(Scheveningen, The Netherlands)- This coming week, the J/22 World Championship will be taking place as part of the world-famous North Sea Week, hosted in Scheveningen, The Netherlands. The 2017 edition will include a very competitive fleet of J/22 sailors from Canada, Cayman Islands, France, Germany, and The Netherlands. The fleet can count on professional race management and extensive social activities on shore as part of the North Sea Week experience, one of the world’s (and Europe’s) best summer-time mega-sailing events.
What is the form for this fleet of thirty-nine boats? Ironically, the top billing must go to the top two visiting teams- one is a J/22 Worlds Vice—Champion- Mike Farrington’s 7-SITZER/ EX-ISLES from the Cayman Islands and the other is Canadian skipper Johan Koppernaes on RAISED J that has North Sails’ top specialist Mike Marshall as trim/ tactician.
As for the continental European triangle of the German/ Dutch/ French teams, the leading crews on the leaderboard could be Fabien Toureaux’s BEASTIE BOYS, Reiner Brockerhoff’s JAZZY, Patrick Huet’s EUROPEAN HOMES, Svend Hartog’s MOJO4ROOKIES, Tom Losch’s JOUJOU3, Nienke Reina Jorna’s JAM SESSION, Jean-Michel Lautier’s FRAPORITA, Dirk Jan Verdoorn’s JUT EN JUL, Kim Bos’ DJINN, Lisanne Nijdam’s TU DELFT/BROACH/1365, Jochem GrootJen’s SLAM, and Nic Bol’s QUANTUM HOLLAND. For more J/22 Worlds sailing information
North Sea Week Preview
(Scheveningen, The Netherlands)- Concurrent to the J/22 Worlds, the Dutch nation of sailors (most of the country) are hosting their famous North Sea Week that starts with two offshore races (the Vuurschepen Race & the RORC North Sea Race) and concludes with the North Sea Offshore regatta series for offshore one-design and IRC/ORC classes. There is no question an enormous factor in these events are top J/teams in all divisions.
Starting with the kick-off event for the week of offshore sailing, the Vuurschepen Race starts off The Hague and goes across the infamous shipping channel known as “La Manche” (the ditch) over to England. Then, after a day’s rest, the fleet races back across the same “English Channel” to The Hague in time to participate in the balance of the North Sea Regatta. In the offshore races, the IRC class has twenty-three boats entered with Sylvain Duprey’s J/111 DJINN, Alain Bornet’s J/109 JAI ALAI, and Kees Mijs’ J/109 ARETHUSA competing against some of the strongest offshore teams in the North Sea.
In the seventeen-boat ORC Doublehanded division, nearly 50% of the starters are extremely competitive J/crews! At the top end of the scale, first to finish honors should be Englishmen Bart Desaunois & Alex van Amstel’s J/133 BATFISH. But, they will be hunted down hard by a rogue’s gallery of pirates and veterans of the North Sea offshore doublehanded community, like the two J/122 teams that have won a lot of shorthanded events offshore- John van der Starre & Robin Verhoef’s AJETO and Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker’s JUNIQUE. If that were not enough fire-power to make most people wince, they all have the following to contend with that are all capable of reaching the podium; like the two J/120s (MAVERICK- Chris Schram/ Ray Roesink and J-QUATTRO- Joost van der Wal/ Bob Weenink); the two J/109s (FIRESTORM- Wim van Slooten/ Jochem Hamstra and YETI- Paul & Marc van der Pol); and the lone J/105- the famous PANTHER sailed by the only all-women team of Yvonne Beusker and Edith Voskamp.
In the thirty-seven boat ORC Division, with of the IRC division boats “double-scoring”, the only additional teams to add in this “fully-crewed” division are the J/109 TEAM HEINER 4 (Nikolaus Knoflacher), the J/109 JITTERS (Frederic de Visser), and the J/92 JINX (Luc Oomen).
Following these two offshore events across the “big’ole ditch” between the UK and the Continent, the J/111 one-design class will have nearly a half-dozen boats racing one-design in their offshore season points series in The Netherlands. Those five nations represented include Norbert Burkert’s TOP JOB from Germany, Paul van Driel’s SWEENY from the Netherlands, Sebastien de Liedekerke’s DJINN from Belgium, Sigg Joerg’s LALLEKONIG from Switzerland, and Sjaak Haakman’s RED HERRING from The Netherlands.
In addition, the North Sea Regatta will continue to see the next event in the Netherlands National Doublehanded Championship taking place going around the buoys! All J/crews from the North Sea races will continue to add points to their series with the aim of taking the season by the end of the summer.
For more RORC North Sea Race sailing information For more North Sea Week/ North Sea Regatta sailing information
Gran Prix Ecole del Navale Preview
(Camaret-sur-Mer, France)- The 16th Grand Prix Ecole del Navale is taking place this weekend in Camaret-sur-Mer with 218 participants. The three-day event goes from May 25th to 28th and is raced both in the bay and offshore in the Bay of Biscay. Included in the event is the J/80 class, sailing their second event in the summer-long France J/80 Cup series.
Most of the top J/80 teams from across France are participating in the forty-eight boat class, including Simon Moriceau’s ARMEN HABITAT, Eric Brezellec’s COURRIER JUNIOR, Ludovic Gilet’s NUMERO J, top woman skipper Capucine Vitel on her VITEL SAILING TEAM, Luc Nadal on the familiar GAN’JA, and another top woman skipper- Maxime Rousseaux on J’RAFON.
