J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
Setting records again for regatta participation was the J/70 class. This time the occasion was the J/70 European Championship on Lake Garda, hosted in the picturesque town of Malcesine by Fraglia Vela Malcesine. 130 boats sailed the event. No, that is not a “typo”- 130 teams; which meant nearly 1,000 people descended upon the little town on the lake for a week of competition. In addition, a woman J/70 sailor set another record! Up in Scandinavia, the J/70 Nordic and Norwegian Championship was sailed off Hanko Island, Norway for 31 boats, the KNS (the Royal Norwegian YC) hosted the long weekend event. Just south of them in Sweden, the Midsummer Solo Challenge took place off Marstrand for a J/88 and J/111 and 80 other singlehanded boats; it was a 123.0nm race north and south in Sweden’s northwestern archipelago. Down in the United Kingdom, the Island Sailing Club held their annual monster race, the incredibly popular Round The Island Race- over 1,250 boats attempted to do the 60.0nm circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight, but few succeeded. Across The Channel in The Netherlands, the Delta Race Weekend was sailed off Colijnsplaat, with J/80s and J/70s sailing the Sportboat class and in ORC handicap class were a few J/109s.Over in the USA several events took place in the Northeast and the Midwest. The Storm Trysail Club hosted their biennial Block Island Race Week, this time sponsored by Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville brand. There were one-design fleets of J/88s, J/105s, and J/109s as well as ORC and PHRF handicap racing fleets that included the new J/99, J/29s, J/35s, J/111s, J/122s, and J/121s. Nearby, the New York YC held their One-Design Regatta off Newport, RI for a fleet of J/70s. Then, to the west in Long Island Sound, the Riverside YC hosted their popular Stratford Shoal Race for PHRF handicap fleets that included J/92s, J/29s, J/36, J/105s, J/109s, and J/111s.
Out in the Midwest, two popular events took place over the weekend in southern Lake Michigan. Chicago YC and Waukegan YC hosted their annual 30.0nm Chicago to Waukegan Race, that included J/30, J/35, J/88s, J/105, the newly launched J/99, J/111s, J/109s, J/130s, and J/133s. Then, further north off Milwaukee, the South Shore YC hosted their annual Queen’s Cup Race, a 90.0nm sprint southeast across the bottom of Lake Michigan to St Joseph Harbor, MI. The PHRF handicap fleet included J/30, J/35, J/105s, J/88s, J/109s, J/111s, J/122s, J/130, and J/145.
J/99 Wins Chicago to Waukegan Race!
(Waukegan, IL)- The day dawned with a gorgeous sunrise from the east, the sun’s light radiating across the lake against the magnificent skyscrapers that line the Chicago waterfront, millions of windows mirroring the sunrise back down onto the lakefront in a vast expanse of reddish-orange glow. The weather forecast promised an easterly breeze, fluctuating from ENE to ESE in the 7 to 14 kts range, with a perfectly sunny, cool day. The setting could not have been more perfect for a fleet of nearly 100 boats looking forward to a simple sprint of 30.0nm from Chicago to Waukegan, IL.
As the fleet approached the starting line for the early morning start at 10:00 am, the weather prognosis was anything but close to reality. The first fleet started off in a light easterly of 5-6 kts, but the subsequent starts in nearly calm breeze could barely generate any headway for boats across the line in an extremely severe cross-chop generated by Chicago’s notorious “washing machine generator”- the vertical steel walls of the downtown shoreline.
After three fleets could not fully clear the starting line, the Chicago YC’s Race Committee was forced to postpone the starts of the remaining fleets. Subsequently, as the next set of classes took off in the building breeze, like J/105s, J/109s and PHRF Classes, it was clear the last class to start was going to have the greatest handicap advantage overall.
In it’s inaugural race on Lake Michigan, the J/99 HOKEY SMOKES survived a few starting line debacles, avoiding collisions in a 2-3 kts blast, to ultimately break free with its Code Zero flying to get the ball rolling about a half hour after their start. From there, it was a tight fetch on starboard tack under Code Zero, with TWA’s varying from 85 to 120 degrees, with greater pressure seen offshore most of the race with gentle gusts up to 13 kts TWS.
In the end, Rich & Lori Stearns’ J/99 HOKEY SMOKES not only won PHRF 3 Class, but was just 12 minutes off winning the PHRF Overall classification, taking 2nd in fleet to the largest boat in the fleet- a custom 66 footer.
Winning the J/109 class of eight-boats was David Gustman’s NORTHSTAR. They were followed on the podium by Jim Murray’s CALLISTO and the duo of George Miz and Mark Hatfield on SMEE AGAIN.
The always competitive nine-boat J/105 class saw Clark Pellett’s SEALARK win, followed by Gerhard Zinserling’s Y-NOT in second, and Mark Stoll’s PEREGRINE in third.
Not surprisingly, the always formidable J/111 class on Lake Michigan made their mark in PHRF 2 Class with a near sweep; with John Kalanik’s PURA VIDA winning, Tom Dickson’s WARLOCK second by just 50 seconds, and Tom McIntosh’s MISTY in fourth place.
