Showing posts with label j92. Show all posts
Showing posts with label j92. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

J/Newsletter- February 24th, 2021

Jeff Adams- Morning sunrise in Newport, RI

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

Ever so slowly, the sailing world is starting to heat-up again in both hemispheres. This weekend, the USA J/24 Midwinter Championship is taking place on Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida! Thirty-plus teams are thrilled they have the opportunity to hop back aboard their stallions and ride them across the aquamarine waters of the Bay. Similarly, 3,000 miles across the continental USA, the Singlehanded Sailing Society of San Francisco Bay will be hosting 180 single and doublehanded boats in their popular Corinthian Race. 

This past week saw the epic conclusion to the increasingly popular SORC Islands in the Stream Series. The final event was the Miami to Eleuthera Race, a 443.0nm jaunt across the Gulf Stream, through the Bahamas, and down to the southern tip of Eleuthera. Wow, did they ever enjoy an epic beach party with a bonfire of the vanities, to boot!

Then, we get a report of the latest sailing from the San Francisco J/105 Fleet. They held a doublehanded race called the Valentine's Day Invitational. A fun around-the-cans event, with start and finish just off Golden Gate Yacht Club!
 
J/24s sailing Midwinters

J/24 Midwinter Championship Preview

(Miami, FL)- This coming weekend, sailing from February 26th to 28th, the USA J/24 class has organized their J/24 Midwinter Championship in Miami, Florida, with the Shake-A-Leg Foundation being their host at their amazing facility on the Miami waterfront. J/24 sailors from across the country are certainly excited about heading down to one of their favorite "watering holes" in all of Florida- Coconut Grove and its super chill downtown collection of restaurants and bars (abiding by pandemic guidelines, of course). The sailors can't wait to chuck the boat in, pop open a few "tinnies", lather up in sunscreen, put on the shades, and take a cruise around the lovely aquamarine waters of Biscayne Bay with friends.

J/24s sailing downwind
Nearly thirty J/24 teams are registered and the depth of talent is remarkable. Sailing the regatta are several past National, North American, and World Champions; such as the John Mollicone & Mike Marshall duo on AMERICAN GARAGE, Robby Brown's ANGEL OF HARLEM, the Long Island Sound brother duo of Al & Dave Constants on BLITZ, the scary smart crew on HONEYBADGER (Travis Odenbach, Patrick Wilson, Chris Stocke, and Monica Morgan), Eammon Delisser's MAIN SQUEEZE with Luke Lawrence on cockpit/ tactics, the famous Aidan Glackin on MENTAL FLOSS, Mark Pincus steering SCOUTS HONOR, Kirk Reynolds driving TYRUS, and Marcus Rogers on WIND MONKEY with Carter and Molly White providing traffic directions. No "spring chickens" amongst those boats, a lot of bragging rights in the J/24 class amongst them!  For more J/24 Midwinters event and registration information, click here to go to Yachtscoring.com and sign up!
 
J/70 sailing San Francisco Bay- photo by Pressure-drop.us

SSS Corinthians Race Preview

(San Francisco, CA)- The Singlehanded Sailing Society of San Francisco Bay is back at it again. After hosting their eponymous Three Bridge Fiasco (won overall by a J/70, if you recall), they will now be hosting one of their more revered races of the year- the Corinthians Race.  Answering that siren's call are 180 intrepid souls who are gleefully looking forward to more wind on SF Bay! It will be the first event of the season that includes the huge doublehanded contingent on the Bay.

Starting and finishing off Golden Gate Yacht Club, the 15.5nm course rounds Blackaller Buoy to starboard, Southampton Shoal red bell to port, Little Harding green buoy to port, Blossom Rock green bell to starboard, then to GGYC finish on the waterfront. Basically, the course is criss-crossing the Bay in a circumnavigation of all the tourist sites! 

So far, the weather forecast is for a sunny day starting out with a light 5-8 kts NNW breeze, swinging into the classic westerly seabreeze by noon, and increasing to 8-15 kts by late afternoon! Sounds amazing!

J/105 doublehanded offshore
Looking forward to that challenge are a raft of shorthanded J/Crews.  In PHRF C class are the doublehanded J/105s; including Adam Spiegel's JAM SESSION, Eric Patterson's KESTREL, Tom Struttmann's ARRIVED, Bruce Stone's ARBITRAGE, Phil Laby's GODOT, Charles James' ROXANNE, and Chris Kim's VUJA STAR-- wow, quite the all-star cast from the local SF J/105 fleet!

Sailing in PHRF 5 Class for singlehanded J/70s is John Brigden's COOL STORY BRO. He'll be taking on the PHRF 6 Class doublehanded J/70s that include David Fried's SON OF A SON, Scott Sellers 1FA, Pete Cameron's KANGAROO JOCKEY, Justin Foox's FLOTEK, and Tom Thayer's RAMPAGE. 

The thirteen-boat PHRF H Doublehanded Spin class looks pretty formidable. Rated at the top is Nesrin Basoz's J/111 SWITF NESS. He'll be challenging a gaggle of tough J/120 honchos, like Timo Bruck's TWIST, Barry Lewis' CHANCE, Tracy Rogers' HOKULANI, and Jeff Phillips ALCHERA. Wishing they were sailing in a different class is Ted Rogers' pretty J/100 GRACE!

PHRF 13 Class is Doublehanded Powered Winches boats, which includes Richard Leute's J/44 ACEY DEUCY. 

PHRF I Class Doublehanded Spin has thirteen boats and just one J/Crew- Tim Roche's J/92 ZAFF. Then PHRF K Doublehanded Spin of 11 boats also has a sole J/30 sailing- Jenny Thompson's FRICTION LOSS. 

The seventeen-boats PHRF L Class Doublehanded Non-Spin is also seeing a solo performance by Brian Richards' J/109 LA VIAJERA. 

The eleven-boat PHRF N Class Singlehanded Spin has Ralph Morganstem's J/30 GEODESIC up against another classic J, Chad Peddy's J/24 IRISH BLESSING.

Finally, the fourteen-boat PHRF P Class Singlehanded Non-Spin includes yet another solo performance by John Kalucki's J/109 LINDO. Fair winds and God Speed to all, hoping for a gorgeous day of sailing on the Bay!  For more SSS Corinthian Race sailing information
 
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Sailing Calendar

Feb 26- Mar 1- J/24 Midwinter Championship- Miami, FL
Mar 4-7- J/70 Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Mar 5-7- J/111 Key West Winter Series- Key West, FL
Mar 5-6- Islands Race- San Diego, CA
Mar 10-13- J/70 Bacardi Cup- Miami, FL
Mar 11-14- J/105 Midwinters- Seabrook, TX
Mar 18-21- J/22 Midwinter Championship- New Orleans, LA
Mar 19-21- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego, CA
Mar 19- NHYC Cabo Race- Newport Beach, CA
Mar 25-28- SAIL 22 J/70 Invitational- Coconut Grove, FL
Mar 26-28- St. Thomas International Regatta- St. Thomas, USVI
Mar 29- Apr 4- BVI Spring Regatta- Road Town, Tortola, BVI
Apr 2-4- St Petersburg NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg, FL
Apr 8-11- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
Apr 30- May 2- Annapolis NOOD Regatta- Annapolis, MD
Apr 30- May 2- J/111 North American Championship- Annapolis, MD
May 9-15- J/70 North American Championship- Annapolis, MD 

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

J/Teams Sweep SORC Islands in Stream Series!

J/44, J/109, & J/121 Go 1-2-3!

(Miami, FL)- The final event for the SORC's Islands in the Stream Series took place last weekend- the Miami to Eleuthera Race. The course took competitors through the heart of the Bahamas and led them to a tropical oasis- Eleuthera Island on the eastern banks.

J/44 KENAI sailing off Miami, FL
The 443.0nm race started February 17, 2021 in moderate winds with great expectations the "Weather Gods" would prove right and provide a fresh breeze nearly all the way down the course. The Eleuthera race started off of South Beach, Miami, crossed the Gulf Stream, left Great Isaac (67.5nm), Great Stirrup (75.5nm) and Eleuthera (82.0nm) to starboard, rounded the southern tip of Eleuthera (130.0nm), past the southern tip (18.0nm), and up to the finish near Powell Point (70.0nm). Thereafter, drop sails and head into the gorgeous Cape Eleuthera Resort and Marina. 

J/121 Wings sailing offshore
At the start of the final race, the overall outcome could not have been predicted by anyone. The top five contenders for the series were quite close on points between a TP 52, a 40 ft custom, and three J/Teams (J/44, J/109, and J/121).

J/109 Harm's Way sailing off Miami, FL
In the end, tremendous perseverance paid off for all three J's. Winning was Chris and Karen Lewis' J/44 KENAI, followed by Andy Wescoat's J/109 HARMS's WAY in second, and Bill Wiggins' J/121 WINGS in third position. 

J/44 KENAI winning crew
Here is the report from Chris & Karen Lewis (pictured above with crew) from their perspective on the gorgeous J/44 KENAI:

"We were thrilled to win the SORC 2020-21 Islands in the Stream Series with a 1-1-2 score line. The races were varied with light conditions for Races 2 and 3 and then a real blow for most of the Eleuthera Race that challenged all yachts. 

We won the series through sheer determination and, at times, some good decision making. For example, to get to Key West we tacked the 145% genoa 114 times and gybed the 0.5oz VMG kite 28 times. I guess that was good for the sailmakers! Although, I am amazed at how today's carbon sails stand up to offshore conditions if properly handled. 

The first leg to Eleuthera was a tight reach in moderate conditions across the Florida Straights (e.g., the fast-flowing Gulf Stream) allowing for a Code Zero to be flown off KENAI's 2.0m sprit.  We sagged below the rhumb-line with the Stream on our stern quarter. By reefing the main and reducing drag in the puffs, the boat was noticeably faster. Then, we changed to a Heavy #1 sheeted to the rail and we were able to foot up to Little Isaac over the last 20 nm with less north set current. 

