Wednesday, October 30, 2019

J/Newsletter- October 30th, 2019

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

The past week of sailing featured a World Championship for what has proven to be the world’s largest one-design offshore keelboat class, ever. Yes, ever in a million years. The 41st J/24 World Championship took place on the storied waters of Biscayne Bay. A remarkable seventy-nine teams from 19 nations (Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Grenada, Hungary, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Trinidad- Tobago, and United States) sailed in the 41st edition of the J/24 World Championship. The amazing combination of USA J/24 Fleet 12 and the Shake-A-Leg organization in Coconut Grove, FL hosted the 400+ sailors and their friends and families from October 23rd to 26th.

Down south, the Annapolis YC fall weekend was host for the J/105 Chesapeake Bay Champs and J/35 Mid-Atlantic Champs on Chesapeake Bay. Further south, it was the Charleston Offshore Racing Association (CORA) that hosted their extremely popular Witches Brew Regatta- an event punctuated by amazing Halloween costumes and ONLY women skippers on each boat! J/24s, J/105s, J/120s, etc all had a wonderful time on Charleston Harbor in beautiful sailing conditions.

Traveling ever deeper south, the Lakewood Yacht Club was the happy host for the 10th annual J/Fest Southwest Regatta on Galveston Bay, sailing off Houston, Texas for one-design fleets of J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, and J/105s and a J/PHRF fleet. Out west, the San Diego Yacht Club hosted their annual J/105 Lipton Cup for a dozen yacht club teams from across the West Coast.

In Europe, it was yet another fascinating week. We get the amazing J/111 BLUR.SE Rolex Middle Sea Race report from Peter Gustafsson in Sweden… they won ORC 5 Class, were ORC Overall 4th, and IRC 5 Class 3rd. An amazing performance for a bunch of Vikings that never saw, nor sailed, the vast and treacherous Mediterranean Sea! Over in the region of “La Manche” were two events.  One was the fourth weekend of the famous Hamble Winter Series, hosted by the Hamble River Sailing Club, for IRC-handicap fleets and J/88 one-designs. Then, across the Channel, the J/22s had their Cooling Down Regatta at Brassermermeer, The Netherlands.

Winging our way, way, way Down Under, south of the equator, we find ourselves in Sydney, Australia, a famous venue for some of the world’s better dinghy and offshore one-design keelboat sailors- not surprising, considering they can sail about 12 months a year in rather sybaritic, windy, sailing conditions. The occasion this past week was the Australian J/70 National Championship in Sydney Harbour, Australia. Host was the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), home of the famous ROLEX Sydney Hobart Offshore Race that soon starts on Boxing Day.
 

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J/24 World Champions- Furio
Whittemore Crowned J/24 World Champion!

(Coconut Grove, FL)- Seventy-nine teams from 19 nations (Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Grenada, Hungary, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States) sailed in the 41st edition of the J/24 World Championship. The amazing combination of USA J/24 Fleet 12 and the Shake-A-Leg organization in Coconut Grove, FL hosted the 400+ sailors and their friends and families. Ten races were sailed over four days from October 23rd to 26th on the aquamarine waters of the beautiful Biscayne Bay. Winning the regatta was the Seattle-based team on FURIO, Keith Whittemore with crew of Shelby Milne, Willem Van Waay, Mark Rodgerd and Brian Thomas. Here are the final two-day’s reports.
J/24 Worlds starting line
Day 3- Friday
Whittemore’s FURIO extended their lead on a wild and exciting day of sailing. Winds were regularly recorded at 18 knots with gusts in the 20s, testing competitors and equipment, and causing some boats to retire early.

Whittemore’s FURIO, who excelled in the Championship’s lighter days, also shone in the bigger breeze Friday, posting a bullet and a 12 for 32 net points in eight races. Two more races were planned Saturday to conclude the event. Chris Stone’s VELOCIDAD held on to the runner-up position with 41 points, following a 26-5 on the day (discarding the 26). Rossi Milev’s CLEAR AIR maintained the third spot with 42 points.

FURIO’s Whittemore explained that Van Waay has some regatta experience with Furio, but joked, “the rest of us has sailed together for 4,000 years.” Whittemore also keeps a boat in Europe, and is regular on that circuit, creating friends and supporters worldwide.

In race seven, Whittemore won with John Mollicone’s HELLY HANSEN and Tokuma Takesue’s GEKKO taking 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Three J/24 World Champions comprised the top three in race eight: Mauricio Santa Cruz’s BRUSCHETTA from Brazil, Will Welles BUCKAROO from the USA, and Daniel Frost’s JJ-ONE from Germany.
J/24 sailing upwind
Day 4- Saturday Finale
Whittemore’s FURIO entered the final two races with a nine-point advantage, and quickly slammed the door on the competition by dominating race nine of 10. Following their bullet to start Saturday, long-time J/24 sailor Whittemore placed eighth in the final contest, five notches better than his closest challenger Milev’s CLEAR AIR. Although 2017 J/24 World Champion Milev placed second behind Whittemore in Saturday’s first match, FURIO was able to cover Milev in the final race to clinch victory with 41 points to Milev’s 57. Chris Stone’s VELOCIDAD assembled an impressive Championship for third place (66 points).
J/24 Worlds winners- Whittemore's Furio
Whittemore’s highest finish in prior World Championships was third, and he has been a bridesmaid at more than one major Championship. Five J/24 World Champion helmsmen were among this fleet, and Whittemore smiled, saying, “Being able to beat those guys feels really, really, really good!” He added, “Today was scary. When we drove down, we said we really need to win the first race, so the second race isn’t a complete mess.” The plan worked perfectly when FURIO started at the pin, and got a header. “We could cross everybody. We were frankly gone at that point, and extended our lead. We struggled up every first beat of every race. That was the first time where something happened, and we said this is going to be really good!”
J/24 Worlds- Women's winners
The IJCA also awarded its perpetual trophies:

Jaeger Women’s Trophy- to Erica Beck-Spencer and her SEA BAGS WOMEN’S SAILING TEAM as top Women’s team

Under-25 Turner Trophy- to Matthew Miranda’s TEAM OUTRAGEOUS as the top Youth crew on the Kelly Holmes-Moon Grant Boat.

Rounding out the top five were Mike Ingham’s NAUTALYTICS in fourth place and Travis Odenbach’s HONEYBADGER in fifth. Complete J/24 World Championship results may be found here.  For more J/24 World Championship sailing information
 

J/70 sailing on Sydney Harbour, Australia
JUNO Blitzes Australian J/70 Nationals

(Sydney, Australia)- The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), home of the famous Sydney to Hobart offshore race, hosted the J/70 Australian Championship on Sydney Harbour on the weekend of October 19 and 20.

A strong shifty westerly wind blowing from the land provided tough conditions on day one, with gusts over 30 knots and a particularly challenging top mark set in a leeward bay with very fluky winds.  Day two saw a steadier 10 to 12 knot southeast wind with some very close racing throughout the fleet.
J/70 sailing fast- Sydney Harbour, Australia
Helped by off-season racing at the J/70 Worlds in Torquay, the JUNO team (Reg Lord, Ben Lamb, Murray Jones, Tom Grimes) won each race to claim the title for the third consecutive year. Second overall and first Corinthian was JAMES helmed by Tim Ryan, also from the CYCA. Third was JABBERWOCKY (Middle Harbour YC) helmed by Australian J/70 Class President Andrew Thompson, with expert trimmer Noel Drennan on main.

Behind the Corinthian’s winner JAMES was Peter Nash’s MAYBE-J in second and Andy McIntyre’s JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH in third place.
J/70 sailing, planing downwind- Sydney Harbour, Australia
The fleet is also scored using the SailSys PHS (performance handicap scoring) system, where teams carry “golf-handicap” style ratings and scores are computed on that basis.  Winning the PHS Division was Thompson’s JABBERWOCKY, with second going to Lord’s JUNO, and third to Tony Landgren’s SPIKE.

A newcomer to the fleet was Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s Captain and three time Olympian Karyn Gojnich. She said after the regatta concluded, “Sara Ladd and I took ownership of JACKAL during the week just prior to the regatta, so we were extremely pleased and excited just to get out to the race course and finish each race. Big thanks to Pete Lowndes and Ewa Lindelöf who joined us for the weekend.”
J/70 sailing by Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia
Another newcomer, and fourth overall, was Michael Nash from RSYS who traded his Etchells-22 for his new J/70 MAYBE-J. Nash commented that, “the J/70 is a great boat for mixed sailing, as the main is manageable for anyone. Olga (Skatkova) said just yesterday that she was surprised she had no problems playing the spinnaker on Saturday when winds were gusting over 30 knots.”

Ray Carless of JUNIOR commented, “the winds and harbour conditions were at times challenging, but overall it was an excellent event with great sportsmanship, camaraderie and most of all, fun J/70 sailing! Love it!”

Also, a special mention to the teams JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH and SPIKE that travelled 1,000 kms from Victoria to compete. Good on ya mates!

The 2020 Australian J/70 National Championship is scheduled to take place over Easter, hosted by Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron on Port Philip Bay in Melbourne, Victoria.   Sailing Photo credits by Beth Morley
 

J/111 sailing Rolex Middle Sea Race
J/111 BLUR.SE’s Rolex Middle Sea Race Report

(Gzira, Malta)- The 40th Edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race, hosted by the Royal Malta Yacht Club, was a tale of two races. After the calm conditions for the first half of the course, increasingly rough weather in the second half of the course posed enormous challenges for the fleet, with winds gusting to over 30 kts with steep, mountainous seas that looked more like walls to most sailors. As described by one sailor, “the last 24 hours were hell. We were soaking wet, with water coming in everywhere. No matter how good a sailor you are, in those conditions you were miserable and cold.”
J/111 Blur.se team
Those extreme sailing conditions were not much of an issue for a bunch of Vikings! The J/111 BLUR.SE from Sweden sailed the race for the first time, to win ORC 5 Class, take 4th Overall ORC, and 3rd in IRC 5 Class.  Here is the amazing report from owner/ skipper- Peter Gustafsson.  Enjoy...

“A race that surpassed my expectations in every way….

I’ve heard sailors claiming that this is the most beautiful offshore race in the world, and now I understand why. I also understand why people love Malta and the hospitality of people on the island.

Rolex Middle Sea Race trophies for J/111 Blur.seAnd to top this, our team didn’t disappoint on the race course. We showed that we can challenge the best offshore teams with many pros on board, “do our thing” under pressure and deliver results in races that are new to us.