Similarly, in PHRF 4 Class the J/88s nearly sweet, too; Andy & Sarah Graff’s EXILE won with Ben Marden’s BANTER in second place.
Then, in PHRF 5 Class, Charles Olsen’s J/27 WHITEHAWK took 3rd place. For more J/99 shorthanded offshore speedster sailing information For more Chicago to Waukegan Race sailing information
Rossi Three-peats J/70 European Championship
(Malcesine, Italy)- The town of Malcesine geared up to host the 2019 J/70 European Championship for more than 130 boats from around the world. The host club Fraglia Vela Malcesine and the J/70 Italian Class made sure crews from twenty-three countries enjoyed the amazing sailing conditions on the famous, picturesque Lago di Garda (Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Malta, Monaco, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, and USA).
After a six-race qualifying series for the four flights over the first two days, the championship flight sailed eight races over the next three days. In the end, it was an amazing display of aggressive starting, conservative tactics, and fast sailing by the only woman sailor in recent history to eclipse such an array of world-class sailing talent. The J/70 sailing world knows her well, as this was the third time Claudia Rossi’s PETITE TERRIBLE team was crowned the J/70 European Champion! Ironically, the European title remains firmly in the hands of the famous Rossi sailing family from Italy, as Claudia won in 2016 and 2017, while her famous father Alberto Rossi (a multiple Farr 40 World Champion), won in Vigo, Spain in 2019 with ENFANT TERRIBLE.
Claudia’s crew consisted of Michele Paoletti, Matteo Mason, Giulio Desiderato, and Rossella Losito. Commenting on her third win, Claudia exclaimed, “I am so excited and overjoyed about how the regattas went during this championship. We were very consistent and this paid off in the end. Today, we finally demonstrated how to race with the heart, without making too many errors. And for this, I want to thank all of my crew, because we gave our best and kept on believing until the end. We got our victory and I could not wish for anything more!”
Behind Rossi’s PETITE TERRIBLE team were Markus Weiser’s German crew on MISSION POSSIBLE taking the silver, and Mauro Roversi’s J-CURVE from Italy taking the bronze. Rounding out the top five was the top Spanish crew in fourth place- Gustavo Martinez Doreste’s REAL CLUB NAUTICO DE GRANADA, and another Italian crew in fifth- Franco Solerio’s L’ELEGAIN.
In the Corinthian division, the Spanish crew of ABRIL VERDE (with skipper Luiz Perez Canal, Carlos Sanmartin, Eduardo Reguera, Juan de Cominges Carballo, & Luis Darocha) finished first, followed by the Maltese crew of CALYPSO and the Swedish crew of HILDA. Closing out the top five were Douglas Struth and the British team on DSP RACING and the Italian crew of WHITE HAWK, with Gianfranco Noè at the helm.
Luiz Perez Canal commented on the regatta, “Thank you to the Race Committee and to all those who made this beautiful Championship possible. Our chemistry with this race field was excellent and this allowed us to race at our maximum, and remain in the top 15 of the fleet. In the end, we won the Corinthian title, a success that we pursued since day one and that fills us with joy. We can’t wait to get back here to race again.”
Behind ABRIL VERDE’s command performance, taking second was Sebastian Ripard’s Maltese crew on CALYPSO and third was Sweden’s Oscar Lundquist’s HILDA.
As for the Silver fleet, Stefano Nicolussi’s VIVACE was the winner of the series, followed by Carlo Tomelleri’s ENJOY 1.0 and third was the Spanish crew of PATAKIN.
The J/70 Italian Class is sponsored for the 2019 season by Henri Lloyd, Official Clothing Partner, and by Armare Ropes, Garmin, Key One, IMAC Technologies, Girmi, Serena Wines and Powerade.
J/70 European highlight videos on Facebook here
https://www.facebook.com/j70italianclass/videos/449033779227897/
https://www.facebook.com/j70italianclass/videos/479128466188218/
Follow the J/70 Europeans on Facebook here For more J/70 European Championship sailing information
Classic Margaritaville Block Island Race Week
Sun, Fog, Wind, Rain, & Jimmy Buffett!
(Block Island, RI)- In a throwback to yesteryears, the Storm Trysail Club’s biennial Block Island Race Week lived up to its storied past, producing a myriad of challenges to the sailors on the water, as well as a “block buster” entertainment program onshore.
Nearly two hundred boats sailed the 2019 Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race Week, sponsored by Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville brand. The island weather Gods were up to their usual tricks. The first day was simply spectacular and most fleets completed four races. However, a huge frontal system was rolling offshore during Tuesday’s Around the Island Race, making for a thunderous, memorable, wet, windy, cold race. Wet, indeed, like nearly 2.0” of rain in 2 hours, that is a lot of rain. Then, Wednesday was declared a “day off”, a true “lay day” where crews enjoyed the foggy but sunny day in cool temperatures ashore with tug-o-wars, badminton wars, and corn-hole wars, and even “mudslide wars”. Thursday and Friday both dawned with foggy mornings that gradually gave way to sunny days and, thankfully, warm seabreezes building that permitted good racing on the final two days.