From there, we were on the wind with a 200nm starboard-biased beat changing down to a #3 jib and finally the #4 jib! In both cases we had a reefed main. The seas got to be 6 to 8 ft and confused going out into the Atlantic Ocean past the northern tip of Eleuthera (Ed. note- the ocean floor goes from 10,000 ft to 50 ft. in less than 4.0nm, creating the "washing machine effect" on the eastern shore). 

We moved the #4 jib sheeting to the outboard track and saw boat speeds of up to 8.7 knots. Great for the race, but not appreciated by the off-watch crew as KENAI launched off and through the seas. Finally, we turned to a fetch down to the southern tip of the island and set the A4 spinnaker for the finish line. We knew it was tight with the TP52 on rating, but the old girl hit 13 knots with 25 knot gusts on the VMG run to the finish. We corrected out by 22 minutes in the race, with the RC selecting the ORC Predominantly Upwind Rating. 

Eleuthera Island awards
It's truly amazing that a 23,500 lb. 30-year-old design with 175 sq. m kites and an overlapping genoa has been able to be competitive with a variety of race boats in SORC under a wide range of conditions during the series. The key is knowing your boat and staying near 100% of your speed throughout the race. We do a lot of sail changes. We were also fortunate the J/121 WINGS never got to fly downwind for very long!"

J/44 KENAI and J/109 HARM's WAY at awards
The red-carpet treatment laid down by the Cape Eleuthera Resort & Marina was enthusiastically welcomed by all teams. It is truly a little paradise in the middle of the ocean. Their staff did go above and beyond to make sure the sailor's needs were all met, and then some! That included a fantastic bonfire Eleuthera Race bonfireafter the awards ceremonies and dinner to celebrate the end of the event (no worries, the wind was blowing hard offshore!)!

The resort looks west over Exuma Sound, which provides good access to the Marina. The channel into the marina is straightforward East/ West, and well lit. A summer dredging project removed the few remaining high spots and left a 12-foot controlling depth, as well as adding jetties extending from the shore.

Follow the SORC Sailing on Facebook here  For more SORC Islands in the Stream series sailing information     For the SORC Miami to Eleuthera Race results and information
 

Stone & Breault race winners

ARBITRAGE Triumphs @ J/105 Valentine's Rally

(San Francisco, CA)- As part of their on-going San Francisco J/105 Doublehanded Winter Series, the fleet got together for their first-ever J/105 Valentine's Rally on Sunday, February 14th. San Francisco Bay served up its usual challenges to the sailors, having to make decisions between wind and current on literally every leg of the course. Here's the report from Bruce Stone from aboard ARBITRAGE:

"With the typically modest mid-winter breeze out of the northeast, and our starting area in front of Golden Gate YC, the RC announced a course to the East with port roundings.  So, we re-ran our spin gear to account for that, but just ten minutes before the warning we had a shift to the WSW! So, the RC announced a last-minute call for the new course to Blackaller- just before the Golden Gate Bridge! OMG! So, us and the other crews scrambled to re-run the spin gear for the starboard rounding that would take everyone out into the flood tide! 

Given the adverse current, teams were challenged right from the start to exploit the relief along the shore and were ping-ponging off the breakwater in front of the St. Francis; normally quite easy with a full crew but a workout for double-handers!  

ARBITRAGE had a great start and, after making some gains toward the shore, decided to stretch out on port tack for the better wind just 100 yards out; it was the typical arbitrage of wind and tide...hence the name of Bruce's boat.  

ARBITRAGE won that battle and rounded clear ahead, setting the kite and reaching out to the favorable flood in the light breeze.  A long downwind to channel mark 4, passing Alcatraz to port, created passing opportunities for the trailing boats. Some went low toward Treasure Island, staying in the dying flood, while ARBITRAGE and JAM SESSION looked for better wind toward the north and took a gamble in cutting behind Alcatraz.  That approach backfired, as they were both swept up in the reverse eddy of the famous cone!

After apparently losing its lead, ARBITRAGE jibed back into fresh air and extricated themselves from the ebb in a clean spinnaker reach to the downwind mark, converging with the other boats that had stayed away from Alcatraz. 

Stone and Breault executed a Mexican drop just past the mark with the jib preset for the upwind leg and were able to round tightly and head right toward the finish at Golden Gate YC. However, our competitors were a little less fortunate, as the other teams dropped too early and struggled to round the mark in the light winds and early ebb tide.  

Everyone headed toward the city front as the flood had ended and ebb was established there. But, once again, wind pressure trumped tide and it was better to stay in the deeper water. Tom Struttmann and Joerg Esdorn on ARRIVED went too far, ran out of wind and retired!"

In the end, the J/105 Valentine's Rally was won by Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault in ARBITRAGE, followed by Justin Oberbauer in STRANGELOVE, Adam Spiegel in JAM SESSION and Bill Woodruff in RUSSIAN ROULETTE.

Next up for the J/105 doublehanders is the Singlehanded Sailing Society's Corinthian Regatta on February 27, with 150 boats competing, 7 of which are J/105s - see www.jibeset.net - and then the Pi Regatta on March 14th.
 

J/Community

What friends, alumni, and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

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J/46 offshore cruising yacht
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Bll Taylor sailing J/105

Paying it Forward to Youth Sailing- the J/105 WHISTLER story 

 Recently, SAILING Inc in Cleveland, OH had a chance to catch up with some of their good friends, The Taylor Boys from North Cape Yacht Club in La Salle, MI. Father Bill and sons Will and Ethan have been sailing mainstays on Western Lake Erie for years, and recently purchased the J/105 WHISTLER. Here is their fun interview with the Taylors.

SAILING: Describe a little of your sailing background.

I’ve had no formal sail training and youth sailing was limited to the SportYak and Katyak of Boy Scout Camp and the family summer vacations to Northern Michigan. I’ve been a power boater since my early teens. I was introduced to keelboats around 2000 on a Pearson 30 by a lifelong friend, where I moved from rail meat to the pit. 

My two sons and youth sailing formally introduced my family to competitive sailing where they excelled in the Thistle. Today, our sailing is their sailing. I’m easily the worst sailor on our boat!

We overpaid for a ragged-out boat (Thistle) and Will and Ethan began a complete refit, chiseling-out stanchions, thwart, cap, 45s all replaced by them. Senior members of the Thistle fleet, like Doug Labor, motivated and encouraged their sailing and skill development. The Thistle played a huge roll in their early development and they're still active in the Thistle fleet today.

Meanwhile, their passion for the sport grew exponentially and invitations to crew on various keel boats began flowing in. We made the family decision to purchase our first keel boat in 2014, J/24 #4240 named “Juice Box Hero”. The J/24 was an excellent learning platform for our young teenagers to earn the trust of the western basin fleets. Juice Box, sailed with an exclusively junior crew, in various ILYA (Inland Lake Yachting Association) Regattas and helped inspire the creation of the PCYC (Port Credit Yacht Club) J/24 fleet. My passion for the sport took off helping youth sailors find opportunities to sail quality equipment and seriously compete at adult levels. The support and encouragement we received from fellow club members was invaluable. 

My sailing background is directly tied to youth sailing, working on refits and restorations. The passion has been passed down from generation to generation. Those junior sailors have now grown up to be collegiate or former colligate sailors. They live, eat and breath sailing. They run our J/105 WHISTLER program!

SAILING: What kind of sailing do you do?

While we attempt to run a competitive race program, the 105 is used for everything. A sunset cruise or swim on a hot afternoon is a great way to spend the day. We race Wednesday night series, weekend local regattas and intend to jump into one-design and travel this year as well. If you asked Will, it’s PHRF, OD and ORC. If you asked Ethan, we race but I love a sunset cruise.

SAILING: What were you looking for in your next boat?

We wanted a larger race platform that was more accommodating for offshore, night and/or heavier conditions. We found ourselves in longer/larger regattas and had a great experience with the J/24. The bigger J/105 was an obvious choice. My sons researched listings, travelled to inspect, arranged surveys, purchase and transportation. WHISTLER is their program. I take pictures, pay some bills and most of the time they let me tag along (hahaha!). They launch, step, tune, paint, epoxy and repair.

SAILING: Why did you choose this boat and what do you like most about it?

We sail as often as possible and sailing with a younger crew, it's sometimes difficult to sail once or twice during the week and every weekend. The 105s asymmetrical configuration is friendlier to short-handed sailing than a symmetrical boat. The deck layout and system configurations on all J/Boats are well thought out. The boys have sailed J/24s, 29s, 30s, 70s, 88s, 92s, the 105, 109 and J/122- a lot of experience on J's! The J/105 shares some of its classic DNA with the 109 and even 122. They commonly sail on a very strong 122 program called BLITZKRIEG. In addition to shorthanded sailing, the asym configuration is a good platform for training and preparation for larger national regattas aboard the larger J/Boats while also allowing them a platform for more common doublehanded competitions.

SAILING: What particular sailing features do you like?

The boat is an absolute blast in 20 knots. The confidence and stability the boat provides is fantastic. When Lake Erie gets choppy, WHISTLER loves it. The competitive nature of the boat’s design is evident when we pushed the boat hard. We seem to find an extra half knot, but you have to push the boat hard and have the boat in great condition and a good tune to get it. Last, the deck layout is friendlier to more mature sailors like myself. Trying to keep up with these youngsters is hard enough and I’m glad the deck and cockpit configuration doesn’t beat you up.

SAILING: What is the story behind your boat name?

The boat name WHISTLER comes from the previous owner who lives in Barbados. The boat bounced back and forth annually between Barbados and Newport. Rumor has it he was directly affiliated with the famous “Whistler” ski resort. He bought a new J/121 and we got a boat that had been raced by a knowledgeable owner.

SAILING: What do you most look forward to each season on the boat?

Every off-season is busy for us. We attempt to improve our boats every off-season. It affords us a season to work on the boat and a season to race, making spring launch an event with the testing new gear, rigging and sails. The Mills Race is the biggest regatta in our area so it’s the one we look forward to it each spring. This year we are going to attempt a regatta or two in the southeast.

