NEW 2013 J/Calendar!The Perfect Gift For People Who Love Sailing!
(Newport, RI)- For 2013 we've created another beautiful calendar for J sailors who love the joys of sailing a J in some of the most spectacular harbors and waters of the world. Whether you are a cruising, racing or armchair sailor, these stunning sailboat photographs will transport you to wonderful sailing experiences in far away places. The 2013 sailing calendar features photos (pictured here) of a dramatic J/111 powering upwind off Newport; a fleet of J/24s off sunny Tampa; surrealistic scenes of J/80s off Santander, Spain and flying downwind off Marseilles, France; a fleet of J/120s rocking downwind under spinnakers on San Francisco Bay; J/70s flying along under spinnakers; J/22s starting in the Rocky Mountains; and a J/97, J/109 and J/122 sailing in sunny Solent conditions. A great gift for loved ones, family, friends and crew! Order your 2013 J/Calendar today, click here
SALON NAUTIQUE PARIS- Dec 8-16
J/70, J/97 and J/111 on Display
(Paris, France)- One of the world's more spectacular sailboat shows starts this weekend. J/Europe will be displaying the J/70, the J/97 and the "International J/111" at Stand J-62 Hall-1. Furthermore, J/Europe is hosting cocktails & hors'd'oeurves for J/111 owners and potential customers to review the 2013 European J/111 Circuit- please contact "Fred" at "info@jeurope.com". Paris Show information.
Epic J/80 Worlds PhotosOutside Images Offers 45% Off Coupon
(Valencia, Spain)- From one of the more renowned yachting photographers in the world, Paul Todd and crew at Outside Images are offering a great deal to J/80 sailors worldwide, as well as any sailor that loves gorgeous photography!
The J/80 Worlds in Newport was an extraordinary event in 2010. The weather was unexpectedly epic with nearly seven straight days of "fresh to frightening" sailing conditions both off Brenton Reef and inside Narragansett Bay. From wild planing shots, to boats leaping off ginormous waves in the Atlantic Ocean, the images are timeless and enjoyable for all.
At check-out, just enter the coupon code- J80-WorldsXmas - to get a 45% discount coupon for digital downloads- you can print them for personal use. Please visit Outside Images J/80 photo gallery.
J/70 & J/111 Half-Model Gifts(Newport, RI)- If you are looking for creative ideas for gifts over the holidays, nothing can bring a bigger smile to anyone than to see their favorite J represented in living color as a beautiful half-hull model. There are numerous sources to find them. Here are two that you might consider for putting that pretty boat into a large stocking hanging from the fireplace.
A long-time sailor and J/80 owner that sails in the Newport J/80 Fleet is Andrew Burton. Andy founded Trident Studios and has been building models for decades in between his yacht delivery business (over 350,000 nm of sailing to date!). Andrew has many molds of J/Boat half-models, including the J/111. His half-models were the ones given out to all the Top 5 crew at the recent J/24 Worlds in Rochester, New York. You can reach Andrew at email- andrew@tridentstudio.com) or see his Trident Studio website.
Also a J/80 owner, Denis Cartier is founder of Abordage Models and builds very detailed full models (rigging, lifelines, wheels, deck gear, etc) or classic half-hull models. They build many "J" class models, including the latest J/70 and the J/111. Contact Denis at email- abordage@abordage.com or visit his website- http://www.abordage.com.
J/24 Sailboat Screen Prints(Charleston, SC)- This Holiday season, surprise that sailing fanatic who already has everything with a gift they're sure to love, a custom handmade J/24 sail print. Each 18"x24" J/24 print is screen-printed on recycled sail cloth and is hand-signed and numbered by the artist (and avid sailor)- Chad Covert. Made locally in Charleston, SC, this print makes a wonderful gift—but hurry, as these are limited-run prints. Customize the print with your very own sail numbers for a small charge. Each print retails for $80.00. Please order at- http://www.etsy.com/shop/BattenCreative
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The first week of December has been a busy one around the J World. Starting in Europe, a number of one-design, season-long sailing circuits were concluding for J/22s and J/24s. The J/22s completed their EuroCup circuit with participants from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France. J/24s in Italy have been particularly active and their National J/24 Circuit stated in the famous Principality of Monaco at the Primo Cup in the spring and just concluded with their Nationals in Lecco, Italy. Also concluding their fall "winter series" were the offshore sailors in the UK, Ireland and France that participate in the popular Garmin Hamble Winter Series on the Solent-- one-design fleets of J/111s and J/109s all had excellent sailing in demanding conditions over several months. Speaking of J/111s, the Benelux region sailors (including France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium) participated in a J/111 Training program off Zeelande, Netherlands using the famous XCENTRIC RIPPER! This past week also saw a fleet of 200+ cruisers and racers in the ARC Rally making their way across the Atlantic transiting across from Las Palmas, Canary Islands to St Lucia in the Caribbean- the famous tradewind-fueled "trading route" across from Europe to the Caribbean basin and the Americas. Read the amusing updates from the J/145 ACE that is sailing the "white sail" cruising division below. In the Americas there was amazing sailing taking place at the extremes of the western coast of the USA: in the Pacific NW there was the infamous Winter Vashon Island Race that had a J/160, some J/109s and J/105s all participating in the chilly Puget Sound NW of Seattle, WA. Quite the opposite end of the spectrum were a naval armada of J/70s, J/105s, J/120s, J/124s, J/125s, J/22, J/24 and J/27 concluding their three race Hot Rum Series hosted by San Diego YC in San Diego, CA. South of them the J/24s had a fun time sailing their Mexican Nationals. And, way further south, the Argentinean J/24 sailors are enjoying a glorious spring-time in the Andes Mountains having just finished their first major event of the season- the Spring Cup held on Lago San Roque just west of Cordoba.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:
Dec 8-16- Paris Boatshow (70, 97, 111)- Paris, FranceJan 12-20- London Boatshow (70, 111)- London, England
Jan 19-27- Boot Dusseldorf Boatshow (70)- Dusseldorf, Germany
Jan 21-26- Key West Race Week- Key West, FL
Jan 21-26- J/80 Midwinters- Key West, FL
Jan 21-26- J/70 Midwinters- Key West, FL
Jan 24-27- Strictly Sail Boatshow (70, 111)- Chicago, IL
Jan 24-27- San Diego SunRoad Boatshow (70)- San Diego, CA
Jan 25-Feb 3- Seattle Boatshow (70)- Seattle, WA
Feb 11-15- J/24 Midwinters- Davis Is YC- Tampa, FL
Feb 16-24- New England Boatshow (70)- Boston, MA
Feb 28-Mar 13- J/22 Midwinters- Davis Is YC- Tampa, FL
Mar 6-10- HISWA Amsterdam Boatshow (70)- Amsterdam, Holland
Mar 8-10- J/105 Midwinters- Lakewood YC- Seabrook, TX
Apr 11-14- Strictly Sail Pacific (70, 111)- Alameda, CA
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/122 Wins Hamble Series!J/111 J-DREAM & J/109 JAGERBOMB Take OD's
(Hamble, England)- Despite the combined efforts of a pessimistic forecast and ABP, who helpfully removed nearly all the racing marks in the Solent last week, boats racing in the final day of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series managed to squeeze in a race before the wind shut off completely.
Early morning saw 7-9 knots at the Bramble Bank and thick ice on decks. A short postponement accompanied a temporary lull in the breeze, but the race team was able to get all classes away in a 5-7 knot North-Westerly breeze and spring tide. The flood tide meant that many classes were line shy in the light airs. After the start crews needed to keep their eyes out of the boat to locate areas of breeze - and to identify the large shifts, especially up the right hand side of the course.
Using inflatable marks instead of the missing racing marks, the race team set a series of windward-leeward courses, but were forced to shorten at the first leeward mark as the wind threatened to disappear completely. Nonetheless, some extremely close racing could be witnessed, even if it was in nerve-jangling slow motion. All in all, it was a beautiful day on the water, even if there was a lack of wind.
IRC 0 saw a closely fought series throughout the Winter Series and Dr Ivan Trotman's crew aboard their J/122 JOULOU hung on to their lead despite tallying a 5-4 in the last two races. Their wonderful performance was attributed to good, solid sailing and avoiding enormous mistakes, something that plagued many of their competitors. In the end, the JOLOU gang finished with just 13 pts total for the series, sufficient to win by four points!
Nick & Adam Munday's J/97 INDULJENCE started out the series very strong, leading the event until the last three races. At that point, the INDULJENCE team was having a tough go of it, collecting a 4-6-4 at the end to finish second overall in the competitive IRC 3 Class by just five points. Their J class peers were two J/92s, neither of whom managed to sail the entire series. However, when the J/92s were sailing, it was clear that David & John Taylor's J-RONIMO and Andy Howe's BLACKJACK were able to fire off top five finishes and give the leaders a run for the money.
Tony Mack's McFLY won the last race in the J/111 class, but it was David and Kirsty Apthorp's J-DREAM that took the top spot overall with just 13 pts. Cornel Riklin's JITTERBUG from France sailed an excellent series to finish second overall with 15 pts-- they will be a tough team to beat come spring-time when the French host their famous SPI OUEST France Regatta in April! In the end, Tony's McFLY sailed incredibly well whenever they showed up on the race track and took third in class. For having sailed just 6 of 10 races, Tony and the gang averaged just 1.5 pts per race- three 1sts and three 2nds.
In the J/109s, Owain Franks' JYNNAN TONNYX beat Paul Griffith's JAGERBOMB to take the day prize, but JAGERBOMB ended up taking the overall series by three points. Their nemesis all series long was Owain's team on JYNANN TONNYX, ultimately finishing second with 17 pts. Finishing comfortably in third was David McLeman's OFFBEAT with 22 pts.
Event Sailing Photographer Paul Wyeth took some brilliant photos of the entire Garmin Hamble Winter Series and many evocative images can be found on his website. For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information
J/70 Crushes Hot Rum Class 4J/105 Flies To Class 3 Win
(San Diego, CA)- The last major San Diego YC racing event came to a close on the first day of December with the final of three races in the Hot Rum Series. The fleet of 130 boats in 6 classes enjoyed gorgeous sunny, warm "winter" sailing conditions on the 11.9 nm pursuit race course located off the majestic Point Loma.
Race 1 was simple enough with nice sun and a great wind, and the usual inquisitions and opinions over ratings. The conditions favored the smaller sport boats and the early finish line looked a little like a J/105 regatta. But you know what they say about the Hot Rum, one "nice day", one "light day".