The J/80s should have a nice weekend of sailing as the forecasts from the UK MET office and the French MET office indicate good breezes all three days! For more J/80 GPEN sailing information
J/24 North American Championship Preview
(Houston, Texas)- It has been a busy month for the J/24 class on a worldwide basis. After hosting the USA Nationals in Seattle, WA the past week, this week there are two events taking place simultaneously; one is the J/24 North American’s in Houston, TX and the other is the Open J/24 Italian Nationals in La Maddalena, Sardinia! The winner of the USA J/24 Nationals, Keith Whittemore, is sailing in Italy while the 2nd place finisher, Will Welles, is sailing in Houston! Spoiled for choice, those J/24 sailors are!
From May 25th to 28th, thirty-four J/24 teams are headed down to sail on the choppy waters of Galveston Bay, hosted by the amazing volunteers at the Houston YC. No question, the J/24 sailors will be spoiled with good’ole fashioned BBQ’s, beer, brats, and lots of involuntary swimming in their giant pool. On the water, the racing will be tough, with a number of excellent teams that will be fighting for NA title honors. Chief amongst them will be Will Welles BOGUS, others will be Natalie Harden’s GIGGLES (perhaps the top woman skipper in the class), Chris Holmes’ BAD MOON, Carter White’s SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM, Mike Ingham’s NATALYTICS, Aidan Glackin’s MENTAL FLOSS, the Japanese crew of Nobuyuki Imai on SIESTA, Travis Odenbach’s HONEY BADGER, and Robby Brown’s ANGEL OF HARLEM. For more J/24 North American Championship sailing information
Storm Trysail Block Island Race Preview
(Larchmont, NY)- A spring classic, this 186nm race from Stamford, CT down Long Island Sound, around Block Island, RI and back to Stamford is an annual rite of passage for many racing yachts.
The Block Island Race was first held in 1946 and is a qualifier for the Northern Ocean Racing Trophy (IRC), the Double Handed Ocean Racing Trophy (IRC), the New England Lighthouse Series (PHRF), and the Gulf Stream Series (IRC). The Block Island Race is also a qualifier for the Caper, Sagola, and Windigo trophies awarded by the YRA of Long Island Sound and the 'Tuna' Trophy for the best combined IRC scores in the Edlu (40%) and the Block Island Race (60%).
The race is often regarded by the offshore racing community in Long Island Sound as the start of the summer offshore sailing season. As a result, the race has many sailors who have participated for a few decades, starting as kids and now as adults (owners, crews, skippers)! For them, it truly is a rite of passage, breathing in all that salt air, getting soaked in salt water by giant chop breaking over the bow in the famous “Race” or “Plum Gut”— it’s all about becoming one with the sea again and feel that salt coursing through your veins and appreciating how small human life is relative to the extraordinary forces of nature.
Answering that siren song to the sea is a very good fleet of offshore teams from across the Northeast. Sixty-five teams will be on the starting line off Larchmont YC in western Long Island Sound on Friday, March 26th, racing in PHRF, IRC, and Doublehanded divisions; thirteen of them are J/crews (20% of the fleet).
The remnants of a Low is hovering over the northeast in the Marblehead, MA area, spinning cool temperatures, drizzle, and solid breeze from the WNW at 15-25 kts. It’s a promising start and the first leg out to Block Island should go fast, in particular for the asymmetric J’s in the fleet.
In the IRC Doublehanded class, Gardner Grant’s famously successful J/120 ALIBI with by vying for class honors. Doug McKeige’s J/88 JAZZ will be doing the same with a Young American Junior Big Boat Team going for it in the PHRF Doublehanded class!
The eight boat PHRF 3 class has a quartet of J/105s battling with a trio of First 36.7s for class honors. The J/105 crews re Francis Racioppi’s HOONIGAN, Hobie Ponting’s PRIVATEER-YCC, Frank Conway’s RAPTOR and the famous Young American Junior Big Boat Team sailing their YOUNG AMERICAN-YCC! As always, the question on everyone’s mind is “can the kids do it again!” We wish them fair winds and fast sailing!
In the PHRF 4 class, Jim Farrell’s J/35 SAPPHIRE from Black Rock YC will hope to beat out a Tripp 40, a Thomas 35 and a Sou’wester 51!
The nine-boat IRC 2 class has a wide range of fast offshore racer-cruisers, including past winner Len Sitar on his mighty J/44 VAMP, Carl Olsson’s champion J/109 MORNING GLORY, and yet another Young American Junior Big Boat Team on the J/120 VAREKAI-VCC!
PHRF 5 class has three J/crews that will particularly like the course layout for the forecasted winds; the two J/111s are John Donovan’s LIBERTAS and Abhijeet Lele’s VARUNA and the J/122 SUMMER GRACE is skippered by Kevin Kelley.
Finally, watch out in PHRF 6 class, one of the offshore flyers from the J/Design team will be fighting tooth & nail with other fast 40 footers, like Class 40s, custom 40, Farr 40 modified and an IMX 45. Taking them on and sure to give them all fits will be Brian Prinz’s J/125 SPECTRE from Branford YC. For more STC Block Island Race sailing information
Spinnaker Cup Race Preview
(Belvedere, CA)- Back in 2015, Encinal Yacht Club, San Francisco Yacht Club, Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club, Santa Barbara Yacht Club and San Diego Yacht Club joined forces and races to provide sailors with an exceptional Offshore Race Week that will take offshore boats from San Francisco down to San Diego with stops in Monterey and Santa Barbara. It brings the historic Spinnaker Cup and a revamped Coastal Cup together and joining in with the second running of the SoCal 300, racers have options of completing the entire week long event, or they can join in for any of the individual races on their own. The schedule is set up to keep the racing fast and fun and also allow enough shore time for family and friends to meet the racers at stops along the way for a wonderful week long tour of the California Coast.