SAILING: What is your proudest achievement on the boat?

Will and Ethan won their first doublehanded regatta. First in PHRF-A at O’Connell Fall Bay was a blast, but the proudest achievement was winning the Club Championship at North Cape Yacht Club. Members have mentoring my boys for years and the competition is strong. Earning a club championship with a young crew and a skipper that should be competing in the junior circuit … it’s pretty rewarding.

SAILING: What is your biggest goal for the boat? Do you have any upcoming plans for this season or next?

The goal is to get the boat into top-flight competition condition. We’re looking forward to the Mill’s Race, a Bayview Mackinac Race, Cleveland Race Week, and possibly Bayview One Design Regatta. I want to keep the WHISTLER crew busy; they get better every time they leave the dock. It’s a young crew and they dream. I’d like to see if we can make a couple of those come true, whether it’s Florida, Charleston, Cleveland, Chicago, or a J/105 North Americans. We probably have some travelling in our future!!

Editor's Note: WHISTLER won the PHRF Fleet at the 2021 Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Race! Congrats team Taylor!  For more news from Sailing Inc Cleveland, OH


J/24 sailing Midwinters

Mark Pincus Chats About J/24 Midwinters

David Schmidt from Sail-World.com (https://www.sail-world.com/news/234871 ) newsletter recently had time to catch up with a stalwart of the J/24 class in Miami, Florida- Marc Pincus. Here is that interview.

"The J/24 might be venerable design, but the now 44-year-old design still draws some of sailing's best talents to its ranks. Better still, the boats are affordable, relatively easy to maintain, and transportable enough to be taken to destination venues or warm-weather locales during the cold months. One great example of this type of destination fun is this year's J/24 Midwinter Championship (February 26-28), which is being hosted by Shake-A-Leg Miami and which will be sailed on the waters of Florida's Biscayne Bay.

While J/24s may be portable-and their small crew numbers conducive to (relatively) easily creating coronavirus bubbles-the simple fact that the pandemic is still raging has forced many regattas to cancel. Fortunately for J/24 sailors, this year's Midwinters is still happening; better still, the event organizers are taking COVID precautions very seriously and have worked hard to create a safe event for all involved.

Which brings us back to the earlier point that, while now an older design, J/24s have long earned their well-deserved reputation for delivering great racing, and this year's Midwinters promises to be no exception.

J/24s sailing Midwinters
I checked in with Mark Pincus, regatta chair for the 2021 J/24 Midwinters (and fleet captain for J/24 Fleet 10 in Miami, Florida), via email, to learn more about this competitive regatta.

SW: What kind of entry numbers are you seeing this year? Also, how do these stack up to previous editions of the regatta?

MP: We are about on track from other years at 23 entries...there are several entries I know are pending, so we should see 25-30 entries on the starting line.

For this COVID environment, we're very happy to be in the normal range! There is a cap of 35 boats, and we were hoping to have to make a wait list but that's probably not going to be necessary.

SW: Weather-wise, what kind conditions can sailors expect to encounter on Biscayne Bay in late February? Also, what are the best-case and worst-case weather scenarios?

MP: Our winter season is great sailing weather typically with balmy mid-70-degree Fahrenheit temps and nice breezes.

We normally see easterly winds from NE-SE and mid-teens in velocity. If a front is coming through, then anything is possible. It's very rare to have temperatures below the 50's but in February they can happen.

With the cold fronts it depends on how strong they are and if they make it all the way south past Miami. When the fronts stall it can leave us without much wind but hopefully the doldrums we have seen this season are past and the breeze will be on for this year's J/24 Midwinters.

SW: How important do you think local knowledge will be? Also, do you expect most visiting teams to arrive early and acclimatize to conditions?

MP: Biscayne Bay is not a hard place to sail and all but maybe one of the current entries has raced here more than once before. The tides are pretty easy to understand, and there are many options for getting current real time info on conditions.

Where we will be racing, a little south in Biscayne Bay, we are removed from the few local knowledge spots near shores.

And yes, I already know of several boats that are coming early to get some practice sailing done!

SW: If you could offer one piece of advice to visiting (and local) teams, what would it be?

MP: It's different this year: BE SAFE!

Respect all the preventatives put in place to keep both sailors and hosts safe and COVID-free. The last thing we want is to have any regatta become a spreader event.

Other than that, bring plenty of water and suntan lotion!

SW: In the ideal world, how many races do you and the other organizers hope to score? Also, how many races will you run per day?

MP: We have ten races are scheduled. Hopefully, with good breezes we can run four races each on Friday and Saturday so that only two are needed on the last day.

SW: What kinds of safe-play pandemic tactics are you expecting from the racers on the water? Also, what kind of shoreside Covid precautions will the event employ?

MP: Looking at our NOR (yachtscoring.com/event_documents/13200/2021%20J24%20MWs%20NOR%20.pdf) will give an idea of all the precautions we have put in place.

Starting with requiring all participants— whether they are racing, supporting, or race committee— to provide negative rapid Covid tests that are less than 72 hours old to be at the event.

We will have temperature takers stopping all persons entering the property and issuing color-coded wrist bands after being allowed entry.

We have suspended all social functions and will prohibit gathering at the venue. If the previous regatta we ran in December is a model, then we expect the sailors to be respectful of the world we are dealing with and not be ultra-aggressive, both on the water and in the jury room!

SW: Can you tell us about any efforts that you and the other regatta organizers have made to try to lower the regatta's environmental footprint or otherwise green-up the regatta?

MP: The biggest environmental effort this year, other than the fact we are sailors who by description do not pollute the atmosphere and are usually very cognizant of keeping our waters clean, is the addition of MarkSetBot to the race course!

Although interest in these GPS battery-operated robotic race marks was already building, the onset of COVID hastened their acceptance in the sailboat racing world. They make staffing the Race Committee much less demanding, controlling the race circle super-fast and easy and require less motorized equipment on the racecourse.

SW: Anything else that you'd like to add, for the record?

MP: We look forward to seeing all of our J/24 friends here in beautiful Coconut Grove playing on our Biscayne Bay waters again in February! Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

J/Newsletter- February 3rd, 2021

sunset on San Francisco Bay

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

This past week saw several significant events taking place around nearly opposite sides of the world. Down Under, our friends in Australia are continuing to enjoy sailing their J/122s off both east and west coasts- Sydney and Perth. Their offshore racing exploits continue as they keep garnering more and more silverware for their trophy dens! Meanwhile, on the west coast of the USA, the Singlehanded Sailing Society held their version of the pandemic-influenced Three Bridge Fiasco. While not the usual 300-plus boats selecting which way to round the three bridges (clockwise or counter-clockwise), this year's version was singlehanded only. The big winner was...drum roll please....a J/70! 

In the J/Community section, we had a chance to catch up with Ryan and Maggie McKillen and interview them about their experiences sailing and racing the J/70 at the Bacardi Winter Series a fortnight ago. If you recall, skippering their own boats- SURGE and MAGATRON- they went 1-2 overall! Then, your editor pays tribute to a long-time supporter of J/Boats and sailing in general- Bob Fisher. Read on!
 
J/70s sailing off Monte Carlo, Monaco

Monaco J/70 Winter Series Act II Preview

(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- The Monaco J/70 Winter Series continues this weekend, hosted by the Yacht Club de Monaco in Monte Carlo.  Thirty teams are registered for the event with most participating from Monaco, but including enthusiastic teams from Italy, France, Switzerland, Russia, Sweden, and Netherlands. 

Look for the following teams to be in the hunt at the top of the leaderboard; Claudia Rossi's PETITE TERRIBLE- ADRIA FERRIES, Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio's G-SPOT, Roberti Stefano's PICCININA, Cesare Gabasio's TINN J70, Ludovic Fassitelli's JUNDA- BANCO DEL SEMPIONE, and Tom Studer's JERRY. The event is a schedule for three days, starting Friday and ending Sunday in Neptune's Bay. 
For more Monaco J/70 Winter Series sailing information
 
Ida Lewis Distance Race

2021 Ida Lewis Distance Race Announcement

(Newport, RI)– The 17th edition of the Ida Lewis Distance Race starts Thursday, August 19, 2021 and will keep its expanded format from last year to give competitors more options while the country continues to deal with changes brought about by the COVID 19 Pandemic. The schedule consists of:

• REGISTRATION and SKIPPERS MEETING conducted by host Ida Lewis Yacht Club on Thursday, August 19.

• TRADITIONAL OFFSHORE DISTANCE RACES (Between 112 and 169 NM) for ORC, PHRF (Aloha and Coronet divisions), ORC Double-handed and PHRF Cruising Spinnaker classes starting on Friday, August 20.

• IN BAY DISTANCE RACE (33 NM) for PHRF (Aloha and Coronet divisions), PHRF DoubleHanded and PHRF Cruising Spinnaker classes starting on Saturday, August 21.

The start for the OFFSHORE RACES will be in the East Passage of Narragansett Bay on Friday, August 20th with the first Warning Signal scheduled for 1100. The start for the IN BAY Race will be in the East Passage of Narragansett Bay on Saturday, August 21st with the first Warning Signal scheduled for 1000.

Race headquarters will be located at the Ida Lewis Yacht Club, Wellington Avenue, Newport, R.I., and manned throughout the time of the races.

The offshore portion of the Ida Lewis Distance Race has become a popular late-summer racing tradition, enjoyed by veteran offshore sailors as well as those trying the “overnight sprint” for the first time. It begins off Fort Adams and ends just inside Newport Harbor where Ida Lewis volunteers can site the finish line from their clubhouse on Lime Rock before greeting each team on the water with a congratulatory bottle of Prosecco.

Unique to the Ida Lewis Distance Race, the Race Committee considers weather forecasts to decide from among four courses that range from 112 to 169 nautical miles. The goal is to get all teams back to the dock within 18-24 hours. The courses – incorporating some of the most iconic cruising grounds in New England – are named “The Montauk”, “The Block Island”, “The Point Judith”, and “The Buzzards Bay Tower”.