And so, the fleet experienced "the light day" for Race 2. Sunny, yes, but very light winds. There was enough breeze (6+ knots) to whisk everyone out to the half-way mark in the Roads, but the wind evaporated from there. The larger boats, that have 50+ feet of mast and sail up in the air, managed to make enough breeze to ghost to the finish. A last little puff of wind just before the 1600 deadline brought the front of the other five fleets to the finish, but in total, only 57 of the registered 130 boats finished. Several boats received ratings adjustments that reduced their handicaps (estimated their speed faster) at the start of Race 2, and after a protest hearing, those boats were given redress (RDG) of a time credit for that race and their ratings were returned to those posted for Race 1. The redress did not change any of the results.
And the last part of the saying about the weather for the Hot Rum says "one stormy day". But despite the low clouds and rain through the night, a really nice day popped out of the clouds around 10 am. At noon, fluffy white clouds with 10+ knots of wind got the race going in perfect Hot Rum conditions.In the "big boat" Class 1, the J/125s were having a tough time against the 60-70 footers with their sky-scraping masts. On the second race, the big rigs had their day, all finishing at the lead of the class and overall. Amongst the J/125s, the top boat was essentially determined on a three-way tie-breaker! Jim Madden's STARK RAVING MAD had a 25-11-5 for 41 pts to be top dog amongst the 125s. Second was Viggo Torbenson's TIMESHAVER with a 12-15-14 also for 41 pts! Third was Tim Fuller's RESOLUTE with a 15-13-13 for 42 pts.
Class 2 was made up of J/109s, J/120s and J/124s. Leading the J's home was John Laun's J/120 CAPER, getting 2nd in class with a 1-9-2 for 12 pts, nearly taking the entire event had they sailed a slightly better second race! Second J/120 was Mike Hatch's J-ALMIGHTY with a 12-7-4 for 23 pts and third J/120 was Chuck Nichols' famous CC RIDER with a 5-11-11 for 27 pts. Amongst the J/124s, Seth Hall's MARISOL was the leader with a 21-15-9 for 45 pts, beating classmate Tom Barker sailing his boat, GOOD CALL. Top J/109 was Rex Butler's JD followed by the Pikin/ Carter/ Bush trio on GERONIMO and third 109 home was Daylen Teren's GREAT BALLS OF FIRE.
As usual, the J/105 fleet gave everyone enormous headaches in Class 3. Taking both the Class and J/105 honors was Sharon and Dennis Case sailing WINGS to a 4-3-1 scoreline for just 8 pts. Second 105 home was Dave Vieregg's TRIPLE PLAY with a 2-5-4 tally for 11 pts. Third was the Dagostino/ Fisher duo on VIGGEN with a 3-9-3 for 15 pts.Making their mark in Class 4 were four J/70s-- three of which were sailed by sailmaker teams on boats provided by Jeff Brown's JK3 Yachts. After the dust had cleared, the top dog amongst the 70s was Bruce Cooper sailing J/70 ULLMAN to a record of 1-2-3 for 6 pts, winning the 70s, winning Class 4 and getting 20th overall! Pretty good show for their first time out in the Hot Rum. Second 70 was J/70 QUANTUM with a 3-10-12 for 25 pts and third was Hugh Bennett sailing J/70 #31 to a 14-10-7 for 31 pts.
Class 5 had several of the J/Classics sailing. Getting third overall was Mark Clements' J/24 BRIGADOON with a 4-3-6 record for 13 pts. Finishing behind them was the J/22 GOOD ONE! sailed by Shala Lawrence and the J/24 IRIE sailed by Jeremy Miller.Many thanks to Mount Gay Rum and San Diego Yacht Club and the Race Committee for their support of this hallmark event. Mark you calendars now for next year's Hot Rum (Nov. 9, 23, Dec. 7)! Sailing photo credits- Bob Betancourt and Bronny Daniels/ JOY Sailing. For more San Diego YC Hot Rum sailing information
J/111 Training & Tuning(The Hague, The Netherlands)- If the J/111s are getting faster and smarter in the UK sailing on the Solent as one-designs, the teams in the Benelux region and France were also getting into the act by hosting a training and tuning session themselves. Called "How to Tune Up Your J/111", many J/111 sailors attended the Grevelingencup event in Port Zeelande. Principal hosts were the crew of the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER.
The "Ripper" team have donor a lot of ocean miles in their J/111 over the last two years! This year they sailed the Covenant Majeure Broom and the Dutch Open in IRC2 and won both! They also sailed such international events as the Rolex RORC Fastnet Race, SPI OUEST France and the RORC Commodores' Cup.
All the experiences the "Ripper" team had accumulated over the past 1.5 years regarding their boat preparation, modifications of hardware, mast and rig tuning settings were discussed and explained during a morning "theory" session.
Then, with the help of the "Ripper" team they went down to the boat and they explained their J/111's mast base settings together with their trim tables for the sails and their polar VPP targets-- a nice guide for improving everyone's performance in their boats.
After lunch was on-the-water training. The "Ripper" crew distributed themselves over the four J/111s, their own boat as well as the three other J/111s attending. They explained how they sailed their boat, including sail trim and boat-handling knowledge.
Afterwards, all the 111 teams could look back on a beautiful day where a large amount of information became available and everyone was looking forward with great enthusiasm to the next Grevelingencup on 16 December where the 4 boats will compete against each other as one-designs within the ORC field!
Ultimately, the common goal next season is for everyone to sail at a much higher level in the competitions they participate in. A number of boats, including "Xcentric Ripper" will definitely participate in the new one-design "J/111 European circuit". Thanks for the contribution from John van der Starre, owner/ skipper of XCENTRIC RIPPER.
