally, very pleased with the day."
Day Four- Finale, Italians Win!Excellent starting skills and clear-headed tactical racing delivered victory for the crew representing Circolo Della Vela Bari (CVB), one of two Italian teams competing on the sparkling waters of the Costa Smeralda. Simone Ferrarese’s team went into the final day just in front of Austrian rivals Yacht Club Bregenz, with Club de Voile Saint-Aubin Elbeuf also in contention. However, neither the Austrians nor French could match the blinding consistency of the CVB crew, who won all three of their races on the final day to win the 22-team contest with a race to spare.
Ferrarese was delighted to win in such dominant fashion, commenting that, “We had an amazing day today. It’s great to come out with a race victory and it’s fantastic to win in Italian waters! We love Porto Cervo and we love this event. It was tough until the end, especially in our last race to keep our eyes on the French team from Club de Voile Saint-Aubin Elbeuf, who was our direct rival. Thanks to my crew, they did an amazing job!”
Although they may not have won in Porto Cervo, the Austrians were still very satisfied with second overall. Compared with the Mediterranean heat of Northern Sardinia, skipper Max Trippolt will perhaps enjoy the cooler climes of Switzerland in just under three months from now. “Sailing so many races in four days, the sun in Sardinia kills your brain, and keeping the concentration up is not easy at all! So, we’re very happy to have qualified for the SAILING Champions League Final. But the competition is going to be even harder in St. Moritz, when the best clubs from the semifinals come together. We’ll give our best and see what’s possible.”
Aside from winning the event, the other battle in the middle of the fleet was to secure one of the 14 places available for the final in St. Moritz. APCC Nantes sailed well in their final heat to take second place behind the winners from CVB, the French doing enough to secure qualification for Switzerland. Last of the qualifiers was Jachtclub Scheveningen from the Netherlands, with their Dutch compatriots WSV Giesbeek finishing just one place and three points behind, but meaning they just missed out on a ticket to St Moritz.
The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) ran an exemplary regatta, proving why this venue continues to be one of the clearest choices for hosting world-class sailing contests. YCCS Commodore, Riccardo Bonadeo, commented, “the club became famous for hosting Maxi yachts but we also want to welcome the young sailors to compete at events like SAILING Champions League. We are happy that this new challenge for the club is achieving great results for sailing. We make every effort to create the same spirit of sport for young people in the smaller boats – because this is the future of our sport.”
The YCCS regatta was the first of two semifinals, with the second semifinal due to be hosted by St. Petersburg Yacht Club in Russia from August 3rd to 6th, just a few weeks before the 2018 Final which will be hosted for the first time by Segel-Club St. Moritz, high up in the Swiss Alps from August 30th to September 2nd.
Live broadcasting by SAP
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The qualified clubs for the Final in St. Moritz are:
1 Italy- Circolo Della Vela Bari- Bari, Italy
2 Austria- Yacht Club Bregenz- Bregenz, Austria
3 France- Club de Voile Saint-Aubin Elbeuf- Saint-Aubin Elbeuf, France
4 Switzerland- Regattaclub Bodensee- St. Gallen, Switzerland
5 Germany- Segel-und Motorboot Club Überlingen- Überlingen, Germany
6 Monaco- Yacht Club Monaco- Monte Carlo, Monaco
7 Switzerland- Regattaclub Oberhofen- Oberhofen, Switzerland
8 Denmark- Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub- Copenhagen, Denmark
9 Italy- Società Canottieri Garda Salò- Salò, Italy
10 Finland- Åländska Segelsällskapet- Åland Islands, Finland
11 Germany- Wassersportverein Hemelingen- Bremen, Germany
12 Sweden- Cape Crow Yacht Club- Gothenburg, Sweden
13 France- APCC Nantes- Nantes, France
14 Netherlands- Jachtclub Scheveningen- The Hague, Netherlands
Sailing photo credits- SCL/Lars Wehrmann SAILING Champions League highlights video on Facebook For more SAILING Champions League regatta information
A Wild J/30 North American ChampionshipWILDCAT Wins Storm-tossed Series
(Westport, CT)- For the 2018 edition of the J/30 North American Championship, it will go down as one of the wildest events on record in the long history of the class that started back in 1983. Nine boats braved the weekend event hosted by Cedar Point Yacht Club in Westport, CT. The fleet enjoyed somewhat benign conditions on Saturday, but the tables turned quite dramatically on Sunday as a menacing front swung through producing big breezes, rain, and hail just west of the race course area.
After eight races, Russ Atkinson’s J/30 WILDCAT won the event based on their blistering record on the first day, posting a 1-2-1-1 on Saturday followed by a 2-2-4-2 in the big breeze Sunday to take the event with 11 pts net (after a discard). The balance of the podium was determined by a thrilling tie-breaker between Steve Buzbee’s famously fast BLUE MEANIE and Carl Sherter’s equally notorious FAT CITY; each team finished with 16 pts net, the countback going in favor to Buzbee’s BLUE MEANIE to take the silver. The balance of the top five included Seth Shepard IV’s DOW JONES in 4th and Sumner Parker’s BLUE JACKET in 5th. Sailing photo credits- Daniel Forster. For more J/30 North American Championship sailing information
Araujo Crowned BOSCH Spanish J/70 Champion!(Vigo, Spain)- The Real Club Nautico de Vigo has been preparing for the 2018 edition of the J/70 European Championship for months. As part of their preparation and training for their club members and Race Committee volunteers, they hosted the Vigo J/70 Winter & Spring Series for two dozen boats. In addition, as the penultimate test of their team, they also hosted this year’s BOSCH Spanish J/70 Nationals as the precursor-training program for both Spanish crews as well as their European visitors wishing to learn more about the waters off Vigo.
Thirty-one teams participated in the BOSCH Spanish J/70 Nationals and five races were run over the weekend event. The event had tremendous support from Galician institutions, including the Concello de Vigo, the Diputación de Pontevedra, the Port of Vigo, and the Xunta de Galicia.