Classes are for boats 28 feet or longer and include IRC, PHRF, One Design, Multihull, Double-Handed, and, new for this year, Mixed Double-Handed (to debut at the 2024 Olympics). The race also Includes Youth and Collegiate Challenge categories.

The Notice of Race has been published at https://bit.ly/3sz0ccb. For questions, contact Race Chairman Pat Kennedy, Distancerace@ilyc.org.   Sailing photo credits- Stephen R. Cloutier.   For more Ida Lewis Distance Race sailing information
 
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Sailing Calendar

Feb 4-7- Monaco J/70 Winter Series- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Feb 17- SORC Miami to Eleuthera Race- Miami, FL
Mar 4-7- J/70 Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Mar 5-7- J/111 Key West Winter Series- Key West, FL
Mar 5-8- St Maarten Heineken Regatta- Simpson Bay, Saint Maarten
Mar 10-13- J/70 Bacardi Cup- Miami, FL
Mar 19-21- J/70 Davis Island Winter Series III- Tampa, FL
Mar 19-21- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego, CA
Mar 26-28- St. Thomas International Regatta- St. Thomas, USVI
Mar 29- Apr 4- BVI Spring Regatta- Road Town, Tortola, BVI
Apr 2-4- St Petersburg NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg, FL
Apr 11-17- Les Voiles de St Barth Regatta- Gustavia, St Barthelemy 
Apr 8-11- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
Apr 24-30- Antigua Sailing Week- English Harbour, Antigua, West Indies

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
 
J/122s sailing off Australia

J/122’s Continue Offshore Domination in Australia

(Sydney, Australia)- Our friends "Down Under" have been enjoying sailing their J/122s for the past few seasons. For the 2020/ 2021 summer season from October to April, the J/122s are, yet again, throwing down the gauntlet against their fellow offshore competitors both on the eastern and western coastlines of Australia. Here's the latest report from Ray Entwistle, the J/Australia distributor.

"In Queensland on the east coast of Australia, J/122 JAVELIN skippered by Sally Crowley, won the Kingfisher Bay Night race, sailed on Moreton Bay off Brisbane.

There were 21 entries overall for the approximately six-hour race, with JAVELIN 1st in IRC class and 1st in AMS class.

Sally commented on her performance, “JAVELIN enjoyed a magnificent afternoon and evening of sailing in Race 3 of the Kingfisher Bay night series. The forecast for 10-15 kt easterlies was mostly accurate and made for a comfortable race.

Following a bit if excitement at the start, we set off on a work around the bottom of Mud Island and across to the Moreton Island Sandhills yellow buoy. We rounded in the leading group, then settled in for the 14.0 nm run to North Reef, off Scarborough. Without the favored kite for the conditions (blown during the last race) we couldn’t run the angles we would have liked and gave away some time to the symmetrical boats, but "ciest'la'vie".

A lovely sunset accompanied us heading south to Brisbane Rhodes and a spectacular moonrise welcomed us around the Coffee Pots and back to the start/finish.

Thanks as always to the race control volunteers for allowing us to compete in this wonderful series.“

The series consists of four afternoon/evening passage races, designed to be reasonably challenging and are a lead up to the Brisbane to Gladstone race. They are held each month from October through to February and sponsored by Kingfisher Bay Resort, Fraser Island, Queensland (Qld). Organized by Wynnum Manly Sailing Club with support of Royal Qld Yacht Club, Qld Cruising Yacht Club and Moreton Bay Boat Club. 

J/122 JOSS winners
Meanwhile, over on the west coast in Perth, the J/122 JOSS is continuing her impeccable race record.

Saturday was Ocean Racing WA’s (ORWA) first race in the New Year, organized by Hillarys Yacht Club, the 41.0 nm “Pot of Gold” from Fremantle around Rottnest Island and finish at Hillarys.  

After 5.5 hours of racing JOSS was 1st Division 1 IRC against a great fleet of 40 footers; the King 40 “Checkmate” was 2nd, Farr 395 “Giddy Up” 3rd, and the J/122 LITHIUM was 4th (LITHIUM also won on PHS Handicap).

The sail back to Fremantle on Sunday was a Hillarys Yacht Club event. While a smaller fleet, JOSS was 1st IRC combined fleet & took line honours after a great duel with “Alfresco” (a Bakewell 39 pure racing boat) and “Surfer Rosa” (a Pogo 12.50).  For more J/122 offshore cruiser racer sailing information
 
J/70 Scott Sellers winning Three Bridge Fiasco

J/70 Crushes Three Bridge Fiasco!

(San Francisco, CA)- The annual Singlehanded Sailing Society Three Bridge Fiasco Race- Pandemic Edition, returned to its roots over the weekend. Because of California Covid-19 guidelines, this year's edition was open only to singlehanded competitors. The reason being, the SSS board members decided a smaller regatta would be better than no regatta. If you have been paying attention over the years, the races usually draw well north of 300 entries, with the vast majority as doublehanded entries.

J/105 sailing Three Bridge Fiasco
Originally conceived for singlehanded sailors, the numbers of those percentage wise has been dwindling over the years and the SSS thought 125 entries would be more than enough. Boy were they wrong! After the announcement of open entries, the regatta sold out in a big hurry and had a lengthy standby list!

With a series of storms hitting San Francisco Bay in the week prior, the forecast for Saturday improved. Ultimately, sunrise dawned on Saturday, the conditions were glorious, with a sun cloud mix, a nice flood and gentle south westerly to get things going! 

Three Bridge race courseUltimately, the fleet split, as they are likened to do, and optimism ran high. Things would get warmer and sunnier and, well a little less windy and ghosting was an understatement for a while! But as you will see, good things come to those who wait, and indeed they did!

In the end, several J/singlehanders had an amazing day. Winning the whole enchilada was Scott Sellers, sailing his J/70 IFA to a 1st to finish monohull victory, as well as Class 10 Sportboat Division win with a 15:37:21 elapsed time! In Class 1 Non-Spin PHRF, Tom Struttmann's J/105 ARRIVED took 5th place. In Class 5 Spin, Adam Spiegel's J/105 JAM SESSION took 6th, Tim Roche's J/92 ZAFF was 8th, Jim Hopp's J/88 WHITE SHADOW finished 10th, and Eric Patterson's J/105 KESTREL crossed 12th. In Class 9 Spin, we find Alex Alderkamp's J/24 BLUE JAY take 3rd on the podium! Finally, in the novel Class 16 "Power-assisted" fleet, it was Ben Mercer's J/100 EIGHT BALL winning class!

J/88 sailing Three Bridge Fiasco
We asked Scott Sellers, the winning skipper on his J/70 1FA, to provide some color commentary on how he managed to pull off his most excellent performance. Here is his report:

"The Three Bridge Fiasco held in late January is the largest sailboat race on San Francisco Bay every year with over 300 doublehanded and singlehanded entries.  The 21.0 nm pursuit race allows competitors the choice to round the 3 bridges in any order they want. First boat to finish wins.

J/70 1FA sailing San Francisco BayDue to COVID restrictions in California, entries were limited to singlehanded this year and capped at 125 boats. I have done the race numerous times doublehanded on my J/70 1FA, but this would be my first time attempting to race the J/70 singlehanded.  I rigged up some bungee cords to the tiller that I could control while launching the spinnaker up front that worked pretty well.

Based on the wind and tide conditions, I chose a counterclockwise course of Bay Bridge, Richmond Bridge and then Golden Gate Bridge.  By the time I got to the Richmond Bridge, I had passed all the smaller boats that started earlier including a gaggle of Moore 24s and Express 27s. I was briefly passed by a Wylie 39 on the beat to the Golden Gate but passed them back on the run to the finish to win the 100-boat monohull division. In the light to moderate conditions that we had, the J/70 was an easy boat to singlehand upwind and downwind!"

Thanks to Presure-drop.us and Scott for the sailing photos and stories.  Pressuredrop.us Sailing photo & story contributions   Sailing photo credits- "Slackwater" on Flickr
 

J/Community

What friends, alumni, and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

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J/70 McKillen family sailing off Miami, FL

McKillen Family J/70 Interview

We had an opportunity to speak with the Bacardi J/70 Winter Series II regatta winners- Ryan and Maggie McKillen. Here is their interview with Stu Johnstone, J/Newsletter publisher/ editor.

STU: For starters, congratulations on your 1-2 finish last weekend in the J/70 Bacardi Winter Series! I believe that's the first time in the history of yachting that a husband/wife took the top two spots, steering their own boats, in a major one-design class international event! That's cool! Ryan, your SURGE team had a 1-5-4 and, Maggie, your MAGATRON had an 8-2-1. Please tell us how that took place? 

RYAN: Well, that was not an easy regatta for anyone, including us. My team of John Wallace, Lucas Calabrese, and Sam Loughborough did a great job! They got me off the line and into good lanes. For the most part, the left paid off for the one and only day we sailed on Saturday. We won the first race, so we sailed the next two smart and conservative, covered boats when we needed to and didn’t seek too much leverage. 

The last race was hard for us. The start saw us lose our Vakaros GPS unit, lost our pings, lost the start clock. It just so happened Maggie's MAGATRON team was next to us near the boat end. We yelled over to give us the time...no such luck, right?  For too long they said nothing, then we got chirpy and they gave us a 20 count. We managed a great start, closed the lane on Maggie (sorry, honey), and took off. I'll let Maggie explain what she did (he says laughing)!

MAGGIE: Well, we had a fun regatta.  Amazing fleet, great sailors, lots of depth and talent. Wow, still amazed we accomplished what we did. My crew of Orrin Starr, Brian Kamilar, and Jareese Finch are awesome! I owe everything to them! We were thrilled to get a second in our second race! But, the last race was sooo exciting; winning a race in that fleet with all those World Champions?! Never thought that would happen! 