We tried to use the week before the start as effective as possible. The crew was complete on Tuesday evening, and we went directly into the coastal race on Wednesday. It felt really good and we managed a class win. Thursday was set aside for MOB practice, hoisting the orange sails and some other small stuff that needed fixing. Friday was free to recharge for the start.

As in Fastnet, we used Aksel Magdahl, the Norwegian navigator as a sounding board pre-race. Back home, we worked through the course together, and Friday evening we looked at the big picture for the race as well as possible scenarios for the first 24-36 hours.

Race day
In our class, we had some serious competition. The big thing was the duel between the two JPK 11.80's. Courrier Recommandé won the race over-all last year (as well as Fastnet with 10.80 when we raced in 2015) and were clear favorites. Sunrise has a string of great results and the two boats top the RORC Season Championship in IRC2.

In general, many big boats that would have an advantage in the heavier breeze, so we knew we must race the boat as hard as possible for the first few days to get ahead.
J/111 starting Rolex Middle Sea Race in Malta
The start in Great Harbour, Valetta
Amazing scenery inside the harbor. We even had crowds cheering “Heja Sverige” from ashore, which was a first for us.

A local, very light, “sea breeze” filled the harbor, and we figured a start at the starboard end was favored. Less wind, but shorter distance to the harbor entrance. So either 25% down in free wind, or in the bunch at the mark.

We ended up coming out right at the mark just a few seconds after the gun, and found a decent lane to pass the boats coming up on port. We had 2-3 boats ahead, but we could do our own thing.

We played the small puffs, first on the Valetta side and then over on the east side.

We exited the harbor in good shape. Only the First 44.7 Courier du Coeur was ahead by 50-60 meters.
J/111 Blur.se sailing past Sicily
Along the coast
At the 1st Rolex Mark, we set the A3 gennaker and started moving. Such a relief to get out to sea…

The wind seemed to fill in from behind, so we tried to stay high between Courrier Recommandé and the mark. The luffing duel was us passing Courier du Coeur :-)

After some final gybes, we rounded first in our class at the coastal Rolex Mark 2. Wow!!!

Courrier Recommandé was well behind us. This was supposed to be Gery Trentesaux last race with this crew, and they have been the offshore boat to beat for many years. Gery has done the Route du Rhum, Admirals’ Cup, and won the Commodores’ Cup 2006. With his different Courrier-boats, he has won the Fastnet Race (in 2015 in his 13th attempt, when we also led him halfway), Middle Sea Race (last year) and placed second overall in the famous Sydney-Hobart Race in 2015.   Read the rest of the epic Blur.se report and photos here
 

J/112E winning start- Hamble Winter Series
Beautiful 4th Weekend @ Hamble Winter Series

(Hamble, England)- The famous Hamble Winter Series continued on the Solent and Southampton Water, hosted by the Hamble Sailing Club. The classes include IRC handicap as well as one-design fleets of J/70s in southern United Kingdom. This past weekend marked the fourth weekend of sailing in beautiful fall weather conditions.

After a week of very changeable weather, things settled down on race day Sunday, to provide a light northerly airstream similar to the Sunday before. The main difference was the big spring tide. PRO Kathy Smalley took up station once again near Goodall Roofing. Solent sailors know that they are in for a challenging time when the wind comes from the North as it tends to move about a bit. As David Greenhalgh, J/92 J’RONIMO owner, reported back in the clubhouse, “the big tide and the light North wind made it a brainstorming session."
J/88 sailing Hamble Winter Series
For Race 1, a down tide start near the SE end of the Bramble plateau, with just enough bias to ease congestion on the line, got the fleet away. The question was, as one sailor observed, “did you take a long starboard tack to stay in the tide, or hitch northwards quickly to what looked like more wind on the mainland shore?"

In the end, staying in the tide with a late hitch paid off. On the second run a black inflatable started to drift towards Cowes, clearly dragging. Having read the Sailing Instructions, most boats headed for where the mark had been, as the position was clearly defined. Before they got there, a new black mark had been laid.

The strong tide meant that the downwind legs were going to be heavily port biased. A gybe set at the windward mark paid of really well for those that pulled if off quickly enough.

David Richards’ J/109 JUMPING JELLYFISH pushed Dirk van Beek’s J/88 SABRIEL JR into second in IRC 2 Class, with Simon Perry’s J/109 JIRAFFE having to settle for third.

The battle in IRC 1 Class was particularly scary, as they were fighting for the Hamble Big Boat Championship in the day’s two races. Chaz Ivill’s J/112E DAVANTI TYRES took the first race.

For the second start, the line was again appropriately biased. "This time" reported Chris Brown," it was critical to hitch north quickly, to hook into the stronger shoreline gradient wind." It became increasingly important the read the shifts upwind, as the breeze faded. "A short gybe to the shortened course finish at the leeward mark, and a rapid kite/jib change saw us take another first place by 5 minutes from the nearest boat."
J/109 sailing Hamble Winter Series
In IRC 2 Class, Perry’s J/109 JIRAFFE returned to top spot with the Richard Cooper’s J/88 LONGLEUR in second and Gavin Howe’s J/88 TIGRIS in third.

The Class 1 battle showed no sign of abating; Ivill’s J/112E DAVANTI TYRES slipped to third. This left the final three positions for the Hamble Big Boat Championship separated by only 1 point! In the end, Ivill’s J/112E DAVANTI TYRES ended up tied for first and lost the Big Boat Championship on a tie-breaker/ countback scenario (NOTE- they did not sail the 3rd race on October 13th and, likely, would have won easily).

The HYS Hamble Winter Series day sponsor was the Bugle Inn, Hamble. There cannot be many relationships in sailing that have continued for a hundred years. When HRSC was founded in 1919, the club ran the racing from the garden of The Bugle. Their manager Matt presented the very welcome vouchers and bottles of wine to the day's winners.

Next week is the mid-season break. Racing will resume on Sunday 10th November.   Shaun Roster's pictures can be found here.   Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth/ PWPictures.com   For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information
 

J/24s at J/Fest Southwest in Houston, TX
Awesome J/Fest Southwest Regatta!

(Lakewood, TX)- The 10th annual J/Fest Southwest started out windy, rainy, and cold on Saturday morning. The “Famous Farley Fontenot” 7:30 AM weather briefing predicted a Westerly wind with gusts up to 20 kts, but petering out by mid afternoon as the low continued to move northeast. The bundled up sailors hit the course with the J/105's and ORC boats on the Blue circle and the J/22's, J/24's, and J/70's on the Red circle up next to the West shore.

The J/22's had the biggest fleet in the event with 19 boats and the headliner boat had to be Farley's OLD TIMES entry with none other then John Kolius and James Berry as crew! The OLD TIMES crew completed the 7 races with scores ranging from a 2nd to a 7th, placing them in 4th. Local Speed Shop owner Tom Meeh captured 3rd on MEEHAM and Doug Weakly on "HNL" ended up in 2nd. First place went to Danny Pletsch on SKETCHY. Danny and his wife joined Lakewood Yacht Club, as they recently moved here and were formerly members at Larchmont YC. Congrats! Great racing in the J/22's!

The J/70's had 14 boats signed up, but a couple of them decided they weren't up for the Saturday AM winter sailing, even though the “foulies” came off around 1pm when the sun came out, and the mercury climbed up into the 60's! This was a 2020 J/70 Worlds Long Beach qualifying event with one Open team slot and one Corinthian team slot up for grabs!  The crews came loaded for bear with many of the top Pro’s seen at previous J/70 events! Glenn Darden on HOSS took home first spot and is off to the Worlds! Mallory (Farley's daughter) and Andrew Loe came down from Seattle and ran away with the Corinthian spot! But, both teams had to work for it! Third was Jay Lutz’s ZOUNDS Racing Team.  Tough, tough fleet with loads of competition, many lead changes and only one team scored more then two first places!! Really, Really, fun times.

The J/24's put 13 boats on the line with the "Gale Force Team” putting three J/24's on the line! Thank you Anita Gale for all of the support that you put into the J/24 fleet. The top 3 boats were separated by 4 points! Kirk Reynolds’s New York team on TYRUS was the winner, followed by YIKES! (a Gale Force Team boat) in second with Gerald Rademaker at the helm. Then, “99” was third, skippered by Barry Bailey.!

The ORC fleet had all the big J's in it!  Two J/46's, J/122, J/109, J/92, J/35, J/80 and a brand new J/99.  Al Goethe on the J/46 HAMBURG II won the biggest pickle dish, followed by JD Hill on their J/122 SECOND STAR. Third was David Christensen’s J/109 AIRBORNE. The J/99  missed the first 3 races but came out and took 2nd place in race 4 and 5. Great racing in this fleet!

The J/105 fleet remains active with 10 boats and Ken Horne with FINAL FINAL continued his 2019 winning ways! Ken's back and he's "all in" traveling the country with his J/105 and taking 6 bullets out of 7 races. John Barnett on PESTO took 2nd and Matt Arno’s BLUE FLASH gang from Ft. Worth took 3rd!

It was a great J/Fest with great shoreside activities, our famous "Frog More stew" with boiled shrimp, sausage, corn, and potatoes! Great music, too! Great sponsors make this one of the best events anywhere! Thank you to all the volunteers and sponsors!  Check out J/Fest SW video highlights from White Pelican Productions!   For J/Fest Southwest results  For more J/Fest Southwest sailing information
 

J/105s sailing Lipton Cup- San Diego, CA
Newport Harbor YC Victorious @ J/105 Lipton Cup

(San Diego, CA)– The team from Newport Harbor Yacht Club won the 2019 Sir Thomas Lipton Cup Regatta today. Eleven participating yacht club teams returned from last year, many of them being skippered by the same men and women at the helm. Shane Young and his Long Beach Yacht Club team were one team that really came back ready for a rematch.

To begin the regatta, racing began around 1225 after the race committee waited for the breeze to fill in. This gave the teams time to get accustomed to the J/105s and the South San Diego Bay venue. In four races, competitors saw shifty breezes averaging 8 knots through the day.
J/105s sailing at Lipton Cup- San Diego
After day 1, in first place was Shane Young (Long Beach Yacht Club) with 15 points, tied with Tyler Sinks (San Diego Yacht Club) in second, also with 15 points. In third place stands Will Holz (Chicago Yacht Club) with 20 points.