California Offshore Race Week starts on Saturday, May 27 in San Francisco Bay and sends the racers out under the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. From there the fleet will make their way 88nm to the port city of Monterey for a day long layover to get rested and ready for the sled ride to Santa Barbara. Picking up on Monday, May 29, the Coastal Cup starts in Monterey Bay and runs 200nm around Point Conception and into Santa Barbara. A multi-day layover in Santa Barbara will allow racers to experience the local scene and all that this beautiful city has to offer. Santa Barbara Yacht Club will be hosting shore side parties and all the racers are invited to a ‘just for fun’ in-port race on Wednesday afternoon, which will see the offshore crews link up with the local Beercan racers who will also be on the water that day. The final leg starts on Thursday, June 1 with the SoCal 300 sending the fleet through the Channel Islands on their way to San Diego, a total trip of 254nm. The awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 3 at San Diego Yacht Club.
The Spinnaker Cup Race has thirty-nine entries, nine of which are J/teams (nearly 25% of the fleet!). The smallest boat in the race will be Chris Cartwright’s J/88 VENTUS, fresh off his experience of winning class and nearly the overall trophy in the 2016 Singlehanded Transpac Race! He will be joined by a number of offshore speedsters, including the classic J/36 DAWN’S EARLY LIGHT skippered by Kevin Mills, the J/105 JAVELIN helmed by Robert Goosey, the J/109 JUNKYARD DOG sailed by Jim Goldberg, two J/111s (Howard Turner’s SYMMETRY and Reuben Rocci’s SWIFT NESS), and three J/120s (Ludovic Milin’s SAETTA, Tracy Rogers’ HOKULANI, and Barry Lewis’ CHANCE). Sailing photo credits- ROLEX/ Daniel Forster. For more California Offshore Race Week and Spinnaker Cup sailing information
Swiftsure International Race Preview
(Victoria, BC, Canada)- The “grand daddy of all offshore races” in the Pacific Northwest has to be Royal Vancouver YC’s famous Swiftsure International Race. It is always a challenge no matter what the wind and weather conditions, particularly if fronts are rolling in off the northern Pacific and the Gulf of Alaska with lots of wind, wetness and breeding complete chaos in their wakes.
This year, 176 boats are registered to race in one of the four main races that sail up and down the Strait of Juan de Fuca (so named in 1787 by the maritime fur trader Charles William Barkley, captain of the Imperial Eagle, for Juan de Fuca, the Greek navigator who sailed in a Spanish expedition in 1592 to seek the fabled Strait of Anián. Barkley was the first non-indigenous person to find the strait).
Thirty-five J’s (about 20% of fleet) can’t wait to “beat the Strait” at its own infamous games, including a J/160, J/133, a J/46, a J/42, J/125s (2), J/122s (2), J/120s (4), J/109s (4), J/105s (8), J/30s (3), a J/33, J/92 and J/37. None of the J/crews are sailing the original race, the so-called Swiftsure Lightship Classic- a 138.2nm jaunt from the start off Victoria’s famous waterfront, out around a mark at Swiftsure Bank and return.
Only two J’s are sailing the next longest option, the Hein Bank Race- 118.1nm to a mark at Neah Bay, a mark offshore on the other shore, and return. Those two are John McPhail’s gorgeous navy-blue J/160 JAM from Gig Harbor YC and Shawn Dougherty’s J/125 HAMACHI from Sloop Tavern YC.
The most popular option for thirty-two J/Teams is the Cape Flattery Race- 101.9nm to a mark at Neah Bay to port and return to Victoria Harbour. In the PHRF H1 class are three teams, including Ron Mackenzie’s J/37 FUTURE PRIMITIVE, Tom Keffer’s J/42 VELOCITY, and Scott Campbell’s J/46 RIVA. The PHRF L1 class has four J/120s (Mike Picco’s WILD BLUE, Kirk Palmer’s LIGHT SCOUT, Jim Hinz’s HINZITE, & Chris Johnson’s WITH GRACE), two J/122s (Tom Kelly’s ANAM CARA & Bron Miller’s JOY RIDE), and the J/133 CONSTELLATION helmed by Bron Miller.
The PHRF L2 class is a battle of the 35-footers, virtually all of them are top boats on Puget Sound and many have won events all over the Pacific Northwest. To say “the form” on this collection of J/35s and J/109 is difficult would be an understatement. In any event, the four J/109s include Jim Prentice’s DIVA, Adrian King-Harris’ J, Stu Burnell’s TANTIVY, and Tom Sitar’s SERENDIPITY. The three J/35s are George Leighton’s TAHLEQUAH, Jason Vannice’s ALTAIR and Karl Haflinger’s SHEARWATER.
Not surprisingly, the J/105s have their own class, sailing as one-design for the Cape Flattery Race! Top boats include recent Oregon Offshore Race class and overall winner FREE BOWL OF SOUP raced by those “wild & crazy guys” from Portland, Oregon and led by their skipper Doug Schenk. They will be chased hard by top local crews, such as Jim Geros’ LAST TANGO, Chris Phoenix’s JADED and Chuck Stephens’ PANIC.
There is a quartet of J/teams sailing the shortest option, the Juan de Fuca Race- 78.7nm to a mark at Clallam Bay and return to Victoria Harbour. In that fleet are Phil Wampold’s J/92 ZAFF fighting three J/30s (Colin Bishop’s REDUX, Ulf George Gwildis’ IMPULSIVE, and Theo Singelis’ TAKU.
Finally, getting out on the water and having fun with his J/105 for a daysail in the Inshore Flying Sales PHRF division will be Tom Kerr on CORVO 105! For more Swiftsure Race sailing information
Sardinia J/70 "Elements Race" Announcement
(Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy)- Guglielmo Fontana-Rava, the Italian founder of the “Elements Race”, had a brilliant insight one day, thinking- - why not combine what sailors like to do a lot of- race sailboats and, vicariously, race their cars in traffic as they search for the fastest, shortest routes to work and back! It’s all navigation and tactics, after all!