J/crews across the board enjoyed the week-long bacchanalian festival of sailing and onshore festivities. In the ORC 2 Class, the Team family (Robin, Alston, & Colman) on the J/122 TEAMWORK from North Carolina managed a 2nd place in a very competitive eight-boat class. Third was yet another J/122, Paul Milo’s ORION.
In the J/121 class, Joe Brito’s INCOGNITO won, followed by Peter Lewis’ Whistler team from Barbados in second, and Don Nicholson’s APOLLO in third position. One of the highlights of the week was the J/121 class reception hosted by Joe Brito for the five J/121 teams participating in the event; it was a family affair that was much enjoyed by all the owners (Peter Lewis, Don Nicholson, Greg & Sarah Manning) and crew.
In the eight-boat J/109 class, it was a classic “schooling” by the top team from Annapolis YC- Bill Sweetser’s crew on RUSH; posting seven 1sts and two 2nds to win by a significant margin. Second was one of the strongest teams from Long Island Sound- Carl Olsson’s bright red MORNING GLORY; the only team to ultimately match Sweetser’s RUSH crew in the last four races, going “mano-a-mano” with them trading off 1sts and 2nds. Third was Robert Schwartz’s very successful crew on NORDLYS. Rounding out the top five was Tom Sutton’s Texas-based crew on another bright red boat- LEADING EDGE. Fifth was Don Dwyer’s GUARDIAN J.
Matching the J/109 RUSH for best record (exactly) in the entire Block Island Race Week fleet was Mike Bruno’s crew on his J/88 WINGS from American YC in Long Island Sound, New York. While the WINGS crew eclipsed their fleet, it was a donnybrook for the balance of the podium over the course of the five days. In the end, it was the determined team on DEVIATION, skippered by Iris Vogel from Huguenot YC on Long Island Sound that took second place. DEVIATION posted their best record of the series on the last day with a 2-1 to take the daily class win. Third in the regatta was Bill Purdy’s WHIRLWIND. Like the J/121s, the J/88 crews enjoyed a wonderful fleet party hosted by Iris Vogel’s team at their house on the island.
While the 88s and 109s saw dominant fleet leaders, the J/105 class had an epic three-way battle for the top of the podium. As usual, it was a combination of luck, good tactics, speed, and Race Committee mistakes. Combined, it made for an interesting week for the leading teams. In the end, Paul Beaudin’s LOU LOU crew won in the final, epic battle in the last race to determine the class winner. Taking the short end of that stick was Bruce Stone & Nicole Breault’s GOOD TRADE, posting a 7th place to take 2nd. They won a tie-breaker on 33 pts over John & Marisa Koten’s GRAY MATTER. Rounding out the top five was Bill Zartler’s DEJA VOODOO in fourth and David Willis’ SOLUTION in fifth. Like their 88 and 121 counterparts, the J/105 class also enjoyed a large class get together on the island.
In the world of handicap racing, there were mixed results for some J/teams. In the PHRF 1 Division, Ken Comerford’s J/111 MONEYPENNY was one of the fleet leaders until their 6th race produced a 12 pts scoring penalty. As a result, the penalty torpedoed their chances for the class win, dropping from 2nd to 5th place in the end. Meanwhile, Bill & Jackie Baxter’s team on the J/111 FIREBALL had flashes of brilliance, posting finishes of 1-2-3-4-4, but their other results hurt their hopes for a podium finish, ending up in 4th place.
In the PHRF 2 Division, Rod Johnstone’s J/99 AGENT 99 managed a fourth place against remarkably tough competition. Their highlight was Tuesday’s classic Around Island Race, winning the race boat-for-boat and correcting out to third place in the windy, foggy, rainy affair.
Not surprisingly, PHRF 3 class has been dominated by J/29s for decades. This time around, it was Jack McGuire’s DIRTY HARRY taking class honors over a past winner of the regatta, Steve Thurston’s MIGHTY PUFFIN. John Cooper’s J/29 COOL BREEZE placed 4th.
The Pursuit Cruising 1 division saw Brian Prinz’s J/125 SPECTRE take the silver, with Len Sitar’s J/44 VAMP losing a tie-breaker for third place to settle for 4th place.
Two J/crews swept Pursuit Cruising 2 division, with G. John Krediet’s J/97 PARTICIPANT II winning class with Eric Bicknese’s J/105 BIG E.Z. taking the silver medal.
There was more good performances by J/29s in Performance Cruising 3 (non-spinnaker), with William Maher’s RIFT taking the bronze, while Peter Hilgendorff’s MEDDLER took 5th place. Sailing photo credits- "Block Island Steve"/ Stephen Cloutier. Follow Block Island Race Week on Facebook here For more STC Block Island Race Week sailing information
NORWEGIAN STEAM Crowned J/70 Norway Champ!(Hanko, Norway)- Hankø Race Week was established in 1882 and over 137 years has developed as the greatest one-design event in Norway. In cooperation with Fredrikstad Seilforening, Hankø Yacht Club and GRUNDIG, the thirty-one J/70 teams were treated to three great days of sailing in the bay off Hanko.