Young (LBYC) ended the 2018 Lipton Cup in second place behind Sinks (SDYC) and came back this year ready to battle. The team dominated the first day, finishing the first two races with a bullet, and finished the fourth race in second.

Sinks talked about how he was feeling after the first day of races. “We ended the day on a high note and we feel good about it. We had a couple of tough races. We’re going to be disciplined tomorrow. If we can continue what we started today than we’ll be in good shape,” he said.

The breeze on day two was stronger than typical San Diego conditions, seeing southerly winds with speeds in the range of 16-18 knots for the majority of the races. Holz (Chicago YC) was able to use the breeze to his advantage and make his way from third place to first place overall after eight races.

Holz commented, “The key for us was having clean starts and being able to make our own decisions off the line during all of the races. We always felt fast and the team is doing really well around the course. We do get this kind of breeze [in Chicago] and we’re pretty comfortable in it.”

Law, skippering for NHYC, was the winner of day two, taking bullets in races five, seven and eight. Their scores brought them into their second place position and only one point behind Chicago Yacht Club overall. Learning from the first day of the regatta, Law switched up some of the teams assignments on the boat to be a little more fitting and lead to their success.

“We had some of the bigger guys on the boat stay on the rail and had the smaller guys move around a little more. We might have even got a fourth bullet today, but our kite got wrapped up on the second race [race six]. The most notable part of today, it was that we ended smiling at the end of the day,” explained Law.
J/105s starting Lipton Cup- San Diego
After day 2, standings had Holz (Chicago Yacht Club) in first place with 30 points, followed by Justin Law (Newport Harbor Yacht Club) in second with 31 points, and Shane Young (Long Beach Yacht Club) in third with 39 points.

After three days of intense, close racing, skipper Justin Law and his seasoned crew earned their bragging rights by winning four of eleven races and staying in the top half of the fleet for almost every other race this weekend.

“It was super stressful. We just really played ball that last race. We had to stay five boats within Chicago and the team just did enough. Winning the first race made the tension go away and it was a great way to start the day. It set us up for a successful final two races,” commented Law.

Newport Harbor went into the third and final day of the regatta only one point behind Chicago Yacht Club and made sure to battle their way past them to the top. Chicago, however, still held their own in the top of the fleet today, seeing good competition from teams like San Diego Yacht Club, Coronado Yacht Club (5th) and San Francisco Yacht Club (8th).
Newport Harbor YC wins Lipton Cup- San Diego
Law has been sailing with this crew for quite some time, a factor that he credits toward their success. Recently, the team has been competing in yacht club keelboat circuit team racing and sailed in the Morgan Cup and the Baldwin Cup. “Whether it’s team racing, club circuit, or offshore big boat, we’ve been doing this with the same team for a couple of years.

“This is the first time I’m driving, but it’s kind of the OG squad,” he said. Law has crewed at the Lipton Cup the past two years for their usual skipper Jon Pinckney, who came in fifth in 2018. Bill Menninger, a frequenter to SDYC’s Lipton Cup and International Masters Regatta, was also on NHYC’s crew.

“I know it’s a big trophy and it’s a huge deal for us to win the Lipton Cup. The biggest thing is how many people are reaching out and saying congratulations. It’s really cool,” finished Law.

The Newport Harbor Yacht Club team was skippered by Justin Law, and crewed by Bill Menninger, Alex Curtiss, Daniel Geissmann, John Peschelt, and Peter Kinney.

Thank you to our local J/105 owners who are lending the boats and sponsors who are allowing this event to happen.  For more SDYC Lipton Cup sailing information
 

J/22s sailing Cooling Down in Netherlands
Windy J/22 Cooling Down Regatta

(Brassermermeer, The Netherlands)- The weather Gods threw a spanner into the works last weekend for the J/22 Cooling Down Regatta, the last event of the season for the J/22 class in The Netherlands. On Saturday, a strong wind, with peaks to 35 knots, forced the sailors to stay ashore in order to prevent damage to their boats. However, as the sailors woke up on Sunday, it was still windy, but the weather was fantastic for sailing. After four races, it was fun to chat and drink in the clubhouse after four very tight races amongst the leaderboard.
J/22 sailing in The Netherlands
Winning was the visiting German GER 1390 team comprised of skipper Holger Schmitt and crew of Sabine Schoenfeldt and Thomas Hanf with a record of 3-5-1-2 for 11 pts. Taking second just one point shy was the NED 1595 Dutch team of Ivo Jeukens and Steyn Schiltkamp with a 2-2-5-3 record for 12 pts. Third on the podium was another Dutch crew, NED 1295 sailed by Liselotte Verdoorn and crew of Anneloes Krikhaar and Dirk Jan Verkampf.  For more J/22 Cooling Down Regatta sailing information
 

J/105s sailing Cheseapeake Bay
MIRAGE Wins J/105 Chesapeake Champs

AUNT JEAN Repeart J/35 Mid-Atlantic Champion
(Annapolis, MD)- The Annapolis Yacht Club Race Committee wrapped up their weekend regatta schedule after serving on nine out of the last 10 weekends, including two weekends where the Club put two Committees on the water for two separate events.

The fall championships for two long-standing one-design fleets took place over the weekend with the J/105s competing in the Chesapeake Bay Championship and the J/35s for their Mid-Atlantic Championship. PRO Steve Kling and his signal boat crew headed out to a location just off R2 Buoy and kicked racing off on time with the J/35s at 11:05am. With the breeze steady out of the NE ranging in strength from 5-10kts, the RC knocked out three races for both fleets, with only the J/105s starting under the Z flag for the final race of the day, and sent them ashore to put their boats away and head to the Sailing Center for the competitors party.
J/105 Mirage winning Chesapeake Bay regatta
Sunday morning’s forecast was bleak with a strong system moving in from the south and predictions of gusts over 30kts, but the signal boat posted their intended location in hopes of getting at least one more race on the board. After anchor down at 0950, the Committee kept up with constant updates from the Leeward and Windward mark boat teams who reported sustained high 20s and gusts in the mid 30’s. The radar showed a large patch of yellow and red heading from west to east with stronger sustained breeze, so the RC made the decision to hoist N over A at 1024 and head back to the harbor.
J/105 winners- Chesapeake Champions
For the J/105s, the event served as a warm-up for the 2020 J/105 North Americans being held there at the same end-of-October weekend, drawing a strong turnout of 20 locals plus one out-of-town team, GOOD TRADE from San Francisco. In light and shifty conditions, Fredrik Salvesen and Cedric Lewis on MIRAGE won the first day with a 1-2-1 record for 4 points. Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault followed them on GOOD TRADE with a 2-1-5 for 8 points. Rounding out the podium was AJ Libby’s DOGHOURSE, matching Ben DuPont’s CONTROL ALT DELETE at 17 points each, with DOGHOUSE winning the countback in the tie-breaker. Andrew Kennedy’s BAT IV and Carl Gitchell’s TENACIOUS were close behind with 18 and 20 points, respectively, to complete the top five.

Lilla Salvesen from MIRAGE was awarded the “Steve Gale Memorial Trophy”. This is a perpetual trophy awarded to the bow person of the winning J/105 in the J/105 Regatta held in the fall at AYC. Gale was a long time bowman in the J/105 fleet and passed away in 2010.
J/35 Aunt Jean sailing Chesapeake Bay
In the J/35s, it was yet again Jim Sagerholm & Jerry Christofel’s AUNT JEAN taking class honors for the gazillionth time.  However, an up and coming team that took two 2nds and won the last race to take the silver was prepared to topple them off their pedestal- Bruce Artman’s T-BONE. Securing the bronze was local J/35 Fleet Captain Roger Lant on ABIENTOT. For more J/105 & J/35 Chesapeake Regatta sailing information
 

J/125 sailing Great Pumpkin RegattaSmoky Great Pumpkin Regatta
(Point Richmond, CA)- Due to the extraordinary wildfires taking place off the northeast of San Francisco Bay, the windy northeast winds of the “Santa Ana’s” were blowing warm, dry, smoke-filled air into the Bay area.  While there was great buoy racing on Saturday, the 40 to 60 kts of NE winds on Sunday forced cancellation of all racing at the various yacht clubs/ sailing clubs in the Bay area.

Richmond Yacht Clubs’ Great Pumpkin Regatta entered its 34th year with a new theme- "Zombie Luau".  The plan was to have three races on Saturday and a fun Pursuit race on Sunday. And, the traditional massively fun Saturday party was on everyone’s “dance list”- Great food, Great band, and Outrageous costumes. Due to the insane weather conditions and wild fires, only the Saturday racing and huge, fun party was completed, with the famous Pursuit Race around San Francisco Bay being cancelled due to insane winds and smoke.

The event had one-design classes for J/105s, J/24s, and PHRF handicap classes for everyone else.

The J/24s saw Darren Cumming’s DOWNTOWN UPROAR take class honors with straight bullets for just 3 pts total. Second was narrowly taken by Val Lulevich’s SHUT UP & DRIVE with a 2-4-3 tally for 9 pts. Just one point back in third place was Paul van Ravenswaay’s FERAL ROOSTER with a 3-5-2 record for 10 pts.

Winning the J/105 class on a tie-break/ countback was Larry Levit’s ARCHIMEDES over Kim Chris’ VUJA STAR, both with 1-2 records. Third was Greg Arkus’ STREAKER.

PHRF A Class saw Zach Anderson & Will Paxton’s J/125 VELVET HAMMER post a 3-3-2 for 8 pts and good enough for the bronze. In PHRF 2 Class, Nesrin Basoz’s J/111 SWIFT NESS secured a bronze medal as well with a 2-3-3 for third, losing a tie-breaker on 8 pts each. Fourth was Mike Clarke’s J/120 SHENANIGANS. In PHRF D Class, Tom Thayer’s J/70 RAMPAGE took second with a 3-3-2 for 8 pts, followed in third by another J/70- Peter Cameron’s KANGAROO JOCKEY with a 4-4-3 tally for 11 pts. Taking fifth was yet another J/70, David Fried’s SON OF A SON with a 6-5-4 record. For more Great Pumpkin Regatta sailing information
 

J/120 sailing Witches Brew race
Witches Brew Race- “Dress to Beat the Rest!”

(Charleston, SC)- The CORA (Charleston Offshore Racing Association) held their annual 2019 Witches Brew Race on October 26 in Charleston, SC. Women skippers are required for this fun race around Charleston Harbor. Plus, Halloween costumes are required!