Sailors, no matter where you are in the world, seem to be on this same wavelength, whether in Monaco, Cowes, Newport, Hong Kong, Sydney, Auckland, Hamburg, Cannes, or Buenos Aires. And, so Guglielmo’s vision became a reality. As he said, “our formula is a biathlon which combines Sailing and Off-road rally racing into a unique challenge for teams! It is a lot of fun and sailors in Italy met our ‘test’ event last year quite enthusiastically. Now, we want to broaden participation to the rest of the world, limited to just 12 twelve teams by application to race J/70s and road rally on four-wheel ATV’s!”
From September 21st to 24th, the second edition of the Elements Race will be sailing the fleet of twelve J/70s from the famous YC Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. All J/Boat owners, sailors and friends are invited to learn more about the event and, hopefully, some will participate and have a wonderful time on the magical island of Sardinia- one of the true treasures in the Mediterranean! You simply cannot beat the setting, a gorgeous archipelago of islands off the northern shores of Sardinia, aquamarine waters clear to a depth of 25 meters, and extraordinary Mediterranean weather (great for your skin, a tonic for your soul)! Remember, road rallies are simply time-based, not speed oriented, so the key is to maintain an average speed on your off-road ATV so that you pass each “timing point” at exactly the time you are supposed to pass it. So, if you take a wrong turn or simply goof up your timing, you are penalized points- the winner of a rally is NOT who went fastest, but who was the most precise team navigating the course- perfect for couples (one drives, one calculates and navigates!).
For more information about this soon-to-be “bucket list” event, please contact Guglielmo Fontana-Rava at phone- +31-6-46608330 or email- guglielmo.fontanarava@elementsrace.com For more Elements Race (J/70 + ATV) information, please click here.
J/24 40th Anniversary Around Island Race Announcement!
(Newport, RI)- Mark your calendars now. This could be an epic event. There’s no more iconic a race course in J/24 class history than the 21nm track around Conanicut Island in Narragansett Bay that helped decide the outcome of the first J/24 North Americans in 1978, and then the first J/24 World Championship in 1979 (remember- we got hit by the famous Fastnet Race storm in Newport!). It would be impossible to count how many times J/24s have circumnavigated Conanicut Island since, but it would be safe to say the “Around the Island Race” is the all-time favorite for generations of J/24 Fleet 50 sailors, not to mention a big income generator for local boat repair shops. If you have never raced along a rocky coastline interspersed with beautiful beaches, a cool summer sea breeze and lots of current, then this is the race for you!
To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the J/24 Class, J/Fest New England and Sail Newport invite all J/24 sailors, past and present, to enter the Around the Island Race with the first gun at 1300 hrs on Friday August 11th. To make a whole weekend of it, there’s W/L buoy racing Saturday and Sunday as part of J/Fest New England. For more J/Fest New England and Around Island Race sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
While those in the Caribbean and north of the equator are experiencing wildly varying sailing conditions for spring events the same cannot be said for those “Down Under”, no matter where they are. It seems the rapidly melting polar ice caps, particularly the Ross ice shelf on Antarctica, is producing beyond idyllic post card sailing weather in the southern hemispheres for their rather long, and extended, sailing summers. Nevertheless, while it is supposed to be approaching “winter” down south, the weather has been anything but that!! Witness the recent “fall” sailing events in Chile. In Higuerillas, Con Con region, north of Valparaiso, Chile, it was all about summer sailing weather. The debut of the new J/88 family offshore speedster was welcomed by all! Then, just a bit further south in Algarrobo, Chile (basically due west of the capital of Santiago), the J/70s held the first of their qualifier series for the J/70 South American Championships- twenty-one boats in attendance!!Over in the “northern” Americas, the J/24s held their USA Nationals in Seattle, WA on the famously shifty and tricky Puget Sound, hosted by the Corinthian YC Seattle. Just across the SF Bay, St Francis YC was also hosting their US Sailing Match Race Qualifiers in J/22’s. Finally, out east on the famous Hudson River, the Manhattan Regatta for J/105s was held with the fleet enjoying great racing, lots of current and amazing camaraderie at Liberty Landing Marina- their BBQ’s and evening parties are amazing!!
Flipping across the Big Pond, we find the J/109 and J/80 fleets sailing the Almere Regatta in the Netherlands. It was a great regatta for Dutch J/109 teams and it was a tremendous tune-up for their J/80 fleet as they focus on the upcoming J/80 Worlds held next door in Hamble, United Kingdom. In those same waters on the Solent off Cowes, Isle of Wight, the RORC held their popular Vice Admiral’s Cup; the event included two fleets of J/109s and J/111s.
Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
May 23- RORC North Sea Race- Cowes, Isle of Wight, EnglandMay 25-28- Gran Prix Ecole del Navale- Camaret-sur-Mer, France
May 25-28- J/24 North American Championship- Houston, Texas
May 26-28- Storm Trysail Block Island Race- Larchmont, NY
May 26- Spinnaker Cup Race- Belvedere, CA
May 27-28- Swiftsure International Race- Victoria, BC, Canada
May 29- Coastal Cup Race- Santa Barbara, CA
Jun 1- SoCal 300 Race- Newport Beach, CA
Jun 2-3- Susan Hood Trophy Race- Port Credit, ONT, Canada
Jun 2-4- Southern Bay Race Week- Hampton, VA
Jun 2-5- J/22 World Championship- Scheveningen, The Netherlands
Jun 3-4- Cal Race Week- Marina del Rey, CA
Jun 3-4- Cedar Point One-Design Regatta- Cedar Point, CT
Jun 3-9- J/70 European Championship- Hamble, England
Jun 9-11- Chicago NOOD Regatta- Chicago, IL
Jun 9-11- New York YC 163rd Annual Regatta- Newport, RI
Jun 16-18- J/70 Great Lakes Championship- Cleveland, OH
Jun 16-18- Cleveland Race Week- Cleveland, OH
Jun 17-18- British J/80 National Championship- Southampton, England
Jun 17-25- Kieler Woche- Kiel, Germany
Jun 18-23- Block Island Race Week- Block Island, RI
Jun 18-23- J/109 North American Championship- Block Island, RI
Jul 8-14- J/80 World Championship- Hamble, England
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/88 Family Speedster Loves Chile!
(Higuerillas, Con Con, Valparaiso, Chile)- On April 29th, Juan Pumpin’s brand new J/88 ESAUTOMATIX made its debut at the Regatta Mes del Mar hosted by Club de Yates Higuerillas, north of Valparaiso in the Con Con region. This was the yacht club that was heavily affected by the big storm of August 2015 (essentially a Low that could have been classified as a Class 4 hurricane), but now was back and better than ever to host regattas for their friends and sailors all over Chile and South America (a similar story to New Orleans’ famous Southern YC phoenix-like resurrection from the ashes).
The regatta was held in honor of Arturo Prat and the Chilean Navy sailors. Juan-Eduardo Reid commented on the significance of the day, “it was a great event to demonstrate the strength of sailing spirit after the club had to face the big challenge of re-construction. It is still sad and very emotional for members of CYH to remember that five boats sank in the marina and one club member died trying to rescue his boat from the rocks.”
Juan continues to comment, “the morning of the 29th of April had very light winds. At the noon-time ceremony, a memorial was conducted on the yacht club’s deck for the Chilean Navy members of the Esmeralda flag ship that sank at sea.”
Initially programmed for a start at 1330 hrs, the CYH RC sent the twenty boats to the race course and made them wait for 3-4 hours. Finally, a nice seabreeze of 10-15 kts came in from the southwest and one W/L race was held for the fleet.
This race was the debut for J/88 #79. The crew was composed of owner/ skipper Juan Pumpin, his two daughters (Maida & Cote), Juan Reid, Pablo Gallyas, Isidora Urrutia and Ignacio Leiva.
Juan comments on their experience, “We started in the middle of the line with boats from 22 ft to 60 ft long on the same starting line! We started fine in the middle of the line, with Caleuche (former IRC Emme 36) and First 35 Aura (IRC 3 winner for the last 5 seasons) to windward. So, the challenge was to keep the position against these two IRC fully-tuned boats, plus the bigger boats like the Swan 65 and the X-50 coming from behind at full speed!!
We succeeded in going fast to the left side of the course. We ended up over-standing upwind on the left layline, with frontal chop, we were getting to the windward mark a little ahead of the Swan 65 coming full speed on the starboard layline! It was a hard time to decide what to do!! Tack or cross?? Classic problem!! But, the brave crew decided to tack in front of the big Swan 65. Easing the sails out of the tack, the J/88 accelerates immediately, so the big white Swan couldn't catch us and we round the mark just in front of them!!
We hoist the asymmetric spinnaker. We didn't really know if going deep (soaking mode), or higher at 8-10 kts of speed with 12-14 kts of breeze, was going to be faster. We decided the latter was better (wrong)! We get to the leeward mark on the left side of the course; the J/105 started to approach and the leeward mark was starting to get very complicated. Add in the huge X-50 coming in from the right on port tack- watch out! We managed to round close to the mark and tack immediately. We lost 4 or 5 positions at the mark. But, getting to the left again on the windward leg paid big dividends, we were able to recover and again over the J/105s and others like the X-50.
Coming in again from the left side of the course, we were able to tack in front of the J/105 FOGONAZO (the ultimate winner of the J/105 class). Again, we hoisted the big asymmetric spinnaker and took off downwind. Wow, this J/88 is fast downwind! We managed to increase the distance on the J/105s quite easily; we were learning in real-time from our mistakes regards downwind VMG!
The last approach to the finish line was from the left side of the course, we were looking for more breeze in the RC Flag and we were just able to pass and beat the huge X-50 in real-time!
We finished third in the IRC 3 class on handicap. And, were sixth on the water, in front of the X-50!! With no practice, no tuning, having no idea on how to sail the boat!
Great boat, great crew. Impressive boat speed, especially downwind in a boat less than 30 feet of length.
The sensation in comparison to the J/70 is quite similar, but in a bigger boat. The J/88 is very sensitive to steering and very easy and stable going downwind. Of course, you need to spend some hours to get a better understanding for the jib’s in-hauler setting going to windward. But, this was our first race! Furthermore, we knew our downwind VMG tactics were wrong, better to sail deeper and faster to take advantage of the J/88’s ability to slide downwind on even the smallest puffs!” For more J/88 offshore family speedster sailing information
Vice Admiral’s Cup Fun 4 J/111s & J/109s
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The 2017 edition of the RORC Vice Admiral’s Cup continued to expand its inclusion for one-design and offshore classes that have made their mark on the famous “river” known simply as the Solent. Again, the J/Boats were well represented by the J/109 and J/111 classes, with five of the former and six of the latter entered. Among the J/109s were the second and third placed finishers from last year's Nationals: Robert Stiles' DIAMOND JEM and David Richards' JUMPING JELLYFISH. The J/111 line-up included reigning World Champion, Martin Dent with JELVIS.