In the end, the J/70 Nordic Championship and J/70 Norwegian Championship was held from June 27th to 29th with teams from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. The hometown favorites from the host yacht club, NORWEGIAN STEAM, sailed a very consistent regatta to just win by two points. The Steamers were led by Eivind Astrup, with crew of Lasse Berthelsen, Pal Tonnrsson, and Espen Tonnesson; they counted all podium finishes in their eight of nine races they counted. Taking second was Moss Seilforening’s Jorn-Erik Ruud, also counting just podium placings for 16 pts net. Taking the bronze on the podium was Magne Klann’s VIEW SOFTWARE team from Soon Seilforening with 25 pts net. The balance of the top five included Magnus Hedemark’s SAIL LOGIC RACING in 4th with 39 pts and the top Swedish team in 5th place- Jan Bjornsjo’s ACE OF BASE from Ekero Batklubb with 41 pts net. For more J/70 Nordic Championship sailing information
Crazy Light Round The Island Race
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The 2019 edition of the world-famous “Round The Island Race” in the United Kingdom, hosted by the Island Sailing Club in Cowes, Isle of Wight, may go down in history as one of the slowest ever for most of the fleet. The challenging 60.0nm race that goes around the Isle of Wight is by far the most popular race on any sailor’s social calendar all year long in the U.K., but this year it was celebrated with copious amounts of Pimms as most of the fleet motored back home to their anchorages- at least 75% of the fleet retired, which may be a record!
The forecast with scorching sun and no more than 15kts of wind was unlikely to create record-breaking conditions for the 1,253 entries. Nevertheless, with an ebbing tide and early morning east-south-easterly breeze, the fleet enjoyed a downwind spinnaker start, so the first leg to the Needles was reasonably swift for most of the fleet. However, the forecasted easing of the breeze to zero kts and a change from the easterly to a light westerly around 1400 to 1600 hours took its toll on the fleet. As it turned out, heading away from the island into more stable breeze was the best option. As one competitor described it, “basically, there was a big bubble of hot air above the island, which affected the wind, so those going too far inshore suffered the most.”
Excelling in the challenging conditions were the J/111s and J/122s in twenty-six boat IRC 1 division. Winning class by an astounding 35 minutes corrected was Cornell Riklin’s J/111 JITTERBUG, leading a near sweep of the top ten with six other J/teams in the hunt. Taking third was Chris Jones And Louise Makin’s J/111 JOURNEYMAKER II, followed in 4th by the J/111 J4F (Frenchman Patrice Vidon) and Clive Miles’ J/122E JANGLE in 5th place. Then, seventh was George Willis & Stuart Sawyer’s J/122 BLACK DOG and eighth was Simon Bamford’s J/111 KESTREL.
Similarly, the quartet of J/112E’s in IRC 1C division nearly swept the top five in their thirty-one boat fleet. Second was David Franks’ LEON, third was Chaz Ivill’s DAVANTI TYRES, fourth was Jim Chalmers’ KNIGHT BUILD LTD, and fifth was Bruce Huber’s XANABOO.
The J/109s and a J/99 took four of the top eight spots in the twenty-one boat IRC 2A Class. Second was Christopher Preston’s J/109 JUBILEE, fourth was Chris Copeland’s J/109 JUKEBOX, sixth was James & John Owen’s J/99 JET, and eighth was Alan Beckheling’s J/109 RAF RED ARROW.
Nearly 60% of the 33 boat IRC 2 B Class were J/crews and, as a result, J/109s took 7 of the top 11 spots. Second was Chris Burleigh’s JYBE TALKIN, fourth was Colin Walker & Nick Harris’ JURA, sixth was Harry Brewer’s SPACE 8, seventh was Chris Andrews’ JIGSAW, eighth was Bill Stock’s JENGU, tenth Steve Horne’s JAMBO, and 11th Richard Griffiths’ JOMALIA.
Three of the top five in IRC 2D Class were J/crews. Second was Ed Holton’s J/110 SHADES OF BLUE, third was Ralph Mason’s J/92 JABBERWOCK, and fifth was Bob Baker’s J/97 JAYWALKER.
Winning ISC 4A division was Ken Raby’s J/109 SQUIBS. Winning ISC 5B division was Andrew Norton’s J/100 TIDERACE with a family crew.
The J/70 class had four finishers, a triumph in its own right. Winning was Andrew Barraclough’s JENGA 8, second was Jack Davies’ YETI, third was Georgina Hill’s GENESTA.
The J/80 class also had four finishers. Winning was Phil Lightbody’s JEDI, second was Simon Cameron’s JUNO, and third was Ross Bowdler’s JUSTIFY.
The J/88s had three finishers. Winning was Sam Cooper’s TIGRIS, second was Richard Cooper’s JONGLEUR, and third was Dirk Van Beek’s SABRIEL JR.