The weather could not have cooperated any better for this fun-loving affair on Charleston Harbor- sunny skies, moderate breeze, and amazing costumes! There are some sailors in Charleston who put a lot of thought into their costumes for the Witches Brew Race; this year was one of the best.

Hurricane Dorian visited Charleston earlier this year and folks in Charleston are always on the lookout for the dreadful visit of “The Weather Channel”. The skipper and crew of the J/120 EMOCEAN (see photo above) played on this spoof and their entry this year was “The Weather Channel”, they won first place!! LOL!

The College of Charleston has been in the news recently about an outbreak of the Mumps. The CoC Sailing Team dressed as the “Mumps Response Unit” in Hazmat suits.
J/105 Fireball- Witches Brew race
A local traditional drink is the “Fireball Vodka”, which was developed in Charleston. Suitably, the J/105 RUM FRONT (above), decided to change their team’s theme to the “FIREBALL FRONT”. Wow, those guys and gals sure had a fun time…lucky they managed to stay on the boat! Nevertheless, they managed to win PHRF A Class!

Charleston is known as the “Holy City”, as it has so many churches… to offset all the sinful bars and taverns, of course!! So, Team ALLIANCE came as “The Holy Ghosts”.
J/24 all-women's teamd at Witches Brew race
There was an all-women’s J/24 team (above) that played “Dancing Queen” and all those ladies danced as they passed by the judging dock!

Plenty of Pirates and Mermaids rounded out the group; RUCKUS appeared to have a shark that entered the boat from the stern with the head coming out of the front hatch! Many clever ideas from these various crews! Thanks for the photos by Priscilla Parker.
J/120 Emocean- a.k.a. The Weather Channel
Congrats to Bill Hanckel and crew on the J/120 EMOCEAN for winning the costume contest! For Witches Brew Race results, click here
 

Regatta & Show Schedules:

Oct 5- Dec 1- Hamble Winter Series- Hamble, England
Nov 1-4- French J/80 Championship- La Rochelle, France
Nov 9- Hot Rum Series I- San Diego, CA
Nov 9-10- J/22 Vaterchen Frost Regatta- Hamburg, Germany
Nov 16- Around Hong Kong Island Race- Hong Kong, China
Nov 23- Hot Rum Series II- San Diego, CA
Nov 30- Dec 1- J/80 Mundialito Regatta- Santander, Spain
Dec 6-8- J/22 Jammin’ Jamaica Regatta- Montego Bay, Jamaica
Dec 7- Hot Rum Series III- San Diego, CA

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.

J/120 sailing Hot Rum Series- San Diego, CAHot Rum Series Preview
(San Diego, CA)- The San Diego Yacht Club kicks off its annual Hot Rum Series this coming weekend. The event marks the end of their yearly offshore season for aficionados of sailing across the greater Southern California region. Boats participate from afar as Mexico and San Francisco as the “last hurrah” for the year. Typically, the weather is quite remarkable, with the WNW “sea breezes” kicking in around noontime when the racing starts. The PHRF Pursuit style race means the smallest, slowest boats start first in the lighter winds and head out of the harbor start, past Point Loma, offshore to a triangle buoy race, finishing back in the harbor. Starting later in stronger winds, it is not entirely surprising that the larger boats with their towering rigs often win as the winds filter down over the high peninsula of Point Loma. Nevertheless, it is a fun-loving format, always a picturesque sail sometimes punctuated with giant U.S. Navy nuclear carriers (1,200 feet long) or U.S. Navy 688 Fast Attack Class submarines entering or exiting the harbor with the sailboats keeping clear and maneuvering around them… such fun and frolic on San Diego Harbor!

In the fleet of eighty boats are nineteen J/Teams that range from the J/70s (22 feet) up to the J/145 (47 feet). As has been the case for years, the largest contingent is the J/105s, with leading teams like Dennis Case’s J-OK, Rick Goebel’s SANITY, and Jeff Brown’s SWEET KAREN joining the fun.  In addition, three J/120s are in the mix, such as Janet Mostafa’s BARAKA, John Laun’s CAPER, and Ernie Pennell’s MAD MEN. The balance of the J/Teams include Gene Pitkin’s J/109 GERONIMO, Chuck Bowers’ J/29 RHUMB RUNNER, Tim Lynch’s J/30 RUFFIAN, Fred Hawes’ J/46 ANONA, Tom Garrett’s J/70 SLOOP JOHN B, Rudy Hasl’s J/145 PALAEMON, and Don Fulton’s J/35 BLUE LUNATIC. Sailing photo credits- JOY Sailing.  For more San Diego YC Hot Rum Series sailing information
 

J/Community
What friends, alumni, and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* GO VOTE for J/Boats in Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image contest!
Here are the four images, the four photographers, and the four links!
Tim Wilkes- J/70
Tim Wilkes
This is an amazing photo of J/70s off Cleveland, OH for J/70 North Americans. “As a yacht racing photographer, there are certain days that you live for,” commented Tim. “They are the most difficult days to create photos in, given the extreme wind and sea state. This was one of those days on Lake Erie… of all places! Purely magical. Pure excitement. Surfing a breaking wave down the course with the entire fleet behind you is a great feeling. I'm happy I was able to be there in the right spot and stable enough to capture it.”   View image and vote here.

J/125 off Ireland
Andy Green
“This was a cool shot of the J/125 JACK KNIFE from the IRC Regatta held at Pwllheli in August,” said Andy. “It had been champagne sailing with blue skies and 20 knots of breeze. I could see a squall moving to us and within minutes we where in 40+ knots of wind, heavy rain, and near zero visibility. The fleet where being battered by the conditions. But, as soon as it came the squall lifted, we returned to blue skies and 20 knot winds!”  View image and vote here.

J/70 Sweden sea grass
Daniel Ljungsvik
“This was very amusing and picturesque perspective of a J/70 at this year’s Swedish J/70 Nationals taking a shortcut back to harbor! Through the weeds!!,” said Dan.   View image and vote here.

J/70 French Nationals off Marseille, France
Pierrick Jeannoutot
It was an amazing regatta for the French J/70 class on the Mediterranean this summer. The J/70s were sailing off Marseille, France for their French J/70 Nationals.. fabulous conditions and love the backdrop, too! Said Pierrick, “I like this photo because, just before the finish line on the last leg of the regatta, the two J/70’s were symmetrically aligned on the two different gybe angles downwind.. So cool!”  View image and vote here.

J/88 sailing
* Maureen Koeppel Photography was out on the water for the J/88 North American Championship and took some epic photos of J/88s flying around the race course, off the starting line, rounding marks, and rounding down broaching, too! Watch this very entertaining musical and photo montage! Enjoy!  In addition, Melissa Pike also had some amazing photos of the J/88 NA’s as well..

J/80 sailing Hudson River/ Hudson Yards
* Hudson River Community Sailing- Sailing for Scholars Regatta
Saturday was the perfect day for our 10th Annual Sailing for Scholars Regatta! What was forecast to be a no-wind day ended up being a perfect 10-15 kts. We got in 4 races each for the J/24 and J/80 classes, and wrapped up the day with an awards ceremony with Oysters donated by Grey Lady and dinner from Peter Callahan Catering!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who attended the gala, raced in the regatta, cheered from the pier, or donated to a team bid at the auction-- you rock! It was all hands on deck, and your generosity and spirit makes the HRCS community unique.
J/24 Hudson River crew
HRCS serves 200+ middle and high school students in our year-round program Sail Academy, which uses sailing and boatbuilding as a foundation for STEM and leadership education, along with college access and job readiness training.

On Thursday, we had our “Gala” event at the New York Yacht Club. HRCS honored Jay Cross, President of Related Hudson Yards. Cross touched on the transformative nature of sailing in his remarks, likening the challenges and joys of sailing to life. Sail Academy students MC'd the event, which included a Silent Auction and tour of the Model Room.
J/24 sailing Hudson River/ Hudson Yards
Friday- Practice Race Day
Teams met at Pier 66 on Friday morning for professional coaching with Kristen Berry of Gale Force Sailing and National Hall of Fame Member Betsy Allison.

Saturday- Regatta at Pier 66
A record 10 J/80s and 8 J/24s raced this year! Together, the sailing teams crowd-funded over $175K to support Sail Academy.

The rookies on Team YOLO! won the J/24 class, and George Comfort & Sons took first in the J/80 class. Gorgeous conditions HRCS to run four races off Pier 66, where spectators cheered their teams on!
Sponsors- Hudson Yards, Con Edison, Bloomberg
Finally, a special thanks to our event sponsors: Con Edison, Hudson Yards, Robins Kaplan, and Polar Seltzer.

Thank you to Bottino for donating lunch, The Right to Shower for tote bags and gifts, Dean's Beans for coffee, Peter Callahan Catering for an amazing awards dinner, and the Grey Lady for a fabulous oyster bar and libations.  Learn more about Hudson River Community Sailing on Facebook here
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Wednesday, October 23, 2019

J/Newsletter- October 23rd, 2019

J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

The world’s largest J/70 circuit just concluded this past weekend. The Italian J/70 Cup circuit had the fourth and final regatta off San Remo, Italy on the spectacular “Italian Riviera”. The fleet of fifty-five boats enjoyed three great days of racing to determine the final winner of the four regatta series that started in Scarlino, went to Marina Dorica Ancona, then Malcesine, and ended in San Remo. A total of ninety-eight J/70 teams from fifteen nations across Europe and Asia participated in this year’s series. Not far away off to the southeast, a J/111 from Sweden took up the Rolex Middle Sea Race Challenge on the Mediterranean and the Vikings took home some silverware! Then, off to the northwest in the United Kingdom, the third weekend of the Hamble Winter Series produced yet another two days of great racing on the famous Solent and Southampton Water for IRC handicap racing and one-design championships for J/70s and J/88s.

Winging our way over to the Americas, fourteen J/88 teams enjoyed a very tactical/ strategic three-days of racing on western Long Island Sound for their 2019 J/88 North American Championship. Larchmont Yacht Club in Larchmont, New York hosted the event. In the same vicinity, the Fall Classic for J/109s was also sailed on western Long Island Sound, hosted by Stamford Yacht Club in Stamford, CT for a fleet of ten boats. Further south, twenty-three boats enjoyed a “mini-Pre-Worlds” at the J/24 East Coast Championship hosted by Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, MD with racing taking place on the northern Chesapeake Bay.

