J/109 North American Championship Preview(Larchmont, NY)- After an incredibly successful weekend introducing young college sailors to the wonders of big-boat sailing, the J/109 fleet now changes tacks and focuses on their 2018 J/109 North American Championship. All the boats that participated in promoting the growth of college sailors in offshore sailing are also sailing the J/109 N.A.’s; a total of twenty entries from across the board from the northeast to the southwest.
Again, Larchmont YC will be hosting the fleet for racing on Long Island Sound from October 14th to 21st. Initial forecasts promise the racing will be wet, cool, and windy to start with, a sunny break in between, a perhaps having to deal with the “tail feathers” of Hurricane Michael that dealt a devastating blow to the Florida Panhandle by Sunday afternoon.
The top crews in the Corinthians Division include the following:
- Bill Rogers- BIG BOAT from Breakwater YC in Sag Harbor, NY
- Ted Herlihy’s family crew on GUT FEELING from New Bedford YC in South Dartmouth, MA
- Albrecht Goethe’s HAMBURG from Lakewood YC in Seabrook, TX
- Adrian Begley’s MAD DOGS & ENGLISHMEN from Storm Trysail Club in Larchmont, NY
- Jack Forehand’s STRATEGERY from Pequot YC in Fairfield, CT
- Bill Kneller’s VENTO SOLARE from Coasters Harbor YC in Newport, RI
- Tom Sutton’s LEADING EDGE from Lakewood YC in Houston, TX with Tom Meeh as main/ tactician
- David Rosow’s LOKI from Pequot YC in Fairfield, CT with Kerry Klingler as main/ tactician
- Carl Olsson’s MORNING GLORY from Larchmont YC in Larchmont, NY with Max Skelley as tactician
- David & Maryellen Tortorello’s PARTNERSHIP 3 from Black Rock YC in CT with Seadon Wijsen as tactician
- Bill Sweetser’s RUSH from Annapolis YC in Annapolis, MD with Tom Babel as tactician.
Legendary Skippers Sailing J/105 Masters Regatta(San Diego, CA)- The International Masters Regatta will return to the San Diego Yacht Club on October 19-21, 2018 for a regatta with some of the greatest names in sailing. Legendary skippers from across the country are invited to a round-robin battle in supplied J/105s and will be vying for the title in the stadium of San Diego Bay.
The International Masters Regatta is one of SDYC’s signature events, adopted seven years ago from St. Francis Yacht Club member Don Trask in honor of his father. For many years prior, the world’s greatest Master sailors raced in this international sailing competition in San Francisco Bay and after a several year gap, relocated to San Diego. Sailors with iconic names including Elvstrom, Buchan, Burnham, Tillman, Trask, Irish, Harken, North and Holland (just to name a few) have competed in this prestigious event.
The 2018 International Masters Regatta confirmed skippers include Jon Andron, Julian Bingham, Chuck Driscoll, Richard du Moulin, Tad Lacey, Bill Menninger, Ted Moore, Dave Perry, Bill Peterson, Andy Roy, and David Gould.
This regatta boasts high-level competition as well as high-level camaraderie. These skippers are old friends reunited for a fun weekend of intense racing. Five-time U.S. Match Racing Champion Dave Perry states, “I enjoy these kinds of events that are among my friends and counterparts in the sport. The Masters hosted by the SDYC is a class event, the racing is fun, and I get the chance to spend time with old friends while making some new ones as well.”
The winner of the 2017 International Masters Regatta was SDYC’s Bill Campbell, he offers his advice to this year’s competitors; “I think it is important to be able to gather a good crew and let them do their jobs on the boat. My job was to get good starts and steer. I had a tactician to point me in what he thought was the right direction. The trimmers and pit and bow guys didn't need any input from me except for timing at starts and mark roundings. Too often, the skipper tries to do too many jobs on the boat other than his own. As a result, the skipper's job suffers and the results suffer as well. I was able to handle positioning at the starts, steer fast, after which the crew got us around the course.”International Masters Regatta Chair Alli Bell, who also Chairs the following week’s San Diego Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup, explains how crucial volunteers are to executing the event. “These two regattas are a huge undertaking that cannot be successful without the commitment of an army of volunteers and the thirteen J/105 owners who generously charter us their boats for almost three weeks. On behalf of the San Diego Yacht Club, I’d like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to make this event thrive and who will not stop working until long after the trophies have been awarded.”
Anyone interested in watching the races can find them in San Diego Bay. The schedule of events for the sailors begins on Friday with breakfast, followed with racing and a dockside social in the evening. After Saturday Night’s racing, there will be a regatta banquet for participants and after racing on Sunday, the awards will be presented.