The overall J/Boats Trophy went to Riklin’s J/111 JITTERBUG. Second by less than 45 seconds corrected time was Alan Macleod & Andy Knowles’ J/92 SAMURAI J. Third was Jack Banks’ J/92 NIGHT JAR. For more Round Island Race sailing information
J’s Cruise Sweden’s Midsummer Solo Challenge
(Marstrand, Sweden)- Back in December 2017, a group of sailors gathered together and decided to create the Midsummer Solo Challenge, a 123.0nm race from Marstrand around the northwestern archipelago of Sweden. Here is the report from Peter Gustafsson sailing the famous J/11 BLUR.SE.
“This year it felt like it was real.
The idea behind Midsummer Solo Challenge was formulated at a meeting in December 2017, and last year was a test of the format.
This year there were nearly 80 boats registered; including long-distance sailors from Estonia and Switzerland. And it also felt that the breadth of experience was larger, from those who never raced to those who have singlehanded for 35 years.
It also felt like everyone took the event as a personal challenge to finish. That it was not a race, but a personal challenge where everyone is following their own conditions and ambitions. In my report, it may sound like a contest, but it's just my way of fooling myself into pushing myself to the limit and doing the sailing challenge that is not really necessary.
Most boats arrived on Thursday and were seen at the pier in front of the famous Carlsten's fortress.
We had a nice dinner that evening that ended with a review of safety, rules and a solid weather briefing by Erik Nordborg.
The forecasts showed moderate southern winds during Friday, which would decrease during the afternoon/ evening to become very light and varied during the night. Saturday morning the wind would increase again from the east.
As last year, the boats were divided into classes based on LOA, where the smaller boats started first. It became a fast start with TWD of 130-150, and I took it carefully with the slightly smaller A3 spinnaker.
It was beautiful sailing between the islands and we made quick progress going north.
At Måseskär, the wind had eased a lot from the start of 7-8 m/s, and it seemed to be pure southerly up towards Lysekil, so I switched to A2 before I stepped north. Surprisingly, it was a smooth replacement, but still difficult.
Now, the wind rose again, and there was some gusts into the 9 m/s range. Suddenly, I had a hard time fetching the passage towards Islandsberg. So, I had to take the A2 down after a couple of broaches, and then put it back up. That was very tiresome.
There were other ways through the archipelago, but I didn't feel at all sure about these. Here I should have done my homework, because I was not going to chance it with the big A2 (155 m2) in almost 10 m/s!
Then the southerly kicked in again going up to Lysekil. But, as the wind again got lighter, I passed many boats.
After rounding the top mark in the north, it was first upwind and then reaching as I headed back south. I had both Code 0 and J0, and I had a lot to do on the front deck. But, the wind increased and I went fast with just the jib. So, I decided to save on my strength. Even here, I felt a little worried about the right choice. Nevertheless, I didn't seem to lose anything to the boats behind which I always had on AIS tracking. I also had a look at my friend Jonas Dyberg on the J/88.se to see which choice he and others made.
After Hållö, the big A2-gennaker was up again. It kept me in the middle of the course when the wind had now started to back even further. When it died, I didn't want to be on any edge east or west. In fact, quite a few of the boats ahead had chosen to go further west, and there was certainly more power there for a while. But, not for long.
Very true, the wind died on the way into the Fjällbaka archipelago. I had actually intended to take the western approach to Testholmen, but then I saw that some boats had wind inside.
I switched to A3 spinnaker to be able to sail higher, and tossed my lot among those boats going up the inside to the east.
Also, I had some stops, getting becalmed in some place, but I came through quite OK.
After a while, I lost patience. The theory was that the weather would fill in from the south, so I put up the A3 again and switched to the J1, even though Ramskär was NNW from where we were.
And, thankfully, I found some type of wind that was extremely sheared (I sailed TWA 155 with gennaker). I had something that the others who were 5 km. to the east did not have. Here I passed the J/88.se.
Now, it was only two more boats that were ahead on the track. And, still a long way home.
But, just like last year, the wind died again. For a long time, I drove straight west with 0.8 knots current. Very frustrating. And, you didn't dare to sleep either.
Then a little wind filled in from the east, as promised. And, I could go from J0 to A3 at the approach to Väderöarna.
I tried to balance a desire to go further east into the archipelago and sail quickly south towards the next mark.
At Hållö, there was too much wind, and a little too tight angle for the gennaker. Up with the jib, which felt OK when it blew 6-7 m/s, but not when it got lighter on occasion.
I then got my Code Zero up and aimed straight at Trubaduren.
I really wanted to be the fastest boat around the track and watched the distance to the finish.
After Hätteberget, there was a short cross in to the bay at Strandverket. Good with wind, very hot and a wind that twisted between TWD 60 and 80 degrees.
In the end, I was the fastest around on my J/111 BLUR.SE, which everyone expected.
But, I am most satisfied with the fact that I sailed extremely actively throughout the race, I was good at decision-making when things happened with the weather and I tried to avoid big, tragic mistakes that would cost a lot of distance. It is a mental game, a physical game, a strategic game. It is tough!
I think we have managed to create a more intense and beautiful variant of the Silverrudder Race in Denmark and I hope that more will discover this form of sailing in the future. It's not as difficult as you think. And the feeling is also much better than you thought before you tried it.”