JAM Wins Vashon Island Race(Seattle, WA)- The Vashon Island Race is full of legends, some of them good and some not so good. For example, one year sailors got banned from the clubhouse; another year the entire fleet sailed the wrong way around the island; and yet another time you couldn’t see your competitors through the snow (and nor could the Race Committee!).
Winter Vashon, the annual 30.7nm race that kicks off the South Sound Series, more often than not greets sailors with classic wet, windy, drizzly conditions that border on freezing. However, this year nothing eventful happened, instead the gorgeous weekend of sailing saw a near record turnout of 100 boats.
Leading all the J's home was the J/160 JAM sailed by John McPhail, sailing the race in a reasonably fast elapsed time of 4:14:05. The result of their herculean efforts was first prize for Class 2 amongst all the big boats!In Class 4, the J/120 HINZITE sailed by James and Charles Hinz managed to snag second in class with an elapsed time of 4:41:24, about a half hour behind the speeding J/160.
The J/35s and J/109s comprised most of Class 6 and managed to take 6 of the top 7 spots! Leading the J's home was the J/35 GREAT WHITE sailed by Dan Wierman with a 2nd in class. Third was the J/109 TANTIVY sailed by Stuart Brunell. Fourth and fifth, respectively, were two J/35s, GRACE E skippered by Brian White and MELANGE sailed by Jerry McKay and V Beyehe.The J/105 DULCINEA helmed by Matthew Gardner-Brown won her Class 7 by the narrowest of margins, 8 seconds!
Class 8 saw J's take 3 of the top 5. The J/35c WILDFLOWER sailed by Tom Mitchell took second overall, followed by the J/29 SLICK skippered by Pat Nelson and Bob Mayfield in third and the J/29 HERE & NOW skippered by Pat Denney in fourth. Sailing photo credits- Jan Anderson For Tacoma Yacht Club’s Winter Vashon Island Race sailing information
KONG EASYNET GRIFONE J/24 Italian EuroCup Winners(Lecco, Italy)- The Italian J/24 National Circuit concluded recently with the final stage in their series determining the winner at the Trophy Credito Valtellinese hosted the by Societa Canottieri Lecco. The great yacht "KONG EASYNET GRIFONE" sailed by Marco Stefanoni, Fabio Mazzoni, Massimo Consonni, Roberto Santomanco and Giusi Riva won the XXXVIII edition of the Winter Championship.
They took the lead on the second day of racing and never looked back, accumulating a scoreline of 2-2-1-4-5-1-4-6-5-1 for 20 pts net. Joining them on the podium was JAMAICA sailed by Gianluca Caridi, Ginesi Fabrizio, Giuseppe Garofalo and Paul Governato who sailed a very strong series but after losing the lead on the second day could never gain it back. Their record of 4-3-4-1-1-14-1-5-5-8 for 24 pts was good enough for second place. Lying third was JJ EXTRALARGE sailed by Roberto Spata, Robert Martignoni, Michele Malandra, Andrea and Stefano Zamboni Carnelli. They had a great comeback on Saturday and Sunday but not enough to overcome the other leaders with their record of 8-7-2-5-4-3-3-1-3-7 for 28 pts net. The opening day of racing saw the "breva" wind (local wind from the south) around 6-7 kts, providing the fleet with two good races that didn't complete until sunset! After all, this is what you must do when sailing high in the Italian Alps!
On the following day, the crews started in the early morning to take advantage of the "tivano" wind (typical wind from the north of the lake). However, despite starting twice in these conditions, the sudden drop in the wind forced the race PRO's to postpone racing until the afternoon "breva" wind would show up to complete two races very late in the day.
For Saturday's racing, the decision was made to start even earlier in the impetuous "tivano" winds, sailing from 0800 hrs to 1300 hrs! It resulted in getting in four races in 5-8 kts of wind and was a good test for the sailors.
Sunday's racing started under a light rain and the schedule was for two more races in the "tivano" breeze of about 6-9 kts, much to the satisfaction of all the participating sailors! This was the seventh and last stage of the Italian J/24 Circuit that began in February in Monaco with the Primo Cup! Many thanks for this contribution from Paola Zanoni. More Italian J/24 Sailing photos and results. For more J/24 Italian National Circuit sailing information
GOOD VIBES Rocks J/24 Mexico Nationals(Coporito, Mexico)- The Mexican J/24 Class continues to build on it strength and momentum with fleets continuing to improve and get strong in both Valle de Bravo as well as in Puerto Vallarta. Other fleets continue to develop nicely. Coporito recently did a fabulous job of hosting the 2012 Mexican J/24 Nationals.
The weather was less than cooperative with only six races of at least eight that were scheduled for the vent. But, sailors are sailors-- the fleet still managed to have great fun!
Weather conditions were changing all the time. The first day of competition started with 5-8 knots, then the wind died completely and then re-started again with little velocity. As a result a second race was held but, unfortunately for most fleet, the wind died again before most boats could make to the finish line before the time limit.
The second day the wind began to blow a little early and the first race was held again with light winds of 5-7 knots. Then like what happened on Friday, the wind died for about an hour before returning with gusts of 8 at 11 knots with rain.