In the end, it was Gonzalo Araujo and his team from LAGUARDIA & MOREIRA-LAUFEN was crowned the champions after posting a very consistent scoreline of 2-1-8-7-5 for 23 pts total. It was big win for the local favorites as they were carrying the flag for the host- Real Club Nautico de Vigo!Taking the silver was the duo of Alfredo Gonzalez and Federico Morales on MARINA RUBICON, sailing for the Real Club Nautico de Arrecife. They started fast, but faded in the end, recording a tally of 1-2-10-6-7 for 26 pts.
Sitting just one point lower to take the bronze was the two-time J/80 World Champion, Jose Maria “Pichu” Torcida on NOTICIA, posting the most consistent scores of 6-7-6-4-4 for 27 pts. His team from Real Club Maritimo de Santander has been a force in the Spanish J/80 class for over a decade and has now taken to the J/70 class like ducks to water. Notably, they took 2nd in the blustery, windy 2017 J/70 Europeans sailed on the Solent in the United Kingdom. They will be a force to be reckoned with in the J/70 Europeans next week!
Rounding out the top five were Luis Bugallo Arriola’s MARNATURA in 4th (also a RCN Vigo team) and the top Russian crew- Denis Cherevatenko’s JOYFUL. Notably, the Russians won the last race, had three podium finishes, and were 2nd in the Corinthians Division- huge progress since last year! Sailing Photo Credits: Angel Touròn Watch the nice BOSCH Spanish J/70 Nationals sailing video highlights on Facebook For more BOSCH Spanish J/70 National Championship sailing information
J/112E Wins Class @ 151 Miglia Race- Trofeo Cetilar!(Pisa, Italy)- The 9th 151 Miglia Race- Trofeo Cetilar- has been described as a new, true classic, by it’s regatta organizers- a Committee formed by YC Punta Ala, YC Maritime Republic of Pisa and YC Livorno.
According to their race circular, “it’s a race open to all, designed to enhance the strategic qualities of the participating crews. But also, and above all, to experience emotions that only passion, sport and the sea can generate. A regatta designed by sailors, for sailors, which brings with it all the power of the sea and the wind.
The race starts in the waters between Livorno and Marina di Pisa, then round the famous Giraglia Rock and navigate through the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago. A route with two choices for courses around the islands, perfect for those who have not yet experienced a great race, and at the same time, intriguing and stimulating for all the experts of longer offshore navigations. Then, finish off the point in Punta Ala.
At the end of the regatta, the final appointment, from 2000 hrs on Saturday 2nd June, was the magnificent Yacht Club Punta Ala Dinner Party, a magnificent closing event that has no equal, made by protagonists for the protagonists, who each year are colored with smiles and enthusiasm!” Lovely hyperbole, isn’t it? But, it’s true, according to the sailors who’ve done the race over the years. It may be the awards ceremony/ dinner in Punta Ala that keeps them coming back- a concert, fireworks, dinner on the lawn overlooking the water, what’s not to love about it?!
There were a half-dozen J/Teams that sailed the event, loving every minute of it, some more than others.
In the IRC Class of sixty-eight boats, it was the breathtaking performance of a “sport cruiser”, the J/112E JACARE that astounded the cognoscenti of Italian racers. Sailed by her owner Sabrina Chibbaro and friend Dario Badalamenti, they not only won IRC 2 Class by a comfortable margin, but also took 5th IRC Overall in the race. According to Sabrina, “as our first serious race, last weekend we took part to one of the most popular coastal races in Italy, the 151 Miglia. We were first in IRC 2 and fifth IRC overall. We fought hard with the JPK 10.80 with the Russian crew that won the Rolex Middle Sea Race! But, eventually, we arrived 1 hour before them to win easily. It was very exciting for us! Many people came to see the boat at the dock, they couldn’t believe a ‘sport cruiser” won!”
In addition to their outstanding performance, there was an ORC Class with 129 boats racing. In ORC 1 Class, the J/122 VAI MO sailed by Vincenzo de Falco took 6th in class and 19th ORC Overall. And, in the ORC Doublehanded Class, the famous J/111 J-STORM, with brothers Guido & Enrico Tabellini from Club Nautico Varrazze aboard, took 4th in DH Class, 29th Overall against all full-crewed boats! Follow the 151 Miglia- Trofeo Cetilar on Facebook here For more 151 Miglia Race- Trofeo Cetilar sailing information
PHAN Flies @ J/70 Southern Area Championship(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The J/70 Southern Area Championships, hosted by the Royal Thames Yacht Club, attracted nineteen J/70 teams for two days of thrilling racing in sparkling early summer weather. Seven races were held in classic Solent sea breeze conditions, with the wind speed piping up to a glorious 18 knots in bright sunshine. Jeremy Thorp's Phan (RsrnYC) was the overall winner, scoring four race wins, and discarded a fifth to win the regatta by a considerable margin. John Greenland's JDog (RTYC) was runner up, and Patrick Liardet's Cosmic (RSrnYC) was third.
Eight teams scored podium race scores including; Clive Bush's Darcey (CYC), Fiona Hampshire's Elizabeth (RTYC), Ossie Stewart's Alfie (RORC), Andrew Barraclough's Jenga8, Doug Struth's DSP (RsrnYC), and David McLeman's Offbeat (RsrnYC).
“This is our first regatta since the 2017 Worlds, we did a lot of testing with the current world champion, Peter Duncan, and we knew at the worlds we are quick, but things didn't go terribly well for us there. For the Southern Area Championships things just seemed to go right for us, and when it does, that gives you so much more time to think things through. Two of the crew were racing for the first time, and we had perfect conditions to work up the team, and once you are in front, life is much easier. Phan will not be going to the J/70 European Championships, as we do not have time to compete there and to qualify for the 2019 World Championships. However, Phan will be racing at the J/70 National Championships next month,” commented Jeremy Thorp.Having chartered one of the J/70s owned and race prepared by the Royal Thames Yacht Club, John Greenland's JDog was racing in the J/70 Class for the first time. Greenland has tasted success in numerous keelboat events, representing the Royal Thames, but the J/70 is a new concept for him. Greenland's Corinthian team recovered from a poor start to post 1-2-2 on the last day, taking second for the regatta, just two points ahead of Patrick Liardet's Cosmic.