In 2013, the perpetual trophy for the International Invitational Masters Regatta was gifted and dedicated by Malin and Roberta Burnham at the regatta banquet. The trophy is a beautiful original art piece created by Don Freedman of Nantucket Island and features a nautical inspired clock detailed with ships’ instruments.
SDYC Commodore Michael Dorgan voiced his excitement for the regatta. “As Commodore of SDYC, I can say we are extremely proud to be the host of such a prestigious sailing event. Brought here from San Francisco only seven years ago, we are very pleased to have many incredible sailors coming to our Club to race at a very high-level, yet friendly environment. One of the successful things we are able to offer is a very closely matched fleet of J/105s, with identical Club owned sail inventory and couple this with competitors rotating boats between every single race that creates a very level racing field. In the end, the best team will win, not the best boat!”
SDYC would like to thank our partners of the International Masters Regatta: Helly Hansen, YETI, Solid Sun Logistics and The Bay Club Hotel and Marina. For more J/105 Masters Regatta sailing information
J/Fest Southwest Preview(Houston, TX)- This year’s J/FEST Southwest Regatta will be taking place from October 12th to 14th, hosted by Lakewood YC on Clear Lake and on Galveston Bay. J/Owners from across the spectrum are participating in PHRF handicap racing as well as in one-design classes for J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, and J/105s. Come one, come all, still not too late to head south and enjoy some fun in the Texas sun, great beer, and awesome TexMex food!
In the one-design world, the boats to watch include father/son combo Farley & Barrett Fontenot’s J/22 USA 707, Natalie Harden’s GIGGLES keeping the J/24 boys in check, Bill Draheim’s PONY and Jay Lutz’s ZOUNDS topping the J/70 pack, and Bill Lackenmacher’s RADIANCE brilliantly showing the path for the J/105 fleet.
The J/PHRF fleets in the Asym Class and Distance Class look a bit formidable. In the PHRF Asym group, JD Hill’s gorgeous J/122 SECOND STAR should lead the fleet around the track. Then, in PHRF Distance fleet, it’s anyone’s guess with a pair of J/29s, a J/95 and J/46 wondering what kind of “random-leg” track will determine the outcome of the race on Galveston Bay!
Since it was such a HUGE hit last year, the “LEGENDS RACE” will take place on Clear Lake, right in front of the club. This year, it will be a fleet of J/22s with live commentary on-site and on Facebook Live off the patio of the “party-barge” called BARGE 295. There will be five (5) video cameras recording the live action!
On Friday October 12th at 3:45 PM CST the broadcast for the Legends Race will go “live”. It will be fun! Make sure to mark your calendar with a reminder to go to the You Tube link below at 3:45 pm CST and share it to your Facebook feeds! https://youtu.be/PG2fhfwRFpkIF you have any questions at all, please contact Scott Spurlin at mobile- 512-423-2179 or email- scott@jboatssouthwest.com. Watch the J/FEST Southwest promo highlights video here. For more J/FEST Southwest sailing and registration information.
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The past week across the blue planet Earth has produced a number of extraordinary milestones, if not achievements. For starters, the inaugural 2018 Russian Open J/70 National Championship took place in Pirogovo, Russia (a lake about 20 miles north of Moscow’s Red Square) for a fleet of two dozen J/70s from across their vast country, including teams from St Petersburg, Moscow, Vladivostok, and Sevastopol (Crimea). Not far west of that event, the Swiss J/70 Sailing League had their third “finale” for their summer-long series at Versoix, Switzerland on Lake Geneva for a dozen sailing clubs. Similarly, the Dutch J/70 Sailing League held their third annual finale for the season-long series at Veere, The Netherlands for eighteen teams on the Veerse Meer in Zeeland. Then, the Italian J/70 Under 19 Youth Sailing League, their second year in a row, was held in Trieste, Italy, hosted by SV Barcola & Grignano for 18 teams! That’s a lot of J/70 sailing on the European/ Asian continent!Just offshore in the United Kingdom, the Hamble Yacht Services Hamble Winter Series just commenced for IRC fleets that include, J/92s, J/97s, J/111s, J/122s, and also one-design classes for J/88s, J/109s, and J/70s on the Solent.
Over in the Americas, the San Diego YC held their annual J/FEST San Diego for fleets of J/70s, J/105s, and J/120s. In the Great Lakes region, the Edgewater YC held their Cleveland 216 Regatta for one-design fleets of J/22s, J/70s, and J/105s. Finally, out east, the Storm Trysail Club and the Larchmont YC held their incredibly popular “big boat college” regatta; where over 450 college men and women sailed the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta with one-design classes of J/105s, J/109s, J/44s, and PHRF J/teams!
Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Oct 10-14- J/109 North American Championship- Larchmont, NYOct 12-14- China Coast Race Week- Hong Kong, China
Oct 12-14- German Youth J/70 League- Attendorn, Germany
Oct 13-14- Puget Sound Sailing Championship- Seattle, WA
Oct 18-21- Annapolis Fall Regatta- Annapolis, MD
Oct 18-20- German J/70 Sailing League Finale- Hamburg, Germany
Oct 19-21- French J/80 Sailing League Finale- La Rochelle, France
Oct 19-21- J/105 Masters Regatta- San Diego, CA
Oct 19-21- Swiss Youth J/70 League- Tenero, Switzerland
Oct 20-21- J/70 Fall Brawl- Annapolis, MD
Oct 20-21- Puget Sound Fall Regatta- Seattle, WA
Oct 20- Rolex Middle Sea Race- Gzira, Malta
Oct 26-28- J/24 East Coast Championship- Annapolis, MD
Oct 26-28- J/105 Lipton Cup Regatta- San Diego, CA
Oct 27-28- Swiss J/70 Women’s Cup- Tenero, Switzerland
Oct 27-28- J/105 Chesapeake Bay Championship- Annapolis, MD
Oct 27-28- The Great Pumpkin Regatta- Richmond, CA
Nov 1-4- French J/80 National Championship- Pornic, France
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
ARTTUBE RUS-1 Crowned Russian J/70 Champion(Moscow, Russia)- A true milestone was recently achieved for the international J/70 one-design class this past weekend. While J/70s have become wildly popular in many countries and regions that were first popularized by the famous J/24 class back in 1977- like Europe, North, Central and South America, Japan, Australia- it is the first time that a “J/Class” has held a national one-design event in what was the principal nation-state of the former U.S.S.R. (the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)- that is, Russia.
Russian sailing has grown considerably in the past decade across their vast expanse in “Eur-Asia”, a country that is bordered on the east by the Pacific Ocean (just 50 miles from Alaska), the west by the Baltic Sea (e.g. the source for Europe’s natural gas), the north by the Arctic Ocean, and the south by the Black Sea (linked to the Mediterranean by the Straits of Bosporus in Turkey). In between are certainly far more than the 10,000 lakes claimed by America’s state known as Minnesota.
Given that basic geography, it’s not surprising that an interest in water sports and the sea continue to flourish across Russia. A significant catalyst for that evolution (if not revolution) has been the creation of the Russian J/70 National Sailing League, sponsored and supported by the Russian Sailing Federation. That one idea has brought together sailors from across the spectrum to participate as sailing clubs, generating an enormous amount of camaraderie between sailors from east to west.
As the principal sailboat platform, the J/70 has demonstrated to Russian sailors that, literally, every person from young to old, women and men, beginners to Olympic Medallists, can learn how to sail fast, quickly, on the simple J/70. Like their counterparts in Germany and other member countries in the SAILING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (http://sailing-championsleague.com/), their level of sailing has improved by quantum orders of magnitude in a mere four years of close one-design racing on the easy-to-sail J/70 sailboat.
Perhaps the “poster child” of that extraordinary development has been Valeriya Kovalenko, a modest woman sailor from Moscow that has evolved to be one of Russia’s top women skippers. Her team has participated in most major European J/70 events as well as World Championships; their learning curve is steep! For the last two years, she has won the Monaco J/70 Winter Sportboat Series, as well as the YC Monaco’s prestigious PRIMO CUP Credit Suisse regatta in the spring. It is not surprising to see such results; she is fearless on the starting line and will fight for the favored-end amongst the world’s best.Just this past weekend, the inaugural Russian Open J/70 Championship took place on the lake hosted by Pirogovo YC, just 20 miles north of Moscow. It was a first for Russia, a first for the J/70 Class, and a first for World Sailing, to have a Russian national championship sailed in a recognized international class where two dozen (yes- 24 boats!) teams competed for national class honors. Here is a summary of what took place on this historic weekend for a total of FOURTEEN races in just three days (my goodness the crews must’ve been exhausted or dizzy from going around the race track so many times!).
Day OneIt was a great start for the crew of Dmitry Šunina as they managed to post an 11-2-3-3 to give them a total of 19 pts at the end of the first day to top the leaderboard. Just behind them by three points was a leader of the J/70 class in Russia- Denis Čerevatenko- who’s team collected a 5-8-5-2 for 22 pts. Then, sitting in third only one point further behind was Team GLEB FETISOVA with a tally of 5-5-11-1 for 23 pts total. Details and results.