So, thanks to my husband, we had no lane at the start of the last race! We hung in there seeking height on starboard as long as we could, then tacked away and cross a few boats. After a minute, we tacked back onto starboard. Then, we saw more wind coming in right. We were so excited. Brian was trying to keep me calm and focused. The wind kept going further right, we rounded the first weather with a big lead! We kept our composure, thank goodness, and stretched our lead. What an amazing way to end the regatta.

Ryan McKillen J/70 SURGE
STU: Where did you first learn how to sail?

RYAN: I guess it all began when I was living and working in San Francisco and could see lots of little white triangles sailing all over the Bay. As a software engineer cooped up inside an office building with a window on the Bay, it makes you dream wistfully of doing it yourself. The Bay is such a beautiful place to sail. 

So, back in 2015 I did some research and decided to take the ASA (American Sailing Association) basic keelboat course. I then took the cruising course and got certified to charter boats. I was so excited I could do that. I chartered a Catalina 37 and brought along several friends. Needless to say, that didn't go so well. As an inexperienced Bay sailor, on a windy day, things can get crazy quickly. We made it to Alcatraz and turned around as quickly as possible to get back. I think my friends were so terrified, they'll never set foot on a boat again.

Ryan and Maggie McKillen sailing J/70sMAGGIE: (giggling) oohh, that's easy. I was not a sailor when I met Ryan. When we started dating in 2018, I loved going to the places where he was racing his J/70. Biscayne Bay is gorgeous in the winter, pretty water, nice weather, it’s nice to be outside. So, I jumped on the chase boat and watched the racing, intrigued to listen to the play-by-play from the coach- Tony Rey.  

Every bone in my body is competitive, so competitive racing fascinated me. I love playing tennis and love to run. As an adult, I could see sailing is for anyone, any age, any experience. So, poor Tony was getting peppered with a million questions as we watched Ryan sail around the course. 

Then, when Ryan and I were in Charleston in summer 2020 for a wedding, a friend asked, "what's she doing on the chase boat?" A couple of guys, friends, persuaded me to try it. But, I had to learn how to sail first! Ryan and Tony got a hold of Brian Kamilar, a great college sailor, local pro, who also coaches high school sailing in Miami. I took 6 or 7 lessons with Brian, he treated me like his high school students, starting from scratch and teaching all the basics.

Maggie and Ryan McKillen sailing J/70sSTU: How did you get into racing J/70's?

RYAN: After moving back east, I ended up in Miami, FL and Newport, RI. In 2017, I started to do research on a daysailer to have in Miami and bring it to Newport in the summers. I decided to get an E-33, designed by Robbie Doyle, and built by Lyman-Morse in Maine. I called Robbie and spoke to him about the boat and my relative lack of experience in sailing.

Robbie then exclaimed to me, "if you wanna learn how to sail, you gotta race!" I laughed and wondered if he was really being serious. Robbie then said, "why don't you come sail with us on PROTEUS, a Maxi 72. Next month we are going to Antigua to do the RORC Caribbean 600 Race".  Not knowing what a maxi boat or the 600 was, how could I not take up the opportunity?  Off I went, eyes wide-open, not knowing what to expect next. The 600nm tour around thirteen Caribbean islands was amazing, well before it was time to turn up around Saba and having blown up most of the sails and fried the electronics in a storm, we decided to retire. I’ll never forget how calm the pros on the boat were in the midst of so much chaos. That's what led to meeting Mark Mendelblatt, tactician on PROTEUS. We hit it off as friends and spoke about how to sail better. He suggested I get into the J/70 class, citing it was an easy boat to learn, get up to speed, had great talent, and was a fun fleet to sail in. So, I bought Jud Smith's World Champion boat called AFRICA- USA 179. 

My first regatta was three years ago- Sail Newport 2018. Mark sailed with me and he recruited John Wallace as our trimmer- another All-American college sailor. After a year of sailing, John suggested we get a coach to help improve our game; Tony Rey from Newport got involved and our learning curve remained steep. Then, my buddy Sam Loughborough, who I first got to know at the Proteus crew house, asked to join the boat. We are now sailing with Lucas Calabrese as tactician, an Argentinean Olympic Silver Medalist in the 470 class. 

Last year I got a Laser to better learn "balance" and the dynamics of sailing a dinghy, learning how to steer with feel, trim my own main and keep the boat fast downwind. The reasoning was simple, top dinghy and Laser sailors are fast helmsman on keelboats, because you become more sensitive to how a boat moves in waves.

Well, I am learning how to handle a boat better and better! With the Laser, I've been swimming a lot in Biscayne Bay (he says laughing)! I specialize in "death rolls".  But, I am improving, thank God the water's warm! 

MAGGIE: As I was saying earlier, a few friends, Ryan, and others persuaded me to try racing J/70s. For the same reasons explained to Ryan...easy and simple to sail. We convinced Brian to sail with me because Ryan was always impressed with his results on the race course. He's been great, he had been sailing with Henry Brauer on his J/70 RASCAL.

So far, I've had about 35 days on the water sailing J/70s! I love it. I love to be competitive with my husband and new friends we've found in the class. I've been waiting for something like this to come into my life!

J/70 Magatron chilling
STU: Do you sail for fun? Daysailing or cruising? Favorite places?

RYAN: Yes, that's how I started. After the ASA learn to sail and charter courses, I got the bug. Notwithstanding my charter experience on San Francisco Bay (haha), I wanted to have a boat to go daysailing. That's why I bought an E-33. It’s been a fun couple of years. First launched in San Francisco, then in Miami last season. She’s having a few upgrades performed now in Maine, but next spring Maggie and I will sail her to a new home in Newport! We’re excited to see the amazing coastline of Maine!

STU: What are your future plans for sailing?  

RYAN: We are having fun sailing the J/70 class.  Good people, great competition, and you can race them all over America and Europe. We look forward to those experiences. Now, we are campaigning for this year's J/70 Worlds in L.A.  I also just got an M32 catamaran, my next experience sailing in Newport this summer!

MAGGIE: I'm looking forward to as much racing as I can get in, daysailing and local events in Newport! As for J/70s, we're currently planning on sailing at Davis Island, Charleston, and Annapolis this spring. As for the future, it will be about a balance between family and sailing and kids. We're looking forward to exploring more experiences in sailing for sure!


Bob Fisher sailing J/105

A Tribute for dear friend Bob "the Fish" Fisher

Your publisher/ editor of J/News has known "Fish" since 1981, sailing together in the SORC that year on a J/36 called BLUE BAYOU. Decades later, we sailed again on J/105s in the Master's Regatta in both San Francisco and San Diego, CA. Since the inception of the J/24 in the United Kingdom, Fish was always a big fan and supporter of J/Boats; having raced one himself out of Royal Lymington YC. Here are some funny, happy memories of his lasting legacy in yachting.

Like many others in the sailing world that have been touched by "Fish's" passion and enthusiasm for the sport of sailing, I'm sad to see him go. So many fun, happy memories of sailing with him and enjoying a beverage or two at famous watering holes around the world. Perhaps, the most hilarious one being the "Silver Cloud" karaoke bar on Lombard St. in San Francisco (http://silvercloudsf.com/)! It was Fish's self-declared favorite bar ever! No question, mutual friend Phil Lawrence can attest to those fun times!

J/36 Blue BayouI first met Fish in 1981. The owner of the J/36 BLUE BAYOU (Dick Johnson from the US Virgin Islands) wanted to race his boat in the 1981 SORC (Southern Ocean Racing Circuit). The ring leader was another character- Mark Ploch from Clearwater, FL. Mark helped organize the team and managed to convince both Bob Fisher and Tim Jeffery (cub reporter at the time and much later Chief Communications Director for Larry Ellison's ORACLE USA America's Cup program) to not only crew but provide race-by-race updates of our exploits as well as the other famous offshore racing yachts of the time (all IOR boats). Both Fish and Tim had never sailed the famous SORC offshore series before, so it took them little convincing to make the trip!

There were several memorable moments in that 1981 SORC series.  

The first was having Bob and Tim as roommates at the local seedy hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida. Imagine this picture for a moment, waking up at 5:00am in the morning, both Bob and Tim would get up with t-shirts and underwear on (yes, true story), get onto their Radio Shack TRS-80 pocket computers (see below), hook up the modem to the telephone line, and send their stories back to Yachts & Yachting editors and various British newspapers. Hilarious! Young Stu J. (23 yrs old) at the time gave them endless grief for the whole process. It may have helped that we all had few too many at the famous St Petersburg YC bar the night before; that was when I first learned about Fish's penchant for regaling all within earshot of all kinds of crazy stories that had most everyone dying with laughter!

Radio Shack TRS-80 pocket computer
The second and third most epic events took place as the result of one race- the epic St Petersburg to Fort Lauderdale Race. Just 465.0 nm down around the bottom of the Florida Keys, leaving the Rebecca Shoals buoy to port, then head north with the fast-flowing Gulf Stream to the finish off the Ft. Lauderdale sea buoy. 

So, the day dawned with a gorgeous bright sunny day with the Southwest wind blowing a solid 15-20 kts for the start. The wave pattern was truly bizarre, as it can be on Tampa Bay; it was a very steep 2-3 foot "chop" that made our 36-footer bounce around like a cork...a bad thing for weak stomachs or hungover sailors. The first casualty, amazingly enough, was Mark Ploch...running back to the stern rail to leeward and losing his breakfast.  Not long after it was Fish's turn. Then Tim, and the rest of the crew; except me, the lone survivor of the entire crew. That would work against me later. 

After a bit of clean-up, off to starting line. Mark was on the helm, we took off on port tack at the start, fetching the Egmont Key sea buoy, our first left turn on the race track. By the time we got there, the strong Southwester was starting to die off, as predicted by NOAA at the time. The forecast was for a very strong, classic cold front to drop across the Gulf of Mexico with northwesterly breezes starting at 15 to 25 kts, then building! Ouch! Sure enough, while fetching Rebecca Shoals buoy about 40.0nm out, it's pitch black, the wind swung around quickly before the front.
 