“As the results show, we didn't start too well, but as we came accustomed to the boat and spent time on the water, our performance and results improved. It was great to win a race, and we should have won the last, but we lost it on the very last run. Performing well on the race course is always important, but it is also nice to enjoy the social side of sailing, and there is a great crowd in the J/70 Class,” commented John Greenland.The next event for the 2018 J/70 UK Class will be the J/70 European Championships, in Vigo, Spain 12-16 June. 12 British teams will be part of the 78-boat fleet.
Round Five of the 2018 J/70 UK 2018 Grand Slam Series will be the J/70 National Championships, organized by the Royal Southern Yacht Club, 20-22 July. Full results here. For more information about the J/70 UK Class Also via Facebook here.
J/Navy Sweeps Podium @ Susan Hood Trophy Race(Port Credit, Ontario)- What an amazing start to the offshore racing season on Lake Ontario. This year’s Susan Hood Trophy Race left everyone on the course exhausted from a continuous wind throughout the night and into the morning. This year’s race will go down as one of the fastest overall SHTR in history.
The course this year was the reverse of recent years. The 75nm course started at Port Credit Yacht Club, going straight SSE across Lake Ontario to the Niagara Mark on the New York shoreline, then westerly to the Burlington Weather mark on the NY/ONT border, and then back to PCYC on an ENE course to the finish.
From the start there was a mix of spinnakers and close reach sails going across the lake to the Niagara R2 mark with some of the lead boats topping over 14 knots boat speed. At Niagara, there was a quick douse of the spinnaker and a close reach all the way to the Burlington Mark where winds held, for the most part, over 13 kts. The Burlington Hole seemed to be feared by all racers after rounding Niagara, because it has become a part of this race. The final leg from Burlington to Port Credit Yacht Club was dead upwind and held steady throughout most of the day making for an unusual finish that didn’t involve drifting around the turning mark. Without any rain and cool but not cold temperatures, this year’s Susan Hood Trophy Race was one to remember. One memory may be the fast moving freighter heading south just inside the Niagara weather mark, sounding it’s horn and causing more than a few boats to detour from course.
With most boats riding the course at top speed and rail in the water, special congratulations to all our Solo Division participants. This year’s winner of the “Rigging Shoppe Trophy” for overall Solo division is LIVE WIRE, the J/109 skippered by Kim Pillar from PCYC.
Since 1955, fully crewed yachts have been taking the challenge of this spring offshore race- the Susan Hood Trophy Race. The Susan Hood has always been treated as a great race to shake down your boat and crew and start the summer sailing season.
The 2018 Susan Hood Trophy Race presented by driveHG.ca was run by the Port Credit Yacht Club and started on Friday, June 1, 2018 at PCYC. Typically, boats are back at the PCYC bar during the afternoon of the following day. And, for sure, this year that was the case! Here was the breakdown by the various divisions.
In the IRC-FS-FC1 Class, it was the J/122 HOOLIGAN skippered by Bruce Pierce that took 3rd place, just 10 minutes corrected time off from winning!
There was a huge PHRF ToT division. In the PHRF-FS-SH (solo), as mentioned above, it was the J/109 LIVEWIRE sailed by Kim Piller that won by 15 minutes on corrected time.
In the PHRF-FS-FC1 Class, taking 2nd was the J/120 THE CAT CAME BACK sailed by Graham Toms, and 3rd was the J/120 RED LEAF sailed by Matt Emerson.
The PHRF-FS-FC2 Class had three great performances. Taking the silver was the J/35 SHORTHANDED helmed by Mike Pietz. Third was the J/109 LIVELY guided by a previous race-winner- Murray Gainer- just 4 seconds back!! As if that was not close enough, in 5th place was the J/109 CARPE VENTUS sailed by Denys Jones only 1-minute further back!! The spread was basically a slow tack, slow chute set, or slow spinnaker takedown from 1st to 5th place! Ouch!
Sweeping the PHRF-FS-FC4 Class were all J/crews. 1st was the J/105 CASUAL ELEGANCE (Geoff Clarke), 2nd was J/33 WEE BEASTIE III (Sean Matthews) just 1 minute back, and 3rd was J/105 ANOTHER HAZARD (Peter Wolniak) only another 5 minutes back! Fast, tight race for these three boats! Follow the LOOR (Lake Ontario Offshore Racing) events on Facebook here For the Susan Hood Trophy Race full sailing results For more LOOR Susan Hood Trophy Race sailing information
Blustery, Storm-tossed Cedar Point OD RegattaFUN for J/Crews in 70s, 30s, 109s, 105s, 88s!
(Westport, CT)- The 2018th edition of Cedar Point YC’s annual One Design Regatta this past weekend may well be remembered forever for the most amazing, spectacular storm cloud/ squall that formed off to the west in Long Island Sound and slowly made its way east to envelope the fleet off Westport on Saturday afternoon.
More than 100 boats took off from the harbor Saturday morning and raced on the Long Island Sound for one of the biggest regattas in the club’s history. Organizers say over 500 sailors were out racing for the day. Of the seventy-one keelboats participating in the regatta, fifty-eight were J/teams (82% of the regatta) sailing in one-design classes for J/70s, J/88s, J/30s, J/105s, and J/109s.
According to J/88 WINGS owner, Mike Bruno, “it was a crazy regatta. We had six 88’s signed up. Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION transmission blew on their delivery up Long Island Sound and could not make it and Laura Weyler’s HIJINKS was a no-show. Saturday’s race 1 was very light air. Then, the second race was sent off in a rapidly approaching squall... two boats would not race. We did, as did ALBONDIGAS, and we won an insane race with squalls, thunder, three lightning strikes and close to zero visibility in torrential rain...then almost no breeze after the squall!