Day Two
After starting out the first day with a 6-10-14-1, it was clear Valeria Kovalenko’s crew on ARTTUBE RUS-1 had to get their “mojo” going. After their post-race analysis on what to do, they managed to do exactly that on the five-race, very exhausting day two. Their record speaks for itself, posting an incredibly consistent 3-3-1-3-4 to rocket up the standings and sit atop the leaderboard with a comfortable lead. Starting out in the silver position on the first day, Denis Čerevatenko’s crew held onto their standing with a strong 8-1-2-6-1. Then, after two days of racing and nine races, it was the Alexandra Peterson Collective Team that jumped into the third position. WOW, it was an enormous game of “snakes & ladders” for everyone, including the podium finishers. Yet, things were going to get even more interesting for the final day. Details and results.
Day ThreeGiven more good winds, but quite shifty, as they had been the day before, the protagonists in the Russian J/70 Nationals at the top of the leaderboard did not change. In the end, after posting a closing tally in five more races of 16-1-1-1-2, it was the ARTTUBE RUS-1 Team that won by over 20 pts after 2 discard races. Valeria Kovalenko’s team of Igor Lisovenko, Alexander Božko and Denis Rozhkov were declared the first Russian J/70 National Champions!
Closing with a 1-4-14-15-6 tally to take the silver was Denis Čerevatenko’ team. And, taking the bronze with an amazing closing scoreline of 14-2-4-3-1 was the team of Zoran Paunoviča. Details and results.
Follow the Russian J/70 National Championship photo album on Facebook For more Russian J/70 National Championship sailing information
Hamble Winter Series- Sunny, Wet First Weekend!(Hamble, England)- The IRC Autumn Championship took place over the weekend of the 6th & 7th October and, as anyone who was in the Solent last weekend will tell you, these were two very different days. Hamble River SC PRO Kathy Smalley summed it up when she said "It was a game of two halves!" If you prefer musical references to sporting ones then "Wet Wet Wet" summed up the overture to the weekend.
Day One- Wet & Cold & Miserable!
On the Saturday, Kathy, assisted by her redoubtable linesman, Peter Bateson, took up station at 4W (Goodall Roofing) and waited for the fleet to show up. Despite the rain and the building northerly, show up they did. Some 32 teams made the start area. The course consisted of a cascading windward/leeward with a windward mark 8R and Solent fixed marks.
In IRC Class 2, the first race saw an epic battle between the two J/109s- Roger Phillips’ DESIGNSTAR 2 and David Richards’ JUMPING JELLYFISH. In the first race they finished 3/4 and in the second race 1/3 with the JELLYFISH holding the advantage.In classes 3 & 4 only two boats in each class braved the Saturday conditions. Joe Banks’s J/92 NIGHTJAR had two bullets in Class 3.
With the conditions worsening in line with the forecast, the race team displayed AP over A and sent everyone home for the day. There was a suggestion that a lack of gas, and therefore hot drinks on the committee boat had something to do with the decision, but this has been dismissed as Fake News!
Day Two- Gorgeous, Sunny, Lovely!Sunday dawned with beautiful conditions and 10 knots of breeze from the North. Once again, the committee boat set up at 4W. There was plenty of tacking and gybing in evidence on the beats and runs indicating some well set windward/leeward cascades on the west going tide. The improved weather brought some 52 boats out to play.
The big battles for the top places were in IRC Class 2. Three boats ended tied on 14 points in Class 2 and countback gave the win to the J/109 JUMPING JELLYFISH and third went to the J/109 DESIGNSTAR 2.
Taking the Autumn Champs win in IRC Class 3 was Banks’ J/92 NIGHTJAR!
The Bugle presented the Sunday day prizes in a packed HRSC. Next week the HYS Hamble Winter Series continues along with the Hamble Big Boat Championship and the Hamble One Design Championship.
The 2018 HYS Hamble Winter Series will run from the 6th October to 2nd December 2018. Teams will be racing in IRC Classes and One Designs. The action pack program will feature the IRC Autumn Championship, the Performance 40 Series, the Hamble Big Boat Championship, the Hamble One Design Championship, and 2019 J/70 World Championship Qualifiers that will be sailed in Torquay, U.K. in the “west country”. Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth Follow the HYS Hamble Winter Series on Facebook here For HYS Hamble Winter Series sailing information
Fun, Sunny J/Fest San Diego(San Diego, CA)- This year’s J/Fest San Diego was hosted by San Diego YC, with racing taking place off the beautiful Point Loma promontory and the broad, sweeping beachfront off the city of San Diego. The fleet was blessed with sunny skies and moderate winds for the two day event, with the one-design fleets of J/70, J/105, and J/120 enjoying a total of five races each.