Then, this week, the J/24 World Championship is currently taking place in Miami, FL with racing on Biscayne Bay for a huge fleet of eighty boats from twenty countries. As expected, racing is incredibly close between the top five teams! Enjoy the latest updates.

Over to the Deep South, the Harvest Moon Regatta and offshore race of 150.0nm took place for a large 60-plus boat fleet of ORC & PHRF handicap racing boats; a J/121 loved the challenging conditions, as did a half-dozen other J’s collecting silverware, like J/46s, J/109s, J/122s, J/120, and J/105s. Off to the West Coast, the San Diego Yacht Club hosted their annual J/105 International Masters Regatta on San Diego’s South Bay for a fleet of a dozen master sailors (60-plus years old) from the USA and Canada.
 

J/70s sailing off San Remo, Italy 
DAS Sailing Crowned Italian J/70 Cup Champion
L’ELAGAIN wins Finale in San Remo
(San Remo, Italy)- The Italian J/70 class continues to grow and gain an increasing number of converts from other one-design class sailors from across the Italian peninsula. In addition, more teams from middle and northern Europe are making the trek down across the continent to participate in some of the strongest one-design sailing fleets in the world; remarkably fifteen nations from across the Eurasian continent participated- Poland, Russia, Germany, Monaco, United Kingdom, Malta, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Ireland, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Slovenia, and France. In addition, there were teams from the USA in North America and Argentina from South America.

For the 2019 edition of the Italian J/70 Cup, ninety-eight teams participated in the Overall Division and forty-four teams participated in the Corinthians Division (nearly 50% of the fleet). The four event series started in Scarlino, then went east to Marina Dorica Ancona, back north to Malcesine on Lago di Garda, then west to San Remo in the Italian Riviera. It was a nice way to end the season on the sunny Mediterranean in the fall, with good breezes and excellent sailing. The YC San Remo hosted the event and provided a warm welcome to the fifty-two teams that competed in the finale.
L'Elagain J/70 San Remo winners
SAN REMO- Act IV
In the end, winning the San Remo event was a familiar team to Italian racers, Franco Solerio’s L’ELAGAIN Team of Giulio Desiderato, Manuel Giubellini, Nick Dal Ferro, and Simone Spina. However, the big surprise was the team that took the silver; Germany’s Markus Wieser skippered MISSION IMPOSSIBLE to an easy second place. In fact, his crew of Diego Negri, Victor Marino, and Wolfgang Kaefer nearly did pull off the “mission impossible” of winning the San Remo event as the first foreign team to do so! It all came down to their last race, posting a dismal 24th that became their discard race and, thus, losing the regatta by three points! Italian Alessandro Zampori’s DAS SAILING TEAM took the final step on the podium with crew of Andrea Felci, Enrico Fonda, Filippo Amonti, and Martino Tortarolo. Then, rounding out the top five were in Italian Mauro Roversi’s J-CURVE with crew of Carlo Fracassoli, Federica Salva, Michele Ivaldi, and Stefano Orlandi in the fourth spot, and Russian diva Valeriya Kovalenko’s ARTTUBE RUS1 with team of Denis Rozhkov, Fabio Gridelli, Igor Lisovenko, and Sergey Avdonin settling for 5th place. The Russians only missed the podium by four points, again due to their 8th place in the last race.

J/70 CUP Overall
As a result of the San Remo event, the final tabulations of the 28 race series, with 5 discards, showed a clear winner amongst the 98 entrants.  Winning by a margin of 57 pts was Italian Alessandro Zampori’s DAS Sailing Team with 155 pts total; his crew consisted of Andrea Felci, Enrico Fonda, Filippo Amonti, and Martino Tortaroio. Second was another Italian team, Carlo Tomelleri’s ENJOY 1.0 with 213 pts total; sailing with crew of Alberto Taddei, Daniele de Luca, and Umberto de Luca. This year’s series produced yet another surprise podium finisher! The final race 8th in San Remo would surely come back to haunt her as finishing just 2 pts back was top Russian women skipper Valeriya Kovalenko on ARTTUBE RUS1; finishing with 215 pts! Nevertheless, after winning Monaco’s famous Primo Cup, Kovalenko has proven that she has not lost her touch once she has a strong team with her. Rounding out the top five was Luca Domenici’s NOTARO Sailing Team in fourth place, winning a tie-breaker at 231 pts on countback over another Italian team- Gianfranco Noe’s WHITEHAWK with crew of Emanuele Noe, Giuliano Chiandussi, Irene Giorgini, Maurizio Planine.
Italian J/70 Cup winners
In addition to placing 5th in the Overall division, Noe’s WHITEHAWK team also collected more silverware as the winner of the 44-boat Corinthians Division. Behind them in second place was Alessio Zucchi’s WHY NOT SLAM with crew of Alessandro Maldina, Elisabetta Saccheggiani, Gabriele Arnulfo, and Amerigo Brandimarte and taking the bronze was Mauro Brescacin’s LA FEMME TERRIBLE with crew of Francesca Russo Cirillo, Paolo Tomsic, Matteo Omari, and Lorenzo Coslovich.  For more Italian J/70 Cup sailing information
 

J/70s sailing on Solent
Beautiful 3rd Weekend @ Hamble Winter Series

(Hamble, England)- The famous Hamble Winter Series continued on the Solent and Southampton Water, hosted by the Hamble Sailing Club. The classes include IRC handicap as well as one-design fleets of J/70s in southern United Kingdom. This past weekend marked the third weekend of sailing in beautiful fall weather conditions.

The Hamble One-design Championship was sailed on both the Saturday and Sunday of Week 3. PRO Ian Bullock, set up station in the vicinity of William buoy for the Saturday starts to take advantage of the WSW airstream. The J/70’s sailed a series of windward/leeward courses in the bright sunshine and steadily increasing breeze. The Race Team, with Ian Sumner, guesting as Time Keeper, on his annual return to the Solent, managed to get four races completed just in case the weather for the next day was not so helpful. As the wind built throughout the day, all the fleets began to surf and plane down the waves.
J/70 sailing on Solent, England
Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT showed very quickly why he was the current J/70 World Champion with four bullets on Saturday.

Sunday arrived and this time, although sunny, the wind was from the ENE and decidedly chilly. Everyone was now very happy that only two races were needed to finish the series. Mike Foster was PRO and he placed the start near East Knoll, with the windward mark off the Hill Head shore. Once again, the pressure slowly built, so that when Paul Wyeth appeared to take the pictures, the teams were parting the waves and creating impressive water features.

Having missed the first weekend, Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT was unable to feature on the overall podium. Marshall King’s SOAK RACING, took the J/70 Championship with 14 points, followed by Tim Collins’ EV EXPERTS in second with 24 pts and Simon Cavey’s JUST 4 PLAY in third with 37 pts.
J/109s sailing on Solent
The IRC boats in the main HYS Hamble Winter Series were taken to Goodall Roofing (40), to battle it out for the Key Yachting day prizes (wine and chocolates) for the first race. The second race started around the "Ryde Middles” and went NE to Fastnet Insurance or East Bramble (depending on your size), then back towards the Isle of Wight, before heading NE to the Lee on the Solent shore, returning to South Ryde Middle and appropriately to a finish off Hamble Yacht Services.

In the IRC 1 Division, race 1 saw the J/112E DAVANTI TYRES take second. Then, DAVANTI TYRES took the win in race two, followed by Paul Griffith’s J/111 JAGERBOMB.

In IRC 2 Division, Simon Perry’s J/109 JIRAFFE continued her winning ways with two first places. "We just kept our nose clean,” said a crewmember. Gavin Howe’s J/88 TIGRIS was also literally in the Key Yachting chocolates with a fourth and a second. Sitting in third for the series is John Smart’s J/109 JUKEBOX to round out a current clean sweep of the class podium for J/Crews.

Continuing to extend their lead in the J/88 class scoring is Howe’s TIGRIS, with Dirk van Beek’s SABRIEL JR in second 4 pts back, and Tim Tolcher’s RAGING BULL in third yet another 4 pts in arrears.

Next week is Race Week 4 of the HYS Hamble Winter Series and the culmination of the Hamble Big Boat Championship.  Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth/ PWPictures.com   For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information
 

J/88 Cloud 9 winners of NA's
CLOUD 9 Triumphs at J/88 North Americans

(Rye, New York)- Fourteen J/88s competed in the 2019 North American Championship held at Larchmont Yacht Club in New York from October 16-20. Teams came from San Francisco, Canada, Youngstown, Rochester, Shelter Island and Long Island Sound.

The regatta started with a coastal storm on Thursday, with steady winds of 35 knots and gusts exceeding 45 knots, leading to an abandonment of all racing for the day. Four races were held on day two in a shifty NW wind of 20 knots, gusting to 28. Laura Weyler and the team of HIJINKS, winners of two previous North American Championships, took an early lead with 6 points, ahead of John Sommi’s CLOUD 9 (15 points) and Elizabeth Barry’s ESCAPE (17 points). Boat handling and consistency paid off, as even the smallest mistake could lead to a deep finish. This was evidenced by Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault’s team on OH JEE, who sailed three spectacular races with two bullets and one fourth but had to retire from race 3 because of a broach at the finish line, leading to a scrape with another boat.

Day three started with 6-8 knots out of the West, testing everyone’s light air skills. Four races were held in flat water and sunny skies. Keeping the boats moving and finding lanes of clear air paid off. At the end of the day, CLOUD 9 was leading the pack with 28 points, while second to fifth place were only points apart, with HIJINKS in second (32 points), Andrew Weiss’s team of ONE TOO MANY moving into third (38 points), OH JEE in fourth (39 points) and ESCAPE in fifth (40 points).
J/88 Corinthians winners- Stone/ Breault
Day four brought an Easterly breeze of 8-12 knots with lumpy seas. Three races were held, and Sommi’s CLOUD 9 finished the day winning the 2019 North American Championship with a total of 36 points (11 races, no throw outs). His crew included Victor Diaz de Leon, Edward Kiaer, John King, Hugh MacGillivray and Carlos Lorente Robles. Second went to Weyler’s HIJINKS (41 points), third to Stone’s OH JEE (47 points), fourth place Barry’s ESCAPE (51 points) and fifth to Weiss’ ONE TOO MANY (55 points). The Corinthian Trophy was awarded to Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault, who placed third in the Overall Division.