Sunday was incredibly challenging. Big breeze and very big and steep waves. Elizabeth Barry’s ESCAPE were unhappy with the RC PRO decision to sail the second race Saturday with an impending squall, so retired from racing on Saturday to protect their brand new sails. However, with more heavy winds on Sunday, they decided not to race at all.
We sailed ourselves and kept it all together for the three races on Sunday, deciding not to sail the last race. Ken & Drew Hall toughed it out and took the win in the last race to secure the silver on the podium. Third was Al Minella’s ALBONDIGAS with 11 pts.”
In the J/105 class, it was Joe Scarpulla’s TRIFECTA that sailed all aces & deuces to win with 6 pts net. Second was the class veteran Duncan Hennes and Za & Lib Jelliffe on ARETE with 8 pts net. Third was the duo of Harald Edegran & Jeremy Henderson on CONUNDRUM with 11 pts net.
The huge eighteen-boat J/109 class saw one of the few, if any, complete and utter whitewashes of a fleet ever in the history of the class. When one considers the high-level of talent and competition in the class, David Rosow’s team on LOKI managed what few crews ever accomplish, six straight bullets to win with just 5 pts net in a six race series! Was that a spanking, schooling? Call it what you wish, heads were spinning after the regatta; needless to say, it was a Popeye-like case of breaking out the can of spinach “whup-ass” and decimating the fleet. Behind them, it was a case of survival of the fittest, as the rest of the top five was defined by a spread of only five points! Taking the silver was Carl Olsson’s MORNING GLORY with 20 pts. net. Then, third and fourth was determined by a tie-breaker on 22 pts net, with the countback going to Bengt & Marie Johansson’s ZIG ZAG over Bill Sweetser’s famous RUSH team. Just two points back in fifth place was Dan Corcoran’s STRIDER.
The J/70s had a supremely talented fleet amongst the eighteen boats that participated over the weekend. Loving the big breezes and big waves, the J/70 sailors were ecstatic to see “planing mode” become a feature of the weekend. Not surprisingly, perhaps the fastest J/70 sailor in the world downwind- Brian Keane’s SAVASANA- reveled in the conditions and won the last two races to win the regatta on a tie-breaker at 6 pt apiece over a J/70 World Champion- Joel Ronning’s accomplished crew on CATAPULT. Insanely, they shared identical records- two 1sts, two 2nds! Third was a Davis Island Winter Series Champion, John & Molly Baxter’s TEAM VINEYARD VINES with 15 pts. The balance of the top five saw the Corinthians Division winner- Andrew & Melissa Fisher’s BUTTON FLY- take 4th overall on a tie-breaker, again, at 17 pts each over Josh Goldman’s BUILDING A. Second in Corinthians division was Brian Elliot’s B-SQUARED and third was Trevor Roach’s SEMI-CHARMED. Follow the Cedar Point YC’s Facebook page here For more Cedar Point One-Design Regatta sailing information
Revolutionary Swiss J/70 Sailing League Grows Faster(Romanshorn, Switzerland)- The second round of the Swiss Sailing Promotion League took place from June 2nd to 3rd off Romanshorn. The event brought together sailing clubs from all four corners of Switzerland. In fact, the newly launched “third” sailing league also created more ties among the sailors from across the country. The teams come from Lake Maggiore, Lago di Lugano, Lake Geneva, Lake Neuchâtel, Lake Lucerne, Lake Hallwil, Lake Zurich, Lake Constance and from Basel, where the Basel sailing club trains on the Rhine River. In total, Switzerland now has three levels of participation in their leagues for 12 sailing clubs each, bringing the total participation to 36 clubs in the Swiss Alps!
For this particular event, by far the most popular crew was the local junior team from the YC Romanshorn. Junior captain and skipper Lara Heuberger was sailing with the youngest crew at the regatta- Rashad Bisseger (16 yrs old), Julian Egli (16 yrs old), Finn Josat (14 yrs old) and Leonie Fink (15 yrs old). The YC Romanshorn deliberately renounced its starting position in the highest Challenge League to give the youngsters a chance to build their team and encourage youth participation in the club. The season's goal is to participate in the Swiss Sailing League Youth Cup in the autumn at the National Youth Sport Center Tenero on Lake Maggiore.
An important feature for all Swiss J/70 Sailing League regattas has been the YC Romanshorn innovation - the RoboBojen (RoboBuoy). These buoys move independently and hold their position by means of a satellite navigation (GPS) based control- an Android-base app on a mobile phone controls the entire race course. This makes course planning quicker and more accurate, and the laborious and labor-intensive anchoring of buoys in very deep waters is eliminated- Swiss lakes, like other mountain lakes in Chile can reach 1,000 ft-plus! A “green” solution instead of using thousands of feet of twine and rocks!As for the racing, unbeaten with four race wins, the team of the Circolo Velico Lago di Lugano (Sacha de Micheli, Andrea Rossi, Cesare de Marchi and Matteo Colombo) took the victory in the second round of the Swiss Sailing Promotion League in Romanshorn. With this victory, Lugano also moves up to second place on the series leaderboard.
After a wonderful training day on Friday with nice wind conditions, Saturday was a disappointment. Just two races were sailed in light winds. Lugano laid their foundation stone for success with a first race win. The win in the second race was taken by the YC Tivoli Lucerne, which finished second in the end. After that, the circulating winds did not allow any more racing for the day- swimming was required!At Sunday’s morning briefing, the wish for wind was fulfilled- somewhat. A nice morning breeze blew across the lake. However, the wind disappeared during the first starting sequence and the subsequent waiting demanded the patience of the sailors. At 1230pm the west wind finally appeared! With steady 6-10 kt breeze, the Romanshorn PRO was able to quickly dash off 6 races (3 flights).
The sailors from Lago di Lugano decided win all their races and had a clear lead for themselves. The competition had nothing to overcome the speed of the Luganoans!