In the J/120 division, it again saw an amazing first day performance from the legendary John Laun, racing the infamous CAPER, posting an all bullet tally for three races. Not far off his heels was Ernie Pennell’s MAD MEN with a 2-2-3 to take second for the day. However, what ended up happening on the Sunday Funday finale was a surprising turn of events. It appears that Chuck Nichols’ CC RIDER found a can of “whupass” on Saturday night, rolled out of bed with no hangovers, and proceeded to post the same record as Rudy Hasl’s HASL FREE, each getting a 1-2 and tied for the day’s awards. As a result, Laun’s CAPER managed to hold on to their huge lead, despite a 4-3 on Sunday, to take class honors. However, the balance of the podium was determined on a tie-breaker! Nichol’s CC RIDER taking the silver on countback from Hasl’s HASLE FREE who settled for the bronze.
With a solid turnout of ten J/105s, it is never surprising the competition would be tight. In the end, it was Chuck Driscoll’s bright-safety-orange JUICED that took the class title with a 3-1-1-3-1 tally for 9 pts. Stew Cannon’s J-OK kept a close watch on every move by the JUICED team, but could not match them for the series, posting a 1-3-2-2-2 for 10 pts total to take the silver. Rounding out the podium was Ed Sanford’s CREATIVE with a 4-2-3-1-3 for 13 pts total. The balance of the top five included Steve & Lucy Howell’s BLINK! in 4th and Rich Bergman’s ZUNI BEAR in 5th place.In the J/70s, it was Kim Kundrak’s PERSEVERANCE 3 that swept her races to take the class win. They were followed by Tom Garrett’s SLOOP JOHN B in second place with 10 pts and by Sarah Wyman’s NUNUHUNU in third position with 13 pts. For more J/Fest San Diego sailing information
J/Fest @ Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta(Larchmont, NY)- Thirty-six J/Boat owners participated and contributed their boats, in a fleet of 48 total, for the 2018 edition of the Storm Trysail Club and the Larchmont YC annual extravaganza for college sailors- known as the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (IOR). The event has become by the most popular event in all of college sailing, with 45 colleges, universities, and academies gathering together to go racing in one-design classes and offshore boats on western Long Island Sound in the first weekend of October.
What does that mean to the world of sailing? Simple. It signals that J/Sailors have PASSION! J/sailors and J/owners have a passion for sailing, a passion for growing the sport of sailing, a passion to include women and youth in the future of sailing at all levels- from beginners to the world’s best at all levels of the sport. For example, consider J/Boat owner’s commitments to this event- 75.0% of the entire fleet- J/105s (12), J/109s (9), J/44s (5), PHRF (10)!
In the one-design classes, the racing was generally close around the windward-leeward race tracks. In the J/44 Commodore James D Bishop Division for USA Service Academies, the winners were the US NAVAL ACADEMY on Bill Ketcham’s MAXINE with an amazing record of 1-1-2-1-4 for 9 pts total. Silver was the US COAST GUARD ACADEMY on GLORY with a 2-3-4-2-2 tally for 13 pts total. Rounding out the podium was MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME ACADEMY’s sailing on Chris Lewis’ KENAI with a total of 4-2-3-4-1 for 14 pts. Of note, the MMASA won a tie-breaker over SUNY MARITIME’s crew on CHARLIE V.The J/109s were completely outclassed by the TUFTS JUMBO’s sailing on Cory Eaves’ FREEDOM, their 3-1-3-2-2 total for 11 pts simply dominating their class. Second was the NORTH CAROLINA STATE crew on Mike Sleightholme’s APSARA with a 4-3-1-9-4 tally for 21 pts, winning a tiebreaker. Losing that tiebreak was the ROCHESTER TECHNOLOGY team on Albrecht Goethe’s HAMBURG with a tally of 1-4-6-7-3.
Not surprisingly in the huge J/105 division, having a lot of offshore talent onboard their crew were the winning COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON crew racing the YOUNG AMERICAN boat- crushing their J/105 one-design class with just straight bullets for the most dominating performance in the entire regatta! Second was VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY on ECHO and third was WEBB INSTITUTE on HOONIGAN.In PHRF 2 Division, it was FORDHAM UNIVERSITY winning on board Bill Ingraham’s J/24 TENEBRAE with a 1-1-2-1-4 tally for 9 pts total. Similarly, in PHRF 3 Division, it was VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY simply taking their division “to the cleaners”, winning with a commanding margin of 6 pts due to their 1-1-1-3-4 tally for just 10 pts. Second was YALE UNIVERSITY’s team on Jon Yoder & Bill Gassman’s J/100 BLACKCOMB.