As a result, the J/111 BLUR.SE not only won overall, but also the “big boat” class. Winning the “Mid-size” class was Dyberg’s J/88 J/88.SE. Watch the J/88.SE sailing video on YouTube Here are J/111 BLUR.SE highlights from 2018 Follow the Midsummer Solo Race here on Facebook For more Midsummer Solo sailing information
J/Teams Love Stratford Shoal Race(Riverside, CT)- The Riverside YC hosted its 88th annual Stratford Shoal Race this past weekend on Long Island Sound. The event featured a combination of fully-crewed, doublehanded, and the “Plus+One” PHRF divisions for offshore racing teams.
J/Crews overall did quite well across the board in the various PHRF divisions. It was a clean sweep in the PHRF 3 Doublehanded division. Winning was Todd Aven’s J/92 THIN MAN, followed by Barry Purcell’s J/27 LUCIDA in second, and James Reichel’s J/105 SCAPEGOAT in third position.
The PHRF 4 division was won by Eben Walker’s J/105 STRANGE BREW, with Ken & Drew Hall’s J/88 NEVERMORE in fourth place. Fifth was the American YC’s J/105 YOUNG AMERICAN youth offshore team.
The PHRF Plus+One division was won by Arthur Hanlon’s J/112E DAUNTLESS with Kevin Kelley’s J/122 SUMMER GRACE taking the bronze. For more Stratford Shoal Race sailing information
Agonizingly Slow 81st Queens Cup Race(Milwaukee, WI)- The 81st challenge of one of the most storied yacht races on the Great Lakes this past weekend- the 90.0nm race called the Queen’s Cup- may have set a record for drop-outs. Like the Round the Island Race in England, it happened to be a slow weekend for wind!
This year’s overnight race across Lake Michigan departed from Milwaukee, WI for St. Joseph, MI on June 28, 2019 in very light winds. Both Milwaukee’s South Shore Yacht Club and St. Joseph River Yacht Club hoped for better weather, but it was all for naught. In the end, even the super-fast TP 52s averaged just over 6 kts! Nevertheless, despite the challenges, several J/teams prevailed to collect lots of silverware!
PHRF 1 Division saw Bill Schanen’s J/145 MAIN STREET finish fourth. Then, in PHRF 2 Division Robert Klairmont’s J/133 SCIROCCO3 won class.
In the J/111 class, Mark & Colin Caliban’s NO QUARTER won, followed by Jeff Schaeffer’s SHMOKIN JOE in second. All the rest of the five J/111’s retired! The winning boat averaged 3.9 kts.
Then, in PHRF 6 Class, the J/88s cleaned house. First was Ben Marden’s BANTER, followed by Andrew Graff’s J/88 Exile in 2nd. The winning boat averaged 3.5 kts…ouch!! For more SSYC Queen’s Cup Race sailing information
Extremely Light Delta Race Weekend(Colijnsplaat, The Netherlands)- The 49th Delta Race Weekend opened with a lot of promise on Friday. Sun and wind saw the fleet leave the port of Colijnsplaat with the hope of having multiple races for around the cans racing offshore. The moderate northeast wind slowly died off from its promising 10 kts morning breeze to the point where all afternoon races were canceled. That “movie” was repeated for the rest of the weekend. Morning winds that veered into the east, then southeast, quadrants looked good early, but would die off in the afternoons. Consequently, it was difficult to get in the full repertoire of racing for all fleets.
In the ORC 2 Class, Arjen van Leeuwen’s J/109 JOULE took the bronze in class.
In the Sportboat Class, Bart van Gemert’s J/80 JIVE won, followed by Paul Kersten’s J/80 BABY J in second, and David van de Plasse’s J/70 DRV in third. Rounding out the top five was Jan-Marien Nijsse’s J/80 VERDER SCIENTIFIC in fourth and Gijs Golverdingen’s J/80 JACHTING in fifth place. Follow Delta Race Weekend on Instagram here Follow Delta Race Weekend on Facebook here For more Delta Race Weekend sailing information
HOSS Tops New York YC One-Design Regatta
(Newport, RI)- This past weekend, the New York YC hosted their One-Design Regatta that included a fleet of eight J/70s. Several top teams were in attendance for the beautiful weekend of racing prior to Newport’s famous 4th of July weekend of festivities.