The Lucerne Yacht Club sailed a consistent series in the top 3 and was unchallenged for second place. Behind them in third was the SC Oberer Zürichsee skippered by Christa Kuster. For more Swiss J/70 Sailing League information
Florø Leads Norway J/70 Sailing League 1st Division(Bodo, Norway)- "We had a good start, tried to sail easily and we used our routine," says Frode Stavang, skipper of the Florø team, that won the series opener in the Norwegian Sailing League 1st Division.
Frode Stavang, Even Onstad, Kjetil Karstensen Innerhus and Vegard Reksten Årebrot comprised the team for Florø Seilforening. They were fast, sailing “lights out” and winning five of seven races quite handily! And, took seconds in the other two races!
"We were a bit too early at the start in one of the races and had to go back to restart. But, because we were blocked by boats on both sides of us, we did not get turned around immediately, and eventually
ended up over a hundred meters behind the others. But, still we managed to sail ourselves back into second place!” commented Stavang. "We tried to sail calmly and confidently, and after two seasons in the elite series we have worked up a certain routine that works.”Florø Seilforening retired from the elite series after the end of the 2017 season. But, after the first round in the 1st Division they have no intention of staying in the 1st Division. Stavang believes that the level is a notch lower in the 1st division than in the elite series.
"Now that we have sailed a round in the 1st Division, we have already set ourselves the goal that we will be fighting to be the top four to qualify for the Elite Series next year! We should have a good chance,” said Stavang.
The biggest challenges to the Florø team were made from Bodø Seilforening, sailing in their home waters helped them, taking 2nd place for the regatta. Then, following in third position was the Ålesund Seilforening. For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information
ZID Art Team Leads Russia J/70 Sailing League- Premiere Division(Konakovo (Moscow), Russia)- The third act of the Russian J/70 Sailing League- Premiere Division took place at the beautiful Konakovo River Club, northwest of Moscow. The sixteen teams were treated to a wide variety of winds over the three-day weekend, from a complete glass-out at times to over 20 kts in full-on planing mode conditions!
After a total of forty-two races, so each team had 18 or 19 races, it was the ZID Art Sailing Team skippered Zoran Paunovich that won by a total of 13.6 points over a top woman skipper- Natalia Kravets- sailing for the MATROYSHKA Team.
Day 1- Perfect Sunny Start!It was a long first day of racing for the sixteen teams. The regatta PRO managed to run twelve races, at least 5 to 6 for each team. The wind started off at a steady 6 kts and continued to strengthen into the high teens by late afternoon. No question the crews were exhausted despite having the ability to relax and refresh between each sequence of races.
The sailors will remember the third race since ALL boats were called over the line in a massive false start! Apparently, everyone's nerves were strained to the limit!
Leading at the end of the day was the GRANIT-INVEST Team skippered by Albert Gorkunov. Just one point back was the ZID Art Sailing team skippered by Zoran Paunovich, and laying in third was the RBF Sailing Team helmed by Andrei Eliseev.
Day 2- MATRYOSHKA and ZID Art Tied for LeadIf Friday’s sailing was tiring, then Saturday’s seven hours of racing might have finished everyone off! Eighteen races were completed in perfect weather- sunny, warm, gusts over 20 kts!
Two teams seemed to revel in the conditions and ended up tied on points. The biggest and fastest ascent up the leaderboard was Natalia Kravets’ MATROYSHKA Team, now tied on points for the lead with Paunovich’s ZID Art crew. Then, yet another top Russian woman skipper also loved the breeze-on racing and now sat in third place- Karina Teliants’ 7-YACHTS Sailing Team!
Day 3- ZID Art Wins!
On the final day, twelve more races were held, so each team held 18 or 19 races. For those who had less starts, the average points of the team in the races was added to the total number of points.
Vladimir Khomenko, Chief Judge, commented on what transpired on Sunday, “Today, the wind conditions in the morning were very difficult. The wind whirled around in a complete circle, we had to rearrange the marks three times before the first race, and during the day, we also had to correct it again. Sunday afternoon was relatively calm, there were few false starts, but the fleet suffered today- serious clashes took place. I would like to note that the rivals on the final day generally behaved more aggressively on the water, the starts in particular!
This aggressiveness was evident in the number of collisions between the top boats, it was obvious skippers were taking chances to get a better score. Most of the time it did not pay off, as the judges flagged them for penalties.”
In the end, there was no equal to Paunovich's ZID Art Sailing team, winning four of the five races on their last day to clinch the overall win.Paunovich commented on their performance, “For the last month, we now have raced three times in Konakovo. In the first two regattas, we became much better acquainted with the waters and the difficult, lake-type sailing conditions- it is very puffy and shifty on the river! We are very satisfied with our results! The last day was especially successful, when everything worked out for us. I want to note that our competitors are getting much better, and this is very encouraging for the league. We now look forward to sailing in St. Petersburg and Moscow for more training.”
Natalia Kravets’ MATRYOSHKA team from Ekaterinburg took second, their first time on the podium and her best performance so far. Finishing third, and also their first time on the podium, was the SAIL&SEA Team skippered by Vasily Kharabardin.
Dropping to fourth place was Karina Teliants’ crew on 7-YACHTS. As a result, she is still leading the overall Premiere League standings after three events.
After a two months “break”, all the teams will head west to St. Petersburg to go sailing on the Baltic Sea.
For more Russian J/70 Sailing League information
KSSS Win Swedish J/70 Sailing League @ Ekero(Ekero, Sweden)- The second of four events that constitute the 2018 Swedish Sailing League series took place in Ekero, a pretty town just outside of Stockholm. The fleet of eighteen sailing clubs from across Sweden was having a difficult time with the sailing conditions and, as a result, only ten of the scheduled fifteen races were sailed by each team.
Despite having a European match-racing champion as their skipper- Björn Hansen- the KSSS (Royal Swedish YC) were struggling to stay ahead of the GKSS Youth squad!
"It has been fun sailing in weak and nasty conditions. We were very pleased with our sailing, winning seven wins and a second and third place before we got match race in the last race; it was against the GKSS kids, the only ones who had the chance to pass us overall. A fourth place in the final race with GKSS behind us secured victory for our KSSS team,” said skipper Bjorn Hansen.