Thanks to the following individuals for their efforts on behalf of all college sailors:
- Charles Ulmer- Event Chairman- Intercollegiate Regatta
- John Fisher- Chairman- Storm Trysail Foundation
- Howie McMichael- STC IOR Official Photographer
Almere Central Three-Peat Dutch J/70 Sailing League(Veere, The Netherlands)- For the third time in a row, Almere Centraal became the Dutch champion of the Eredivisie Sailing. The pretty Veerse Meer in Zeeland was the playing field of a three-day battle for the coveted national title. WV De Meeuwen (Leeuwarden) was able to take a surprisingly fast start to the 2nd place thanks to the nice and constant results this weekend. With only 3 points away, RR & ZV Maas & Roer (Roermond) took third place.
This last round was an important moment for many teams and it was a weekend where nothing turned out to be certain. This year, the sailors were treated to wind speeds varying from 2 to 16 knots over the weekend. On Friday, the spectacle on the water was very easy to follow from the quay in Veere; thanks to the wind direction, there was literally a front seat on the harbor to watch the action.In addition to the individual rounds of play earlier this year, the winner of the general classification was also determined in Veere. Gaining a top 4 place in the general classification means a coveted start ticket for the semi-finals of the international Sailing Champions League in 2019. In the 2018 SCL Finals in September, three Dutch teams sailed on the mountain lake St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Hat Trick for Almere CentraalAlmere Centraal won the national championship for the 3rd time with a total of only 105 points. The winning team captain, John den Engelsman, commented, ”we have actually done everything we always do; good preparation, neatly mastered, do not take too many risks. As a result, we have been able to further expand our lead. The circumstances were not easy, but by paying attention to our opponents and the wind shifts, we were able to make it happen. We just have a good and reliable team that wants to train. In addition, we have often sailed the Champions League, where you learn a lot. If we can form a permanent crew, we participate and we go for a podium place". In Veere, Almere Central managed to win 11 of 15 races in the regatta!
WV De Meeuwen won the silver. Their team captain explained, “despite the tension, we have managed to perform well. Actually, we climbed up the leaderboard the whole year, from eighth place after the first round to the second in the last one. Yesterday, we had a small dip and we had a backlog on our competitors. But, fortunately we knew how to recover and on Sunday we started very motivated. This was reflected in our good performance and we have been able to realize our main goal; participate in the Sailing Champions League! That we also could also get silver is, of course, absolutely fantastic. Next year we will go for gold!" For more Dutch J/70 Sailing League information
SVBG Win Italian Youth J/70 Sailing League!(Trieste, Italy)- This year the Italian Championship for Club Under 19 was supported by BarcolanaFun and Siram by Veolia. The local host and organizer of the event in Trieste, Italy was the S.V. Barcola and Grignano and the principal sponsor was Banca Aletti.
For the eighteen crews that participated, the event started off with an AP over A on the first day, with little wind and lots of rain. Nevertheless, the boys and girls participating in the event, were challenged ashore by the Est Energy SpA to generate as much energy as each team could in a winch-grinding competition to raise money for charity. All the energy they produced was converted into a donation for the local Burlo Garofolo Hospital in Trieste to benefit their children’s charity!
Following that slow start for sailing, but a big step for benefitting the children’s hospital, the Youth Under 19 teams had a spirited round of races on Sunday to determine the ultimate youth champion sailing on J/70s. In the end, it was the local youth team on SVBG that won, followed by the 3V SAILING CENTER taking the silver and the ADRIACO YC Youth Team taking the bronze. In addition, the “Glam Team Award” went to Torre Del Greco Nautical Club, the Youngest Team Award to YC Adriatico, and the Fair Play Award to SVBG.One of the more entertaining elements of the regatta was to see the SVBG PRO and RC team playing with their new robot buoys- watch them play here (they work!). Sailing photo credits- Fabio Taccola Follow the Italian Under 19 J/70 Youth Sailing League here For more Italian J/70 Sailing League information
Hat Trick for RCB @ Swiss J/70 Super League(Versoix, Switzerland)- Like their counterparts in the Dutch J/70 Sailing League, the Regatta Club Bodensee won the 2018 championship title and the Swiss Sailing League Cup for the third time- a hat trick!!
The Swiss National Sailing League 2018 ended in Versoix, Switzerland for the dozen sailing clubs in the Swiss Super League. After a summer-long series of five events throughout Switzerland from April to October, from Lake Maggiore to Lake Constance, Lake Lucerne and Davos, to Lake Geneva, Switzerland's best sailing club was finally determined for 2018.