Winning the J/70s was Glenn Darden’s HOSS with a record of 1-3-1-1-1-2 for 6 pts net. Placing second was John Brim’s crew on RIMETTE with a nearly identical record of 2-1-2-2-3-1 tally for 8 pts net. Then, taking the bronze on the podium was none other than Brian Keane’s crew on SAVASANA with a 3-2-3-3-5-4 scoreline for 15 pts net. Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ Outside Images.com. For more New York YC One-Design Regatta sailing information
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Jul 4-7- J/70 SAILING Champions League- St Petersburg, Russia
Jul 5-7- RORC IRC National Championship- Cowes, Isle of Wight, England
Jul 5-7- Sail Newport Regatta- Newport, RI
Jul 6-13- J/22 World Championship- Warnemunde, Germany
Jul 7- Marblehead to Halifax Race- Halifax, Nova Scotia
Jul 9- Nieuwpoort Channel Race- Nieuwpoort, Belgium
Jul 10- 50th Transpac Race- Los Angeles, CA
Jul 11-14- Dun Laoghaire Regatta- Dun Laoghaire, Ireland
Jul 12- Lake Ontario 300 Race- Port Credit, ONT, Canada
Jul 12-14- U.K. J/24 Nationals- Plymouth, England
Jul 13- Chicago to Mackinac Race- Chicago, IL
Jul 13-21- J/80 World Championship- Bilbao, Spain
Jul 14-20- New York YC 175th Anniversary Regatta- Newport, RI
Jul 20- Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Race- Port Huron, MI
Jul 20-21- Fiesta Cup Regatta- Santa Barbara, CA
Jul 20-21- J/Fest Great Lakes Regatta- Toronto, ONT, Canada
Jul 20-28- Travemunde Week- Travemunde, Germany
Jul 25-28- Marblehead NOOD Regatta- Marblehead, MA
Jul 26- Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race- Santa Barbara, CA
Jul 26-28- Ugotta Regatta- Harbor Springs, MI
Jul 27- RORC Channel Race- Cowes, Isle of Wight, England
Jul 24-27- Whidbey Island Race Week- Oak Harbor, WA
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/22 World Championship Preview
(Warnemunde, Germany)- Thirty-one boats are sailing the 2019 J/22 World Championship in Warnemuender, Germany in the coming week. Hosts are the Warnemuender Segel-Club with help of Berliner YC and YC Berlin-Grunau, held in concert with Warnemeunder Week from the 6th to 13th July.
The J/22 teams come from Austria, Canada, Cayman Islands, France, Germany, and The Netherlands. Many of the top teams are in attendance. From Canada is John Koppernaes’ RAISED J from Toronto; from the Cayman Islands is Mike Farrington’s SEE YA LATER; from France is Reiner Brockerhoff’s JAZZY; from Germany is Martin Menzner’s JABULANI; and from the Netherlands are two contenders (Dirk Jan Verdoorn’s JUT EN JUL and Emma Kok’s TU DELFT:BROACH 1524). For more J/22 World Championship sailing information
J/70 SAILING Champions League Preview
(St Petersburg, Russia)- The last opportunity to qualify for the Finale of the SAILING Champions League 2019 is coming up soon - the third and last qualifier which takes place in St. Petersburg, Russia, over four frenetic days from the 4th to 7th July.
Racing on the Neva River, amid the spectacular scenery of St. Petersburg, is a humbling experience. It’s also a challenge, with shifting winds and strong currents. There are 20 clubs from 12 nations (Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland) fighting for six places that are available for a ticket to the Final in St. Moritz, Switzerland in August.
A first time entrant to the SAILING Champions League is Club Vela Portocivitanova from Italy. “It is a great honor and responsibility for us to be representing the Club Vela Portocivitanova,” said helmsman Michele Regolo. “This is the 70th anniversary of our club. We have 70 years of sailing history with sailors competing in the America's Cup, Olympic Games and having multiple ORC world champions and Medallists. To bring our club to race among the best in the world for the SAILING Champions League is already a pleasure for us. Not only are we looking forward to a great competition in St. Petersburg but it is also our mission to try to qualify for the final in St. Moritz.“
This is the fourth occasion that St. Petersburg Yacht Club will be hosting a SAILING Champions League regatta, and it’s an association that works well for both parties.
“St. Petersburg hosts the largest sailing events every year. Sportsmen meet at the competitions at one of the best and most challenging sailing areas in the world, surrounded by beautiful historical buildings of the Northern Capital's center. St. Petersburg Yacht Club sees its mission to unite people around yachting and to promote maritime culture. We are glad to host guests from various countries and make their stay comfortable and exciting,” said Elena Soloveva, Head of Projects from St. Petersburg YC.
In total 24 clubs will be coming to race in the SAILING Champions Finale that will take place from 15 to 18 August high up in the Swiss Alps, in St. Moritz.
Livestream and results by SAP
The final two days of racing on Saturday and Sunday will be live broadcasted by SAP, with expert commentators providing blow-by-blow analysis of the racing, aided by the detail provided by SAP Sailing Analytics. The SAP Sailing Analytics provide 24/7 additional statistics and data for sailors, fans, spectators and media like GPS tracking, real-time analysis, live leaderboard combined with 2D visualization. You find all results on sapsailing.com! For more SAILING Champions League information
RORC IRC National Championship Preview(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- From modern lightweight planing yachts to evergreen designs of the 1970s and 80s, the IRC rule brings them all together for three days of intense racing. With courses varying from windward-leewards to round-the-cans and the possibility of reaching or downwind starts, any boat can have its day. Of course, that all depends on the wind direction, courses, currents, and wind angles- especially on the Solent. A biased upwind course versus a biased all downwind course, a notable problem on the infamous Solent.
Sailing in IRC 2 Class will be Chris Daniel’s J/122E JUNO and Stuart Sawyer’s J/122 BLACK DOG.
The IRC 3 Class will see a duel between a trio of J/112E’s, including James Chalmer’s HAPPY DAIZE, David Franks’ LEON, and Bruce Huber’s XANABOO.