Hansen has been one of the world's elite in match racing for the past 25 years. But, despite an average age of about 40 years and great experience on their KSSS team, it was tough for them to beat the GKSS Youth team with an average age of 18 yrs old! In the end, it was experience and consistency that trumped youthful enthusiasm.The KSSS team consisted of Björn Hansen, Mathias Hermansson, Mathias Bredin, Pontus Meijer and Liv Gyllfors - an 18-year-old Laser Radial girl that greatly contributed to the victory.
The GKSS Youths were comprised of Hannes Westberg, Hugo Westberg, Oscar Engström and Hedvig Hedström. They certainly got the attention of the other seventeen teams on Friday when they won all three races and were tied with KSSS for the lead at the end of the day! An impressive debut for “the kids” and they will certainly be a force to reckon with for the rest of the season.
Taking third in Ekero was the Sotefjordens SS and the same position in the overall series. After the two events, KSSS have now taken over first place in the series over Cape Crow YC (whose top team was at the SAILING Champions League Semi-final down in Porto Cervo, Italy). For more Swedish J/70 Sailing League information
J’s Dominate Chicago COLORS Regatta(Chicago, IL)- Summer sailing on Lake Michigan was kicked off with J/Teams dominating the results of the Columbia YC Skyway Yacht Works COLORS regatta. Forty-three J’s sailed in the regatta. Saturday was overcast with moderate air and lumpy seas. It was a good start to the summer. However, Sunday brought clear skies and wind that started at 12 kts and increased to 25 kts by midday- awesome spring-like weather off the picturesque Chicago skyline along the waterfront.
In the PHRF long distance big boat section race, Ben Lumpkin’s J/112E MARY GAIL placed first and Mike Haney and Tracy Hixon’s J/112E AXOLOTL placed 4th. Amazingly, in between the two J/112E’s were two of the hottest offshore boats from Chicago- the J/V 66 DEFIANCE and the 1D35 Turbo DIRE WOLF. In short, a fantastic performance for the inaugural races for the two Chicago-based 112E’s! In the PHRF single-handed section, Mark Gannon’s J/105 GANGBUSTER placed first.
Then, there were the five J/one design sections- J/70s, J/105s, J/88s, J/109s, J/111s.
In the J/70 class, Mark and Sarah Renz took the honors, followed by Adam Bowen’s BLACK PEARL in second, and John Heaton’s well-traveled crew on EMPEIRIA in third.
In the hotly contested seven-boat J/111 class, it was current World Champion, Peter Wagner, sailing his San Francisco-based SKELETON KEY to the class win. In the last two races, Rich Witzel’s Chicago-crew on ROWDY traded 1st and 2nd with Wagner’s team to take the silver. Then, past COLORS Regatta winners, the three Musketeers on KAHSMIR (Karl Brummel, Steve Henderson, Mike Mayer) took the third position.
Also having strong, close racing was the eight-boat J/88 class. Winning their first major event in the 88s was Ben Marden’s BANTER. Andy Graff’s EXILE team started off on the wrong foot, a 6th in the first race, but closed fast on the BANTER crew to take the silver just two points back. Third was Tim Wade’s WINDSONG, their first time on the podium in the 88s, too.
The J/105’s had one super boat and eight regular boats! St. Francis J/105 skipper Bruce Stone journeyed to Chicago for the season opener hosted by Columbia YC and crushed the competition with a perfect five bullets in five races on the chartered J/105 GRYPHON #29 with owner Sam Powers on board at pit. The SF-based team is using the COLORS Regatta and next weekend’s Chicago NOOD as a warm-up for the J/105 North American’s in Harbor Springs in July. Stone’s team included David Kelly, Ryan Simmons, Sam Powers, Bruce Stone, Phil Berner, and Aliki Navajas (L to R).
Clark Pellett’s SEALARK #349 finished second with 12 points and Jon Weglarz’s THE ASYKLUM #673 finished third with 14 points.
Finally, the J/109’s had six boats with Robert Evans’ GOAT RODEO winning the class. Jim Murray’s CALLISTO started off fast with two bullets, suffered a huge brain fade in races 3 & 4 with a 3-5, then won the last race; enough to grab the silver. Sailing consistently with three 3rds and 1-4 to take the bronze was Peter Priede’s FULL TILT. For more Skyway Yachtworks COLORS Regatta sailing information
J/111 BLUR Wins Skagen Offshore Race(Skagen, Sweden)- Here is the report from Peter Gustafsson racing on his J/111 BLUR.SE.
“It is the first race of the season, and it can be anything from a hell of strong breeze of 14 m/s and frost at night to an amazing race with great sunsets and sunrises. This year we were definitely closer to the latter option ...
Above all, the pre-race dinner was fine. In 2015, we tried to make the dinner the night before the race to get together a coordinated training session where we can determine our watches and get into offshore mode.
We have three watches, with 2 hours on, 2 hours standby and two hours in the bunk. With only five on board, I became my own watch. Not optimal, but we still want to sail this way.
After a nice wind from Stora Pölsan to Færder lighthouse, the wind turned north and diminished. We were given a chance to look at our Code 1, which we bought used for Fastnet and has been unused since then. In the IRC, the half width must be at least 75%, so it becomes an ugly kinky shape compared to a "correct" Code 0.
In Åsgårdsstrand, he we had lunch at the hotel, prepared the boat, and slept for a few hours before it was time again to race.
We got off well, like another boat at the left and could head east up the fjord. We had difficulty keeping up with the First 40 and X41, which is normal for us in these circumstances.It had been good wind for all previous starts before us. But, according to the forecasts, the wind started to decline when we started at 20:40. In the end, it all died! Ouch!
There appeared to be consensus that the eastern side of the fjord was better. Both in the fjord and later during the race. Maybe we went south too early. But, we took off like a train when the wind came back in. A few that lay further west did OK, so we had some luck there.