Campaigning the J/111 since 2014, Dent typically sails with a young team, including family and students. He reckons being World Champion means nothing, "It is a good fleet and we'll be struggling again against the top teams, like Tony Mack on McFLY, Cornel Riklin on JITTERBUG and Chris Jones & Louise Makin’s JOURNEYMAKER II."
The Vice Admiral's Cup is becoming a must-do regatta for the J/111s as it is the first event of the year they sail under class rules (as opposed to IRC), limiting their sail inventory and to sailing with one 'pro' on board. Dent also likes it being a three-day event..."that's better than two and the Vice Admiral's Cup has always got good race management."
As to J/111 racing, Dent continues: "It is such good fun: you put the kite up and start ripping downwind at 16-17 knots, and you think 'great – we're going really fast', but then you find that everyone arrives at the same time at the leeward mark. It’s never a procession, there are always lead changes!!” Here is how it all went down for Martin, the J/111s and the J/109’s at this year’s Vice Admiral’s Cup.
Day One
The Solent laid on perfect conditions with brilliant sunshine, wind that built from 10-20 kts through the afternoon, building up a steep chop that was enough to cause crews to struggle to keep boats beneath rigs! Almost “fresh to frightening” sailing weather.
Dent’s JELVIS repeated his World Championship-winning form, posting a 1-3-1 to lead the J/111 Class, but by just one point from Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG. Simon Perry and the crew on JIRAFFE did one better to lead the J/109 class with a 2-1-1 scoreline, which Perry reckoned was the best his team had ever managed, albeit coming straight out of a win at Warsash Spring Series, “we’re savoring the moment. What we enjoy most is sailing with a good group of boats."
Day Two
Conditions turned positively autumnal as crews found themselves wrestling their boats around the courses in 15-20 knot winds until a squall caused conditions to gust up to 28 knots, plus rain and reducing visibility.
Some clearly enjoyed the brisk conditions. Mack's McFLY scored three bullets to take the lead in the J/111s. After her stand out Friday, Simon Perry's J/109 JIRAFFE found it harder going, but managed to retain the lead in the J/109s. John Smart's JUKE BOX was the lowest scorer winning the opening race, with David Richards' JUMPIN JELLYFISH and Robert Stiles' DIAMOND JEM claiming honours in the subsequent two.
Commenting on their three bullets on the J/111 race track, Tony Mack said, ”It was lovely sailing- we are delighted with our results. Sometimes I think things just go well for you and you make the right calls and other days you don't seem to. Perhaps that is why we keep coming back!"
The J/111s sailed two windward-leewards today ending the day with a round-the-cans course that was shortened at Gurnard Ledge. Even the invincible McFLY had her upsets, including one wild broach coming out of a gybe!! No one is infallible, that is for sure! While the results indicate otherwise, racing among the J/111s was still close. "You had to try until the very end. In the J/111s there are some very good owner-drivers," concluded Mack.
Day Three- Finale
Sailing concluded on the central Solent in lighter 10-13 knot winds, this time blowing from the east. The leaderboard was very tight across the J/classes, so discards decided their outcome.
In the J/109s, the final day brought about a change of leader with Robert Stiles on DIAMOND JEM edging out David Richards’ JUMPIN JELLYFISH by a point, in turn finishing one point ahead of Simon Perry’s JIRAFFE. "It has been very, very close racing," admitted Stiles. "We won it on the last tack going into the windward mark. It has been a real ding-dong all through the event. We are delighted to have won it two years in succession."
JUMPIN JELLYFISH had managed to get the overlap on DIAMOND JEM at the final mark of the first race to finish ahead but in the second race DIAMOND JEM turned the tables. "It has been three days of great sailing," said Stiles. "It is a really nice regatta and there were some great courses."
Racing in the J/111 class also came down to the last race with Tony Mack’s McFLY managing to beat Martin Dent’s World Champions crew on JELVIS by a mere point.
"It has been a fantastic three days of sailing,” said Dent. "It has been a fabulous variety of racing– we have had all conditions. The Vice Admiral’s Cup does proper justice to a one-design fleet and it is credit to the RORC race team in setting courses that are challenging, but fair."
JELVIS claimed the first race after winning the pin at the start. Prior to the start of the second race JELVIS and McFLY were involved in a match-racing style dial-up. JELVIS then sailed their opponent away from the start area, but then at the gun, they got held up by another boat that was OCS, enabling the wily Mack to get away. As a result, McFLY beat JELVIS to the overall win by just a point. For more RORC Vice Admirals Cup sailing information
Whittemore Crowned USA J/24 National Champion!
(Seattle, Washington)- It was worth the wait on Friday for Keith Whittemore’s TUNDRA ROSE at the J/24 USA National Championship, hosted by Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle. After a long day of anticipating breeze, thirty-two teams finally got to compete around 4:00 p.m. PDT in winds at 4-6 knots. Two races went in the books with local Seattle hotshot Whittemore leading the pack with 7 points. The Japanese team SIESTA, led by Nobuyuki Imai, was a mere one point back. Will Welles and Matt Pistay were tied on points at 13 for third and fourth place, respectively.
Whittemore’s TUNDRA ROSE may not have started day two on a high note, but he sure ended on one…or two. The Seattle-based skipper went into Saturday with a one-point advantage, but notched a 19 in the opening race. He then promptly added two bullets to hold a two-point lead going into the last day. Scott Milne’s TREMENDOUS SLOUCH moved into second place overall with 30 points, just one ahead of Michael Johnson’s PEARL and Nobuyuki Imai’s SIESTA (both with 31 points).