On Sunday the racing began an hour earlier and the first race was again run in light winds of 4-7 knots and the last race was run in rain! In summary, it was fun sailing despite the challenging conditions. A great turnout for the Mexican J/24 fleet and a special "Congratulations" to the "Good Vibes" team for showing great consistency in widely varying conditions-- winning 4 of 6 races!
Congratulations to Team GOOD VIBES- Jorge Murrieta, Julian Fernandez, Diego Fernandez, Jorge Ogarrio Ander Belausteguigoitia- for being crowned the 2012 Mexican J/24 Champions! Second place went to VENDETTA sailed by Mario Velasquez, with Margarita Pazos, Mario Velasquez Jr, and Walter Porter. Third overall went to a family team on BESANGA sailed by Jerome, Diego, Paul, Philip and Gloria Cervantes. Fourth spot went to a familiar name often at the top of the leader-board- Ken Porter on COMEX. And, finally in fifth was Javier Velasquez and crew. For more Mexican J/24 Nationals sailing information
ONLINE Blitzes J/24 Spring Cup(Lago San Roque, Cordoba, Argentina)-- High in the Argentinean side of the Andes along its western borders their lies a simply spectacular lake set into the foothills of the Andes Mountain range. In winter (the northern hemisphere summer) many Olympic ski teams from around the world head south to the famous town of Bariloche and places nearby to continue their year-round downhill ski-training programs. While Argentinean sailors can often be found on the slopes themselves, they look forward to their spring-time sailing on simply spectacular lakes at the base of the Andes Mountains in quaint mountain village towns like Cordoba's Lago San Roque (http://goo.gl/maps/nnJGy) or San Carlos de Bariloche's Lago Nahuel Huapi (http://goo.gl/maps/vxM58). It's a bit like the South American version of Italy's famous Lago di Garda in Italy's northern region bordering the southern reaches of the Austrian/ Swiss/ Italian Alps.
Recently, the J/24 fleet in Cordoba held their Spring Cup and had a solid turnout of sixteen boats to experience the rather chilly waters, amazing winds and spectacular vistas of Lago San Roque-- at least that's what the local Chamber of Commerce usually predicts for this time of year.
On the first weekend of racing the fleet was confronted with not too much wind. In fact, it was uncharacteristically light for this time of year when the fronts are still raging around the South Pole and often the northern fingers hit the Andes and produce some monstrous winds. Nevertheless, the RC managed to run three races with much effort, despite the wind at times blowing in from the Northeast, dying and then returning back again from the East. The first race went to the ONLINE Team sailed by Adrian Bongioanni at the helm with his brother Saul on the sheets. Second went to CALEUCHE sailed by MatÃas Arrambide, Gringo Betendorf and Pedrito Lozada. Third went to Team CAMBURY skippered by Alvaro Abate.
In the second race, SAMA skippered by Frank Pesci, Mariana Buteler in the bow, Ezekiel Despontin in sheets and Carlos took the lead from the start to cross the line first! They were followed closely by J-MAC sailed by Spoceti Gabriel, his son Paul, Adrian Berelejis on the sheets and Marcelo Romero at the helm.
The third and final race of the regatta went to ONLINE in first, with SAMA in second. At the end, ONLINE's 1-3-1 for 5 pts total meant the Bongioanni brothers were crowned Spring Cup Champions in Cordoba! Second was Team SAMA with a 5-1-2 for 8 pts for Frank Pesci and crew. Rounding out the podium ws J-MAC's team led by Spoceti Gabriel with a 7-2-6 for 15 pts. The balance of the top five was CALEUCHE winning a tie-breaker with a 2-5-10 for 17 pts over CLICK with a 6-3-8 for 17 pts. If you're ever in Buenos Aires, be sure to take a trip out West to Cordoba and volunteer to crew on a J/24 in this spectacular setting!
J/24 sailboats are also racing on Lago "Nahuel Huapi" in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, quite a bit further south of Cordoba and next to the famous Andes ski areas WSW of San Carlos de Bariloche. Take a look at this YouTube video of a regatta from Cumelen Bay on the NE shore of the lake to Piedras Blancas near San Carlos de Bariloche.For a backgrounder on the 7 Lakes District around Bariloche take a peek at this GEO TV video. For more J/24 Spring Cup Argentina sailing results
J/145 ACE Flying Across the Atlantic(Las Palmas, Canary Islands)- The 200+ boats that are sailing this year's ARC Rally across 2,800 nm of open Atlantic Ocean are experiencing a handful of weather conditions. Normally, crews can expect a gentle start from Gran Canaria once they've passed the wind acceleration zones at the south of the island. Then it is a case of “sailing south until the butter melts” and then gybing to the west and pointing the bows at Saint Lucia with the trade winds of 25+ knots pushing boats along at a fine pace.
However, at the start of this year's edition, the weather forecast was a bit more exciting than it had been in previous races. The low pressure centered about 50NM south east of Gran Canaria developed a strong northeast flow of 15-25 kts for several days. Plus, the frontal system was tossing in some clouds and squally showers containing some strong gusts of wind. Now after seven plus days at sea, there's not an isobar to be seen!
As a result, the winds are abating and calmer seas are now the norm, especially for those boats leading the fleet. On one boat, the Navigator "Mirand" wrote, “Not an isobar printed on screen for hundreds of miles on the synoptic chart. Light and fluky breeze on the menu for the next day or so. There are a few large clouds around, but we have been left in peace so far today. It's quiet in the midday heat, the crew keeping movement to a minimum, and occupying patches of shade.“ While the racing boats are becoming frustrated, for the cruising boat the lighter conditions mean an easier and more relaxing life at sea.