J/36 Blue Bayou
We dropped the headsail, quickly put up the 1.5 oz heavy spinnaker, and took off on starboard gybe, hitting 10-13 kts constantly. Just before we got to Rebecca Shoals buoy, lightning bolts blazing across the skies behind us, we could see (even at night) another line of breeze headed towards us from the northwest (thanks to all that lightning). Mark and I looked at each other wondering what would happen next. We decided to gybe earlier than we expected, pulling it off without too much trouble in 25 kts of breeze (remember, these were end-to-end pole gybes using lazy guys, flying the spinnaker off the sheets). Then, the s**t hit the fan. The first puff hit around 30 kts, taking us flying past Rebecca around 15-16 kts boatspeed. Halfway down the 12.0 nm leg before we turned left for Lauderdale, the next puff hit around 40 kts. The J/36 just about lifted out of the water-- I think we topped 21.6 kts. At that point, Mark and I felt that was enough stress on everyone. Using the lazy guy to leeward, we did a simultaneous blow the guy to port, winch in the lazy guy to pull the spinnaker behind the main and blow the first 20 feet of the halyard. Thankfully, it worked. 

Next up was putting up a #4 jib. That took place without too much trouble. Though it took a few minutes, it probably didn't matter since we were planing under main alone. Then, it was up the Keys on a port tack reach, slowly edging out into the northerly-flowing Gulf Stream. 

J/36 sailing offshoreBy early morning, as the sun rose off to the East over the Bahamas, the conditions were horrific. With such a fast-moving front, the breeze was due north by the time we got into the heart of the Gulf Stream. Waves were steep and breaking, often up to 12 ft high, with no backs behind them, just a cliff. So, steering proved to be quite a challenge to avoid launching the boat going upwind in 25-35 kts, gusting 40, reefed main and #4 jib flying. 

Around 10:00 am, our electronics and Loran GPS went out. Not good! We had to start the engine to charge the batteries. Click, click, click. Nothing happened. Mark and I spoke and we realized we had an air lock in the fuel flow. Ouch. That was no easy fix. In short, Mark "volunteered" me to help bleed the system in the bowels of the boat to get fuel flow (everyone else was still battling fatigue from early sea sickness). So, unhooking the hose from the engine, and sucking diesel into the hose to ensure we had fuel flow, spitting it out into a bucket. Then, flipping the valves on the diesel, and thankfully firing that damn diesel engine to work. Needless to say, we made it to Lauderdale in one piece. And, the party that ensued in Lauderdale, later in Miami, and later again in Nassau, Bahamas was even better. We all survived to tell the story. Trust me, Fish and Tim never forgot that experience.

Later in life, I didn't run into Fish again until I went over to the UK and Europe to start J/Boats Europe in 1990. The first person I called for advice was Fish, of course. Because of him, I ended up in Lymington, Hampshire. For those "in the know", Lymington is a sleepy little town on the western end of the Solent that is home to many of the UK's leading sailors. The most amusing part of that experience was having Fish sail with me on my J/44 J/HAWK on evening "beer-can races" off the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. As he often reminded me, our near-shore mark roundings were often an exercise in "plowing" through the mud/silt in order to continue the race...or, sometimes not!

A decade+plus later, I saw Fish and friends in Valencia for the America's Cup. I was there for three weeks. Fun and games as always, after "work" (if you could call it that), going to their favorite pub just off the traffic circle near the bases with characters like Peter Montgomery (New Zealand), Tim Jeffery (then ORACLE Communications Director), and Angus Phillips from the Washington Post. 

J/105s sailing off San Diego, CA
After getting back to the USA, it wasn't until the summer of 2007 when I get an email from Fish asking if I'd participate with him and friend Phil Lawrence, sailing the International Masters Regatta on J/105s, hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club. That was a no brainer, the answer was "yes", of course. To make a long-story short, we had a fantastic time. Perhaps the most entertaining part was a nightly swing by what became our favorite watering-hole, the famous karaoke bar called "Silver Cloud" on Lombard St. We sailed together again in 2008. Thereafter, the world economy tanked in 2009-2010, so the Master's regatta was canceled.

Working with its founder, Don Trask, the San Diego YC offered to restart the event in the sunny, warm, friendly waters of southern California. After all, San Diego is the favorite retirement community for the "old guard" of the US Navy- plenty of Admiral-level types in the neighborhood. The idea was enthusiastically received with the support of St. Francis YC themselves. 

J/105 skippered by Bob Fisher
Sure enough, I got another invitation from Fish in 2013 to sail and rub elbows with some of the world's sailing glitterati. Fish was in his element, of course, relishing the chance to see dozens of his friends he'd written about for years- like Dennis Conner, Don Trask, Vince Brun, etc. 

We sailed together for three straight years from 2013 to 2015, each regatta presenting its unique challenges and chances to catch up with sailing friends from around the world.  

Bob Fisher's J/105 crew
Bob's crew- L-R: Brent Draney, Stu Johnstone, Julia Johnstone, Fish, Phil Lawrence

Again, sitting on the wide-open decks of San Diego YC in the evening, Fish reflected for a moment, "you know, I've sailed a lot of regattas. But, this one has to be the most fun I've ever had. Great people, great club, great crew!" We toast and clink glasses to yet another day of fun with the Fish doing what he loved best, sailing with friends and enjoying the moment. That's what he loved to do most.

J/105 Masters Regatta skippers
2014 participants- L-R: Chuck Nichols, Augie Diaz, Jon Andron, Dennis Durgan, Jon Wright, Tom Ehman, Gary Jobson, Bob Fisher, Dick Enersen, Don Martin, Don Trask, Bob Munro.

When Fish was sailing the Masters, his competitors read like a "who's who" of yacht racing, many of whom were subjects of Fish's columns over time in the British yachting press. Those sailors included Hans Fogh, Don Trask, Ron Holland, Rod Johnstone, David Irish, Stan & Sally Honey, Augie Diaz, Gary Jobson, Tom Ehman, Dick Enersen, Malin Burnham, John Kilroy, Bill Menninger, Doug Rastello, Dick Tillman, Robert Mosbacher, and John Jennings, just to name a few.

We will miss Fish, to be sure. But, his infectious, enthusiastic fun-loving spirit is imbued in all of us. That was his special gift to all that enjoyed his friendship. Sail on my friend, see you someday soon.

Sailing photo credits Bronny Daniels/ Cynthia Sinclair  Donations in Bob Fisher’s memory are welcomed to the Sir Thomas Lipton Foundation.  Messages are welcome on Bob Fisher’s Facebook page
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Wednesday, January 20, 2021

J/Newsletter- January 20th, 2021

sunset sailing on the Solent
In the past week or so, a lot of progress has been made on J/Boats two latest projects- the introduction of the new J/9 daysailer being made in the USA (Bristol, RI) and the new J/45 offshore cruising yacht being made in France (Les Sables d'Olonne). Below are highlights of that progress for both boats. Interest in them has been very strong and the building teams are looking forward to their inaugural test sails in late spring.

The past week also saw two very exciting events take place. For starters, the J/111 Class returned to Key West, Florida and they enjoyed a nice weekend of sailing in the tropical paradise.  Simultaneously, over in Europe, the Yacht Club de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco hosted the second act of the Monaco J/70 Winter Series.

Finally, in the J/Community section we got a great report from good friend Hank Stuart about sailing his J/35c BLUE KNIGHT on Lake Ontario this past summer. And, sadly, we got news of another good friend- Ding Schoonmaker- of his recent passing…see the tributes below.

 
J/9 daysailer hull mold

J/9 Progress Update

(Newport, RI)- The J/9 hull mold was recently completed at CCF Composites and is now being waxed in preparation for the molding of hull #1 next week. In the picture, the contrasting boot stripe can be seen as well as the insert for the rudder post/bearing. The hull stripe is 100% flush with the hull surface so that the finished molded boot-stripe will also be flush with no marks visible. A separate transom mold fits on the back of the hull mold and is precisely aligned with 6 round keyways.

J/9 deck plug

Deck Plug Update

Symmetrix Composite Tooling recently applied a custom-mixed nonskid to all the horizontal surfaces of the J/9 deck and cockpit. Four different nonskid samples were tooled up, with molds taken from each and subsequent parts molded and tested, before the winner was selected. Symmetrix is now adding the final finishing touches to the deck plug before it is transported to CCF later this week. 

J/9 Specification Update

With the North American sailboat market recently importing more new sailboats than building domestically, we set out to reverse that trend with the J/9. Most of the content and key J/9 components are being supplied and supported by North American companies with extensive J/Boats experience.

Composite Materials

Quality composite construction starts with high-quality composite materials. The J/9 composites are sourced through Composites One, the largest North American distributor, whose regional office/warehouse is nearby in Bristol, Rhode Island. The fiberglass used in molding the J/9 is manufactured by Vectorply in Phenix City, Alabama. The Corecell core is produced by Gurit in Quebec, and the resins are made by AOC Resins from their facilities in Tennessee and Ontario.

J/9 keel profile

J/9 Keel

A key contributor to J/9’s exceptional stability is the all-lead, L-shaped, low VCG (vertical center-of-gravity) keel featuring a foil-shaped, wedge bulb that increases stability (vs. conventional keels) without increasing draft. The modest 4.9’ draft allows the J/9 to sail in most areas, and an optional 3.9’ shoal keel is available for even skinnier water access. The J/9 keels are being produced at Broomfield & Son in Rhode Island.

J/9 sailplan

Jib Furling System

The J/9 design philosophy of keeping things simple is carried through to the sailing hardware and systems. In-deck jib furlers might look great, but for less weight, less cost, easier maintenance and much less friction, nothing beats a high quality above-deck furler like the Mark IV Unit 0 from Harken, Inc. of Pewaukee, WI.

J/9 Spar Package

After carefully considering several spar options, Sparcraft USA (Charlotte, NC) was chosen to supply the J/9’s spar package. The Sparcraft extrusions (mast and boom sections) match the J/9’s performance profile, and the company’s ability to anodize and powder coat the spars provides the most durable painted finish available.  For more J/9 Daysailer information
 
J/45 hull demolding

J/45 Cruising Yacht Just Hatched!