The locals took charge of Saturday’s first race in winds at 6-8 knots: Johnson’s PEARL, Mark Laura’s BABA LOUIE and Steve Travis’ SPARK. The breeze increased a couple knots in the next contest, when Whittemore defeated Bob Kinsman’s ATOM ANT and John Mason’s R.Y.L.A.H. at the finish line. The top three of the final battle mirrored the top three overall: Whittemore, Milne and Johnson.
On the final day, of the nine races completed Whittemore’s TUNDRA ROSE won five of them. Four races were completed on Sunday, but after tallying a 1-2-1 in the first three, Whittemore and crew of Shelby Milne, Brian Thomas, Kevin Downey and Mark Rodgers could head for shore as Champions at their local Corinthian YC of Seattle. Reigning US National Champion Will Welles flew up the standings with two bullets on the day to claim second place on a tie-breaker over Nobuyuki Imai’s Japanese crew on SIESTA (both with 39 points to Whittemore’s 31). Rounding out the top five were Johnson’s PEARL and Milne’s TREMENDOUS SLOUCH, in 4th & 5th, respectively. For more J/24 USA Nationals sailing information
VOLVO Leads Chile J/70 Qualifiers
(Algarrobo, Chile)- Sixteen J/70s took part in the Chilean fleet qualifier regatta for the 2017 J/70 South American Championship in Algarrobo- October 27th to November 1st, 2017. It was incredibly close racing throughout the regatta, but there was no question the team to beat was a former top J/24 skipper- Matias Seguel! After posting a 2-1-2-1-2-3 for total of 11 pts, they were winners of the regatta by a significant margin.
The wind conditions were 12-15 kts on the first day. Seguel and his VOLVO crew (they finished 11th in the San Francisco J/70 Worlds) had three clear starts and good speed to have a good track on the course to post a 2-1-2 on the first day and never looked back, easily winning the regatta.
Per Von Appen and crew, a team that also participated in the San Francisco J/70 Worlds and won the J/70 Chilean National Championship in Panguipulli last February, worked hard to recover from a couple of bad starts and finished 2nd overall. Third was Carlos Vergara’s SENSEI. Rounding out the top five were Pablo Amunategui’s BLACK JACK in 4th and Felipe Robles’ LEXUS in 5th place.
Courses were long, cold and choppy so the crews had to manage the waves, especially on port tack, getting to the weather mark. The wind was sometimes shifting right and sometimes shifting left at the very end of the weather mark in the left corner, mostly close to the shore.
For many teams, sailing with the asymmetric spinnaker, there were important differences in pressure, so the teams needed to manage between soaking or planing mode, and especially dealing with the wave angle in both tacks.
The next date for the J/70 South American qualifiers in Chile is June 3rd and 4th. From that event, the first 14 boats will be selected as the local representatives at the South American Championship. For more Chile J/70 South American qualifier sailing information
Joy @ Almere Regatta For 80s & 109s
(Almere, The Netherlands)- Perhaps the biggest opening regatta of the season for Benelux/ Dutch sailors in the J/80 and J/109 classes is the Almere Regatta hosted by WSV Flevomare. It was tight competition in the J/80 class, but in the J/109s it was clear that a “schooling” was taking place that many other boats needed to learn from to continue to pursue a better summer season.
Starting with the J/80s, an eight-boat fleet produced tremendous racing over a seven-race series. In the end, it was the last race that truly determined the outcome for the regatta. Winning was the Roel & Torsten team on JOYRIDE by just one point over Robert Raadsheer’s JETZT GEHTS LOS crew. Just two points back with 17 points was Jorrit Beekman’s JSB. Rounding out the top five was Bernhard Holsboer’s JUUL with 21 pts in 4th place and Louis Kanters’ JIP in 5th with 25 pts.
The Netherlands J/109 class saw a rabbit take off in flight, never to be seen again! Winning was top woman skipper Caroline van Beelen-Rutger Kri on her JACK RABBIT with an astounding record of seven 1sts and one 2nd- tossing out a 1st and 2nd to win with just all 1sts! Ouch!! Talk about a “spanking” of her J/109 fleet, she showed how it’s done with a fast girl on the wheel! Taking second a country mile behind was Arjen van Leeuwen’s JOULE with 17 pts, third was Team Heiner Talents on TEAM HEINER 4 with 19 pts, fourth was Dennis Zuidam’s JAM SESSION with 19 pts (losing the tie-breaker), and fifth was Arnout Jorritsma’s MAJIC with 20 pts. Follow the Almere Regatta on FB here For more Almere Regatta sailing information
LOULOU Tops Manhattan J/105 Regatta!
(New York, NY)- Continuing a New York City and J/105 tradition, J/105 Fleet 10 in conjunction with the Liberty YC hosted the 7th Annual Manhattan Regatta in the amazing racing venue of New York Harbor. Nine J/105’s fought it out in eight races over two days in courses set by PRO Vicky Neiner between Lady Liberty and the Brooklyn shoreline- no question, currents in the fabulous venue were the overwhelming tactical consideration for the entire weekend! Doh! The Hudson River was overloaded with all kind of rainwater run-off from various storms from the past week or so, draining thousands of square miles of the mountain ranges north of New York City.
The regatta started with a light air first race in a course paralleling the Staten Island Ferry path where the wind shifted 180 degrees. At one point, spinnakers were simultaneously used in opposite directions!
After this slow start, a steady sea breeze kicked in from the south necessitating a course reset to the Brooklyn shore. Three races were then completed with tight competition, leaving area favorite Paul Beaudin’s LOULOU first with Ann and Gary Myer’s MAGIC and Mark van Schalkwyk’s CIRCE close behind. LOULOU is currently the area’s hot boat after winning the AYC’s Spring Regatta earlier in May.