Flash Tango and Magic had gone better than us, many talented sailors who are still in the top.
Here, I became a little negative and felt that we had missed the train. In 2010 + 2015 we had succeeded in taking early initiative and leading the class out of the fjord. Now, we were forced to hunt our competitors.
After the Pisces turning mark, there was a big wind shift, and we were discussing different options. It would be one option to stay on layline and wait for the lift. Or, we could go east to get it first and maximize the effect.
The routing software indicated going east would take 20 minutes longer. So, we stood by for about half an hour before the wind started to lift us. We looked inside for the boats we saw on AIS to the east of us, not moving so well. So, we battle south again.
After a few minutes, Flash did the same thing. No real split, but we now had a better position than those that made us go some extra distance away. Phew.The new instruments worked well. Especially in light weather, they are different from Nexus, but it is probably the most common cause. Then it's a difficult time of year to fine-tune numbers. Big differences at different altitudes over the water, and lots of wind-shear. But, overall we are where we had hoped. Fun!
One of the things that is difficult is to sail actively when it is dark and cold. We handle most things well, but for long periods, we are passive in both trim and steering. Due in part to the fact that we were only 5 crew, we need to find better routines to operate 100% under all conditions.
Pretty dramatic going down the Weather Islands, where we met the boats that started from Stenungsund. Here it was also clear that the boats that came from the west, like Pixeline, had a hard time. We tested using the Code 1 just after Skålholmen, but realized quickly that we could not bear off to fly it and went back to the jib. We tested at least ... nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
It turned out that the early boats had good pressure all the way, and on the overall scores, you see that the boats that were over the finish line before 13:00 were best placed. It was only the really fast and the faster shorthanded boats that started at 19:20 that got in that early. We were over an hour behind them at sea and struggled with diminishing winds.But, at least we could chase the First 40 Flash, as we watched them constantly following on the AIS. From over 1 nm behind to 0.7nm to 0.4nm, we kept narrowing the gap with them. We tried to see which angles were most efficient for us, and where they might have been having difficulties. In the end, we passed them while they were trying hard to defend themselves by changing to another sail.
Now, I looked a little closer on the scores, and we found that we would be finished in about 10 minutes. It was hard to get there, but we did what we could in the declining wind. Good change between A3, Code and then A3 again. And, finally, we were almost 15 minutes ahead of them on elapsed time, good for the corrected time overall win! A great win for us, and amazing teamwork!” For more Skagen Race sailing information.
J/70 Moscow Summer Series Growing In Popularity!(Moscow, Russia)- PRO Yachting, in conjunction with the Royal Yacht Club (Moscow), have started their increasingly popular Summer Series on the “Water Stadium” in a park on the southwest outskirts of Moscow. Sailing in a fleet of supplied J/70s, teams can choose at which level they wish to sail: the Tuesday Warm-Up Race Series for inexperienced sailors or the Wednesday Night Race Series sponsored by Ulysse Nardin.
On Tuesday, May 29th, the third weekly regatta of the Tuesday Warm-Up Race series was held. This year, the winners of the season will get a free trip to Germany from the main sponsor of this series- the premium mineral water company- Gerolsteiner.
Forty-five sailors on ten boats showed up for this Tuesday event. After five quick races before sunset, the winners and podium was the following:
- Team MOSCOW 24 (Denis Elahovsky, Eugene Sutyrin, Nikita Pimenov, Valentin Uvarkin)
- Team BIG FISH (Inna Ozhogina, Ivan Bodyagin, Stanislav Melinger, Igor Puzanov)
- Team BONJORNO TUTTI (Sergey Kudrin, Nikolay Khlystov, Dmitry Afendikov, Andrey Novikov)
Then, on Wednesday, May 30th, the Royal Yacht Club hosted the second weekly regatta for the Wednesday Night Race series. The winner will get the main prize- the Marine Torpilleur chronometer watch from the legendary Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin.
"Today was a moment like in a movie- we made a turn amid a large number of boats and, somehow, emerged beautifully from a dangerous situation. Of course, we were proud of ourselves! Yachting is interesting, I liked everything very much, I will recommend it to my friends," shared Yevgeny Ryaschenko in her first experience sailing in the close racing.The winners after four races were the following:
- DREAM TEAM (Elena Pushkareva, Julia Buchkovskaya, Alena Shchukina, Inna Ozhogina, Igor Puzanov)
- Team 7-YACHT (Karina Teliants, Dmitriy Tarba, Alexey Frolov, Bukin Vyacheslav)
- NO PASARAN Team (Ekaterina Sychev, Nikolay Khlystov, Mikhail Loskov, Igor Manshin, Valentin Uvarkin).
Challenging Bayview One-Design Regatta(Detroit, MI)- This past weekend, the Bayview YC hosted their popular Bayview One-Design Regatta on Lake St. Clair, just north of the Detroit River and downtown “Motor City”. The largest classes included the J/70s, J/35s, and the omni-present J/120s.
The J/70s continue to grow significantly in the Detroit area, with fifteen boats participating in this year’s event. After four races, it was Lee Sackett’s and Dave Kerr’s team on USA 364 that won the even with three 1sts in four races. Second was fellow family member Tod Sackett on FM taking the tie-breaker on 14 pts each over Jake Christy’s PALE HORSE. The balance of the top five were Don Glover’s MISS KILLER also taking a tie-breaker on 21 pts each over Ted Pinkerton’s LITTLE SIDE HUSTLE.
In the enormous J/120 class of eleven boats, it was a titanic struggle between the top three teams all weekend long. Ultimately, staying out of trouble and winning the class was Mike & Bob Kirkman’s HOT TICKET with a 2-1-5-1 tally for 9 pts. Winning the class after three races was Mike Fozo & Robin Kendrick’s PROOF, but their 7th in the last race nearly killed their chances to be on the podium. What happened is they ended up tied on points with Ken Brown’s notoriously fun crew on J-HAWKER, but their two 1sts in a 1-3-1-7 tally earned them the silver. Fourth was Tim Yanda’s VIVA LA VIDA and fifth, yet again on a tie-breaker, was Chuck Hess’ FUNTECH RACING.