(Les Sables d'Olonne, France)- This past week, the team at J/Composites in Les Sables d'Olonne, France is proud to present the first hull "out-of-the-box" of the brand-new J/45 offshore cruising yacht.  

Designed to be a comfortable offshore greyhound, the J/45 design is reminiscent of the remarkable heritage of J/Boats offshore cruising yachts of the past, such as the J/145, J/160, and J/65. Clean, crisp lines, fine entry, forgiving hull shape, and flat exit off the stern quarters all point to a cruising yacht that will reel-off the miles offshore, wherever the heart desires. 

J/45 offshore cruising yacht transom
Fulfill that dream, escape to world's unknown. As Sarah Frances Brown once said, "twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover!"  Learn more about the new J/45 offshore cruising yacht here
 
J/70s sailing Biscayne Bay off Miami, FL

J/70 Bacardi Winter Series II Preview

Miami, FL- Hosted principally by the Bacardi Event management team and Shake-A-Leg Miami's beautiful facilities in Coconut Grove (Miami), Florida, the second of the three event Bacardi Winter Series will be taking place this weekend from January 22nd to 24th, 2021.  

The forecast continues to improve for the weekend for the twenty J/70 teams that are entered from around the world. There are teams from Germany, Brazil, Cayman Islands, and USA. 

The first regatta in mid-December was nearly washed out due to no wind...a single, very marginal, race was held for the highly competitive fleet.  No question, everyone is looking forward to the classic breezes from the southeast that Biscayne Bay is famous for this coming weekend.  

By J/70 standards, the small fleet is deeply laden with talent across the board, counting well over two-dozen World Champions in various classes amongst them. Some teams that may be at the top of the leaderboard include Joel Ronning's CATAPULT (with Erik Shampain & Morgan Reeser on speed/tactics), Germany's Mike Illbruck on PINTA (including famous tactician John Kostecki), Peter Cunningham's POWERPLAY from the Cayman Islands, John Brim's RIMETTE (with Zeke Horowitz on tactics), Pam Rose's ROSEBUD (with Bill Hardesty on tactics), Steve Benjamin's SAINT (with 2 World Champion tacticians aboard- Al Terhune & Chris Larson), Ryan McKillen's SURGE (with Lucas Calabrese & John Wallace on speed/ tactics), Dave Janetti's VERY ODD (with Travis Odenbach on tactics), Buddy Cribb's VICTORY (with Greiner Hobbs & Malcolm Lamphere on speed/tactics), and Doug Newhouse's YONDER (with Jeremy Wilmot & Tomas Dietrich on speed/ tactics). That is a breath-taking collection of smart, fast sailors on those teams.  For more Bacardi Winter Series II sailing information
 
J/92 sailing Key West Race

Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race Started!

(Fort Lauderdale, FL)- The third event of the 2020-21 SORC Islands in the Stream Series, the 2021 Lauderdale to Key West Race, got underway today with a slow, light winds forecast for the 155 nm course. The 31 entrants are competing in four ORC divisions, PHRF, and Multihull. The four J/Crews are making tracks down the Florida Keys, right-turn signal blinking the entire way! 

You can watch their progress with the Kattack Tracker, click here and cheer on your buddies

Want to watch the weather in Key West and wish you were there? Check out the Key West Harbor webcam here   Follow the race here on the SORC Sailing Facebook page   For more Key West Race sailing information
 
J/Duffels for sale

January Special for a J/Duffel!

(Newport, RI)- Ronstan has been in the performance sailing business for years and they have designed a quality duffel that is perfect for racing or cruising. Ample space in the 24"x12"x12" dimension with wide grip carry strap. Inside wet pouch keeps the dry clothes separate. Rugged stitching and large top loading flap. Embroider with your class logo, boat name, and sail number.  We are offering a 21% discount for the month of January! Click here to order now!
 

Sailing Calendar

Jan 21- STC Lauderdale to Key West Race- Fort Lauderdale, FL
Jan 22-24- J/70 Bacardi Winter Series II- Miami, FL
Feb 4-7- Monaco J/70 Winter Series- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Feb 17- SORC Miami to Eleuthera Race- Miami, FL
Mar 4-7- J/70 Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Mar 5-7- J/111 Key West Winter Series- Key West, FL
Mar 5-8- St Maarten Heineken Regatta- Simpson Bay, Saint Maarten
Mar 10-13- J/70 Bacardi Cup- Miami, FL
Mar 19-21- J/70 Davis Island Winter Series III- Tampa, FL
Mar 19-21- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego, CA
Mar 26-28- St. Thomas International Regatta- St. Thomas, USVI
Mar 29- Apr 4- BVI Spring Regatta- Road Town, Tortola, BVI
Apr 2-4- St Petersburg NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg, FL
Apr 11-17- Les Voiles de St Barth Regatta- Gustavia, St Barthelemy 
Apr 8-11- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
Apr 24-30- Antigua Sailing Week- English Harbour, Antigua, West Indies

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
 
J/111s sailing off Key West, FL

RAMROD Takes J/111 Key West Winter Series I

(Key West, Florida)- The inaugural 2021 Key West Winter Series took place January 16-18 off Key West, Florida. Thanks to the efforts of Ryan and Rob Ruhlman and the entire team at SAILING INC (with J/Dealerships in Ohio and South Carolina) for pulling this together. 

J/111 winter series off Key West, FL
The five-boat fleet were chomping on their bits and could not wait to get back down to Key West and do some sailing in the gorgeous aquamarine waters and mild 70's temperatures with plenty of sun! They were not disappointed, as Key West delivered on some great sailing in the race course area just 2.0 miles southwest of Key West Harbor. 

After a thrilling, fun-filled three days of racing offshore, the regatta PRO Mark Foster managed to run a tight series of races, completing eight races by Sunday afternoon. 

J/111 Ramrod sailing Key West Winter Series
A well-known Chesapeake Bay sailor who has several offshore and World Championship titles to his name managed to win in his inaugural debut in the J/111 class. Rod Jabin's crew on RAMROD took the first J/111 Key West Winter Series event with the stunning record of three 1sts, four 2nds, and a 4th for total of 15 pts. While the RAMROD crew mastered their boat and the conditions, showing their transom to the fleet most of the time, behind them it was anything but clear which teams would make the podium. Sailing perhaps one of their best regattas in recent years was Andy and Sedge Ward's BRAVO posting five races in the top three and winning the last race to cement their hold on the silver. Finishing just four points behind them was another Chesapeake Bay team on Marty Roesch's VELOCITY, posting six races in the top three to take the bronze. 

The next regatta in Key West will be sailed on March 5th to 7th, 2021. 

Follow the J/111 class on Facebook here   For more information regards Key West Winter J/111 Series, presented by SAILING INC 

 
J/70s sailing off Monte Carlo, Monaco

PETITE TERRIBLE- ADRIA FERRIES Wins J/70 Monaco Winter Series Act I

(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- For the start of its eighth season, the Monaco J/70 Winter Series had twenty-one teams participating from Monaco, Switzerland, Italy, and France! As usual, the Yacht Club de Monaco rolled out the red carpet for the happy and enthusiastic J/70 teams, hosting a wonderful event despite all of the precautions put in place for Covid virus mitigation. 

Like their compatriots in the USA, the Mediterranean Sea also delivered relatively light weather for the duration of the three-day series. In the end, the YC Monaco PRO managed complete a five-race series.

J/70s sailing off Monte Carlo, Monaco
The fleet was deeply talented, including the past three-time European J/70 Champion- Italian Claudia Rossi's famous PETITE TERRIBLE- ADRIA FERRIES. Hopping aboard her boat with her familiar crew must have sent chills down the spines of the other top tacticians and skippers. Not surprisingly, it was pretty clear after the first day that Claudia had not lost her form, taking a 1-2 to easily lead the fleet. Thereafter, she posted a 1-7-5 to win the regatta with just 9 pts.  

Swiss sailor, Thomas Studer, started off slowly on the first day, then quickly made the necessary adjustments with his crew to sail smarter and faster the rest of the regatta. Studer's JERRY posted a 6-8-2-2-1 tally for a total of 11 net pts, nearly catching Rossi's PETITE TERRIBLE in the end. Sailing consistently from start to finish with all top 6 finishes was Giangiacomo Serena Di Lapigio's G-SPOT, posting a 4-6-4-5-3 tally for 16 pts net. 

Winning the Corinthians Division was Thomas Studer's JERRY. The balance of the podium was determined by a tie-breaker at 23 pts each. Taking the silver based on the countback was Ludovico Fassitelli's JUNDA- BANCO DEL SEMPIONE from Monaco. As a result, Cesare Gabasio's TINN J70 took the bronze medal. 

The next regatta will take place in Monte Carlo on February 4th to 7th, 2021. For more YC Monaco J/70 Winter Series sailing information
 

J/Community

What friends, alumni, and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

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* J/Net Brokerage Specials! Check out our exciting new site for lovingly-owned J/Boats from around the world here.  

J/160 for sale on J/Net Brokerage

Dream Cruiser For Sale!

Here is one of those beauties, a newly listed J/160 cruiser down on Long Island Sound. A rare opportunity to own this beautiful and lovingly maintained J/160 built in 2000. 

The J/160 is a perfect "world cruiser"; they have truly sailed all Seven Seas since inception. Many J/160s have won famous offshore sailboat races worldwide, too.  

The J/160 combines excellent offshore performance with extremely comfortable accommodations in a four-cabin layout. This boat has an extensive inventory and is ready to cruise the Caribbean now! She's available for viewing in the water today and the owner is asking just $349,000 USD!   Learn more about J/160's here.   Learn more about this newly listed J/160 here and contact the broker


J/35c Blue Knight offshore

* Awesome Family Sailing on J/35c BLUE KNIGHT

The summer of 2020 was challenging for sailors on Lake Ontario. The Canada/ USA boarder closure prevented cross-lake travel. Many friends were left stranded on their side of the lake.