Said OH JEE boat owner Nicolas Delcourt, who handled the pit for the Corinthians winners Stone & Breault, “I loved the on-board choreography and team work, roll-tacking the boat in the light stuff and planing during the big breezes. OH JEE has never been so fast, and lending out my boat turned out to be a wonderful experience!”  For more J/88 North American Championship sailing information
 

J/24 Worlds- Miami, FL
J/24 World Championship Update
(Coconut Grove, FL)- Enthusiasm for the J/24 Class was still running high after the opening ceremony and flag parade to open the 41st J/24 World Championship when racing got underway Tuesday in hot and sunny Miami, Florida. The 80 teams had to wait out a two-hour onshore postponement while the seabreeze kicked in at 8-10 knots.

After two races, three teams were tied at 7 points: Rossi Milev’s CLEAR AIR (1,6 on the day), Chris Stone’s VELOCIDAD (5,2) and Keith Whittemore’s FURIO (4,3). Eighty teams from 19 nations (Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Grenada, Hungary, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States) are scheduled for 10 races through Saturday.
J/24s sailing World Championship on Biscayne Bay, Florida
Milev, 2017 J/24 World Champion and winner of the first contest, summarized his starting strategy, “We started just above the mid-line boat. There were a couple of boats we barely lived with, and then we saw something on the left. It was nice pressure, and more about the wind than the five-degree shift.” Milev and Mike Ingham’s NAUTALYTICS traded the lead until CLEAR AIR passed them on the second downwind for the victory. Todd Fedyszyn’s SPOONY TACTICS followed in third. Tony Parker’s BANGOR PACKET and Stone were launched on the fleet in race two, when winds decreased slightly. Whittemore placed third, lining up the three-way knot for first.
J/24 Worlds- Miami, FL start
However, everything changed on day two as the entire top ten leaderboard was jumbled by the relatively light winds in the 5-7 kts range.

Only one team has recorded all scores in the top 10 so far, and that is the day two leader after four races: Whittemore’s FURIO. Conditions were such that it really tested the competitors’ ability to locate the better breeze and tackle the shifts. The Seattle, WA-based FURIO crew (used to similar light air condition in Seattle) added scores of 7-3 on Wednesday for 17 points overall. Milev’s CLEAR AIR team (also used to the light airs off Toronto on Lake Ontario) notched their second bullet of the Championship in race four, however a 14th in the day’s initial contest gives them 22 points and second place. Parker’s BANGOR PACKET held their own Wednesday, tallying a 6-2 for third place (24 points). When the fifth race has been completed, a discard will take effect.
J/24 Worlds sailing on Biscayne Bay, Florida
Keiji Kondo’s FOX finished ahead of all others to start Wednesday’s matches, and the Japanese team was exuberant to earn a World Championship race win. With his son Wataru among his crew, Kondo shared, “I did come to Miami last year for the J/24 World Council Meeting, representing Japan. It was so nice weather and a good place, so I wanted to bring my guys here.” Following Kondo across the line were Andrew Carey’s MR. HANKEY and Robby Brown’s ANGEL OF HARLEM. Milev’s CLEAR AIR racked up bullet number two to close Wednesday, with Parker and Whittemore behind.

It is still an all out battle for the top five as the point spreads are quite close. Complete event results and details may be found here.   For more J/24 World Championship sailing information
 

J/111 sailing offshore 
J/111 Wins ORC Class in Rolex Middle Sea Race
(Gzira, Malta)- The 40th Edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race, hosted by the Royal Malta Yacht Club, will go down in the history books as the tale of two races. After the calm conditions for the first half the course, increasingly rough weather in the second half of the course posed enormous challenges for the fleet, with winds gusting to over 30 kts with steep, mountainous seas that looked more like walls to most sailors. 

As described by one sailor, “the last 24 hours were hell. We were soaking wet with water coming in everywhere. No matter how good a sailor you are, in those conditions you were miserable and cold.”

Another famous skipper, Gerry Trentesaux, explained, “the course conditions were the reverse of last year, with downwind to Messina and then upwind from Trapani to the finish. The race was more difficult, especially the second half. At Stromboli, we were about 2.5 hours behind our main competition. And, the J/111 Blur was also sailed really well too.” Because of the severe wave conditions, over seventeen boats had officially retired from the race, nearly 20% of the fleet.

Weathering the extreme conditions were a crew of battle-hardened Vikings from Sweden, Peter Gustafsson’s crew on the J/111 BLUR.SE. It was their first time sailing the Rolex Middle Sea Race and it is clear they were both well-prepared and well-trained for the conditions. It helps that Gustafsson’s crew know the boat well, having raced BLUR.SE for over three years on the northern European J/111 and offshore circuit, often sailing in winds of up to 40 kts. They knew they were up to the challenge, but were surprised by the steepness of the breaking seas in just 20 to 30 kt winds.  In the end, their perseverance paid off, winning ORC 5 Class and taking 3rd ORC Overall. On the IRC handicap side of the ledge, they scored third in IRC 5 Class and 10th IRC Overall. A great showing by an experienced offshore team. For more Rolex Middle Sea Race sailing information
 

J/105 Masters winners- Canada Andy Roy 
Canadians Crowned J/105 Masters Champions!
(San Diego, CA)– The 2019 International Masters Regatta got off to an entertaining start today. After a slight course adjustment to the south and the first race of the weekend, the sailors and their crews were gifted an extra-long lunch break with a view. Just around 1200 hrs, the U.S. Navy rained down on the South Bay course during an airdrop exercise, presenting the sailors and spectators with another San Diego airshow.

Meanwhile, down on the water, 11 boats skippered by seasoned sailors over the age of 60 were putting on their own show of fast, competitive and close racing. It was the perfect fall day in San Diego to impress the out-of-towners from the East Coast and Canada. The conditions saw a breeze of 12 to 15 knots and not a cloud in the sky.
J/105 and US Navy
Day 1- Beautiful opening day
Finishing the first day in the lead was Canadian Andy Roy with 12 points, the only International team at the event. Following Roy was Tad Lacey with 11 points in second and the famous two-time America’s Cup winner Gary Jobson with 15 points in third.

Roy proved that consistency was key in a successful regatta. Managing to stay fairly consistent with his scores, Roy never finished below fifth place. He slowly crept his way to the top, finishing the fourth and final race of the day in first.

“We were over early in the first race which wasn’t a great way to start, but we made a pretty good come back towards the end. Staying in the lower, single digit numbers is what we were going for. Last year we did this race and stayed closer to the 8s and 9s. So far this year we kept our races clean, got a clear lane on the first windward leg, and had good speed up and down,” Roy explained.

Only one point behind Roy was Lacey, showing off his experience with two bullets; one in the second race and one in the third. Roy and Lacey often found themselves neck and neck today. In the second race, the two boats went head to head on their approach to the first weather mark. In the third race, Lacey finished only a foot or two ahead of Roy.

“Roy and I were really close in the third race, but we stayed in front of them. The two of us were well out in front and the race was really between the two of us. That’s when we inched him out. He’s a great sailor. Now we’re going to get a good night’s sleep and do it again tomorrow,” Lacey commented.

Several sailors today deserve notable mentions for their outstanding performances during the day. Jobson (3rd) started off race four with an OSC and managed to pull himself back into fourth place by the end of the race. Chuck Sinks (4th) took a hard turn in race two, finishing 8th, but kept their spirits high to finish with a second and third and the final two races. Bill Peterson and Scott Harris both kept their name on the top half of the score sheet, moving in and out of the top of the fleet throughout the day.

It’s to go without saying that SDYC’s International Masters Regatta brings some of the best to San Diego and that was easy to see with the incredibly close racing and skillful tactics out on the water. Despite the distractions and visitors to the course, each one of them proved that they belonged there with the rest.
J/105 sailing Masters Regatta off San Diego
Day 2- Fleet "Moving" Day
It was “moving day” and the skippers were getting more comfortable making their homes on the score sheet and moving in on their competitors. After the second day of the regatta, there were major position shifts in the results.

After Saturday’s races, Roy was still in first with 27 points, with Chuck Sinks moving up to second with 29 points, and Lacey holding on to third with 37 points.

The master skippers and crew were greeted with light winds and glassy water as they headed down to South San Diego Bay this morning. After a short AP to wait for the breezes to fill, teams were soon sailing in 10-13 knots. Similar to yesterday, the South Bay course was blessed with clear skies and temperatures in the high 60s.

The first race of the day was dominated by Mary Brigden-Snow. Snow held her position until the last leg of the race when Roy was able to pull ahead into first, leaving the all-female team narrowly in second. Brigden-Snow kept her momentum going all day, finding herself at the top of the fleet in several races. The team finished at the top again in race seven with a third and in race eight with a second.

“We had a little more time to get ourselves sorted out today. We got our starts going, my crew is amazing and it was fun seeing us get a little momentum. As JJ [Fetter] says ‘keep her rumbling’ so I’ll be staying focused on the rumbling while my crew keeps doing a great job. Hopefully we can keep on doing some of that tomorrow,” expressed Brigden-Snow.

Sinks and his crew moved around the score sheet quite a bit as well. The team finished the first day of the regatta in fourth place tied with Gary Jobson. In race six, Sinks battled it out with Scott Mason and Roy to take the first-place finish. He climbed his way to the top of the fleet by the end of the day but not without more competition from Jobson. In the final race of the day, Jobson took the lead around the first weather mark. Sinks caught up and rounded the leeward mark first while Jobson got caught on the outside, spinning to make it through gate. Sinks was able to keep a solid lead on the rest of the fleet, taking his second bullet of the regatta.

“We had pretty good starts today in both races that we won, which gave us a lot of space to do what we wanted to do. The team did a phenomenal job as usual. We’re happy to be where we are with three more races left. We’re all having a good time and we’re all still talking to each other, so, so far so good,” said Sinks in high spirits.

Scott Harris also came ready to play today, especially in race seven when he was leading the fleet by about a minute. With Harris’ strong, unbeatable gain, the real race was for second place. Bill Peterson, who was standing mid-fleet yesterday, made an impressive comeback, fighting against Brigden-Snow in the second to last race to take second place. Peterson was able to improve his position by a few places to fourth place.

The day ended with a high-note for many, especially for the San Diego Yacht Club’s home-teams. To celebrate wins and join in on friendly camaraderie, skippers, crews and their families enjoyed the International Masters Regatta traditional Saturday night banquet. Each skipper took to the stage where they could recap their successes and roast their fellow sailors and crew… always one of the greatest laughs at the regatta.
J/105 sailing Masters Regatta- San Diego, CA
Day 3- Another sunny, pretty day?
The regatta saw three beautiful, windy days of sailing in breezes up to 13 knots each day. By the last race, the South Bay course had white caps and extra chop. Andy Roy finished in first place overall with 41 points, followed by Scott Harris in second with 47 points and Chuck Sinks in third with 49 points.