To that end, the crew on the J/145 ACE may appear to be sailing in the lap of luxury, but by all accounts even a yacht this large can become quite small in the vast expanse of ocean. Here are some of their latest, entertaining, insightful and thought-provoking reports below.
"Dec 1st- Good Morning, my turn! Forgive me if I am redundant but we all agreed that we would not read each others updates until the crossing was over. Another glorious day in the North Atlantic with strong winds and a mix of squalls and sunny clear skies. Ace continues to slide along comfortably and very day it seems we exceed the previous day's fastest speed. This morning Rob was driving during a squall associated blast of air and exceeded 23 knots. That is about 26mph. Have someone drive along in your car at that speed and stick you head out the window, you will get tyne idea. Everyone continues to be healthy and covering each otter in terms of safety. I could not asked for a better group with whom to do this crossing. Everyone pitches in, gets along and we have an abundance of sailing skills knowledge and experience at many levels. There are many things that we did right on this trip and I cannot think of much we have down wrong. We debated bringing a steward along to cook, clean up and provision the boat leaving the sailing to the crew. Fortunately we did not do that and instead my brother William came with us and he has been outstanding and an inspiration to us all leading the cooking team of Adrian, Richard, Spider and himself. Adrian remarked to me last night that he did not think the food would have been better if we had brought a cook. We all agree. We have had many delicious meals of salads, home made soups, stews, fish, pasta and rice. Some days the cooking team, today it is Richard and William, is making a vegetable soup of the vegetables that need to be used. No doubt it ail be delicious.
We continue to make good progress reaching along (gentlemen do not go to weather) in excess of 10 knots. We have moved into second place in our class. Since more than 50 boat left two days ahead of us, including 2 in our class we may actually be leading there fleet. Time will tell. But that is not our objective. Our objective is to have fun which we have been doing. Last night on my watches spent time looking at the stars and identifying constellations and got drawn into reveries of the mythology of Orion, Pegasus, Sagittarius, Canis Minor and Major, et al. It is addicting to start to understand the stars identified by ancient mariners who sailed these seas navigation by these stars, including Columbus who left from the Canaries as we did more than 500 years ago.
For me this adventure is about the camaraderie and the voyage, but one learns as much about oneself as the sailing, the boat, the seas and the wind. Minor problems such as we had two nights ago, when we had some minor gear problems, take me into myself, my relationships, my motivations and my place in this world. When morning broke, we fixed the gear problems, we are back to full speed with full sails and I felt a profound sense of great privilege to be doing this with these men. Special thanks to my wonderful family to whom I am grateful for allowing and encouraging to do this. I love you all. Pax
Dec 2nd- 3rd Cruising A, 43rd overall in DTF! Sailing around 60+ footers! Happy Sunday dear family and friends, my time to chime in. As the novice in offshore sailing plus being from a landlocked country it took me as expected a few days to find my sailors legs, hence no way I cold have sat at a computer and typed anything remotely sensible (maybe I still ) Best only to go below deck for sleeping only for all I know. When thinking yesterday evening of "dark and stormies" it wasn't exactly of a never ending series of swells during the night I had in mind but there we were; reefed main sail only up and still we averaged nine knots and peaked and at twice that. Anyway as Strauss' song says "and tomorrow the sun will shine again" which concludes my deep nautical insights.
What's best: seven guys sharing an incredible experience and having all the consideration for each other that the sparse quarters seem still small but a little bit larger than when we stepped aboard. To boot: Sharing the exhilaration of surfing down one more perfectly caught long atlantic wave at 20+ knots. The low points - forget about it. But it has to do with equipment failure (fixed since). And last: to be able to share this unbelievable experience with this group of friends aboard the ever trustworthy SY ACE.
For all of us greetings and cheers to you. You are all on our mind and present conversations and to my family: I love you very much- Adrian
Dec 3rd- Greetings from one of the Ace crew on day six of our sail. We are now just passing the midpoint of the journey distance-wise while we continue to make very solid progress, racking over 200 miles per day on average. As the least experienced member of the team, I'll offer a few observations to help color the rich details of the experience thus far from one unaccustomed to such stuff.
My day began- like each of us- with a nudge in the middle of the night, the probe of the red light of a headlamp shining unobtrusively inches from my face, and a whisper that it's my time. It is my time, at 01:30 hours, to rise and rotate the two person watch on deck -- 4 hours on, eight off, 24/7, driving ACE westward.
Rising stiffly from the narrow bunk, dropping to the floor whilst grabbing hold of the center console to stem the lurching, I make my way to the head to don my now heavy rain gear -- bib overalls, jacket, and life vest -- all soggy from the salt sprays of the surf and the freshwater dousing of the short powerful squalls of the preceding evening.
Making my way onto deck, a mumble of greeting to the two figures, I sit to windward, hook in my life line, look around, and take the measure of the morning. The speed and power of Ace barreling through the swells at 10 knots quickly strips away the fog of sleep as the night sky emerges, the instruments come into focus, and the unchanged rolling of the seascape and boat wake take shape.
In a few minutes, I take the wheel with my fresh assignment to steer our course of 260 degrees -- more or less -- as Ace continues to surge forward. Winds are ranging from the low to high 20's, a passing squall douses Fred and I, and a surging wave sends me sprawling briefly.