Additionally, the Perth Amboy, NJ based boat ESCAPADE skippered by Al Rothschild won the single day PHRF division. At the end of the day, all competitors returned to the Liberty Landing Marina to enjoy the traditional BBQ aboard the Liberty Lightship under the Manhattan skyline.
Sunday featured a steady mid-teens Southeast breeze and bright sunshine. Another course was set up along the Brooklyn shoreline under the gaze of Lady Liberty. The competitors enjoyed four races with MAGIC constantly nipping at LOULOU’s heels in every race. Both split the bullets while MAGIC gained ground in races they did not win. An exhausted LOULOU survived the 8th race of the weekend to win their first place Lady Liberty trophy. MAGIV and CIRCE completed the podium positions.
We thank Liberty YC members Jim Chambers and Huhnsik Chung for generously providing their boats and time for RC. Also, we wish to “thank” our Fleet 10 officers David Spence and Paul Zajac for once again organizing a great spring event!! For more Manhattan J/105 Regatta sailing information
Bennet Wins USA Match Race Western Qualifier
(San Francisco, CA)- Shawn Bennett of the St. Francis Yacht Club, together with team-mates Eric Baumhoff, Tom Purdy and Melissa Purdy Feagin, won the USA Match Racing Championship Qualifier hosted at the St. Francis on May 20-21, 2017 in J/22s.
Fellow St. Francis YC member Nicole Breault was second and her husband Bruce Stone was third, winning the tie-breaker over Andrew Meade from Hawaii.
The conditions were perfect with wind in the 12-18 kt range and relatively flat water, though the meandering ebb tide created extra work for the mark-set team and difficult calls for tacticians due to a “false flood” running up the city front from the excessive snow-melt water trying to exit San Francisco Bay.
Bennett qualified to compete for the USA Match Racing Championship for the Prince of Wales Bowl Trophy at Oakcliff Sailing Center, Oyster Bay NY on October 13-15, 2017. Sailing photo credits- Chris Ray- http://www.crayivp.com For more St Francis YC USA Match Race sailing information.
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* No question, J/70 Sailors Love GPYC Stadium Sailing! Here is the commentary from Wally Cross, the Grosse Pointe YC Sailing Director:
“The wonderful aspect of stadium sailing is that you never know what the day’s conditions will bring for sailing. We were lucky to get a fantastic 12-17 kts easterly with big chop. It would have been nice to have sun and warmer temperatures, but we did have a great wind speed and direction.
We are working hard to make the next event, the June 23rd evening Stadium Sailing event even more fun. We will have music and a commentator announcing the action for the spectators for our next event. We will also have a bar set up for the spectators and sailors during this four hour sailing work out. After the event, at 9pm we will have pizza and a keg on the Gazebo bar deck area. I am hoping we have wonderful summer like conditions and hope everyone will all attend the after party. Consider bringing your J/70 over on Thursday or early Friday and leaving on Saturday. It would be fun to share stories of the racing with each other. Encourage more boats and spectators!
We are talking to sponsors now and my goal by the last event is to supply each boat racing a set of ‘Stadium Sails’. The sails would have graphics and numbers for just this event. Each boat would also have the rig adjusted by one person to make all the boats the same. Only adjustment you would be using is backstay. Once our sailing center is complete, we will truly make this a spectator sport. Sailing has to be fun and any ideas you have that could make this better, please let us know.
For now, keep enjoying your J/70 and spread the word to get more boats from out of town to sail in our stadium.
‘Thank You’ to boats that traveled to this event- Jerry Hines, Kevin Meier and the winner, James Prendergast.
The boats that scored well got off the line. Boat handling was hard for most boats, but starting was the single biggest difference from the top to the bottom. This is why the races on Tuesday and Stadium races will make you a better sailor at any regatta.
Thanks, again, for everyone for taking the time to sail at GPYC’s inaugural stadium sailing event, we look forward to seeing you all at the June 23rd event!”
“MarkSetBot” made its debut this weekend at Grosse Pointe YC for Premiere Sailing League's Stadium Races in J/70s. Over the 36 races this weekend, there were at least 30 mark changes and MSB performed flawlessly. It was quite the test, too, Saturday's races saw winds of 15-20 knots and waves of 3-5 feet. Learn more here- MarkSetBot- facebook.com/MarkSetBot For more J/70 GPYC sailing video.
J/Cruisers
J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.
* The J/40 HERON REACH sailed by Virginia and Jerry is participating in the Blue Planet Odyssey project and have recently joined them in the Marquesas Islands in the Eastern Pacific. Learn more about their adventures and experiences here- http://heronreachodyssey.blogspot.com/
* J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands. Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination? A giant whale! Look at this amazing photo!
* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR. Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now. We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their well-documented blog here: http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html
* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again, for 2015/ 2016! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR. Alan sent us an email update regards their various improvements and refit to the boat (see above). They will again be based at Proper Yachts in St John, US Virgin Islands.
* Bill & Judy Stellin were interviewed about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:
Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety
The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.
WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"
Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.
Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.
People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."
READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE
* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand and points further around the Blue Planet Earth. Here is their latest update (December 2016) from Bill & Kathy:
“We completed a three year tour of the south pacific and sailed from Hobart Tasmania back to Seattle in the fall of 2012. After two seasons of local cruising, we decided to truck the boat to Rochester NY. In the summer of 2015, we sailed out the Saint Lawrence seaway and down the east coast of Nova Scotia and the US, with a few months in the Bahamas that winter. This past summer, we crossed the Atlantic with stops in Bermuda and the Azores, making landfall in Falmouth, UK. We have worked down the coast of France, Spain and Portugal and are now in Lagos Portugal. We plan on passing through the Straits of Gibraltar and spending a couple seasons in the Med.”
Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.
* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).
- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".
- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.
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