In race nine, the first race of the day, the win went to Gary Jobson, who battled his way back up the score sheet through the day, ending in fifth place. In race 10, Harris proved his master status with the bullet and a solid lead on the rest of the fleet. “We started a little slow at the beginning of the weekend, and then we just got better,” Harris said laughing. “We brought Jon Pinckney on board who sailed in the regatta last year, and learned a lot from him over the course of the weekend. One of which was to play the backstay more."

Harris will be back at the San Diego Yacht Club next weekend for the 105th Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup where he will be sailing with his son. “We’ll go for first this time,” joked Harris.

In the final race, race 11, Roy and his crew got back into the game. After a fifth and an eighth in the first two races, Roy was only one point ahead of Sinks going into the final race. It all came down the start. The team got under Sinks and was able to control their fate for the rest of the race, sealing their regatta win.

Roy and his fellow Canadian sailors headed back up to Canada on Monday morning, where they’ll be retiring the boat for the winter and breaking out the skis for the season.

After the races, the skippers and their crews gathered on the Front Deck of the San Diego Yacht Club where they were presented with their awards. The teams enjoyed dockside cocktails and ended the weekend with good camaraderie. The 2019 International Masters Regatta was an unpredictable, highly competitive regatta between experienced sailors over the age of 60. Many of the men and women sailing this weekend have national, world, and Olympic titles paired with their names. During the IMR, these sailors get to rejoin old friends, teammates and competitors for three days of sailing in the beauty that is South San Diego Bay.  Sailing photo credits- Mark Albertazzi/ San Diego YC   For more J/105 Masters Regatta sailing information
 

J/109s sailing offshore
Fall Classic Delivers Great J/109 Racing

(Stamford, CT)- Long Island Sound J/109s assembled one more time in 2019 for the inaugural Fleet 10 Fall Classic at Stamford Yacht Club over the weekend of October 19-20.  Thankfully, the forecast for each day was incorrect and the Sound delivered great conditions for October racing.

On Saturday, a light westerly breeze built into a consistent 7-10-knot southwesterly over the course of the afternoon.  The Race Committee rolled the 9-boat fleet through four windward/leeward races with four legs each.  The fleet was tight throughout the day with mark roundings providing tactical challenges and some interesting passing lanes.

On Sunday, the breeze shifted to the east and remained in the 7-11-knot range.  With three races run about a mile offshore, the top boats had to balance pressure with the incoming tide to stay on top.
J/109s sailing Long Island Sound
The regatta came down to the last race, when Trevor Roach’s INCENDIARY posted a 2ND and won the event with 13 points.  JR Rechtschaffer’s EMOTICON led after the first day, but finished second with 15 points.  Bengt & Marie Johansson’s ZIG ZAG held onto third Place with a bullet in the final race and resisted the second-day charge from Julia O’Dowd’s TBD and John Greifzu Jr.’s GROWTH SPURT (both of which finished with 22 points).  In addition, GROWTH SPURT was the top boat fulfilling the Class's Corinthian requirements.

The Stamford YC provided an excellent venue for post-race camaraderie among the fleet and the J/109 Fleet 10 is already  looking forward to building the Fall Classic in the future.  Learn more about the J/109 Class here
 

J/121 sailing offshore
J/121 Smokes Harvest Moon Regatta

J/Teams Sweep ORC Offshore Division!
(Port Aransas, TX)- The weather forecast for this year’s Harvest Moon Regatta race, hosted by Lakewood Yacht Club south of Houston, was either intimidating to some, or a thrill for others. An impending front that ultimately produced deadly tornados north in the Dallas/ Fort Worth region also produced 5-10 foot steep Gulf of Mexico “chop” with 23 to 45 kt winds. Not exactly a recipe for a family’s “walk in the park”, a 150.0nm race from Galveston Bay to Port Aransas down south towards the equally famous Corpus Christi region of the Texas Gulf Coast.
Harvest Moon Regatta starting line
According to Scott Spurlin, “in the 60+ boat fleet, it was Forbes Durdin and his brand new J/121 BEAR that took line honors, won the Bacardi Cup in the ORC fleet overall, won their division and received the first annual J/Boats Award (courtesy J/Boats Southwest). The brand new J/99 YOLO finished 2nd in their ORC Division. Great showing by the two J/46's, the J/105's and the J/120!”

Reflecting on their fun-loving performance, Forbes Durdin had this to say, “great weekend aboard BEAR in the 2019 Harvest Moon Regatta. Monohull line honors— 16 hrs 22 minutes— Bacardi Fleet (ORC) win, matching division win and J/Boats Trophy. Water-ballasted J-121 is a rocketship! Love it!”
J/121 silverware- Harvest Moon Regatta
Perhaps, what was more remarkable was the fact that in the 22-boat ORC Division, by far the biggest in the regatta, was that J/Teams took six of the top 7 places overall!  Here is how that panned out: the J/121 BEAR in first, then Jim Demarest’s J/46 SODALIS III in second, Albrecht Goethe’s J/46 HAMBURG II in third, JD Hill’s J/122 SECOND STAR in fourth, John Barnett’s J/105 PESTO in sixth, and James Liston’s J/120 AEOLUS seventh.  Congratulations to all on such a remarkable performance!

In the class breakdowns, ORC A was won by the J/121 BEAR, with the J/122 SECOND STAR in second. In ORC B class, first was the J/46 SODALIS III, second the J/46 HAMBURG II, fourth the J/105 PESTO, and fifth the J/120 AEOLUS.

In the ORC C Class, second was the J/99 YOLO, followed by John Bell’s J/105 KINDERSPIEL 2 in third.

Finally, in the 13-boat PHRF Fleet, third in PHRF A Class was Rob & Stephen Epstein’s J/120 SCOUT, and taking 4th PHRF Overall. An excellent outcome for J/Crews across the board offshore in the Harvest Moon Regatta! For more Harvest Moon Regatta sailing information
 

J/24s sailing off starting line
HONEYBADGER Chomps J/24 East Coasts

(Annapolis, MD)- The Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, MD hosted the 2019 edition of the J/24 East Coast Championship for a fleet of twenty-three boats from across the northeastern seaboard. The SSA PRO managed to run a nine-race series over a three-day race weekend.

Winning the regatta was the infamous Travis Odenbach and his consistently successful team aboard HONEYBADGER. They won the event with an impressive record that included three aces, two deuces, and two treys to win by a huge margin. While looking in the rear-view mirror, Odenbach did not need to worry about any of his pursuers. Seventeen points back was Tony Parker’s generally very competitive crew on the equally famous BANGOR PACKET. Proving their first day’s debacles were an anomaly, Mark Hillman’s ORION posted triple bullets in the last three races to quickly climb back onto the third step on the podium. As a basic precursor to the upcoming J/24 Worlds in Miami, Florida, it was an abject lesson in sailing fast and conservatively. Rounding out the top five was a J/24 World Champion- Mike Ingham’s NAUTALYTICS and in fifth was Evan Petley-Jones Nova Scotia crew.  For more J/24 East Coast Championship sailing information
 

Regatta & Show Schedules:

Oct 5- Dec 1- Hamble Winter Series- Hamble, England
Oct 19-26- J/24 World Championship- Coconut Grove, FL
Oct 19- Rolex Middle Sea Race- Gzira, Malta
Oct 25-27- J/24 East Coast Championship- Annapolis, MD
Oct 25-27- J/Fest Southwest- Lakewood, TX
Oct 25-27- J/105 Lipton Cup Regatta- San Diego, CA
Nov 1-4- French J/80 Championship- La Rochelle, France

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.

J/70 sailing in Texas 
J/Fest Southwest Preview
(Lakewood, TX)- This coming weekend, the Lakewood Yacht Club south of Houston, TX will be hosting the annual J/Fest Southwest Regatta on Galveston Bay from October 25th to 27th. A record fleet of sixty-nine boats is participating from across the Deep South. There are big one-design fleets of J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, and J/105s and a J/ORC class.

The 20-boat J/22 class features a number of leading teams from the region, including Casey Lambert’s BLACKBURN MARINE RACING, Jeff Jones’ GAS STATION SUSHI, Anne Lee’s HELMS A LEE, Farley Fontenot’s OLD TIMES, Dan Pletsch’s SKETCHY, Gary Theis’ STUDENT DRIVER and Kevin Orff’s TROUBLEMAKER.

While the J/24 Worlds are taking place in Miami, FL, a solid fourteen-boat J/24 class is assembling on Galveston Bay. Leading crews include Kirk Reynolds’ TYRUS, John Parker’s CHUPACABRA, Amanda Casey’s MOMENTOUS, Ryan Miller’s TRICK BAG, Darren Hill’s FRAT HOUSE, and Stu Juengst’s VANG GO.

Perhaps the most competitive fleet will be the 14-boat J/70 class as the event is a 2020 J/70 Worlds qualifier for the regatta in Marina del Rey, CA. Top teams on the leaderboard should include Jack Franco’s 3 BALL JT, Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING, Mallory & Andrew Loe’s DIME, Glenn Darden’s HOSS, Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE, and Jay Lutz’s ZOUNDS.

The J/ORC fleet features a few gold-platers from the region. Two J/46s that recently collected some silverware in the Harvest Moon Regatta will be participating; Albrecht Goethe’s HAMBURG II and Jim Demarest’s SODALIS III. In addition, there will be J.D. Hill’s J/122 SECOND STAR, two J/109s (David Christensen’s AIRBORNE and Andy Wescoat’s HARM’S WAY), the new J/99 TBD, Bill Sutton’s famous J/35 LEADING EDGE, George Cushing’s J/92 USA 77, and Ray Bentele’s J/29 PRESS TO MECO. Should be fun handicap racing in that fleet!  For J/Fest Southwest results   For more J/Fest Southwest sailing information
 

J/105s sailing in San Diego, CA 
J/105 Lipton Cup Regatta Preview
(San Diego, CA)- One of the San Diego Yacht Club’s most coveted trophies is back up for grabs, going home with the winning team of the Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup on October 25-27, 2019. Eleven yacht clubs that battled for the title in 2018 return to South San Diego Bay for a rematch. In the running are: San Diego Yacht Club (2018 winners), Balboa Yacht Club, California Yacht Club, Chicago Yacht Club, Coronado Yacht Club, Long Beach Yacht Club, Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, San Francisco Yacht Club, St. Francis Yacht Club, and Southwestern Yacht Club.