I am at the wheel, flying in the night, with Ace surfing and ploughing her way forward at unbelievable speed. I have a huge, unseen grin on my face. This, I think to myself, is sailing.
A couple of observations to help complete the picture. First, unquestionably, is the scale, power and rapid variability of the ocean around us. We are but a little pig pong ball blowing along her surface. Second is the depth and professionalism of the crew, most evident during sail changes and adjustments on a rolling deck of a lurching locomotive, and in calmly deliberating approaches to emerging issues as they arise. Thirdly, Ace herself is an incredible performer thus far, with muscular power, speed and performance that it itself deeply impressive and relentless.
There is also the human dimension that lies at the rich core of the adventure, both in personal terms as we each explore our own spaces and as we contribute to a working human chemistry amongst the seven of us, all crammed into this surging locomotive. In short, things are good- William
Dec 4th- What do you get when you put a lawyer, two architects, an artist, yacht broker, businessman and yacht captain in a 48 foot boat for seven days? Surprisingly enough, a very cohesive crew. Hailing from Switzerland, Scotland and the United States, our 7 member crew has an average age of 54 years with 23 years spanning the largest gap. Three of our crew have crossed the Atlantic multiple times while two of our crew have never been to sea before. When not at sea each crew member is a captain of their own sort when at their respective jobs. We constrain these 7 unique individuals in a 48' x 13' vessel and set them loose on a 2700+ mile journey across the ocean. While there is one "Captain" of the vessel, all crew share duties and do their part to make the trip safe, fast and enjoyable without ego. We cook. We clean. We sail. We talk. We debate. We learn. We have lost family (one a mother another a father). We read about Columbus, Caravans, History, 50 Shades of Grey and House of Holes (don't ask). We have seen ships, competitors, dolphin, flying fish, squid and a whale. We deal with leaks above bunks, stuffed toilets, sail changes, food management and house keeping with out complaint. We do not argue. We are a team. We are a good team. We are a happy team. We are half way there.
One thousand thirteen hundred miles separate us from our families, friends and responsibilities. We still have many challenges ahead. We will have light winds to deal with before the trade winds return. We have boats to catch and boats to hold off. We have jokes and stories to tell. There is still so much time for each of us to learn more from one another and together. There is always something to learn when at sea. It is a university all of it's own. But today is a special day. Today is our half way point. Today we remember absent friends. Rest in peace Charlyn Fisher. Rest in peace John Dowling. Best to all- Chris
Dec 5th- Start of Day 9. Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic. I'm sure you're all bored of hearing about how happy we all are, how well we are getting along, how we are finding both peace and inspiration in the smallest of details…..well I thought it might be an apropos time to tell you some of the real details. Some of the true facts about our day to day life at sea, 9 days out on a small 48 foot boat.
To begin, the boat stinks. Not in sailing ability but I mean it has a foul odor that seems to have saturated everything and everyone. The forward cabin, or the place that Chris and I call home, has earned several nicknames, the most popular being "Fetid Swamp", "Crepuscular cave", or just plain, "ghetto." A deck pad-eye above Chris' port side bunk has been leaking since we left and thus his bed is virtually floating in a sea of rust colored salt water weeping from the headliner. My starboard bunk is in much better shape with only the spinnaker pole constantly dripping sea water into my berth. And oh yeah, the overhead hatch has a leak and leaks on to my bunk as well. We tried to air the boat out yesterday by opening the hatches during a period of relative calm. Bad decision. While Chris was dancing on the foredeck with his headphones on, he failed to notice the wave that was washing across the foredeck and rolling onto our bunks. I believe Bruno Mars, "Runaway" was playing on his iPod. What I also failed to mention was the forward sail locker open to our cabin has been housing the slowly rotting fruit and vegetables which William was steadfastly been trying to get us to consume, despite our fierce reluctance to eat rotten and spoiled food. Perhaps a depression baby? And the last straw thrown on the forward cabin Camels back was that the aft head was "broken" a few days back by a dynamic duo to remain unnamed, and thus all 7 un-showered bodies have been doing their dailies between the leaks and the decaying vegetables beside our bunks in the Ghetto. Please don't think that the other bunks and areas of the boat are immune to this sort of tragedy. Little Ricky's bunk had a flood from an overhead port light left open, as did Prince William's, and the port light above Adrian's bunk has had a steady drip, though he hardly looks up from reading "50 Shades of Grey" to notice. Chris lack of sleep seems to have developed into an allergy to the galley. Fred is constantly looking for Uranus and thus driving us in circles at night. And Rob-- actually Rob's mild manner seems to avoid any attempt at sarcasm. Can that be true? I'll get back to you on that.
Now on the serious, we are still sailing pretty damn fast though we are supposed to run out of wind tomorrow afternoon. And even more impressive than our consistent 20+knot surf rides, is the fact that we are en route to making our 9th consecutive 200+ mile day-- an incredible achievement for anyone familiar with sailing. Its been too fast to fish but we have managed to catch a few flying fish on the decks each night, and even a little squid! Poor bugger was dried up and clinging to a turning block when we found him. A pilot whale surfed by us this AM after a beautiful sunrise, and I was fortunate to see the Southern Cross low in the sky just as night was departing.