The area’s Regional Sailing Association (RSA) is Lake Yacht Racing Association that holds an annual regatta. Clubs from Canada and the USA make up the LYRA. Due to Covid restrictions, the usual regatta was cancelled. LYRA organizers instead created a handful of one race events all held on August 1st, both in the US and Canada.

LYRA organized a race from Rochester to Pultneyville and return, approximately 38.0nm. Eighteen boats from Rochester Yacht Club and Genesee Yacht Club participated in the race. BLUE KNIGHT, a 1992 J/35c from Sodus Bay Yacht Club also competed.

BLUE KNIGHT was built for Peter Pape of the Rochester Yacht Club. In 1994, Peter met Hank Stuart and the two began a lifelong friendship centered on racing BLUE KNIGHT on Lake Ontario. They also traveled with their team to events outside of the US, including Antigua Race Week in 1995.

The pinnacle of their efforts was Lake Ontario Boat of the Year honor in 2002, which offered them a chance to represent US Sailing Area E at the 2003 US Sailing Offshore National Championships (the Lloyd Phoenix Trophy) at the US Naval Academy. They won! The first and only time so far that Area E has won the national title.

Hank Stuart sailing his J/35c offshoreThe team was mixed, four men and four women. Hank Stuart (skipper), Mary Stuart, Mark Sertl, Annemarie Cook, Michael and Kristin Carbone, Michele Villani and Peter Pape. US Naval Academy Midshipman Evan Scott completed the crew.

The following summer 2004, BLUE KNIGHT was again named Lake Ontario Boat of the Year. In the years since she has continued to have a fun and successful cruising/racing career on Lake Ontario.

While not having raced as much in the past three or four years, the team dusted off their sunglasses and made their way to Rochester for the LYRA race on August 1, 2020.

The race started in a light southeasterly breeze, which persistently clocked to the right. By afternoon the northeast thermal had filled in and the fleet was hard on the wind for the leg to Pultneyville.

Once around the turning mark it was a reach, then run back to the bar at Rochester YC. BLUE KNIGHT had not lost her stride, she won her class and was best in fleet. The crew during COVID times was small, including Hank Stuart (skipper, now owner), Annemarie Cook, Michael and Kristin Carbone, their daughter Makyala, and Peter Pape.

The J/35c is an easily-sailed cruiser-racer. Both Hank and Peter commented on the balance between comfortable shorthanded sailing and a hull design that is easy to feel and make necessary adjustments for maximum efficiency while racing.

For most of the 2020 summer, Hank sailed BLUE KNIGHT singlehanded. But, don’t think that means he did not fly the spinnaker, because he did! 

Thanks for this story from Hank Stuart. Hank is a member at Sodus Bay Yacht Club, New York Yacht Club, St Francis Yacht Club, Bayview Yacht Club, Storm Trysail Club, Oswego Yacht Club and is Commodore of the Rochester Corinthian Yacht Club. When not sailing he provides race management services to sailors around the world. He is an International Race Officer. J/Boats sailors would have seen Hank most recently as PRO for the J/70 World Championship.

We wish BLUE KNIGHT continued success on the race course and fair winds wherever she goes cruising with family and friends.  For more J/35c sailboat information


Ding Schoonmaker sailor

* Eight Bells: Ding Schoonmaker

Bob Johnstone provided us some perspective on Ding's recent passing down in Naples, Florida:

"Ding and I raced against each other as teenagers in Lightnings on Little Narragansett Bay back in the 50s. Ding in Watch Hill and me in Stonington. Twenty-two years later in 1973, when Ding was NAYRU’s Director of Junior Sailing, he was able to persuade a fairly reactionary NAYRU Board of Directors to approve placing the “United States” label on an unproven invitational youth regatta to be called- U.S. Youth Championship! His friend (me!) was proposing the first regatta take place out in the boonies of the Midwest - Wilmette, IL.  That wasn’t an easy process to get "approval".

Back then, NAYRU (North American Yacht Racing Union) was mostly an Eastern establishment. Ding thus played a major role in the birth of that first United States Youth Championship at the Sheridan Shore YC in Lasers and 470s, bringing youth under 19 years of age together from all over the country. For this and his many other contributions, the sport and about 5,000 Youth Champs alumni owe Ding a huge debt of gratitude. Mary’s and my prayers go out to his wife Treecie and Ding’s many sailing friends worldwide."

How influential was the nascent US Youth Champs? Over the past 47+ years, it has helped create multiple World, North American, National, and European Champions, along with a number of Olympic Medallists. You may notice a number of America's leading sailors in this list:

Ed Adams, Tom Barrows, Steve Benjamin, JB Braun, Carl Buchan, Bruce & Glenn Burton, Andy Campbell, Amanda Clark, Peter Commette, Augie Diaz, Mark Foster, Neal Fowler, Kelly Gough, Bill Hardesty, Stan Honey, Peter Isler, Stu, Drake & Peter Johnstone, Brian Keane, Gary Knapp, Mark Laura, Pete Levesque, Tom Lihan, Andy & John Lovell, Chris Maas, Jonathan & Charlie McKee, Stu McNay, Pete Melvin, Andy Menkart, Stew & Terry Neff, Bruce Nelson, Dave Perry, Nat Philbrick, Chris Raab, Buzz Reynolds, Nevin Sayre, Russ Silvestri, Bob & Tom Whitehurst, Scott Young. An impressive list of sailors (if I missed anyone, please don't shoot the messenger). 

Yet another long-time friend of both J/Boats and Ding- Gary Jobson- wrote a nice tribute to him that appeared in Scuttlebutt Sailing News:

"One of America’s sailing heroes, James “Ding” Schoonmaker II, 87, passed away January 19 in Naples, Florida. His wife, Treecie, noted he had been feeling well until just two days ago, ultimately succumbing to lung cancer.

Ding, as his friends referred to him, was a Star Class World Champion and served as a Vice President of World Sailing, the international governing body of the sport.

He was a long-time steward of the sport of sailing and a generous supporter of the US Sailing Foundation, the National Sailing Hall of Fame, the United States Olympic Sailing Team, and the US Sailing Training Center in Miami, Florida.

At the 1975 Star World Championship, President Gerald Ford was invited by Chicago’s Mayor Richard Daley to welcome the 73 crews and guests to the Windy City. Said President Ford to the gathering, “One skipper and crew in particular has caught my eye, and I would like them to stand up and take a bow– the skipper of Star 5607, Ding Schoonmaker and his very talented and capable crew – Jerry Ford!”

Everyone got a good laugh, and Ding and Jerry Ford (the sailor) must have been inspired because they went on to win the 1975 Star World Championship.

Two years later, Ding returned to the Star Worlds with a new crew who wanted to get acquainted with the class, and learn from the master. The 47-year-old crew was named, Buddy Melges! Buddy must have learned a lot from Ding, because he went on to win the Star Worlds in 1978 and 1979.

Born June 10, 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, his name comes from his Grandfather, of the same name, who was a Medal of Honor recipient in the Civil War. Ding’s first race was in 1944 at the age of eleven off Watch Hill, RI. He spent his summers in Watch Hill and winters in Florida over the past 87 years.

Ding started out in the Star Class as a crew for Olympian Jack Price in 1946. He remarked during an interview for the National Maritime Historical Society in 2019, “I immediately fell in love with the boat. From the beginning I liked the class organization, the accomplished sailors who raced the boat, and the challenge to win.”

At the age of 19, he placed second in the Olympic Trials in the Star Class and was named the team’s alternate in Helsinki. He earned that honor again in 1964 at the Games in Tokyo. Along the way, Ding won World, North American, South American, Western Hemisphere, and European Championships in the Star Class. In 1962, following the Cuban revolution, he worked with Tito Bacardi and Frank Zagarino to move the Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta to Biscayne Bay off Miami, where it is still raced today.

In 1971, he raced with another Star World Champion, Joe Duplin, as his crew at an Olympic Classes regatta in Kiel, Germany. Ding noted, “It blew very hard the entire week. Thanks to Joe, we won every race.”

Ding was named US Yachtsman of the Year in 1971 for that accomplishment and a long list of other victories that year. In addition to racing a Star at a high level, he also raced Thistles, Flying Dutchman, Herreshoff 12 1/2s, X Dinghies, Finns, Lasers, and Soling’s (he placed third in the first World Championship in 1969).

In 1968, he was asked to join a committee working on class measurement and development issues for the International Yacht Racing Union (now World Sailing). Ding learned the value of service and how it translated into improving his beloved sport. He was a Board member on the US Yacht Racing Union (now US Sailing) and would serve on several international committees. He was elected to serve on the Board of IRYU for 14 years (1986-1994 and 1998-2004).

Ding observed that sailing has changed a lot over his lifetime. “One of the best changes is modern technology, but one of the worst is the high costs associated with Grand Prix racing. Unfortunately, the Olympics has become an arms race for some of the affluent nations.”

He added, “Talent and ability win medals. Sailing is a sport you can compete in for many years.” Looking toward the future he suggested, “I would like to see the sport like it was 25 years ago. Promote the fleet, club, recreational sailing, and racing. We need to keep grass roots (sailing) and club racing active. Also, we need to encourage young sailors to remain in the sport.”

For his distinguished career, he was awarded the Nathanael Greene Herreshoff Award, US Sailing’s highest honor, in 1988 and the Beppe Croce Award, World Sailing’s highest honor in 2011. In 2018 he was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame and in 2019 he was presented the Distinguished Service Award by the National Maritime Historical Society.

Notable among all of his philanthropic work was creating the US Sailing Center in Miami in 1987, establishing the World Youth Sailing Trust to help aspiring sailors in emerging countries and creating the US Sailing Foundation in 1990.

Ding Schoonmaker has been an important counselor to the leaders of the sport both in the United States, and throughout the world for decades. He will be missed, while his lifelong work will serve as enduring legacy for sailors in the USA and around the world." Again, thanks to Gary Jobson from Annapolis, Maryland for this tribute. 
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