The Lipton Cup is sailed in a fleet of J/105s, graciously loaned from local J/105 owners, with rotating boats between each race allowing for fair, even racing. The first warning signal is scheduled for 1125 each day.

The San Diego Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup dates back to the early days of yachting on the Pacific Ocean, circa 1900. Sir Thomas Lipton, the famous yachtsman and tea baron, requested that a trophy be created in his name for West Coast yacht racing excellence. This exchange soon ushered in a new, prestigious yachting event – the San Diego Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup. Read more about the history of the Lipton Cup.

San Diego Yacht Club has been the winning team for the past two years, keeping the trophy in their home court since 2017, thanks to Skipper Tyler Sinks and crew. “I’ve competed in the Lipton Cup four times. Our crew has been pretty consistent these past four years. We have the same team as last year except Erik Shampain is on board in place of Nevin Snow. We’re looking forward to another great year of competitive sailing,” expressed Sinks.

Last year, the participating Southern California teams came ready to battle. Back for another shot at first is Allie Blecher of California Yacht Club. “We have been practicing at home in Marina del Rey on a local J. It’s been lots of hours spent perfecting our boat handling and racing tactics,” started Blecher. “One of the biggest lessons learned when you field a team of the best from one yacht club is to leave your ego at the door. So many teams clash because of grueling egos, but we've made it a point to leave those items on the dock and give it our best for the team.”

After the racing on Friday, sailors can enjoy a post-racing social, followed by a Saturday night banquet and Sunday evening awards. The Lipton Cup’s Saturday night dinner is known as a don’t-miss roast-like event with good-natured ribbing between the clubs.

According to Lipton Cup Chair Tim Fuller, the key word associated with the event is “intensity.” SDYC Commodore Jerelyn Biehl agrees, also commenting on the competitiveness between teams. “The best part about the Lipton Cup weekend is the incredible competitiveness on the water.  Many of these sailors have known each other and competed against each other for decades, and they’re back at it for one weekend. Cheering for SDYC both at the Club, when they return, and on the water gives our team great pride and a huge boost of confidence!”

Thank you to our local J/105 owners who are lending the boats and sponsors who are allowing this event to happen. For more SDYC Lipton Cup sailing information
 

J/Community
What friends, alumni, and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* Tony & Sally Mack’s J/111 McFLY wins J/111 Northern Europe Series
J/111 sailing off United Kingdom
The J/111 Northern Europe Series was primarily organized between Royal Southern Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club in London, England. This year’s Series was sponsored by Sweeney from Holland with individual Regatta prizes sponsored by competing boats on a revolving basis.

Ten J/111’s participated in the series and scoring was based on seven regattas with three race discards; the scoring enabled boats to compete fairly given the calendar pressures many owners and crews were contending with during the summer. It was a great turnout and, in fact, several more boats have indicated they will be participating next in next year’s 2020 racing circuit!

The Mack’s McFLY was the winner of the inaugural J/111 Northern European Series- The “Paul Heys Trophy” was presented at the owner’s awards dinner at the Royal Thames Yacht Club on Tuesday evening.

The Northern European Fleet consists of boats from a variety of countries including Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, and the UK amongst others. A new schedule for the 2020 Series was under discussion at the meeting and is due to be confirmed soon. Thanks for the report from J/111 SNOW LEOPARD owner- Simon Grier-Jones.


* GO VOTE for J/Boats in Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image contest!
Here are the four images, the four photographers, and the four links!
Tim Wilkes- J/70
Tim Wilkes
This is an amazing photo of J/70s off Cleveland, OH for J/70 North Americans. “As a yacht racing photographer, there are certain days that you live for,” commented Tim. “They are the most difficult days to create photos in, given the extreme wind and sea state. This was one of those days on Lake Erie… of all places! Purely magical. Pure excitement. Surfing a breaking wave down the course with the entire fleet behind you is a great feeling. I'm happy I was able to be there in the right spot and stable enough to capture it.”   View image and vote here.

J/125 off Ireland
Andy Green
“This was a cool shot of the J/125 JACK KNIFE from the IRC Regatta held at Pwllheli in August,” said Andy. “It had been champagne sailing with blue skies and 20 knots of breeze. I could see a squall moving to us and within minutes we where in 40+ knots of wind, heavy rain, and near zero visibility. The fleet where being battered by the conditions. But, as soon as it came the squall lifted, we returned to blue skies and 20 knot winds!”  View image and vote here.

J/70 Sweden sea grass
Daniel Ljungsvik
“This was very amusing and picturesque perspective of a J/70 at this year’s Swedish J/70 Nationals taking a shortcut back to harbor! Through the weeds!!,” said Dan.   View image and vote here.

J/70 French Nationals off Marseille, France
Pierrick Jeannoutot
It was an amazing regatta for the French J/70 class on the Mediterranean this summer. The J/70s were sailing off Marseille, France for their French J/70 Nationals.. fabulous conditions and love the backdrop, too! Said Pierrick, “I like this photo because, just before the finish line on the last leg of the regatta, the two J/70’s were symmetrically aligned on the two different gybe angles downwind.. So cool!”  View image and vote here.


Olaf (left) and Peter (right)- the Harken Brothers
* Eight Bells: Olaf Harken
Olaf Theodore Harken, 80, passed away October 21, 2019. Born May 6, 1939 in Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia, Olaf died where he lived most of his adult life, in Pewaukee Wisconsin.

Olaf and his older brother, Peter, created the hugely successful marine hardware business that bears their name, by working hard, delivering excellence, and having fun every day.

Harken Inc. makes marine hardware, hydraulics and winch systems for racing and cruising sailboats of all types and sizes. Industrial hardware applications include the commercial marine, architectural, and rescue industries.

The brothers took many chances over the years – and they still encourage their employees to do the same.

When Olaf was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2014 along with Peter, he explained the brothers’ business philosophy: “When trying new stuff our rule is to ask, ‘if it all goes bad, can we survive?’ Then we go to the bar and forget what we just said and do it anyway!”

Olaf and Peter quickly learned that the real fuel behind their company’s success was its people.

“Peter and I were not very smart,” Olaf said in his 2015 memoir Fun Times in Boats, Blocks & Business, “but we did know that success is linked directly to trust and treating people with dignity, and maybe a little sprinkling of humor.”

The Harken story has been full of twists, turns, successes, and reinventions, but through it all the goal of challenging the status quo and commitment to being at the front remains.

Today at Harken, Peter Harken told an assembly of Harken members, “my brother did all the hard work, so I could have all the fun. During the days when the company was just getting going, Olaf was in charge of the money. He kept us in business. If I had been in charge of that, we would have been in big trouble. His legacy is in this culture. So, let’s just keep doing what we do. Just keep getting better. You are a great family. Thanks a lot. He’ll be watching you, so no sloughing off!”

Olaf was born of Dutch and Swedish parents in Indonesia at the beginning of World War II. In 1941, the Japanese attacked Indonesia. During the fighting and nightly bombings, Peter, Olaf, and their Swedish mother managed to escape to Borneo. Their Dutch father, Joe, joined the very small Dutch army and helped fight the Japanese until his capture.

Joe was imprisoned for five years and was not liberated until the end of the war. Meanwhile, Peter, Olaf, and mother Ulla lived first in Borneo, were then troop-shipped to New Zealand for a year, to Australia for another year, and finally shipped to San Francisco in 1944. While in San Francisco, they were miraculously reunited with their father in 1946 after the war was over.

After studying at Georgia Tech, Olaf took an engineering job in New York City, but in 1967, he returned to Wisconsin to help Peter build boats for the college market. “Why I made that decision then I’ll never know,” said Olaf.

Inside the office were a couple of doors on saw horses used as desktops, an old typewriter, a telephone, and a file cabinet. A plastic sheet separated the offices from the fiberglass and assembly area. Marketing consisted of all-night drives with Peter at the wheel and Olaf typing brochures in the back seat of an old Chevy wagon. That first year they made $3,800 together (not a typo- in total!).

The Harkens aren’t sure exactly when the turnabout happened, but Olaf the engineer ended up running the business side of Harken Inc., with Peter the economist handling design and production.

“Peter designed the blocks, and knew more about manufacturing than me,” Olaf said.

“Olaf was more patient, better at the business than me,” Peter said. “Each of us was better at the other guys’ education. We kept it quiet, figuring people wouldn’t want blocks designed by an economist.”

Today, Bill Goggins, current CEO of Harken, read this passage from Olaf’s autobiography in remembrance:
“Peter and I have long believed there is a word that should apply to almost every action and decision. That word is honesty. I got my first lesson in honesty shortly after we started the business— back when we were building those first six boats for Ohio State University.

“Like almost every boat builder, we were behind by quite a few weeks. When our customers called and wanted to know when we were going to deliver, I lied. I said they would be ready in about a week. Peter overheard me and was furious. He made me call them back and tell them I was wrong, that we were further behind and would not be able to deliver for a few more weeks.”

“This was very embarrassing, but it taught me a good lesson. For one thing, I didn’t have to keep on lying each week. Taking the beating once is a lot easier than building one lie on top of another. It’s not easy to do and the customer is going to be angry or disappointed, but that’s the end of it.”

Goggins also said:
“You couldn’t have scripted a nicer weekend for Olaf than the one just past. Pewaukee Yacht Club honored Olaf on Saturday night with a Lifetime Achievement Award to a full-house standing ovation. He rose, walked to the front and accepted the award with his usual grace and dignity.”

“The evening was highlighted by Olaf and his wife Ruth on the dance floor. Sunday was a simple Packer game with his family and then, a remarkable chance 30-minute walk with his brother in the sunshine.”

“He died peacefully in his sleep with his loved ones nearby. The company mourns his loss. However, the company celebrates his life by doing what we do… working hard every day… headed into a bright future.”

Olaf is survived by his wife of 47 years Ruth, 3 daughters, 4 granddaughters, and 1 grandson.

Preliminary plans include a visitation and service Saturday morning, October 26 at Galilee Lutheran Church in Pewaukee, followed immediately by a celebration at Harken corporate headquarters. For overseas friends, another celebration of Olaf’s life will be held during the annual METS show in Amsterdam in November. Add to Flipboard Magazine.