The eight-boat J/35 class saw Ed Bayer’s FALCON sail a consistent series with a 2-1-3-2 tally for 8 pts to easily take the crown. Third was Greg Valez’s AMANTE. For more Bayview YC One-Design regatta information
J/Crews Love Southern Bay Race Week(Hampton, VA)- Every year the Hampton YC hosts the popular Southern Bay Race Week for a combination of one-design and PHRF handicap classes. It is a popular event for sailors across Chesapeake Bay since it coincides with a highly popular “pirates weekend” in downtown Hampton.
In the J/24 class, it was Alan Bomar’s ROUNDABOUT taking the class win after seven races, accumulating three 1sts and three 2nds to win with 9 pts net. Second was Mike Veraldi’s QUICKY with four 1sts, but having to eat a last in two races to end up with 11 pts net. Taking the bronze on the podium was Ray Nugent’s ROCKET J with 16 pts net.
The nine-boat PHRF Super A Class saw Jim Connelly’s crew on the J/111 SLUSH FUND take the silver after an uncharacteristic slow start, posting a 5-2-1- for 8 pts.
Winning in a sweep of the top spots were two J/36s in PHRF A1 Class; Phil Briggs’ FEATHER with a 5-1-1 for 7 pts taking the gold and Will Roberts’ REMEDY the silver after a 4-3-2 for 9 pts.
The PHRF B1 Class was won by Ben Weeks & Michele Cochran’s J/29 RUMBE with a 2-4-2 for 8 pts. Third was Doug Bird’s J/70 GET MY BOAT.COM with a 4-1-5 for 10 pts.
In PHRF B2, Rusty Burshell’s J/30 COOL CHANGE took the silver with a consistent 2-3-2 for 7 pts. For more Southern Bay Race Week sailing information
ARMEN HABITAT Dominates J/80 Open La Rochelle(La Rochelle, France)- As part of the season-long France J/80 Cup Series, the crews participate in some of the more picturesque seaside towns along the French coastline. The J/80 La Rochelle event was hosted by Societe Regate La Rochelle for a fleet of fifteen J/80 crews from across France.
After an eight race series over two days, long-time J/80 veterans, Simon Moriceau’s crew on ARMEN HABITAT, won the regatta by winning five straight races for a total 7 pts net. An old nemesis of their’s, Patrick Bot’s ECOLE NAVALE CGEC sailed well but could not match the remarkable performance of their colleagues, finishing with 12 pts net. Taking third was Sylvain Pellisier’s INTUITIVE SAILS with 16 pts net. Top woman skipper, Anne Phelipon on NAVIGATLANTIQUE took fourth with 19 pts net to also lead the overall women’s division for the season series. For more J/80 La Rochelle sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni, and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* J/88 Race 2 Alaska!? Scott Grealish has provided his J/88 BLUE FLASH to his son Sean and friends to do the epic “green” race from Port Townsend (Seattle), WA to Ketchikan, Alaska- the epic 750nm Race 2 Alaska that starts on June 15th, 2018. Sails, oars, and pedal power are all permitted to propel your boat. The inside passage to Alaska has been paddled by native canoes since time immemorial, sailing craft for centuries, and after someone found gold in the Klondike the route was jammed with steamboats full of prospectors elbowing each other out of the way for the promise of fortune.
It’s in the spirit of tradition, exploration, and the lawless self-reliance of the gold rush that Race to Alaska was born. R2AK is the first of its kind and North America’s longest human and wind powered race, and currently the largest cash prize for a race of its kind. $10,000 if you finish first, a set of steak knives if you’re second. Cathartic elation if you can simply complete the course. R2AK is a self-supported race with no supply drops and no safety net. Any boat without an engine can enter.Here is Scott’s commentary on their mission:
“My son Sean is leading an all youth team (William-Patrick Blouin-Comeau, Maisie Bryant, Grant Gridley, Jack Holbrook) on our J/88 BLUE FLASH in the crazy race to Alaska. He's going to write up some stuff for their sponsors and would be happy to share. I think they are the first J/Boat to do R2AK.
Their incredibly amusing bio for the J/88 BLUE FLASH "kids" is here.
They have some photos showing the pedal drive (see here), solar power, and craziest of all, pulling out the engine on their Instagram here.
I'm personally doing the delivery back (with engine), which is downwind! Thank goodness!”
* Jean Rheault’s J/41 SOUAY 1 recently raced the 17th Samui Regatta off the Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui in Thailand.They sailed as a "shorthanded" crew, with Jean Rheault, Cedric Rimaud, Guido Wedekind and Ray Waldron. They won all three days! Amazing! Go to these links!
https://www.facebook.com/Souay1.J41/
https://www.facebook.com/SamuiRegatta/
* Don DeLoatch’s J/70 GET MY BOAT was recently featured on FOX News “Fox & Friends” morning show in downtown New York City. Here is an amusing video update of their travels around downtown Manhattan with their truck and trailer on the busy streets of the city.https://youtu.be/Dg2fiIKgqiU
Stu Johnstone reflects on a similar experience with his brother Drake regards moving J/24s around downtown Manhattan. Described Stu, “I will never forget doing something similar with our J/24. My brother and I had just sailed the J/24 East Coasts down in Annapolis. After finishing Sunday, we grabbed a big box of soft shell crab and that awesome spicy stuff, three cases of beer, and drove into downtown NYC with our Chevy Suburban and J/24 in tow on Sunday evening. We parked it right in the middle of Sutton Square on the Upper East Side. We stayed at a friend’s house there in Sutton Square overnight and enjoyed Russian "moonshine" vodka straight from Moscow- frozen to -30 F!! Still liquid, of course, had a hint of mint in it. Needless to say, vodka, beer chasers and soft shell crabs was a huge hit! Driving in city traffic the next morning was hilarious! No one seemed to have ever seen a sailboat on a trailer in mid-town Manhattan!” Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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