After a windless first day of competition, it was again a dramatic finale at Versoix on Lake Geneva. The Bodensee sailors, which arrived with a solid lead in the overall standings, could not cope with the light and shifty winds of 3-7 kts that ruled Lake Geneva this past weekend. They finished the final round in the unfamiliar position of 7th place in the middle of the field!The team of the Regattaclub Oberhofen (RCO) vom Thunersee, which competed with Stefan Seger, Elianne Böhni, Simon Brügger and Mathias Fahrni, was quite different. The RCO won six of its eight races and comfortably won the final round of the season.
As a result, RCO’s dominating performance in the final regatta heavily influenced the overall series ranking. The Bernese were thus equal to the Regattaclub Bodensee (RCB) tied at 15 pts each. But, using the tie-breaker countback based on number of 1sts, 2nds, 3rds, the RCB crew from Lake Constance were declared the overall champions!Meanwhile, just one point off a possible three-way tie-breaker were the “local heroes” from the Société Nautique de Genève, having to settle for 3rd place in the season series.
The balance of the top five overall were Seglervereinigung Kreuzlingen in 4th place and the Club Nautique de Versoix (more “local heroes” from Lake Geneva) that took 5th position.
What is most interesting about the Swiss J/70 Sailing League is the three-tiers of participation they have created for all Swiss sailing clubs- a methodology that permits THIRTY-SIX teams to participate from across their tiny country full of gorgeous lakes ringed by snow-capped Swiss Alps! On a “per capita” basis of general population versus sailing population, their Swiss J/70 Sailing League may be the highest percentage of participation in the world! Here is the graphic that explains how their 2018 three-tier sailing league panned out- Super League, Challenge League, Promotion League, and Qualifiers. NOTE- in addition to this formal process of qualifying up and down each year (depending on your team’s finish position), there are also a Women’s League and Youth League that will be sailing in the next two weeks! Follow the Swiss J/70 Sailing League here on Facebook For more Swiss J/70 Sailing League information
Glam + Foggy Cleveland 216 Regatta!Sun’s out, then Lights out for J/22, J/70, J/105 Fleets
(Cleveland, OH)- The fourth annual Cleveland (216) Regatta welcomed three J/22's, seven J/70's, and six J/105's this past weekend at Edgewater Yacht Club in Cleveland, Ohio. Three races were completed in shifty breeze on Saturday with 8-12 knots out of the Southwest, flat water and sunshine peeking through. On Sunday, unusual Cleveland fog prevailed and even with some breeze, the EYC PRO was unable to get any racing in due to visibility! Following racing, the teams met on the drysail area for the Quantum/ Sailing Inc. "SAIL-gate" where the Cleveland Browns football team pulled off an overtime win for the first time on a Sunday in two years!
In the J/70 class, from Rochester, NY, Kevin Morgan on WILD CARD took first place over two Edgewater boats. Tod Sackett's team on FM came in second place and in third John Zelli's FREE ENERGY.
The J/105 fleet shook things up this year with Jim Uhlir's TRIO taking home first place, Rob Mock's UNBRIDLED in second and Chip Schaffner's FALL LINE in third.
Adam Gilbertson on DEUCE took first place in the J/22 fleet, followed by Tim Meaney's MEANIAC in second and Jim Latham's RAMBLE ON in third, all out of Edgewater Yacht Club.
Many thanks to the sponsors: Quantum Sails Cleveland, Sailing Inc, Tito's Handmade Vodka, Pusser's Rum, Yuengling beer, Regatta Ginger Beer, Pope's, Caruso's Coffee, Distillata, West Marine and APS.
Edgewater YC’s PRO Joe Colling, with help from Sam Patterson, put together a phenomenal team for Race Committee! The fifth annual Cleveland (216) Regatta will be held September 20-21, 2019 leading into the J/70 North American Championship September 21st through the 29th, all being held at Edgewater Yacht Club. We hope to see you there! For Cleveland 215 Regatta sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni, and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* Butch Ulmer Interview- enjoy this preliminary insight from a long-time Long Island Sound expert regards the J/109 North American’s at Larchmont, NY. Thanks to SAIL-WORLD.com.“The J/109 was first launched in 2001, and while the boat was never as popular as it’s slightly smaller cousin, the J/105, J/Boats built more than 375 J/109s during its 11-year production run. While only marginally larger than the 105, the 109’s design delivers more headroom and significantly more belowdecks comfort (read: a fully galley and other cruising amenities), while still proving plenty quick around the buoys. The net result is a design that’s both fun to cruise or to race, either in a handicap race or as part of a One Design class, such as the one that will be assembling on the waters of western Long Island Sound, off of Larchmont Yacht Club, in Larchmont, New York, for this year’s J/109 North Americans (October 11-14).