The IRC 4 Class may be the province of the J/109s, like Phil Warwick’s RNSA JOLLY JACK TAR and Chris Preston’s JUBILEE. However, watch out for the sleeper in the class, Nick & Adam Munday’s J/97 INDULJENCE. For more RORC IRC National Championship sailing information
Sail Newport Regatta Preview
(Newport, RI)- Sail Newport will be hosting their annual Newport Regatta this coming weekend for a wide variety of one-design dinghy and keelboat classes. Featured amongst them will be fleets of J/24s, J/70s and J/109s; all deeply laden with world-class talent.
The nine-boat J/70 class has an incredibly diverse and talented fleet attending, including several World, North American, and Midwinter Champions in their midst from various classes (not to mention some Olympic Medallists in their crews). So, it should be an incredibly competitive event. Watch for the following crews to be a factor on the leaderboard; Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING, Glenn Darden’s HOSS, Oivind Lorentzen’s NINE, John Brim’s RIMETTE, Brian Keane’s SAVASANA, John & Molly Baxter’s TEAM VINEYARD VINES, and Mark Masur’s TWO FEATHERS.
In the half-dozen J/24 fleet are well-known characters (and World Champions) like Will Welles’ BUCKAROO, Steve Kirkpatrick’s BUCKSHOT, John Mollicone’s HELLY HANSEN, and Erica Beck Spencer’s SEA BAGS WOMEN’S SAILING TEAM. Doh! Perhaps the densest, most talented fleet of J/24s ever on a percentage basis? One wonders….
The J/109s should see incredibly close racing, considering all of them have won or were on the J/109 leaderboard in various events over the past twelve months. Those teams include John Greifzu’s GROWTH SPURT, Ted Herlihy’s GUT FEELING, Tom Sutton’s LEADING EDGE, and Bill Kneller’s VENTO SOLARE. For more Sail Newport Regatta sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni, and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* SEA BAGS Women’s Sailing Team Takes on the Big Apple!Sometimes, when least expected, an extraordinary opportunity presents itself and leads you to something grand.
Our 2019 regatta schedule was already in motion when we received news of the revival of J/24 competition in New York Harbor, June 8th and 9th, for the top amateur female sailors in the U.S. Thrilled to hear of the opportunity to race against other women’s sailing teams and compete under the watchful eyes of the Statue of Liberty, we signed up immediately despite our busy season. We knew we needed to be there to support women’s sailing. We didn’t just want to compete—we wanted to win and were really close to making that happen. In the end we brought home the second-place trophy.
The Sea Bags Women’s Sailing Team was one of twelve teams that participated in the Lady Liberty Regatta hosted by the Manhattan Yacht Club in Jersey City. The first Lady Liberty Regatta was organized in 1989. Thirty years later, the relaunched regatta brought together an amazing group of female sailors passionate about racing, including our crew Hillary Noble, Jess Harris, Erica Beck Spencer, Karen Renzulli Fallon, Barbara Gold, and Kim Calnan
Our team had never sailed in New York Harbor before but knew that the current of the Hudson River would make racing quite intense. We did our homework and studied the Eldridge report and the tide charts posted at the Stevens Institute of Technology. On Friday, we went out on the course to learn as much as we could about where to get current relief and how to use it to our advantage. We spent a ton of time on Friday practicing timed approaches to the starting line with current.
We have learned from experience that winds can shift abruptly on rivers in cities with tall buildings. At the Lady Liberty Regatta, we didn’t experience many crazy wind shifts, but we did have current shifts. The winning team would know the current the best and be able to adjust faster than everyone else, regardless of wind conditions and unpredictable boat traffic.
Another unique facet of the event was that the Manhattan Yacht Club provided J/24s we raced. All we needed to bring was a crew and our spinnaker. The shrouds and the backstay were fixed and could not be adjusted. We could adjust the traveler, but it was rigged differently than our J/24. Every boat was slightly different and had its own quirks. To make it fair for all we’d rotate after each race, so every team got to race each boat.
We started the regatta strong by winning race one by half a leg. We learned quickly to stay clear of the Staten Island Ferries crossing the Harbor. The second race was a very mentally challenging race for all of us but served as a good reminder that we needed to work hard, adjust quickly, and fight for every point. We had a hard time getting off the line with speed and the wind shifted in the middle of the race, giving us back-to-back downwind legs. The competition was close at the end of the first racing day.
We started day two with a pep talk about our team goals for the day. We focused on the positive things we did and talked about the things we all needed to improve. We started the day off with a sizable lead but were late to the start in race five. On shore before the final race we did the math; we would need to win race six and the local team in first place would need to come in fourth place in order for us to win the regatta. We led the pack and I’m very proud to say that under significant pressure, we focused on the job at hand. At the end of the regatta, we were proud to place second overall.
Racing against all female sailors is something we hope to do again and again, and we’re so grateful to the organizers of the event, and the amazing teams that came to race. We will forever remember racing in the Big Apple, surrounded by gorgeous high rises, dodging fast moving commercial vessels, navigating the tricky current patterns, and taking in the breathtaking Statue of Liberty.
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