As you can tell from this email, we are all having an amazing time. Think "Big Chill" without college. Without land. And with a really bad smell. Keep the emails coming. We all look forward to them. Its my time to drive, bye- Spider (AKA Bingo, Peter)"
So, while the J/145 ACE guys are living with all manners of the human condition aboard a large yacht sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, a veteran offshore sailor and racer in the form of Sophie Olivaud from France is racing her J/109 ALBACOR IV in Racing Division II and doing very well- she's currently 5th boat-for-boat and 5th on IRC handicap. More power to her and her crew!! You Go Girl! The uncharacteristic doldrums and light airs will determine the outcome of this race as out in front of this group are a giant lollipop to taste and savor for days-- in the form of trade winds pumping out 10-20 knot ENE winds all the way into the finish at St Lucia.
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J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* Rest in peace, dear friend Chris Corlett. Chris was a long-time J/Sailor and J/Dealer with Don Trask in J/Boats West for 15+ years and, recently, was working with Jeff Brown at JK3 Yachts in their Alameda, California location. Chris died in his sleep on November 23, 2012 in Alameda, CA.The San Francisco sailing community has lost one of the best all-around sailors that have ever sailed the Bay. Chris was a kind and giving individual who loved his kids, sailing, and having fun on sailboats. His laugh was contagious and he was one of the most honest and forthright professional in the yachting industry.
Chris had an incredible sailing career that included multiple Big Boat Series wins in addition to great achievements on "Scarlett O'Hara" at SORC, Clipper Cup, and Admirals Cup amongst many others.
From the J/Community perspective, Chris was instrumental in developing several fleets in Northern California including the J/35 and J/105, the latter continuing to be one of the strongest one-design fleets ever in the history of San Francisco Bay sailing.
We at J/Boats and the larger J/Sailing community are sad to see him go. Best wishes and condolences from all of us to the Corlett family and friends.
* We received a rather amusing note from John Denman recently, he's a J/24 sailor on Casco Bay, Maine. John had this to say about a recent J/24 sailing experience in a Maine regatta this fall:"In the 'Photos of the Week' section in Scuttlebutt last Friday, we'd like to say thanks for including the J/24 photo sequence from the Downeast Regatta on Casco Bay, ME. We were the beneficiary of that late gybe broach; I was driving #2109 and we were just yards from the finish line when "Mr. Hankey" was kind enough to take a detour and let us past. They are very generous up there in Maine--- with a great Clambake dinner, free beer and drinks, and letting the visitors pass right before the finish line!!
By the way, the gusts to 30+ knots on Hussey Sound in Falmouth, Maine led to this unplanned jibe (and swim)." Thanks John! Sailing Photos by Ann Blanchard.
* J70s growing on the West Coast- a recent report regards a new J/70 owner's experiences in the Santa Barbara YC Holiday Regatta:"It was a slow, wet two days for the Santa Barbara YC Holiday Regatta. Nonetheless, it was fun watching Mike Drammer and Eli Parker's new J-70 ROXIE'S ROCKET compete. They won their first regatta in the PHRF B fleet! Saturday's crew included Mike, Eric Stokke and Ken Kieding. We're looking forward to seeing more in 2013 from a new and growing J-70 fleet locally!" They're pictured here looking focused, going fast and having fun!
The J Cruising Community
J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/
* Prolific writers, Bill and Judy Stellin, sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER around the Mediterranean and Europe and back across the Atlantic for nearly three years. Their blogs/journals can be found at- http://blog.mailasail.com/jaywalker. The earlier journals have been compiled into two self published books which can be found at: http://www.blurb.com. Search for "SEATREK: A Passion for Sailing" by Bill Stellin or William Stellin." UPDATE- Just a short note to update from Bill- "Our cruise began in May of 2000 and ended in May of 2008, some 8 years later. I have just finished and published my third and final book covering the last three or so years including our double handed crossing in 16 days and one winter in the Caribbean. Like the others, "Sea Trek- A Passion for sailing- Book III," can be found at www.blurb.com. Thanks, Bill and Judy"
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).
- SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com).
- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".
- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA)
, then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.* The J/109 GAIA (seen right in the Java Sea) was sailed by Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay around the world. In February 2011, their cruising adventures came to an abrupt, sad ending. As a tribute to them and their cruising friends worldwide, we hope their chronicles on their GAIA website remains a tribute to their warm-hearted spirits- read more about why many loved them dearly and will remain touched by their loving spirit forever- http://www.gaiaworldtour.net/
As it has in previous races, the decisive part of the race was the approach and negotiation of The Strait of Hormuz. In the 19th century, it was the location of a British repeater station used to send messages from London to Karachi. It was not an easy posting for the operators and is thought to be the origin of the term “go round the bend” with a reference to the heat making British officers desperate to return to civilization, which meant a voyage around the bend in the Strait of Hormuz.
The ARC is for everyone; families with children, tough racers, cruising couples, big budgets, and modest boats. Crossing the Atlantic together, but having their own adventures. More than just a boat race, the ARC is about friendships made ashore in the two weeks of pre-departure activities continued over the "radio net" at sea. It’s about arriving in Saint Lucia to be met on the dock with a rum punch and a chilled beer, knowing you have achieved something fantastic - crossing an ocean on a small sailboat.
At the start of this year's edition, the weather forecast was a bit more exciting than it had been in previous races. The low pressure that had been affecting the area was centered about 50NM south east of Gran Canaria at 1009mb and would continue to track southeast and develop moderate to strong northeast flow of 15-25 kts for several days. Plus, some clouds and squally showers were also expected to cross the area with the squalls containing some strong gusts of wind.