The J/109 class currently enjoys broad geographic distribution across North America, but as with many popular boats, certain areas tend to attract more of a particular design, and the greater Northeast region is home to many of these capable cruiser/racers. Not surprisingly, several of these teams will be representing their clubs at this year’s North Americans.
While 2017’s J/109 North Americans were contested on the waters off of Block Island as part of the 2017 Block Island Race Week, this year’s North Americans fleet will be contending with a much more confined racecourse that’s influenced by plenty of current and shore breezes and sporadically punctuated by heavy metal lumbering its way to and from the Big Apple.
Still, with the starting guns set to sound in mid-October, there’s a reasonable chance that competing teams will enjoy some nice fall breezes and early onshore colors, compliments of the area’s deciduous trees.
I checked in with Butch Ulmer, principal race officer for the 2018 J/109 North Americans, via email, to learn more about this highly competitive One Design regatta.SW: How many boats are you expecting on the starting line? Also, do you expect most of these boats to hail from the East Coast and New England, or do you expect a big geographic reach?
Between 20 and 30 boats. Of the 16 boats already entered, only six are from Long Island Sound. Two are from Texas and one is from Annapolis, but yes, in the end, the bulk of the fleet will hail from the northeast U.S.
SW: How would you describe the expected level of competition at the 2018 J/109 North Americans compared to other North American-level regattas that you have been involved with over the years?
Hard to say. I used to sail a lot with Rick Lyall on his J/109 Storm and I made it a point to know who the competition was. I recognize a few of the skippers and am sure they’ll be at or near the top each day.
I’d say there will be a small group of boats contending right up until the end. Last year, in a considerably larger J/105 Fleet, such was not the case. There was one boat (from out of town) and then the rest of the fleet.
SW: Provided that the weather gods cooperate, how many races do you hope to contest at this regatta? Also, will these all be Windward-Leewards?
Four days of racing, max number of races is ten. There is one course with two reaches. I will only use this course in light air to get the boats downwind so they can start the second beat.
SW: Conditions on Long Island Sound can sometimes get a little frisky in mid-October, especially if a big easterly rolls through…in the ideal world, what kind of conditions can competitors expect? What about in the less-than-ideal world?
I wouldn’t presume to guess at the conditions but the likelihood of a strong breeze certainly exists. Last year we saw puffs in the mid-30’s for the last race of the J/105 regatta.
Over four days of racing, my guess is we’ll see a little of everything, e.g. some drifting, some good steady southwesters and a northerly after a frontal passage with 30-40 degree shifts.
A big easterly is a long shot but it would make for great sailing!
SW: From the PRO’s perspective, what will be the biggest challenges to conducting this regatta?
Contending with fickle wind conditions is always the biggest challenge here on Long Island Sound. I am a believer that some races don’t deserve to live, but it can be tough to shoot a race in the head particularly if the better sailors are on top anyway.
The job is easier if you surround yourself with good sailors and experienced race-committee personnel. I always do that.
SW: Anything else that you’d like to add, for the record?
Western Long Island Sound is a tough place to sail. The breeze is fickle and very subject to local conditions. We have a six-foot rise and fall of tide so there is plenty of current.
The weekend before the North American Championship, Larchmont Yacht Club and The Storm Trysail Club will host the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (www.stormtrysailfoundation.org/intercollegiate-regatta) for 40-50 collegiate teams (copy of last year’s program attached). There will be a J/109 class in that event, and I have $20 that says the eventual J/109 North American champ will have sailed in the collegiate event.”
* The J/34 IOR “KNEE DEEP” is at it again, sailing offshore on Lake Erie with kids! Shocking! And, NO video games and NO cell phones! Even more shocking!As many of you know in the global community of J/Sailors, Brett Langolf makes every attempt to include his young son and daughter on any regatta that he and his wife sail with friends on a classic, super-fast, light-air, IOR-designed, J/34 on Lake Erie. They do many weekend and “beer can” races with everyone involved. Every minute spent offshore without your kids texting or gaming is about an hour’s worth of love and communication!
Recently, Brett posted a pic that would have most parents beaming from ear-to-ear with pride. Said Brett, “here’s my daughter Hadley, 10 yrs old, driving a kite reach last week off the shores of Cedar Point on a “Sunday Funday” race aboard KNEE DEEP. We all had a blast!” Add to Flipboard Magazine.
|
